review: NARS dual-intensity blush

There is nothing like a good blush. The right shade can pull any makeup look together with ease. Perhaps this is why I have become such a blush addict over the years. Certain shades manage to pull me in...excite me...make my heart beat faster. So you can imagine my joy when NARS released a bunch of new blush shades. The Dual-Intensity Blush duos hit the shelves a while back. I immediately picked up the duo Fervor. All of the available shades were gorgeous - but there was something about this specific duo that drew me in. I simply had to have it!

The blush duo, Fervor, came with a soft pink shade and a rose shade with coppery undertones. The latter especially appealed to me. Largely because it was the one shade I had nothing like in my collection. It was different yet easy to wear. As you can see from the picture above, both shades are gorgeous and versatile. That soft pink is the perfect compliment to any makeup look. Originally, I was going to wear it on my wedding day. (Until my mom booked a makeup artist to do my makeup the day of. Much to my shock, horror, and dismay.) The coppery rose shade on the other hand is totally different, sultry, and the perfect compliment to a smokey eye.

One of the interesting things about this duo? It is touted as a "wet or dry blush duo," meaning that you can wear the blushes as is or wet your brush prior to application for even more intensity. While I appreciate the concept....I find these blushes look better used dry rather than wet. They are soft, wearable, yet still pack a punch. For me, I found the shades to be pretty applied dry. The dual intensity claim of the wet application? Not so much. Used wet I did not find them to have extra pigmentation. So! It is easy to get a gorgeous cheek look from this NARS blush duo. However, I would recommend using the product as is and skipping out on the wet application.

I am a big fan of NARS products in general. They have consistently wowed me with their focus on quality, pigmentation, and texture. These blushes met my expectations and then some. The colours are gorgeous and the texture is smooth. The only thing I did not like? The wet or dry claim. There simply wasn't enough difference between the two application methods.

Have you tried the Dual-Intensity Blush duos from NARS?

xo Shannon