NARS Taj Mahal Blush ($29.00 for 0.16 oz.) is described as a “blazing burnt orange with golden shimmer.” It’s a bold, vibrant orange with a hint of red and a golden shimmer-sheen. Wet ‘n’ Wild Golden Goddess is more subdued, browner. MAC Center of the Universe is also more muted and browner. MAC My Paradise is more coral/red. Jasmine Rajah (which is an eyeshadow) is very similar but has a subtler golden sheen.
Oh, this is a bold, vibrant shade of blush. There’s no shying away from that! It’s undeniably warm-toned and just brings forth every image of summer. With a very, very light hand, it works as a golden orange gleam, and the more color you use, the deeper and more reddened the color gets. The pigmentation is insane; incredibly rich that deeper complexions will not need to build up the color to see it show up on their skin tones, while fairer complexions will have to use feathery touches and, perhaps, a stippling brush, to yield softer color. Taj Mahal had a soft, finely-milled texture that applied smoothly and blended out easily. This blush wore for nine hours without fading–which makes it one of the best NARS’ blushes I’ve tried.
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It’s going to work more as a cream highlighter on light-medium and darker complexions than as a blush, because it’s just a very pale, light color. Lightly tapped and patted on the higher planes of the face, it creates a glossy, high-shine look and reflection. For anyone who prefers subtler highlighters, I wouldn’t recommend this, but for those who want a more dramatic highlighter, this works nicely. It does slightly emphasize pores in low light, but with more lighting or when you’re outdoors, it reflects so well that you don’t see the pores. When I trialed it, Lies wore for eight hours without fading (or melting or sliding around).
It looks like it’s out of stock at Sephora at this very moment, but it’s part of the permanent range so it should be restocked For our international readers, it is also available directly from Illamasqua.
It's really easy to apply, and you can control the strength of the highlight by applying more or less. Lighter skin tones may find it adds some natural flush to their cheeks, but most skin tones will find this highlights without adding much color.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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NARS Super Orgasm Blush ($29.00 for 0.16 oz.) is described as a “peachy pink with gold glitter.” It’s a golden-shimmered, warm pink with gold glitter. It is Orgasm with glitter particles. I think that this appears slightly lighter with a stronger sheen, though. As a result, all the dupes for Orgasm apply to Super Orgasm–minus the glitter. bareMinerals The Natural High is slightly warmer in its base color (less pink). Guerlain Blush G Serie Noire is slightly deeper and pinker. Benefit Sugarbomb is much, much lighter (and sheerer). Rock & Republic Call Me is slightly less pink. Milani Dolce Pink is more frosted/sparkly. Tarte Glisten is similar–slightly darker. MAC Springsheen is also similar. This older post is a good comparison reference for coral blushes.
I’m not a fan of NARS’ glittery blushes (or their eyeshadows). In general, while glitter is absolutely fun, it needs to be something that stays in its place, rather than heading for parts unknown. Unfortunately, the glitter in Super Orgasm does just that: gets everywhere else after you’ve applied it to your cheeks. The glitter doesn’t stick or adhere to the powder, so it is like applying loose glitter to your cheeks. A lot of the glitter does seem to get trapped in the brush or disperse in the air, but I did get some on the cheeks. The texture of the blush is slightly gritty, given the glitter content, but the underlying color is soft and smooth. It seemed to have a higher frost content, though, and it did emphasize pores just slightly. Super Orgasm wore for seven hours well but was slightly faded after eight.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Normally, I like Bobbi Brown’s blush range for a formula that’s mostly matte, pigmented, and blendable, but Pastel Pink was so dry and stiff. This was another shade from the collection that I had to scrape off layers of color just to get a “heavy” swatch of color. I really had to swirl and pack on the color to get enough payoff to show up on my skin tone for photographs and testing. If you have any scratchy brushes, I’d recommend using it with this, because it will help dig into the product to yield more payoff. While I can appreciate that fairer skin tones often prefer a blush that’s not so intense so they can use it with ease, the texture makes this one hard to use even if all you want is soft color. It’s not very blendable and really needs to be buffed and worked into the skin as it has a tendency to stick and look splotchy. It lasted for seven hours well, and after eight hours, there was noticeable fading.
I felt like I was in the twilight zone, because this blush almost felt as if I were trying to swatch from a plastic pan of color instead of a pan of powder. It did not want to yield anything! The texture is just so dry and stiff that it makes it such a total pain to use.
Product
4/10
Pigmentation
5.5/10
Texture
4/10
Longevity
7.5/10
Application
2.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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NARS Sin Blush ($29.00 for 0.16 oz.) is described as a “berry with gold shimmer.” It’s a gold-shimmered plum with a frosted finish. It’s less red, more plum compared to NARS Oasis. MAC Plum Foolery is lighter but similar. MAC Vintage Grape is purpler. theBalm Cabana Boy is similar–perhaps a smidgen lighter.
Sin is like a plummy version of NARS Orgasm, because both of a golden shimmer/sheen that alters the underlying base color. It’s slightly cool-toned, but the golden shimmer adds warmth and makes it appear almost neutral in tone on the skin. It had great pigmentation, so it should show up well on most skin tones. The texture was soft and finely-milled. The finish is softly frosted on the skin after it is applied and blended out. There was a very, very slight emphasis of pores but it was hardly noticeable and the resulting glowy sheen was luminous without being oily. Sin wore just over eight hours well but started to fade after nine hours on my skin.
Sin is like a plummy version of NARS Orgasm, because both of a golden shimmer/sheen that alters the underlying base color. It's slightly cool-toned, but the golden shimmer adds warmth and makes it appear almost neutral in tone on the skin.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Shimmer Brick ($42.00 for 0.40 oz.) is described as “bright pink, golden pink, and icy pink pearl pigments.” It’s a cool-toned, rosy pink with a frosted, shimmer-sheen finish. Estee Lauder Tease is surprisingly similar, though it has a single color throughout; it is marginally more pink-hued, but the finish and effect on cheeks makes it hard to tell the difference. MAC Flower Fantasy is also similar in color but has less of a frosted finish. Bobbi Brown Wild Rose is warmer on me, less pink/lilac, and more beige/brown, but because both are on the subtler side regarding color, the sheen isn’t largely different–the resulting cool/warm undertone difference will be more visible if you have really warm or really cool undertones in your skin.
Though everything seemed to swatch well initially, this Shimmer Brick is more sheen than it is color. Other Shimmer Bricks deliver both a highlighting sheen as well as some color, but this one works primarily as a highlighter on medium and deeper complexions; on fairer skin tones, I think it may work as a subtle blusher, too. The texture of the Shimmer Brick is soft and smooth, but it is very frosted–even for a Shimmer Brick–and I did notice that my pores were emphasized when I applied this on my cheeks. It seemed sparkly and frosty, so the sheen was not as smooth and reflective. Lilac Rose lasted eight hours well on me, and by nine hours, there was some light fading along the edges.
It's not my favorite Shimmer Brick; I don't think it's as versatile as some of the other variations released (both past and present). The finish isn't as kind to the skin, which may or may not be a deal-breaker for you.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
8.5/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
8.5/10
Application
4.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
