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NARS Mata Hari Blush Review, Photos, Swatches

NARS Mata Hari Blush
NARS Mata Hari Blush

NARS Mata Hari Blush ($29.00 for 0.16 oz.) is described as a “rose petal pink.” It’s a medium-dark raspberry pink with cool undertones and a satiny sheen. MAC Prom Princess is a touch less pink, more plum, resulting in a more muted color. shu uemura Smoky is less cool-toned. Tom Ford Narcissist is bolder and cooler-toned. MAC Supernova is redder.

This blush has really intense pigmentation, so on fairer complexions: a little goes a long way; and on deeper complexions: you’ll have no problem getting this to show up. It had a soft, finely-milled texture that made it easier to blend out the color, which is absolutely critical when you have a shade this pigmented. There was some excess powder that kicked up when I touched the brush to the blush, but I didn’t see that translate to powderiness on the skin.  Mata Hari wore for eight hours well on me, and by the ninth hour, there was some noticeable fading.

NARS Mata Hari Blush
NARS Mata Hari Blush

NARS Mata Hari Blush
NARS Mata Hari Blush

NARS Mata Hari Blush
NARS Mata Hari Blush

NARS Mata Hari Blush
NARS Mata Hari Blush

NARS Mata Hari Blush
NARS Mata Hari Blush

NARS Mata Hari Blush
NARS Mata Hari Blush

NARS Mata Hari Blush
NARS Mata Hari Blush

46 Comments

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Jigisha Avatar

Oh nice. I’m mac nc 42-45 I’m sure I can pull this one off coz no blushes show up on my skin.. Of course Taj Mahal is an exception…it’s the best best blush for dark skin

Lee Avatar

It must be your technique or brushes because Im an NW45 and I have NARS Lovejoy, Dolce Vita, Lokum, Luster, torrid and of couse Taj Mahsl they all show up on me. I have about 20 blushes between NARS, La Femme, Black Radiance, and even Wet & Wild and every single one I own shows up on me. Actually, so much so it’s easy to over do it & look like a clown.

rowan Avatar

i use this all the time but it shows a really cool rose on my pale skin, but it looks pretty warm/almost coral on you. just shows how much skin tone can alter makeup!

Kathy Avatar

How does this compare to MAC’s Coygirl? I’ve been looking for a good dupe since it got DQ’d last year, but in your swatch, Mata Hari doesn’t look as bluish as I thought. I always thought it had those noticeably purple undertones like Coygirl does.

Amanda Val Avatar

Agh! I’m now lemming for Nars. It’s down to this or Dolce Vita. I think I’ll grab this later though, since it’s permanent as well, and I need something more “dusky rose” at the minute!

Catherine (@bcrueltyfree) Avatar

In the pan, I thought it might be similar to ELF studio fuschia (I think there’s another word in the name, can’t remember), but it’s actually much deeper than I expected once swatched. Very pretty, fresh, versatile tone. I can imagine it being flattering on many people.

Rachel Avatar

This is a beautiful color but I find really pigmented blushes annoying to deal with. It seems like it takes extra time to get the application even and blended.

Michelle Avatar

Hi Christine- I love bright, pink blushes and NARS, but I worry about this on my NW 15 skin. Gaiety looks great on me, but Dolce Vita is a little too red. Do you think this will work for me? I’d love to have it. Thanks so much for another great review!

Chanterais Avatar

Mata Hari is my all-time favourite blush. God, it’s so good! The pigmentation is incredibly intense, but it blends so smoothly that even when I get a little over-zealous with the application, it’s not a problem. It’s interesting to see that on Christine’s golden-olive skin, it looks quite warm, but on my NW15 skin, it goes on as a definite neutral-to-cool rose. And it’s got enough depth that I bet it would be absolutely gorgeous on women with darker skintones, too. It’s quite matte, and plays really nicely with every foundation I’ve tried it with (or indeed with no foundation at all). It’s just damn pretty.

Chanterais Avatar

It’d be absolutely perfect on you, Jade! As you said above, it’s ideal for that sweet, rose-cheeked Snow White look. The one bit of extra advice that I’d give to pale-skinned folks is to make sure you have a buffing brush on hand (it doesn’t have to be a fancy kabuki one, just a cleanish face brush of some kind) to soften the edges a little after applying. It’ll be beautiful on you!

Veronica Avatar

I swatch this quite often when I hit a NARS counter. I might actually give in one of these days and get it because it is such a gorgeous color. The only thing that’s stopped me is because of how pigmented it is. Seems easy to overdo on my fair skin. 😛

Erica Avatar

I am NC 55 and I’m thinking I could seriously wear this bright pink especially since it seems to be matte. I tried the new (and darker) Seduction blush on my cheeks today. I swiped my MAC ambering rose next to it, not much of a difference (lol). Seduction is very pretty, but this color seems more vibrant.

JADE Avatar

Looks Lovely! Has anyone with extra pale skin tried this out!? I am MAC NW10 and have read online that this is a beautiful blush for pale girls. Apparently if snow white were to have a blush- this could very well be it. Any opinions anyone cause It looks BEAUTIFUL above!

Joyce Avatar

Its very interesting to me how skin colour can change how makeup looks. This is my fav blush but it looks a lot cooler on my nw20 skin and black hair.

mdmeileen Avatar

This is my first Nars blush and I’m NC 30. It really is very pigmented! Only a dab of brush on the pan goes a long way! It gives you this natural flush! Sadly enough, it’s an underdog product which is kind of lame because it is realy good.

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