NARS Taj Mahal Blush Review, Photos, Swatches
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
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.
Taj Mahal
PPermanent. $30.00.
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
This seems like the prettiest blush EVER 😮
Wow-it looks great !! I thought it would look oddly orange-but it’s super flattering
This is a long time lust of mine.
This is one of my favorite NARS blushes! It’s so perfect for summer. 🙂
This is gorgeous, but wow- it looks so intense! Do you think it could also be used as an eyeshadow?
I’m sure it could be, barring no sensitivities to dyes (since there is some reddish coloring in it)!
Thanks! 🙂 Now I want it, tsssk.
Wow! I love it – it looks beautiful on you! I would never have thought such a bright orange would make a good blush. I bet it can double as eyeshadow too, that would be so pretty.
I’m pleasantly surprised. This is not at all what I expected. I looked at the pan colour and shuddered. What a unique and interesting colour on you and now I can see how incredibly pretty this would be on others. What can’t you pull off??
Black blush?
I’m sure you could work that into some kind of awesome contouring. 😛
LoL
It’s so poppy and I love it ;D
Christine, do you think somebody really (really) fair with neutral undertones could wear this? I’m between the shades Chantilly and Vanilla in NARS’ new concealers, and I’m auburn-haired…I’m so torn! I love this blush color, and it looks so beautiful on you, but I’m so scared of looking 80’s-streaky-blushy or, worse, rusty (given the reddish hair.) Ah! I’ve never felt so conflicted about makeup!
Reader @Danielle above actually commented that she loved this on her pale skin AND she has red hair! (“And up until recently I had red hair & Taj Mahal looked amazing with pale skin and red hair.”)
Wow when I saw the color in the pan and the swatch, I thought no way this could look good and then you just proved me wrong. I’m too pale for this to work imo but it seems like it’d look gorgeous on medium to dark skin.
This is one of my most favorite blushes! A lot of people seem to take one look at it and think it looks like a gross color – but it’s not. Although I am obsessed with orange blushes lol. And up until recently I had red hair & Taj Mahal looked amazing with pale skin and red hair.
Hands down my all time favorite blush… a must have for women of color!
Why an A+?? It may have very good quality, but the colour is really controversial. I just imagine how sick-looking it would make most fair-skinned girls.
Why should the color not being suitable for one person or one skin tone render it a horrible product? We are all different – from hair color to skin tone to our very own preferences – so those things should never rate a product downwards (unless it was specifically FOR a particular concern, skin tone, etc.). Just because it might not work for you doesn’t mean it isn’t a fantastic, high quality product that could very well be someone else’s holy grail, and they might even be the same skin tone and coloring as you but LOVE it on themselves. Not to mention, there is always a way to rock a product – it is a matter of wearing it with confidence, technique, and what you wear it with. 🙂
Perfect response, Christine.
I agree! I could *never* wear this shade with my current coloring, but when I had my natural Auburn hair, I actually wore shades in this range almost exclusively. I also wore brighter makeup shades, in general, so everything pulled together quite nicely. My skintone has changed, as well, as I’ve aged, so this wouldn’t work for me now, but I can see this working for many women.
Tell it Christine!
I have a NW15 skintone, and I love this blush. Yes, I have to be EXTREMELY careful with my application, and blend, blend, blend, but it looks gorgeous!
And, no, I am not one for crazy makeup looks. Anything out of the light brown family is usually quite outside of my comfort zone. I prefer the barely-there, is-she-even-wearing-makeup? look, yet this blush still can be used in that way.
There are a lot of products reviewed that generally only work well for fair-skinned women, and I’ve never seen anyone demand the rating show go down solely because of that. Darker-skinned women are a huge market, and products that work best for them should not be treated like niche items or rated inferior just because light-skinned women might not be able to use them. (Just think of all those sheer and “nude” shades out there that look ashy or indistinguishable on dark skin, for instance!)
Who decided that orange is controversial? Who defines fair skin? Who/what determines what looks “good” on so called “fair skin”? It’s the 21st century. Let’s eliminate the stereotypes and rock our makeup – no matter what color makeup or what color skin. “getting off soap box and putting on Taj Mahal”….
Are fair-skinned girls the only ones out there? Despite what you apparently believe and what most makeup companies would have you think, the answer is no.
I find it unsettling that you call the color “controversial”, and hope it was a poor word choice that didn’t reflect what you really meant. “Controversial” means something that will provoke arguments, like a political debate or a moral choice. The reason I find it troubling in this context is that makeup companies used to make a political/moral choice to ignore the desires of many millions of deeper skinned people by making colors that only suited lighter skinned people – and mainly whites at that, since many skin-matching products weren’t yellow enough for light-skinned people of color. If Nars’ goal is to create a line of blushes that offers several choices to every imaginable skin tone out there, they have succeeded and I think that’s wonderful. If you find it “controversial”, then I’m not sure I want to know why.
Well, I’m not a native English speaker, so maybe I used the wrong word. I meant that I personally would give such a high rating only to products that work great on all skin tones. But I just can’t see this orange on cool-toned complexions. For example, I feel that another famous Nars blush – Orgasm is much more universal.
And of couse, I’m not saying that companies should make only products for light skin… But I may be looking at this from an opposite point of view. While some people feel the lack of products for deeper skin tones, I generally suffer from the fact that most brands’ lightest foundations and powders are too dark on me, many highlighters, blushes, bronzers are too warm and totally unwearable. So I don’t really feel that pale people are those who have the advantage in this)
Orgasm isn’t universal, though. As a woman of colour I tend to look for swatches on other women of colour, and you can see that Orgasm barely shows up on very dark skin. I have Deep Throat which is very similar to Orgasm, and I really have to pile it on for it to show up on my “medium” skintone (NC40-42).
Could i use this as an eyeshadow? I have been looking for an eyeshadow this color for ages but i dont want to buy the whole jasmine pallet for just one color
I don’t know if it’s technically safe, so use at your own discretion – but the biggest thing would be to know if you’re sensitive to red dyes 🙂
This is my HG blush. I’ve worn it everyday since I got it 1+ years ago, completely ignoring the other blushes I have. There is still barely any dent in the product.
It makes me look like I’ve gotten some sun recently, even though I’ve been locked indoors all winter.
I actually want to put my barely touched Exhibit A and Dolce Vita blushes up for swap now that I think about it. I just never use them!
Beautiful! The swatch scared me, but wow, it is stunning on you.
Omg Christine, I love this blush, I got it three years ago, and it still has the original pattern that come within the blush. Like you said with a stippling brush y barely touch it and brings out a beautiful warm color to my nc20 skin. I think it may last forever, is so pigmented that I don’t need much.
At first I thought what an odd shade for a blush, but it actually looks amazing on you!
It’s such a GORGEOUS color. A little frightening, of course, and definitely not something I’d reach for on a daily basis but I’d love to get my hands on it to see what beauty I could create. Adore. <33 This is the kind of makeup that inspires me.
This blush is SO pigmented. I have to be careful with it, but it’s gorgeous (especially in summer) on my NC20/NC25 skin tone. IMO, it’s all about getting the right amount of pigment on the brush and properly diffusing this color, so it doesn’t look like a blob or streak of orange. I have seen this shade successfully work on people with skin even lighter than mine; one girl was about NC5-NC10 and the other was about NW15 or NW20. If you like a very warm blush, I think this shade is at least worth giving a try.
I think this is my all time favorite blush. I’ve got an olive complexion and since orgasm really doesn’t do much for me – this is my GO TO blush for a flattering shimmer. And it is so pigmented. Glad you gave it an A+!
I AM SO CLAIMING THIS BLUSH.. 2 JUST IN CASE U KNOW..
This is 100% wrong for my skintone, but it’s so pretty to look at! If I had dark bronze-y skin I would be all over this.
I’m light skinned, so I thought this would be something I just couldn’t wear. But I think you’ve sold me on it! Gorgeous!
This is one of my favorite blushes of all time! You can go light or you can go intense. I love that it lasts and lasts and doesn’t break me out and it looks gorgeous on my NC43 skintone! 😀 Thanks for reviewing this! <3
I’ve heard soo much about this blush !!! i will go for it and not be afraid from the color in the package. It does kinda remind me of Mac’s stereo rose mineralize skin finish , they both have the same orangey shimmery undertone to them
It’s a bit scary when you first look at it, but when you apply it has that glow, it’s beautiful.
Omg this is basically perfect. Given that I’m so so pale, I think it would look very peaches & cream on my skin.
Is it close to Estee Lauder’s Naughty?
I don’t think I have that blush!
Hi!
I’m confused, this blush has not been discontinued?
Now you’re talking! This is my holy grail blush. No dupes compare. Pigmented to the 10th power. I am NC55 and I use a light hand with this blush. A very gentle swipe with my Nars Yachiyo brush and I’m ready. Awesome blush (sigh).
From what I have seen from the other comments, it looks like I´m the only one who doesn´t like it. I dislike it both on the pan and applied as well. However it is true that I dislike strong blush colors and this can be described as just that, so it´s probably just not for me. I do love the name though.
You’re not the only one. I’m not a big orange fan and this blush just makes me go “eh” at best…but I also don’t like strong blush either.
She applied it quite heavily. I am a MAC 30-35 and if you use it lightly it seriously makes you look like you’ve laid out in the sun for the last couple months! I have never found a blush that works as well with my skin tone/undertones.
I love the blush but hate the name. As an Indian woman I find “Taj Mahal” so cliched and just an attempt to exoticise, like a lot of the other names NARS comes up with.
I’m surprised at how beautiful this is in both the swatch and on your cheeks! Great color!
This is just so so so so stunning. I always think of it as sort of the prototype of all orange blushes. I love how it looks on your skin, it’s like a Tuscan blood orange color
*tries to figure out how to justify this * I like this. I am starting to have a thing for orange/coral blushes. This will be next 🙂
It looks great on you! On my cool complexion it would probably resemble a fainted bruise. 😉
I have this and i LOVE it soooo much!! its amazing and i actually get compliments (by strangers) when im wearing it!! gotta loveeee NARS<3
its looks ten times more better in person girls!! just use light feathery touches when applying like christine mentioned!!
Just wondering — what brush did you use to apply Taj Mahal, Christine? I ordered it a while ago because it’s the “must-have” NARS blush for WOC, apparently, but all I get on my cheeks is minimal color and maximum shimmer. |:
MAC 188
Ohhh this is beautiful, but with my extremely pale skin I am a little afraid of it! 🙂 What is a blush that would have a similar tone but might be less intense and more suitable for fair skin? Thanks!
I can’t think of anything else 🙁
This is one of the BEST colors on brown girls! If you are a woman of color GET this blush if you do not get anything else it is so pretty!
This was the first Nars blush I bought, I’m a black woman and it shows great on my skin, will never be without it 🙂
It looks like it would look so beautiful on darker complexions!
I adore this blush. I purchased it as my first nars blush after reading rave reviews about how it was a HG blush for women of color. I’m MAC NC 45 and Nars sheer glow Cadiz for reference. I use the Nars yachiyo kabuki brush to apply this amazing blush on my cheeks. It gives my cheeks a nice golden glow. Even though it’s for cheeks I do use the tips of the yachiyo brush to apply the blush as a highlight under my brows whenever I wear this on my cheeks.
This ist so beautiful, I’m so in love with orange! Sadly it really doesn’t work with my skin tone, not as blush or worse as lipstick. So, no Taj Mahal for me, I’ll have to admire it on the cheeks of other girls 🙂