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NARS 413 BLKR Blush Duo Review, Photos, Swatches

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo ($42.00 for 0.35 oz.) is supposed to have a “soft highlight” and a “pop of pink” that can each be worn on their own or layered for a “natural flush.” It is exclusive to NARS’ boutiques and their website. It is larger than a full-size blush in terms of the compact’s size, but it is also over double the amount of product, so you’re actually getting over two full-sized blushes in this compact. Both shades were dusty and a little powdery to work with, so they didn’t sit as well on the skin as I would have liked. Both shades were blendable, at least, but I wish they lasted longer.

413 Blkr (Highlighter) is described as a “sparkling pink sand with gold and silver shimmer.” It’s a softened, light peachy-pink with gold shimmer. The texture was powdery and drier, so it was harder to get good coverage out of it. When I applied it, the finish was more semi-matte to satin than illuminating and slightly dusty/dry on. On my medium complexion, I get some color out of it, but it is subtle, so for fairer complexions, it could definitely be used as a blush. It wore well for six and a half hours on me. MAC Blush Pink (LE, $35.50) is less shimmery. Laura Mercier Sunset (LE, $24.00) is darker, warmer. Dior Peach Splendor (LE, $44.00) is darker. MAC Fun Ending (LE, $21.00) is less shimmery, darker. Surratt Beauty Duchesse (P, $32.00) is lighter, warmer. Physicians Formula Natural (P, $12.99) is more shimmery, darker. NARS Sex Appeal (P, $30.00) is less shimmery, darker. Benefit Georgia (DC, $28.00) is warmer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

413 Blkr (Blush) is described as a “cherry blossom pink with a hint of gold shimmer.” It’s a brightened, light-medium pink with subtle, warmer undertones and fine gold pearl. It had semi-sheer, buildable coverage (up to semi-opaque) with a lightly dry, dusty consistency. It looked a little powdery on my skin with some sheen. This shade wore well for seven hours before fading. Urban Decay Crush (P, $26.00) is darker, cooler. NYX Mauve (P, $5.00) is darker, more muted. MAC P.S. I Like You (LE, $22.00) is more pigmented, warmer, glossier. ColourPop Early Bird (P, $8.00) is darker. Chanel Crescendo (250) (LE, $45.00) is darker, more muted. LORAC Underrated (LE, ) is more muted. MAC Modest Blush (LE, $27.00) is lighter. Chanel Revelation (63) (P, $38.00) is glossier. NARS New Attitude (LE, $30.00) is cooler. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

See more photos & swatches!

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo
NARS 413 Blkr Blush Duo

Makeup Look
On face:
  • Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation
  • Urban Decay Naked Loose Setting Powder
On lips:
  • Kat Von D Beloved Liquid Lipstick

45 Comments

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Comments on this post are closed.
Katherine T. Avatar

The pink is pretty, but I don’t think the highlight is going to show up on me, and I’m fair/light. And my cheeks will eat powder blushes alive, especially drier dusty ones like these. So this is a skip for me. But if anyone wants to try to make this work, you can try applying a cream base underneath, so the powder will stick better. I recently bought the Disney Dare to Dream Luminizer Stick in Free Spirit – it has a beautiful gold shimmer/sheen. I like to put it under powder blushes/highlighters, as it makes them stick better. It’s LE and only $3, so I bought a backup

Celia Avatar

The blush is pretty, but this is a disappointment for sure. Most of the BLKR items are really lovely, thoughtfully done, and tend towards a sort of signature burnished berry sort of color. Not on par with their other BLKR prducts.

Nancy T Avatar

Wow, what a sad, sad shame about the poor performance of these. The shades looked like they would’ve been beautiful if only. Well, more $ saved! But now looking at the dupes for that darker pinky shade, perhaps CP Early Bird or Nyx Mauve? Because sometimes I do a more natural cheek!

Mel Avatar

The highlighter is a chalky dull patchy powder. For the price, it should be flawless. I won’t invest on it, obviously.
Thank you for your review, Christine! You always save me a lot of money!

Andrew Avatar

I’m still trying to understand why they didn’t include the actual BLKR blush in this duo. I would have loved to see the actual BLKR blush with a new complimentary highlighter; or maybe even a BLKR blush and BLKR muktiple duo. I know some people aren’t keen on packaging cream and powder items together but the BLKR blush (from what I remember) isn’t powdery so the risk of cross contamination is low.

NARS has really been failing to impress me this year with their new items. I wonder is there’s been a change in infrastructure?

ray Avatar

I’m just wondering how you come up with the final grade.. the blush seems like it should have scored higher based on the grades of the individual components. It seems kind of arbitrary to give it a c+.. I’ve noticed this a lot lately.

Christine Avatar

The grade for the duo (or any kit or palette) is an average of all of the components. The average is calculated in my Glossover sheet (I use Excel), and then grades are rounded up/down based on where they stand; something like a 4.8/5 wouldn’t round-up to 5 unless it was a very large number of products (e.g. 10 products and only one scored 4.5, but in a duo, it’s too significant – it is not perfect).

Not sure why you think it is arbitrary – the highlighter got a C-, the blush got a C+, and the duo together was a C, right there in the middle. The exact average is 7.3, 7.8, 7.3, 7, and 4.5 – 75% exactly, which is a C. No grades are arbitrary.

Cat Avatar

Ahhh… this duo wasn’t only speaking to me, it was seductively whispering French poetry in my ear. Sadly, I have forgotten most of the French I’ve learned and your review has convinced me that I need not brush up on it. (Pun intended.) =) Too bad, I love the colors.

Dani Avatar

I couldnt help but notice your stunning lip color so I was checking your makeup look list. I think you meant “on lips” instead of “on eyes” with the Kat Von d liquid lipstick. But in any case, it’s so so beautiful on you!!

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