Archived Post

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush Review, Photos, Swatches

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush ($41.00 for 0.45 oz.) is described as a “pink grapefruit.” It’s a bold, coral-red with a matte finish. Guerlain Peach Boy is slightly less red/pink. NARS Exhibit A is redder. Illamasqua Dixie is lighter, pinker, and a cream product.

Like Rotonde, this blush is vibrant–the pigmentation is incredibly dense and rich and true-to-pan (actually, I think it may be more vibrant on the skin than it looks in the pan). The gold pattern is an over-spray, so while the first use might have a smidgen of shimmer, it’s actually a matte powder underneath. Applied and blended out, it looks pinker than it does when applied more heavily (that’s when the red starts to dominate). The texture was soft, finely-milled, and very easy to blend, which is an absolute necessity with something as rich in color as this shade is. Boys Don’t Cry wore eight and a half hours well, and after nine hours, there was some slight fading along the edges. This blush is larger than the standard NARS’ blushes, which are 0.16 oz., and this is 0.45 oz.

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

NARS Boys Don't Cry High Voltage Blush
NARS Boys Don’t Cry High Voltage Blush

74 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Becca @ The Beauty Sample Avatar

Goodness this is pigmented! Gorgeous but I don’t think I’d ever be able to wear something this bold without looking like I just got out of clown school. :/ I am just way too naturally heavy-handed with my blush to ever wear something this strong 😛 so lovely on you though–and I can only imagine how stunning it would look on those with a darker complexion! 😀

Veronica Avatar

That is one gorgeous blush. Unfortunately, I’m pale and pink-toned enough to feel it would pull too red on me, but this is going to look stunning on many others. Glad to see NARS do a Hardy collection justice!

t_zwiggy Avatar

After comparing this to Exhibit A I know I need it! So bright and gorgeous! I usually have trouble with the most pigmented NARS blushes being hard to blend, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with this one.

Az sunshine Avatar

I love the color. I just,wish they had stuck to the normal blush amount and a normal price tag. I’d never finish a regular sized blush in the first place.

blueraccoon Avatar

I really like this but I’m not sure I’d ever wear it. I prefer subtle blush and I’m worried I wouldn’t be able to do this lightly enough.

Michelle Z Avatar

Gorgeous color and wonderful pigmentation! I don’t think I could pull this off, but I’m glad to see the quality of their products isn’t diminishing. (On a side note, I hate the name. Reinforcing gender stereotypes is not cool, NARS. Especially from such a big company.)

Rae // theNotice Avatar

Oh my god; what a gorgeous, gorgeous blush. It’s great to see such a high-quality product come out of a LE NARS release — I feel like it’s been a while since they’ve released anything this pigmented! 😀

Erica Avatar

I don’t care how pigmented it is, I’m not giving NARS $41.00 for one single blush. I’ll wear my other coral blushes that are as equally pigmented (including other NARS blushes)and keep it moving…

Selena Avatar

When I saw the photos in this post I was so in love. I wish the gold weren’t just an over-spray! Although it still is a beautiful color.

N8iveBeauT Avatar

ooooooh, that’s pretty…… This is perfect for me because I love having a whoa-blush! face. My skin tone is light/medium with yellow undertones (MAC NC25), I know…. I know, but I love a bold cheek and I can pull it off.

Sarah Avatar

Woah, talk about value for money! Not much more per ounce than some nice drugstore blushes here in Canada. It looks similar to how Benetint appears on my skintone, just more vibrant.

Lisa J Avatar

This is GORGEOUS! It looks great on you Christine! Unfortunately, I think I’ll have to pass. It looks like a color that would emphasize my rosacea and I work too hard to neutralize it with makeup!

Rose Avatar

Wow this looks incredible! But it looks like something in between NARS Gilda and Tarte’s Tipsy, so I may have to give this a miss! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews Christine!

VickyM Avatar

Wow I love the design of this but it is to pigmented for me, I only like soft blush and this would look like to much on me. It is very pretty though.

Nicole Avatar

I just pulled the trigger on this blush. Free shipping off their website too. I’ve been loving the pink/red corals for spring. Cannot wait! This looks beautiful on you, Christine.

Polly Avatar

It’s stunning ! Reminds me of its subtler and more mute version, MAC Bite of an Apple from VV collection.

I’m not keen on bold and bright blush so it’s a skip for me, but thank you for a beautiful swatch <3

Mimi Avatar

For those of you who love the color but are afraid you would apply it too strongly, you MUST get what’s known as a skunk brush or stipling brush. It is a flat topped brush that has black hairs starting at the ferrule and ending in white hairs. MAC makes really nice ones. I would suggest the smaller, thinner one for blush. If you dip it in your face powder, the just touch it to the brightest blush, it applies softly and carefully and you can blend and build the color to your liking. It really works. I love bright blush but who wants to look like a clown. On top of that, I have rosacea so I really need to be careful but I love bright colored blushes as they give such life and lift to our faces. This kind of brush has been my salvation, works every time and I can even wear Tom Ford’s Narcissist, believe it or not!

David Nuggets Avatar

“I couldnt resist him, his eyes were like yours…”

I was done in as soon as I saw the name of this shade. Boys Dont Cry? *swoons*

Honestly im not sure if i could even ruin the beautiful design on the top with a brush. I got my first Nars blush awhile ago and I still havent touched it because i would rather gawk at how perfect and pretty it is.

I normally don’t use blushes but Nars has me HOOKED on buying them! Just snagged Boys Dont Cry and intend on using it as a very light faux sunburn contour. (If i ever get around to destroying that amazing airbrush design ;p )

This is probably the most money Ive spent on any one single beauty product but I intend on making this last for the next decade. Lol

Ashley Avatar

So beautiful! Do you think this could be considered a (brighter) dupe for MAC Bite of An Apple? I’m desperately looking for something comparable and this looks like it *might* come close.

Blabla de shoppeuses Avatar

Hi Christine this blush is absolutely gorgeous i’m looking for this summer that kind of color:)
Do you think that blush looks like the blush/bronzer “coral glow” from DIOR?
The DIOR is too expensive for me unfortunately:(
Thanks love from France <3

celine

Emi at Project Swatch Avatar

This blush is gorgeous, but I don’t understand the choice of name – it seems so incredibly inappropriate to me to name it after the movie (which was named after the song) Boys Don’t Cry. Do you know if I’m missing something and it’s named after something else?

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!