NARS Gienah Contour Blush Review, Photos, Swatches
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush ($42.00 for 0.28 oz.) features a highlight and contour shade, and they’re supposed to add “natural-looking dimension for the face with a lightweight luminous finish.” This is the third and final option in the new Contour Blush range, and it’s the darkest of the three, and though any skin tone can wear it, this duo is one that will show up on medium-dark and darker complexions more so than the other two. On fairer skin tones, the highlight shade could be used as a contour or as a subtle bronzer. The finish is far closer to matte than luminous or satin for both shades, and depending on your skin tone and skin type, the more matte highlighter might not read very illuminating on the skin. The contrast on my skin tone did seem to give a slight illuminating effect without the shimmer or sheen, though. Both shades wore well for eight hours on my skin before beginning to fade.
The Highlight shade is a medium-dark, neutral-to-warm-toned brown with a mostly matte finish. The finish almost seemed satiny when built up, but it was still mostly matte. The texture was soft, blendable, and finely-milled. It seemed to take a layer or two before it was a softer powder, as the very top layer was a little drier than what was underneath. NARS Paloma Contour (P) is a smidgen lighter.Chanel Accent (84) (LE, $43.00) is rosier, more shimmery. Kevyn Aucoin Natura (P) is more shimmery, a touch lighter. NARS Madly (P, $29.00) is more shimmery, a little warmer. NARS Douceur (P, $29.00) is cooler-toned, lighter. MAC Harmony (P, $21.00) is a smidgen lighter, warmer. Burberry Earthy (P, $42.00) is a bit darker, more satiny. Bobbi Brown Bahama (LE, $38.00) is more shimmery, slightly rosy. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
The Contour shade is dark, warm-toned brown with a satin-matte finish. It had more buildable color coverage, and like the other shade, it seemed to get a little softer and more pigmented after I swirled my brush across the uppermost layer of the powder. It was blendable on the skin and sat well–didn’t look powdery at all. MAC Exotic Ember (LE, $25.00) is more shimmery. MAC Richly Honed (LE, $20.00) is a cream product, darker. See comparison swatches view dupes.
Gienah
PPermanent. $42.00.
Gienah Highlight
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Gienah Contour
PiPPermanent in Palette.
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
NARS Gienah Contour Blush
Hello,
I have been reviewing all 3 contour shades to see which one will work better for me and I still can’t figure it out! I am an NC 20/25, what would you prefer?
Thank you so much for your help and all these amazing reviews.
I prefer Paloma for NC25!
This looks so pretty! The highlight is meh but the contour looks like it may be deep enough for a nice subtle contour for me
I hope it can work for you, Fancie!
Which do you think is better for NC42 skin, this one or Paloma?? 🙂
I think Gienah is going to be better! Bonus – the highlight shade in Gienah is very similar to Paloma, so it’s kind of like getting both!
Thanks for your reply 🙂 I’m definitively gonna try Gienah when it comes to my country.
Thats really helpful Christine! I’m about NC40 so I think I should go for Gienah as well.
Thanks for the review. Looking forward to trying this.
My pleasure, Audrey!
Ooh, you look so finely sculpted in your pictures! 😀
This one’s definitely too deep for me, but I like the effect on you. Wish I could contour like that!
Aww! *blush* Thank you!
That’s my favorite shade of the three of them on you
Glad you liked it!
I love this one on you Christine!! 😀
Thanks, Shannon!
Ok, this absolutely incredible on you….wayyyyyy more natural than I thought it would. Paloma was good but this is better. Perfect bronzing-slash-contour.
Thanks a lot, Brian!
Looks nice on you, way too dark for me though 😉
It’s definitely one that I think is designed for darker complexions (and Olympia more for fairer ones)!
Oh, I like this one more. I guess I should wait to see them all! 😛
All three have been posted now! 😉
I didn’t think of using the highlight shade as a more subtle contour shade! Brilliant idea! Although now I can’t pass up this shade anymore due to the infamous Temptalia curse (where you end up wanting anything and everything). 😛
Haha! Yes, I think for “more bang for your buck,” Gienah is a double contour – subtle and darker if you have medium skin or darker. I don’t dig the “highlight” concept of these – too close to my skin tone, I guess!
The only bone I’d pick with using Gienah as a double contour is the fact that the lighter shade is much smaller than the darker one, while I personally would use the lighter shade a lot more.
True! I think you’d have to assess whether you’d NEVER use the darker shade, once in a blue moon, etc. If you would use the darker shade often enough, then Gienah is probably the better duo… if you would never use it, then you might as well go Paloma and have the larger contour pan and never use the highlighter!
I agree! If anything, the highlighter in Paloma would still be useful for browbone shade or something, and you don’t usually need much for that (certainly less than contouring.
I personally like my contour to be subtle, but I do sometimes use a darker shade on top for added depth, which is why Gienah makes little sense to be used as double-contour for me as far as product size goes. But if you’re someone with light to medium skin who likes dramatic contouring but like the option to go subtle every now and then, then Gienah would probably be the better option.
Christine, you are looking especially beautiful in these photos…you are absolutely glowing!
Aww, thank you Erica!
I know contour is not part of your daily grind (lol!) but You look amazing, Christine! Do you feel that the contour here is the closest to NARS’ Casino?
Thanks, Abigail! 🙂
Yes, I think this is the one probably closest to Casino!
I really like how it looks on you. It’s great probably when you have a tan!
Thank you!
I think I’ll stick with Zen or Ninotchka, but I still plan to play with these a bit in-store. I’m curious about how these will look if mixed together, and if I’ll have to buy 2 duos, LOL! I was hoping for a powder version of St. Bart’s Multiple, but…
You’ll have to let us know how mixing goes!