NARS Laguna and Fort de France Little Fetishes Set Review & Swatches
Laguna and Fort de France
NARS Laguna and Fort de France Little Fetishes ($24.00 for 0.21 oz.) contains the brand’s iconic Laguna bronzer along with more recently-released Fort de France highlighter. The bronzer performed poorly for me–very stiff and dry in the pan, which yielded product in clumps and was difficult to apply and build up. The highlighter performed well, but the bronzer was so disappointing that I’d give this set a miss myself.
A full-sized Bonzing Powder retails for $40.00 and contains 0.28 oz. or costs $142.86/oz. A full-sized Highlighting Powder retails for $38.00 and contains 0.49 oz. or costs $77.55/oz. This set contains $11.43 worth of bronzer and $10.08 worth of highlighter for a total value of $21.51.
This set is exclusive to NARS and Sephora.
Laguna and Fort de France
LELimited Edition. $24.00.
Laguna
Laguna is a light-medium, golden brown with a subtle, golden sheen. The consistency was incredibly stiff that I had to physically scrape off layers of the powder in order to get enough to loosen to swatch at all (notated under the swatch, too). While I wouldn’t consider Laguna to always be the most pigmented bronzer on the market, it’s not usually quite this terrible. That stiffness translated into an uneven, patchy application that I could not fully buff out. It just barely showed on my skin despite trying to build up and layer it to show up in photos. What little I could get onto my skin stayed on for seven and a half hours on me…but I’ll admit, it was hard to tell if it turned patchy since it was so uneven to begin with.
Top Dupes
- NARS Laguna (P, $38.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- KVD Beauty Shadowplay (PiP, ) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Laura Mercier A La Mode (LE, ) is brighter (90% similar).
- Tower 28 Gold Coast (P, $20.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Guerlain Ultra Shine (LE, $61.00) is darker, brighter (90% similar).
- MAC Nude on Board (LE, $30.00) is more muted (90% similar).
- MAC Aphrodite's Shell (LE, $34.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC Sun Dipped (LE, $30.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Too Faced Jolie (LE, ) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- MAC Matte Bronze (LE, $70.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
Ingredients
TALC · DIMETHICONE · OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE · ISOSTEARYL NEOPENTANOATE · POLYBUTENE · ZINC STEARATE · ISOPROPYL ISOSTEARATE · CAPRYLYL GLYCOL · SILICA · HEXYLENE GLYCOL · TIN OXIDE · TOCOPHEROL · LECITHIN · GLYCERYL STEARATE · ASCORBYL PALMITATE · GLYCERYL OLEATE · CITRIC ACID · FRAGRANCE (PARFUM) · HEXYL CINNAMAL · LINALOOL · BENZYL SALICYLATE · PHENOXYETHANOL · [+/-(MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR): IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499) · MICA · TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891)] ·
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Laguna
PPermanent. $38.00.
Fort de France
Fort de France is a light-medium gold with warm, yellow undertones and a luminous sheen. It had semi-opaque, buildable pigmentation with a smooth, almost cream-like texture that was firmer in the pan but applied beautifully with a brush to cheeks and the high points of the face. (The initial firmness of the texture worried me by touch alone!) This shade stayed on well for eight and a half hours on me.
P.S. — My press sample arrived broken in pieces, but the texture was mostly intact in the larger pieces and still felt consistent with the full-sized version I have.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- rms beauty Grande Dame (P, $38.00) is less shimmery, lighter (95% similar).
- Tarte Daylight (LE, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Anastasia Moonstone (LE, ) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- ColourPop A Smile and a Song (LE, $10.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Original (P, $38.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Incandescent (Top) (PiP, $75.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- NARS Rêve Salé I (LE, ) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Benefit Cookie (P, $30.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Smashbox Glow (LE, ) is more shimmery, lighter, brighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Champagne Bubbles (P, $12.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$38.00/0.49 oz. - $77.55 Per Ounce
The new powder highlighter formula is supposed to "melt seamlessly into skin to enhance your natural glow" with "buildable radiance." The texture had a smooth feel that was finely-milled but firmer, almost stiff in a way, in the pan (not in a bad way), and it was not at all powdery. There was a dryness and thinness present in the texture that made it less like traditional powder highlighter formulas (including the brand's original range of highlighting powders), and none of that translated into poor performance.
That being said, all of the shades applied better on the cheeks than the they did applied to my arm. I also noticed that finish became more and more luminous--almost blindingly at times!--as the powder was buffed and blended on my cheeks. They were very reflective and shiny on my cheek bones with semi-opaque, buildable pigmentation. I had no trouble blending and diffusing any of the shades on my skin, and despite having a firmer feel in the pan, I could use fan brushes and other feathery brushes to pickup product. The powders lasted between eight and nine hours on me.
Browse all of our NARS Highlighting Powder (2018) swatches.
And there you have it. What a shame.
Fort de France looks very dreamy, perfect without glowing all over, so I may try it as a very subtil, pro looking highlighter, thanks!
A surprising miss considering that the normal Laguna bronzer is usually pretty functional. I wonder why the quality dropped so low for an LE product.
Thanks for your review Christine! I was considering purchasing this set to try out Laguna but given your review I will not. How does it compare to the full-size version of Laguna? I see it recommended a lot for people with warm, yellow undertones. I’m personally between nc20 and bc 25.
Honestly, I’m not sure, because almost every Laguna I have is a little different. It’s one of the least consistent shades by NARS!
Sooo…not only is this yet one more pan of Laguna being shoved our way, but this one is utter rubbish on top of that. Easy pleasey PASS.
Womp… I can get good bronzers from multiple drugstore brands, no excuse for this from NARS!
Whoa! Laguna! What happened there, NARS? ? They certainly should not lack practice manufacturing this product and shade!
Fort De France is beautiful, but Laguna is a major disappointment.
Oh yes just what I needed for my collection, another Laguna! And an underperforming one at that! C’mon NARS. So many people in the world, so many different complexions… I’m sure we could use more bronzer shades from you.