NARS Madly Blush Review, Photos, Swatches
NARS Madly Blush
Are You Mad for Madly?
NARS Madly Blush ($28.00 for 0.16 oz.) is described as a “warm soft-focus seashell pink.” It’s a medium brown with a hint of orange and peach gold shimmer that translates as mostly a sheen when applied. I didn’t really detect pink in it–perhaps if you have pink undertones, it may be more noticeable. MAC Peachtwist is less brown, redder. MAC Soft Sand is a bit browner. Illamasqua Writhe is browner and has a stronger sheen.
It has a silky, finely-milled texture that’s not too stiff or too soft, so it’s not powdery or difficult to get color onto the brush and then onto the skin. The color is buildable to true-to-pan color should you desire such payoff. It adds a soft warm glow to cheeks on my skin tone when applied moderately. If used more heavily, it will start to give my complexion a bronzed look. This does have very warm undertones, so cooler skin tones might find it’s too orange for their liking. The shimmer yields a lovely sheen that doesn’t emphasize pores or imperfections of the skin’s natural texture. When I trialed this, it lasted for eight hours and had some noticeable fading along the edges but didn’t separate.
Madly
PPermanent. $30.00.
See more photos and swatches!
NARS Madly Blush
NARS Madly Blush
NARS Madly Blush
NARS Madly Blush
NARS Madly Blush
NARS Madly Blush
NARS Madly Blush
Looks natural and beautiful on you!
Oh my gosh! I’m not a blush person because my cheeks are already so red, but this is gorgeous! I might have to splurge on this one 🙂
This blush was in my haul for the week and I am not surprised at the positive review. It’s a really pretty neutral without looking like bronzer cheeks which is a pet peeve of mine on earthier blushes. On my lighter neutral skin, it doesn’t read quite as orangey.
Thanks! I think you may be similar in tone to me, although a couple of shades deeper (and I have *no* yellow tones), but if this works for you, it should work for me as well. I, too, try to stay away from the earthier tones, although I like the subtlety of them, and I try to find those with a hint of pink, or I end up looking like a street urchin, LOL. Anyway, you’ve pushed me to definitely swatch this one as soon as I’m at a counter.
Excellent! I think it may work for you as well Amy! It reads more pink on me than on Christine. I’m not a fan of ‘orangey’ blush. It simply isn’t flattering on me unless it has a hit of red to take it to more coral. I would definitely give this one a try as I think it is a really good neutral without too much ‘warm’ tone 🙂
Amy, I just thought of another blush I have which is really gorgeous on as well. It is also a neutral, but it has some shimmer. It’s soooo pretty on and it shows on me as a pink brown although it looks ‘warmer, amber’ in the pan:
Chanel Blush Duo Tweed Effect in #50 Tweed Sienna
It’s a stunner too if you like some shimmer!
Your skin is adorable! =)
gorgeous blush!!
How does it compare to Blushbaby? 🙂
Blushbaby is lighter 🙂
It looks gorgeous on you! 🙂
In pan, it reminds me of MAC’s Warm Soul. If you have that one, can you tell me how close they are? If they look almost the same I would pass on this one.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to you getting to Nico.
Christine, this is such an endlessly flattering colour on you! Based upon NARS’ description I was hoping for something slightly more nuanced, but it is still a nice piece.
It looks phenomenal on you! I think it would look muddy on me 😛
Madly is a great blush! Unfortunately it turned a little muddy on my warm olive skintone, so I ended up preferring Luster for a more neutral blush. But the pigmentation, staying power, and nice texture for Madly are all there 🙂 love that you’re reviewing all of NARS’ blushes!
It looks great on you. It’s probably too light for me.
Hi Christine!
Thanks for featuring NARS blushes! Which do you prefer though- NARS MADLY or LISTER?
Luster on my skin tone…
It looks so pretty on you but I think because I’m so pale it wouldn’t really work on me
This is perfect for pale skin if you look good in warm colors. I always thought I had the palest skin in my family until I took my twelve year old daughter to the BB counter to get her a powder and blush to wear on special occasions. I was shocked that she was alabaster and I was warm ivory. It is because she has pale olive skin and I have pale procelain skin. The sallowness in olive skin needs cooler colors, while the pink in porcelain skins needs warmer colors. So if your pale is not olivey, this might look great on you!! You know whether you look good in pinks or peaches!
I really don’t *need* this, but I think I should (at some point) pick this one up. I love a nice, subtle blush.
On my NW20 skin, this does show up a bit more pink. I have always thought of it as a more neutral shade, definitely not so warm as it looks on your skin, Christine. I wear it as an easy, everyday shade and it does give a nice glow.
I completely agree with you! I am NW20 too and this comes off more pink on me as well. This is one of my fave blushes because it goes with pretty much everything and anything. It is very natural looking, but definitely adds polish and “finish” to a look.
I think this looks fantastic on you. I see the pink in it more than the orange, in the pan at least, but I also see muddiness. On your skin though, I do see a faint peach gold whisper which is lovely.
When I was looking at the Kevyn Aucoin Pure Glow blush in Natura, some big makeup artist guy on YouTube compared it to the NARS Madly which he said was a dupe (and which he preferred). But now that I have it, I disagree, and I think the Natura is much better. It’s slightly paler, slightly more beige and *much* less muddy in the pan. No orange or gold peach at all in it. And though it looks like it has faint silvery shimmer in the pan, the blush is *so* finely milled, soft and silky, it completely melts into the skin. The result is almost a matte look, but not quite. On the skin, it looks like a slightly paler, less gold version of what you have on here which, for me, is exactly what I wanted. Given that I’m much more olive and yellow than you, I don’t think Madly would work for me quite as well. If any other fellow Olives are concerned about Madly being muddy on them, look into the Kevyn Aucoin in Natura. It’s simply stunning!
Fab comment, darling! I’ll have to try Natura! Madly is alright on me. It’s a golden tan with the faintest bit of pink on my skin. It’s a very nude, bronzer-blush hybrid, but unfortunately this one does get a little muddy when I wear it. It doesn’t look bad, but it’s not as flattering as it could be. Here’s to hoping Natura works better! Hope you and The Hairy German are well!
Hi! How would you compare it to douceur?
Much darker! Warmer.
Besides the shimmer/matte difference, how does this compare to Tarte’s Exposed? This look absolutely stunning on you! And I love your eye look in this!
Warmer, darker!
I am a big fan of Temptalia, so I’ve seen a fair amount of your looks, and I actually think this is the prettiest blush on you that I’ve ever seen you wear!
Thanks, Xan!
Christine, how do you smudge and blend blush on top of liquid foundation? I have a major problem with that 🙁 You look gorgeous
If you’re having trouble, make sure you’ve waited for it to set/dry – or you can apply setting powder on top and the your blush 🙂
How does this compare to Burberry tangerine or Burberry earthy? I need a dupe for earthy! Love ya Christine 🙂
Earthly is lighter, more matte.
Christine, how would you say this compares with Benefit’s Hula Bronzer?
Hoola is warmer!
Would this look natural on NC20? The only other natural blush I own is NARS’ orgasm.
Yes, I think so!
Wow, I didn’t expect it to wear so naturally on your skin. Such a flattering shade on you. 🙂
I’m kind of curious now – Luster seemed warmer to my eye, but you’re comments suggest this has a stronger orange coloring. Would you suggest either of them for somebody with cool undertones?
Luster is definitely warmer, or at least, more obviously so. This seems to look a bit pinker on those with cool/pink undertones, so I think both could work.
That’s good to know. I’ll have to check it out and see how to swatches against my skin next time I hit Sephora. Thank you for your quick reply! 🙂
A long time ago, when the first MAC free standing store came to a mall in my neighborhood, I asked the MA at the counter what blush would look good on me (I was buying the very hyped, and now very different Spice pencil at the time). He handed me a medium size container (smaller than the blushes, larger than the eyeshadows). It was an eyeshadow named Spice, and he said they made some in that container so that they could be used as both. It was PERFECT on my porcelain, red headed complexion. When I brought it in to buy it again, the SA said she didn’t even recognize the container! I do think the pro longwear products are in this sized container now. We couldn’t find a blush or an eyeshadow that came close. Then I met Nars blushes. Zen is a perfect beige base for me, but imagine my surprise when Madly was an almost match to my beloved Spice! Madly is a little diffferent, although I cannot pinpoint why. They describe it as a seashell pink, what ever that means. I have since used MAC soft brown as a blush and it is a drop darker that the old Spice, but also close. Madly has a little shimmer. A little dull in the summer, but my perfect winter color!
Oh.My.GOD, I have MAC’s “Spice” and it’s one of my favorite pieces of makeup! Yes, it was supposedly an eyeshadow *and* a blush at the same time, and was in the large eyeshadow pot (with the wonkly clear plastic part always coming apart) and it’s just a bit smaller than the size of some of their blushes. I still use it frequently (it’s so big, it’s essentially untouched) and I think it’s perfect for contouring or for a really natural look. I almost mentioned it the other day but I was convinced no-one would know what I was talking about.
To me, it looks lighter than the way Madly is showing up on my monitor (probably a computer thing). Spice is matte, less muddy, and slightly less brown than Madly. Wow, I can’t believe someone else knows and loves Spice. It’s such a shame they no longer makeup. It is one of the things that made me love MAC so much. Ellen, if you’re looking for something close *in effect* and on the cheek, you should look at the Kevyn Aucoin Pure Glow blush in Natura. 🙂
Thanks so much for not makeing me feel so old! The SA at the MAC store in Roosevelt Field in Long Island said she’d never seen packaging like that (she was about 19 and couldn’t have worked for MAC that long, but make me feel about 80!!!) How did you keep yours so long? I just have powder in the bottom of the container that I keep to try to match to similar colors. As I said “Madly” was the closest I’d come until I tried MAC’s soft brown eyeshadow. I figured if they used it as an eyeshadow and blush, then looking at the eyeshadows would give me a bigger selection. Soft Brown is a little darker, but has the same tones. I might try a lighter eyeshadow. I’ll definitely try to find the Kevin Aucoin one if there is somewhere in my neighborhood that sells the line. I’ve been experimenting with bronzers and MAC’s sculpting powders to try to find a similar color, not much success there, but a lot of money wasted! Thanks for the suggestions, I guess this is the benefit of beauty blogging!
I like it, very subtle but it makes a world of difference!
How do this look compared with Burberry Earthy blush?
This is a lot darker!
Your question about which makeup makes you look prettiest? Well, Christine, I think this is it for you. I like this look on you majorly!
How would you compare this blush with Tarte’s Exposed? ;D Love your blog btw! <3
Exposed is a lot less warm-toned and is also lighter!
Holy crap on a stick, this is gorgeous! Looks amazing on you, too.
This nude make-up is GORGEOUS! WOW! Everything matches and you look super polished.
Hello, do you think this might look similar to Korres Natural? I’m NC25-Nc30 and I’m looking for a natural blush for everday, just a hint of color to add to my cheeks,but they no longer sell Natural on the Korres site. I’m not to sure if Madly will be a bit to orange?
I’d say Natural is darker, browner!
Hello! Do this blush compares to lancome miel glace?
Hm, I don’t think I have that one!
I am half Asian with a fair complexion with yellow undertones (I wear Tarte in fair, and usually wear other foundations in either the lightest or the second lightest). I use foundation to cover redness, but want a pop of color as well. I have only tried a blush once and it was far too bright a pink. I like more everyday looks rather than anything too bold.
Would this color work for someone with yellow/warm fair tones like mine, or should I go for something a bit more pink? I’m afraid of going TOO pink for fear of bringing my redness back! But there are no local stores nearby to match any NARS blushes to my skin. 🙁
Any help would be SOOO appreciated. Thanks and have a great one!
I think you’d like it – what about Tarte Exposed?
Oh, that looks like just what I’m looking for! I’ll give it a try when I head into Ulta next time. Thanks so much!
I think I’m loving this blush!
Hi, let me just say I love how you review products, very informative. So I was wondering if you could help me out, I want to buy a blush from nars and I’m torn between nars madly and nars amour because they each have something good about them but if you get to choose only one blush between them, what would it be? I’m hoping you can help me decide.
Madly is a good choice!
How does this compare to luster on? I am an nc20 shade.
Luster is more orange!