NARS Motu Tane Face Palette Review & Swatches
Motu Tane
NARS Motu Tane Face Palette ($42.00 for 0.33 oz.) includes a highlighter, blush, and bronzer. The highlighter and blush are both new shades, and they performed well, while the bronzer is Laguna, and that did not perform well (which is, sadly, consistent with my experience of the shade when included in palettes over the years). It’s bad enough that it makes the rest of the palette hard to justify, unfortunately.
Ingredients
Motu Tane
LELimited Edition. $42.00.
Makatea
Makatea is a bright pop of light gold with strong, warm undertones and a sparkling, metallic finish. It’s an intense highlighter, so if metallic shimmer and some sparkles better be things you look for in your highlighters! The texture was soft, smooth, and lightly creamy with good coverage that was easily built up to full coverage with less than half of a layer. It applied evenly and blended out without difficulty, and it didn’t emphasize my skin’s natural texture. It stayed on nicely for eight hours on me before fading slightly.
Top Dupes
- Coloured Raine Damage Control (Highlighter) (LE, ) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- Tarte Authentic (LE, $28.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Natasha Denona Medium-Nude (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Iconic London Coral Glow (Right) (PiP, ) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- NARS Gold Leash (LE, $30.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- ColourPop Double Down (LE, $10.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Makeup by Mario Golden (P, $28.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Tarte Tarte-LIT (P, $30.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- ColourPop Strobe Globe (P, $7.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Becca Champagne Pop (P, $38.00) is darker (90% similar).
Makatea
LELimited Edition. $30.00.
Manava
Manava is a medium pink with moderate, warm undertones and fine, gold pearl. It had opaque color payoff that applied evenly to bare skin and blended out with ease. The texture was soft, thin, and a little dusty, but it wasn’t troublesome to apply–some of NARS’ blushes can run a bit too thin that they get difficult to blend out over bare skin but that wasn’t the case here. It had more of a satin-matte finish once blended out, and in a way, that made it more versatile as a little tap of the highlighter in the palette added plenty o’ shine without layering too heavily on top (and creating texture). This shade wore well for seven and a half hours on me before I noticed any fading.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Charlotte Tilbury Love Glow (P, $40.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC Wall of Desire (LE, $24.00) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Anastasia Kash (PiP, ) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Iconic London Rose Glow (Left) (PiP, ) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- NARS Make Believe (LE, $30.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Pretty (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- Dior Rose Baiser (361) (P, $48.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Frantic Pink (P, $60.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Kevyn Aucoin Rose Cliff #2 (PiP, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- LORAC Wavelength (LE, ) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$30.00/0.16 oz. - $187.50 Per Ounce
From NARS’ website, their blush formula is described as “beautifully pigmented” and “soft [and] blendable.” NARS' blushes, since they've been released in such a massive range of shades over the years, can vary from shade to shade to some degree. Most shades are pigmented with firmer, slightly stiffer consistencies that can also run on the thinner side, which allows greater control when picking up product but some of the more matte shades could be a bit more blendable or easier to work with.
Some of the more newly-released shades have softer, more yielding textures that are a bit creamier and are easier to blend out, though most of NARS' blushes are fairly blendable. The wear typically ranges from eight to nine hours with a few shades falling above or below this range.
Browse all of our NARS Powder Blush swatches.
Manava
LELimited Edition. $30.00.
Laguna
Laguna is a soft, light golden brown with warm, yellow undertones and a fine, golden pearl throughout. The consistency was firmer and thinner with an almost chalky quality to it–dry but powdery. I find that most iterations of Laguna in palettes are subpar, and this was no exception. It took more jabbing and swirling to get an even amount of product onto my brush (just to get more medium coverage), and it took extra effort to blend and diffuse it on my skin. Once on, it lasted well for seven hours on me before fading noticeably.
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.
Such a shame about the bronzer. I was so hopeful that this would be a new addition to my small collection. The highlighter and blush are so beautiful!
This is really a shame that Laguna failed (again!), because the blush is quite lovely and the highlighter is absolutely KILLAWATT!
I do like the first two shades the best and thought the highlighter was simply beautiful. Whilst I wouldn’t use the bronzer, the reality is that Nars should have done a much better job on this one as many would use the shade.