Hi beautifuls! I always considered contouring / shading to be advanced makeup skills that only pro-makeup artists can handle, but for the past year or so, this concept has boomed so much that any new makeup junkie like me can learn the tricks of making my face look slimmer without exercising *hooray!*
Today I’ll be reviewing the NARS Contour Blush in #5180 that I bought in Japan, and also doing a comparison with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in #Medium Dark (gosh what a long product name).
Brand: NARS
Product: Contour Blush
Shade: 5180 Olympia (ivory/rose)
Price: US$42 or 4200yen
Type: Blush / Contouring
Origin: Made in USA
Website: NARS official website
THE PACKAGING
Classic black NARS packaging with velvet-matte finish very nice to the touch.
Love the NARS font – so classy. Decent size mirror. Larger area for contour shade (rose) and lesser for the highlight shade (ivory).
THE PRODUCT
From NARS:
A LUST FOR BLUSH
A duo of contouring blush shades to create natural-looking dimension for the face with a lightweight luminous finish. A deeper shade enhances definition while a lighter shade illuminates the high points of the face.
Closer look at the powders. They are TOTALLY MATTE. No shimmers at all, so double thumbs up for me!
There are 3 shades from NARS for this product and this is the lightest and probably the only usable one for fair or Asian skin tone (I am NC/NW20). The other 2 shades are much darker suited for darker skin tones.
Also love the fact it has both highlight and contour shade in one compact! Good for travel. Just gotta remember to pack a contouring brush along~
Now onto comparing with MAC!
Regarding MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural:
A luxurious domed face powder with minerals, slowly baked to provide a dimensional yet natural-matte finish. Provides perfect light coverage. Use to set and fix foundation or as a touch-up throughout the day. New mirrored compact.
I was introduced to this by a MAC salesgirl when I told her I am looking for a contouring product. This powder has a thousand shades and she picked #Medium Dark for me. It is really a natural light powder that can be a foundation, setting powder, etc and I never would have thot it could be used for shading. Thanks to the helpful MAC salesgirl!
THE SHADE AND TEXTURE
The contour shades are quite different. NARS has more of pink/red hues while MAC definitely lends more to a brown/beige shade.
The contour shade in NARS is called Rose and I feel it is very apt. A rosy pinkish shade that can be a blush on its own.
Swatches! Reconfirming the rosy hues of NARS and brown hues of MAC.
On texture, NARS feels really smooth and silky while MAC powders are really fine though not as silky to the touch.
Both are MATTE. No shimmer.
Just nose shading only. It’s amazing how a small dab of powder makes your nose look taller/sharper.
Nose shading comparison only. Can you see the shade difference? Sorry it’s really subtle.
I think you can pick the colour that best matches your eyebrow colour or overall makeup look.
Now onto cheek shading! I’m still super amateur in this so pardon the skills please!
No other blush product applied~
NARS definitely create a more rosy pink look while MAC is slightly darker. Both offer great contouring and definition!
I think you don’t need another different blush product for NARS whereas for MAC, perhaps a pastel lighter colored blush might be good to brighten the face. NARS also has the white highlight shade so it’s really convenient.
MY VERDICT of NARS
Pros
- Super silky and smooth texture
- Easy to blend, hard to get unnatural blotches
- Fully MATTE
- Contains both highlight and contour shade in 1 compact
- Sleek flat portable packaging with mirror (but no brush)
Cons
- Packaging can get dirty easily with foundation stains from fingers on the matte surface
- Need to buy good contouring brush (no brush included)
- Rosy shade may not suit all skin tones (but it suits mine well!)
- On the expensive side?
Overall
It took me awhile to open this NARS product as I was using the MAC whenever I wanna do shading if at all. Still learning the technique. But I think the rosy hue of NARS probably suit me better than MAC, especially for natural neutral makeup daily. I also love that it has a matte white highlight shade! Don’t really like shimmers on face as I could end up looking like a shimmer ball.
MAC probably suits a darker makeup look better but I’m definitely happy I have both! Can pick and choose to suit whatever look I have on the day 🙂
Btw for the brush, I use MAC angled contouring brush #168 or Hakuhodo angled highlight brush #B512 / #G512. Both work greattttt ~
beautychoccafe 