NARS Beverly Hills & Cadaqués Multiple Tints = Pure Genius

May 23, 2010

The new limited edition Multiple Tints from NARS finally arrived at my local Nordstrom and much like Amy from Café Makeup and Karla from Karlasugar – I too fell in love, but with all three!

My Nordstrom is having their Trend Show in a couple weeks with an amazing GWP (will post details on this next month) – but I had the need-to-have-this-now itch, so I brought home two of the colors on Friday, Beverly Hills and Cadaqués, and left Turks & Caicos for my pre-sale among other things for the GWP, so I will review that color later in June. Also new from NARS were 2 primers for the face and eyes, but I decided to wait until the June to test those products out.

Everything about these is incredible from the colored lettering on the package and the multiple tube to the finish, texture, and color of the actual product. It’s PURE LOVE. I used Cadaqués for my commencement ceremony this morning on the cheeks and it blended out like a dream and gave my cheeks a nice cool pinkish tint. Here are my thoughts below . . .

Colors: Beverly Hills is a coral reddish color on me. Cadaqués is a lovely cool pink. Turks & Caicos (which I will review in the next couple weeks) is a lovely sheer orange. All look frightening in the tube but go on natural enough and are extremely flattering on the skin. Those who love color will love these. Those who are a bit wary of color on the cheeks will still like these because you can blend them out to give a nice healthy tint.

A few close ups . . .

Texture & Finish: These are an almost gel-like cream blush stick that has the perfect texture. Not too sticky or tacky (so it doesn’t pull the skin) but not too creamy (so it doesn’t feel greasy or oily). Super easy to blend. I did 2 swipes on each side of my face and blended out with my finger. I love how they blend out smoothly and flawlessly. The finish on the skin is natural and glowy. They truly are goof-proof.

Pigment: These Multiple Tints are truely incredible in that you can control the color by how much you layer. As much as I love the regular Multiples, sometimes I find they color disappears after blending. Not so with these new Tints. My SA who has the most gorgeous tanned complexion (about NC40-45ish) showed me these swatched on her hand and I could definitely see the color show up. She had one on her cheeks (can’t remember which one), but it gave her a natural glow with a pop of color ala Eva Mendes. Karlasugar’s review does an excellent job at showing how you can control the pigment.

Lasting Power: It lasted all day from 6:30 am past 5:00 pm (although I did layer a bit of Edward Bess Soft Orchid Blush on top, so I’m not sure how much the powder + cream combo contributed to the lasting power). Still, given my experience in layering powder blushes over regular NARS Multiples, the Multiple Tints + Powder Blush lasted a quite a bit longer.

Miscellaneous Thoughts: I didn’t notice any scent. There was no clogging or streaking or uneveness. Finish is not sticky at all and you can barely feel anything on the skin after you blend it which is a plus for a cream product. No irritation after the entire day (I usually react immediately to anything I am allergic to). I haven’t tried these on my lips yet. Are these worth the $38 price tag? In my opinion, definitely yes.

Here are some swatches compared to a few other cream products from Armani, MAC, Becca and Stila (swatched on a bare arm).

If you’ve bought these, I’d love to hear how you’re using these and what lips/eyes you are pairing with the colors you picked out.

For commencement, I used Cadaques with Soft Orchid Blush, Chanel Island + Le Bronze Eyeshadows, Trish McEvoy Baby Pink Chubby Stick + Pretty Pink Lipgloss (will review soon).