NARS has four new blushes with the Final Cut collection ($29 each, exclusive to Nordstrom). I purchased mine sight unseen online as soon as the colors were released thanks to sneak peeks on Specktra.net and The Make-up Blogette I could make my purchasing decisions without having to test at the counter.
The four shades are new colors – all fresh and light shades perfect for spring. I was worried these might be too light for my skin, but they offer a lovely sheer wash of color without being too pale.
- Sex Fantasy is a pale pink that makes the skin glow a lovely light pink. It works alone over powder and foundation although if you have dry skin you may need a cream base to help pick up the color more. (I find MAC Well Dressed and Edward Bess Filled With Desire similar.)
- New Attitude is a pure fresh pink. This one almost melts into my skin. It is very sheer on my olive skin giving a very slight hint of pink with one swipe. If I apply too much color it darkens on my skin, but one to two swipes gives a beautiful wash of pink. (For me MAC Pink Swoon has an almost identical effect on my olive skin.)
- Love is my favorite. It’s a lovely neutral rose-pink that applies like a peachy color on me. I like it because it doesn’t turn brown like some neutrals can. For some reason with my olive skin some peachy-brown-pink colors darken and end up looking muddy once warmed on the skin. This one doesn’t turn at all.
- Final Cut is a darker peach. It has more brownish tones compared to Gina or Gilda (both of which are brighter and slightly more vibrant). This one looks very pretty but is similar enough to other matte peaches from NARS and MAC that you can pass if you have a lot of peachy colors.
Here are the colors swatched with a heavy hand, you can see that even with layering the color still looks fresh and bright:
I don’t have face swatches of these but others have lovely photos of the colors on the cheeks. You may want to check out Buy Now, Blog Later, Café Makeup, Temptalia and Beautezine to name a few. I’m in love with these blushes. It’s nice to see NARS release some lighter colors for the cheeks (although I’m all about dramatic colors for cheeks, a soft swipe of a bright color can make the skin glow). I think all four shades are really lovely but my top two picks would be New Attitude and Love.