by Penny Parker

Created on: August 21, 2009   Last Updated: August 22, 2009

As an avid reader of fashion magazines since my teens, I have known about Nars Orgasm blush for many years. Orgasm was and still is a fashion magazine staple, getting mentioned regularly and winning "Best Blush" each and every time a magazine or blog decides to hold beauty awards. As a girl on a drugstore budget, I always assumed that the raves were all hype, and refused to pay more than the $4 I was shelling out for my Cover Girl Cheekers, until I decided to take a job at beauty-megastore, Sephora.

One of the very first products I tried when I started working for Sephora was Orgasm blush. It was a product I felt that I knew a lot about since I had been reading about it for years. A swipe on each cheek and I was officially hooked.

Let me start with the packaging. The case it comes in is a very slim, soft plastic black case with the Nars logo on top. When you open the case, the mirror is surprisingly large, taking up the entire inside of the top lid. The product itself is in the bottom of the case and is generously sized, filling almost the entire bottom of the case. Although this blush is more expensive than drugstore brands at $25, I have had mine for a year and use it almost every day. I still can not see the bottom of the case, so this blush gives you a lot for your money. The only downside to the packaging is that it does not come with a brush. Personally, I like to use a professional blush brush anyway, so I generally toss the tiny brushes that come with makeup. To be perfectly honest, I would not buy the Nars blush brush, because it costs $46. Sephora makes a nearly identical one that costs $24 and will last you forever, as long as you take care of it.

The blush itself is phenomenal. The color is the perfect blend of peach and pink, so no matter what your skin tone, it will look ultra flattering. It is the same color that you would naturally flush if you were blushing or just got in from a run. It contains a small amount of golden shimmer, and before you get scared away by this, let me just say that there is a big difference between shimmer and glitter. Shimmer is very subtle, not sparkly and is flattering on the young and old alike. It helps light to bounce off the cheeks, giving the illusion of sculpted cheekbones.

The powder itself is very rich, soft and pigmented. You do not need to layer this blush, because one swipe deposits just the right amount of color on your cheek to give you a healthy looking daytime flush. If you want to layer more for an evening look, this powder is light and airy and layers beautifully.

During the three years I worked at Sephora, I recommended this blush to everyone I consulted and never met a person (or a skin tone) that it did not look flattering on. Many customers told me that they would never use another blush for the rest of their lives. While I do think that some upscale makeup is overrated, Nars Orgasm blush is one item that I would feel comfortable splurging on because of it's quality and bang for the buck.

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