Hello everyone! Today’s review is of the new Blame it on NARS Cheek Palette (£45) which is a Selfridges exclusive in the UK. I don’t know how long it’ll be around, so I wanted to review it as soon as I had gathered my complete thoughts on it. It was quite an impulsive purchase I have to say, I was umming and ahhing about it, but in the end I was clearly sold!
had to take another photo to show you accurate colours of the blush pans!
The palette contains a Highlight shade - Satellite of love which is a permanent in their line, Casino Bronzer which is one of the main reasons why I picked this up, because more often than not they add laguna in their cheeks palettes and I already have a couple! The two blushes are Day dream a matte peachy shade and New Attitude a previously limited edition, blue-toned pink. I will run through more in-depth descriptions of each shade a little later, now on to the mini Ita brush. I’ve been looking everywhere for a post which compared the full sized Ita, which costs £43 (far more than I would EVER be willing to pay for a brush) and the mini Ita. The best comparison I’ve found is here from which, as you can see there is a slight difference in length, the full sized one is a teeny bit longer and also less thick. I don’t think these make a huge difference in the effect the brush has overall, so the mini Ita brush has satisfied my craving for owning the full sized one, without dropping a lot of cash on ONE brush! It’s shed around 2 hairs but aside from that I have had no issues with it.
The powders:
Satellite of Love: This is the biggest disappointment for me in the whole palette and I wish they had included Albatross instead. It’s a warm toned highlight which deposits more glitter than actual... well highlight. I thought it was one of those shades which just swatch badly, but on the skin it looks just as meh. I don’t really know who this would look good on, perhaps much deeper skintones however it’ll take a lot of building up and with that will come a lot more glitter on the cheekbones. If you do pick this cheek palette don’t say I didn’t warn you D:
Casino Bronzer: I LOVE this bronzer, in fact I think NARS do some of the best bronzers on the whole market. I recently picked up the NARS Tahiti Laguna Bronzer and it’s gorgeous, gives a sunkissed look all over but it can also be used to contour with some building up. Casino is a good few shades deeper without being red or orange toned, like the other NARS bronzers making it look very natural. It blends effortlessly and though it is darker, I find it much quicker to get defined features, without any sort of muddiness whatsoever! It swatches a lot more orange than it appears on the skin,
Daydream: I love this shade, it’s probably my second favourite powder from the quad and it’ll look wonderful on all skintones. It was a shade included in the beautiful Guy Bourdin Holiday palette, which I didn’t pick up at the time so I’m pleased to have it in my collection. A matte peach with no shimmer or sparkle, meaning you can apply almost as much highlight as you like without it clashing with a shimmery blush and having the whole thing look like a disco ball on your cheeks! Peachy blushers are a dream on warm skintones and this one is no different!
New Attitude: This is a blue toned pink, which has a matte but not flat kinda finish like daydream. I was worried it wouldn't work well on my warm toned skin, but as always you shouldn’t judge a blush by what is in the pan! Although it’s very different from my normal favourites - deep throat and Torrid, it still looks lovely on the skin and the advantage of having it in a palette means you can mix it up if needs be. It’s beautifully pigmented, not powdery and blends like a dream as with the other two (we aren’t counting the
I think you should consider picking this palette up if you’ve not tried many NARS blushes, or the casino bronzer and also if you want to try the Ita brush. There really isn’t a huge amount of difference between the mini and full sized, both allow you to create a contour line and blend out the powder with ease, though don’t expect the bristles to be super soft. The firmness means you can create structure and I must say it’s perfect for adding a tiny bit of definition to the sides of the nose too, once you start you can’t stop trust me xD. It’s my first ever cheek palette from NARS and value wise I am pretty chuffed to have this in my collection!
What do you think of the Blame
it on NARS cheek palette?
Overall Rating: 8.5
Pros: Good value for money, the powder sizes are very close to single powder sizes and the quality is just as good. It’s one of the first palettes they have made which doesn’t include Laguna, so I finally got to try casino without splashing out a large amount on the full size and the bronzer itself exceeded my expectations! The ITA brush is awesome, I never really considered purchasing the full size because of that hefty price tag attached to it, but this mini Ita is practically identical and does a great job, especially on the go. The blush shades are beautiful and versatile too, with the matte-but-not-flat finishes, ample pigmentation and at least 7-8 hour lasting time on the skin I couldn’t ask for more.
Cons: That dreadful highlight shade - glitter for days! It’s kind of what I would expect from a cheap brand for a couple of quid. Not my cuppa tea at all.
Repurchase? Well it’s L/E so I won’t be able to! But if this disappeared and I still could then yes I would repurchase it. Despite the disappointing highlight shade, I really think the other three + Ita make up for it.
Thank-you for reading ♥
