| Review | NARS Spring 2019 Exposed Cheek Palette
When it comes to cheek products, I have to say NARS has to be one of the best brands to buy from. Their blushes and cheek palettes have been highly coveted for years and it's understandable because they tend to have an amazing formula. For spring 2019, we're seeing something very similar to their holiday collection, a 6-pan cheek palette in their wet dry gel-powder formula. I couldn't be more excited because this is one of my all time favorite formulas in general but NARS does it especially well. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to get it but after swatching it, I gave into it's glowing allure.
The NARS Spring 2019 Exposed Cheek Palette retails for $59.00 USD and is available at Sephora and other retailers. This palette has a beautiful watercolor design with a rippling water texture over top. It truly looks like ripples of water and it's mesmerizing. Th design really embodies the spirit of spring time. The palette itself is made of sturdy plastic and feel very substantial in your hands. The product inside feels very well protected.
The cheek palette comes with 6 soft blush shades so perfect for spring:
Tell All (top row, left) - This soft shimmering champagne shade is almost perfectly neutral. It doesn't lean too cool or too warm, which means it will suit pretty much all skin tones. The finish is beautifully soft and the shimmers are very fine. It offers a soft and gentle highlight but as you layer, it looks more intense and glossy. I love how soft and seamless the texture of this highlighter is and how it blends beautifully into the skin.
Give It Away (top row, middle) - This soft warm nude shade is the perfect nude blush shade. It is light but very buildable and has the perfect bit of peach tone to it. This may not show up on a tan skin tone but light to medium, it is beautiful. It also makes a lovely eyeshadow too. The blush doesn't have any shimmer but the formula does offer a soft glow. It is like a luminous stain finish.
Now or Never (top row, right) - This warm terracotta shade is a beautiful natural blush on a tan to deeper skin tone but will work for pretty much all skin tones. I watched a video where the NARS artist used this as a bronzer but I don't like this shade as a bronzer. I found the reddish tones to be too strong to be a bronzer on my skin tone. This blush gives you a sunkissed kind of look with a perfect blend of deep bronze and a touch of red.
Make you Mine (bottom row, left) - This soft peach color is a very true peach shade. It is warm but still has a very soft tone. It is very buildable and adds the perfect bit of flush to the skin. This may be a bit too light for a deep skin tone but again, these powders make beautiful eyeshadows as well.
Come Hither (bottom row, middle) - This vibrant raspberry shade offers a beautiful fresh flush, especially when paired with a more subdued eye look and a fresh pink lip. This shade will show up on most skin tones and it is very pigmented. I recommend picking up a little bit and building this shade if you need to.
New Fling (bottom row, right) - This shade is a very fresh medium petal pink shade. It is a pink that has a slight warmth to it and lifts the complexion. This shade is very buildable and it is very much your classic spring pink.
FORMULA
The thing about this formula is that when you pick it up on your brush initially, it is a little difficult. You have to really rub the brush into the product and pick up quite a bit of blush. I also recommend using a more dense cheek brush because it helps pick up the product and apply it evenly to the skin. I use a stamping like motion to press the product into the skin, then I blend with the brush.
The powders are soft and very smooth but they also have a slightly waxiness to them, which is why they are a bit difficult to pick up on a brush. However, they apply very evenly, smooth, and they are very bendable. What I love about this formula is that it blends so easily and beautifully into the skin. It offer a soft luminosity without any shimmer, which means it will work for all skin types. It also applied beautifully over foundation that has not been set. Which when it comes to powder blushes, this is very rare. These blushes also last all day long, beyond 8 hours, which is very impressive.
EXPOSED PALETTE VS. HOT TRYST PALETTE
While I own both palettes, I use this Exposed Palette significantly more than I have used the Hot Tryst palette. I just find the shades from the Exposed palette to be so much more wearable for everyday and it suits my makeup style so much more than the Hot Tryst. The Hot Tryst palette has a lot of very bold and vibrant shades, which I don't often use on my cheeks but I do enjoy on my eyes. I really love the more neutral tones of the Exposed Palette and I use it everyday on my cheeks and eyes. The Hot Tryst Palette definitely has the more unique shades of the two but the Exposed has the more wearable everyday shades. Here they are swatched next to each other.
FINAL THOUGHTS
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The cheek palette comes with 6 soft blush shades so perfect for spring:
Tell All (top row, left) - This soft shimmering champagne shade is almost perfectly neutral. It doesn't lean too cool or too warm, which means it will suit pretty much all skin tones. The finish is beautifully soft and the shimmers are very fine. It offers a soft and gentle highlight but as you layer, it looks more intense and glossy. I love how soft and seamless the texture of this highlighter is and how it blends beautifully into the skin.
Give It Away (top row, middle) - This soft warm nude shade is the perfect nude blush shade. It is light but very buildable and has the perfect bit of peach tone to it. This may not show up on a tan skin tone but light to medium, it is beautiful. It also makes a lovely eyeshadow too. The blush doesn't have any shimmer but the formula does offer a soft glow. It is like a luminous stain finish.
Now or Never (top row, right) - This warm terracotta shade is a beautiful natural blush on a tan to deeper skin tone but will work for pretty much all skin tones. I watched a video where the NARS artist used this as a bronzer but I don't like this shade as a bronzer. I found the reddish tones to be too strong to be a bronzer on my skin tone. This blush gives you a sunkissed kind of look with a perfect blend of deep bronze and a touch of red.
Make you Mine (bottom row, left) - This soft peach color is a very true peach shade. It is warm but still has a very soft tone. It is very buildable and adds the perfect bit of flush to the skin. This may be a bit too light for a deep skin tone but again, these powders make beautiful eyeshadows as well.
Come Hither (bottom row, middle) - This vibrant raspberry shade offers a beautiful fresh flush, especially when paired with a more subdued eye look and a fresh pink lip. This shade will show up on most skin tones and it is very pigmented. I recommend picking up a little bit and building this shade if you need to.
New Fling (bottom row, right) - This shade is a very fresh medium petal pink shade. It is a pink that has a slight warmth to it and lifts the complexion. This shade is very buildable and it is very much your classic spring pink.
Swatches from left to right: Tell All, Give It Away, Now or Never, Make you Mine, Come Hither, New Fling
FORMULA
The thing about this formula is that when you pick it up on your brush initially, it is a little difficult. You have to really rub the brush into the product and pick up quite a bit of blush. I also recommend using a more dense cheek brush because it helps pick up the product and apply it evenly to the skin. I use a stamping like motion to press the product into the skin, then I blend with the brush.
The powders are soft and very smooth but they also have a slightly waxiness to them, which is why they are a bit difficult to pick up on a brush. However, they apply very evenly, smooth, and they are very bendable. What I love about this formula is that it blends so easily and beautifully into the skin. It offer a soft luminosity without any shimmer, which means it will work for all skin types. It also applied beautifully over foundation that has not been set. Which when it comes to powder blushes, this is very rare. These blushes also last all day long, beyond 8 hours, which is very impressive.
EXPOSED PALETTE VS. HOT TRYST PALETTE
While I own both palettes, I use this Exposed Palette significantly more than I have used the Hot Tryst palette. I just find the shades from the Exposed palette to be so much more wearable for everyday and it suits my makeup style so much more than the Hot Tryst. The Hot Tryst palette has a lot of very bold and vibrant shades, which I don't often use on my cheeks but I do enjoy on my eyes. I really love the more neutral tones of the Exposed Palette and I use it everyday on my cheeks and eyes. The Hot Tryst Palette definitely has the more unique shades of the two but the Exposed has the more wearable everyday shades. Here they are swatched next to each other.
Swatches - Exposed Cheek Palette (Top Row) and Hot Tryst Palette (Bottom Row)
FINAL THOUGHTS
While I expected to like this palette a lot, I actually didn't think I'd love it as much as I do! It have been reaching for it so often, since I bought it! The shades are so beautiful for everyday that I will be using this palette long after spring. Of course there are some very fresh shades for spring and these offer a great variety to the palette. I love the formula and finish of all the powders. They are all so easy to apply and they always apply evenly. The pigment is very buildable, which is what I prefer in a blush because you can never over do it or worry about blending it into the skin. The finishes are so luminous but have no shimmer. which is ideal for all skin types and it means it never emphasizes texture. I love how the highlighter shade can look glossy on my skin. I love using this palette on the eyes too, when I'm in a hurry and I want a touch of shadow. This works so well and because it contains so many neutral shades, it's so perfect for everyday. This is a truly beautiful palette. If these shades suit your skin tone, I highly recommend picking one up! It is easily my most used blush palette ever! That is pretty huge for me because I am notoriously bad at using my cheek palettes. If I am being honest, I think this is my favorite makeup launch from spring! There haven't been many products that have come out for spring that I have used as much as this one.
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