NARS Contour Blush in Olympia and Gienah...A Comprehensive Review + Swatches Galore

This weekend, NARS released a long-awaited innovation: The Contour Blush.   This sleek compact with two contrasting, yet coordinated, pans of finely-milled powder comes in three color combinations.  The deeper shade is designed to add depth and warmth (contour) to the face while the lighter shade brightens and illuminates areas of the face where the light would naturally hit.  

Currently available for pre-order online at Nordstrom and Sephora and debuting for in-store purchase on April 1st, this gorgeous trio will be a permanent offering in the NARS collection.  A collective cheer from NARS fans and contouring devotees collectively resonates across the world! 

Here's what NARS has to say about this creation:

NARS Contour Blush in Olympia is described as an Ivory/Rose combination.  Both the ivory highlighting shade and light rosy tan powder are essentially matte...there is no discernible shimmer whatsoever; this is extremely rare in the world of contour and illuminating products.  The delightfully unscented powder glides on with ease, instantly melding with the skin; it has an extremely natural finish that creates a believable effect of enhanced bone structure and highlight.  The darker shade is fairly light; it works well on my current NC 23 skin but I would think that skin tones deeper than N/NC/NW 25 would benefit from one of the darker shades (either Palmoa or Gienah).  I love the subtle results that I get from Olympia...swept across my lower cheekbones and jawline, the powder gives the impression of delicate depth and applying a bit of the ivory shade along my upper cheekbones, brow bones and bridge of my nose brings luminosity to the face without relying on light-reflecting particles. It's incredible...in tandem, the contour blush duo leaves my face with a porcelain 

Olympia is:

NARS Contour Blush in Gienah is described as a Honey/Amber combination, which I would deem to be fairly accurate.  The amber contour powder is quite deep, commensurate to the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Intensity #01 and slightly warmer (versus the TF version's true brown hue).  The honey highlighting shade is a warm beige that is actually deeper than the darker shade in Olympia.  Gienah works best for N/NW/NC 30+ skin tones but those in the N/NW/NC 30-40 range who want a true highlighting effect may choose  to use a separate highlighter as the honey shade is relatively dark.  N/NW/NC 40+ skin tones should receive the full benefit of these complementary powders! Overall, Gienah leans towards the warm deep caramel end of the tan spectrum as opposed to the rosy blush-like propensities of Olympia and Paloma. 

Bottom Line: In light of beauty lovers' obsession with contouring and the massive following that NARS has garnered over the years, the Contour Blush, with its shimmer-free texture and portable compact packaging, is sure to be a smash hit.  I love the subtle and delicate Olympia for my winter and spring skin, however, by summer, I likely will need to take the leap to the more intense Gienah to create the same effect.  The only shade left out of this post is Palomoa, a pink beige/deep rose combination that I can imagine would appeal to medium skin with rosy undertones or those seeking a pronounced blush/bronzer effect.  In sum, the silky, blendable powder texture makes contouring a brilliantly easy endeavor; contour devotees and those who prefer products without shimmer invariably will want to add the NARS Contour Blush to their arsenal.  These genius duos are highly recommended!