NARS Star Scene Cheek Palette (2019) Review & Swatches
NARS Star Scene Cheek Palette (2019) ($42) is a new, limited edition blush and highlighter palette that launched with the NARS Holiday 2019 Collection exclusively on the brand’s website and at Ulta.com. If you love this palette there’s also the NARS Studio 54 Hustle Cheek Palette which is available at Nordstrom.
I was going to wait on a sale to purchase this but it was calling to me and I didn’t splurging on it because I ended up loving it. It’s has one of the easiest highlighter formulas I ever tried.
Let’s take a peek at my review and swatches.
NARS Star Scene Cheek Palette arrives in a slick black compact with a red face plate filled with floating red stars. It’s a great presentation and a refreshing change from the rubber packaging from days of old. Inside you’ll find two shimmering blushes and one highlighter. The palette is made in Italy and each of the powders is 0.12 oz in size.
The shades were created for wet or dry use but I prefer dry just because I feel like using them wet makes a mess out of things. The three shades are marketed as sheer-to-buildable but they are actually very subtle and sheer with some difficulties building. This wasn’t a bad thing for me because I apply my blush with a very heavy handed and no matter how heavy I was here I still came out of the application with a very natural, pretty flush of color. That’s the downside of the palette as you’re not going to get more pop out of this palette if you use it dry. I imagine using it wet will intensify the shades easily but again, I didn’t try for fear of making a mess.
NARS Star Scene Cheek Palette Swatches (Instant Replay, (Divine, Hard Party)
The powders have a firm gel-like consistency that works best with a more dense brush but I used a fiber one and I was able to get good color without a lot of effort. I think the thing I liked most about the formula is how seamless and flawlessly they apply on my skin. It really takes very little effort to blend these out for a flawless flush. Even the highlighter, which I typically suck at applying, is super easy to blend out for a perfect glow. The formula seems to melt on my skin and doesn’t adhere to drier areas. The highlighter in particular has a very smooth, even appearance. Highlighter is notorious for being too frosty or metallic on my skin but that wasn’t the case with this formula. I started out by dipping my brush in the highlighter followed by the blush shade and again the highlighter. After that I simply swept it on! Perfect glow! I actually use all three shades together first the lighter of the two blushes and the highlighter followed by the darker blush for a bit of pop. I think the fact the powders have such a smooth surface and absolutely no powdery kick up makes for easy, flawless application that looks so seamless and smooth on my skin like glass. I get about seven hours of wear from these before they fade.
The shades are all very me as well. Divine is such a pretty light peachy pink and Hard Party is a pretty raspberry shimmer. Instant Replay is lighter golden peach that lends the perfect luminosity to the blushes.
All in all, the NARS Star Scene Cheek Palette is a nice addition to my blush collection. I think I’ll get a lot of use out of this! It’s the perfect pick for someone as heavy handed as I am.
NARS Star Scene Cheek Palette is available now at Ulta.
Did you pick it up?
Where to buy
NARS Star Scene Cheek Palette is a new, limited edition palette that contains two blushes and one highlighter. Each powder is 0.12 oz and the palette is $42. If you’re expecting a lot of pop here you won’t get it. The blushes apply with a sheer, natural flush which isn’t a bad thing if you’re heavy handed however, those with a deeper skin tone will definitely feel let down they aren’t more pigmented. The powders have a smooth, firm, gel-powder consistency that is best used with a firmer brush. The colors all apply very flawlessly with a natural, seamless finish that didn’t adhere to drier areas. If you have acne scarring or a less than smooth skin on your face these powders are a great way to get very smooth, even color on your skin. It lacks pigment but makes up for it with a great formula!
- Smooth, seamless color.
- Pretty, luminous shades.
- Applies easily.
- Doesn’t adhere to drier areas or less than smooth skin surfaces.
- Sheer, natural color lacks pigment.
NARS Star Scene Cheek Palette is a perfect pick for anyone that’s heavy handed or has less than smooth skin.