NARS Virtual Domination Cheek Palette review and swatches
Friday, December 05, 2014
NARS are really killing it with their holiday collection so I had to pick up this year's cheek palette. I had already bought the Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot so I couldn't really justify a second cheek palette and yet I couldn't resist the temptation, specially as I had missed last year's edition.
The theme for the packaging this year is white with a cobweb or crystal design which is really beautiful. For those of you who hate the rubberized NARS packaging you'll be happy to know this one is hard plastic! It's very winter-inspired but not christmassy so it'll be lovely all year round. It includes a full-sized mirror which is useful if you're travelling with it. Inside there are three blushes and a highlighter in equal-sized pans and then their famous bronzer in twice the size of the other powders.
In previous editions they had 6 powders in equal amount but I'm glad they've made the bronzer larger because you'll always use the bronzer with whichever of the blushes you decide to get for. Amazingly enough you get more bronzer than a regular full size which means is quite a good deal as the blushes are also almost full size. So for £45 you get a larger than average bronzer (which would be 27) and 4 almost full sized powders (£22.50)
Miss Liberty:
This is the highlighting shade included in the palette and it's the most disappointing. It basically has no colour and it consists of shimmer and almost glitter particles. I don't mind this as I don't have any highlighters like this, but I prefer highlighters that provide a sheen rather than visible particles. It's probably more suitable for a night out and I'd use it only on the cheeks.
Here I'm wearing Miss Liberty over Deep Throat blush.
Deep throat:
This is one of my favorite NARS shades as it's a beautiful peachy pink shade with some shimmer. It's similar to Orgasm blush but it has less gold shimmer running through and I think I actually prefer it! I have this one in a mini and I think it's slightly less pigmented in this palette. The pigmentation is amazing anyway so I wouldn't worry about that.
Sex Fantasy:
Here we have one of the two limited edition shades in this palette and I was very excited about this blush because I haven't got anything like it. It's a very pale pink which is almost lavender but unfortunately it hasn't got much pigmentation and it's quite powdery. My skin also warms this colour so even after three layers it wasn't too visible and it's noticeably warm rather than pale pink. It's pretty but not what I was expecting.
Final Cut:
This is the other limited edition blush and it's a lovely matte peachy coral. It seems powdery but it's got the right pigmentation and it blends well. It's surprisingly orange-toned on the skin so it's unlike the rest of my blushes and I'm happy to have this in my collection.
Laguna:
Can you believe this is my first ever Laguna bronzer? I have tried it before at the NARS counter so I knew I loved it but I haven't bought it because I supposed I'd get it included in a palette such as this one! The waiting payed off because I can use it at last and it's larger than full size! It's a soft brown with gold shimmer which is subtle, the pigmentation isn't strong which is perfect for my pale skin so I could even use it all over my face without looking brown!
Overall I'm extremely happy with this palette and I'm glad I've got this one instead of last year's. It's a perfect combination of blushes, bronzer and a highlighter so I've got everything I need in a palette. I only had one of the shades in mini size so I'm happy to include all these in my collection. I see myself reaching for this palette a lot!
I think this will make a great Christmas gift and it's more serious-looking than the Benefit palette. I'm not sure if the powders are of the same quality and standard as the original ones but I'm happy with the result I get using them so I'm very happy I bought this!
Have you got any of the shades included in this palette?
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