NARS Hungry Heart

A lot of people post disappointed reviews of NARS Hungry Heart. I like it, but i knew what i was getting - i had seen it and tested it in sephora before i bought it. I suspect that people who ordered it sight unseen might have thought they were getting something a bit different.

So what is this Hungry Heart? It is a dual pan containing, on the left, an ivory powder with gold shimmer, and on the right, pale pale neutral-cool pink, called "Pink sand", with gold shimmer.

NARS makes some items denoted as "highlighting blush" -- in reality highlighters -- and i would say that "Hungry Heart" would fall into that category. NARS powder blushes as described both as being sheer and pigmented. This are not very pigmented - you can see the glitter in this photo - but i think the colors are even paler than they appear here.

I'm fairly pale and both of these blend into my skin tone without adding much color, although the pink has a bit more than the ivory. Both have golden shimmer and work well as highlighters, although i would suggest a light hand to avoid looking like a disco ball. I would recommend the ivory with warmer toned makeup, and the pink with cooler.

On some makeup blogs, i've seen people piling this stuff on, so they can see the "color" and then complaining how chalky or dusty it looks. Well, as some might say, "duh." This stuff is NOT meant to be slathered on thickly. The shimmer will look best if applied lightly, so it catches the light but isn't a thick coating. This usage may seem too subtle to some, but i have to say that i am often surprised to read product reviews for products i own, written by women with coloring similar to mine, who complain about how much of a blush, highlighter or bronzer they have to load on so they can see it -- when i have the opposite feeling, that i have a hard time applying it lightly enough so that i have only an appropriate hint of color.

I suspect that in part it's a matter of how much light there is and what the light source is where one puts on one's makeup. For day wear, I do my makeup in front of a window that gets northern, that is natural but indirect, light. For night, i put on my tried and true base (i.e., primer & foundation), then test the rest of my makeup under different light sources wherever i may be. That way i'm not just putting it on under unflattering fluorescent light and thinking that's how i look - I try to spot check under warmer or yellower light (similar to old incandescent light) as well.

Anyway, back to Hungry Heart. I think it's a lovely highlighter if you have realistic expectations: the powder is smooth and the shimmer is fine - no big chunks of glitter, as in some blushes, like Super Orgasm - so it isn't gritty; the colors are compatible on most skin tones - since i'm very fair, i can't speak for dark skin, but if it isn't applied so thick that the powder becomes obvious, it could work. I would recommend testing it before buying, if there's a sephora or department store you can get to.

For some realistic swatches and a list of suggested uses, see the Beauty Gala blog