A friend of mine who loves makeup but is terrified of blush emailed a few days ago looking for recommendations for a blush that wouldn’t leave her looking (and I quote) “like a lady of the night.”
As soon as I remembered how much she likes NARS, I thought about NARS Madly ($27).
It’s one of those shades that I overlooked for way too long. Based on how light and uninspiring it looked to me in the pan, I always just assumed it wouldn’t do much for my tan.
You’d think I’d know by now not to judge a blush by its cover. Thank goodness I finally decided to give it a try. In a word: amazing. AH-MAAAAY-ZING!
On me, I’d characterize it as a peachy beige with pink undertones, but NARS describes it as a warm, soft-focus seashell pink. I think it’s perfect for no-makeup makeup looks, and it even doubles as a sculpting powder for contouring cheeks.
It has a very subtle shimmer, too — more like a sheen, really — that livens it up a little and keeps it from looking too flat.
But I think the best thing about Madly, though, is how great it gets along with such a wide range of skin tones. It’s light enough for pale pretties but pigmented enough for darker skin tones like mine. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
That’s a pretty shade! And you look gorgeous, Karen!
Madly is the only NARS blush ( out of the 10 in my collection) that never worked for me 🙁 Looks lovely and natural on you though!
So pretty. I love how pigmented NARS blushes are.
Thanks for the great review. Madly is on my to-buy list. And is looks elegant on you.
This looks great on you. Would you recommend Madly or Luster for a neutral (golden-ish) skintone?
Oh how lovely.
What a pretty color. So soft and nice.
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I loce this blush, i wasnt sure if it would show up on my nc 35 skin but it looks great!
Karen, can a NC45 wear this blush without looking like a DF? I have complete faith in your shade judgement. MAC Sunbasque and I are already bosom friends.
It’s really natural, I never even thought of getting Madly but I think I might now 🙂
Wow, that does look nice!
madly is my favorite, everyday, go-to blush!!! so glad you like it!
I am getting Hanamechi Kabuki Eyeshadow & Mie mimi softshadow pencil set today
Michele
wow that looks awesome!!
‘Lady of the Night’ LOL. Madly does look lady-like. Doesn’t NARS make like the best blushes?
What are you using as a highlighter in these pictures? I’m in search of a new highlighter and your face looks radiant!!
One of my all time favorite blushes. Luster is also beautiful
i would love to try this blush! it looks so pretty
that might be too light for me … but its so pretty!
You know, Karen, I think I’ll take a trip to the Madly side :). You’re the second medium-ish blogger who’s looked awesome wearing it.
Madly was the first blush I ever purchased from NARS back in 2008. I ended up swapping it with someone about 6 months later. I remember it being much more brown. It looks so much more peachy here. I knew almost nothing about MU back then and I wonder if I would have known a bit more of what to do with it! If I buy this again it will be the 5th NARS blush that I owned in the past, purged and then re-purchased years later LOL. What can I say, NARS blushes aren’t for amateurs