NARS Unfiltered 1 Cheek Palette is the blush palette of my dreams. I have seen NARS blush palettes come and go, in the standard powder formula and the dual intensity formula . There was always a shade or several shades that just would not work for me. Finally with Unfiltered 1 I can wear every single shade.
For me, NARS are the undisputed king of blush in the department store. When I saw the Unfiltered 1 Cheek Palette I immediately added it to the top of my wishlist. The packaging, the colours, the textures. I had to have it, so I bought it and have been wearing it ever since.
I understand that an intensely pigmented product on the face might be scary and leave you searching for a ‘buildable’ blusher but that is not for me. I have pigmented skin and I like to see the look on the cheek from the get go. It took a while but I am at a point where me, a fluffy brush and an intensely pigmented blush are extremely good friends.
The Packaging
This palette is limited edition and the packaging is special. Gone is the rubberised black textured slightly rounded palette. Instead there is a mirrored orange glass with NARSissist plastered across the top. It is a thing of beauty on your dressing table but it travels very well too. It closes with a satisfying click so you won’t find the palette open at the bottom of your bag. The shadows are pressed quite hard so they wont shatter. Each colour is approximately three grams which is plenty of product. The pans are large enough to put a large blush brush into without dipping into the adjacent palette.
The Colours
The palette is correctly called a cheek rather than a blush palette as three of the shades are highlighters (top row left to right).
- Watch Me – Bright gold, less blinding than Albatross with gold microshimmer
- Me First – Peachy gold with gold microshimmer
- Takeover – Rosy brown with gold microshimmer
The other three shades are blushers (bottom row left to right)
- Out There – Matte dusky rose
- Chic – Matte mid tone plum
- Exhibit A – no introduction necessary, bright red with an orange undertone
It took me a while to work out how to put a pop of colour on my face when I don’t flush naturally. It took me a while to work out where on my plate shaped face would be appropriate to dab a bit of colour. To be honest, it took me a while to get used to my face with blusher on it. Looking like painted doll is nothing that I ever wanted.
With this palette I can create a ‘natural’ flush with Out There and Chic. I can do a low level highlight with Me First and Takeover or I can go more extreme with Watch Me and Exhibit A and a heavier hand. I can also use all the shades the eyes to create some beautiful looks or amplify other palettes.
I LOVE this palette. I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you have a deeper skin tone and you love blush, you need to at least swatch it. If you have a fair light or medium complexion and enjoy warm cheek colours you can definitely wear these shades too. You need a lighter hand but it is definitely wearable. There is an Unfiltered 2 palette. This has cooler shades of highlighter and blush and may be a better option for you.
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