NARS Orgasm blush has to be the most popular blush in the beauty industry. You see it everywhere - on beauty blogs, websites, and glossies, and everyone talks about how this is the most universal, most flattering, and the perfect blush for anyone - goes well with all skin tones, from light to darker skin.

I don't get it. I really don't.

When I look at it in the pan (pardon the picture please, it's quite beaten up), it does look like the perfect everyday blush for me. It's a peachy pink with subtle gold sparkles. When I swatch it on my arm with my fingers, pigmentation is great. I don't know if I'm using it wrong, but I can never get it to look that good when I try to apply it with a blush brush on my cheeks. I've tried it all - with a stippling brush (MAC 187), with a traditional blush brush (MAC 129), and with an angled cheek brush (MAC 168) - nothing. I was never able to get that same type of pigmentation. It'll either look like: a) I have nothing on, or b) if I try to build it up with several layers, the gold sparkles will get all over my face (from the swatch below, you can tell a little bit that the sparkles in this kind of goes all over the place) and end up accentuating my pores without actually improving the color - I look like a disco ball, but the color still isn't there.

Bottom-unblended, top-blended with fingers. How I wish I could get it to look that good on my cheeks! :(

NARS blushes are popular for having a great formula, and being that this was their most popular one, I wanted so bad to get into the bandwagon and like this. I do still continue to try using it up to this day (which explains why it is all beaten-up; I take this whenever I travel so I'll have no choice but to use it), but I still haven't gotten good results. :( I feel really bad about this too, because this was one of the first high-end beauty products I've ever purchased with my own money. Since then, I've tried the Milani baked blush in Luminoso, and I've found that to be so much better! It has been said that Luminoso is a dupe for NARS Orgasm - and I agree. I totally get the hype on that one. It's a warm, peachy pink with a subtle sheen (so subtle that it looks like your skin is just glowing rather than sparkling) that makes you look oh-so-healthy. It's everything I hoped NARS Orgasm to be!

I'm sorry, NARS Orgasm! I have been mean to you. But it just didn't work out between us.

Anyone share the same sentiments? I can't be the only one!!