Q&A With François Nars, NARS Founder & Creative Director
NARS IS KNOWN FOR ITS ICONIC BLUSHES. WHY IS BLUSH SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Blush is one of my favorite products. I think it is because my mother used to be so fond of it. She would never leave the house without it. If she ever didn’t have blush on, she would pinch her cheeks. It always made her feel better and healthier.”
WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY WHEN APPLYING BLUSH TO THE SKIN?
When it comes to blush, how and where you apply it is more important than what color you use. Cheek color shouldn’t be limited to the apples (when you naturally blush, it’s never just on the cheeks!). I always blend a bit into the hairline, along the jawbone, and on the tip of the nose to create a more natural-looking, all-over hint of color.
WHEN CREATING ORGASM DID YOU KNOW IT WOULD BE SUCH A SUCCESS?
I never anticipated Orgasm becoming so successful. Looking back, I think the combination of the name and the shade made it so popular... Without such an audacious name, I don’t know if it would have become so iconic. When I named it, I always felt like it was a good way to actually get an orgasm – just by buying a blush – so why not?
HOW DID YOU CHOSE A NAME ORGASM FOR THE BLUSH?
At the time, when I named blushes, I liked for the name to evoke an emotion or a feeling. When you blush naturally, it’s a reaction to a feeling and so I wanted the shade names to be related to emotions. I had a whole bunch of names that were based on pleasure, passion, sensation, like “Desire” and “Gaiety”. “Orgasm” happened to be one of those names.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE ORGASM SHADE THAT EVERYONE LOVES SO MUCH?
Orgasm is a special shade because it suits all skin tones. The peach color with subtle gold shimmer gives a very natural flush, and that balance is flattering for so many women.
HOW IS OX DIFFERENT TO THE ORIGINAL ORGASM? WHY WAS IT CREATED?
OX is like Orgasm, but with even more attitude. It's fun, so why not celebrate Orgasm a little more?
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE ORGASM AND OX EYESHADOW QUADS?
It’s very hard to choose because I like them all! I love the eyeshadows. I’ve always pushed our chemists at NARS to saturate our eyeshadows with pigment, so that the result on our eye is the same you see in the compact. I like honest colors, almost flashy - they look great mixed together or overlapped.
HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE SHADES IN THE OX CHEEK PALETTE?
Most of my blushes are rarely one hue — they’re a mix of different colors. So, for this palette I chose a range that made playing around with mixing and matching colors easy and of course a lot of fun.
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