As with all relationships, risks are often taken to get a bit excited again, or to re-ignite the lurrrve so to speak. I took a bit of a risk when I forked out a fair bit of money and thought, in the name of adventure, I'd buy myself some Multiples. Okay, more-like I was walking past the counter at Selfridges and got sucked in and had a major impulse-buying moment.
Anyway, The Multiple if you don't know, is according to the Nars website, "The original multi-purpose stick for eyes, cheeks, lips and body. It's unique, creamy formula blends effortlessly to provide sheer colour for creating shimmering accents, contours or dynamic highlights on all skin tones".
I bought three for myself well over a year ago now, and got one as a sample in a NARS gift set, and tbh as beautiful as they are, I just don't reach for them as much as I thought I would - I automatically reach for my normal NARS blushers and bronzers. If you're interested in The Multiple keep reading...
(Please click on the photos to see them larger and clearer. Also please note that I use my phone to take photos so the quality isn't always amazing).
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| £ 29.00 |
So these are the shades I own, as you can see they all look pretty damn gorgeous in their tubes. Orgasm is more of a highlighting shade (unlike it's powder counterpart), St. Barts is more of a bronzey colour but is still categorised by NARS as a blush and not as The Multiple Bronzer. Portofino and Riviera are both normal blush shades. I often use them as a blush base - so I blend these directly onto my cheeks and then apply normal powder blush on top to make the colours 'pop' and to give the powder blush something to stick to hence making it last longer.
TEXTURE: As they have a cream to powder finish I personally find them a bit drying to use on lips although on the rare occasion I used Portofino or Riviera for such, I did get compliments.
Despite the fact that NARS describes them as creamy, I was quite disappointed when I used them on my cheeks to find that they weren't as creamy as they look. They slide on easily but when it comes to blending they don't seem to have quite the consistency that the cream blushes I own from NARS or other companies do. I wouldn't say they were difficult to work with at all, but if you are expecting an incredibly creamy, dewy finish, you will be disappointed. For people with oily skin who want to try creamy cheek products but are afraid they'll slide off and look greasy however, I think you would really enjoy The Multiple!
PACKAGING: I love the uniformity, sleekness and 'understated coolness' of NARS packaging. What I don't love though, is that as soon as you get your mitts on them or as soon as they've lived in your make-up bag for a while, they look grubby. Over the years however I've learnt to live with this minor drawback because of the quality of the actual products. The packaging of The Multiple is sleek and very easy to throw-in-your-bag-and-go and unlike the usual blushers/bronzers, I think The Multiple is way more travel friendly - the powder formulas usually crack if they are dropped even just once, but these feel sturdy and are very easy to use. They also have a fair bit of product in them so would last you a while!
PIGMENTATION: The NARS website describes them as delivering a "sheer natural finish". I think their formula allows them to be extremely buildable; if you want a sheer natural finish apply them lightly, but if you want more colour you can easily apply more layers without looking like a clown, except perhaps for St. Barts which is a little less buildable. They are well pigmented and also have little flecks of gold shimmer running through them which translates very nicely onto skin to make it look a good amount of 'glowy' - even though the shimmer is obvious when you look at them in their tubes, I promise you will not look like Edward Cullen/glitterball.
ORGASM: This is The Multiple I got as a sample in a gift set, and I think it's a pretty good size!! Unlike it's powder counterpart, The Multiple form of Orgasm is much more sheer and is more of a highlighting shade. It is my favourite one and the one I use the most. It delivers a very pretty, iridescent, natural finish and looks pretty on eyelids too. The subtle shimmer catches the light in a beautiful way and this is such a good shade to own if you are going on holiday and want that fresh, healthy, natural glow and not much else. If you only want to buy one Multiple, this is definitely the one you should go for!
ST. BARTS: This is easily my least favourite Multiple. I bought it thinking it would substitute as a natural looking cream-bronzer but I find that it comes across on my face as very frosty and it definitely isn't the warm shade it appears to be. If you look at the swatches on my fingertips above, you will see that this particular Multiple also looks a little chalky and that definitely comes across when I use it on my cheeks! I rarely reach for it and wouldn't recommend it at all, except perhaps as a cream eyeshadow.
PORTOFINO: After Orgasm, Portofino is favourite Multiple. It is a gorgeous pink with coral undertones that is very flattering on my skin tone. It makes me look very healthy and fresh and works beautifully when paired with Torrid or Orgasm in their powder forms. I think this would look great on all skin tones and the sheerness/heavyness is very easy to tailor to your personal preference.
RIVIERA: This is beautiful cool toned pink that is quite sheer at first, but after a few layers can look very pretty. For some reason though I don't find myself reaching for this one that much but I think on fairer skin tones this would deliver a very rosey, natural flushed look. This one also looks the prettiest on lips!
All in all, do I think you need The Multiple in your life? No. Would I recommend The Multiple over the Powder Blushes by NARS? Definitely not. If you are a Nars newbie and don't know what to pick, I would strongly recommend you buy a powder blush from them first. If however, you own a few NARS blushes and like their colours, I think it'd be nice to own at least one Multiple (I recommend Orgasm). I think most of the shades would look pretty on eyes and lips, but I use them primarily as cheek products. They are good for sunny holidays as they give a slightly more creamy/natural/sheer look than powder blushes but aren't tooo creamy so they wouldn't slide off as soon as you hit the sun.
Have you ever tried any Multiples from NARS? What do you think of the concept? What are your favourite NARS cheek products? If you have any more questions please feel free to write me a comment!
Love, Emma xo
Currently Listening To: I Want It That Way - Backstreet Boys
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