It's just a regular Orgasm blush with a stupid cheap printed plastic overlay…it's still the same pinky-gold cult favorite as before!

But it's got a new box!  I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it!!!

 

The clip above is the first thing I thought of as soon as I saw this new, "special edition" of NARS's famous Orgasm blush.  Did it stop me from buying it?  Of course not.  It's the same exact blush, just in a bigger size and with a photo of a chic model in sunglasses.  The photo, mind you, is only printed on the plastic overlay, not on the blush itself. 

Nars Special Edition blush

Nars Special Edition blush

Nars Special Edition blush overlay

Nars Special Edition blush

All of the things I've read about this talk it up as a "collaboration" between Nars and Fabien Baron of Baron & Baron.  Who is that, you ask?  Baron is a hugely successful art director who works with the world's biggest fashion and beauty brands.  The problem is that he has been Nars's own art director for many years – he is responsible for everything from the design of Nars' boutiques to his Makeup Your Mind book to the minimalist black packaging.  Playing this up as some sort of new, special partnership is completely misleading.  Additionally, Baron is also Editorial Director for Interview so, obviously, a close comrade of photographer Steven Klein (ugh) and Baron was the one who helped select the images that went on the Nars/Steven Klein collaboration packaging.  I do find it interesting that in his Instagram feed he chose to post this photo from the December issue of Interview rather than the offensive one that actually ended up on the cover.  But I suppose that given the aforementioned aspects of the brand (I mean, I loved the design of the L.A. boutique), Baron isn't all bad.  As another example, I did find this captivating video that he directed for the debut of NARS Larger Than Life eye liner in 2011. 

  

Anyway, while this blush wasn't the most innovative thing NARS has done packaging-wise, it's a vast improvement over previous collections.  And I'm looking forward to the holiday 2016 Sarah Moon collaboration – hopefully it will be on par with the Warhol collection.

Thoughts?