Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2017 Beauty Exclusives: NARS Angel Pride Cheek Palette

Oy vey.

It's been a long, long week. I'm not complaining, but this was the roughest week to try to write new daily product review. Doing so has been a labor of love, especially when my AC stopped functioning and I had to play HVAC tech for the third time in 90 days that I've owned it! I'm sorry that I failed yesterday, but I know you'll all understand.

Today I'm thrilled to share with you the one purchase I've been waiting to buy for months: the NARS Angel Pride Cheek palette. I'm not normally someone who buys the face palette in various collections, but this was different. I had to have it so much that I did an in-store pickup in case of sell out.


Let's go back a couple of months. Despite my robust collection, I didn't own NARS Laguna bronzer. I had a series of sample cards to try and discovered that I loved it. Something kept me from purchasing at a pan, though, and I decided to wait. 



I've been bored with my highlighters as of late, and more than once I picked up the Hot Sand/Laguna duo.

Then I saw photos of this beautiful palette and I knew it had to be mine. I just wasn't sure when it was going to be released.

For a mere $59, you get Laguna, Hot Sand, and four all-new blushes. Although you get less product, with the size of my stash that's probably ok. Let's compare a bit. The palette has 0.29oz of Laguna and Hot Sand; full size normally is 0.28oz for Laguna and 0.16oz for Hot Sand. You also receive 0.12oz of each blush- full size is 0.16oz. All in all, I think these are generous pan sizes.

Let's talk formula.

Like many of the other palettes I've tried from NARS, I find these pans to be a little more firmly pressed. I expected that coming in. In terms of product longevity, it lasted through triple digit heat indices, which is good enough for me. I'm quite happy with it overall.

Let's dig into the shades.

Angel Pride I , described as "soft pink", is my type of cool-neutral pink. I reached for this the most frequently. I will admit that it's quite sheer- something I didn't notice in the other shades. It's also quite stiff and requires a steady hand to build up.

For most, this is the worst performing shade in the palette. As someone with rosacea in my cheek area, I don't mind, especially in the summer.

Angel Pride II, described as "shimmering coral" is a lively peach. It... reminds me of something.

I feel like NARS has done a similar blush before, but that's all good. This was the other shade I reached for this time of year.

Angel Pride III, described as "shimmering rose", is simply stunning and way too pigmented for summer for me.

I haven't worn this all day, but I love these colors once it cools down. I'll be wearing it then for sure.

Angel Pride IV, described as "shimmering mauve," is another fall-winter shade for me.

I get some faint Rockateur vibes from this one. To be fair, I didn't wear this on my cheeks due to the weather.

Laguna is the cult-classic bronzer.

It's simultaneously stiff but also extremely pigmented.

Hot Sand is a beautiful golden beige highlighter.

It looks like it would be too dark, but it's gorgeous on my skin! Wow!

I honestly tried to swatch all of them together but failed- the size of brush needed didn't give an accurate representation of the color diffusing you'll see on your actual cheeks.

Bottom Line: I really enjoy this palette, and I was content to use only it for blush/bronzer/highlight for an entire week. That says something. Although the textures vary and I suspect the standalone powders are a bit nicer, this is still a really nice addition to my collection. It's my first NARS multi-product face palette, and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. It's an awesome value, and I think it's worth picking up from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.