I’ve Been Wearing NARS Orgasm Blush for 15 Years, but I Might Have Found Its ($10) Match

Fourteen-year-old me stole it out of my mom's cavernous makeup drawer (because I thought the name was h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s) and dusted it on her cheeks on top of orange foundation that was definitely not blended as a way to complete my look... which also involved one of those fake tattoo necklaces and a hairstyle that was straight in the front, lumpy as hell in the back. And boy, oh boy, it was love at first dusting. My cheeks had the bronzed, peachy glow that—to quote Lizzie McGuire—is what dreams are made of. I loved it so much that I took it straight from my mom's bathroom into my own, told her she "must have misplaced it!" and never gave it back.

Fifteen years later, NARS Orgasm ($30) is still the blush that I wear approximately 363 days of the year. It's well worth the 30 bucks I have to spend to replace it every couple of months, and has a permanent place in my morning, evening, and midday going-from-work-to-a-dinner beauty routines.

As a lifelong devotee of the #orgasmlife (in more ways than one, tbh), I was positively shook when L'Oreal's newest blush came across my desk and was—in many ways—a dead ringer for the product that I'd been using for half my life.

The brand's new Blush Please "Blushin in Saint Tropez" ($10) offers the same peach-meets-pink-meets-bronze glow as the OG, with a few minor differences. While the colors are certainly similar, the L'Oreal version is slightly more pigmented, which means if you like a more subtle look on your cheeks, you might want to opt for a lighter application. It also has a lot more shimmer than Orgasm, making it more of a blush/higlighter hybrid than a straight-up blush. The product also comes in a slightly more pink shade, called "Blushin' In Riviera" ($10), which is like an even more glitzed-up version NARS Super Orgasm ($30).

The good news? There is room in my makeup bag for all four of these beautifying blushes (because yes, I now own all four)... and I can finally give my mom back the (very, very heavily used) NARS Orgasm compact that's been in my childhood bathroom since 2004.

https://www.instagram.com/p/By-LxJNo6Wl/

Cream blush more your style? Here's how to apply it the right way, care of Leslie Mann's makeup artist. Plus, makeup artists share their tips for how to make sure your foundation doesn't totally melt off in this summer heat.