The Nars Air Matte Blush Is So Easy to Apply, You Don't Even Need a Mirror

A vibrant orange-y red, Torch is the brightest colour in the Air Matte Blush range. "It's very bold and bright and suits a range of skin tones," Assistant Editor Navi Ahluwalia said. "You don't need to put a lot on for it to look good!"

Described by the brand as peach in colour, Rush was one of Assistant Editor Kara Kia's favourite shades in the range. "Rush is the type of blush colour I always go for in the autumn and summer when my skin tone is warmer and more tanned," she said. "It's a coral pink that blends nicely with medium skin tones when applied with a light hand."

The Air Matte Blush in Orgasm is the exact same colour as the iconic powder formula: a peachy pink with a smattering of finely milled gold shimmer. In cream form, the shimmer makes your skin look really luminous, in the way a bronzer or highlighter does (except in a peach-pink tone that makes your cheeks look nicely flushed). The shade is shown here with the matching Nars Oil-Infused Lip Tint in Orgasm.

A rosy bronze hue, Gasp is one of the two neutral tones in the collection. "Gasp is very subtle and matches my skin tone almost like a bronzer," Kia said. "It kind of neutralises my yellow undertones and brings out a peachy tint that looks very natural."

Ahluwalia described Gasp as a "delicate peachy-brown shade," adding that "this was my personal favourite in the range as I prefer browner shades when it comes to blushes and bronzers."

Darling is a sheer, cool-toned light-pink colour. "I often worry with my copper hair, blush can look a bit intense," POPSUGAR Associate Editor Tori Crowther said. "This colour, however, gave my cheeks a nice just-got-back-from-a-cold-walk flush without overpowering my copper hair and fair skin."

Freedom is a rosy mauve with blue undertones. It's a bit deeper in tone than Darling, which means it works across a wide variety of skin tones. "It's a very subtle colour," Ahluwalia said after trying out the shade. "You need to apply a few layers to see the full effect."

Freedom was another one of Kia's favourites. "Freedom gives me the blushed look without overpowering my face and coming up too pink," she explained. "It comes up as a slightly mauve pink that's great for medium, tan, golden, and yellow skin tones. But I would stick to wearing this colour in the spring and winter when I'm slightly paler and that flushed-pink look fits the season."

Backstage at Paris Fashion Week, makeup artist Lisa Butler once told me that the best blushes for creating a no-makeup makeup effect (on fair and medium skin tones) were the ones that looked the least exciting in the pan. Rather than flowery pinks and peaches, they're slightly muddy looking, with a hint of brown or taupe in them. Hushed, a light nude with the faintest hint of pink, is exactly one of those shades. It doesn't look that pretty in the jar, but it's the exact colour you need to liven up your complexion without looking like you're wearing any makeup.

A blue-based burgundy colour, Scandalous is the darkest of the Nars Air Matte Blushes, which means it can work on the widest variety of skin tones. The blush has a lot of red in it, though, so those with very pink and ruddy complexions, or who have rosacea, may want to avoid as it will exacerbate the natural flush in their skin.