NARS Sun Wash Diffusing Bronzer in Casino | Review

Today I’m going to talk about the new matte bronzer from NARS (finally!). I swatched all 4 shades in the store and was ready to take Laguna home but the SA jumped in and recommended Casino instead. Honestly, they all looked somewhat similar to each other from what I can remember, only differing in their underlying tones.

Anyway, here she is.

A WASH OF BRONZE

Matte bronzer takes on a new dimension enhanced by the warmth of natural light. Designed with Soft Blurring Technology, this innovative powder captures the light and diffuses imperfections for soft-focus bronzing that enhances and entrances. Smooth. Silky. Weightless. Effortlessly delivers a wash of allover color or layers for concentrated warmth. A translucent matte finish allows the complexion to show through for the most natural effect. Skin looks like skin—just warmer, softer, and more perfected.

Casino is the third darkest shade among the four and is only described as ‘Medium 2‘ in the NARS website. It’s a medium brown with a warm undertone and a matte finish. My swatch below took quite a few layers to have it appear as pigmented as it is on the photo.

The powder is actually soft and fine but it would seem firm and hard in the pan when you first swipe your finger across it but the truth is, the formula is just sheer. So don’t expect it to apply with such an intense pigmentation or give an opaque color pay-off if you’ve got medium to deep skin tones. I think NARS really made it sheer for the purpose of it looking soft and natural with just a touch of healthy warmth on the skin. No hard edges and whatnot.

Being sheer makes it a whole lot easier to blend although I do recommend using a dense brush because otherwise, you’d end up getting frustrated by the sheer amount of product being transferred. It lasts for a long time on me, almost 9 hours with some minimal fading by that time.

It retails for $40 in the US and Php 2,000+ in Rustan’s The Beauty Source. I’ll get back to you on the exact price once I find where I had hidden the box. In the meantime, I can recommend this to bronzer beginners or those who are looking for matte bronzers.

Swatch it for yourselves the next time you spot a NARS counter so you guys will know what I’m talking about. Who knows, you might change your mind about it.