So does he remember the moment Orgasm was coined? “It came such a long time ago that I forget if I created the name before or the shade after. My thought was, ‘Let’s make a universal shade that will look good on everybody – blonde, brunettes, anybody.’ Because if you come up with a name like that, it’s got to be for everyone. It became a really magical name, a magical product and without really thinking it was going to be.”
With the decades-long success of Orgasm, came a spin-off range from liquid blush to lip balm and here I found a new favourite too, Orgasm Afterglow Lip Balm. It’s a ‘clean girl’ balm that adds a hydrating hint of peachy colour and gloss to lips and it’s my go-to on off-duty days.
My blush discovery was shortly followed by a love for The Multiple, arguably one of the original highlighters and in a stick format no less! It felt revolutionary at the time, chic in the matt black packaging that still looks as good today, with a shimmery texture you could glide across highlight zones on face and body. It’s no underestimate to say it has been copied multiple times by multiple brands in the years since.
The Nars Laguna Bronzing Powder led me to my most covted Nars product – an Orgasm and Laguna compact duo. Sadly no longer available despite my Googling searches, but one that I and many MUA’s often request to make a comeback from the archive. Now I have to settle for the single format, but the technique is the same, contouring with Laguna under cheekbones, jaw and around the hairline and a hit of shimmery blush high on cheekbones.
So far so many hits, and as I continued to run through the makeup categories, Nars products kept appearing. For skin the Radiant Creamy Concealer, a perennial winner in Glamour’s Beauty Power List Beauty Awards, with easy-to -blend coverage is a titan of the concealing world and another regular I often fall back on to blend out shadows and occasional pimples.
Next up, lips, and so many of the bold Nars shades with legendary names have lured me in over the years from Jungle Red to Shanghai Express and it’s no different with the newly launched Explicit Lipsticks, current shades on rotation include Devious and Mischievous. “Lipstick should be really love at first sight. You can’t really explain why you are attracted to a certain colour, you just know it’s going to look good on you,” says François.
So with 30 years of inspiring desire what does he hope is his greatest legacy? “If I made women happy all over the world, who bought one tube of product, then I can go to sleep and be very happy at night. And you know, I think we achieved it!”
I’m clearly in this camp. The product list has stacked up and the evidence is undeniable, if I had to use one brand forever more it would have to be Nars. So now the question to you, ‘If you had to use one makeup brand forever what would it be?
Camilla Kay is Acting Executive Editor at Glamour UK and has been a beauty editor for over 25 years. For more from Camilla, follow her at IG camilla.kay