NARS

One blush called Orgasm, a pinkish peach with a gold shimmer, has sold at a rate of roughly one every 30 seconds globally since 1999 and accounts for a reported 10% of the brand's total revenue. Francois Nars founded the brand in 1994 as a makeup artist operating out of New York Studios. The original collection had 12 lipsticks. The business grew slowly through editorial work and backstage credits before Shiseido acquired the company in 2000. Under Shiseido ownership, the brand expanded carefully, deliberately avoiding the bRhode drugstore style, shade ladders of competitors, and maintaining an editorial-only aesthetic. The single shade Orgasm emerged as a cult product in the early 2000s and became the anchor skew of the entire line.