Thursday, February 27, 2014

NARS Sheer Glow : Tried & True


Alright, I've decided to change the name of Thursday's posts from Throwback (because this sounds like I'm going to talk about products from the 80s) to Tried & True. The premise is still the same, just a different name. I'm sure that all of you would have noticed this on your own and been very dismayed had I not said something. 

Today's Tried & True is technically a product that I haven't even owned all that long, but that I've used for a very long time; NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. I only bought a bottle of this back in November, but if I'm being truthful with you guys, I might have hoarded samples of it for about 6 months prior to that. I don't know why I had so much trouble pulling the trigger, but I finally did during the VIB sale in the fall.

So what's so great about this foundation? A lot of stuff. I'm going to review this like I normally would just to make sure that you guys know that it's great.

Price: $45 (plus extra $$ if you buy the pump)
Amount of Product: 1 fl oz.
Number of Shades: 19 (!!)
Claim: "A glowing, natural radiant finish foundation with sheer and buildable coverage that immaculately evens skin tone. Replete with skincare benefits and the NARS Complexion Brightening Formula, it leaves skin hydrated, more luminous, softer and smoother. Used daily, Sheer Glow Foundation improves the skin's brightness and texture." 

Shade that I use: Gobi, but I've also used Siberia

Shades and the foundation itself: 19 shades? Yasss. I have yellow toned skin, so I can't speak for all you pink ladies out there (catch that pop culture reference), but NARS has a pretty awesome skin tone and color line. Sibera, the lightest of all of the shades, is a yellow toned porcelain shade, somewhere around a NC10 if you want a MAC equivalent. I'm not so well versed in the other end of the spectrum, but it runs fairly dark and also plays with different undertones.

The foundation is a liquid, but not overly runny. NARS states that the foundation is for normal, normal/dry, and dry skinned ladies and gents, but I have normal/oily in the winter and super oily in the summer and I still wear this. I'll touch more on this in a moment.

Coverage: The coverage on this foundation is buildable. If you want it to be very sheer, applying with a damp beauty blender would definitely give you the light coverage you desire whereas I apply it with a brush to achieve something closer to a medium coverage. I wouldn't recommend trying to build this to full coverage as I think it would start to get cakey and noticeable on the skin. I definitely need concealer for my under eyes with this foundation and while it does cover a bit of redness, it doesn't get it all.

Application: I always shake this foundation before application, but I'm not entirely sure if that's necessary. I then squeeze out one pump and apply it in small patches and blend it in with a brush. I will, on occasion, apply this with my fingers if all of my brushes are dirty (like they currently are...) and this method is actually recommended by monsieur Nars. One of the things that I love about this foundation is the ease of blending; it blends so perfectly and seamlessly on the skin that it looks like your own skin in a few seconds. 

Wear Time: This is why monsieur Nars recommends this foundation for normal to dry skin types; the staying power on oily skin isn't so great. I wear this foundation almost religiously in the winter because my skin gets so damned normal that I can't use my "oily skin foundations" and it definitely lasts a good 8 hours. It isn't a long wear foundation, so it's not going to stay perfect looking for 16 hours, but it's definitely still on my face at the end of the day when I go to remove my makeup. In the summer, depending on how oily I am, I give it 4 hours of looking good and then it's off my face. I like to wear it out at night in the summer since it's light weight and makes the skin look nice.

Does it deliver on its claim? As much as I love this foundation, I hate that it makes the claim that it makes your skin better over time. Sorry, I don't believe any foundation that spouts shit like that; I'll leave those claims to my skin care. Other than that, yes, this definitely delivers on its claims. It makes my skin look glowy and natural, but also manages to cover most redness and unevenness. 

Honestly, I really love this foundation and I recommend this to tons of people on the internet and in real life. Sure, there are drugstore dupes for this foundation, but none of them have the same color & tone range that is available in the NARS. It is pricey for a foundation, but if there were only one thing that I could splurge on, it would definitely be foundation; it makes or breaks a look.

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