NARS Sheer Glow Foundation Review!

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation ($42) is a luminous foundation that is promised to enhance your skin without "masking it". It will brighten the skin, while evening out the skin tone and concealing minor perfections.

• For normal, normal-to-dry and dry skin types
• Hydrates for softer and smoother skin
• Contains powerful anti-oxidants to protect against damaging free radicals and turmeric extract to improve skin's radiance and tone
• Dermatologist tested. Non-comedogenic. Fragrance free.

Nars Sheer Glow is available in twenty (20) shades: Siberia (light with neutral/balance of tones), Mont Blanc (fair with subtle pink undertones), Gobi (light with yellow undertones), Deauville (light with neutral/balance of tones), Fiji (light with yellow undertones), Ceylan (light-medium with yellow undertones), Punjab (medium with golden-peachy undertones), Santa Fe (medium with peachy undertones), Stromboli (medium with olive undertones), Barcelona (medium with golden peachy undertones), Syracuse (medium-dark with brown undertones), Tahoe (medium-dark with caramel undertones), Cadiz (medium-dark with caramel-red undertones), Macao (medium-dark with deep yellow undertones), Trinidad (dark with warm yellow undertones) and Khartoum (dark with espresso undertone).

My shade is Barcelona, which is a warm, medium-tan shade with golden undertones - It's not overly yellow and it doesn't look orange on my skin. For reference, I wear NC40 in MAC foundations.

*I now also use Stromboli, which is a shade or two lighter than Barcelona, for when I'm less tan. It has strong yellow (olive) undertones, and is equivalent to the MAC NC30-35 coloring

I'm wearing Nars Sheer Glow in the shade Stromboli in this photo (my lighter shade)

Continue reading for my review...

The consistency of Nars Sheer Glow is very creamy, somewhat similar MAC Studio Fix Fluid. 

If you're looking for sheer coverage, you might want to look elsewhere, because this foundation provides more of  medium-light coverage that is buildable to a solid medium. It completely evens out my skintone, covering minor imperfections (such as sunspots, minor blemishes, etc). For fresh breakouts, a tiny bit of red peeks through, so a concealer for spot concealing might be necessary if you have several blemishes. For myself, it basically covers it all. 

Nars recommends using your fingers to apply this foundation, blending it in downward strokes. I agree that using the fingers works very well, but I don't like using my fingers in general, so I use a duo-fiber brush and it works great.

I find that this foundation looks its best on a freshly moisturized/primed face. It seems to give my skin a more luminous finish and it overall, smooths on my face better. 

It has a satin finish (not shiny, not matte) and indeed, makes my skin look healthy and glowing.

It feels lightweight, and comfortable on my skin, and despite several reviews I've read about this foundation not being long lasting, I've found that this lasts from morning till night on my face. I've noticed that setting with a light powder will prolong the wear.

Overall, I absolutely love this foundation and will re-purchase!

Swatch of Barcelona

Nars Sheer Glow Barcelona

The Round-Up

Pros:

• Good color selection - I was able to find a perfect color match for my MAC NC40 skin
• Creamy, blendable texture
• Medium, buildable coverage (doesn't look cakey)
• Natural, radiant, satiny finish
• Long Lasting on my balanced skin
• Doesn't break out or irritate my skin
• Photographs really well (no white cast)

Cons:

• Although the shade selection is good for my skin - many shades are very yellow, which may be problematic for cool skin tones. 
• Settles into my laugh/frown lines around my mouth (Update: Now I only smooth the residue from my foundation brush over those areas to minimize the settling + powder the area)
• My t-zone gets a little oily after hours of wear (setting the foundation with a powder will prevent this)