Nars Sheer Glow Foundation, £31
Buy in the UK: Selfridges | HQ Hair | House of Fraser | Look Fantastic | John Lewis | Asos | Nars | Space NK
Buy in the US: Nordstrom | Sephora | Nars | Neiman Marcus | Barneys | Beauty
Oh what do we have here – another foundation review? I see… (#shameonme) My face was itching to try a new foundation, and whilst placing a cheeky little order on ASOS last week, I stumbled upon the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation. I’ve always wanted to try this foundation; so many people have given it a holy grail status in their makeup stash, and it was the perfect opportunity for me to finally get it. Of course, I couldn’t leave you without a full review! I’ve already showed you a sneaky peek on Instagram last week, but here we go.
Summary
- No SPF (great for flash photography)
- Satin matte finish
- Barely visible and natural-looking on the skin
- Medium to full coverage
- Weightless feel on the skin
- Liquid foundation
- Silky texture
- Suits normal and dry skin types
- Fragrance free
- 20 shades, mostly yellow-toned
About
The Nars Sheer Glow Foundation is marketed as a ‘glowing, natural radiant finish foundation with sheer and buildable coverage‘, suitable for normal and dry skin types. Some of these claims are highly debatable, such as the ‘sheer‘ and ‘glow‘ aspects of it, but more on that below. It has a thin liquid texture, a super lightweight feel on the skin and it’s available in 20 shades, which are mostly yellow-toned. It has no SPF in its formulation and it comes in a 30ml glass bottle without a pump – boohoo!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/xCG77hLJ8Pc&w=740]
Video
As usual, I’ve done a First Impressions review video showing you how I apply the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation, how it looks on camera, and telling you my very first impressions of this foundation. I take you through the basic facts and show you how Sheer Glow performs throughout the day! Hit the play button above or click here to watch the video, and when you’re done, come back and read the rest of the review.
Texture & Finish
The Nars Sheer Glow Foundation has a silky texture and a satin matte natural-looking finish. Despite being called ‘Sheer Glow’, this foundation is not dewy and it doesn’t leave your skin looking extra glowy, like both the YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation and the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation do. Having said that, this foundation is light enough to let the natural glow of your skin come through, and in this category I find it similar to the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation.
Coverage
Sheer Glow has a good medium coverage, which can easily be built up to full coverage. Don’t be fooled by the name ‘Sheer Glow’ – it’s neither sheer, nor glowy! If you’re looking for a very light base with sheer coverage like BB creams and tinted moisturisers, stay way from this foundation. However, if you’re used light-medium or high-medium coverage foundations, then this foundation may be just what you’re looking for.
One very light layer of this foundation covered my redness and some of my pigmentation, leaving my skin looking naturally perfected; what I like the most about this foundation is how invisible it looks on the skin. I literally could not detect any trace of this foundation on my face! It was only after I applied a second layer that the foundation became ever so slightly visible.
With two layers on, the foundation covered all of my skin concerns (pigmentation and redness) without looking cakey or heavy. The only part where it clung to my dry patches was between my eyebrows, where my skin is extremely dry, but everywhere else, it looked absolutely perfect. I wouldn’t doubt it if I ditched Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk for this foundation on a day-to-day basis!
Formulation & Application
The Nars Sheer Glow Foundation has a liquid formulation that is neither creamy nor runny and it’s best applied with a buffing brush. The average liquid texture aids to that very ‘barely visible’ natural finish I mentioned above, and it’s lighter than Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, which makes it a little less long-wearing, but not by much.
This foundation does not contain SPF in its formulation, which means it’s ideal for flash photography. Do remember to wear a separate SPF on your face before sun exposure! The best way I found to apply this foundation was with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush; I found that I got the most natural-looking finish with this brush, compared to when I applied it with a Beauty Blender, which made the foundation look a bit less flawless and emphasised my dry patches.
Shades
Sheer Glow is available in 20 shades in Light, Medium, Medium Dark and Dark. The shades are mostly yellow-toned, but across the range you find yellow, pink, neutral, golden, peachy, olive, brown, caramel, red and espresso undertones. However, not all undertones are available in all the categories. For example, you will only find neutral undertones amongst the Light shades, which was very frustrating for me, as I have Medium skin tone with neutral undertones.
I ended up choosing the shade Medium 2 Santa Fe, which is a medium with peachy undertone, and even though it’s a fairly good match to my skin tone, I would have preferred if it was a bit more beige-toned. Also, for Summer, I might have to go one shade darker because Santa Fe looks great now, but it’s on the verge of being too light on my skin when I have a tan.
Here is a list of all of the shades available:
- Light: Siberia (Light 1 – light with neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones); Mont Blanc (Light 2 – light with pink undertone); Gobi (Light 3 – light with yellow undertone); Deauville (Light 4 – light with neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones); Fiji (Light 5 – light with golden peachy undertone); Ceylan (Light 6 – Light-medium with yellow undertone);
- Medium: Punjab (Medium 1 – medium with golden peachy undertone); Vallauris (Medium 1.5 – medium with pink undertone); Santa Fe (Medium 2 – medium with peachy undertone); Stromboli (Medium 3 – medium with olive undertone); Barcelona (Medium 4 – medium with golden peachy undertone);
- Medium Dark: Syracuse (Medium Dark 1 – medium dark with brown undertone); Tahoe (Medium Dark 2 – medium dark with caramel undertone); Cadiz (Medium Dark 3 – medium dark with caramel and red undertones); Macao (Medium Dark 4 – medium dark with deep yellow undertone); New Guinea (Medium Dark 5 – dark with red undertone);
- Dark: Trinidad (Dark 1 – dark with warm yellow undertone); New Orleans (Dark 2 – dark with yellow undertone); Benares (Dark 3 – dark with golden undertone); Khartoum (Dark 4 – dark with espresso undertone).
Lasting Power on Dry Skin
The Nars Sheer Glow Foundation lasted well on my skin for over 6 hours. I chose the hottest day of the year so far here in the UK (28 degrees Celsius!) to test this foundation, and I’m pleased to say it held up pretty well. Around the 3-hour mark, there was a bit of fading around my nose, but that was more from my poorly applied concealer than the foundation.
At around about 6.5 hours after I first applied this foundation, there were no new signs of wear and very minimal shine on my chin and cheeks, which considering the amount I was sweating that day, was more than acceptable. This foundation is aimed at normal to dry skin, so if you have normal to oily skin, you’re better suited for the Nars Sheer Matte Foundation. I do have to say, though, if you’re looking for a ridiculously long-wearing foundation, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk is still the better foundation in my opinion.
Flash Photography
Sheer Glow has no SPF in its formula, which means you won’t get flash-back when taking photographs with flash. This makes it ideal for special occasions, Red Carpet events and Weddings, and I’m very pleased with how it looked on me! Of course, you will have to rely on a separate SPF if you’re going out in the sunshine or using this foundation on a daily basis.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m very impressed with the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation! I know it’s early days still, but I can already see myself using it up pretty quickly. It ranks right up there with GA Luminous Silk, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua and Dior Airflash!
The best features of this foundation in my opinion are the lack of SPF, the weightless feel and the invisible look on the skin. It’s not as long-wearing as Luminous Silk, but it looks a lot more natural on the skin. The two downsides are the lack of a pump, which I’m told you can buy one separately from Nars (here), and the lack of neutral undertones on the Medium shades. I would recommend this foundation for normal to dry skin and I think it’s worth the price tag!
Have you tried the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation? How would you compare it to other foundations?
- Product: Nars Sheer Flow Foundation*
- Price: £30-31
- Buy in the UK: Selfridges | HQ Hair | House of Fraser | Look Fantastic | John Lewis | Asos | Nars | Space NK | Liberty | Harvey Nichols
- Buy in the US: Nordstrom | Sephora | Nars | Neiman Marcus Barneys | Beauty
NOTE: The photos have only been edited to correct the colour and light; they have not been retouched.
*Partially paid for with gift vouchers.
It looks great on you :) I’ve been seriously considering buying it, but we don’t have NARS in my country and I’m afraid of purchasing it online without seeing the shades in person.
Can I just say how great your reviews are. I like how much effort you put into them, writing about products in detail with all the pictures.Thank you :). There are so many bloggers who just do a one picture review with some text, but you really stand out :)
Thank you so much for your comment, Mateja! I really appreciate it :)
I’m glad you like my reviews and reading comments like yours, makes it worth all the time and effort I put into my blog! :) xx
hey ysis.. i just want to knw from uh dat which camera do u use to click ur pics ?:)
I love this foundation! its such a great coverage and finish!
http://www.beautyandtheboy.com
Totally agree! And I love it how it’s so easy to build up the coverage without looking cakey! :) x
Have you tried Georgio Armany luminous silk? If so how does the Nars compare? I love Giorgio Armany luminous silk but i’m always on the hunt for new discoveries : )
I have. I mentioned it on the review above :) x
Ups LOL : ) just re-read it, somehow I missed that part. Now you’ve got me interested and undecided on which one I should purchase next. My Georgio Armany luminous silk it’s sadly almost empty.
This is my HG foundation. It photographs beautifully x
I agree! I wasn’t expecting to like it that much, but it looks so beautiful on photos :) x
I love your reviews, but they are sooo bad for my bank balance!! Haha.
Chloe // throughchloeslens.blogspot.co.uk x
Haha! Thank you :) x
Acho que essa foi a melhor resenha que eu li em muito tempo!! Super detalhada e muito útil! E as fotos também estão perfeitas…você está usando a nova câmera? E que luz você usa?
Quanto à base, ficou realmente imperceptível! Não estava na minha wishlist, mas acho que você me convenceu =)
http://www.newinmakeup.com/
Eba! Compra já :) Fica linda na pele, super natural!
Obrigada, Fernanda. Fico muito feliz de saber que você curte as minhas resenhas! Dá um trabalhão, mas comentários como o seu põe um sorrisão na minha cara, e aí vale à pena!
Estou usando a câmera nova, sim. Muito muito boa! Super recomendo :) A luz que usei nestas fotos foi luz natural mesmo; tava um dia bonito e claro, daí eu tirei as fotos na frente da janela :)
Beijos! xx
A great, thorough review! <3
Blushing Biddies
Such an thorough good in depth review! wow! You have put in so much effort! :-) I love how it looks on you and in fact I love your whole makeup! Please give a break down of the look!
I did not know that no SPF meant no flashback!? Why is that? So crazy.
But I wear this foundation every day and Love IT!
Josie xoxo Fashion Mumblr
Great review, so much detail! You have definitely convinced me that I need this foundation in my life now! :) x
CatherineSarah
Great review you have fab skin anyway!
It looks really great on you Ysis, I think I’ll have to try this one out myself! Btw, about those dry patches of yours: I’d really recommend the “Rêve de Miel – Ultra Comfortable Face Cream” for sensitive and dry skin by Nuxe (the day version). I use it all year round, but during winter I make sure to always apply it EVERY day, otherwise I get terribly dry skin and even some breakouts from the weather. It both protects my skin and eliminates any dryness the weather may have caused. It’s VERY moisturizing, and I think I’d be a great match for your skin. I added a link below just in case (keep in mind that the only difference between the packaging of the Nuxe day cream (jour/day) and the night cream (nuit/night), is the text in that little orange box on the front of it. http://us.nuxe.com/en/reve-de-miel-ultra-comfortable-face-cream-day-158/reve-de-miel x
This makes your skin look incredibly flawless, although I didn’t know it didn’t have SPF which is such a huge shame! I still love this foundation regardless.
Belle ♥
Mascara & Maltesers
This was such a thorough review! I love Nars sheer glow and one of the best parts for me is no SPF. I am allergic to an ingredient in most SPF so I jump for joy whenever I find a great foundation without it.
xo Ashley
I just found your blog & really love it so far! All your detailed reviews are really helpful.
http://www.leftbanked.com
This was such a great in depth review! I’ve been itching to try this one but it’s just so pricey! :(
lana-sultana.blogspot.com
Hi liked your blog nars looks nice on u i am from india want to know wher to get this foundation do u sell also
Your makeup looks so fresh and lovely! Could you please name the blush and lipstick you are wearing? Though your skin is a bit lighter than mine, I also have a golden undertone and am always on the hunt for good shades.
This is an amazing review! I am new to blogging and I wanted to start doing makeup reviews because I always have a hard time finding ones that have all of the information I am looking for about a product. I stumbled upon your blog and I absolutely love how in-depth you go! Great job!!!
http://foreverlearningaboutlove.blogspot.com
I have really dry skin from living in arizona and I bought moisturizer after moisturizer until finding Made From The Earth productsI I love love love the Olive night creme. I use it as regular moisturizer and it feels so great on my skin. Never greasy or heavy. Did I mention I LOVE this night creme
Just wanted to congratulate you on your very thorough, professional and aesthetically-pleasing blog. This foundation had been recommended to me, I Googled it and your review came up first – thank you! You are SO pretty, by the way!
why the nars sheer glow foundation give me a huge white cast?? everyone knoww? Im very scare hahah
I get the same problem! Have tried it in different shades and still experiencing the same problem… It seems fine without flash but with flash an awful white cash appears…
Wayne Goss touched on the fact in one of his videos that the name does not mean the foundation is sheer and glowy, but rather it leaves a sheer glow – a subtle, dewy finish.
So pretty :) Would you please let me know which camera you use for your tutorials? Thank you in advance!
I also have Santa Fe whar shade did you find for summer tan?
You are so beautiful!! Especially when you have simply & natural looking make-up. God bless you & your baby. :)
Much love from the Philippines. ♥
Great review! I just purchased mine in Medium 4 Barcelona :)
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Madesimplebeauty.com