The Foundation Series #4 | NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Ceylan - RRP £30.50

Seems I have gone and done it again, I have well and truly jumped upon the blogger bandwagon and I'm in no hurry to get off. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation is a foundation which is gaining a little bit  A LOT of a reputation within the blogosphere and the beauty blogger community. I, like many other bloggers, didn't think NARS Sheer Glow foundation was for me but after reading copious amounts of reviews and breaking down in one of those oh look ASOS has 25% off for students moments, it all spiraled from there.

For what feels like my entire life, but probably was just ever since I began to take notice, I have thought I have oily skin. I never really paid much attention to skincare but I have always known that foundations do not last long on my face and tend to melt off leaving a greasy, patchy mess, if you have read any of my previous foundation posts this has led me to undertake something I would like to call my 'foundation quest'. I feel like many ladies will agree with me when I say that I feel like I have never found a perfect foundation, that 'all rounder' that just ticks every box and will go with you to your grave, if you have and have completed this personal quest then I envy you. I constantly feel like the perfect foundation is still out there for me, like my very own foundation soul mate just waiting to be found - hence I think I will never stop searching, (£££ I can see pound signs before my eyes - an expensive quest to be sure).

Recently, me and my skin have fallen out - what was a stable, predictable and co-operative relationship has turned into a confusing venture and has left me doing lots of research and investing lots of time into looking after my skin (and my body) in order to straighten this little hiccup out, my skin is dry and dehydrated which is why I purchased NARS Sheer Glow. My current go to Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick is a little dry for my skin at the moment and when I read that the Sheer Glow foundation was not oily, nor sheer nor too 'glowy' I thought hmm what an aptly named foundation but I purchased it nevertheless. 

First impressions of this foundation are that it is on the expensive side and definitely hitting the higher end of my budget. At £30.50 for 30ml this is the most expensive foundation in my collection and when I unboxed this I was shocked at the bottle size, since the lid to bottle ratio is about 50/50 it looks like you get more than you really do. Many other bloggers  dislike that the bottle does not come with a pump, I can understand this as pumps are more hygienic but personally this doesn't concern me unless wastage becomes an issue. Pumps can be bought individually from NARS at an extra cost of £3.00. The lid pulls off upwards to reveal a small black screw top lid on the glass bottle, I assume the reason for this is that of the optional pump so the outer lid can still fit on the bottle. You can screw off the small black inner lid using the outer lid fine and it will screw back on in place, however I have noticed that if you screw the inner lid in place and then screw the outer lid on top, the lids don't align and I found it really irritating until I realised the above - that they should be screwed on at once together.

NARS Sheer Glow comes in 20 shades and as this was my first NARS foundation and I ordered this online I was pretty worried about picking a shade to say the least! I ended up choosing Ceylan - Light 6 which is described as a light-medium yellow under-toned foundation, I was going to go with Fiji - light 5 but after looking at swatches online it seemed to me that Fiji was actually darker than Ceylan. The match is really good, it is slightly on the yellow side but I prefer this to pink or orange toned foundations and I don't look like Marge Simpson so it's not a big deal! 

On paper this sounds like the dream foundation, NARS describes Sheer Glow as:-
'A glowing, satin-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.

• 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.'

I really like this foundation, the coverage is definitely buildable up to a medium coverage but I wouldn't describe the foundation as sheer, it's a semi matte satin finish that seems to glow from within giving the skin a healthy radiant look. I buff this onto the skin using my Real Techniques buffing brush and it gives my skin a natural, even looking finish. Hands down my favourite thing about Sheer Glow is the fact that through the day my face doesn't get more oily and I'm not walking around with a slimy, shiny face. On Sunday, I applied this foundation over a moisturiser and primer at 2pm, I went to the pub (cheeky) and returned home at half 5 to change and meet friends, at half 9 that evening I left the house for a night on the town, I hadn't touched up this foundation at all and it stayed in place and looking flawless all night - a definite winner in my eyes! I haven't seen an improvement in my skins brightness, texture or tone however I don't feel like I have been using the foundation long enough for it to take effect. My skin is extremely sensitive at the moment and this hasn't affected my skin or broke me out.  

I'm pleased with this foundation and it's going to be a definite staple in my Spring/Summer make up bag. 

What are your opinions of Sheer Glow?