Review: NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be (finally) talking about NARS Sheer Glow in the shade Siberia! I've had this for quite some time, and it is one of the biggest first world struggles for me. It's the perfect colour, but the formula is A PAIN IN THE BEHIND. I'm halfway through the bottle and I STILL can't apply it correctly every time. How very frustrating.

First Impression: NARS Light Optimizing Primer

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about the NARS Light Optimizing Primer! I picked up a couple of these samples when I purchased the NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation and the NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder in Taipei. All of the stores in Taipei and Kaohsiung were so generous with their samples, I wish NZ stores were like that too! ><

What Does It Do?

"Primed. Revived. Radiant. NARS Light Optimizing Primer SPF 15 dramatically extends and transforms the appearance and vibrancy of makeup. Weightless and oil-free, it minimizes signs of fatigue to leave the skin luminous and revived. May also be worn alone as daily sun protection and/or to create a natural luminous complexion." (1)

I was really surprised with the thick creamy texture of this primer, and the radiant appearance it had when blended into the skin! It seems to have a golden sheen, with small sparkles in purple and pink (ish) which is a new look for me, but interestingly I cant see any pink and purple glitter on my face at all, just a lovely golden sheen on the high points of my face.

I don't quite agree that this product dramatically extends the appearance and vibrancy of makeup, in fact apart from the lovely luminous look I got from the golden sheen, I didn't see any difference with the longevity or appearance on my foundations. It did make my skin look quite moisturized and plump though, which was quite nice. It was easy to apply and didn't leave a greasy feeling on my face like a lot of primers do.

Would I Purchase This Product?

At $54NZD for 30mls I would struggle to purchase this primer. For $30NZD I would have already purchased it by now, but for the extra money it's just so expensive and doesn't provide $54 worth of effects in my opinion. It's a lovely primer, giving my plump, luminous looking skin, I love that it has a bit of SPF in it, but it doesn't make my foundation or BB Cream last any longer, which is what I'm really looking for in a primer!

Have you tried any of the NARS Primers? What's your favourite primer?

Review: NARS Sheer Glow VS All Day Luminous Weightless

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be comparing NARS Sheer Glow and All Day Luminous Weightless Foundations! (This will be the last NARS post for a while, sorry for the one brand concentration!) I have both of these foundations in the shade Siberia and even though I haven't done a proper review of NARS Sheer Glow, I thought a quick comparison might be helpful for some who are considering purchasing the new All Day Luminous Weightless formula!

This is quite a long post, complete with grossly close pictures that are collaged in random formats to make me look like an alien. So if you just want the key differences, scroll right down to the bottom to see them listed out! ^.^

NARS Sheer Glow: Siberia

"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.

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.

Although the foundation can be built up for more coverage, this is the go-to product for a transparent, weightless foundation with sheer to medium coverage. The foundations give their coverage by pigment, not weight of product, so less is more. Always warm up foundation in the hands and apply with the finger — this creates the most natural-looking finish. Start in the center of the face (where we typically need more coverage) and work out toward the edge of the face. Sheer Glow Foundation is also a great clean-up tool: use it with a concealer brush under the eyes and around the lips to make sure lines are crisp and picture-perfect."(1)

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation: Siberia

"Full, natural-looking coverage with unexpectedly weightless, 16-hour wear. Highly pigmented and perfectly balanced, this breakthrough formula builds and blends effortlessly with just one drop—the result of exclusive innovation uniquely designed to deliver long-wearing full coverage, weightlessly. Shake, pump and blend in sections for complete coverage that's completely natural looking.

Pure Innovation. Exclusively NARS.
Weightless Long-wear Technology delivers up to 16 hours of wear, while always feeling light-as-air. Featuring advanced flexible polymers and first-to-market treated pigments.
 
Advanced flexible polymers move with the skin, providing extraordinary breathability and comfort.
First-to-market treated pigments weightlessly deliver long-wearing, complete coverage without ever masking for perfected, natural-looking skin.

Even Tone Technology is designed to instantly neutralize redness and dullness, while working long-term to reduce the appearance of discoloration for more even, uniform skin.
 
Gold and green pigments in a perfect 4-to1 ratio optically manipulate how light reflects off skin's surface, evening the complexion for instant luminosity. Green pigments negate redness on contact, while gold combats dullness.
Scarlet Spiderling Root Extract helps reduce the appearance of discoloration and reveal brighter, more even skin over time.

KEY CLAIMS
92% felt the foundation provided coverage without masking*
93% thought it felt weightless*
90% said it felt comfortable and breathable*
*based on an independent consumer study after one week of use."(2)

Obviously there is a huge difference with the bottle structure, the new Luminous Weightless packaging is an elegant frosted glass jar with sharper edges, and comes with it's own pump and cap. The Sheer Glow comes housed in a glossy, round edged glass jar which required you to purchase a pump separately and does not work in conjunction with it's original cap, though the pump does lock.

Even though the shades are the same, there is a small difference in colour on my arm swatches. I don't notice this difference on my face at all so I'm not sure whether the arm swatch appears slightly different due to the pigmentation difference or because they are actually a slightly different colour. 

I decided to see which foundation I liked better by simply wearing the foundations on one side of my face for a day! So on the photo's left side I'm wearing the All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation, and on the right I'm wearing the Sheer Glow. I set both foundations with the NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder, and primed my skin with the NARS Light Optimizing Primer. I also applied both foundations with my fingers and helped blend the product better by using a short stippling brush

Obviously the first thing you notice from the full face shots is that after 6 hours my face looks ridiculously oily. This happens with the majority of my foundations (EL Doublewear Light and the ATrue CC Cushion are excluded from this one) so I don't really consider this the fault of either foundation, although they don't control my oil at all. The only difference I can see from the initial photos is that the Luminous Weightless foundation accentuates some dry patches on my face which are a result from acne treatment.

If I look at my cheeks/pores quite closely I can see a difference between pore coverage. LW tends to accentuate my already big pores, while SG smooths them out a little. After 6 hours LW breaks up on my skin quite noticeably, while SG stays a little smoother.

The other thing I noticed was that when I applied blush, LW got blended away slightly, while SG stayed in place. You can see the pore difference a little better here.

My chin is usually the pivotal point where I decide if I like the formula of a foundation or not. I almost always have acne on my chin as well as a ton of scarring, which can really mess up foundations and BB Creams. Both of these foundations are no exception, although LW accentuates the dry patches of skin more than SG, and also breaks up and looks chunkier after 6 hours in comparison to SG.

The last thing I noticed was that LW accentuates the fine lines around my eyes much more than SG does.

NARS Sheer Glow

- Doesn't accentuate fine lines

- Doesn't accentuate pores

- Doesn't accentuate dry patches of skin

- Stays solidly on skin with minimal

- Needs to be set with a powder

- Oxidises a little

- Beautiful satin finish
- Good medium, buildable coverage

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless

- Accentuates fine lines

- Accentuates pores

- Accentuates dry patches of skin

- Tends to break up after about 3 hours

- Doesn't need to be set with a powder

- Oxidises a little

- Beautiful satin matte finish
- Not really full coverage 

Final Thoughts

I actually quite like both of these foundations, but I have had a whole year to find out what works best for my skin for Sheer Glow and only one month to figure out the Luminous Weightless formula! I think I just need to find a really good way to apply the LW formula and it will be just as good as Sheer Glow! ^.^ I would highly recommend getting tester samples of both of these formulas to decide which one you like best before splashing about $80NZD on either one.

Have you tried either of these foundations before? What was your preference?

Review: NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about the new NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder in the shade Snow! I purchased this loose powder in a joint deal with the All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation in Taipei because I'm a massive sucker for discounted makeup.  

This foundation is packaged in the typical NARS black box with the irritating clear sticker (so unappealing). The powder itself is housed in the regular NARS Powder jar with the matte black cap that holds onto dirt and foundation stains like it's going out of fashion. Once these get dirty it's ridiculously difficult to get them clean again! You can already see fingerprints on mine already from getting it out of the cardboard.

The powder sieve has quite small holes, and there have been some complaints that it doesn't let enough power out. I don't have any issue with it at all, but I do store my powders sideways so there is always enough powder in the cap for me!

"An innovative, light-reflecting tinted loose powder that reduces the look of shine and seamlessly sets foundation. 

Featuring Photochromic Technology to diffuse light across the skin, this silky loose powder glides across the skin to absorb oil and reduce the appearance of shine. Light-optimising particles optically fade the look of pores, fine lines and wrinkles, whilst the powder sets your foundation without leaving a trace of colour."(2)

This is the shade Snow, and it is super pale! This is not white, and it's not translucent, but it's a really lovely neutral colour that has the ability to pale out your skin ever so slightly which is perfect for fair girls that struggle to match foundations. It does say that it leaves no trace of colour, but it depends on how heavy handed you are!

I find that if I use a big fluffy brush to use this powder I end up using way too much and make my face look cakey. I generally use a stippling brush to get the powder evenly applied without being too heavy handed.

I find that this powder does an excellent job at masking pores, but I didn't see a difference with my fine lines. I don't think this powder controls oil at all, but it's no worse than my regular translucent setting powders. If I use this powder with a pore smoothing primer I have a lovely smooth face, almost like being airbrushed.

 I can clearly see a difference between the side that has been powdered and the side that hasn't!

However, I find that this powder emphasizes the cakey, gross looking separation of product that happens to my face when I wear NARS Sheer Glow! (I don't have this problem with my beloved BB Creams and this powder though). I need to bring a brush to blend the product back into my skin after 3 hours, and afterwards it will look fine, but man it's unappealing to look at. The Soft Velvet Loose Powder doesn't cause this separation, but it does emphasize it.

What I Love

- Great colour for pale princesses

- Beautiful blurring effect for skin (like being airbrushed)

- Easy to apply

What I Don't Love

- Does nothing for my oily skin

- On the pricier side
- Emphasizes cakey foundation

Final Thoughts

I love that this powder gives me a super flawless finish, and when I use it with pore primers (I love Benefit Porefessional) it gives me the most flawless finish possible, almost like I airbrushed my pores away. I don't think it particularly controls shine or oil at all, so blotting papers are necessary for me as always, and this is definitely a pricey product. I think it's a great product for anyone who struggles with big pores, but I certainly don't think it's a necessity. I have no regrets spending $60NZD on this! ^.^

Have you tried the Soft Velvet Loose Powder? Did it play nicely with your skin type?