Hello hello!

Wow, it's only just clicked that it's been a little while now since my last post, but I have my reasons! First off, I landed myself an amazing contractor role a few weeks back and I'm currently trying to get the whole work/life balance thing working again. Secondly, I buggered off to Dubai for my Birthday! It had been TWO WHOLE YEARS since my last holiday, so I think it was well deserved - photos up soon, fingers crossed!

But enough about me, I'm here to talk about NARS' latest offering:

  

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

The name itself is quite the mouthful, but fairly self explanatory - you know exactly what NARS are going for with this product. It should be a foundation that makes your skin glow, feels like you're not wearing anything and lasts all day. I'm a complete sucker for NARS foundations myself, Sheer Glow has been my HG foundation since I first reviewed it way back in 2012 and I heart their tinted moisturiser!

I was really happy in Selfridges to see that NARS have stuck to the same shades they've used on their previous and existing foundation ranges, which made it all the more easy for me to just pick up Barcelona without the need to go through the whole patching palaver.

So what do NARS actually say about it?

"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."

Tone, Consistency and Application

I mentioned that NARS had used the same range of shades as they have for their other foundations, but if one was to be pedantic, I'd have to say that at first glance this is ever-so-slightly darker than Sheer Glow. Later on, you'll find that once applied to the skin it does blend back down again magically adapting to your skintone, so don't worry if it looks a little darker than usual at first.

NARS say that one drop gives high-performance full-coverage. To clarify, one pump is exactly one drop. When I first pumped out a drop I thought there was no way this would be enough to cover my whole face, and then I thought 'Hold on a minute, this comes with a pump!!!' Which is good to see after Sheer Glow never came with one!

Much to my surprise though, one pump out on to the hand really does cover my entire face. The way I apply is to use a flat foundation brush and dot it all over my face, this may look sparse still but trust me, when you use a foundation buffing brush or your fingers to blend it in, it does cover the entire face. I prefer using my fingers, as the natural warmth helps to make blending that bit easier.

What I have found is when I dot it around my face it sets into the skin really quickly leaving cakey marks that just stays there unblended. My advice is to work quickly - once pumped onto the hand, I'll buff immediately after placing each dot at various points around the face - 'Buff As You Go'! It's quite a bit of effort. 

As for consistency, it feels a little runny but not to the point where it slides off your hand. Also, you actually need to give the bottle a good shake before using it. That may sound a bit weird but the liquid and foundation seperate inside the bottle. God only knows what it'd look like on your face if you pumped without shaking!

 


NARS first claim within the name is 'All Day', and within the spiel it's 16 hours. I've never left it on for 16 hours so far, but at the time of writing I've had it on for 14 hours and it's still going quite strong. Interestingly enough, the luminosity that was lacking upon application begins to show through towards the end of the day as little oily patches begin to break through around the nose and forehead areas. At this point, light powdering works a treat.

14 hours is pretty fantastic for such a lightweight, yet full coverage foundation though. That's a whole day in the office or out and about with no need for any powdering whatsoever. On top of that, I've had all sorts of comments from people saying my skin looks so clear. When I tell them it's my foundation, they say incredulously: 'You're wearing foundation?!'

WIN

 

 


In Summary:

• Full coverage foundation, with a supremely skin-like finish
• Small amount needed each morning, long-lasting bottle
• No powdering or concealer needed
• Comes with a pump!
• Fantastic Longevity
• Feels weightless, as described!
• Perfect for people with oily/combo skin used with moisturiser underneath
• Fantastic shade range and easily matched across from NARS existing ranges
• Barcelona shade has peach undertones therefore colour corrects hyperpigmentation
• No SPF therefore no flashback photo face!
•  Doesn't settle into creases on the face.

• Awkward application
• Brushes must be perfectly clean (this could also be a pro though, as you're prompted to clean your brushes regularly!)
• No luminosity until it begins to wear off at the end of the day
• The finish could be seen as a little too natural - i.e. doesn't make skin look healthier.
• Price - at £32 it's a little on the expensive side
• May be unsuitable for people with dry skin types, as it could look pretty cakey

BROWS 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pomade in Medium Brown

EYES 

MAC Sable Eyeshadow
Bourjois Little Round Pot Eyeshadow in No 90 Blanc Diaphane
Sephora Colorful Eyeshadow in Pool Party
Illamasqua Prescision Gel Liner in Infinity
Sephora Outrageous Curl - Dramatic Volume and Curl Mascara

CHEEKS

MAC Powder Blush in Gingerly
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Gold Deposit (absolutely loving this at the moment!)

LIPS 

Lime Crime Velvetine in Red Velvet


I have to give a special mention to the eyeshadow that pretty much made this look:

 

Sephora Colorful Eyeshadow in Pool Party

Whilst browsing through Sephora at the Dubai Mall - by the way, completely jealous that they have several outlets - for their legendary lipstains, I was drawn to this eyeshadow like a moth to a flame!
 
  

Unfortunately the lid broke off after just a couple of days usage! I'm not sure whether it was genuinely difficult to open or whether I was just too eager to open it! Nevertheless, the colour is just stunning and the name is very appropriate.

 

The shadow itself is a Periwinkle colour with some silver running through it. I was quite impressed with it as we've all had the glitter eyeshadow experience where it just ends up all over our faces. Not with this though, the fallout is minimal and where it happens it's barely even noticeable. The pigmentation is pretty amazing, it's one of those rare eyeshadows that swatches exactly as it appears in the pan - MAC's Beauty Marked, take note!!

For this look, I lined my lower eyelids using an angled eyeshadow brush for precision and again was really impressed by how it glided on so effortlessly.

 

I hope you've enjoyed this post and found the review useful, I'd definitely recommend NARS' All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation for those of you that crave a natural skin-like finish with full coverage.

I shall hopefully be posting again in the near future with some holiday snaps from sunny Dubai. Travelling from 30+ degrees to just 7 overnight is not good, now I just want to get away again and return when (or if) the weather here finally improves! 

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