Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Santa Fe - review and swatches

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I have tried and tried to love this foundation and I think it's about time I gave up. So many people love this product and I've only ever seen one other person say they have the same issues I do with it: they said it often looks like a mask on them and I completely agree.

Previously the product was unwearable for me, but I saw Wayne Goss suggest adding a drop of oil to your base and I also saw a few lasses say that you could use one of the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors to alter the colour of your foundation, and I now do both things when using this product.

With a generous squirt of Topaz this colour becomes (just) dark enough for me, and two good drops of oil (one isn't enough with this foundation) do make it sheerer, but even then I can't rely on it to look good.


'Sante Fe' is described as 'medium with a peachy undertone', and while it does indeed look rather peach, I think this is more of a light-medium shade and it's not dark enough for my medium skin - even in the cooler months.

I've already been through one 4ml bottle and I'm now halfway through my second one, and I've been madly testing this product over the past couple of months - including by comparing it to other bases - so I'm finally ready to write this review. 

You'll see many lasses put this particular product in their yearly favourites, but I hereby admit to the world that this product just doesn't work for me, no matter what I do, and I don't like it. Foo!

There's the colour in sunlight (unblended on the left and blended out on the right):


And in natural light:


Here's what it looks like (in sunlight) once I've added Topaz and oil and blended it out; thankfully it looks warmer and less peachy:


Same shot, taken in the shade:


Nars claims/product details:
  • An artistry favourite, this silky liquid foundation delivers immediate hydration, evens skintone and leaves the skin brighter and more radiant
  • Used daily, your skin's texture and tone improves - becoming softer, smoother and more luminous
  • Sheer Glow Foundation provides all-day weightless and buildable coverage, with a natural radiant finish
  • Suitable for normal to dry skin
  • RRP $65 AUD for 30ml

My bare face for reference:


Wearing a thin layer of the foundation/Topaz/oil mix:


One more for good measure:


Looks better once I've chucked Hourglass Dim Light over the top:


Verdict

What can I say other than that no product works for absolutely everyone? I know people who wear this and it looks good on them, but it just doesn't suit my skin for whatever reason.

If I don't dilute the product, other than being the wrong colour (which of course isn't an issue with the foundation but one with the shade I received), I find this foundation unwearable because it looks like a mask on me. I prefer lighter, dewy bases, and this definitely doesn't look that way on my skin.

On that (and I'm not the first person to say this), this product hasn't been named well because it's not sheer and it's not glowy. Even toned down and sheered out, it offers a medium coverage and if anything it's matte - not glowy in the slightest.

Perhaps my biggest issue with this foundation - aside from the fact that it looks like paint on me - is that it sits in pores and leaves me with dots all over my face. Not a good look! It's particularly bad around the hairline, and indeed it looked so rubbish when I tried it one last time this morning, that I went so far as to wash it off and use another foundation instead because I hated how badly it was sitting on my skin.

I should say that my skin is dry today so my regular base isn't looking so good either, but it's a more forgiving product so it's passable - whereas Nars Sheer Glow isn't because it emphasises texture and dry patches on me, so my skin needs to be at its best if I can get away with using it (even my diluted Topaz/oil concoction). This shouldn't be true of a good foundation: a good foundation should help with skin issues, not emphasise them. That's what I reckon anyway.

Also, I've discovered that while the foundation wears ok throughout the day and doesn't fade badly or quickly, for some reason I get really oily when I wear this and I NEVER get oily. I have dry skin and I don't think I've ever had oil issues in my life (I half wish I did because I hate having dry skin!), but for some reason this product causes my skin to turn into an oil-fest by lunchtime. This means I need to powder like crazy and I've never needed to do that before, so obviously my skin just doesn't like this product.

All in all, I can't recommend this one but I'm definitely in the minority there because so many people rave about it. In any event, it's worth testing first to see if it works for you since it ain't cheap.


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