I Tried Every NARS Foundation to Find My Perfect Match—Here’s What I Discovered

If, like me, you're the sort of person who prefers a lightweight, natural look for the daytime, this product is for you. Enriched with a plethora of skincare ingredients, it leaves skin looking hydrated and full of life. And what's more? If your skin is oily like mine, this stuff is oil-free so it's doesn't slip off your face as easily as other formulas.

Having said that, it's worth noting that it isn't totally undetectable on the skin. Most days I only wear concealer, and I did notice that when I was wearing this you could still tell I was wearing some sort of base. While it's not totally undetectable, it is still easily one of the best tinted moisturisers out there.

I want to start this review by saying that, despite whatever you might have read before, Sheer Glow is a full-blown, full-coverage foundation. Yes, it can be sheered out into a beautifully medium-coverage finish, but it's not the lightweight formula people might have you believe. However, I absolutely adore it. It is one of my most-reached-for night-out foundations thanks to its satin finish that lets the skin's natural glow shine through. If you wear foundation regularly, you can't go wrong with it.

Again, this formula is packed full of skincare ingredients, including antioxidants to help protect skin from the effects of environmental aggressors. It's also the skincare ingredients that help to give this foundation the incredible skin-like finish it delivers. As somebody with combination skin that leans towards the oily side, this is the Nars foundation for me. It sheers out enough to be workable as a day-time foundation but also builds up beautifully if you want a fuller coverage, leaving skin looking candle-lit and almost impossibly soft.

I would like to caveat this short review by saying I am by no means a matte-finish sort of girl. I like my skin to look glowing and have a little bit of shine. Therefore, this matte foundation doesn't really speak to me. However, having tried it out for a few days in a row, I can safely say I still really like it—and that means a lot coming from me. For a matte foundation, this is really impressive. It still leaves skin looking like skin and just seems to take down the oiliness in areas you need/want it. As you can see above, the glow isn't covered up. Will I use this regularly? Probably not, but when I want a full coverage that needs to last all day, I will absolutely be reaching for it.

For years, this was my go-to foundation for evenings out. It gives skin a serious radiance (without any shimmer) and delivers a relatively full coverage that leaves skin looking exceptionally good. The reason I started pulling away from it is that as my skin became more acneic and oily in my late twenties, I found it slightly too dewy and needed to apply more powder than I'd like. However, if you have normal to dry skin, I can't recommend this foundation enough.