Me and my NARS Sheer Glow foundation have had a bit of a rocky relationship.
I purchased the foundation from Sephora Canada in March of this year, for a whopping $55.00 CDN before tax/shipping/duty. Thats A LOT of money for foundation. I bought the foundation because it was being hyped so much by other beauty bloggers out there - most notably Lollipop26. I kept seeing reviews that led me to believe that the NARS Sheer Glow foundation was the be-all end-all of foundations. For this fact alone, I knew I at least had to buy it to try it. So I did.
TRIAL 1:
I used the foundation for the first time in early spring. I had a hard time with the products consistency - it took me awhile to figure out just how much I needed for a full face application. I used it for two whole weeks, and found that my face got irritated by it very easily - itchy, to be exact. I also noticed that putting on a powder to set the foundation just made my skin look chalking and unappealing. So, slightly annoyed, I decided to set the bottle aside and use one of my other cheaper (and more reliable!) foundations.
TRIAL 2:
Not wanting to give up on a product I paid so much for, I gave the Sheer Glow foundation another go in May. Now that winter was over, I was finding my skin to be super dry and I was moisturizing a lot. My skin-care regimen at that time was the Clinique 3-step skincare system, in type 2 - Normal to Dry. I would wash my face in the morning, apply the toner, and then moisturize with at least 2 pumps of product - sometimes three.
Since I had figured out just how much product I needed for a full face application of foundation, I didn't have any issues in that area. I used either a stippling brush or a foundation brush to apply the product.
In May, the weather started to get unusually warm. I discovered that about 3 hours after applying foundation, my face was a total oil slick. It was painfully obvious that my foundation was losing the battle against the oil...it streaked, came off on my clothes (shirt collars, really) and just looked horrible. Disappointed again, I set the foundation aside.
TRIAL 3:
I picked up my bottle of Sheer Glow again this past weekend.
For about a month now, I have been relying strictly on Neutrogena moisturizer. The moisturizer in particular is Oil Free Neutrogena Moisture for Sensitive Skin. Right now, most of my skin-care regimen consists of Neutrogena products (I'll go into particulars in a seperate post).
Apparently my new moisturizer and my Sheer Glow are compatible. I have been using my Sheer Glow again for 3 days straight, and am very happy to report that I now experience that 'dewy' look that everyone else who has used it reported. My face is not a total oil-slick. The foundation looks natural - and I am pleased as punch. I still have the odd skin irritation - an itch on my cheek or chin...but it's usually because of a blemish or other skin irritation that the foundation just aggravated.
I am glad I did not give up on NARS Sheer Glow. It took 3 tries, but I am finally happy with it.
I am not going to review it just yet though - I will wait until the week is through so that I know the experience I'm currently having with the product isn't just temporary.
