Itch reviews: NARS Sheer Matte Foundation

Peace be upon all of us!

Sorry for the lack of posts. Was down with cold and fever the past few days. Am feeling a bit better now. Also am feeling a bit bored because my son is with my mom this week since I have to go to Melaka tomorrow until Monday. Will be super busy then so I thought maybe I should squeeze in a review post today :)

Today's review is on the NARS Sheer Matte Foundation.

This is the only NARS product I own, and I bought it because I have read many great reviews about it. There was a 20% discount on NARS on Beauty.com when I purchased this and ended up paying about RM142.00 including postage. I received this last year around May I think (I'm not really sure) but I rarely use it before. I'll tell you why.

The product comes in a sleek frosted bottle. It has an open bottle neck with no pump. I hated the square bulky bottle cap, adds unnecessary space and weight, so I took it off leaving it with just the screw cap. 

I got the foundation in Punjab, after reading and looking at many swatches. And luckily, it suits my skin tone.

Ok here's the story about me and this foundation. The first time I used this I was really disapointed with it. I have enlarged pores at some places around my nose and this foundation sinks right into them and creates ugly looking spots. It also settles in fine lines. You can clearly see it in the blended swatches below:

L: Without flash R: With flash

I tried layering and blending more on my nose but it didn't work. I didn't have this problem with my Revlon Colorstay since it is a bit thicker that NARS. NARS Sheer Matte is very runny. I tried applying using different techniques; fingers, foundation brush, sponge, stippling brush and was just not getting the finish I wanted. So I stopped using it thinking I had wasted money on it.

Then I bought the ELF Mineral Infused Face Primer. I have never used silicone primers before so didn't really know what to expect. Though oil control with the primer is not 100% marvelous it helps all my foundations go on smoothly. Including the NARS Sheer Matte Foundation! Thank you ELF. Who knew a USD6 product could actually help save a USD42 foundation?!

Ok so here's my take on the foundation:

PROS:
Gives a sheer to medium coverage with a matte finish.
Good oil control.
Gives a really natural looking finish to your face (as if not wearing foundation)

Very camera friendly

CONS:
Settles into lines and pores (MUST use primer)
Runny texture (which makes  it prone to be streaky to apply and the best way is to use your fingers and blend with wet sponge)
Smells very cosmeticky

I wore this for my dramatic black and green look. 

So will I repurchase this? I think NOT. For something this expensive it should apply like a dream. Effortless. As easy as ABC. I find that this doesn't feel that way at all. If you have good skin, MAYBE you can try it. It does look good on camera. But I do think there are many other brands out there that could easily knock this thing off the shelves.

So that's today's review. What's your favourite liquid foundation? I've yet to find mine. But searching for it is a lot of fun, don't you think?

Have a colourful day ahead guys!