NARS Light Reflecting Foundation Is Great For All Seasons – Review
Milabu Pick
Milabu Rating
Price Category: Pro-Grade
- $49.00 Retail
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Pros
- Lightweight
- Second skin-like finish
- Buildable coverage
- Suitable for sensitive and acne-prone skin
- Skincare benefits
- Great shade range (36 shades)
Cons
- Can accentuate dry spots
Overview
Skincare meets makeup with NARS Light Reflecting Foundation. This medium coverage foundation feels lightweight, looks like a second-skin, and has a beautiful, all day wear.
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Achieve Second-skin like coverage with NARS Light Reflecting Foundation – Review
Skincare-hybrid foundations are the new it thing in the beauty industry. I mean, who doesn’t love the idea of improving your skin while you wear a beautiful skin-perfecting foundation? NARS Light Reflecting Foundation is just that: a foundation that improves skin overtime with each wear, while delivering stunning results with each wear. But, will this foundation perform in an all-day wear? As many do, I like my foundations to not settle into lines or accentuate my skin dryness/texture, while keeping my imperfections concealed and not looking cakey all day. Let’s see if this one lives up to my expectations.
Promises vs. Performance: Skincare meets the perfect face base.
NARS Light Reflecting Foundation is a skincare-makeup hybrid, suitable for all skin types including sensitive and acne-prone. Based on a six-week clinical study, this NARS foundation immediately gives more even skin tone, plus improves skins clarity over time. The breathable formula is vegan and formulated with over 81% naturally derived ingredients, making it suitable for daily use on even sensitive and acne-prone skin. In addition, you’ll always be photo-ready with what NARS calls ‘photochromic technology’ and ‘light reflecting complex,’ which both help boost skin clarity and help adjust the complexion to any light. It features buildable medium coverage that instantly blurs, smooths, and conceals.
While NARS Light Reflecting Foundation does look beautiful on all skin types no matter the season, it does require properly hydrated skin to look A+. I find that this foundation applies best on top of skincare with no primer. Yep, even my favorite Shiseido Synchro Skin Primer is not a good match with this foundation. Once skincare is applied, a pump on each side of the face achieves a solid medium coverage that evens out skin tone as well as conceals redness and blemishes. The texture is lightweight, with a slight velvet feel that blends easily with the fingers, brush, or sponge.
Setting with a translucent powder will aid in the best and longest wear with NARS Light Reflecting Foundation. It does feel breathable as NARS promises. I will say, because it is is a more hydrating formula, you can get a little shiny throughout the day. For me, this isn’t a dealbreaker because I don’t feel greasy, and a dusting of any powder will take down the shine. Whenever I wear this NARS foundation, I get a solid 8 hours of wear out of it.
Quick Rating Rundown Chart
How It Compares: NARS Light Reflecting Foundation is a great addition to any makeup collection.
NARS Light Reflecting Foundation has easily become one of my favorites, especially when my skin is feeling or looking drier than usually. This skincare-infused foundation is packed with hydrating and protecting ingredients, like biommetic oat, cacao peptides and milk thistle, algae extract, as well as exclusive NARS technologies like photochromic technology and a light reflecting complex. The coverage is buildable medium with a lightweight, breathable feel. When paired with a setting powder, this NARS foundation will wear beautifully for 8 hours – you may just get a little shiny from all the hydrating ingredients, but a powder touch-up will fix that! I love that I can feel good about what I put on my skin even during when doing full glam makeup looks.
As much as I do love NARS Light Reflecting Foundation, there are several other staples in my makeup collection. One of these is Estée Lauder Double Wear, an industry classic. Double Wear is the foundation I can always count on for coverage and longevity. It provides some of the fullest coverage out there, but does require a bit of effort to apply to ensure it doesn’t look cakey. With this foundation, you’ll get a natural matte finish.
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation is another favorite of mine. This one provides buildable medium coverage with skincare benefits, just like NARS Light Reflecting Foundation. Hydrated, plump skin is what you’ll have when wearing this Charlotte Tilbury foundation. It resists settling and creasing for all day, glowy skin. This isn’t the lightest weight foundation (NARS Light Reflecting is lighter), but also not as heavy as Estée Lauder Double Wear.
Comparison to Top Performers
While NARS Light Reflecting Foundation might not have the highest coverage compared to an industry standard like Estée Lauder Double Wear, it does hold its own against other top foundations. It has an easy application, a solid medium coverage, and a skin-like finish. I’d compare it to other foundations faves like HAUS LABS Triclone Skin Tech and LYS Triple Fix. See the chart below to see how these foundations compare in terms of application, coverage, finish, and longevity.
Performance Rating Chart
Advertised Product Highlights
NARS Light Reflecting Foundation
# OF SHADES: 36 shades
FORMULATION: Liquid
FINISH: Natural
COVERAGE: Buildable medium
SKIN TYPE: All skin types, including sensitive and acne prone
LONGEVITY: All day wear
PROTECTION: No SPF
BENEFITS: Makeup-skincare hybrid formula made of 70% skincare ingredients; Contains over 81% naturally derived ingredients; Photochromic Technology that allows complexion tone to adjust in response to intensity of light so skin never appears washed out; Light Reflecting Complex; Infused with ingredients like biommetic oat which improves skin clarity and redness while soothing and calming, Japanese lilyturf to strengthen skin barrier, as well as cacao peptides and milk thistle to protect against blue light and environmental stressors
CLEAN BEAUTY CLAIMS: Vegan; Free of talc, gluten, mineral oil, silicone, fragrance, alcohol, parabens, SLS & SLES, phthalates, and PEG
Edited by Maddie