Sunday, 15 January 2017

Nars Sheer Glow VS Armani Luminous Silk Foundation



Hello, My Gorgeous Beauty Bees, I hope you all had a great week :) I've sadly had a challenging one as Mr Flu has come to visit me with a vengeance!
Word of advice...remember to wrap up warm and don't do what I did and pop to the shops with just a hoodie on during hailing winds.

So, I didn't include a favourite foundation in my Top 10 Holy Grail Beauty Items post as it was a year of trying out different ones, however, I thought it would be a good idea to review two higher end foundations that are loved by many, The NARS Sheer Glow & the Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. As their names do suggest, both foundations are geared towards making your skin look glowy and luminous, which is something that I’m always aiming for due to my dry skin type. I'm going to share my honest thoughts on if I think they are worth the hype, some more affordable dupes I've discovered and which one I would repurchase again.

Let's start with the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk. I picked this up as I heard it's a favourite of the Kardashians and let's be honest, who doesn't want Kardashian looking skin? When the store assistant first tried it on my face, I was astonished on how healthy and flawless it made my skin appear! I was also impressed by the varied colour selection that caters to most skin tones. I went for the shade 3.5 and it was the perfect match for me!

The consistency of this foundation feels extremely lightweight and silky, gliding effortlessly onto my dry skin. As it has a lightweight formula, I hardly notice that I have foundation on which is perfect for everyday use. However, I have to say that I'm not blown away by the coverage as I have hyperpigmentation and prefer a bit more of a fuller coverage. I would definitely say that this is a light-medium coverage and I have to use a good two pumps along with a dense makeup brush to get a medium finish, which I don't mind so much for everyday use.

Although I'm not in love with the coverage of this foundation I do like the finish it provides as it gives me that gorgeous, almost airbrushed luminosity that the Kardashians rock so well. A few other things I enjoy about this foundation is that it doesn't separate or become patchy throughout the day so it's failsafe if you’re going to an event such as a wedding, plus it photographs beautifully too. It also has great lasting power, lasting up to 6 hours on me, although I do recommend you use a mattifying primer if you tend to get oily throughout the day. I personally like to pair this with Benefit The Porefessional Primer as I find they work well together.

You may be thrilled to know that I have found a pretty good dupe for this foundation, which is only a quarter of the price! Any guesses for what this could be? I believe Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation is a darn good dupe, so much so that I tested this out by applying both of them to each half of my face. I kid you not, that they looked identical to each other from the coverage to the luminous finish and even the colour match! (I got it in number 3). Of course, the Luminous Silk is longer lasting but would I rush out to repurchase it again? …Probably not, as I can't say I'm obsessed with it and I've found myself a cheaper dupe :)


Kardashians Favourite?

So you may have guessed that the one that I am obsessed with and will be repurchasing is the infamous Nars Sheer Glow Foundation. Honestly, I feel it should come in a gold bottle, as that's how amazing this foundation is! After seeing many YouTubers, including Tanya Burr who uses it in her makeup tutorials and it looks marvellous on her, I decided to give it a go. I chose to do the lazy thing at first and guess my colour to be 'Deauville'. How horribly wrong I was :( It made me look like I was doing my makeup for Halloween as it was way too light, so I ended up selling it on depop. 

I thought I'd try again as I actually enjoyed the formula so off I went to a NARS counter to get a colour match. Similarly to Luminous Silk, it has a great colour selection, which is always a good thing as I like to recommend products to Instagram followers, friends and family so I appreciate brands that cater to various skin tones. I was matched up to 'Punjab', which this time made me look human and yes, of course, I was also sucked into buying the notorious 'Nars Orgasm Blush (yes, we all cringe at the name). The combinations of these two products are beautiful! (like jam is to a fresh doughnut)…oh, don't I just have a way with words?! 

This foundation does not feel in any way sheer and compared to the Luminous Silk, it is a lot thicker in consistency. I would definitely recommend you buy yourself a separate pump for this foundation, as sadly it does not come with one and you can easily spill a bit too much out. This foundation is medium to full coverage, though as it's super pigmented, two pumps provide me with a full flawless coverage especially when I apply it with the Morphe M439 brush icon…what a dream team.

My favourite thing about this foundation is the gorgeous and unique finish that it gives. I usually find that thicker, fuller coverage foundations tend to be quite drying however, this foundation dries matte but still makes your skin look luminous and glowy...how amazing is that?! Even when I get it to a full coverage and due to the fact that it still provides radiance, my skin still looks like skin, which is hard to come by with fuller coverage foundations. 

I also feel it lasts all day on me too, which is perfect for taking you from day to night and I don't feel the need to touch up or powder throughout the day either. I haven't found a more affordable dupe for this foundation as it's all kinds of awesome, however, if I had to pick one then I'd say the L’Oreal True Match Foundation is similar in pigment and coverage. They also have a fantastic colour selection catering to most skin types. 

The Morphe M439 is the perfect brush for this foundation 

To summarise my review, I can see why both of these foundations are loved my many beauty gurus for different reasons. The Luminous Silk would be perfect if you don't like the feeling of not wearing foundation and if don't require a full heavy coverage, as the finish is lovely. The NARS Sheer Glow is a good all rounder, as you can build it up to the coverage you desire and I also feel it is suited for both dry and oily skin due to the glowy yet mattifying finish it gives your skin, pretty awesome if you ask me:)

Have you tried these foundations? Which ones do you love?

Lots of love

Elle N xx
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