This is going to be the first post in the Brand Love Series. The first brand is my favorite; Nars Cosmestics. I first fell for Nars when I saw their matte black packaging with it’s name in white helvetica neue – light font (You know what I’m talking about). The minimalist inside of me melted inside and I had to try something from the range. My first foray into the line was the Tinted Moisturizers and we’ve been best friends ever since. Not only is the packaging high quality and so chic, so is everything I’ve tried from the line. This post is not sponsored or anything, even though I know it will sound like it. It’s because I am obsessed with Nars. That’s why it’s my first “Brand Love”. Today we’re going to discuss the face/base products that I own from Nars.
Foundation: The foundation that I have from Nars is their Sheer Glow Foundation ($45). I have the shade Càdiz (Medium – Dark 3 Medium to dark with caramel and red undertones) and it matches my skin tone perfectly. I love this foundation for when I’m going out at night or when I have a long day and don’t want to have to worry about touching up my makeup. Even though the name suggests that this product is more dewy and glowy, it’s not oily. It dries semi matte but it isn’t flat. It has medium coverage that can be built up to full coverage, so don’t be filled by the word “sheer”. It is sheer in its weight in that it doesn’t feel heavy at all. I love that my skin can still breath from underneath. It gives a flawless finish that makes your skin look radiant without looking oily. I would suggest picking up the pump that’s sold separately (as pictured above; $6). This makes dispensing the product much easier. If you’re the no foundation type of person, this can make you a believer. It made me one.
Tinted Moisturizer: Attention LM Readers, this product has officially reached Holy Grail status in my makeup collection. This is the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer with Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($42). It is a light weight tinted moisturizer that gives your skin a light but even coverage while protecting it from the sun and reducing hyper pigmentation with consistent use. I’m in the shade Cuba which is described as medium with a neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones. I purchased this tinted moisturizer in April 2012 (I checked my sephora purchase history to be sure). I am now almost out of my second bottle of this stuff. That’s how much I love it. I usually apply this with my fingers, though it works with a brush too. I love how flawless this makes my skin looks. It also dries semi-matte and makes your skin look perfect. I have recommended this to my friends and family, who also have grown to love this tinted moisturizer. If you want to try one thing from Nars, this is the one for you. I promise you will love it!
Concealer: I own two different concealers by Nars. The first one I tried was the concealer stick ($24) in Caramel. I actually didn’t mean to get this one. I thought I was getting the next one I’m going to talk about. However, I thought I’d give it a try. The color is described the same way as the tinted moisturizer shade. I like this concealer but I think I would like it better in the summer since it’s not as creamy as I would like in these dry winter months. I think in the summer when it’s hot and I don’t want to have something too thick on my face this would be perfect. But the color matches perfectly and I can’t wait to put it to use in the summer!
The next concealer, which is the one I thought I ordered, is the infamous Radiant Creamy Concealer ($29), also in the shade Caramel. The shade is described as medium dark yellow and golden undertones. This concealer is the best concealer I’ve ever tried. I love the doe foot applicator. It makes applying it so easy. I usually blend it under my eyes with my finger. It can settle if you have fine lines but you can set it with a translucent powder like I do to avoid that. It’s so creamy and moisturizing, that I love using it in the winter. This may just be Holy Grail status too.
(From left to right: Laguna & Orgasm)
Illuminators: I have an obsession with glowy, radiant, healthy looking skin. One of my friends calls them “glimmer shimmer”. I hate too much shimmer that makes you look oily. I like the subtle, luminous products that illuminates the skin and make you look like “I woke up like this. Flawless. Ladies, tell ’em.” That’s where Nars’ Illuminators($30) come in. The two Illuminators I have are in Orgasm (a peachy pink with shimmer) and Laguna (a brown with golden shimmer). Orgasm and Laguna are both shades that are famous across the Nars makeup range. You can find almost those two shades in every product Nars offers. You can wear the Illuminators on their own to highlight or all over, over/under foundation or mixed in with foundation to create a luminous finish. I wear Orgasm on the tops of my cheekbones as a highlight. I got Laguna in a Nars set from Sephora a while ago. I’ve also worn Laguna as a highlight but I’m still playing around with this one to see which way is best since it’s on the darker side. I also blended the two shades together after photographing them for this post and was pleasantly surprised by the color it created. I think I may have to try this combo out. (Below)
Eyeshadow Base: I didn’t know if I should include this product in the post or for the Nars eye products post. Since it’s a base, I’ll include it here. I received the eyeshadow base ($24) with an eyeshadow palette in the deluxe sample size. This, like the Radiant Creamy Concealer, also has a doe foot applicator. It’s so easy to use and this eyeshadow base keeps my eyeshadows on all day long. I really do love this for when I wear eye makeup and I will get the full size once I run out of this one.
Those are all of the face base products I purchased. I love all of them but if you want to start with one, I’d suggest started with the tinted moisturizer. It’s amazing!
Next up: Nars Blushes and Multiples Stay Tuned!
