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Wednesday, February 14, 2018

NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in Stromboli & Vanuatu, Radiant Creamy Concealer & Soft Matte Complete Concealer in Macadamia, Pore & Shine Control And Radiance Primer, and Orgasm Lipstick Review and Swatches

I've been testing the NEW NARS Natural Radiant Foundation for about a month now! Let's get started!

 
Sweet-Bittersweet-NotSweet
supersweet(run & buy it) sweet(really good,buy it) bittersweet(ok, issues)not sweet(not good,don't buy this stuff)

NARS Pore & Shine Control Primer ($36) - Sweet
NARS Radiance Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 35 Sunscreen ($36) - Sweet
When I purchased the NARS foundation, my Smashbox primer (Original, Primerizer, Primer Oil) didn't agree with it. The foundation looked cake-y, powdery and just sat atop my skin. I read an interesting article where you want to use water-based primers with water-based foundations; also silicone-based primers with silicone-based foundations. Two different bases (water and silicone) can cause your foundation to pill when layered on top of each other. Water and silicone do not mix well! DID YOU KNOW THAT? So I purchased two NARS primers to rectify the situation. The NARS Pore & Shine is a mattifying primer (picture of me wearing it bottom middle; the primer is white in color), that controls shine and prolongs your makeup. When I applied it to my dry skin it looked beautiful. It didn't feel drying. It gave me a great blur effect (pores & lines). I was like WOW! But when I applied the foundation on top, my skin looked DRY! It looked powdery, settled into my fine lines and overall didn't give me the finish I was looking for. So FYI, I wouldn't recommend that primer for dry skin types. I had a feeling that was the case, but wanted to try it to see. I feel Normal, Combination & Oily skin types will probably love it. So I then tried NARS' Radiance Primer (picture of me wearing it in the bottom right picture and the primer is peach in color). This primer revives dull & fatigued skin, improves vitality and enhances the look of makeup. Bottom line, it's a hydrating primer that will give your skin a GLOW! This primer felt really good to my skin and hydrating. It doesn't blur, but it truly preps the skin for foundation and gives you a radiant glow. I think a tad too much radiance...too much glow, but it doesn't feel heavy and you can tame it with translucent powder (which I had to do). I tried mixing both primers to achieve a balance, but the end result was too matte.


NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Macadamia (22 Shades; $30) - Bittersweet
NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer in Macadamia (16 Shades; $30) - Bittersweet
I've been wanting to try NARS Concealers. I thought this was a great time to give them a go. The NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer is great if you don't have a lot to cover. It's lightweight and will do the job for what most people need to hide. I need COVERAGE! LOL So I like the NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer. It did a much better job covering under my eyes, cheek and chin area. Do I love it more than Tarte's Shape Tape? No. The difference for me is the finish. I found the Soft Matte to be more powdery than Shape Tape. It's a creamy cream, but then it turns powdery. Also, I had a small amount of creasing (under-eye area). I also felt it moved somewhat, whereas my Tarte Shape Tape stays in place. These are good, but I feel there's better out there. I want to try Makeup Revolution's new concealer. I've heard it's a possible dupe for Tarte's Shape Tape. I'll have to see. Let me know if you've tried it! Let me know if you've tried these.


NARS Orgasm Lipstick (Satin Finish $28) - Supersweet
This lipstick came with my order. You guys may remember I purchased a NARS palette from Nordstrom that contained the Orgasm blush. Well I was happy to receive a deluxe Orgasm lipstick. Don't they pair well together? It's a peachy pink lipstick with golden shimmer. I absolutely love it! It has dimension to it. It reminds me of a PINK version of Lipstick Queens Let Them Eat Cake. If you have the Orgasm blush, purchase the lipstick as well. It's really pretty :D


NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in Stromboli and Vanuatu (33 Shades; $49) - Sweet
Ok guys! Here we go! THE FOUNDATION! I initially ordered about four shades online. NONE matched. HaHaHa One matched my mom! LOL The other three I returned (I usually never return makeup. I was so off). Went into ULTA. Spent hours there trying to decide (the newest thing is to swatch test foundation on your CHEST! where a vneck to the store!). Purchased two (the ones listed here). Before you see them on me, let me give you some advice about the foundation that I experienced. SHAKE IT UP! SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE! I didn't initially and saw the difference (powdery, streaky etc). NARS recommends applying this with your fingers. I did, but for me it gave a thinner application. I preferred using my Beautyblender. It gave me full coverage, which I preferred. A little goes a long way! Place a dot on an area and work it in. Dot and work it in. Work in sections. Does it oxidize? I felt the color darkened slightly, but not drastically. NARS states this has a specialized skin-matching technology. It's going to match only to a certain point. I am NEW TO NARS! So I had to go through this entire song & dance to find what worked for me. IF YOU ARE NEW TO NARS, let me HIGHLY RECOMMEND you go to one of their counters and let a professional PROFESSIONALLY match you to your correct foundation, primer etc. It will save you a lot of headache and returning things. LOL Is it transfer resistant? IT IS! IT IS! I initially didn't think it was, because after I applied it I touched my nose and the foundation came off. I applied the rest of my makeup, touched my cheek and the foundation came off. BUT, if you give it 45 minutes to an hour to set, it's transfer resistant. Rub your entire palm on your forehead and it won't come off. So I think a lot of people didn't give it time (including myself initially). Also NARS states the longer you leave this foundation on, it gets BETTER and BETTER. It does! When you initially put this on, you will be like I paid $49 for this!?! HaHaHa I looked in the mirror several hours later and was like Oh, I look good! :D It does look like skin. It looks natural. It makes your skin look radiant. I love the sleekness of the packaging. I love that it has a pump. It's very sophisticated. You guys know I'm on a foundation kick this year, so I will be testing some other brands.


NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in STROMBOLI
Here is Stromboli! The lighter of the two foundations. For Winter, I think it's a pretty good match. Look at how well it covered my dark areas, freckles and completely evened out my skin tone. I'm wearing NARS Radiance Primer, NARS Orgasm Blush & Lipstick, NARS Albatross highlighter,  NARS Soft Matte Concealer in Macadamia (there is a little creasing under my eyes), Laura Mercier Translucent Powder and IT Cosmetics Brow Power. Stromboli is very yellow. If you look at my chin area and then neck, you can see this. So I think I will add a touch of Vanuatu to correct that problem. But I like how bright Stromboli makes me look.


NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in VANUATU (pronounced)
Here's Vanuatu! It's just a shade darker than Stromboli. When I look at my chin & neck, it's a really good match. Stromboli just seems to brighten me up more, so I will mix the two.

Final Thoughts! 
I've watched countless reviews for this foundation on YouTube. The finish on everyone really looks good. But it won't look good (as you know what I went through) if you're not wearing the right primer, pick the wrong color or apply it wrong etc. I made all 3 mistakes and was ready to give this an F. HaHaHa It was frustrating. I even skipped several weeks blogging trying to deal with this. But once I got the winning combination down I was impressed. I saw it in my pictures. I wanted to share my experience, because others may go through the same. I hope this review helps.

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20 comments

  1. That lip shade colour looks absolutely gorgeous

    Candice | beautycandyloves.co.za

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  2. I love that you persisted with the foundation and it gave you great results in the end! :)

    I got a sample of a new foundation in the mail and given that I use the mineral powder from the same brand I thought I'd give the foundation a go. It did not go well, haha !My skin hates it and is rebelling massively, sigh. Shouldn't have tried it!

    Hope you are having a great week so far! It's so hot here, another heatwave!

    Away From The Blue Blog

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  3. I got totally distracted when you wrote about water and silicone not mixing well. I think this explains so many bad product interactions I've had over the years - and so many products I've thought just didn't work for me. All along, I've been using them in combination with the wrong things! Kim - this was an eye-opener for me, thank-you!
    xox,
    Cee

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  4. You had me at NARS<3<3 I love this brand so much, especially their face makeup! I really need to try this foundation, it looks great!
    xo Samantha
    www.samanthamariko.com

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  5. Primer seems to be really nice, I keep searching for an ideal one :) Lipstick has really nice colour, I've once tried NARS foundation and it wasn't bad but it wasn't good too :)

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  6. I'm always so confused by the shades in Nars- wish they described undertones and colors somewhat! I've been wanting to try this foundation but I have a feeling I'd prefer their other ones that already exist.

    https://asequinloveaffair.com

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  7. Your trial and error brought beautiful results!

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  8. Kim, the Stromboli and Vanuatu both look gorgeous on you! I bet it'll be even better when you mix them. Cheers to not giving up and finding the best ways to make these work for you girl ;p The Radiance Primer sounds really good and that lipstick looks really pretty too.

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  9. I'm glad you had mostly positive things to say. The long wearing foundation looks great on you in both colors! I didn't even know they had an Orgasm lip color too! I haven't tried too many Nars products. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on all these products.

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  10. The foundation finish looks beautiful on you! This is the second positive review I've read on this product and I'm definitely intrigued now. I need to make a note to swatch them the next time I'm at a Nars counter or Sephora!

    Jenny | Geeky Posh

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  11. Seems like everyone raved about the Soft Matte concealer so it's refreshing to read a different opinion! xx

    Shireen⎜Reflection of Sanity

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  12. I’ve heard good things about this foundation! I’d love to try it. I looks beautiful on your skin, Kim! I love the lipstick on you too!! That’s too bad the concealers were bittersweet for you! I tried the creamy radiant one long ago, but the shade was too dark so I gave it to my mom. And I totally didn’t know that about using primers with different types of foundations!

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  13. Wow, loved reading this indepth review on all the products. I don't have much experience with Nars, I only own a lipstick, therefore this post was truly eye opening. I love the way the foundation looks on you. It looks natural and flawless. The struggle in finding foundation shades is so REAL! 😂 I'm glad you didn't give up. Both shades look great on you.

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  14. I am dying to try the new NARS foundation, it sounds like the kind of foundation my skin would love and they always have such a great shade range too xx

    Gemma Etc. ❤️

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  15. I LOVE Nars Cosmetics and their creamy concealer is one of my all-time favourites as it blends perfectly and hides imperfections!!! Love, love, love! :)

    Hope you're well and hope you're having a fab weekend!

    Layla x

    http://www.sprinklesofstyle.co.uk

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  16. Well, this certainly explains why I'm having a hard time with primers hahahaha! I swear, this problem literally popped up overnight because I don't remember ever having any trouble with primers and foundation. Ever. Then again I have terrible eyesight so don't quote me on that. I've been wanting to try out this foundation I almost brought one two weeks ago but I stopped short because I was "guessing" which shade to get. I'm glad I did because I think I do need to go into store and get them to colour match me. I fake tan now so my usual Deauville shade is too pale and trying to find a good match with NARS now is impossible. I already have to blend two of their sheer glow foundations to get a close match. I was hoping this new line would have a colour I could use without the need to mix up various tones hahahaha! Glad to hear this is a winner though. I've only heard good things about this too. I don't expect it not to transfer though. On me at least. Even after a few hours. I'm just unlucky

    Sxx
    daringcoco.com

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  17. Well Kim I have to admit your post has made me think that I do not wear enough make up ! or maybe just not that often ;)
    I think that these shades look really good, and I specially love the lip colour.

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  18. NARS are great. I think I should try their foundation as well.

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  19. I've been so on the fence with this foundation, I typically like nars products except their foundations, but I am so eager to try this one so I'll give this a go along with the soft matte concealer. Primers and Foundations do need to be alike for them to work, though a trend I've been seeing these days is that people prime certain areas of their face with different primers and mix foundations. This would work if the technique and ingredients in the end match, If you need a pore minimising primer in certain areas(which is typically silicone based) and you apply it with a water based foundation it can pill, unless you use a stamp the product in gently. Hope this would help you in the future when mixing primers and foundations together!

    Sam Hodgett || Beauty & Lifestyle Bits

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  20. I bought this foundation and had trouble making it work but you gave so many helpful tips that I have to try out! thanks

    Also I bought Vanuatu as well, I think it might be too yellow for me.

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