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The promise of luminous skin via foundation is far from a new concept for Nars. The iconic makeup brand has long offered a multitude of bases with names like Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation and Sheer Glow Foundation, because a glowing complexion has never not been desirable and Nars has never not been a master of bottling it. And now, just as fans of the brand's All Day Luminous Foundation come to terms with its evanescence, a new hero emerges: Nars Light Reflecting Foundation.
Even without the recently discontinued All Day Luminous Foundation in its roster, Nars has at least a couple of other ways to get skin all glowy-lookin', so you might wonder why the brand felt it necessary to create what it's calling "the biggest launch in Nars history." But it's being called that not only because of how exciting it is to welcome a new foundation to the Nars family, but because its effects are both instant and cumulative: Nars Light Reflecting Foundation is both makeup and skin care.
"When developing this foundation, my goal was to create a formula that looks like makeup but performs like skin care, and we achieved just that with the Light Reflecting Foundation," Nars founder and creative director François Nars tells Allure.
According to the brand, Light Reflecting Foundation is made up of 70 percent skin-care ingredients, as opposed to what one might consider purely cosmetic ingredients with only an instantaneous, superficial effect. Over time — about six weeks, according to Nars — skin's clarity and evenness are improved and apparent without foundation. Among the skin-care ingredients François Nars is most excited about in the formula are algae extract, Polynesian seawater, redness-reducing biomimetic oat, a barrier-strengthening Japanese plant called lilyturf, and cacao-derived peptides.
I was given the opportunity to try Light Reflecting Foundation in advance of its launch — though not six weeks in advance, so I can't really tell you whether or not my own skin looks more even after I remove it. I can, however, tell you if it lived up to its more immediate promises of blurring imperfections, smoothing the look of textured skin, and helping to conceal blemishes, discoloration, and redness. As you can see from my before photo below, I came prepared with all of the above.
I decided to go with the shade Mont Blanc, intended for fair skin with neutral undertones; however, there are 36 shades to choose from, ranging from Siberia (the name given to the fairest shade in most of Nars's complexion-makeup ranges) to Majorca (Nars's deepest shade ever). I was surprised with just how light and liquidy the formula is, but despite the thinness, it went on with immediate medium coverage that had no problem concealing my splotchiness in a natural-looking way.
The real test, however, was in taking the photos themselves. The formula includes a "photo-friendly" powder — Nars calls it Photochromic Technology — that adjusts skin tone based on the intensity of light, so skin won't look washed out in pictures. "This property allowed us to create a foundation that makes your skin look perfect in any light and setting – indoor and outdoor, on camera, and in person," Nars says. And in my humble opinion, I don't think my skin looks washed out at all, despite my worrying that I went with slightly too light of a shade. Instead, its light-reflecting facets seem to be doing exactly what they're supposed to: making my skin look more luminous.
But I'm only one fair-skinned 42-year-old; I wanted to see how it looked on other skin types and tones, so I asked my colleagues to test it out, too.
"One thing Nars will always get right is foundation, and it didn't disappoint with the new Light Reflecting Foundation," says Allure associate news editor Gabi Thorne, who used the shade New Caledonia. "I'm a full-coverage-foundation type of gal, so I love how buildable it is. But I didn't need too much to get the coverage that I want and love, and it practically melted into my skin as I buffed it in with a brush. It has a luminous finish that just makes you glow even if you skipped on some of your skin-care routine."
Editorial assistant Talia Gutierrez is equally enthusiastic, having gone with the shade Cadiz. "While I may have chosen a shade or two darker than my wintertime complexion, I'm keeping this Light Reflecting Foundation close by as I impatiently wait for my summertime tan," she says. "It effortlessly blends across my skin, covering any redness or discoloration around my nose and chin, leaving nothing but a dewy, reflective, glass-like finish." The best part, she says: it blends and layers well with her other products, like drugstore concealer and cream blush.
Nars Light Reflecting Foundation is now available in 36 shades at narscosmetics.com and Sephora for $49.
More foundation information:
- Why You Should Add Blue Foundation to Your Makeup Routine
- People on TikTok Are Using Face Rollers to Blend Their Foundation
- The 21 Best Foundations for Mature Skin
Now watch Hailee Steinfield try nine things she's never done before:
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