Is it me or does it feel like this matte foundation has been a long time coming from NARS? If I’m being honest, NARS foundation formulas have not been my favorite foundations because I don’t find them to be the most long-lasting but the initial finish is always amazing. I just find that with my combo-oily skin the formulas start to break up within 3-4 hours and my t-zone is an oil slick making them foundations that needs to be touched up throughout the day and I’m someone who likes a little glow but I just felt that with my skin-type those formulas fell a little short. When NARS announced their new Soft Matte Complete Foundation, I was intrigued. Could this be the matte formula that I’ve been looking for? I want long-lasting but breathable, full coverage but natural at the same time. It seemed like this is what they were offering and I was ready to try this out.
First, can we take some time to appreciate the packaging. The packaging is completely different than the packaging for their previous foundations, skin tints and tinted moisturizers. It’s a translucent tube with no pump and one and a half times the amount of products at a lesser price point of $40. Next comes the formula. Their previous formulas have been medium buildable coverage, but this foundation is definitely full to full-full coverage (if you know what I mean). It’s also a matte formulation, which I’ve stayed away from for the better part of the year, however this is truly a soft-matte formula that really blurs pores and imperfections while remaining skin-like and without leaving the skin looking or feeling dry. The shade range is rather impressive at 34 shades, but that is too be expected from NARS as most of their complexion products launch to cover a wide array of skin tones from fair to deep. Please note that I have oily-combination skin but I still use a hydrating primer and setting spray. My usual shade in NARS foundations is Macao, however for this foundation I opted to go up a shade and purchased Marquises (my summer shade). I was glad I did. It blended seamlessly and dried down rather quickly. Depending on your desired level of matte (or in my case how long you intend to wear this foundation) you can decide whether or not to set with additional powders.
I wanted to see how this foundation would work with the other base and color products that I own from the brand to create this soft-matte everyday look. While I was mostly indoors while wearing this foundation I took some photos to see how it wore throughout the day. The first shot was taken around 8 a.m. and the last picture was taken at 6 p.m.
The verdict: This is a great foundation. I’m usually not a big fan of matte foundations during the cooler months but this is one that I can get behind. My skin never looked flat, it didn’t settle into my fine lines and the oils in my t-zones did get a little sheen by the end of the day but nothing too crazy. The color match is great, but I feel that I could have used a little color correction around my mouth and chin because there was a slight gray cast and it did oxidize a little bit. It was extremely lightweight and my skin did not feel dehydrated. Well done, NARS. Have you tried this foundation? What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below and follow me on Instagram and LiketoKnow.It for additional content on beauty, fashion and lifestyle.
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