Now, generally, I’m a big fan of NARS and I’ve virtually bankrupted myself in the last year replacing all my old Chanel and not so old Hourglass cosmetics with colours and formulations from NARS as they tend to have the correct shades and yellow, peachy undertones to match my skin tone. I adore their Sheer Glow Foundation and I have a whole school class of Audacious lipstick girls.
One of the greatest, most enjoyable, things about warm weather is not having to cover up so much and the same goes for the skin as for the body. As long as you always, always wear an SPF. Always. I was looking for a foundation with less coverage for the summer, when I just like to apply a sheer base that evens out my hyper-pigmented cheeks, add a bit of blusher and mascara and a bit of lip gloss and go. NARS already have the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser, which I tried a few years ago and, unwisely, threw away, spooked at how yellow it looked straight from the tube, so I was really agog at the prospect of this new addition, the Velvet Matte Skin Tint.
I bought a shade Cuzco, that’s between my winter Barcelona and summer Syracuse shades, so I could try it immediately and I’m so glad I tried it before I had to look holiday-refreshed in photos because, for me, it sucks.
Even as you squeeze it out of the tube, it’s difficult to know how much to use: too little won’t show up at at all and too much very quickly looks mask-like as it was difficult to blend into my skin. I’m perfectly willing to accept that I might be at fault here. I’m not a professional make-up artist but then, how many NARS customers are? What we want is something that works and works reliably. I actually found this worked better without primer but that’s probably because it soaked straight into my pores.
I think if you have the translucent glowy skin of a 20 year old and are prone to shine, this one will be good for you. Except that, even when I prepped my skin assiduously with primer* – I dislike having to reapply my slap during the day – it didn’t take long before this foundation settled beautifully into all my pores and wrinkles, and all the lines under my eyes. Worse, it soon looked really cakey too. I like cake but I don’t like my face to look like a cake that someone has removed from the oven too soon and then dropped on the floor. I soon looked like one of those powdery Edwardian ladies out of Lady Windermere’s Fan. No thanks.
After about a month of trial use, I have decided that Matte is not my friend. I’ve read elsewhere that older women are possibly happier using light reflecting, glow-inducing foundations, and I think I might now have reached that time in my life, despite my combination skin. I’ve ordered a tube of the original NARS tinted moisturiser and this tube will go pointedly into the bin. Disappointing.
*I’ve discovered, incidentally, that silicone-based primer and this foundation curdle when mixed with overheating skin. I was in a hurry to look perfect for a glamorous Eurostar journey at 6am the other morning – I like to see whether the stewards think I’m French – and I had a viral/hormonal hot flush just as I applied my face for the day. Reader, it curdled so badly that it could not be rescued and, despite standing by an open window fanning myself – you can picture the scene – I had to flannel off my face twice before it would stay on. A word of warning for those of us not in the first flush of youth.
