Kaleigh compared the Sheer Glow Foundation to the Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup in Natural Ivory. Here's what they had to say:
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation contains 1 oz of product and retails for $47. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup also contains 1 oz of product and retails for $14.50. My dry skin desperately needed these foundations! I struggle with many matte foundations as they will crack and crease as the day goes on. For this test, I used the shade Light 2 ‘Mont Blanc’ from NARS and shade 20 ‘Natural Ivory’ from Neutrogena. When choosing my shades I looked online at each products' shade range. NARS had a whopping 32 shade options to choose from. I was quite impressed with not only their detail to shade and undertone for each color range but also how many shade options they had available for women of color. Their dark shade range alone has 11 options. Being that I am pale and neutral to cool-toned I decided on the light 2 colors. I then went to the Neutrogena site and was not so impressed with the shade range. The entire line contains 14 shades. 10 of those options are for Caucasian women with only 4 being for women of color. I bring attention to this because their campaign features Kerry Washington, a woman of color. I also mention this because when I shade-matched online the two shades I chose looked very similar and in person, they were not. If you have read any of my previous reviews you know I am so so picky when it comes to a product's undertone. Again, being that I am very fair products that have an orange or peach undertone does not look natural on me. The shade 20 despite saying natural does indeed have a peachy hue to it. It was not a deal-breaker and still looked good on my skin but it was not a match to the NARS. Shade rant over let's get to the tea! Both products claim ‘health’ benefits. NARS claims that with continued use the product will ‘improve brightness and even skin tone and texture’ while Neutrogena contains an SPF 20 for sun protection and has an antioxidant blended formula. When swatched side by side the formulas look identical. Both are very hydrating and blend beautifully with both brush and beauty sponge application. While neither product contains fragrance, the Neutrogena did have a stronger ‘makeup’ smell which I attribute to the SPF. With application I did find that NARS had a little more coverage but I was able to build the Neutrogena to the same coverage level quickly and with ease. Both products come in a thick glass bottle with a screw top and open mouth. The mouth of the NARS bottle was smaller and I was able to cover the entire opening with my finger to retrieve the product. Neutrogena's mouth was slightly larger and a little awkward to apply the product to my finger as my finger was too small to cover the opening. This is me being supercritical and is by no means a deal-breaker. Both products withstood an 8-hour workday amazingly and overall I was really impressed with the coverage, durability, and HYDRATION! Little to no creasing or dry spots! Even with the lack of shade range, I can't deny that Neutrogena is 1000% a dupe for NARS. The coverage and hydration are nearly identical and I love that Neutrogena has an SPF. Buy the Neutrogena especially if you are dry/combo skinned like me.
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