NARS Velvet Matte Foundation Stick

NARS launched a new foundation stick recently! Enriched with ginger root extract and vitamins (A, C, and E), the Velvet Matte Foundation Stick is supposed to provide medium to buildable coverage and a soft-matte finish.

(Vous parlez français? Cliquez ici!)

The Velvet Matte Foundation Stick is available in 20 shades :

 Photo credit : narscosmetics.com (Edit by : crystalcandymakeup.com)

I have 6 shades to show you :

Mont Blanc (Light 2) is similar to NW15 and has pink undertones.

Gobi (Light 3) is a bit lighter than NC10, the undertones are very yellow.

Deauville (Light 4) is a tad darker than NC15 and has yellow, slightly neutral undertones.

Ceylan (Light 6) is similar to NC15 and has yellow undertones. This shade is almost identical to Deauville, but a touch lighter and slightly more yellow.

Vallauris (Medium 1.5) is similar to NW30. It has neutral, slightly peachy undertones.

Santa Fe (Medium 2) is slightly lighter than NW25. The undertones are peachy.

My skin is very pale at the moment and my perfect match is Ceylan with a bit of Montblanc. I would usually choose a golden undertone, but Gobi was too yellow on me.

Swatches on fair skin (similar to NC10)

Ok so I've been testing this foundation stick for what seems like forever, 2 months to be exact! (This is a long time for a beauty blogger lol) It took me this long to figure out how to make it work. The thing is, my skin was a flaky mess at this time and no matter what I did this foundation never looked good on me.

But I stopped using the retinol serum that I was testing (I came to the conclusion that my skin couldn't handle retinol), and now I can finally wear the Velvet Matte Foundation Stick!

Left to right : Mont Blanc, Gobi, Deauville, Ceylan, Vallauris, Santa Fe

Basically, don't even think of trying this foundation if you have more than just a few random dry patches because I can guarantee you that you will hate it! It will cling to all the dry patches, even some that you didn't even know you had.

But now that my skin is back to its normal oily self, I can see why my friend Cynthia Dulude love it so much (she has normal skin).

NARS Velvet Matte Foundation Stick in Ceylan

I would say that the coverage is light to medium, slightly buildable.

The cream-to-powder formula blends out beautifully and has a satin finish. I wouldn't say that the finish is matte, there's a subtle luminosity.

The foundation comes with a small latex-free sponge, but I find that using a dense buffing brush gave me the best results. The sponge is great for touch ups though!

If your skin is normal to dry, I would suggest to apply a moisturizing primer as well.

With that being said, I haven't been impressed with the staying power. It looks a bit patchy and cakey by the 4 hours mark, even if I use a good primer and set it with a bit of loose powder and a makeup setting spray.

But my skin is super oily, so I need a foundation that has serious lasting power (like NARS' All Day Luminous)!

The NARS Velvet Matte Foundation Sticks retail for $55 CAD for 9g.

(I received these products in order to evaluate them and give my opinion, but rest assured that my comments are always honest and impartial.)