Review of Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup SPF 20 (2009 formulation) by Brelki
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid vs. NARS Sheer Glow -- My Thoughts....
I've been wearing Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid (hereby referred to as HSL) for a few weeks now. I won't go so far to say it's HG material yet, but it's been everything I wanted NARS Sheer Glow (hereby referred to as SG) to be and wasn't. I desperately wanted to love NARS SG, but it just wasn't meant to be.
For reference, I'm these shades in foundation:
LM Oil Free TM in Nude
MAC NC/NW 20 (generally can wear both, but pull a tad warm) or F&B N2
Revlon PhotoReady in Nude 004
MAC msfn in Medium
My Skintype is Normal with a little bit of dryness around my nose. Very few, if any, breakouts.
COLOR MATCHING
NARS: With SG, I first tried Deauville, then Ceylan, then Fiji, then Santa Fe -- none were great matches. It was, to say the least, a really frustrating experience. My best match was between Fiji and Ceylan, but neither was fabulous.
Neutrogena: In HSL, I figured I was either Buff 30 or Nude 40. I swapped for Buff 30 and hoped for the best. Luckily, it was a perfect match! :)
FINISH & COVERAGE
NARS: It offered a natural, build-able coverage, and my skin looked a tad glowy, but nothing OTT or shimmery, by any means. No oxidation.
Neutrogena: Like the NARS, the HSL had a natural, build-able coverage. My skin also had a slight glow to it. Also like the NARS, no oxidation.
WEAR (All were tested on 13 hour days -- put mu on at 7 am and took it off around 8 pm)
NARS: Unfortunately, I had problems with the SG flaking around my nose area, an issue I've never had with a foundation before. The wear was just not great ime. I tried my samples (even the mismatched ones -- just around the house though -- I promise! lol) all day long, and each one, after a few hours began to settle, cake, and then begin to flake, particularly off my nose. I tried multiple different primers; I also tried without any primers. Each time, I had the same problem.
Neutrogena: Again, I'm on my second day of wear, but I've had no problems. The first day, I wore primer; the second day, I did not. Both wore about the same, but my makeup looked "fresher" when I wore the primer.
NARS: $42 for 1 oz. of foundation Neutrogena: on average, about $10ish (I've seen anywhere from $8 to $13) for 1 oz. of foundation