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NARS

Light Reflecting Foundation.

NARS Light Reflecting Foundation
Foundation

About this product

A liquid foundation from NARS designed to reflect light for a radiant finish while providing buildable coverage.

Foundation

The Guru Index verdict

84%

Approved

Approved · 84%
5Reviewers
5Approved
0Mixed
0Skip
#3 in Best Foundation

What the gurus are saying

Gurus consistently praise this foundation as exceptionally versatile, seamlessly transitioning from everyday wear to special occasions without needing a separate product. They highlight its balanced finish (glowy but not greasy, smooth but not overly matte) and its impressive wear throughout the day, improving rather than fading. A minor split exists: some note it creases on certain skin types, and one reviewer flagged a strong chemical smell, but these are outlier complaints against overwhelming enthusiasm.
Synthesized from 5 expert reviews

Key actives & flags

Vitamin CVitamin ESPFFragrance-freeAlcohol-free

Full ingredients

Water/​Aqua/​Eau, C9-12 Alkane, Butylene Glycol, Undecane, Tridecane, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Polyglyceryl-2 Diisostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Diisostearyl Malate, Glycerin, Synthetic Wax, Sodium Chloride, Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract, Aluminum Hydroxide, Magnesium Chloride, Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine, Tocopherol, Coco-Caprylate/​Caprate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Citric Acid, Sea Water/​Maris Aqua/​Eau De Mer, Trisodium EDTA, Barium Sulfate, Alumina, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)

Every take, in full

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Approved only Skip only Mixed only Hide sponsored
Approved
"Nars creates some of my favorite complexion products of all time. Their Light Reflecting Foundation is one of my holy grails."
Top Pick: foundation
All 15 takes from Allie Glines
Did the NEW NARS Foundation Just Take First Place?! (Wear Test)
"Nars creates some of my favorite complexion products of all time. Their Light Reflecting Foundation is one of my holy grails."
Easy Everyday Fall Makeup Tutorial 🍂
"This is one of my holy grail foundations. I feel like this is such a foolproof foundation for me personally, and I love how it wears. It's also one that's not too glowy, not too matte. It's one that works well for everyday, but also you can amp it up for more glam looks. It does feel a little bit more glamorous than like a tinted moisturizer, but it still looks natural enough and has a natural enough finish to be great for everyday. It wears really well on me. It's genuinely one of my favorites. I love when there's a foundation that kind of does everything to where if you're going to spend money on a more high-end foundation, it's nice to know that you can use it on an everyday basis or bump up the coverage and it's going to work really well for more glamorous occasions as well. You don't have to have two separate foundations. You can genuinely wear this one every day."
FINALLY TRYING THIS NEW MAKEUP...
"This is the NARS Light Reflecting Foundation and it's actually been a while since I've worn this and I wore it over the weekend and I was like oh my gosh I forgot how good this was. It wears very well, but it's not super matte at the end of the day. The shade match is impeccable for me on this. I'm wearing the shade L2 Mt Blond BL."
The Makeup I'm Thankful For This Year 🥹
"The Nars Light Reflecting Foundation, this works as like an everyday foundation and it has a little bit more of a glowy finish. I love them both."
The Perfect Holiday Makeup Tutorial
"The Nars Light Reflecting Foundation is my Holy Grail. I love this one so much. It leaves a gorgeous finish on the skin with a golden shift to it that just adds a beautiful radiance. The combo with primer is actually so pretty."
If I Took You to Sephora, Here's What I'd Buy You! 😍
"If you hadn't ever tried the NARS Light Reflecting Foundation, I would buy this for you first. You guys know this is my number one foundation. It just looks good no matter what. I love how versatile it is. I can use this for every day all the way up to a more glam look."
It's HERE!!! My Heart in Your Hands 💕🥹😭
"I'm going to start off with like a sheer layer of foundation. This is the NARS Light Reflecting, my favorite. It's so surreal to me that like the products are available right now."
Best Blush EVER?! 🤯 Trying ALL the Shades!
"It's one of my favorite products of the year so far. It's one of my most used products. It's up there in quality and then just how it makes me feel, how it looks on the skin all day, I'm obsessed."
EVERYONE gets 20% OFF at Sephora right now?!
"If I could tell you to just buy one, I still feel like the Nars Light Reflecting is my all-time favorite. There's been so many new launches too that are great as far as foundation goes, but this one is just simply the best. If I could go back in time and do my wedding makeup again, I would use this as my wedding foundation like that's how much I believe in it and trust it. I love this because there are some foundations that are strictly for a no makeup makeup everyday basis and then some that are only for glam looks, but this kind of lends itself to both situations. I love using this for every day, but it also has the coverage, longevity, and just flawless finish that I look for in a special occasion foundation as well. So it's kind of the best of both worlds for me."
TRYING NEW MAKEUP + Exciting Announcement!! 😍
"I was reminded again with this Foundation that it looks pretty upon application but it's how it wears that actually floors me. The longer I wear it the better my skin looks somehow and it doesn't look bad upon application but you kind of have to trust the process and know that it will look better. There's a lot of foundations that look really impressive upon first application but maybe they don't wear the best. This is almost the opposite."
Makeup YOU Said You'll NEVER Buy Again..
"Somebody said the NARS Light Reflecting Foundation it creases too much on them which made me so sad because it works really well for me."
Makeup YOU Said You'll NEVER Buy Again..
"The NARS Light Reflecting Foundation smells awful like paint fumes."
The Makeup I'm Thankful For This Year
"I feel like I've used this for the past like two Thanksgiving videos in a row but honestly I don't care because it is just so good. I'm thankful for the Nars Light Reflecting Foundation because it just does everything I need a foundation to do and then some. Coverage is so spectacular. It's just reliable. I'm just glad this exists is what I'm trying to say."
Top 10 Foundations of 2025 Voted by YOU
"This is my personal favorite foundation. It's so good, it wears beautifully on me and I love how it has buildable coverage. It gives just the right amount of glow but it's not greasy. It just looks healthy, like lit from within, but it still sets and wears well all day."
My Stress-Free Sephora Savings Guide! 🤗🛍️
"This one's amazing too. This is more glowy than the Givenchy and great for every day."
Approved
"This is the Nars light reflecting foundation and the color is Doville. I like to start with one pump and see where I end up because this is a not cheap foundation. I like to put just a little bit on and spread it in a nice really even and thin layer."
All 3 takes from Kelly Driscoll
GRWM Barbie Movie | AD ft KAINE
"I really really like this because it is, as the name says, light reflecting. It definitely does help smooth out your skin in that light perfecting way, but it also does not settle into enlarged pores or fine lines. I was able to spread it in a nice even layer across my face and get away with using less, which I like because there's less product that can melt on your skin. The foundation is medium coverage and definitely buildable, but I don't really need to do that because I'm getting that nice even coverage with just one pump where normally I would probably be doing two pumps. The foundation is not cheap, but I really like it."
GRWM YouTube Creator Collective 2025 | Skincare, Hair, Makeup + Outfit!
"This is the Nars light reflecting foundation and the color is Doville. I like to start with one pump and see where I end up because this is a not cheap foundation. I like to put just a little bit on and spread it in a nice really even and thin layer."
Filming Routine | Do Skincare, Hair and Makeup With Me!
"I really don't like how those feel. I like how this feels like a skincare product. It feels light and hydrating. It doesn't weigh my skin down but it does just the right amount of smoothing for my skin and just the right amount of grip without feeling uncomfortable. This is the Nars light reflecting Foundation. As far as filming makeup goes, this is what I've been wearing for at least two years now. Once I find something that works for me, I just stick with it. This is also not cheap, but I have to say it really is worth it. This is my go-to foundation. When it comes to blasting a ton of light on my face and filming like in 4K and all of that, you really need something that is going to perform, and I personally feel like this does. It's a medium coverage foundation that's buildable, and that's what I like. It also feels pretty comfortable for my skin and it is fragrance-free."
Approved
"NARS Light Reflecting Foundation, I love this. I'm going through a makeup rut, or not a rut, but I'm just like, and it could be because winter really just jacked me up. So maybe I'm not going through a makeup rut, maybe it was because the unfortunate events happening with my skin throughout this dry, cold, weird winter just messed me up. And I think I'll be fine, but I was like, 'Oh, I think I want to try a new foundation or whatever.' But I actually went in my stash."
Approved
"I'm going to use the Light Reflecting Foundation instead in the shade Santa Fe. This is going to work and actually my skin pretty good at the moment so maybe I just don't need that much coverage. I know this is really nice because I actually have mixed these foundations together before. I do that a lot, I'll mix things together and shades together depending on my skin tone at the time or what how much coverage I want."
Approved
"If you want something that's glowy, I would prefer to use this than the nude glow from IT Cosmetics, it's just way better, it's so far superior to that formula. Lightweight, gives you glow, it looks beautiful, it's not going to crease, it just sits on your skin beautifully. I absolutely love the light serum texture with light to medium coverage."
All 2 takes from Mixed Makeup
Rating Sephora's Best Selling Foundations with a Professional Makeup Artist (Honest Makeup Reviews)
"NARS Light Reflecting Foundation is one of two foundations that I've ever put on my face and just posted to Instagram without even talking about the foundation, and people were just asking what I was wearing. It's so luminous and so glowy. I'm actually surprised how much I love it on my skin. It's the first foundation to me that truly gives you that skin tint glow finish but you also get the staying power and coverage of a foundation. Sometimes it's a little too glowy, like if it's really hot outside or you're in a humid climate. It definitely reflects light, which it does, and like it's called Light Reflecting Foundation. You have to be very strategic about how you set this one. I'm mindful of what situation you're wearing it in, because if you're just out and about casually going about your day, amazing, but you need to think about the context."
Rating the Best-Selling Foundations at Ulta! bareMinerals, It Cosmetics, Estee Lauder, & More
"If you want something that's glowy, I would prefer to use this than the nude glow from IT Cosmetics, it's just way better, it's so far superior to that formula. Lightweight, gives you glow, it looks beautiful, it's not going to crease, it just sits on your skin beautifully. I absolutely love the light serum texture with light to medium coverage."
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