Hi friends!
You know how much I loveee the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter, right? If that’s news to you, just check out this post. It’s one of those unicorn complexion products that does a bit of everything. It gives a teeny bit of tint and imbues the skin with moisture and loads of pearly sheen; plus it can be applied in a multitude of ways. So when NARS recently introduced their answer to the Flawless Filter – the Tinted Glow Booster – I was extremely curious to see how it compared in both performance and finish.
I quickly hopped on over to my local Blue Mercury store and snatched the lightest shade available. I’ve worn it every day since, so I’m ready to give you my thoughts and opinions now on the NARS Tinted Glow Booster! To be clear, I will give my full review of the product first and then dive into the comparison to the Flawless Filter.
WHAT IS THE NARS TINTED GLOW BOOSTER?
Introducing limited-edition Tinted Glow Booster, a customizable complexion enhancer with long-term skin benefits that adds an alluring glow and a soft-focus effect to skin while extending the wear of makeup for up to 16 hours. Lightweight and layerable, it can be worn in a multitude of ways—alone, under foundation, or as natural illumination on the highpoints of the face. Featuring NARS’ exclusive Jojoba Complex Hydraglow Complex, a dynamic combination of Jojoba Elixir for deep nourishment, with Jojoba Gel for a dewy finish. Skin-tone colored pearls help to brighten and illuminate skin for a naturally perfected, filtered look. Available in four shades.
Oil-free, Paraben-free, Fragrance-free.
HOW I USE THIS PRODUCT
So, just like with the Flawless Filter, you can apply the Glow Booster in a few ways. You can wear it on its own if you want maximum glow with the tiniest hint of tint. You can also mix it with your favorite foundation to give it a bit more radiance. Or lastly, you can use it as a subtle cream highlighter and apply it on top of foundation to the high points of the face.
Personally I’ve been wearing it either alone with concealer where I need coverage, or mixed in with a moisturizer or foundation. As is usually the case with my makeup application, I just use my fingers to blend and tap the product into my skin.
Read this: How I achieve a light, barely-there base
MY THOUGHTS ON PACKAGING
This has standard NARS packaging that’s typical of their other complexion products; a very sturdy square glass container with a soft-touch black cap. Lift the cap up and you’ve got a small pump that carefully dispenses the product. I love me a good pump when it comes to liquids and creams, so this is a big win for me! The only drawback I can see is perhaps with traveling or “on-the-go” application. While the bottle is quite lightweight, it’s still glass so you’ll have to be careful when stashing it in your purse or luggage. (I don’t worry too much about stuff like that, but you might.)
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON APPLICATION AND SHADE
The consistency of the Glow Booster is thin but in no way runny. It applies and blends very, very easily into the skin so you really shouldn’t have many problems. I’ve applied this over bare, un-moisturized skin as well as over a primer/SPF. I’ve also mixed this into moisturizer and foundation too. It always applies smoothly; no patchiness or weirdness.
There’s only 4 shades available in this limited-edition line; I have Light or as it’s also known, Kalvoya. It blends pretty seamlessly into my skin without too much of a weird cast. Considering the Glow Booster is in no way a foundation or even a tinted moisturizer-level of coverage, I’d say don’t get too hung up on shades here.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON FINISH
This has a real wet-look on the skin so if you apply it on its own, or just mixed in with a little moisturizer, you’ll definitely appear both shiny and glistening. I say “glistening” because there’s a decent amount of micro-shimmer in this product. At first I thought that was going to bother me. The last thing I want is to look like a walking shimmer bomb! However, it’s much more wearable than I thought – which is a relief – and if you mix it with foundation you can dilute the finish to your liking.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
Read this: A 5-in-1 foundation?? Iris & Romeo Best Skin Days Review
NARS Tinted Glow Booster in the shade Light or Kalvoya.
NARS Tinted Glow Booster in the shade Light or Kalvoya, blended into the back of my hand.
MY THOUGHTS ON WEAR
This wears perfectly well throughout the day on my very dry skin. If you have oily or combo skin, you may want to be very targeted with a product as shiny as this as it may exacerbate any shininess you naturally produce throughout the day. I need all the help I can get when it comes to skin luminosity, so I definitely don’t mind a little extra boost in that department!
I can’t really attest to the whole claim about the Glow Booster extending the wear of makeup for 16 hours though. Because of my skin type makeup tends to last on me pretty well anyway. Plus since it’s winter now, I’m not sweating much these days.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON PRICE
For 30 mL of product, NARS retails this for $39.00 so we’re definitely heading into more luxury territory. For the effect that you get with it, I don’t take much issue with the price especially when comparing it to cheaper complexion enhancers. Next to the L’Oreal Lumi Glotion or the L’Oreal Visible Lift Luminous Serum Tint (both $14.99) for instance, the Glow Booster is certainly more dramatic and potent. I take my glow seriously people, so I don’t mind splashing out for something that’s unique. But of course you need to decide how much is too much to spend on a product like this.
RATING: 4 / 5 ⭐️
Side-by-side comparison of Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (blended out on left side of hand), and NARS Tinted Glow Booster (blended out on right side of hand).
COMPARISON TO HOLLYWOOD FLAWLESS FILTER
While both products have near-identical uses, the big difference between the Flawless Filter and the Glow Booster all has to do with the finish. The Flawless Filter has much more of a sophisticated pearly sheen, while the Glow Booster is definitely more shimmery. I’d argue that the Flawless Filter has much more of a refined, soft-focus finish than the Glow Booster.
Other differences: the packaging on the Flawless Filter is definitely clunkier as it has a large, doe-foot applicator; the Glow Booster is much more clean and user-friendly with the pump. The Flawless Filter comes in more shades (7 total), and is just a hair more expensive for the same amount of product ($44.00).
I’d say there’s not much difference when it comes to consistency, blendability or performance though.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’ve really enjoyed using the NARS Tinted Glow Booster. It’s easy to apply and gives my skin lots of radiance that lasts throughout the day, either worn alone or with foundation. HOWEVER, I wouldn’t recommend it over the Hollywood Flawless Filter. There’s still something so incredibly special about the Flawless Filter, and I have yet to find a completely comparable product in terms of finish. The Tinted Glow Booster does come close though, so if you’re interested I suggest snatching it quickly as it’s apparently limited edition.
Have you tried the NARS Tinted Glow Booster? Do you have a favorite complexion enhancer? I’d love to know!
xo, Erica
PIN IT!
It totally looks like a foundation but is so not lol. I get it though, I would love this to have a nice glowy and dewy look but I think I would only be able to get away with it in the winter and not so much in the summer lol.
Great review and thanks for sharing.
Thanks girl! Yea it’s def NOT a foundation, ha! I agree, it’s surely not a product for those hot, humid dog days of summer. I think it probably looks best in the low-light of winter considering the micro-shimmer.
I will have to look into it and see if it would be something I would use regularly. I have only tried NARS lippies and thought they were amazing and lately I’ve been really into skincare and face makeup so maybe I’ll take a closer look soon 🙂
Complexion products are still so popular!
I love the container it’s in! I think I would wear it alone in the summer and as a highlighter in the winter.
NARS packaging is always so sleek and lovely! I love that there are so many uses for a product like this, and if you like a subtle highlight it would be perfect for you.
Erica, your reviews are always based on honesty. Although I have never tried this but it looks really good on your hand. In these days, we do need something easy to with masks. Looks like a good product. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much for your sweet words! ❤️ This is a great option if you want something very lightly tinted, and yes a good choice for mask-wearing. Unfortunately this is a limited edition product, but I think you can still get it off the NARS website (you may have to double-check though).