I love reviewing a foundation and this year I decided I wanted to try more drugstore options. I heard quite good reviews on the NYX Born to Glow foundation and so I decided to buy it, try it and test it out in full for you. By now I have been using this foundation for a few weeks and I can share with you how it blended, looked and wore throughout the day. Let’s have a closer look at the Born to Glow foundation.
Review: NYX Born to Glow foundation BTGRF03 Porcelain
The NYX Born to Glow foundation is one that came onto my radar as it was tauted as a good glowy foundation. I love a glowy look and so I figured: why not try it?! It comes in 35 different shades and retails for €12 from Douglas in The Netherlands. This seems to be the only place that still stocks the brand here and not all shades are available. Porcelain, shade 3, is the lightest shade after Light Ivory and therefore very close to being the lightest shade in the line.
What does this foundatio have to offer?
This foundation comes with some claims on the bottle that sounded great to me: naturally radiant. It is a buildable medium coverage, which isn’t my favorite as I prefer something more lightweight. If more drugstore brands could do skin tints I would be a very happy bunny indeed. It comes in a very basic squeezy tube. There is no pump, which may seem a downside, but I actually like it. It is still hygienic and you can still control how much product comes out and the packaging is easier to recycle without all the added bits and bops.
How does this foundation swatch?
I would categorize this as a rich and creamy formula. It feels more like a heavy moisturizer than a foundatio when this goes on initially. It blends in beautifully and the shade is also a great match for me as you will see in a picture below. This foundation is one where I feel you can manipulate it a bit more than others. You can wear it full on medium coverage if you’d like but you could also just use a bit less product and it sheers out beautifully. I have worn it both ways and it works quite well. The only downside here? Longevity. This sadly doesn’t last very long. It adheres to texture and dry patches quite badly after a few hours and I have also experienced this fading and looking patchy as it didn’t stay put. It rubs off quite easily.
What is the coverage like?
What I love about this foundation is how adaptable the coverage is. I feel it has a good, glowy texture and it covers my redness quite well. I only use a little to the extent I like it, but I have used a bit more a few times just to see what this would do and how it would sit on the skin. It looks great for the first few hours, but after that this really starts to break down. I have quite dry skin, so I don’t have any issues with any oils coming up, but on my chin and around my nose the foundation would easily start to bunch up and look cakey. It looks great elsewhere on my face though. It looks great on the cheeks and it doesn’t pull into fine lines.
What is the shade match like?
But the thing that makes me want to keep this foundation around a bit longer and go back to in the fall time when the weather starts to cool down? The shade match. I don’t think I have tried a drugstore foundation with such a good shade match for me. You can’t even tell where it starts and finishes in this close up foto and that is a feat because most drugstore foundations aren’t light enough for my fair skin or it’s too yellow against my cool to neutral undertone. This hits that sweet spot just right and I know I will be able to get more wear out of this when the weather is less warm.
My final thoughts
The NYX Born to Glow foundation certainly surprised me in a good way. Is it a perfect foundation? No but it’s quite affordable and with a shade match this good I can overlook a few of its miscomings. It’s just not as longwearing as I’d like it to be but I love the finish, I love how easy you can adapt the coverage to something you like and the squeezy tube packaging is incredibly easy to use. In short, this just has a lot going for it and this is definitely a keeper.
Would I recommend the NYX Born to Glow foundation?
I really think this is only rigt for people with dry to normal skin. If you have anything more combo or oily going on this will just melt off your face straight away. I wore this multiple days and when I rode my bike going anywhere and got a bit hot and flustered, this felt like it might come off. It luckily doesn’t and the fact that it does look a bit cakey after a few hours doesn’t make it perfect. But hey, if you want a good glowy drugstore foundation option, then I think this one is worth getting.
3 responses to “NYX Born to Glow foundation review”
I use this in the colder months as I find it helps keep my dry skin a little more protected. Found the shade range a little daunting (I don’t tend to wear a lot of foundation myself) but found a great match for me. I like the finish as it’s too heavy and looks natural on me, I don’t like the heavy feel of some foundations but this is one I do.
Yes this is definitely one that will be great in the colder months as well.
[…] was the last time you tried NYX? For me it had been years until I found their Born To Glow foundation in store last year and was intrigued enough to try it. Way back in the day NYX was one of the most […]