Review & Swatches: Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation in Nude


Hourglass recently released the Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation and I was so excited because the stick version is one of my all time favorite foundations. On my dry skin, the Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick glides onto face and looks absolutely seamless like the name suggests. Even though I love it, I'm aware that people with more oily skin don't like it as much since it can slip around. Unlike the stick, the liquid version is supposed to have higher coverage and with a waterproof, sweat-proof, and transfer-proof formula that's better for those with normal to oily skin types.

I was able to get a sample in Nude with a recent Sephora order, but the full sized bottle contains 0.84 oz / 25 mL of product and retails for $56. It also comes in a nice bottle with a pump and Hourglass claims that you only need half a pump to get full coverage.

You can purchase it through the links below


While Hourglass says that primer is not needed, I've found that the foundation is too dry/matte for me and so it's hard to blend out unless my face is very moisturized. It basically needs to be moisturized or primed enough to have a nice slip or smoothness for the foundation to glide on better.

In all the pictures from this post, I did put on a bit of the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. I don't see any wear time difference with that primer and so I mostly use it to help foundation blend better on my face. 

Bare face / Dotted foundation / One layer
One thin layer is perfect for me. When I look at close up shots, I can see a bit of yellowy streakiness. Oddly, I don't see it in real life and it instead looks very even and beautiful. Like the Stick Foundation, it vanishes into the skin and looks seamless.
"Completed" face / After 4 hours / After 12 hours
Besides the foundation and primer, I also wore the Milk Makeup Black Light Lip & Cheek in Electronic as blush and Pat McGrath Skin Fetish Highlighter & Balm Duo in Nude with the highlighter just on my cheekbones. I did avoid the apples of my cheek for the highlighter and so the glow you see there is from the foundation.

After application / After 4 hours / After 7 hours
I meant to take check in photos for both sets of distances at the same time, but forgot to take a close up shot at the very end. 

I personally didn't think the foundation was impressive right after application, but it really started to shine (metaphorically and literally) after a couple of hours when my natural oils started to come through. I prefer a dewy appearance and while the foundation isn't completely matte, it does lack a certain glow that I want. Again, it's a personal preference and so the fact that the glow appears after a couple hours of wear is perfect. If you're worried about it, it did go away and the max amount of glow / oiliness I got is basically what you see in the middle picture above. 

Here's another unfortunate thing, I noticed that most of the foundation was gone by the end of the day. It lasts through a normal 8 hourish day with mild weather conditions, but it seemed to completely disappear by the 12 hour mark. 

Bare face / 1 layer / 2 layers
When I start to layer the foundation, that's when it starts to get bad. I don't know if you can see it, but it got really bad on my cheek. The foundation started to get patchy and really emphasized any flakes or dry skin I had on my face. It was a bit frustrating that that was happening too since I didn't even know I had dry skin on my cheek until I layered the foundation. Up close, the color also got more and more odd but if you're at a normal distance away, it does seem like a decent enough match.

There was some odd buildup around my nose as well, but this happens with every foundation and concealer I use and so this part didn't matter to me. I just wanted to point it out in case this tends to happen to you too.

The foundation lasted way longer with two layers compared to only one layer, but I hated how the foundation sat on my skin and so I wouldn't wear it with more than one layer. 

Left side with 2 layers of foundation. Right side with nothing.

Both sides with 2 layers of foundation. Only leftover foundation on my brush applied on my forehead.
With one layer, I didn't feel anything but two layers felt like something on my face. Even after buffing in the second layer, there was still patchiness and it just wouldn't melt into the skin the same way the first layer did. 


L to R -
NARS Sheer Glow in Punjab
Etude House Double Lasting Foundation in N07
Maybelline Dream Cushion in 30 Warm Nude
Pony Effect Everlasting Cushion Foundation in 25 Sand
Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick in Nude
Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation in Nude

Even though the Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation is supposed to correspond with the Stick version, the Liquid version is slightly darker. Even though the Liquid version is still a pretty good match for me, the Stick version is more of a perfect match.

Final thoughts: I'm so glad that I was able to get a sample of this product. I'm not a full coverage person in general, but the fact that this was a liquid version of one of my top two foundations did make me want it. I like how one layer of this foundation looks on my skin, but it doesn't seem to last that long and it takes longer to buff into my skin compared to the Stick version. Two layers of this foundation also looks terrible on my cheeks and it also only got to maybe a medium-full coverage instead of a completely full coverage finish. If you have dry skin like me, I would pass and get a sample of the Stick foundation instead. 

What kind of coverage do you like in your foundations? What's your favorite foundation?
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