Full Face Matte vs. Glow Makeup

Super matte or radiant, glowy finishes are common in a lot of products from primers and foundations to lipsticks, and we all have own preferences for which finish we prefer. I thought it might be interesting to do half of my face with all matte products and half with all glow products! Read on to find out how I got on.

Primer:  Clinique Pore Refining Solutions vs. Lancome Prep & Hydrate

The Clinique one isn’t really a primer but it definitely mattifies and fills in my pores, wheres the Clinique primer is one of my favourites for glowy, hydrated skin.

Foundation: PS…My Perfect Colour Ultimate Wear Matte in Ivory vs. L’Oreal Pro Glow in 202 Creamy Natural

I always think glowy foundations look a bit more natural on me, whereas matte is generally higher coverage and my skin looks more flawless. My skin is mostly oily but I don’t like to look too makeup-y so I tend to avoid anything too matte. Overall though, I really liked how my skin looked with the matte foundation except around my under eye area which looked a bit too dry (I just used foundation here with no concealer).

Powder: Collection Primed & Ready Powder vs. Revolution Pro Skin Finish in Opalescent

I did powder both sides of my face but I used the shimmery skin finish on the glow side. I don’t really like this product as an all-over face powder and it really highlighted the texture on my face over a glowy base.

Bronzer: Benefit Hoola vs. I Heart Revolution Chocolate Hearts Bronzer

I never use Hoola as a bronzer. It’s more of a contour shade on me and I always use it to contour my nose. I don’t really like mega shimmery bronzers so I usually go for something more subtle than the Chocolate Hearts.

Highlight: NYX Contour Palette vs. Ofra Rodea Drive

I don’t really have, or understand,  a matte highlight so I just used a subtle shimmery powder from the NYX Contour Palette for the matte side and the intense Ofra highlight on the glow side.

Blush: Essence Matt Touch Blush in Peach Me Up vs. Milani Luminoso

I tend to favour a blush with a bit of shimmer but this just made the glowy side of my face look even worse at this point.

Eyes: Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Palette

I used this palette for both eyes, sticking to matte shades for the matte side and topping with a shimmer on the glow side. I nearly always wear shimmer but it was nice to experiment with just mattes too. I finished the eyes with the NYX Worth the Hype Mascara and Benefit Ka-Brow for my eyebrows.

Lipstick: Ofra Liquid Lipstick in Havana Nights vs. ColourPop Lux Lipstick in Tiana topped with Revolution Pro Gloss Pigment in Ultimatum

I paired a matte liquid lip with the ColourPop Lux Lipstick from the Disney collection in a similar colour and finished with gloss on the glowy side. Typically, I prefer a satin finish in a lipstick so neither matte nor gloss is really my thing.

I then finished using the Glow and Matte setting sprays from Primark and attempting to spray the corresponding sides of my face.

This was fun to do and I’m surprised by how much I liked the matte side. The glowy side of my face looked so textured and awful once everything was finished, but I’d never combine products like that normally. I feel like after trying this out, I might actually prefer a matte base but with a hydrating primer or setting spray to get the best of both finishes!

Are you team matte or team glow? x