Revlon ColourStay Foundation

I had been loving using Benefit's Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation but lately I had noticed that my skin, which has always been quite dry, was becoming increasingly oily. The Benefit foundation just wasn't staying on my skin for that long anymore, so once I had finished the bottle, I began the hunt for a new foundation which would cater better for oilier skin.

 

I had heard lots of people mentioning this offering from Revlon - it actually comes in two formulas, one for oily/combination skin (which is the one I have) and one for dry skin. Obviously I cannot comment on the dry skin formula as I haven't tried it, so this review is based on the oily/combo formula.

 

 

 

(foundation blended into skin)

 

There are 9 shades in the range, but many of them appeared to be quite light, so if you have dark skin this may be an issue! However, this was just at a quick glance so don't hold me to that one.

 

One of the main gripes I have with this foundation is the lack of a pump! It makes applying the foundation messy, and considering the fact it's £12.49 and cheaper foundations come with a pump, it's rather annoying! However, I'll let them off seeing as I genuinely love this product.

 

This claims to be lightweight, wear for up to 16 hours, and contains an SPF of 6, which is perfect for everyday protection. It does stay put for a really long time - I can't comment on if the 16 hour claims are true as I never really wear foundation for that long, but I don't have to touch this up throughout the day like I had to with the Benefit foundation.

 

The consistency of the foundation itself is quite thick, and it does dry fairly quickly so you need to blend it into your skin rather fast! Despite this, I have never found it difficult to apply. The coverage is medium-heavy, and a little goes a very long way. I've found that if you apply too much it can look a little 'cakey', but once you've got an idea of how much you'll need, this shouldn't be an issue.

 

I absolutely love this. I love the fact it doesn't slide off my face, I love that it stays put all day without the need for touch ups, and I love how it covers all redness and blemishes. The only other grumble I have, apart from the pump issue, is the fact that it does smell fairly odd (kind of chemically) which put me off at first, but I haven't had any breakout issues so far.

 

I would recommend this to anyone who has oily skin. It's one of the only foundations I've tried which doesn't slide off your face at the first sign of oiliness.

 

This is £12.49 and available from Boots and Superdrug.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

Hello everyone,

There's no doubt that you will have all heard of these, and most probably seen a review or six on them too. They are Revlon's newest release, and have been labelled a dupe (or rip-off) of Clinique's Chubby Sticks. I haven't tried the Clinique ones so this isn't a comparison post, it will only be a review of the Revlon Balm Stain.

The shade I have is 015 Cherish (it says Cherish Devotion on the bottom but on the website it just calls it Cherish - ah well, Cherish it is!), but there are roughly 10 shades to choose from (I don't know exactly because the Revlon UK website doesn't have these on yet - the US website shows 12 shades but I'm not sure if we have all of these in the UK). Revlon describe these as "a pampering balm fused with a lightweight lipstain.. it gives softer, smoother lips with the perfect flush of colour which lasts hour after hour".

Apologies for the smaller picture - it was taken using the front camera on my iPhone.

The stick itself reminds me a lot of them wax crayons you used to have as a kid haha! You can either apply straight to the lips like I did, or if you were a make-up artist for example you could use a seperate brush to make it more hygenic. It is very easy to apply, and the colour payoff is amazing. In the picture above I applied one 'coat' of the balmstain and my lips were already quite a vibrant shade of pink. I like the combination of a lipbalm and a stain because the only reason I never got along with lipstains was because of how dry they made my lips.

The colour stays on for around 4-5 hours on me, which I think is good for a lip product as I normally have to apply every 2-3 hours. The product is very moisturising, and when it wears off, it just fades rather than doing the annoying thing of going rather patchy.

Overall, I was really impressed with this. The colour payoff was really good and the colour lasted well on me as well. It kept my lips moisturised for hours and also the packaging and design of the product were useful for me too. I like how easy it was to apply and I will definately be purchasing some more shades!

These are available from Superdrug and Boots. At the minute, they are £5.99, but this is an introductory offer and I don't know how much longer this will be on for so if you want to try these, hurry before they go to full price! Full price will be £7.99.

Have any of you tried this shade? Or any other shade? What did you think?

xx

Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer

Hello everyone,

I have only recently started using a primer underneath my foundation - I never thought I needed one. But then I started reading beauty blogs and saw many reviews about primers and thought I would try one out. I used 17's Primer (review here) but when that ran out I thought I would try a different one. After reading a few reviews, I decided on Revlon's Photoready Primer.

Revlon describe the primer as "a lightweight primer which smooths and softens skin to create the perfect canvas. Reduces the appearance of pores and fine lines".

(Excuse the chipped nail polish and gross thumb haha!)

The packaging of this is lovely. It's a very sturdy glass bottle with a black pump and a clear plastic lid. The pump is really good quaility and makes it easy to dispense the right amount of product. You can use the primer alone or under foundation. With the hot weather we've been having in the UK recently, I have been wearing it alone and I can honestly say I can see a clear difference in my skin. visibly reduces pores, and even though it doesn't claim to even skin tone, I saw a difference in my skin - I normally have red patches on my cheeks, and this primer made my skin look even. I can't comment on the effect it has on fine lines since I am only 18 and don't have any yet!

Unblended

Blended

The texture of this is almost like a moisturiser, a white cream which blends into skin easily. However, it sinks into the skin almost immediately and doesn't leave your skin feeling or looking greasy. The pictures above don't really do the product justice as it does reduce pore size dramatically and makes the skin feel very soft.

This creates a really good base for your foundation too. As it smooths the skin, foundation looks almost flawless when applied over this. Also, I found that with this primer, my foundation still looked good at the end of the day, whereas normally my foundation does need to be touched up in the late afternoon.

I would really recommend this primer to anyone looking to try a new one. It is quite pricy for a 'drugstore' primer, I think, but it is worth it. The bottle is massive as well (27ml) and you only need 1-2 pumps for the whole face so it will last you for ages.

Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer is available for £11.99 from Boots and Superdrug.

Have any of you tried this?

xx

Revlon Lip Butter in 025 Peach Parfait

Hello everyone,

Recently I have been on a mission to find lip products that suit me, as I have never been a massive fan of them. I have tried a number of lipsticks and haven't been too impressed by them - I like the colours but I was finding the formula of a lipstick too drying for my lips. With this in mind, I was recommended Revlon's new Lip Butters, which are described by Revlon as a "buttery balm with beautiful shiny colour to give you baby soft, healthy glowing lips". This sounded perfect for me as I wanted something a little more hydrating than a lipstick without the stickiness of a gloss.

The Lip Butters come in around 14 shades in the UK (there are 20 shades in the US) and there is quite a wide range of colours:

-Berry Smoothie

-Candy Apple

-Cotton Candy

-Creme Brulee

-Cupcake

-Lollipop

-Macaroon

-Peach Parfait

-Pink Truffle

-Raspberry Pie

-Strawberry Shortcake

-Sugar Frosting

-Sweet Tart

-Tuttu Frutti

I finally decided on Peach Parfait:

As you can see, the Lip Butters are nicely packaged. The quilted lid makes it look quite high-end, and each shade has a different coloured lid, which makes them easily recognisable. Peach Parfait is a peachy almost pink colour with a hint of gold shimmer. It is quite sheer with one coat but it is easily buildable. The application was really good, it definately hydrates my lips as well as giving them some colour. As you may have read on some other reviews, these melt very easily! This is actually my second Peach Parfait because I left the first one too close to the boyfriends xbox which gets very hot and it melted :( Because of this I wouldn't recommend taking these on holiday unless you are very careful about where you store it. They also last quite a long time too, which I wasn't expecting. I tend to get about 4 hour wear from them, depending on how often you eat/drink etc.

Apologies for the smaller last picture, it was taken with my iPhone. The colour is really pretty and it has become my favourite lip product ever (however this is not hard :P). This shade is really wearable, you can wear it for a night out as well as for work. The shimmer in it makes it really pretty as when the light catches it you can see it glow :)

I absolutely love this. I will definately be purchasing more shades soon :) I personally think that the price tag is completely justified but I have seen some people thinking that they are overpriced so again this comes down to personal opinions.

This is available for £7.99 from Boots and Superdrug (though they don't seem to have the full range on their website).

Have you tried these? What's your favourite shade?

xx