Revlon PhotoReady Foundation

Price: $13.99 for 1 fl oz (30 ml)

What they say:
"Revlon PhotoReady™ Makeup - for poreless, airbrushed skin in any light. Photochromatic pigments bend and reflect light to erase every flaw. Complete, yet undetectable coverage. Soft, luminous finish.

- Oil free
- Fragrance free
- SPF 20"

What I say:
Initial impressions:
I got this foundation during a Buy One Get One Free offer from CVS, and since I didn't have anything else to get, I got two shades: 002 Vanilla, and 003 Shell.  Both of them work, surprisingly, but what is strange to me is that Vanilla seems to be more sheer than Shell.  With Shell, my redness is just gone, with Vanilla it is lessened, but not completely gone.  Strange that Shell acts like a foundation, and Vanilla acts more like a tinted moisturizer.  So far have not noticed the "Cullen" affect, as some people call it, but it is so overcast today that it just could be because there is no sun out.  The foundation applied evenly with fingers, and dried to a nice finish.  Not dewy, not matte, either, just kinda skin-like.  It does show any dry patches easily, so moisturizing beforehand is a must.  Came off easily with my cleansing oil, but what doesn't?

Second attempt:
Man, do not apply this in a rush with your fingers unless you are really used to this formula.  This definitely looked like makeup when I did that, and I had to remove it and start over (which did not help the rush, hehe).  Definitely my fault, I think.  Shaking the bottle really heavily before application on 002 Vanilla seemed to help with the liquidy-ness of the product, something that I did not have to do to 003 Shell (I mean as much, of course).  Noticed the shimmers that people are talking about only at a certain angle while making an extremely stupid face, hehe.  I have heard some speculation that Revlon actually released two formulations of this foundation as a test, and that some areas got the more shimmery one, while others got a much less shimmery formulation.  This would explain the mixed reviews, and also explain why the colors that sold out faster and were replaced (most likely with the less shimmery formula that people liked) have been getting better reviews later in the release.

Later attempts:
The more I use this, the more it becomes apparent that this foundation is the mortal enemy of dead skin flakes.  Seriously, if you think you have no flakes, put this foundation on, and then give yourself a look in the mirror.  Finish is still nice, if it isn't putting a neon sign to dry patches, but I think it is a little cakey at times.  Tried to use a kabuki, fingers, and damp sponge.  So far, the brush seems to be the winner.

Final conclusions:
I wish I could find my receipt to return this product, but I think my husband recycled it when I wasn't looking.  I'm not saying this product is horrible, it just doesn't work for me.  The color selection is decent enough, and since it is so sheer, you can get away with a color not being perfect, as long as it is kinda close to begin with.  The shimmer effect that people talk about online seems to be a batch to batch issue, and personally I have not had a problem with either bottles that I bought.  Yes, I did go outside in full sunlight.  Yes, I did try flash.  Maybe I got lucky?  Who knows.

The finish is like a more matte foundation with an illuminator underneath it, or perhaps something like Vanilla pigment mixed in a little.  Like I stated before, I might have gotten lucky with the batch that I bought, but that's what it seemed like to me.  The foundation stayed on all day for me, but there was a little fading around the T-zone.  Layering blush, powder, highlighter, and bronzer, did not cause cakeyness most of the time, but I do highly suggest letting this foundation sit before doing so.  Layering concealer, on the other hand, sometimes lead to a nightmare situation where I would get a cakey problem going on, and smoothing it out just made it look worse.

I think the worst thing about this foundation is how it reacted to any patchiness or dry skin on my face.  It would gather onto that patch and look absolutely horrible, much worse than any other foundation that I have ever tried.  Using a damp sponge to apply didn't seem to help, and neither did using a sponge afterwards to blend it out.  Absolutely horrible.  Seriously, I almost feel like I should use this to find spots on my face that I didn't exfoliate, but I would have to rub my skin raw to get it to the point this foundation would work.

Like I stated before, I really with I could find my receipt, since $14 for this foundation (and remember what I said before, I bought two) is way, way too much.  In the meantime, though, I am probably going to give my mother the darker on, and use the lighter one under my eyes as an illuminator, since it seems like it would work well like that.  Maybe in the summer, when my skin seems to be in a little better condition, I will try using this again, but in the meantime, I think it is an overhyped foundation that the makers did not test correctly (shimmer), and that does not favor people who don't have perfect skin to begin with (dry patch gathering and sheerness).

2/5