Revlon: Colorstay Foundation

Revlon Colorstay Foundation: Cappucino

So people ask me frequently what kind of makeup I use. I think they're expecting me to say something expensive or magical, but I actually only use drugstore foundation. Why? Because they happen to work perfectly for me so why spend more. As a disclaimer in this photograph I'm wearing Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Cocoa 3 as a base and just used the Revlon under my eyes...but I'll get to that.

No I didn't go back to short hair, it's just up in a bun ;)

When I first started wearing makeup I found the same dilemma as many women of color (and 

probably white girls too). I couldn't find a selection in the drugstore that matched my complexion perfectly. Everything I tried was too chalky, too yellowy, too pancakey or powdery. I thought I was spending too little for a good product and tried Clinique. Fail. Bare Minerals...ashy. The problem was I was looking for a single product to essentially "paint" my face and expect perfection. The average person has more than one tone to their skin so how could I expect to use only one product and get the results I wanted. That's when I started experimenting.

Maybelline dream matte mousse has always been my old standby. It's almost the perfect color for me, widely available, only 9 dollars and has a cyclopentasiloxane base! For those of you who don't pore over your ingredient lists this is essentially the same ingredient in most smoothing primers. The little silicone molecules land in your fine lines and smooth everything out visually from the surface. This makes Dream Matte Mousse the perfect tinted primer for me. My only complaint about it as a foundation is that the perfection doesn't last long.... Enter Colorstay!

 

I apply Revlon over the Maybelline using a standard foundation brush. I don't have fancy brushes because I haven't invested in that yet...but one day, probably. Maybe not because I don't seem to have a problem with the cheap ones I use. I start under my eyes and then just touch up any areas I feel need a little more coverage. Any acne scars, and my T-zone. Then I top the whole thing with a dusting of Iman pressed powder. What really makes it last is the Colorstay. It alleges to last 16 hours, and I believe it does even when I'm using it over a silicone based foundation. I've done everything from picking apples with my kids, to roller derby to working a double and had my makeup remain perfect even at the end of the day. The photo above was taken late at night after a long shift waitressing so I feel it holds up really well. 

I walked into Macy's the other day looking for a new concealer. I still can't seem to find a good drugstore concealer in my color. I stopped at the MAC counter and the salesgirl couldn't even sell me foundation she was like "Wow... what do you use for foundation it looks great! I can't even recommend anything.". I wanted to be like "Hell yeah! 9.99 drugstore foundation girlfriend!" but I didn't LOL.

Revlon Colorstay Foundation comes in Normal/Dry and Combination/Oily options as well as a relatively wide range of colors. I didn't realize there was a Combination/Oily option until I had been using it for almost a year but now I always look for that bottle specifically. I do feel like that one leaves my skin less shiny although both of them are useable if you have combination skin especially if you're going to use powder anyways.  Best of all it doesn't break me out, and my face is sensitive! So pick this up if you're on the fence about drugstore foundation. It's as good as anything you'll get at Sephora.