Revlon's ColorStay vs PhotoReady Foundation

Just when I was about to drop some major dough on the Make Up Forever HD foundation or another MAC studio sculpt I found my HG of foundation in Revlon's ColorStay & PhotoReady. (I actually still might buy the MUFE one though...what can I say? I'm a makeup addict :P)

Prior to these foundations I was very content using MAC's Studio Sculpt but after reading all the raves reviews and coming across buy one get one %50 sale at Walgreens I knew I had to try it. When I first came across it was was initially only going to get the PhotoReady but since the 50% deal I got the ColorStay as well. I expected I would love one and have to return the other but I was so pleased I kept both. I love they way both of them look, but each are very different from each other by consistency and finish. They look different when applied as well but I really can't capture the details due to my lame ass camera and lack of photoshop. What I like about both these products are that they are both relatively inexpensive, both come with SPF & Revlon does not do animal testing (anymore :?) A negative about these two is that it can be quite difficult to choose your right shade. Anyways, here are the deets:

Revlon ColoStay for Combo/Oily Skin in 330 Natural Tan, $12.99
This blends perfectly with my skin tone and dries to a matte finish which I love. Its thick so it is very easy to use with my MAC 109 brush. This dries surpringly fast so make sure youre quick with the hand. **Side Note: If you are going to use liquid foundation, you MUST pick up the MAC 109 brush, sheds like no tomorrow but your skin will be flawless!** At first I thought it was too light for me and I was anticiptaing exchanging it for the next one but turns out its a perfect match. I have weird skin like that anyway. If you see me in person you would think I was a NC30 and put your life on that but NW25 is my correct skin tone. Cant tell you how many fights Ive gotten into with those MAC MUAs over it >:(... One thing I absolutely HATE about this foundation is the packaging!!! Its so difficult to get the the product out! Its like trying to get ketchup out of a glass bottle times 10! When I first got it I tried pounding on my hand to get some of it out and I thought I broke my freaking wrist cuz of the thick ass glass. I only wish they made this in the same bottle as the PhotoReady. Another thing to note is that ColorStay only has SPF 6 whereas PhotoReady has SPF 20. Now that we're getting into summer I find myself using the PhotoReady more for that purpose. Either than that, I would say I'm a little more fonder of this foundation b/c its made for my combo/oily skin and I prefer the matte finish

Revlon PhotoReady in 005 Natural Beige, $13.49
As I mentioned above, I use this more now because of the SPF. Its a lot runnier in consistency than the ColorStay, and comes out with a more dewy finish. 005 is a little too yellow based for my skin tone but once blended you really cant tell the difference (hopefully :/) Although thinker than ColorStay Ive found that PhotoReady is a lot more pigmented. I don't need nearly as much to cover my whole face. One pump is good enough. Speaking of which. I LOVE that it has a pump. Its so much easier to apply and gauge how much you're really putting on your skin. A negative for this in my opinion is the dewy finish, I notice when Im not using it with my Urban Decay De-Slick Spray I get super shiny. Not shiny enough to deter me from purchasing again though. If you have dry skin you'll probably fall in love with this. I will def load up on these when I run out and there is a sale again

I know one looks wayyy lighter than the other but trust me they both blend flawlessy on my skin. You can also see that ColorStay is a lot more sheerer than PhotReady

Here they are blended. ColorStay is practically unnoticeable, and you can see the yellow/orange tone PhotoReady has (barely though)

Here's a pic of two looks I used using the foundations. They are not as shiny as they seem here though, especially ColorStay. Again, its b/c of my wack camera flash. Ill do a more careful FOTD w/ the PhotoReady soon, the one picture below was a super quick one I did because I was in a rush


Ive been wanting to try the MUFE foundation (HD & Mat Velvet) so if any of you gals have it or tried it please let me know if its worth it. Also if your about a MAC NW25 please tell me what color you use for MUFE. If I do get it I dont want to fight with the MUA telling me what color I am lol. Thanks!

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ELF Eye Transformer Palette

Heres my review of the ELF's Eye Transformer which is, in my opinion, a waste of $3.00 lol. Here is the description ELF gives online:

Convert your shadows into brand new shades with these four opalescent shadows. Wear alone, under, over or in combination with your other makeup. The opal tones transform your dark color into a new shimmering hue.

To me, this is just a palette of 4 shimmery eye shadow colors that I would never use ever in the tones that they are. When I initially bought this palette I thought it would great for highlighting my brow bones. Honestly I don't know what to do with them, but I definitely know that I cant wear any of these colors alone. I mean, the colors here are shimmery tones of GREEN, ORANGE, PINK and PURPLE! What am I going to do with that? They're too shimmery to wear alone but the color of the shadows are too bold to wear as an accent or as a highlight. I guess they work best if you know how to blend and mix them as stated in the description but I'm not that talented in the makeup arts to make these work for me that way

If you have this or have any good ideas on how to use this puh-leeeeze let me know! Either than that, back to the unused makeup drawer this goes because Im too cheap to throw this away :P

swatches

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