All about the base

While I was away, Revlon sent the mother of all press drops, with quite an interesting challenge.

They sent me their range of ColorStay Foundations so that I could test each one and let them know my thoughts. I really appreciate this from a brand, as most don’t take kindly to me not liking their products, which is ridiculous. It is a physical impossibility for every person to like, love and continuously use every product to launch. So the fact that Revlon did this, fully knowing that there would be foundations I preferred over others is so refreshing. *WARNING: Selfie-heavy post*

They also obviously understood what a task this would be to undertake, so sent a bottle of my favourite white to make the task easier 😉

For the last week I have worn nothing but Revlon make-up. Really. Nothing.

Each day I paired the foundations with either PhotoReady or other ColorStay products.

On Saturday night we went out with the siblings to our fave restaurant. I teamed an aqua smoky eye with nude lips. I used the PhotoReady Primer, Shadow and Sparkle palette in Eclectic with PhotoReady Kajal Intense Eyeliner and Highlighter in Blue Nile and Bold Lacquer by Grow Luscious Mascara. I added a hint of colour on my cheeks with the limited edition Highlighting Palette in Peach Glow. I used the ColorStay Two Way Powder Foundation SPF20 in Natural Beige for this look. I applied the foundation using a wet sponge, as I wanted a less powdery finish. I was very impressed with this foundation, as I normally stay away from powder to cake-to-powder formulations, as I find them too drying and clumpy on my skin. But this one went on smoothly and didn’t feel like I was wearing a mask. It lasted all night, and my skin didn’t breakout the next day, either. It’s too heavy for everyday use for me, but I will be using it again for nights out. (ColorStay Two Way Powder Foundation SPF20, R249, is available in 5 shades)

Sunday brunch with the family called for a very natural, paired-down look, so I opted for the ColorStay Stay Natural Foundation in Natural Beige SPF15. This formula is designed for dry skin, so I loved it! It seemed to almost absorb into my skin (it didn’t, thankfully) and looked so natural, even I could tell if I was wearing foundation. This was helped by the addition of the ColorStay Concealer in Light Medium, which was perfect for this natural look. My normal, every day concealer is the PhotoReady one, so I’m a big fan of Revlon concealers anyway. I’m going to switch to the ColorStay one for the summer, as the texture is lighter and blends quicker. The foundation was complimented with a touch of bronze from the Highlighting Palette in Peach Glow, a sweep of Bold Lacquer on my lashes and ColorBurst Lipgloss in Papaya. Oh, I also filled my brows with the best thing since sliced bread the limited edition Brow Fantasy in Light Brown. (ColorStay Stay Natural Foundation SPF15, R249, is available in 9 shades)

On Monday I had a low- key day – all I had to do was catch-up with emails and go and ride. I decided a long beach ride would be the perfect test for the ColorStay Stay Active Mattifying Foundation SPF25 in Nude.

This was my least favourite formula – I suspect this is because it’s mattifying and long wearing. These formulas usually feel tight and a bit restrictive on my skin. And while it didn’t feel too bad thanks to the Softflex technology, it did look a bit cakey on my skin. Not one for dry skin, sadly. But it did last incredibly well. It survived the heat, my sweating and lots of kisses from Entrador, so certainly does what it says it does. If you have oilier skin, and need a foundation with staying power, this is the one for you.

I kept the rest of the look very simple by filing my just setting my brows using the gel end of Brow Fantasy, hid a few spots under the ColorStay Concealer and added a bit of colour with the Highlighting Palette in Peach Glow and ColorBurst Lipgloss in Papaya. It needs to be noted here that horse riding wearing lipgloss is never a good idea – hair, dirt and flies like sticking to it… (ColorStay Stay Active Mattifying Foundation SPF25, R249, is available in 9 shades)

On Tuesday I had a lunch date with my friend Lauren at the Larder in Diep River to celebrate their 3^rd birthday. For this I decided to try the old school ColorStay Make-up, but the one for Combination/Oily Skin SPF15 in Nude. Bizarrely I preferred this to the one for normal skin…?! Anyway, it went on easily, blended very well and lasted the whole day. And by that I mean 7am to 9pm! Incredible lasting power! And paired with the ColorStay Concealer, I didn’t have to worry about my face for 14 hours!

The other challenge Revlon posed for me this week was blue eye shadow – they sent me two palettes that were both predominately blue. I wore blue eye shadow not once, but twice this week. Something that has not happened since two friends had 80s themed parties in the same week, 6 years ago. And, has to be said, will probably never happen again… My second blue eyeshadow look for the week was thanks to the PhotoReady Primer, Shadow and Sparkle Palette in Avant Garde. I love these palettes, as they are basically paint by numbers for girls who are pants at smoky eyes. There is a little diagram on the back telling you the order in which to apply the different shades, and where to apply them. I finished my eyes with a fine line of PhotoReady Kajal Intense Eye Liner and Brightener in Blue Nile and two coats of Bold Lacquer Mascara

I filled my brows with brow fantasy, contoured my cheeks with the Highlighting Palette and wore the ColorBurst Lipgloss again.

(Thanks to a South Africa re-launch last year ColorStay Makeup for Combination/Oily Skin SPF15, R239, is available in an incredible 18 shades!)

My final look of the week was for date night with Ang. I’d never tried the ColorStay Whipped Crème Makeup SPF20 in Medium Beige before, but even though it required the most work to apply evenly (brush, blending brush and then sponge), it was my favourite formula. The consistency is quite similar to Maybelline’s Dream Smooth Mousse, but is a bit thicker and delivers better coverage. It was also amazingly long lasting and incredibly comfortable. I’ll be using this a lot during the summer. I hid my dark circles with the ColorStay Concealer, filled my brows with Brow Fantasy and added a few coats of Bold Lacquer to well-curled lashes.

I used the Highlighting Palette to add colour to my cheeks, but also as Eyeshadow to create a very subtle smoky eye using the peachy shades from the top of the palette.

A pop of my favourite Revlon lippie completed the look – Super Lustrous Crème Lipstick in Fire & Ice. I adore this shade, and have been wearing it since I discovered it probably 5 years ago. I have 4 or 5 of them scattered around. (ColorStay Whipped Crème Makeup SPF20, R239 is available in 9 shades)

So, to round up:

Thanks so much, Revlon for allowing me the chance to test all of your formulas in this way – it was fun, and great to be able to test them together for a real comparison. And for pushing me outside my blue Eyeshadow comfort zone 😉

Readers – I hope this helped you decipher the different formulas, and hope this will help you make the best purchase for your skin’s needs.