Are you ready for Revlon PhotoReady Foundation SPF20 in 004 Nude?

If ever a liquid foundation got a ton of flack, Revlon PhotoReady foundation would be it. Every single review (and every comment I received when I previewed this here) mentioned how sparkly it was and how utterly vampiric it was… if you subscribe to the Twilight sort of vampires.

Truly, when I tested the PhotoReady foundation on the back of my hand, it was sparkles galore! I was quite stunned. How on earth is that supposed to be good for photographs? Is it meant to blind the camera? Which is why, with all these prejudices in my head, I was surprised to find that I like the PhotoReady foundation!

The biggest complaint is that of the shimmer so I’ll address it first. I must be an odd one, because I don’t get this shimmer thing when I apply it on my face. Am I applying it wrong? I apply this like all liquid foundation – 1 pump in the palm of my hand, spread and apply on my face. (If you are new here you can read a more detailed explanation of this method here 🙂 )

My colour is 004 Nude (photo mistakenly labeled – Thanks Aretha!) which is a smidge darker than what I should wear. I’m thinking 003 Shell or 002 Vanilla might suit me better. However, here in Malaysia 004 Nude is the lightest shade which I can pull off in a pinch. A large pinch though – it makes me look a touch darker like I’ve had a touch of sun.

After application, I do set it with some loose powder and use my regulation Guerlain Meteorites over it. Still, I don’t get the sparkly vampiric look people claim to see. Perhaps it might be because I use such a thin layer that it doesn’t show up that sparkly.

The coverage is light-medium which suits me fine. I reckon you might be able to layer it on for more coverage but that might increase the sparkle factor.

You can see from the before and after picture that the coverage isn’t wonderful, but its more natural without giving you a mask like look. Applying a thin layer allows me to use 004 Nude which I don’t think I could pull off otherwise. The colour difference doesn’t show up in my photos either. In real life, 1 person said it looked like I had foundation on under artificial lighting (due to the colour difference) but in natural lighting, another said it looked alright… sort of. So I’m not sure what to believe 😛

The pump bottle is great. One pump dispenses just the right amount of liquid foundation for me for my whole face and the tiny nozzle and mechanism makes it easy to control the amount of liquid that comes out. I also did not notice any caking of the foundation around the nozzle unlike some high end foundations I have.

There is SPF20 with active ingredients of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide – 2 ingredients I found odd in a liquid foundation meant to be photo ready because these 2 uv blockers tend to reflect light. Odd indeed.

I don’t get oily wearing this, and it lasts well enough on me. It didn’t oxidise (thank goodness!) and on an overall basis, worked pretty well all things considered.

Pros: Light-medium coverage, Affordable, Pump bottle is good

Cons: Some might find it too sparkly

For those who are interested, here’s the ingredient list for the Revlon PhotoReady foundation:-

At RM65 a bottle, I can’t say its “cheap” but I can’t quite complain about the price either since they do go on sale off and on. I like the slight dewy effect it gives, possibly due to the shimmer in the product but since its not giving me crazy sparkles, I’m happy. At least its not making my skin look flat. Oh and I don’t take photos with flash a lot since this is pretty much an everyday foundation for me.

Have you tried this one? Were you put off by the sparkles or do you like it?

Paris B

Revlon PhotoReady liquid foundation comes in 5 shades in Malaysia with 004Nude being the lightest and retails at RM65/30ml at all Revlon counters.