REVLON COLORSTAY FOUNDATION REVIEW!

Hello lovelies!
I recently purchased the REVLON Colorstay foundation after hearing many good reviews about it and I've been testing it out for the past few weeks now.

I wanted a more full-coverage foundation which was too heavy on the skin as my skin has been quite dry lately meaning that foundations tend to bring out more of its texture. I'd heard a lot of good reviews about the REVLON colorstay foundation so I thought I'd give it a go - it's currently £9.99 in BOOTS but it is usually priced at £12.99.

I purchased the combination/oily version of the foundation which sounds silly considering my skin is quite dry but the formula is still quite dewy and some parts of my face can become oily throughout the day so I thought this would be the best option. I first tested the lightest shade in the range as I'm extremely pale right now (the name of this shade I can't recall) but this was much too pink for my skin tone. I doubted the next shade up with be pale enough but I was wrong and it was more yellow-toned so fitted my skin a lot better - the shade I ended up choosing is called "Buff" (number 150).

Formula
As I've said, although this foundation is for combination/oily skin, it is still a very dewy, hydrating foundation. It looks absolutely beautiful on my skin and really evens out the colour, especially where I tend to get redness. I'm not sure if others would class this as full-coverage if they use matte foundations regularly, but the foundations I use are usually dewier so, in comparison, the REVLON colorstay is much more full-coverage. 
I also have certain areas where my skin looks more blue-toned due to veins such as around my eyes and temples so the yellow tones in this shade of the foundation evens this out also. 
The only area I have a slight issue with the formula is around my nose and between my eyebrows where my skin is driest - around these areas, it looks slightly cakey but this is less of a problem if I use a really hydrating moisturiser or primer underneath. 

Long-wearing?
On the bottle, REVLON claim that their foundation can last for 24 hours (but is stated in small print on the back "UP TO 24 hours") which is definitely a big claim to make! I will say that it is very long-wearing compared to other foundations but throughout the day it wears off around my nose. However, this is a big problem area of mine with any foundation anyway so it may just be that, where my skin is drier, this version of the foundation isn't suited to stay put for a long amount of time.

Packaging
There's not much to say about the packaging! The product comes in a simple glass bottle with a pump. I think I've heard people say they have recently changed this product to having a pump which is really good as those without a pump really annoy me. The information on the bottle is simple and easy to read and I like the overall appearance.

Overall impression

Overall, this foundation has definitely become one of my favourites from the drugstore and is extremely affordable! The colour is perfectly matched to my skin which is a big selling point for me - it's so hard to find a pale enough foundation which isn't pink-toned. I will probably wear this foundation more so for occasions such as date nights, meals etc. because it looks beautiful for a few hours but I don't think it lasts over the course of a long day on my skin around my nose which really annoys me. But, as I said, it lasts beautifully on all other parts of my face!
I'm really impressed and really happy with this foundation! I may purchase the version for dry skin next time to test out how the coverage compares.

Thank you for reading, I hope this was helpful! I definitely recommend trying this foundation out if you're looking for a more full-coverage foundation which isn't too thick.

Holly Amber X

CURRENT FACE-PRODUCT FAVOURITES!

Hi lovelies! It feels like ages since I last wrote a post but I'm giving my last push for my end of year exams right now, just another few weeks and my first year of university will be over with! In the mean time, I thought I'd give you all a short post on a few of my current favourite face products.

The first is the foundation I've been using for at least a month now - the NO7 Instant Radiance foundation which is £12.50 at BOOTS (I use the shade 'calico' which is the lightest shade for my ever-so-pale skin). I went into BOOTS to get a colour-match for this foundation and I can honestly say it is the perfect shade and undertone for me which is wonderful - some foundations I find to be too orange-toned but I find this to have a cooler undertone which suits my skin wonderfully. The foundation itself is very 'watery' in consistency and provides a medium coverage in my opinion which can be built up without looking too thick or feeling heavy on the skin (wonderful for summer). I prefer foundations with this type of consistency as they leave me with a dewey finish and are easier to blend out (although I think you would always need to set this with a powder for it to last longer). Lovely foundation, I really recommend it!

The second product I've been loving since I purchased it recently is the Bourjois Radiance Reveal concealer in the shade (01) Ivory (on the website they do not list the shade names which were in store but I'm guessing 'Ivory' is the same as 'Light') - this retails for £5.99 at BOOTS. I've continuously been using the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in the shade 'Ivory' for a very long time but I always found that the colour wasn't light enough for brightening my under eye area or thick enough to cover any blemishes. However, this Bourjois concealer has solved both of those problems and it really doesn't brighten up my eyes with a lovely radiant glow! It also has the lovely fruity scent of the Bourjois foundation which I also love and the packaging is slightly frosted - I love the design, it feels like a high end product as its quite weighty and sleek.

One last face product I've loved using lately is my Emite Makeup Diamond Heart (Illuminating) face primer which I received in a GLOSSYBOX (in a luxury-sized sample) in November and retails for around £26 on their website. I have used this a couple of times before but I feel that, coming into the summer months, I've been looking for a more dewey glow to brighten up my skin - I very rarely like a matte skin look as I think it makes my face dimensions a lot flatter. This primer just gives me that subtle sheen that I like for my skin when it's sunnier outside (not that we've had much of that lately). I'm not sure if it actually helps my makeup stay on longer but I find that if I apply this specifically under where I highlight, its intensifies my highlight and makes it look so beautiful!

I made this post slightly shorter than usual as next week I plan to upload an April favourites video on my YouTube channel which will mention a few more of my favourite products from the month of April. I will also be filming a Spring/Summer try-on haul which I am very much looking forward to sharing with you! I'd appreciate it if you'd check out my last three videos from my YouTube channel; my everyday makeup routine, my pamper routine and my April GLOSSYBOX review.
Thank you as always for reading,

Holly Amber X

MY FAVOURITE 5 MAKE-UP BRUSHES!

A couple of years ago the only make-up brushes I'd ever used were a normal powder brush and a small eyeshadow applicator - little did I know about the wonders of all the other make-up brushes there were out there!

My absolute favourite make-up brush which I use daily is the Expert Face Brush by Real Techniques, sold for £9.99 in BOOTS (although I would check in some supermarkets which sell these, like ASDA, as they're sometimes discounted). Before purchasing this brush I really didn't know what I was missing. I used to use their Stippling Brush to apply and blend my foundation but it never really worked for me so after a long time debating, I purchased this. 

And what a brilliant decision it was! It blends my foundation beautifully and it is the softest brush I own, I apply the foundation either to the back of my hand or onto the brush directly and apply it to my face evenly in circular motions. The most important thing is creating a good base to put your make-up onto so starting with a brilliant foundation brush is a good idea - if you don't own any make-up brushes I'd definitely suggest purchasing this to start your collection!

The next of my favourite brushes in the Bold Metals Angled Powder Brush (103). I received this in a set of three Bold Metals brushes at Christmas which is currently on offer at £25.00 instead of £64.00! I can't find the brush on it's own on the BOOTS website, I think its only being sold exclusively in the set for now.

Its such a fluffy brush which I specifically wanted for soft contouring - as its so big its doesn't give you a harsh line but the angle of it makes it wonderful to contour your cheeks with. I absolutely love the design of the Bold Metals collection - it makes them look so expensive and luxurious.

Also from this set, I received the Bold Metals Tapered Blush (300) which is sold separately for £24.00. Again, the design is beautiful - this one is more a rose-gold colour rather than the  Angled Powder Brush which is a more true-gold colour. Although this is stated to be a blush brush, I prefer to use it for my highlighting as it has a tapered end - this means you can use it on smaller and broader areas. Both of these two brushes are so soft and fluffy and blend out any product amazingly - they don't hold onto much of the product either.

The next brush in my top 5 is a very affordable brush which I think I purchased for £4.00 at BOOTS - the Cheeks Brush from SEVENTEEN. I can't seem to find this on the BOOTS website but I'm sure they still sell them as single brushes in store - on the BOOTS website there is the SEVENTEEN Make-up brush Explosion set which has this brush in and is currently half price at £6.00 (and it includes 4 other make-up brushes). I purchased this as a quick decision as I wanted a more precise contouring brush than the one I had which wouldn't give too harsh a line. It's slightly tapered and I was pleasantly surprised at how soft it was and how easily it blended out my contour. I can't say I had high hopes for this brush but I was so impressed and I use it daily now for the smaller areas I want to contour - a brilliant affordable brush!

And finally, my fifth favourite brush is the simple but brilliant Real Techniques Powder Brush which is sold at BOOTS for £12.99. It may not be the most exciting brush to some people but I was so happy to get this, it's by far the softest and best powder brush I've ever used and it's relatively affordable compared to other high-end powder brushes. I think the most important brushes to get right are your base brushes - foundation, powder and concealer (which I am yet to find a brilliant brush for). If you haven't purchased a make-up brush before, I'd definitely start with the Powder brush and Expert Face Brush from Real techniques - they are very good investments and apply your make-up so well! 

As always, thank you for reading and I wish you all a very happy new year full of wonderful, happy things!

"Do good and good will come to you"

Holly Amber X

THE WORST FOUNDATION I HAVE EVER USED (DRUGSTORE)

I'm not one for expensive, high-end foundations - I can't justify spending £30 upwards for a foundation on my budget and that is absolutely fine for me. I find many drugstore foundations to work wonderfully and I'm usually very happy with them.
However, after recently running out of my Rimmel Match Perfection foundation, I was ready to test out a new foundation! This was mainly due to my increasingly pale complexion which required a really good colour match - I didn't want my foundation to have too many orange/warmer tones which I sometimes find the Rimmel foundations have.

So I went to Superdrug to test out some new foundations with high hopes and determination to find a good colour and what did I end up choosing.... L'Oréals True Match foundation (for 9.99). I can't criticise them for their large amount of choices on colour and the colour I chose (1N - Ivory) was honestly a perfect colour match so this was not my problem with it.

My problem was everything else. Okay, so first of all it quotes to be "super-blendable" - this is the least blendable foundation I have ever tried. This opinion hasn't come from using it once, I've been wearing it on my skin for the last five days now using a range of methods to make it work better.
I tried using it on its own, with my normal day cream, a thicker day cream, a drugstore primer (Rimmel "Fix and Perfect") and two higher-end primers (Benefit's porefessional and Talika's "Photo-Hydra" day cream which works really well as a primer). No method I use helps it to blend nicely. In fact, it is the most drying foundation I've come across - I'm not a person who has dry skin at all and I've never had a problem with products drying out my skin. Although I rarely have any obvious blemishes, this foundation picked up on all of the tiny little imperfections on my face. Even after exfoliating my skin, this foundation made it look so bumpy and uneven still - especially around areas like my nose and between my eyebrows, my skin looked terrible.

Another problem I had over the day was that it slipped on my skin everywhere and even if I just rubbed my skin or scratched my skin in the slightest way, the foundation came off onto my fingers and left my face patchy. This happened even when I used a primer as well as my Urban Decay "All-nighter" setting spray! The coverage is terrible and it is definitely not build able, applying the thinnest layer highlights all of your imperfections, never mind 2 or 3 layers. The suggestion to use a very thin layer was pointless, it was no more blendable than I had previously found and gave me barely any coverage.

I can safely say I will not be using this foundation anymore and I will be going back to my Rimmel London or Bourjois foundations (which are absolutely wonderful). I don't think I'd recommend this to anyone or any skin-type, I'm pretty sure it'd have the same effects on really oily skin too.
Highly disappointing!

Thank you for reading, I hope I've saved you from the very bad decision of purchasing this.

Holly Amber x