Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in 190 True Beige - Review

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in 190 True Beige - £8.99 here.

Revlon's Nearly Naked Foundation is something I've read about and watched people talk about for a good while now, so I popped into Boots to pick up one and try it for myself. Having just written my rave review on Estee Lauders Double Wear (post here), I wasn't looking for anything to top it, because frankly at the moment that one ticks all my boxes. I don't tend to go for drugstore foundations, simply because I like a really good base and the ones I've tried haven't really cut it. I wanted to try this one as I know not everyone can afford/want to spend loads of money on high-end foundations and it's something different on the blog! 

This foundation has ten shades, and out of those ten I managed to find a really good match which is '190 True Beige'. I was impressed by the shade range and it's a nice change to see a drugstore foundation with pretty much a shade for everyone. Even one of their darkest looked like it would suit my Mum who is an NC50 in MAC and can never find foundations dark enough in Boots, Superdrug etc. (That's a whole other issue for another day, I will definitely do a post on discrimination of fair and dark skin tones in the make-up industry.) I'm not sure about the lightest shade as certain people are lighter than some brands lightest shade, but just pop into Boots and try some instore.

As for the packaging, it's actually really nice, much nicer than most drugstore foundation bottles. It's a nice, slim glass bottle with a white lid and the design looks very minimal - fitting with the concept of the foundation itself. The foundation has no pump (is this a new trend?!) which means you have to pour the foundation out, so be careful! Not realising that this was a water-based foundation, I decided to use it with my Beauty Blender - big mistake! Because this foundation is water-based, my sponge just soaked up a lot of the product, which is obviously a waste and required me to use more than I normally would have. The sponge does release product when you squish it down against your face, but a brush would be much more ideal! Keep this in mind when you are applying foundation - water-based ones work better with fingers or brushes and silicone or oil based foundations can work with either a damp, sponge, brushes or fingers. Sponge drama aside, I applied one layer and then just went over any other areas of redness that needed a bit extra.

Me wearing just the Revlon Nearly Naked foundation and nothing else.

As you can see the coverage is light, but the foundation itself is actually undetectable in the close-up photo. You can still see my freckles which is nice, and you can't feel it on your skin at all. So if you like your foundation to look like your not wearing any, then you may really love this. I have pretty good, clear skin, and no breakouts at the time that I tried this, so my face looks flawless and natural with this. As you can see, it hasn't tackled my under-eye darkness at all, but I wasn't expecting it to as it such a light coverage. The coverage is almost like a tinted moisturiser, but the consistency is very light and fluid, easily blendable too.

Here I added some MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC42 to my t-zone to set and mattify slightly.

I used my Studio Fix powder to add a touch more coverage in the t-zone, which you could do with any opaque powder. 

Rest of make-up done!

As you can see, the foundation looks really nice on and when the rest of my make-up is done. The beauty of this foundation is that it's perfect for down days when you just want a bit of coverage, a lick of mascara and thats it. If i were to do that with Double Wear, I get so much coverage from it that my face looks all one colour and the planes of my face need to be put back in with blush and bronzer - if that makes sense? Basically, this foundation makes you look like you, just a tad better. So if you have good skin, not many imperfections and just want to even everything out and look naturally flawless - this is for you! If you have more redness, lots of breakouts, pores etc then this won't really do much for your skin. 

Overall, I like it. I wouldn't wear it if I was going out, but on days if I am just popping to the shops or don't need to look made-up, a quick layer of this will do. The SPF 20 is great too if you're going to be outside during the day and want to protect your skin while still wearing a bit of coverage. 

Revlon's Nearly Naked foundation is available in Boots and Superdrug.

Have you tried this foundation?

(If you want to know what other products I used in this post, they are listed at the bottom of my previous one here!)

My Favourite Concealer - MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25 (Review)

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25 - £14.50

First things first, I am a complete concealer junkie. I didn't actually realise this until I looked at how many concealers I had and I wondered 'why do I buy so many?'. The reason is, I really cannot stand under-eye darkness. I loathe it. And I have quite bad darkness under my eyes which is really problematic to me, I have a tough time finding a concealer that covers it well enough. But with the under-eye area, it's not just about coverage - it's about longevity too. How long is this concealer going to last on me? I've always had a problem with concealer creasing, fading, sliding - you name it. I have so many and am always on the hunt for more. I'm quite keen to get my hands on the new Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (here) as I've heard such great things about it's coverage and wear. But for the time being, I introduce you to the concealer that I am absolutely loving at the moment, and that is quite something coming from a concealer snob.

The first thing that drew me to the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer is the 'Pro Longwear' part. As I mentioned, I find it really hard to get concealers to stay on me without fading or creasing, despite setting them with powder. I was intrigued by the impressive title so I decided to look at reviews for more information. I went onto MakeUpAlley (where you can find reviews on most make-up products on the market) and was so impressed by the comments and claims. 'No creasing', 'lasts all day', 'great coverage' etc etc. I was also really sold on the fact that it is a liquid with high pigmentation. The liquid consistency means that you can work in thin layers but still get the coverage - eliminating any chance of creasing.

In MAC I am an NC42 or C5 (it can change depending on how tanned/not tanned I am) and was unsure what shade to order as I was doing it online. Lots of reviews mentioned that they got their concealer in an NW. For anyone not familiar with MAC's shade system:

C is Cool - Yellow - Golden Olive

NC is Neutral Cool - - Golden Beige

N is Neutral - Beige

NW is Neutral Warm - Pink Beige

W is Warm - Pink

MAC like to confuse all of us and refer to what we would call warm (yellow, olive undertones) cool, and what we would call cool (pink undertones) warm. How confusing. 

My skin has a golden, yellow undertone but under my eyes is dark and needs correcting. For this reason I chose an NW25 in the Pro Longwear which is absolutely perfect for me. NW25 is a pink beige colour slightly lighter than my skin colour. NW25 seems like it would be worlds away from NC42 but it is actually quite dark. I was fairly sure this colour would be good for me as I am quite familiar with MAC shades, but if you are unsure I really recommend going in store to get your perfect shade.

 This shade really helps to correct and lift the darkness under my eyes which is something that all my other concealers in more neutral tones couldn't tackle. This concealer is so concentrated and it covers so well - I wanted it slightly lighter than my skin colour as I love the bright under-eye Kim Kardashian look and this concealer does it very subtly but effectively. It's so liquid-y and easy to blend (I use my Beautyblender) and sets really quickly which enables me to build layers without it becoming cakey and thick. Another thing I search for in a concealer is if it looks natural. If a concealer looks really heavy and obvious then I don't think it's doing it's job. Make-up is there to enhance what you already have, creating the illusion that you have perfect skin. I remember when I was reading reviews about this concealer, a male reviewer said that he wore it because it was so covering but so undetectable - this concealer is really lightweight and applies smoothly which makes it look really natural but it still gives the coverage.

The wear time is great and it's still hanging on at the end of a long day. I make sure that I always use eye cream under my eyes and let it skink in before I apply my concealer as I can get quite dry under there, which makes concealer look horrible. I set this concealer with my Ben Nye Banana Powder which is yellow toned and helps to brighten on top of the pink toned concealer.

All in all, if you struggle with concealers fading and creasing and have a lot to cover - this concealer might just be the one for you. You can pick up MAC Pro Longwear Concealer online at maccosmetics.co.uk or at any MAC store.

Whats your favourite concealer?