Almay Smart Shade

I've always wondered what the deal with foundations that are supposed to adjust to your skin shade, but have always decided against trying them.  It was on sale last week at Riteaid for $7.99 plus I had $4 in up rewards so I thought I'd give it a try while I could get a good deal on it.  I have to say I'm glad I gave I did. The adjusting really does work and its a very nice match for my skin.

                                                           Light Pale 100

Before

Pretty bad break out.  Thankfully its pretty much cleared up now (This was last week, I'm a bit behind doing this post).

Without Vs. With 

                     

                                           Without                           With

I'm having a pretty bad skin day here but as you can see in the right picture it still do a good job evening out my skin tone and concealing the redness from my acne.

                                           With                                 Without

With Make-Up

Goofy picture but shows coverage well.

*I'm not wearing any concealer or powder etc, just the foundation.



Bottom Line

I would recommend this foundation, it has great coverage and the smart shade match actually works.  I definitely want to try it again when my skin is doing better, even though I think it did well given its canvas.


Let me know if you have any questions :)

~Emily

Foundation Recap

I have very fair, oily skin, that randomly breaks out so my focus is on covering up the acne, matching my skin, and finding the right formula for my oily skin type. I have a cool skin tone which means I have pink undertones.   I've tried quiet a few drug store and high end foundations. I have figured out that Alabaster is the best match for me.  I can also wear Ivory but it depends on the brand, I've found their isn't much consistency between the various brands.  The Ivorys that tend to match are made for pink undertones such as Tarte's Amazionian Clay in Ivory.  

Drug Store Favorites

Loreal True Match - C1 Alabaster

CoverGirl Nature Luxe - Alabaster

Revlon PhotoReady- Ivory 001

Almay Clear Complexion - Ivory 100

High End Favorites

bareMinerals - Fair Matte

Tarte Amazionian Clay - Ivory with pink undertones

MAC Studio Fix Fluid - NC15

For drug store make-up I like TM and NL the best because they come in Alabaster shade.  I've found alabaster is the best match for my skin.  I also like PR and CC because their ivory shades are a good match for me.

For high end make-up I've been lucky to like the three that I've tried to far.  All three have an excellent coverage without being too heavy.  Also the match is spot on for all of them.

Thanks for reading and please let me know if you have any questions.

~Emily 

Mac Studio Fix Fluid

I LOVE this foundation. I went to the Mac counter a couple of months back and decided to see what the MAC hype is about.  I totally understand now!   It is an excellent full coverage foundation that works very well with my skin and skin type.  I'm not that familiar with MAC foundations since this is my first one but I was told the Studio Fix Fluid is the best for oily skin.

                                                             NC15

With vs. Without 

                                             With                                 Without

This foundation does very well to cover my acne and overall redness from it.  Notice on the right that I'm having pretty bad breakouts and on the left that they are barely noticeable. 

                                             With                               Without

This side is not as broken out so this is probably more of what most users would experience.  It gives a nice even finish to my skin.

With Make-Up (Only foundation, no concealers, powder etc)

Pictures are from different days since I wear this foundation often.  None of them have anything but foundation on though.

Bottom Line

I definitely recommend this foundation, it has great coverage and wears very well.  Also for a higher end foundation it retails ($27) for much less than others that are available. 

Almay Clear Complexion

This foundation has a nice full coverage look without feeling too heavy.   It says it heals blemishes but I'm not sure if that's true just yet.  I got it just to try another type of foundation, but if it helps my blemishes that's a huge plus. Ivory 100 is a good match for me.  I'm really starting to think there isn't much consistency between Ivorys in the various brands though.

                                                                Ivory 100

Without vs. With 

                                             Without                          With

Notice that I have a good bit of redness in the left picture that was evened out in the right picture. Also it does a good job of taking the redness out of my acne.  Even without concealer it doesn't look too bad now.

                                            Without                            With

With Make-Up

Outside picture to show the match.  I really like the match, I think it gives a nice "healthy look" to my skin.

Taken the next day in my office, just to provide a picture with different lighting.  It is not too light that's just from the fluorescent lighting.


Bottom Line

I would recommend this foundation.  I am very impressed by the coverage, and I like the overall "feel" of the foundation.  I also got the concealer for blemishes (I'll post about it later).  Guess we will have to wait and see if it helps my blemishes or not.


Thanks for reading :)


~Em

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation

I know my last few posts sound like I don't like Revlon Products, that isn't the case at all. I like everything I've tired in the PhotoReady line (Primer and Concealer, I'll post about those later) so far .  The color range seems to be better in the PhotoReady line. I got 001 Ivory and it matches me very well.  Goes onvery easily and wears very well over the Revlon PhotoReady Primer.

Without Make-Up

Without vs With

                                              Without                          With
Sorry about the lighting difference between the two pics.  Coverage is really good with this foundation, I would say its med. to full.  Match is also very good for my pale skin.

                                             Without                           With

Full Make-Up

I really need to work on not looking so men in my pictures lol.  I promise I do smile :).  Lighting isn't the greatest but the match is very good with this foundation.

Sorry my full face pictures aren't that clear/good.  I have a few other Revlon products I love. I'll review those soon and try to redo these pictures.

Bottom Line

The color match for the foundation is much better for me than other Revlon products.  It seems the color range is a bit different on the PhotoReady line.  I would recommend my fellow fair skined ladies try this line.  I would definitely recommend this foundation.  Also just an FYI keep a check on the Riteaid (if you have one) circular papers, they often run 40% off Revlon sales.


Thanks for viewing :)

~Em

Revlon ColorStay Whipped Foundation

I had high hopes of this foundation when it first came out, unfortunately it falls flat.  I picked it up in Ivory 110.  Similar to the regular ColorStay the match is off for me, but more so with this one. I could be crazy but this one seems to have a blue/grey tint to it. I can't get it to blend very well into my skin. Also I've noticed that it turns to water--I took a picture of it.  I haven't had this long at all--about two weeks when this happened.

Revlon ColorStay Whipped Foundation in Ivory 110

This was a brand new container, used it once and then put it into the drawer.  Came back to it about two weeks later and there was literally water to pour out.  No idea what happened.  I actually have two of these foundations and both did the same thing (I bought the second one after the first did this, I thought it must have been something I did, I also really wanted to like this foundation).

Before

Without vs. With 

                                             Without                           With

The with picture shows the discoloration/poor match.  It has a weird grey/beige tint to it.  The coverage isn't bad but match is off for me.

                                              Without                        With

Full Make-Up

Ignore my crazy hair please.  I finally got it blended in decently but its way too much effort to make it look halfway decent.

Lol.  I look so sad in this picture.  I really did have high hopes for this foundation so the face is pretty accurate.  

Bottom Line

I would not recommend this foundation, aside from the bad match for me it has a weird issue with turning into water.  Hopefully they will re-do it later on.  Or maybe I'm experiencing a freak thing, who knows?  For now I'm going to pass on future whipped line products. 

I would love to hear from others that have tried this foundation.

~Em

Revlon ColorStay

I've heard great things about Revlon's ColorStay so I decided to give it a try.  I got Ivory 110 to try.  The foundation has a nice feel but does not match my face exactly.  Its go more of a grey/beige tint to it.  I'm thinking this shade might be better for warm or neutral skin tones?  I'm not sure since I'm still learning about all this. I do agree with everyone that says its long wearing, it does stay on very well.  I have worn it and will continue to wear it (its not as obvious that its not an exact match when I'm not under bright lights) since its a nice wearing foundation.  

Revlon ColorStay Ivory 110

Without Make-up

Without vs. With

                                            Without                            With

I'm not sure how well it shows up in the photo but the match is a bit off for me.  Its a bit too greyish or something for me.  With a powder and extra blending its not so bad but its not perfect for me.  The redness on my checks is from a sunburn.

                                              Without                          With

Its not as obvious in this picture but match is off for me. This is the lightest shade so I'm not sure that there is one for me. I run into that a good bit unfortunately.  I will say though, it is a good wearing foundation.  (I figured I'll use the bottle I have since its not horrible but not the blend I'd like).

Full Make-Up

Bottom Line

I wouldn't recommend this foundation for the extremly fair, like myself, with cool undertones.  Its a nice wearing foundation but the match isn't right.  If you're a bit darker than me you'll probably love it.  I would love to hear other's opinions. Also maybe there is another shade in this I can try?



Thanks for looking, goofy faces and all.

~Em