For the Camera

Revlon PhotoReady Liquid Foundation

Revlon PhotoReady Makeup liquid foundation has been on the market for a while now and there's no shortage of opinion online about it. I first tried this product with a 15ml sample in 005 Natural Beige that was part of a Revlon gift with purchase promotion in 2010. The shade is too dark for my skin tone, but I only used a small amount around the edges of my nose and my forehead (which is naturally darker than the rest of my face) and blended thoroughly, so it wasn't too noticeable. Back then, I was just getting into makeup and didn't really have any particular opinion on the foundation, except that it seemed to apply smoothly and covered my areas of redness and unevenness well. I didn't notice any shimmer at all, probably due to the fact I used so little. In fact, it wasn't until a friend pointed out that she'd read reviews of people complaining the foundation made them look like Edward Cullen in sunlight that I even noticed it contained fine shimmery particles.

Now that I have purchased and used quite a number of foundations, I can give my thoughts on PhotoReady with more consideration. Overall, I think PhotoReady is a wonderful product, but it works best if you already have quite good skin. I'm not sure if something happens in terms of your skin's response after you use a foundation for a while, but for several months I used PhotoReady exclusively and daily without any issues, until one day, it started to accentuate my dry areas quite badly. Maybe this was because the condition of my skin had worsened, or my skin had become used to the foundation and no longer responded well to it. A problem that I have with most foundations, PhotoReady included, is that although it looks dewy and fresh when first applied in the morning, come the afternoon, it starts slipping off, flaking and drying up on my skin. At the same time, if you apply the foundation all over your face and you have combination or oily skin, you'll end up quite shiny in your T-zone.

On a day to day basis, I don't generally reach for PhotoReady anymore because of the problems I'm experiencing with it accentuating my dry areas and drying up on my skin, unless I'm having a good skin day, or I've moisturised with a rich cream beforehand. However, if I'm attending an event where I know I'll be photographed, PhotoReady is the one foundation I'll use. That's because the product does truly live up to its name. I don't pay much attention to what apparent scientific reason there is in the formulation, but from experience, this foundation photographs beautifully. It just gives a radiant glow to the face that no other foundation I own can achieve. PhotoReady also gives a pleasing dewiness to the skin when freshly applied which doesn't look or feel oily or heavy. Another huge plus is the shade 004 Nude is the closest match to my skin colour of all the foundations I've tried.