Revlon ColorStay Liquid Foundation (Combination/Oily Skin)

I picked this foundation up from London Drugs for $18.99 CDN, but you can find it for around $15-$20 CDN, depending on where you buy it. This liquid foundation is available anywhere Revlon cosmetics are sold - I prefer picking mine up from WalMart, just because everything's cheaper there... haha. One bottle of this foundation holds 30 mL (1 fl oz) of liquid goodness. The color selection is stupid (stupid good, that is...) - with about 20 shades available from the lightest of light shades to very dark. There are also two formulas available from Revlon: Combination/Oily, and Normal/Dry. 


My review is on the Combination/Oily version.


According to Revlon.com, this foundation provides medium-full, lightweight/weightless, flawless coverage for up to 16 hours? 24 hours? There's a bit of a discrepancy... the website says both 16 hours and 24 hours... my guess is that this will wear 'nicely' for 16 hours, but you'll still have remnants of it 24 hours later. Meh. I don't know that I'd want to wear foundation for 24 hours anyways. This foundation also has an SPF of 6 - whoot whoot!

For the Combination/Oily Skin formula, it's formulated to be oil-free, which helps control shine and mimics flawless skin. I will caution you, some people find that Revlon's ColorStay foundation breaks them out - wear it cautiously. Be attentive to your skin's reaction to the foundation... stop using it if you notice a rash, or an increase in your acne after use. I haven't noticed myself breaking out from the foundation... but your skin can freak out over time - so just be attentive :)


The packaging is... meh. A sleek glass bottle with a twist-on black cap. The glass is transparent so you can see the color of the foundation inside, as well as being able to tell when you're running low and need to repurchase. This foundation lacks a pump with which to dispense the product, so you're left with a wide gaping mouth in which you need to dump foundation out onto the back of your hand and work off of there. Revlon could've stepped up their game on this one, except if they did this foundation would be more pricey than it is now. You win some, and lose some.

My shade is 150 Buff. It's the second-lightest shade in the line. I picked up Buff because it appeared to have a more neutral-base, in comparison to the more pink-toned, 110 Ivory.

No flash - natural sunlight.
Left to Right: NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia, Revlon ColorStay in 150 Buff

With flash.
Left to Right: NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia, Revlon ColorStay in 150 Buff

Mostly blended in. With flash.
Left to Right: NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia, Revlon ColorStay in 150 Buff

Mostly blended in. No flash - natural sunlight.
Left to Right: NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia, Revlon ColorStay in 150 Buff

The foundation has a little bit of a scent, which I am undecided on. I don't really love the scent, but it isn't noticeable forever, so I guess it can be overlooked.


It dries speedily, so you do need to work quickly when apply it. I prefer to use a damp Beauty Blender-esque sponge, or a dampened brush (such as the Real Techniques Blush brush). In a pickle though, I would use my fingers. Because this foundation sets so quickly, I don't feel that I need to use a powder afterwards to lock it in. It blends fairly easily... some areas on my face take a little bit more work than others (around my hair line and eyebrows for some reason), but it's by no means difficult to achieve a 'flawless' finish.


This foundation barely transfers... a true test for me of transferability, is when you blow your nose into a kleenex - do you get a bunch of foundation that transfers onto the tissue? Also, when you touch your face, do you see foundation residue on your fingertips afterwards? With my NARS Sheer Glow foundation, I get a lot of transferring. This foundation, barely. It really clings to your skin and sets in for the long haul. A HUGE plus for me.


For my skin, I feel like I get a really natural finish. You can barely tell I'm wearing makeup, which is a BIG BIG plus. I have a lot of the 'peach fuzz' hair on my face, so I have to be super careful with foundations that they don't cling to the fuzzies and exacerbate them. Additionally, my skin has been in super turd mode lately where it's uber oily all the time, so my NARS Sheer Glow foundation slides right off and looks cakey and unnatural. It dries to a matte finish, though on my skin it looks semi-matte (a slight sheen, but nothing that looks oily or greasy). This is great for oily skin because it won't aggravate the oiliness, and will stay put longer.

The Revlon ColorStay feels weightless on my face, which is a huge selling point for me. I refuse to wear a foundation if I can feel it on my face all day long. I want to be comfortable in my foundation, which the ColorStay delivers on. To the touch, you can't even feel the foundation on the skin. 


Powder products blend effortlessly over top of this foundation - you don't get any weird clinging or cake-face-ness with powder blushes or bronzers. Bonus!!


As for the color match, in the bottle this looks almost dupe-able to my NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia, though it doesn't make me look as flat and colorless as the Sheer Glow does. This is a better match in some ways to my neck color, so I don't look so white face>off-white neck. I would say that in most lights, this is a perfect match, but in others it looks a little too peachy. I anticipate that this will be a near perfect shade for me at the beginning of summer, but a little too dark for the winter when I'm whiter than an albino... haha.

Left to Right: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia, Revlon ColorStay Foundation in 150 Buff,
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Fiji

I don't notice this oxidizing on my face at all during the day. It appears true to color at the end of the day as it did in the morning when I first put it on, which is a total plus.


This foundation photographs really nicely too. The SPF is so low, I don't know that it really creates much of a white cast when you use flash photography - so don't avoid it for that reason. My skin appears flawless in photos, and definitely not cakey or chalky.


Now I know you're all wondering if this actually does last 16 (or is it 24?!) hours... In regards to the longevity of this foundation, it holds up pretty well. I put this on at 11:30 am yesterday morning and by 11:30 pm last night, it was still looking pretty decent in comparison to any other foundation I've ever used. There was significant wearing around my nose and mouth - where I tend to touch my face the most, in addition to having to blow my nose a lot since my allergies were really bugging me. However, the foundation around the outer part of my face (forehead, the back of my cheeks) was perfect. Just like it was when I put it on in the morning. It might have faded a bit, but the foundation was still there, and was looking funtabulous. Even the wear-and-tear around my nose and mouth area was pretty decent - it was a gradual fading/rubbing off of the foundation, but because of the cling of the foundation, it didn't wear off in patches, or unevenly. You could definitely see my skin poking through, but the remnants of the foundation on my face gave me the hint of added coverage.


I'd say, overall, this is probably THE best foundation I've ever used - hands down. The color is perfect, the formula is wonderful, and the wear-time is probably the best selling point here. When I wear foundation, I want it to last - I don't want it transferring or smudging off an hour after I apply it. I want it to increase the wear-time of my blushes and bronzers. I want an affordable alternative that is easily accessible. I HIGHLY recommend this foundation to anyone who is looking for an affordable, long-wearing, lightweight, flawless foundation. 


5 out of 5 stars.
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What is your favorite drugstore foundation!?!