THE BATTLE: Revlon PhotoReady vs. Revlon Colorstay

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation - £12.99

Revlon ColorStay Foundation - £12.49

If I had to chose just one makeup brand to buy everything from for the rest of my life, it would be Revlon. They have some great quality nail varnishes, lipsticks and eyeshadows all at affordable prices but the stand out products for me and the ones I always run back to are their foundations

I am in a constant battle of whether I prefer the PhotoReady or ColorStay. I have been using both on and off for a few years now and they are both great foundations in their own way but I've decided to delve a little deeper into helping you guys and myself in deciding what's the best version for my skin and hopefully you can pick up a few tips along the way

My Skin

My skin is oily, pretty much, all over my face (my forehead, nose, cheeks and sometimes chin - the joys) and because of that I suffer occasional breakouts. However, since overhauling my skin care routine in the new year these are fair and few between. I have a hard time getting on with most foundations as I want to keep a shiny face at bay but still favour a dewy, more natural finish. I also need  a good coverage to cover up spot scaring over the years and redness near my nose and on my cheeks.

The Packaging

My number one gripe with the ColorStay is that it doesn't have a pump. I will never be one of those girls that manages to get the exact right amount of product out every time. One flash of Seth Cohen on my screen and half the bottle has ended up on my desk. On the other hand the screw top makes it a lot more handbag friendly. As you can see in the above images I've lost the lid of my PhotoReady (it's not the sturdiest!) which often means every other product amongst it is painted beige.

Colour

There are 9 shades available in the ColorStay (same for both the oily and the dry version) and 8 in PhotoReady. Like a lot of drug-store brands these unfortunately don't cater for those with really pale or really dark skin - although Vanilla in the PhotoReady is a good attempt! Although the shades that are on offer are really good. Nothing too pink, nothing orange or too yellow, just natural colours. What did annoy me is that the 'Natural Beige' shade is completely different in the ColorStay as to how it comes out in the PhotoReady which led to a right mare in choosing the correct shade in the ColorStay for me.

Coverage & Finish

Now we get on to the real important stuffs. I am continuously impressed with the coverage of both of these foundations. PhotoReady is a medium, but buildable coverage that gives a sheen to the skin with it's subtle shimmer. Because of this and because it contains and SPF 20 I tend to use it more in the Spring/Summer. ColorStay is a full coverage consistency offering SPF 6 making it ideal for nights out and when your face is in it's own battle with the wind and rain. I apply both using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush (from the Core Collection set) and both blend really easily, however, the ColorStay dries much faster than the PhotoReady so it's important to work it quickly in to the skin.

Staying Power

The ColorStay wins hands down in this catergory - it lasts nearly all day which is a huge achievement on my skin. The PhotoReady is also good but I need to use a lot more powder with this product. Although I would imagine it would be great on normal to combination skin. 

The Price

For what you get I think these are brilliant priced products. At £12.49 for the ColorStay and £12.99 for the PhotoReady they are certainly at the higher end of 'drug-store' pricing but with qualities of a higher end product I'd certainly regard them as good value for money.

Conclusion

I think I am going to have to crown ColorStay my winner for the moment as it beats my shine like nothing else which prevents me from wearing a lot more makeup than needed - natural beauty FTW! If I am truly honest with myself I don't think I could live without either of these foundations though until my skin looks as amazing as Megan Fox's that is...

...and as a side note I am sure you have already heard but Revlon have recently added the Nearly Naked Foundation to their collection which has been getting rave reviews from an array of beauty bloggers and vloggers. I am yet to buy into the hype, as it being a light coverage foundation, am not sure if it's for me but if you have tried it let me know your thoughts in the comments below? And if you have any other foundation recommendations I'd love to hear those too... HIT ME UP!