Review: Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Makeup in 220 Nude

UPDATED 6/27/12:

Back in May, when I finally spotted the new Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Makeup in my local drugstores, I jumped at the chance to purchase this product because I love many products in the ColorStay family. The new ColorStay Gel Creme Liners and 16HR Eyeshadow Quads didn't have quite the staying power as some of the older ColorStay products I've tried in the past, but when I saw this new foundation had a "24hr" claim, it just had to come home with me.

Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Makeup in 220 Nude

(retail: around $14, 0.8 oz)

Available in twelve shades, I was confused about which one to purchase when I saw the display. Since this product comes in a thick glass jar, it distorts the actual shade and, after a while, all of the colors start to look the same. I finally decided to buy the third shade in the range, 220 Nude.

Although this is described as a "whipped creme", I find it to be more of a straight-up creme, though it's lighter than you'd think when looking at it in the jar. It's not a heavy creme; it's got some water content to it, which makes it so that, a few hours after you've dipped your finger or brush into the pot, you can open it back up to find that the contents have completely settled and the surface looks "new" again. Kind of cool!

Ingredients part one:

Note that the first ingredient is dimethicone (the same first ingredient in many popular silicone-based face primers).

Ingredients part two:

Here's what this product looks like after taking a "scoop" with my fingers and placing it onto the back of my hand:

You can see that it's not so thin that it immediately levels out on m hand, yet it's not so thick or stiff that it stands tall like a little mountain range:

Let's cut to the chase with some before-and-afters:

My 41-year-old bare skin is FAR from perfect. I'm an NC20 with oily skin, and I've got redness near my cheeks and nose, old acne scars, sun spots, large pores near my nose, dark circles and fine lines around my eyes (wow, when I write it all down like that, it's depressing). Anyway, what good is a foundation review if I don't show you exactly how my skin looks BEFORE the foundation, right? I have no shame, people!

Clearly, I selected the wrong shade for my skintone. It's a bit too pink and too light on my skin, but hopefully you can see the type of coverage this foundation gives me. Pretty impressive, and it even helped to conceal my dark circles (not enough though--I would of course still need concealer). Also, if you look closely, you'll see that this foundation does tend to pool up in larger pores after a few minutes on the face, which is a bummer considering I have some Grand-Canyon-sized pores on certain areas of my face.

Texture and finish: Like I mentioned above, I don't get much "whipped" from this whipped creme. To me, it feels like a regular creme foundation, but one that's on the lighter side of the spectrum. Water is the third ingredient, so it's got a watery texture to it, but it's not SUPER watery. It's like water + silicone, if that makes sense. It's light on the fingertips, yet it spreads like a silicone-based face primer onto the skin. For lack of a better word, it's kind of "cushiony" but I don't find it "bouncy" like the label description above. The finish on my oily skin is also hard to describe. There's no glitter or shimmer to this product, and I don't even see a slight sheen when I go out into the sunlight. But it's not matte either--this product makes my skin look like slightly dewy...skin. That's the best way I can describe it. It really looks like your skin but better. No harsh matte-ness, no insane dewy-ness. 

Staying power: If you have normal or dry skin, you just MIGHT get 24 hour staying power from this foundation. If you have oily skin, I think this product provides decent staying power. On my super-oily skin, I can put this on, top it with setting power, and still see it on my skin eight hours later. Granted, it's not perfect, but it's still visible. So I'm guessing that if your skin is normal or dry, your staying power will be even better. Like I mentioned above, the main complaint I have about this product is that it tends to settle into the larger pores on my face. I notice this most when I'm driving in my car--if I look in my rear view mirror, I can see that it's settled into my larger pores, but of course it's less noticeable when I'm indoors. I also want to note that if you use a silicone-based primer underneath your foundations, that MIGHT be overkill with this product. Since the first ingredient in this foundation is dimethicone, which is the first ingredient in a lot of face primers, just beware of that, and maybe try skipping your face primer the first few times you use this product. Layering dimethicone on top of more dimethicone might be overkill. Also, a good setting powder really seems to lock this product into place--I've been using a variety of different setting powders with this and they all seem to work nicely. 

Coverage: True to Revlon's description, this product is "buildable to full coverage". In other words, you can start small and work your way up to fuller coverage depending on your needs.  I would classify this product as a medium-to-full coverage product, so if you're a sheer foundation lover, this probably isn't for you. For me, building for more coverage does not make this product become cakey, which I LOVE. I think it does a great job at evening out redness and concealing minor imperfections, but if you have severe acne scars or dark circles, you won't be able to skip concealer when you use this foundation. 

Fragrance: The scent of this product is not as strong as the original ColorStay liquid foundation, although it does have a plastic note to it. I smell it the most during application, but it does subside and become undetectable with time. Note: I don't get burnt plastic from this, just straight up plastic.

Comparison to Revlon ColorStay Liquid Foundation: It's been a while since I used the original Revlon ColorStay foundation, but there are some things I remember quite vividly about it. For one, the coverage is quite impressive, but it's also got a plastic-y, heavier feel to it. ColorStay Whipped Creme does NOT have that heavier feel to it, but the coverage seems not quite on par with the original liquid version. So if the thing you love the most about the liquid version is coverage, you might be a little disappointed by the Whipped Creme version. However, if the thing you dislike the most about the liquid is the heavier feeling on the skin, this might be a nice alternative for you. Also, the fragrance is nowhere near as strong in the Whipped Creme version as it is in the liquid version.

FINAL VERDICT: I don't quite love this one, yet I absolutely don't hate it. There are things I really love about it (good coverage, natural finish, softer fragrance than the original) and things I could do without (settling into pores). The staying power, for me, isn't on par with the original liquid version, but the finish this leaves on the skin is a DEFINITE improvement. It looks so natural and almost dewy on my skin that I sometimes forget (or don't mind) that I bought the wrong shade. I just wish that it didn't settle into my pores, because that's something that really bothers me when it comes to foundations. But of course, when it comes to foundations, EVERYONE is different and there are so many factors to consider (age, ethnicity, heredity, skin type, what moisturizer you use beforehand, what region you live in, which setting powder you use, etc.). My best advice? If you enjoy the original ColorStay, or you're looking for a medium-to-full coverage foundation that provides a natural-looking finish (not matte but not sparkly), buy this at CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens, which all have great return policies on used products. Give it a week or two, and see if you can make it work for you. If not, return it and try something else. I just wouldn't want you to miss out on a potential Holy Grail product just because it's not a Holy Grail product for me.

UPDATE (6/27/12): After reading all of your helpful comments about this foundation, I want to add a few important things to my original review:

Regarding application: During my initial testing phase, I tried applying this foundation with my fingers, with a dry foundation brush and with a damp foundation brush. I found that, with all three methods, this foundation continued to settle into my pores as described above.

HOWEVER, after reading the suggestion made by reader Nancy both in the comments section on this post and on Facebook, I decided to give this product another try with a stippling blush. The brush I've been using is the EcoTools Finishing Brush, which is a duo-fiber stippling brush similar to the MAC 187. The EcoTools version is part of the Alicia Silverstone Collection.

Here is my method of application using the EcoTools Finishing Brush:

Step one: with your finger, take a small scoop of foundation and spread it onto the inside of the lid, making sure you create a nice, thin, even layer of product.

Step two: with a stippling brush, gently press the bristles into the foundation in a quick, short bursts. Continue to do this until you get a nice, even coating of foundation on the tips of the bristles.

This is what the lid should look like when you're done--notice the marks were created by dotting the brush into the foundation, not swirling the brush.

Step three: stipple the foundation onto your face. Dab the foundation onto your skin with quick, short dotting motions until you're happy with the coverage. When your brush becomes dry, return it to the lid and pick up additional foundation.

I am SO happy with this method of application that I wish I could hug Nancy for the tip. I have experienced NO pooling in my pores since using this method, and this method also gives my skin a more airbrushed quality. What's even better is that the COVERAGE has not suffered, even when applied with a stippling brush. Sometimes applying foundation with a stippling brush can give you less coverage, but due to the nature of this foundation, I find the coverage to be just as good as when I apply with my fingers.

Here's a pic of my face after using my stippling brush for application:

What's important to note about the above picture: this pic was taken nine hours after application. While I definitely had some break-through shine on my cheeks and forehead, I want to make it clear that there was NO pooling in my pores, and my makeup actually stayed more consistent and looked more even on my skin after using a stippling brush than it did using my fingers or a traditionl foundation brush. Heck, it even made my BLUSH stay on my cheeks longer than usual (wish I could say the same for my eyeliner, but that's for a future review).

So there you have it. The main thing I disliked about this foundation, per my original review above, was that it had a tendency to pool up into the larger pores on my face. I've solved this problem completely, thanks to this tip from reader Nancy. Nancy, I cannot thank you enough for the suggestion!

Have you already tried the new Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Makeup? If so, I would absolutely love to hear about your experiences!