Review: New Revlon Nearly Naked Makeup SPF20 and Pressed Powder

I've been testing the new Revlon Nearly Naked foundation and pressed powder for several weeks now, so I'm finally ready to give you my verdict! And by the way, I purchased the shade 130 Shell and the pressed powder in 020 Light at my local Rite Aid, but while I was testing these products I actually received two additional shades directly from Revlon (120 Vanilla and 150 Nude, below) so I'm including swatches of those shades as well.

Revlon Nearly Naked Makeup SPF20 in 120 Vanilla, 130 Shell and 150 Nude
(retail: around $9.99 each, 1.0 oz)

Keep reading for my full review...

As you can see above, Vanilla is paler and a bit more yellow than Shell. Shell, while not cool, has more more peach to it. I can wear either shade and I'm a MAC NC20, although I prefer Shell. If you're a "pale NC20" then I'd say get Vanilla. Nude is darker and more peach than both Vanilla and Shell.

No pump

There are sixteen foundation shades in this range, and if you haven't seen the display yet, there's a guide mounted to the display for helping you determine your exact shade (there's also a guide on the Revlon website here). When I used the online shade guide, it led me directly to Shell, which is actually the best fit for my skintone.

I've seen some online reviews for this foundation written by people with very fair skintones, as well as deeper skintones. The one common theme seems to be that people on either end of the spectrum are not having a hard time finding a shade match in this range. I think that's great news, and I would say that this can in part be attributed to the fact that this a sheer, very forgiving formula (more on that in a bit).

Let's take a look at the powder before I show you some before and afters:

Revlon Nearly Naked Pressed Powder in 020 Light

(retail: around $9.99, 0.28 oz)

The powder in this line comes in six shades (there are only four shades in the counter display but six on the Revlon website). If your skintone doesn't fall within the shades in the counter display, you'll have to wait until this line moves over to the permanent wall display before you'll be able to find a shade match. But...um...TRUST ME, it's worth the wait (more on that in a bit).

This powder comes with a cute little applicator, but I always use a big, fluffy brush for my setting powders so I can't comment on the effectiveness of the applicator. I've been using the Real Techniques Multi Task Brush with this powder and it's been working beautifully. In fact, I'm impressed with how little fallout this powder produces when I swirl my brush:

Taken after swirling my brush several times on the surface of the powder

Here's a color-corrected photo that most accurately represents the shade Light:

Light looks a bit dark (both in photos and in real life) but when applied on my skin, it's actually a very nice match and looks seamless.

Some before and after photos:

clean, bare skin

after applying Nearly Naked Makeup in 130 Shell

Nearly Naked Makeup in 130 Shell + Nearly Naked Powder in Light

Foundation

As you can see above, this product settled into my large pores and other drier patches of skin on my face. I could not improve this by using a stippling brush, duo-fiber brush or foundation brush (I tried all of the above). In fact, this product seems to work best for me when applied with my fingers (using a stippling brush seemed to cause the foundation to pool up in my pores even more than when I used my fingers for application). To fix this issue, I would very much suggest using a foundation primer before application (if you have larger pores like mine).

Aside from the pooling issue, I think this is a beautiful formula that has that "melts into your skin and disappears" quality that so many people love. This is a sheer foundation that feels very much like a decadent tinted moisturizer (not a watery, super thin tinted moisturizer). When this product sets, the finish is almost powdery (not dewy in the slightest) but it looks very, very natural. It can almost make me appear as if I'm not wearing any foundation at all.

There doesn't seem to be any added  fragrance to this foundation (it doesn't smell like flowers or soap or anything like that). If anything, I'd say it has a very standard "foundation" scent to it, but it's not strong (much more mild than ColorStay, for example).

In terms of coverage, this is a sheer foundation so do not expect full coverage (or even medium coverage). For my skin, this product helped to correct redness, but it did not conceal any dark spots, old acne scars, etc. although it did help diminish the look of imperfections (while not completely concealing them). As you can see above, this product did nothing to help conceal my dark circles, but no foundation does that for me.  If you don't have very good skin to begin with, I would say that you'll definitely need to use concealer in conjunction with this product.

Staying power on my oily skin (without the help of any primer) is good for a non-long-wear type of product. I can go about 6-7 hours before I start to see fading and this product does not oxidize (turn orange) on my skin. But please keep in mind that I have been testing this product in the winter, so even though I have very oily skin, it's obviously less oily in the colder months. I have no idea how this product will perform for me in the dead of summer.

Powder

 The complete and utter surprise for me, when it comes to the Nearly Naked line, is this powder. It is absolutely lovely and I have a hard time thinking of anyone who would not love this product.  It's actually one of the best setting powders I've used in quite some time.

First of all, there's very little to no fallout during application. This product is so finely-milled that it feels like you're not applying anything at all. It's whisper-light, yet it sets foundation beautifully and really helps to lock everything into place (I've actually used it with other foundations, in addition to Nearly Naked, and it works just as beautifully with every other foundation I've tried).

What I really love about this powder is that it doesn't have that chalky, powdery look to it (my photo makes it seem a tiny bit chalky, but I assure you that in real life, it looks extremely natural). It's not heavy, so you may think you need to apply more...and then more...but you really can stop with one application. My natural inclination, because I have such oily skin, is to always go a little heavier with my powder. What's great about this product is that even if I build and apply additional layers, it never looks heavy. It has very natural-looking quality to it that I don't find with may drugstore setting powders.

Another thing that makes this powder a winner for me is that it does a great job at controlling oil. Again, I've been testing this in the wintertime, but even so, my skin usually has breaktrhough shine by noon. Sometimes I can go until 2 or 3 o'clock before using a blotting sheet on my t-zone. Also, I've noticed that when I use this product, it helps to control that sticky feeling that some foundations leave behind after they've mixed with the natural oils of my face. Bonus!

FINAL VERDICT:  If you're looking for a true, nearly naked look when it comes to your foundation and powder, I would indeed recommend this new line from Revlon. Those who require medium-to-full coverage may find that this foundation does not suit their needs, but if you generally gravitate toward tinted moisturizers or sheer foundations, I think you'll be quite pleased with this formula since it really does melt into the skin with a very natural, seamless feel. My only word of caution is to those who have large pores or dry patches--you will need to use a foundation primer beforehand to keep this product from settling into imperfections. And if you have old acne scars, dark spots, etc., don't expect this foundation to conceal them (or dark circles for that matter)--you will most definitely need to use concealer for additional coverage. As for the powder, I cannot recommend it enough, to everyone (regardless of your foundation coverage preferences). I think it's one of the best drugstore pressed powders released this year in terms of how natural it looks on the skin, how well it locks in foundation and how well it keeps oily breakthrough at bay. It's buildable and never looks cakey on my skin. What more can you ask for, really? 

Have you tried the new Revlon Nearly Naked line yet? Do you think this might be a good option for you? Thoughts?

Some of the products featured in this post were given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.