Revlon Candid: The Next Best Thing in Drugstore Makeup?

**Disclaimer: The products in this post were kindly sent to me for the purpose of review and are therefore listed as an advertisement. All opinions are my own**

When it comes to my base, I am quite picky. Having combination skin with an oily T-zone, but dehydrated and sensitive cheeks can make it hard to find a foundation that works for both. One brand that I have been very impressed with is Revlon. For years my daily go-to foundation has been the Colorstay for combination/oily skin. It's not too heavy, has a great semi-matte finish and lasts all day. So when I found out Revlon were releasing the new Photoready Candid range that focuses on anti-pollution I was intrigued and had to try it! Does it live up to Colorstay? Read on and find out.

The Candid range consists of three products: Photoready Candid Natural Finish Anti-pollution Foundation, Photoready Candid Antioxidant Concealer and Photoready Candid Anti-pollution Setting Powder. Let's go through them one by one.

Photoready Candid Natural Finish Anti-pollution Foundation

The Photoready Candid Natural Finish Anti-pollution Foundation is a skin enhancing foundation with a natural finish. It comes in 31 shades and has medium, buildable coverage.

What's in:

• Anti-pollution

• Antioxidant

• Anti-blue light

What's out:

• No oils

• No Phthalates

• No Synthetic Dyes

• No Fragrances

I've used shade 120 Buff, which is a little bit too light for me tbh, but I can use it during the winter months and it is easily warmed up with a bit of bronzer. What I love about this foundation is the texture and how well it applies. The Candid foundation has a creamy, smooth texture that applies like a moisturiser. It is super lightweight, yet has great medium coverage that is buildable to almost full coverage without looking cakey. The foundation is so easy to blend and evens out the skin tone, covering any redness on my cheeks. It has a super easy pump and I love that it comes in a tube rather than a jar, allowing you to make the most of the product. I apply the foundation with a damp beauty blender, which provides a flawless application, however, the foundation can also be applied with a brush and evened out with a beauty blender afterwards.

What is great about this foundation is that it does not oxidise, meaning that once you have applied it, it does not change colour as it dries and is worn throughout the day. I found that the Colorstay foundation dried a little darker which is something to bear in mind when getting colour matched. The Candid foundation can be matched without having to worry about any of that. The foundation is also longlasting and stays put for at least 8 hours when set with the setting powder. I do find that with hot weather, the foundation travels a little and sits in creases, but I get that with any foundation, so that's not specific to this foundation.

Photoready Candid Antioxidant Concealer

The Photoready Candid Antioxidant Concealer is a concealer that is said to hide imperfections and undereye circles and provides medium coverage that is buildable. According to the Revlon website, the concealer comes in 18 shades, however, I have only been able to find 4, so perhaps they are planning to release further shades in the future. The shades that are currently available are: Banana, Vanilla, Sand, Café. So that's not the biggest shade range, but I suppose it's a start. I went for the shade Vanilla, which seems like the lightest one available as Banana is a little too yellow for me. I did notice however that Vanilla is slightly darker than the foundation in Buff, which is not ideal.

The concealer has a doe-foot applicator which makes it easy to apply around the eye area. The formula is liquid enough to make blending easy, yet thick enough to provide sufficient coverage. The Candid concealer really lives up to what Revlon promises: ultra blendable and ultra buildable. Like the foundation, it contains no nasties - no oils, phthalates, synthetic dyes or fragrances. What it does contain is caffeine, which I love because it just gives the undereye area that little pick me up it sometimes needs.

Photoready Candid Anti-pollution Setting Powder

Lastly there is the Photoready Candid Anti-pollution Setting Powder, a super smooth loose powder that aims to give makeup that airbrushed finish we all love. It comes in one universal shade that claims to be non-chalky and non-whitening.

What's in:

• Antioxidant

• Anti-pollution

What's out:

• No Phthalates

• No Synthetic Dyes

• No fragrances

What I love most about this setting powder is how fine it is. A lot of drugstore setting powders I have tried were not that finely milled and usually it's that plus the quality of the ingredients that makes the difference between high street and high end. Not this one though! The setting powder also comes in nice nude packaging with sifter, so the mess is minimal. I apply the setting powder with a powder brush, which I loosely sweep across the areas that need setting. I don't bake and I am not sure this setting powder would be useful for that. After applying the setting powder, I notice that my pores are visibly reduced, my base looks flawless and has a nice matte finish. The foundation definitely stays in place better with the setting powder as well, so again this product does exactly what Revlon promises.

Final Thoughts

Overall I am super impressed with the entire Candid range. All three products live up to their promise, and there hasn't been anything that I can fault them for, other than the shade range. I have tried so many different brands over the years, but I do often find that a lot of drugstore brands are disappointing. However, as with the Colorstay foundation, Revlon have done themselves more than proud. I love the weightless feel of these products, yet they provide great coverage. A winner in my book, especially as each product is widely available for less than £10. If you are not in the position to splurge, this is by no means a compromise. The Candid range would be a great addition to any makeup stash!

Have you tried the Candid range? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thank you so much for reading.