I found this product completely by accident, I was looking at something else on the Revolution website after reading a review. Then I accidentally found myself in the new in section and it was downhill from there. Today I’m going to be reviewing the new Revolution Pro Powder Foundation, which I had absolutely zero clue was in existence until about 3 weeks ago. While I was browsing, I also picked up a few other bits, including the Revolution Conceal & Define Concealer in the new lightest shade which I’ll also include a mini review of.
As someone with dry skin, I have to be careful with powder foundations. They can very easily become too heavy and cling to dry patches, but I love them. They’re perfect when you’re in a hurry or those days where you kinda want to make a bit of an effort but not really make an effort. That’s how I use mine anyway. They’re never my first choice for a full face of makeup, but they are nice to throw on for more casual looks.
Product Overview
This foundation claims to be a velvety matte with medium coverage, it comes in 18 shades, it’s vegan friendly and is £5 for 8g of product.
I know other Revolution foundations often come with less product in the bottles than the standard for other brands, so I did a bit of Googling. The Cover FX Pressed Mineral Powder Foundation contains 12g, Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Foundation Powder contains 9.2g and for a more budget friendly option, the L’Oreal Infallible is £5.99 for 9g. So, although affordable, this does still contain less product than others do.
Shades
This comes in 18 shades, which I have to say is pretty pathetic. One of my biggest pet peeves in the beauty industry is when brands have a flagship foundation that comes in 9000 shades, but all of the others have 2 colour options. That may be a slight exaggeration, but you get my point. Conceal & Define comes in 50 shades, they can do better.
I got the shade F1, the lightest shade, which is the shade I have in both the Revolution Pro Foundation Drops and the Revolution Fast Base Stick. I’ve reviewed both of those products before, and I said in both reviews that F1 was too dark for me. The shade F1 in this product is so light that the powder actually looks transparent in my photos. This one is a fairly good match for my skin in terms of paleness, but it’s also pinker than the shade F1 in the others, so it’s still not a perfect match. Overall, I am satisfied with the shade, but I thought I should warn you that going by your regular Revolution shade in this one probably won’t get you the right colour.
Application
This is tricky. I don’t know how to say this without sounding stupid, but it’s very powdery. And by powdery, I mean messy. I usually apply powder foundations with a buffing brush and find that I get very little kickback in the pan. This one had dust flying up everywhere to the point where I was trying not to hit the pan and just use the kickback when I needed to dip back in. I know that isn’t a deal breaker, but it does out me off the idea of travelling with it or throwing it in my bag for touch ups.
Dustiness aside, with the buffing brush it did apply well. It clearly had coverage and blended well over my skin. Obviously, we’re still in winter and my dry patches are still present. If this wasn’t new, I wouldn’t trypically be reaching for a powder foundation right now. It did cling to the drier patches, but it didn’t exaggerate them horribly. It does feel a little heavy on the skin, not like a full-face heavy coverage heavy, but it’s definitely not weightless either.
When I use powder foundations, I always apply my concealer first. As long as I wear a more hydrating concealer, like the Too Faced Born This Way, it sits well over concealer. I tried it with the Conceal & Define as a full face of first impressions and had to take it off because it was so dry it was starting to crack.
Coverage & Wear
I’d agree that this has a medium coverage, a solid medium at that. It definitely has more coverage than I typically expect from a powder foundation. I think it could be built up a bit too.
For the wear test part, I’m going to break this down by areas of my face in terms of dryness. Zone one is my undereye area, my cheeks and the very centre of my forehead. They’re the areas where my skin is most dry. Meaning the rest of my face, my chin, my nose and the edges of my forehead are zone two. These areas are still dry, but not quite as dry as the rest.
Zone one got uncomfortable quite quickly, it seemed to settle in my smile lines around my mouth quite quickly, which doesn’t usually happen with powders. It wore off around the dry patches where my cheeks meet the sides of my nose after a few hours. The rest of my cheeks and the centre of my forehead wore well, but I could feel that my skin was getting uncomfortably dry.
Zone two wore flawlessly. My skin felt a little dry in those areas after I removed my makeup, but that was February and my skin was dry to begin with, so I’d expect nothing less.
Ingredients
TALC, MICA, SILICA, MAGNESIUM STEARATE, HEXADECYL 2-ETHYLHEXANOATE, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRAISOSTEARATE, TRIETHOXY CAPRYLYLSILANE, ETHENE HOMOPOLYMER, PHENOXYETHANOL, DIMETHICONE, PTFE, CAPRYLY GLYCOL, [+/- TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, 77492, 77499), MANGANESE VIOLET (CI 77742), RED 40 (CI 16035)].
Overall
I know this review has probably leaned more towards the negative side, but I don’t actually dislike this. It isn’t ideal for my winter skin, but I can see myself using this more over the summer months. The shade range does bother me, as does the dustiness of the product, which could put me off long term, but this will get used rather than pushed to the back of a drawer.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Vegan formula
- Is actually pale enough for me
Cons:
- Dusty
- A bit heavy
- Only 18 shades
- Really, really dusty….
Will I repurchase?
I’m not sure. I’ll have to see how much use this gets over the next few months. I do think this is a great option for the price, but I have other powder foundations from higher end brands that aren’t as heavy or messy that I like a bit more than this one.
Conceal & Define Concealer Shade 0.1
Really quickly, I know I said I’d do a mini review of this one. When this concealer launched, I wasn’t in a hurry to try it. I thought it would be too matte for me and the lightest shade looked quite dark. They’ve since expanded the shade range and I like the matte Colourpop concealer so I thought I’d give it a go. It is too matte, if I were to wear this under my eyes, I’d 100% have to mix this with something more dewy. But I wanted to talk about the shade range because I’m disappointed.
When they expanded the shade range, they released 5 shades lighter than the original C1. I bought the lightest shade hoping that it would be a highlight shade and it turned out to be near enough the same colour as my skin, maybe half a shade lighter. It’s a very similar shade to the Too Faced one, just more pink. For a product to come in 50 shades and the lightest one to be my match is really disappointing, especially as this shade range has already been expanded.
Have you tried the new powder foundation? And what do you think about the shade range? Part of me feels like I’m being too fussy as they do have a shade that works for me, but I’m not the palest person on earth and feel like it isn’t good enough in terms of overall representation. I’d genuinely love to know your thoughts on this!
Until next time,
Sophie
Sounds like you’ve got more cons than pros on this one. I never used powder foundation. As you said, too messy. But it is a bit disappointing from Revolution Pro. They usually are very good at what they do
Hmmm, interesting (but very balanced) review. I find powder foundations a bit hit and miss, I sometimes feel they can leave your face feeling SO cakey almost like you’ve got face paint on. Although I haven’t used on in a good while. I agree, the amount of shades they have is pretty pathetic isn’t it? Come on!
Jenny
http://www.jennyinneverland.com
I didn’t even know that Revolution have this powder foundation, I actually use a powder foundation everyday as it’s so much easier easpecially when I’m working, even though it wasn’t perfect for you, it’s great that you have bits of it that you like, I might have to give this powder foundation a try! X
“accidentally found myself in the new in section” 🙂 🙂 🙂 I’ve never tried anything from this brand but I read so many reviews about it that I’m starting to think I’m missing a trick. I have the exact opposite skin to you, mine is oily and make up slides off by lunchtime so I don’t tend to bother with foundation day-to-day. It’s a shame about the shades, as you say, they could do better, but at least it sort of works for you and at that price I guess that’s a win! x
Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com
Omg, I need to try this new foundation!
Demi | http://demibang.com/
Similar to you, I’m not a huge fan of powder foundation as I find that it tends to look uneven and cloggy on my skin. Much prefer a liquid one and then apply a setting powder. You would think make up brands would learn by now to increase their shade range…18 really isn’t a lot is it?!
Great review, but I don’t think I will be rushing to buy this.
Aimsy xoxo
https://www.aimsysantics.co.uk
Only 18 shades is disappointing. Highly doubt they’ll have my shade and I usually love this brand 🙁
Shame it didn’t work out that well for you! To be honest I’ve never found anything from Revolution that I’ve liked…
x Millie
http://www.modishrambling.com
I truly appreciated your honesty throughout both reviews. It’s honestly quite refreshing and it made reading that much more enjoyable.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the powder foundation! I haven’t tried any powder foundation only liquid, but I’m thinking of switching but now I know that I will not be trying this brand.
As for the shades, I’m a golden tan (Hispanic) and I sometimes find that some products don’t have the right shade, some are too dark others too light. Having a wide range of shades is very important and sometimes it feels as one is left out.
Ah, shame it’s so powdery! It’s a pet peeve of mine when foundation poofs up and manages to get EVERYWHERE when you’re applying it! Though it’s not bad for the price!
Rhianna x
Another great review! It tend to stay away from powders – I find they don’t give me good coverage (I have acne scarring). It’s a shame about the concealers too. Thank you for another honest review xxx
Ashley
https://lellalee.com
I can’t stand it when powders have too much dust kickback. It gets all over my mirror!
It’s always hard for me to apply makeup products like powders and creamy foundations etc. So disappointing that it wasn’t as good as it could have been. Thanks for the heads up in this review
They are so inconsistent across their base products, F1 is different in nearly everything! It drives me mad. I don’t think I’d like this, dry and dusty is definitely something my dry skin doesn’t need xx
GemmaEtc.com
I’ve not ever tried any Revolution skin products but I’m already frustrated at their shading by just reading this- to not be the same shade in their various products is just insane to me and a definite flaw on their part. I really want to try the conceal and define but will be making sure to colour match properly!
Soph – https://sophhearts.com/ x
I love reviews that show both pros and cons, even though the leans more towards cons; I actually really dislike powder foundations if I’m honest! Thanks for sharing x
Kayleigh Zara
I haven’t used any powder foundation so far. You said it feels heavy. So I don’t think I’m gonna try it 🙂 Very detailed review. Liked the way you listed Pros & Cons for better understanding.
Great review, I really appreciate all the thought you’ve put into it and the pros and cons were very helpful. My skin is also dry so I don’t tend to use powder foundations even though I do own one. I feel like I’d need to moisturise constantly so that it settles on my skin better. I really liked your review though, thanks for sharing x
I hardly buy make up online just because I’m worried I’d go crazy and buy too much haha but this is a great review, love how honest you are. I’m not a fan of powder when it’s super messy, I end up getting it on the carpet in the bedroom or something and then it gets annoying to clean! It’s a shame about how little shades there are, but it’s good that it still has some good pro’s.
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
I don’t think I’ll using that powder foundation any time soon since my skin likes to be dry and I don’t need people seeing my patches! At least you tried!
Daisy xoxo |
I’ve never tried powder foundation before. I always go for the liquid ones.
Thanks for this review!
http://www.fashionradi.com
This was interesting! I’m still a bit suspicious about the whole concept of power foundation haha.
✖️Jasmin
// overdosedoncaffeine.com
Nice shades ❤
This is interesting! I tend to stay away from powder foundations (or any powder products for that matter) because I have dry skin too, and it makes my face look very patchy. Love the review! X
Almira x | https://thelittleblackrose.com
This sounds like a great powder and would probably work really well with my oily skin, i’m defo gonna give it a try! this is a great post
I haven’t tried it, I think it will be too heavy on my super dry skin x
http://www.ofbeautyandnothingness.co.uk
I’m definitely more a cream products person.
xx
https://theonethattravels.wordpress.com/
I haven’t heard of Revolution Pro. It looked like the pressed powder would work well. I am not a big pressed powder fan but I do use it when my skin gets oily.
Great review. I’m going to risk sounding like a novice makeup wearer-which I am… Is concealer used to conceal wrinkles, is it different than foundation? Thanks again for your help.
Natalie
ThisHomemadeHome.com
I was excited about this but I think I’ll give it a skip.
Oh my gosh, I need to check out this Revolution Powder Foundation – I adore my Barry M Cosmetics pressed foundation but I am in need of a new one. Thank you for sharing!
With love, Alisha Valerie x | http://www.alishavalerie.com
It’s really affordable but probably not for me, I hope you get more use out of it in the summer months! xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
I’ve never really used powder foundation, as I have such unpredictable skin I don’t think I could trust it! Definitely more of a cream product person, I’ve tried the conceal and define before however not the new lighter shades and for all the hype it’s had it’s not been my fave! xx
Em // https://www.emilybecca.com