Foundation Review: Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation

Revlon Nearly Naked in 120 Vanilla

Originally, I was intrigued by how pale this line of foundations looked everywhere online. Pale and not pink looking, hooray! Since I've also been thinking about going more lightweight in my face makeup, this seemed like a good start since you should look ~nearly naked~.

When I saw the bottles in the store, and when I later put some of the product on my hand for application, I was struck by how much darker the shades seemed! I chose the second shade since Ivory seemed too pink. Honestly, I think my eye might be off  especially when you factor in store lighting. Don't take my word for the tones in the foundation, look and try for yourself. I'm not an expert so I could be totally wrong!

Luckily, Nearly Naked didn't apply too dark, in my opinion. Foundations often seem too dark on me because my neck is so damn pale. I think this one blended down my neck nicely, however. It was very dewy looking, rather than the matte it claims. I did like the look of the initial application; I felt it reduced redness sufficiently and did look like my skin but better. In fact, I didn't even go in with extra product on my chin blemishes! I did apply a setting powder, my standard Rimmel Stay Matte in Translucent. It took away the majority of the dewy-ness, though I did notice it came back within a few minutes.

I applied the makeup around 7:30, and took a midday picture at 1:00. I applied more setting power at 2:00 since I looked and felt pretty oily. I noticed then that some of my redness was starting to peak through. I took another picture in dusky lighting around 5:20.

As much as I liked the look of this foundation in the morning, I don't think it lasted well enough on my oilier skin. Even worse, I noticed a new blemish when I got home! I wanted it to work, but in the end I had to return the product.

Freshly applied.

End of the day. You can see my blemishes and redness showing through here. Also a little shiny.

Sunday Check-in

Hello again!

I'd been hoping to post a review of a product on the weekends, starting this weekend. Alas, real life intervened. It's not that I've been busy; it's that these acne topicals are already sucking up all my enthusiasm.

Both of the prescriptions I'm on feel SO drying. The evening topical contains benzoyl peroxide, and at least feels like the familiar dryness of a spot treatment. But the morning topical is half alcohol; it feels and smells it. I've been applying them in a targeted manner. Though I was told to apply the morning topical all over my face, there's no way in hell I'll be doing that. My skin already feels much dryer than before. Now when I take off my makeup, my whole face just feel a little sting-y or burn-y from the dryness. It also feels like that for a while even after I put on my moisturizer.

Although some of the deeper spot seem to be diminishing, my chin looks like Flake City. Even my eyes feel dryer, though I don't get any of the topicals near them. Hopefully, when I go to the dermatologist in two weeks we can work something out that either dries me out less or better provides moisture for my skin.

I'm so tired of feeling this terrible about my skin. I look around at other people and wonder why they get to have clear faces, or how they managed to keep the zits at bay. Worse, I feel badly because I know there are people with far worse acne than mine and people with different and more serious skin issues altogether. It seems silly to care this much, but it really does affect the way I look at and feel about myself.

It's also incredibly discouraging to be told that a doctor specializing in skin doesn't care about your skin issues. You get told that doctors do their jobs because they care about helping others, and then you realize that that's not entirely true. I don't think I should have to worry if my skin is "bad enough" for someone to help me. For 10 years I've been trying over the counter methods and they haven't worked. Obviously I wanted to solve this problem myself, but I need help. I was hoping there would be people out there willing and eager to do so.

If anyone ever reads this, I apologize for venting and spreading my negativity into the world but also know that I am grateful for your ear. We all need someone to listen as we complain every now and again. <3

Day 1 on the Topicals!

Hi again!

I've now been on the topical prescriptions for one day. So drying! My dry patches on my acne seem worse, as expected. Also new acne is coming to a head, which is again expected.
I also called my doctor's office to complain about my crappy experience yesterday. She made me feel childish and small; she also explained that the insurance company wants to see topical prescription tried and failed before they'll let me see a specialist which is CRAP. My doctor didn't ask if I was even on  birth control, which can sometimes cause acne or make acne worse. Clearly I'm not getting the kind of attention to detail I need.
I'm including a picture of my first day/pre prescription face.

Unfortunately this picture was taken at night in front of my simplehuman mirror, which really isn't as great as natural daylight. But it's what I was able to do today!

I'd like you to know that I usually look nicer after I ~put my face on~ in the morning. I've also emailed the dermatologist's office directly to ask how bad my acne has to be for them to see me. If my insurance lets me self-refer, I am definitely making an appointment. Even if the derm agrees with the prescription the doctor gave me, hopefully they'll ask more questions and generally make me feel like they actually care about getting to know me and my skin.

To end this post on a better note, have a look at a makeup LOTD from Sunday, when I got matched at MAC for the first time. I'm wearing MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15 and Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella. Have fun looking at my silly expression!

Welcome to the blog!

Hello there!
Chances are no one will read this blog, but I figure I should be cordial just in case.
I've started this blog as an online diary of sorts, I suppose. Even though I am arguably a ~real adult~ at 23 with a full time job, I feel like I'm still bumbling along through life. I'm addicted to makeup and clothing, and am just starting out on a journey towards better skin. I thought it might be nice to have a place to vent about skincare, write reviews to justify the makeup habit, and post gratuitous pictures of my outfits.
As I write this I am fresh off a rather unsettling doctor's appointment. I went in with the intention of getting a referral to a dermatologist. I've had acne since middle school and at 23, it's now just making me feel like a child next to all the clear-faced adults with which I work. Of course the acne's not that bad; just persistent. I've been told it's not bad enough for a referral, but these are the same people who misdiagnosed my mother's rosacea for a long time. I'm going to work on forcing that derm referral but in the meantime I've been prescribed a 1% Clindamycin solution and a generic Benzamycin gel. Hopefully I'll remember to post progress photos, so I can track that even if no one else is interested!

Let's see how this goes...