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Revlon Illuminance Skin Caring Foundation is a light to medium coverage foundation with a moisturizing formula and lightweight feel. It is said to have skincare properties with ingredients like squalane and hyaluronic acid, and is supposed to improve skin texture over time with daily use. It retails for around $18 and comes in 28 shades that appear to cover a wide range of skin tones.
I have tried a few new foundations recently and of those, this one has been the one I’ve reached for most often for its ease of use, natural look, and just because it plays nicely with my dehydrated and textured winter skin.
I most often wear this over a tinted mineral sunscreen and have found it applies and blends easily over it. One layer will give me light coverage but I can build up two or three layers without it starting to look thick and cakey to get more of a strong medium coverage. Once applied, I see a notable difference in the look of large pores and it leaves my skin with a subtle well-hydrated glow. There is no shimmer in this foundation so the glow just looks like my natural skin when it is in better condition.
I bought this online (never fun choosing a shade that way) and went with 117 Light Beige based on shade numbers on some previous Revlon complexion products I’ve used. It ended up working out to be just the right match. This shade is still fairly light for being 4 shades from the lightest available and it is very neutral. There is no obvious yellow or pink tone to it.
The product comes in a glass bottle with a pump and a clear plastic cap. The pump is good and I can pump out as little or as much foundation as I need. It isn’t difficult to use and I don’t find that it makes much of a mess of the inside of the cap. The consistency of the foundation is a tiny bit more on the liquidy/runny side, spreading quickly over the skin. Being a more hydrating formula, it is very slow to dry down and never really sets fully so I can apply it all over the face and blend it out at my own pace.
After wearing this many times in various conditions I feel comfortable saying this is decently long wearing on me but it isn’t a set it and forget it product. I have combination skin and even in winter I still get kind of shiny throughout the day. On average, I have needed to reapply powder once to maintain the foundations subtly glowy finish and keep my forehead from tipping into oil-slick territory. Even though it doesn’t really control oil, it doesn’t seem to worsen how shine develops over time on me. I see almost no gathering in lines, creases or on the sides of my nose by the end of the day and it doesn’t separate or break down.
I have used this when my skin was already doing well, which isn’t super helpful and doesn’t really put a foundation to the test. But I’ve also worn in at times when my skin was dehydrated and no looking so hot. This is one I feel comfortable reaching for on bad skin days because I don’t feel it makes me look worse.
The only con I find is the coverage is not as high as I’d like. If you have a lot of unevenness to correct or lots of redness, this may not do it for you by itself.
