I received this Revlon Photoready BB Cream for free as a Klout Perk. I was very excited about it because I’ve begun to fall in love with BB creams. So far I’ve tried Garnier, Bobbi Brown, and Maybelline. I was eager to see how this Revlon version would compare.
I wasn’t expecting too much because of the very limited range of colors. I was only able to choose from Light, Light/Medium, or Medium. Really Revlon? Ya’ll are just going to totally disregard women of color huh? SMH! I got to the point of being upset because in 2013, there’s NO excuse for a major cosmetic company to just not have a wide range of colors available for it’s fan base. It was really confusing to me because it’s not like Revlon doesn’t normally have products for people with darker skin. For example, Revlon Colorstay liquid foundation is very popular (I wear Carmel and I love it) and has a great range of colors to choose from. I would have only imagined their BB Cream would be the same.
Here’s what it looks like on me.
So you know I was concerned after swatching this on my hand. Of course I know that my hands are darker than my face, but still. I was very worried this Medium color was going to be way to light for my skin.
Above is my before pic. I’m wearing absolutely no makeup. Yep, I’m pretty brave. LOL! ;-p
In this picture, I’ve started to rub in the Medium BB Cream.
This is the finished look.
So what are my thoughts?
I’ve worn it for about a week. I really really like the way it feels on my skin and how it makes my face feel soft. I also like that a litte goes a long way. It’s very long lasting and I’ve noticed my makeup goes on more smoothly when I wear it. I don’t wear it alone because I need more coverage. As you can see in the above pics, my blemishes still show, which is fine. I wear BB Creams to combine skin care products, not to replace my makeup.
It seems as though Revlon was trying to play the “Brown Paper Bag Test”, and I barely made the cut. :-( Strangely enough, it does blend well into my skin, even though the color range is extremely limited. I can’t explain how it somehow still works for me even though it looks too light at first. I think I just made the cut. So if you are any darker than me, it’ll be a risk buying this BB Cream. I’d recommend Maybelline instead. I just finished my tube and I truly like it. Maybelline has a good variety of colors, however, I will say I like the Revlon BB Cream better because it’s more light weight and I feel it blends better. It’s not really matte, but it’s not as creamy as the Maybelline BB Cream. So far, I like Bobbi Brown’s BB Cream the best. On the downside, this is another company that didn’t make a wide range of colors. I just made the cut for the darkest color as well. The Bobbi Brown BB Cream gave a little more coverage, which meant I didn’t have to apply as much makeup afterwards.
I truly hope Revlon will extend the color range of this product.
I use it all of the time to add a little extra to my designs. Then I added a coat of Wet n Wild Party of 5 Glitter polish. Lastly I finished it with Cult Nails Wicked Fast clear polish.
Now if you’ve been following me or if you’ve ever had a conversation about makeup with me you already know how much I adore Black Opal Foundation Sticks. They’re an absolute staple for my personal use as well as my professional kit. HOWEVER, I was not pleased at all with their Oil Blocking Powder. Click 
Here’s the look I created with these colors. Even though they’re pretty bold, I wanted a softer effect. Now, it’s very important for me to point out that I did NOT use a primer or base before applying the Black Opal eyeshadows. I wanted to see exactly how pigmented they were. I have to say I was very pleased with the results. I didn’t have to build up the color a whole lot either. Quite impressive for $5.
I decided to try them out with some other inexpensive products such as Elf, NYX, and Cover Girl Queen Collection to complete my look. Below is everything I used. Even my brushes were inexpensive. They’re a combo of Coastal Scents and Crown Brush. 
Now granted I did still incorporate some MAC, Clinique and NARS but overall my look was pretty cheap. 
So to answer the question “What Happens when you use inexpensive products?” My answer after using these would be that you get great results.
I could put this color on just about anyone regardless of age or color and it worked well. It’s also easy to use with different color eye shadows and blushes. 
Metallic Sand is a great neutral color and can be blended with an array of lip liners. Below, I blended it with MAC Plum lip pencil.
I’m probably going to wear this combo a lot for the next couple of days. I can’t believe I forgot all about it. Have you ever found a lipstick from a while ago and fell back in love with it?