| Review | ReVive Glow Elixir Hydrating Radiance Oil

| Review | ReVive Glow Elixir Hydrating Radiance Oil 

Again, I was suckered in by the word "Glow" but can I really be blamed? This glowing bronzed elixir is so mesmerizing and plus it's an oil! My dry skin was just begging me to slather it all over my face! I have been a big fan of ReVive and I have been gifted product from them in the past but I HAD to buy this one as soon as it caught my eye because it looked like everything I could want in a little bottle!

The ReVive Glow Elixir Hydrating Radiance Oil retails for $125.00 USD and is available at Nordstrom and other retailers. This oil is housed in a beautiful wide glass bottle with a dropper. The bottle is elegant and beautifully displays the glowing liquid. The oil also comes with a small dense fan-like brush for application. The bottle contains 1 oz of product, which is pretty standard when it comes to beauty products. 


APPLICATION

Quite unique, this oil comes with an applicator brush, which I have never seen included with a facial oil before but it may be because this product is a skincare-makeup hybrid. The brush is made of soft black synthetic bristles and it is fairly dense. It is shaped like a shot and dense fan brush, which is a very interesting choice for applying this oil. When I use the brush to apply the oil to all over my bare skin, I first drop several droplets of oil on my skin, then I take the brush and I use sweeping motions to blend the product across my face. It seems to work very well and apply the oil very evenly without absorbing all the oil into the brush. While this is incredibly necessary, it is a nice touch to such a luxurious product because I can see that people may not want to use their hands to apply the oil. I don't see it providing anything special to the application of this oil that I can't do with my hands. I honestly can do without the brush but it's a nice touch. 


FORMULA 

This glowing elixir is a light shimmering bronze oil, which is a stunning universal tone on all skin tones. The oil is very sheer and leaves little to no color on the skin but it just adds a very natural and healthy overall glow. The oil itself isn't pigmented, the bronze color comes from the very fine particles of shimmer. When blended onto the skin, the fine shimmers blend beautifully into the skin and the particles are not large or chunky, which means it doesn't emphasize texture or imperfections.

The shimmer particles are not visible except when really close to the skin. It just offers a very healthy and fresh glow to the skin! These ultra-fine particles of shimmer diffuse light and perfects the skin. It makes the skin look so fresh and healthy! I love the look of this illuminating oil alone on the skin! Additionally, the glow shines through a more matte base but it isn't overly dewy or greasy. It just adds a very natural glow under bases, as you would see with an illuminating moisturizer or primer.



While this product is an oil, it actually has a more viscous texture than typical facial oils. What I mean is, it isn't as runny as a typical facial oil, it has an almost-gel-like texture that melts into an oil.  The texture of this product is a very lightweight oil that glides over the skin leaving hydration but doesn't feel greasy or heavy. I even use it over my regular moisturizer as the last step of my skincare routine and as a primer. This is actually what is recommended so, it seems like this oil is not a stand-alone moisturizer, unless you're extremely oily.



The formula is can be used in several ways, alone, under or over foundation, mixed into foundation, or as a targeted highlighter.

Alone...

I already discussed how much this oil makes my skin glow and look incredibly healthy on its own. This is the best way to get the full power and results of this luminous elixir. It diffuses texture and imperfections and gives you this radiant, fresh, straight-from-a-facial-glow! I'm a very big fan of this product to just enhance your natural skin.

Under foundation...

When used under foundation, it is just stunning and works exactly like any other illuminating moisturizer or primer. It provides just the perfect amount of hydration and adds a good healthy glow to even a more matte foundation! The texture also allows foundation to glide onto the skin and blend out easily. Just be aware that oils work best with oil-based or oil-free foundations. Water-based foundations will most likely have a tendency to break apart and separate on the skin because oil and water don't mix.

Over foundation...

This is an unusual recommendation, as we rarely put oils on top of foundation, but in the case that you do (maybe as a targeted highlighter), I highly recommend using a compatible oil-based foundation, which won't break apart or break down when in contact with oils. When I applied this lightly over my foundation, it didn't remove or disrupt my foundation at all. The oil is so lightweight, it just sits on the skin beautifully. Keep in mind, it used this very sparingly over my foundation as a targeted highlighter.



As a targeted highlighter...

I don't ever use oils as a highlighter on my skin except maybe when I'm not wearing any foundation but after tapping just a tiny bit on the tops of my cheekbones as a highlighter over my foundation, I'm SOLD! This oil looks so glistening, glossy, and stunning as a targeted highlighter! The glossy and wet glow from the oil makes your skin look so healthy and fresh. The ultra-fine shimmers in the oil give this glistening effect to the skin that is just so beautiful! This is definitely one of my favorite ways to use this product!


As a mixer into foundation... 

Like mixing any oil into a foundation, this loosens up the texture of your foundation, making it more fluid and makes it easily glide onto the skin. It also adds a strong glossy and wet glow all over the skin, which can make the skin look healthy and fresh. Just be aware of the type of foundation you're using to mix with because it should be an oil-based or oil-free formula and ideally. one that doesn't already have a strong dewy finish. You don't want to over-do the glow factor because it may make you look greasy. Mixing an oil into foundation is a trick that I love and I utilize often because my skin is so dry and in the wintertime, I often need the extra nourishment and glow throughout the day. I recommend only using a few drops because the effect can be quite potent.





INGREDIENTS

From what I can tell about this product, there aren't any crazy claims of skin-changing ingredients. The description of this product simply claims that it softens, hydrates, and adds luminosity to the skin, which is exactly what it does! I like that this product is straightforward and doesn't try to sell us on some wild claims.


I will point out that there is dimethicone in this formula, which must attribute to its priming and smoothing, and blurring properties. It doesn't feel heavily formulated with the dimethicone, which I appreciate but I think it's just enough to help perfect the skin and prep it for makeup.

Here are the ingredients listed on the Nordstrom website:

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Aqua (Water, Eau), Isododecane, Diisopropyl Adipate, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil, Mica, Heptyl Undecylenate, Dimethicone, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Quaternium-90 Bentonite, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Propylene Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, PPG-12/SMDI Copolymer, Oligopeptide-24, Tocopherol, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Sodium Oleate, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Fragrance (Parfum), Hexylene Glycol, Silica, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Sorbate, Hydroxycitronellal, Geraniol, Linalool, Citronellol, Limonene, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides).

FINAL THOUGHTS

I am a HUGE fan of this product! The lightweight oil formula is such a versatile and delightful texture to use. It allows it to work for such a wide range of applications and it never feels greasy on the skin, it just adds a boost of hydration to the skin. The bronze pearl in this oil is so universally flattering and blends out to a very natural glow. This skincare-makeup hybrid checks all the marks for me! It is an incredible oil on the skin but it also beautifully enhances the complexion!

While I am very much in love with this product and I want to recommend it, it is very hard to with such a hefty price tag! This oil doesn't contain anything spectacular or any rare skin treatment, it is just a high-quality face oil. The texture is very unique and the amount of fine shimmer is also very unique to this product, however, it is still just a facial oil with shimmers suspended in it. I personally love this oil and I will continue to repurchase it, however, I think you can easily purchase something similar or even mix a little bit of a liquid illuminator or loose shimmer into an existing facial oil to give you a very similar effect.

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