Tag: covergirl

All, Beauty, Product Reviews

CoverGirl Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation and Concealer

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on CoverGirl Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation and Concealer

img_0326Why hello there 🙂 🙂 I stumbled upon this product while rummaging through my makeup stores looking for another trial size of Clinique’s High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara, and I realized I had never tried the foundation before. I sometimes use the concealer underneath my CoverGirl Clean foundation if I have particularly dark circles under my eyes, or if there is a pesky little blemish on my face. I thought about reviewing these products separately, but since they are both from CoverGirl’s instaGLAM collection, I wanted to review them together. So here we go 🙂 🙂

Features:

  1. Built-in “powder system”
  2. Medium coverage
  3. Flawless, natural-looking wear
  4. Oil-free formula
  5. Foundation available in 12 shades; concealer available in 6 shades
  6. Shade-matched concealer with sponge-tipped wand
  7. Drug store price tag

This foundation offers good medium coverage and conceals a multitude of imperfections without looking heavy on the face. Plus, it does an excellent job of battling shine. The foundation shades range from Classic Ivory 105 to Soft Sable 320, covering a wide variety of skin tones, while the concealer shades range from Fair 105/110 Deep 315/220. What I love about this foundation-concealer pairing is that the shades are numerically matched for you so you don’t have to test out concealers on the back of your hand in the store to find one that most closely matches your favourite foundation.

The concealer comes with a sponge-tipped wand, making it really easy to apply on imperfections or on dark circles. I did have an unfortunate incident with my concealer though where I cracked the lid. I couldn’t get it open one day so I harnessed my inner Hulk strength and I ended up breaking it . . . So just as a little warning, remember that these packages are plastic and therefore can break.

So the real question for me was how does this foundation differ from CoverGirl’s other ones??? I personally like the CoverGirl Clean foundation better than this one because, though it is wetter and therefore a bit messier to apply, it feels much lighter on my skin than the Ready Set Gorgeous one. But apparently this foundation actually wicks oil and sweat away from your skin to avoid shine instead of letting all of these little nasties stay trapped under the foundation, so that is nice. However, this foundation has a much wider range of shades that other CoverGirl foundations, which is really nice because it is so annoying when you want to try a product and it doesn’t come in a shade that matches your skin tone.

This foundation retails at $7.90, and the concealer retails at $6.65, so these are lovely value products, and since they are available in drug stores, they often go on sale so you can scoop them up at a good price. I use the concealer semi-regularly, so I have one or two unopened ones stashed in my drawer so I don’t have to worry about running out. But, I only have the one foundation and, at this time, I don’t know if I would repurchase it because I am really happy with my CoverGirl Clean foundation, and it’s not like I’m cheating on the brand.

Have you tried any products from CoverGirl’s instaGLAM range??? What did you think of them???

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

CoverGirl Clean Liquid Foundation Makeup

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on CoverGirl Clean Liquid Foundation Makeup

img_0339Hello Hello there lovely readers 🙂 🙂

I have been reading a bunch of posts about peoples’ “holy grail” products, so I thought I would share one of my favourite beauty products with you: CoverGirl’s Clean Liquid Foundation!!!

Features:

  1. Non-comedogenic formula (i.e. does not clog pores)
  2. Water-based
  3. Lightweight and all-day wear
  4. Available in three formulas for different skin types
  5. Available in 12 shades
  6. Drugstore price tag

Where to begin . . . well, this foundation has 12 shades going from Ivory 105 to Tawny 165. There is a wide variety of lighter shades, which is ideal for me because it is hard to find a foundation to match my paper-white skin. However, the selection in darker shades is quite limited, which is disappointing because this is such an incredible product. With different formulas for normal skin, oil control or, in my case, sensitive skin, anyone can use this foundation. And with a drugstore price tag of $6.99 and sales galore, it is easy to get this foundation for less, and a little goes a long way, making it a great value purchase.

This foundation is water-based and therefore is quite wet and runny, but it goes on really smoothly and evenly, and this texture helps to blend into the skin. After application, it doesn’t even feel like I have foundation on so my skin feels light and can breathe. In short, this product just makes my skin look clean and clear, without the look of heavy makeup or concealed blemishes.

While you can apply this foundation with a sponge wedge or a beauty blender, I like just using my fingertips to get greater control and precision. In total, I use 5 small dollops of this foundation: one on the forehead, one on each cheek, one on the nose, and one on the chin. I then blend these dollops outwards to create seamless coverage. I am not prone to acne, but I find this foundation to have good medium to full coverage, while still staying light. If you find you have excess on your skin after application, lightly dab away with a wedge so as not to smear or remove existing coverage. This liquid foundation has an accompanying pressed foundation powder that can be used overtop to set or to create a more full coverage, but other powders work well too. I typically use Make Up For Ever’s Pro Finish Multi-Use Powder Foundation in 113 neutral porcelain.

***As a little warning, please note that this foundation packaging is glass. It kind of looks like plastic in the picture but it is most certainly glass and so it can crack and leak in your drawer if you aren’t careful. Please learn from my mistakes and don’t pack this foundation in the bottom of your suitcase on an international flight unless you put it in several plastic bags. It is harder than you think to get 9-hours worth of steeped foundation out of a black dress . . . ***

I have been using this foundation for years now, and I am still in love with it. It is good quality, affordable, and keeps my skin looking flawless.

What is your favourite drug store foundation???

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

CoverGirl Plumpify BlastPRO Mascara

by Literary and Lovely3 Comments on CoverGirl Plumpify BlastPRO Mascara

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Good gracious, it has been far too long since I did a product review post. You’d think, given the Christmas holidays and all, that I would have been buying up beauty products like mad, but in fact, I did quite the opposite. I picked up this little number at least a month ago, and completely forgot about it until I saw it on my bathroom counter ledge and went “hmm, where’d that come from???” So earlier this week, I gave it a go, and thus far I am really enjoying it. Given this is one of Cover Girl’s newly released products, I thought I’d share my thoughts with you 🙂 🙂

Features:

  1. Newly designed brush coats lashes from roots to ends
  2. Volumizing formula
  3. No clumping
  4. Smudge-resistant
  5. Easy to remove
  6. Suitable for sensitive eyes
  7. Comes in three colours: very black, black, and black brown.

img_0262First and foremost, I want to talk about the newly designed brush, as it appears to be the major selling point of the product. Like with most CoverGirl mascaras, the brush came packaged separately from the tube so I could see what it looked like before it got all gooped up. As you can see in this picture, there are a lot of bristles. There are even fine bristles popping out of the top, perfect for getting at bottom lashes. All the major bristles are organized in a double-helix-like way, which helps coat lashes from every angle from roots to ends.

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However, I found I needed several coatings before I started to notice a difference. Also, even after I finished applying, my eyelashes didn’t have the KA-POW volume I was hoping for. They were well separated and evenly covered, but they looked much more natural. That isn’t entirely a bad thing, though. Sometimes it’s nice to wear a little mascara without looking like you glued falsies on.

Surprisingly, this mascara stayed on really well, and lived up to its claim of being smudge resistant. And when it came time to remove it, I didn’t even need proper makeup remover; just water and a touch of soap got it off. This does mean though that this is not the mascara to wear if you are planning to watch The Notebook or something because it will run like crazy, and I don’t think CoverGirl has released this product in a waterproof formula, so careful of that.

Something else to note is the size of the brush. Yes, it is massive, and it does grab all your eyelashes in one sweep, but it is so difficult to wield when trying to do your bottom lashes. The bristles at the tip help a little, but they are not ideal.

This mascara retails at $10.49 here in Canada, which is up there for a drugstore mascara, but I was able to snag it during a sale, so I believe it was around $7. I don’t know if I would purchase it again given my loyalty to trial sizes of Clinique’s High Impact Mascara, but it is a great mascara if you are looking for a more natural look. A 50x volume boost though??? I don’t know about that.

What do you think???

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Covergirl Eyeshadow Quads

by Literary and Lovely4 Comments on Covergirl Eyeshadow Quads

IMG_4981Apparently Covergirl began releasing these new eyeshadow quads in early December in the states, but this is the first I have seen of them up here in Canada, and I am loving them!!!

These Covergirl Eyeshadow Quads Come in six colour variations, and have such darling names like Notice Me Nudes and Va Va Violets.

Either they are already gaining popularity in Canada, or it was the sale that did it, because when I stopped in to the cosmetic section of my nearest drugstore, some colours had only one quad left, and others were entirely sold out. It seemed like a good sign, and I was intrigued with the new range of colours, so I scooped up these two and gave them a try.

 

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Notice Me Nudes
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Va Va Violets

While my sensible side told me that I already had plenty of eyeshadow palettes with similar shades, I couldn’t resist these. The formula, the packaging-I loved it all. The price seemed a little steep at $10.49, but the sale made it better. The formula is soft and velvety, so they go on smooth and full, and they have a creamy consistency with a lovely metallic sheen. In contrast to other drugstore eyeshadows I have tried, these ones almost have a refined sparkle, making them perfect for day or evening wear.

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Swatch of Notice Me Nudes
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Swatch of Va Va Violets

Something I feel is important to note is the consistency. These eyeshadows are fairly powdery, and thus a fair bit falls under the eye during application. Because of this, brush application is out, and I would recommend using the enclosed wand or a sponge. I would also recommend using a primer, as the lightest shade tends to fade out over the course of the day, and primer helps keep the colour on fully and evenly.

The best part abut these quads in my opinion is exactly that: they are quads. With each palette containing four shades, the trouble of hunting down coordinating shades is saved, yet not all shades necessarily need to be worn at the same time. When testing them, I used the lightest shade as the base, the middle shade for the lid, the darker shade in the crease, and the darkest shade as a liner or definer.

So far I am very happy with these quads, and I hope to pick up some more when the closest drug store to me gets more in stock.

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