Saturday, June 2, 2012

Colour Shifters

It occurred to me that I haven’t given CoverGirl much love on my blog. For whatever reason, their products don’t call out to me. Currently the only CoverGirl products I use are the LastBlast Volume mascara and Wetslicks AmazeMint in Red Riot. I used to have their Eye Enhancers Quad in Country Woods which was one of the very first eyeshadows that I owned. I'm guessing I was 11 or 12. I remember liking it a lot, the shadows were nicely pigmented (better than rival Maybelline and other cheap eyeshadows I had), the quad consisted of warm wearable browns and had a good mix of light and dark, matte and shimmery shades.

Recently, I decided to take a closer look at the CoverGirl range. Mainly due to the fact I had a $10 voucher off CoverGirl products that I had to use before the end of May. I contemplated the obvious choices: one of their well-reviewed LipPerfection lipsticks (I was eyeing Heavenly intently), or repurchasing Country Woods. But I rationalised to myself they'd be the absolute last things I needed: more pink lipstick and brown eyeshadow. Instead, I opted for two products I wouldn't normally consider, a LipPerfection lip liner in Seduce (210) and Intense ShadowBlast in Beige Blaze (800).





The first picture is my lips filled in with the LipPerfection lip liner in Seduce all over. The colour is a medium peachy nude which can be worn by itself or to neutralise one's natural lip colour. The picture on the left in the second row is my lips with Face of Australia Lip Quench lipstick in Pink Champagne. I've previously bemoaned that this lipstick is too cool and pinkish-purplish on me, but with Seduce as a base it magically transforms into a noticeably warmer and more yellow-toned pink. I wouldn't have thought to use lip liner in this way, but it's surprisingly effective. More so than using a nude lipstick underneath, as mixing lipstick can be a little messy, especially if they're on the creamy side. The lip liner on the other hand really adheres to and almost soaks into the lip, possibly due to the fact I find the formula a little drying.

l-r: Beige Blaze, Essence Mystic Lemon and Taupe of the Pops (with Beige Blaze), without

The IntenseShadow Blast in Beige Blaze was a product I was first introduced to in this video by Zoë Foster where she goes through her travel makeup bag essentials (it appears at 4:15, and she's also written about it). After a quick Google search (this review swayed me in particular), I decided that I needed to have this seemingly all-purpose miracle tool (primer, cream eyeshadow, eyeshadow intensifier, cross between Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin and Eden). Taking it home, the first thing that struck me about it was the smell. I don't know if it's because the product's been sitting on the shelf for 2 years, but it has this distinct slightly sour, metallic smell that I find really off-putting. The colour itself is an intensely shimmery, yellow-leaning champagne. After about two minutes, it sets to the point where you can't rub it off, so it's best to blend it out with the finger straight after you've applied it to the lid.

I definitely can see a difference to the intensity of eyeshadows when it's used as a primer. I tested it with two fairly ordinary eyeshadows, Essence single eyeshadows in Mystic Lemon and Taupe of the Pops (reviewed more in depth here). I'm guessing if I used already very pigmented eyeshadows, the difference wouldn't be as apparent. The swatch above shows the difference between the Beige Blaze applied underneath the eyeshadows and without. Instantly richer and more pigmented, though Taupe of the Pops looks somewhat distorted in colour due to the shimmery yellow undercurrent from the Beige Blaze (not so much a problem for Mystic Lemon, which is practically the same colour). For this reason I'd recommend using Beige Blaze only with similar eyeshadow colours. I tried it on my lids and I didn't notice a significant improvement from the existing cream eyeshadows that I use for my base/primer, but possibly because I only used a very small amount and blended it out with my finger so it ended up quite sheer. To me, this product would be best used to intensify underperforming beige/champagne/yellow/gold eyeshadows and really make them come to life.

58 comments:

  1. the lipstick colors are lovely :D

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  2. Saw those intense shadow blast things today! Looks heaps interesting. Cover girl is pretty good, I use to use them during my little teenage years as well hahaha!

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    1. I had a soft spot for Covergirl when I was a teenager. But my favourite was Bonne Bell for their Lipsmackers when I was even younger :p

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  3. You write so beautifully, dear! I'm really impressed! (:

    That lip liner looks uncomfortably drying but even if you dislike that Face of Australia Lip Quench lipstick, your lips look noticeably moisturized with them on. (:

    http://jbperez4.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you so much :)

      It does look quite drying! It's definitely not a creamy lip liner. The FOA lipstick is a lot more moisturising. I do like the formulation, just wish the colour didn't look so pastel purplish-pink on me and more a warm yellow pink.

      By the way, your profile picture/illustration is too adorable!

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  4. Wow it really does intesify colours :)
    I like that you picked things you wouldn't usually go for, I need to be more daring like that!
    My turn to be jealous, I wish I could get Covergirl here!

    xoxo

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    1. Haha, I think I just need to stop picking stuff altogether :p

      There's no Covergirl in the UK? Or just not around where you live?

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  5. This post title is very appropriate! I agree that CoverGirl for some reason just doesn't appeal to me as much as other drugstore brands like Revlon and Maybelline.

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    1. It's strange isn't it, it's good to know I'm not the only one that feels that way. Maybelline make some better products and Revlon is totally my drugstore love (as can be seen by how many posts I have labelled under it, lol) :)

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  6. Max Factor and Covergirl are actually owned by the same company now, i think, which accounts for the reason why so much max factor stuff just.. looks and feels like covergirl stuff hehe :D But same here - not so hyped up about covergirl but I do want to grab a lipstick or two; i've heard they're amazing x

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    1. I would've picked up one of their lipsticks if I didn't already have 50 lipsticks :p Max Factor doesn't really appeal to me, I don't really hear much about the brand on blogs and the range is really expensive here. I do like one of their mascaras though.

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  7. cover girl is my HG brand for mascaras, and i do love their lip perfection lipsticks, but not much else catches my eye, unfortunately! i do like the shadow + primer thingie in the brown color, it's a perfect base for my everyday taupey eye. and i don't get creasing. good stuff.

    i just tried to look at my brown primer to see what the shade name was, and CG doesn't put shade names on the individual products! just the packaging. :| that really drives me nuts.

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    1. It seems that their mascara and LipPerfection lippies are the best of their range :) It is annoying they don't label the colour - I had to look up their website to get the name of this champagne shade. I know which brown one you're talking about though :) Good to hear it's working well for you.

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  8. I have heard lots about Covergirl mascaras but the lip liner looks great on as well. Such a shame that I can't get covergirl where I live.

    Liz
    chewylove.blogspot.com

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    1. They do make some popular mascaras, LashBlast Volume comes to mind. Strange, I always thought huge brands like Covergirl would be widely available internationally. Oh well, you're not missing out on too much ;)

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  9. Great picks for Cover Girl products! I haven't used CG products in years, but when I first started wearing make-up I used almost all of their products. I should revisit them and give them another chance.

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    1. Lol, it's probably for the best you've moved on to better things :p I think their mascaras and LipPerfection lippies are the way to go if you ever do revisit their stuff :)

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  10. I've never used Cover Girl products because they aren't available here but I heard a lot of their mascaras

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    1. I haven't used too many of their mascaras, though I'm currently using LastBlast Volume which is okay, though the wand is too fat for my liking. To be honest I prefer Maybelline mascaras :)

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  11. I definitely agree with the fact that I always overlook Covergirl products. They're probably my least favorite drugstore brand, to be honest. I think their products tend to feel really cheap, especially their packaging. But, that lip liner is beautiful, so I may have to take a look!

    xx,
    Jordana

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    1. I know what you mean, they really should work on their packaging and jazzing up their products! They recently released some $9.95 blush, lip glosses and eyeliners and it all looked quite cheap and unappealing :\ I'm definitely sticking with Maybelline and my beloved Revlon :p The lip liner is a pretty colour though, except it is quite drying. Guess you need some lip balm along with it :)

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  12. If I'm not mistaken, covergirl belongs to the same company with Max Factor. We don't have Covergirl here in Germany, but we have Max Factor.
    Max Factor never catches my attention either, I don't really know why.But, I think it's because their prices are higher than any other drugstore brands. @.@

    but these products you showed are actually lovely. ;)

    xx

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    1. Max Factor is really expensive here in Aust as well...but I guess that's the case with pretty much every international brand :p I'm not a huge fan of Max Factor and I don't really read much about their products on blogs, though I do like their Masterpiece Max mascara.

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  13. Be careful of the Intense ShadowBlast. I bought the same color a few weeks back and though i have no issues with sensitive skin/cosmetic allergies this product bruned and itched quite badly, but started out as just a mild heat when i first put it on. (despite trying it in store).

    p.s. cool blog, just found it today :)

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    1. Wow, that's terrible! Sorry to hear you had such an adverse reaction from it. I have tried it a couple of times (on my lids), and swatched it on my hands a few times as well, and it seemed fine. Though I am still put off by the smell :\ You've made me more wary though! Thanks for visiting and commenting :)

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  14. Im with you , cover girl never appeals to be besides the lipsticks. Maybe ill try the liner!

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    1. The lipsticks are very nice, I really liked the look of Heavenly, Darling (though it'd look horrible on me) and Spellbound :)

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  15. Wow, the lip product looks great. Wish we could get Cover Girl in the UK, oh well roll on when I go to the states :)

    Charlee
    http://charmedcharlee.blogspot.com
    xx

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    1. That's so strange that there's no CoverGirl in the UK! This is the first I've heard of it. If I ever go to the States, CoverGirl definitely won't be on the shopping list LOL :)

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  16. Great review!! First time I stop by your blog and I love it!! Would you like to follow each other?

    ang-closet365.blogspot.ca

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting :) Sure!

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  17. FOA Pink Champange looks so pretty on your lips hun! I totally agree that Seduce lipliner could be worn on itself as a neutral nude shade. I find myself sometimes applying concealer on my lips to bring out the colour of the lipstick. I've also used a lipliner all over as a base.

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    1. Aww, thanks :) The formula is lovely and moisturising (though I don't love the smell), I just don't think the colour is for me. It's quite light, cool and purplish-pink. Applying concealer to the lips sounds like a good way to neutralise natural pigmentation. The lip liner is good as there's a peachiness to it, which brings some warmth and does subtly change the colour of the lipstick :)

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  18. Seduction looks very nice, and I love how pretty it is when you added Pink Champagne over it! You make me want to play with lip liners now, hehe.

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    1. This is practically the only lip liner that I have in my whole makeup stash, it was quite fun to play around with it. Like colouring in your lips with a pencil (which is literally what you're doing, lol) :p

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  19. It just occurred to me that I've never really used any of Cover Girl's products. Hmm. Pink Champagne and Seduce looks lovely on you!

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    1. I guess I'm not the only one when I say their products for whatever reason just don't appeal to me directly! Thank you :)

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  20. Great review on these products. I also had the $10 covergirl voucher and got one of the shadowblasts but in a darker colour. I love the look of those two lip products together you have great lips!

    x

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    1. I was thinking of getting the ShadowBlast in the brown colour :) I really did agonise over what to buy with that darn voucher, lol!

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  21. I love the lip color on you!

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  22. You're right, I always overlook Covergirl - their products just don't lure me in like others do. I watched the Zoe Foster video before too, so thanks for the review on the shadow blast because I've been wondering if it's any good or not. xx

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    1. Sometimes I really wish I could swap my life with Zoe's, haha! :) To be honest, I don't love the ShadowBlast. I still take Zoe's word as gospel, but it just didn't work wonders for me :p

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  23. All look great!
    -Charlotte
    http://www.incharlottesshoes.blogspot.co.uk/

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  24. very sweet pink lips and natural eyeshadow colours! xo
    would you like to follow each other?
    A
    xx
    http://epiquemoi.blogspot.com

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  25. I really like how pretty and soft the lip liner alone looks on your lips. :)

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    1. I do like the colour, it's a nice nude with a bit of peachiness to it. The formula is quite drying though, wish it were a bit creamier :)

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  26. For some reason, Covergirl products never really catch my eye either. I think the only CG product I've ever even bought was the Lashblast mascara, and I didn't even end up liking it all that much. The lip liner is really pretty on you though, even by itself!

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    1. I don't like the LastBlast that much either (I bought Volume, the lengthening one looks more promising), mainly because the wand is too fat. I just remembered that I do have their LashExact eyeliner, I don't love that one either and prefer my Revlon/Bourjois :p Not sure why their products don't really excite me or you, guess it must be something about the product itself and the packaging/marketing.

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  27. I love how the lip liner made your lipstick look :) It was beautiful to begin with but it looks even more beautiful using the lip liner under :)
    I own an eye shadow trio by CoverGirl.. I got it in a swap a long time ago :) Its in Shimmering Sands and I just adore it :D
    hugs
    xx

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    1. Thank you :) I like that it adds a bit of warmth to it and subtly transforms the colour. I bet Shimmering Sands would look really intense and pigmented with Beige Blaze underneath, it seems to be from the same colour family :)

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  28. Would never have thought to use lip liner to change the undertones of a lip product.. so smart :)

    xo

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    1. I just didn't think the difference would be as subtle yet effective :) Pleasantly surprised. It's a bit fiddly having to layer lip liner underneath and put lipstick on top, but it works!

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  29. i'm not a big fan of covergirl, myself. it's cool how you made the products work for you. and I wanna let you know that I'm having a Summer Fun Giveaway : ) Hopefully you enter!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know :) Several people have commented saying they're not huge fans of CoverGirl as well, glad I'm not the only one that feels that way about their products. Their mascaras and LipPerfection lipsticks seem to be the top picks though :)

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