I'm Skipping Liquid-to-Powder Makeup Step
Written: Jun 01 '01 (Updated Jun 01 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Smooth, easy application, purchased in trial size
Cons: Too heavyweight, difficulty when blending, doesn't feel 'clean' on face
The Bottom Line: If you like a cream foundation applied with a sponge that eventually dries, try it. If not, there probably won't be a way to change your mind.
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| VSP's Full Review: Cover Girl Ultimate Finish |
I wear concealer (usually M.A.C. brand), and I wear Cover Girl pressed powder from the compact, but I rarely wear foundation, and I've played trial-and-much-error games using different foundations and liquid makeups on a sporadic basis. Although I don't feel the need to wear face makeups and foundations, every once in a while I try something, especially when I feel I need to hide my face. Now that's not a good reason to wear foundation, is it??? And I want it to hide my flaws, YET feel like I'm not wearing any face makeup at all. Now that's a challenge for cosmetic manufacturers!
After using this product, Cover Girl will still have to face up to the challenge!
Cover Girl Ultimate Finish Liquid Powder Make-Up combines the concealer, liquid and powder all in one product. It claims to be dermatologist tested, non-acnegenic, not to clog pores, and 100% oil-free. The bargain shopper that I am, I found a coupon for purchasing a trial size of this product, costing me under $1.00 at CVS. (I've also noticed that these and other Cover Girl face makeup samples are available at KMart.) Well, that's cheap enough for me to try it out.
These past six months, I felt I had taken great care of my skin, but this week, I have some flaws to hide: embarrassingly, I have broken out on my forehead and near my chin. I have been tired, and the dark circles are exacerbated. My skin tone color needs reviving. I wanted a quick fix to get me through the rest of this work week at the office. So I pulled Cover Girl Ultimate Finish out of its slim cardboard envelope package.
Since it's like a large-size sample, it doesn't come in a compact, just between clear plastic sleeves. It comes with a small, flat white sponge with rounded edges. Using the sponge, I dabbed at the makeup, already feeling uncomfortable about starting with it. After all, I had just washed my face, feeling very clean, even used a Lancome rosewater product to tone and remove every trace of dirt. But I felt desperate, since I had a glaring pimple near the corner of my mouth and a constellation of who knows what on my forehead. So I took the plunge.
I don't like using sponges to apply any kind of makeup anymore. I used to use a triangular wedge sponge regularly to apply concealer, until a makeup artist told me that I would get better results by using the pad of my ring finger. Besides, those sponges get dirty quickly, harboring dirt and bacteria. Yuck!
But this was a brand-new sponge, being used on my super-clean face. Cover Girl Ultimate Finish was easy to apply, it smoothly and evenly covered my face. The product tip on the packaging says to "apply foundation to sponge, then to your face, starting in the center and blending outward." It says that this product was for normal skin, and provided medium coverage. I don't know whether it was the right type for me.
It says "Ultimate Finish glides on, blending to a luxurious powder finish." That's where the music sort of stopped for me. It glided on, and smoothly, like I said, but it felt too heavy and thick. It needed lots of blending, which means nearly rubbing my face with the sponge, which I was very uncomfortable with doing. The shade looked kind of phony for me in my opinion, actually and surprisingly, too light, so I was blending like crazy. I really didn't want to look like I was wearing a mask.
Granted, it did cover my blemishes. But my face didn't have that fresh, clean feeling any longer. The product was still moist and creamy, and I was wondering when it would dry to that "luxurious powder finish" Cover Girl mentioned. It did not feel luxurious on my face at all. It finally dried after a few minutes, but it felt chalky and even slightly sandy/gritty. What really bothered me the most was that there was still a shine on my nose and forehead, so it didn't help my combo skin situation. So I had to apply pressed powder on top of that.
I managed to get myself presentable for work after applying the rest of my cosmetics. My face felt OK during the day, but I still felt like I was under a layer of thick dust. I decided that for once and for all, I should not be applying face makeup with sponges. (I strongly recommend that if you do, to please replenish with new ones frequently.) And also, wouldn't an SPF ingredient been helpful here?
I'm not totally dissing this product, however, because there are some additional pros I need to point out:
--I think the CONCEPT of a one-step for three products is a good one. It is easy to tote around, because there's no worry of glass bottles with liquid shattering or powder compacts breaking.
--It does the job to provide sufficient coverage and one even skin tone (although it may not be what you were looking for).
--The Epinions factor: While epinioner MsHooterville agreed with a two-star rating for this product, epinioners Shantel575 and mar6732 have given it at least three stars. And I trust all of their epinions!!
What may be wrong for me may be very right for someone else!! Please keep that in mind for this one, that may be the case! So I would recommend to at least try it to see if it is right for you. But if you already have a brand that you swear by, just stick to that. You're not missing out on much here.
Here's to June!
--VSP
Recommended:
Yes
Coverage: Light to medium coverage
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Epinions.com ID:
VSP
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Location: Hillsdale, New Jersey, USA
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
Hi, I love playing piano, ballroom/Latin dance, traveling, chocolate, trying lotions/beauty products.
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