Showing posts with label Cover Girl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cover Girl. Show all posts

Sunday, 7 June 2015

Cover Girl Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation and Super Sizer Mascara

I haven't purchased anything from Cover Girl since my experiments with their Lash Blast series of mascaras a few years ago. This past week, I've been testing out their two newest summer releases, the Super Sizer Mascara and Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation. Both were relatively inexpensive. The mascara was about US$6 while the foundation was going at between US$10 to US$11 in the supermarkets and drugstores.

The Super Sizer mascara promises to increase lash volume by 400%, with its unique lash styler that is wider at the tip than the base. I purchased this in the shade Black Noir but it turned out to be not as jet black as my usual Japanese mascaras.


The brush was easy to use and pulled out of the tube cleanly without excessive product on the bristles.

This did provide good lengthening and definition as well as holding up the curl of my lashes. However, it was slightly prone to clumping. If over-layered, my lashes would stick together. It did perform well in adding definition to my almost-nonexistent lower lashes. There was no smudging or flaking. There are also no fibres in this mascara. All in all, this was a decent performer for the price.



Below is the ingredient list. This is made in the USA.

I had high hopes for the Outlast Stay Luminous foundation based on initial raves on MakeupAlley. Upon application, it looked pretty good too. The finish was not overtly glowy, just a healthy satin finish without any powdery dry down. This was easy to blend, provided light to medium coverage and did not pool in the pores. My shade was Buff Beige, the third lightest shade of the 6 shades currently available.

However, four hours later, I caught my reflection in the car mirror and was taken aback by how much it had oxidised until my face was significantly darker than my neck (by at least 2 tones). This was, simply put, a deal breaker. There is also an odd artificial scent that is noticeable upon application but dissipates soon after. I couldn't see myself using it again (after testing it out for 5 days) and so I returned it for a full refund at Walgreens with no questions asked to my surprise. Americans are so fortunate to have stores that take back used cosmetics. Nowhere else have I encountered such a generous return policy.

Other products used for this look include Suqqu Blend Color Eyeshadow EX22 Yukiichigo (from Holiday 2014) and YSL Glossy Stain #201 Dewy Red. I'm tempted to pick up more of the Pop Water Glossy Stains but I'm restraining myself as I have about a dozen Glossy Stains still begging for more love in my drawer.

Sunday, 16 December 2012

Cover Girl Clump Crusher Mascara

Cover Girl's latest mascara innovation is Clump Crusher, which was featured in Allure's list of 2012 beauty breakthroughs. It promises a clump-free finish even after thirty strokes of the wand. My MakeupAlley Secret Santa gifted it to me along with other goodies.


The ad campaign is fronted by the awesome Pink.

The concept behind Clump Crusher is that the bristles are designed so close together that clumps can't form.

Love the cheerfully bright neon green packaging, which makes the tube stand out amidst my usual clutter.

The wand is significantly broader than Cover Girl's Nature Luxe mascara (right in pic below). The bristles of Clump Crusher appear to be longer than the original Lash Blast, from what I recall.

It takes several swipes of the brush to build up sufficient length, and I often had to resort to using the end of the brush to layer on the mascara more efficiently. That actually leads to a bit of clumping, but the clumps are easily removed by swiping the brush through my lashes. The volumising effect was pretty average. The fat brush doesn't work too well on my sparse lower lashes, and sometimes results in accidental smudges.

While the jet black formula is nice, it didn't hold the curl of my lashes very well. It doesn't cause my lashes to revert back to being poker straight but there just isn't as much lift as I would like. I'm still searching for the perfect mascara that can create lashes like the amazing Drivel about Frivol.

Overall, Clump Crusher is a decent mascara but not exactly Holy Grail material. It doesn't smudge or flake (plus it does not contain any irritating fibres). I like it enough to keep using it every day but I will not replace it once it dries out.

Below is the ingredient list.

Thursday, 10 December 2009

Sephora & Tokyo Haul!

A friend who vacationed in New York and Tokyo was kind enough to help me pick up some goodies on her trip :-)

Clean fragrances cost a bomb at the Sephore stores in Singapore so I asked for the Clean coffret which has Simply Soap, Shower Fresh, Warm Cotton and the original Clean eau de parfum, all in 30ml sizes. This has a retail value of US$152 but the set costs US$65. I also picked up the Josie Maran Mini Argan Stick (US$6) which is supposed to be an ultra-hydrating balm for skin and hair. This brand is currently not available in Singapore.

I love the minty freshness of Bare Escentuals Buxom Lipgloss so I decided to get the deluxe set, Babes About Town (US$39) which includes 4 mini lip glosses and 4 lip sticks. Bare Escentuals also cost much more in Singapore compared to the US and I haven't seen this set available here yet.


I found Cover Girl's Lash Blast mascara to be average but decided to give the new Lash Blast Length mascara a try anyway, as the brush looked like it would be more suitable for my sparse lashes. The Outlast Lip Stain has also gotten some pretty good reviews so I got this in #420 Sassy Mauve.

From Japan, I got the new Integrate Forming Cheeks (Jewel Box) in Red Coral (1575yen). This is mostly a shimmery highlighter rather than a blush.


My first purchase from the spring collections is Esprique Precious Symphonic Fit Eyes F4 (3675yen) which is a gorgeous palette of light pastel blue, teal, metallic silver and smoky grey. It took me a long time to decide which palette to get as I was worried that the pink/purple would be too boring, the green looked like a million other green palettes I already have and the blue might be too loud for every day wear. But when I saw the F4 palette in real life, I was extremely pleased with it!



From Love Clover , I picked the Lipdolce Cafe #5261 Raspberry Sorbet (1680yen) and Loose Pot Cheek #5134 (1680yen).



And finally, a Paul & Joe Sister handkerchief (1050yen)! :-)