CoverGirl was the first brand I purchased makeup from, and it was probably the only brand I used for years! Since my pre-teen days, I’ve explored dozens of new brands, yet have still managed to come back to certain CoverGirl products again and again. Though it’s not my favorite makeup brand by any means, it is the company the sells many of my holy grail products, and I feel cannot be ignored as a result. Not only do I not want to ignore it, but I wanted to make it my first "Favorites" post because, after all, it was the first brand I bought makeup from. A cosmetic obsession has to start somewhere, right? :)
First, I’ll mention my seven favorite products (listed in no particular order), and afterword I’ll mention my five least favorites along with my overall view of the brand.
FAVORITES
1. CoverGirl Lash Blast
CoverGirl’s Lash Blast is amazing. Seriously. Ah-maz-ing. I buy this mascara again and again because it’s a holy grail product. My other favorite mascara is L’Oreal’s Voluminous, but when I want a break from a traditional style mascara wand, I reach for this. This product is volumizing, dramatic, and (when you buy the waterproof version) seriously won’t budge.
2. Liquiline Blast eyeliners
I bought one of these eyeliners a few months ago but didn’t give it much of a shot. I re-discovered it when my Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero ran out and I couldn’t afford a new black eyeliner. I don’t know why I stopped using this product! The pencil eyeliner really does apply with the intensity of a liquid liner. Though these eyeliners won’t hold up if you submerge yourself in water, they do stand up to the heat and humidity of a Texas summer all day long—a feat even waterproof eyeliners can't always achieve with me. The built-in smudger is a plus, and I do like that it’s different. The smudger here is rubber instead of your typical sponge, so it can do more work. Smoking your eyeliner is foolproof with this product.
3. Wetslicks AmazeMint Lipgloss
I’m not a fan of most of CoverGirl’s lip glosses because, unfortunately, many of them lack pigment. Though these particular glosses go on sheer, they still deposit color on the lips. My favorite part is that they smell minty (which boosts my mood!) and the colors are made to make your teeth appear whiter. A lip product that completely improves your smile and mood? Worth every penny.
4. LipPerfection Lipcolor
These lipsticks are fairly new, and so far I’ve only purchased one. They have a great color selection and claim to improve the condition of your lips over time. Though I haven’t noticed any improvement in my lips due to this particular product, I do like that it’s pigmented and lasts a decent amount of time. Another plus: the line includes many colors that are otherwise difficult to find in the drugstore.
5. Covergirl and Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer
This primer does everything a primer should—and it feels so smooth and refreshing while it does it! This primer is pricier than most other drugstore options, but if you’re looking for a product that works and also contains anti-aging ingredients, you might want to check this out. I also love that it has a pump! And don’t worry—it’s not a pump that just picks up product from the bottom through a tube. The bottom of the bottle actually moves up to ensure that no product is wasted.
6. Clean Liquid Makeup
Sometimes even $10 for a foundation is too much for my wallet to take. When times like that come upon me (and I need foundation, stat!) I head for CoverGirl’s Clean Foundation. Many cheaper drugstore brands actually don’t have a light enough color for my fair skin, but I find CoverGirl's lightest shade to be just right. It has light to medium coverage, so it’s great for every day and buildable for occasions when you need a little more. I’ve never paid more than $5 for a bottle, and that’s really good for a foundation. The only downsides: it’s sometimes hard to tap product out of the bottle and the colors do contain more pink undertones than I prefer.
7. CG Smoothers All-Day Hydrating Makeup
For the days I want to avoid foundation altogether, I reach for this. This is, hands down, the best tinted moisturizer I’ve ever used. It comes in a decent array of colors, and the product itself is much more pigmented than most tinted moisturizers and goes on like a sheer foundation, only without the weight. The product moisturizes without feeling greasy, and leaves my skin feeling smooth when I take it off at the end of the day.
LEAST FAVORITES
1. Cheekers Blush
I hear pretty amazing reviews of CoverGirl’s Cheekers Blush. I’ve heard it acclaimed as one of the best available at the drugstore and as a product comparable to blushes released by NARS, MAC, and others. However, here’s my honest review. I absolutely cannot stand CG Cheekers Blush. I have bought the product in at least half a dozen colors and least half a dozen times thinking that, because of such great reviews, I must have just gone through a bad makeup era when I bought it the previous time. Yet every time I’ve purchased this item, I’ve had the same result. Brush included: worthless. The shape of the pan annoys me because it’s hard to evenly coat proper blush brushes. The scent is extremely strong and, I imagine, the smell of nightmares in hospital settings. Worst of all, the product has no pigmentation, and has either too much fall out or is so tightly pressed that it's nearly impossible to pick up the powder at all.
2. Outlast Lipstain
I’m not a fan of marker style lipstains. CG’s Outlast lipstains also have incredible reviews, but I’m not as big a fan. As is my experience with marker lipstains, the product does not apply evenly (no matter how well the lips are exfoliated), and finds a way to disappear way too early to be a true stain. This product applies as wears like most drugstore lipstains, so it’s worth a try. However, I’ll stick with stains that come in creamier, gooey-er consistencies and evenly coat my lips.
3. Clean Pressed Powder
Most powders, whether high-end or drugstore, wear roughly the same way. They are applied the same way. They’re pretty much fool-proof. So, while this product acts like most pressed powders, I find that the Clean Pressed Powder, along with all the powders available from CoverGirl, have the same problems as the blushes: a horrible smell. Because powders are so much alike, I skip CoverGirl every time and run towards something more bearable for my nose.
4. Invisible Concealer
Concealers are definitely not made alike. My experience with CoverGirl’s concealers, overall, is that they are not very pigmented, are too liquid-y, and don’t cover blemishes well at all.
5. Eyeshadows
To sum up CG’s eyeshadows in a word: horrible. I know many people who love CoverGirl’s eyeshadows, especially the trio Shimmering Sands. However, every single quad, trio, and single I have ever purchased has seriously lacked pigmentation. I find the shadows impossible to work with and extremely disappointing. Again, they contain that awful smell.
My overall view of CoverGirl:
I’m disappointed that CoverGirl hasn’t kept up with the pace that many drugstore cosmetic brands are setting. While many drugstore brands improve the quality of their products at impressive rates, I feel that CoverGirl is falling behind. Though the brand contains many popular products, the fact that many of their products are unpigmented and smell terrible is not really excusable. As a result I stick to the few products I’ve loved for years and don’t really explore most of the new items. In the future, I’ll have a round ten items in my favorites lists, but because of my experience with CoverGirl, I just thought I’d stick to the items I really love, which totaled seven.
愛, Sara
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