NEW! CoverGirl Ultra Smooth Foundation + Applicator

PACKAGING:

The foundation comes in a plastic case along with a plastic purple applicator.

Contains .84 fl oz of product

Comes in 12 Shades but may vary store to store (I am in 825 Buff Beige)

Pricing varies depending on where you purchase. 

Average retail at drugstores and drugstore retailers 

$8-15

FORMULATION:

Cover Girl has been stepping up their foundations. Less than 6 months after their release of their Ready, Set, Gorgeous Foundation, Cover Girl has launched another one! What caught my eye with this one was of course the hair smoothing it claims to do. I don't think I have ever seen a beauty company advertise a foundation as something as hair smoothing. The design behind this formulation is that it claims to help tame facial hair on the face. Now you might think that is odd especially since it is geared towards women however even us ladies get a bit of facial hair now and then on our faces. 

The foundation is very smooth and moisturizing and goes on very nicely. I personally found the applicator to be completely useless. It ended up not only streaking the product on my face but actually ended up wiping off most it before it got a chance to blend in. I gave up trying after a while and just used my foundation brush. Although I could be biased because I have been using a beauty blender sponge which is an amazing beauty tool. 

The texture is not too thick or too thin and offers a natural look with medium coverage. For my dry skin it also set pretty nicely. I have had this product on for about 6 hours and even then it looked great. I even sweated a little and it didn't budge. I do recommend a primer underneath to assure the long lastingness. 

As for the hair smoothing claims, I honestly didn't find anything different with this one compared to my other foundations. I have a little problem with facial hair underneath my nostrils. This foundation really didn't do much different.

But overall despite its claims this is a great foundation.

Overall

4.9/5

(This would have been a 5/5 but the applicator sucked)

WHAT'S NEW @ THE DRUGSTORE!!!

Cover Girl Lip Lavas

PACKAGING:

Comes in a rectangular plastic tube with a red cap. I like the clear packaging which allows you to view the true color of the gloss.

About 7 colors in the entire collection. The color selection will depend on the store.

Available at drugstore & drugstore retailers nationwide for an average retail price $8.99

FORMULATION:

When I saw these on the shelves I was pretty surprised that Cover Girl launched another lip gloss collection. Their last one the Colorlicious line was only launched a couple of months ago. You can clearly see that Cover Girl is trying to step up their game. These last couple of months have been crazy in the drugstore market. Pretty much all the drugstore brands have been releasing products non-stop. Almost impossible to keep up with!

These lip lavas as you can see in the pictures are VERY eye catching. They remind me a lot of MAC's dazzle glasses. 

The texture is quite on the thicker side but surprinsly not too sticky and feels pretty nice on the lips. They last a decent amount of time if you don't eat or drink much. They come in an array of fun colors like purple and orange but also have wearable colors like your nudes and pinks. These glosses have a TON of glitter in them which impacts the color payoff. I wouldn't say that they aren't pigmented their pigmentation is like MAC's Lip glasses. You can see the color come through. After testing them out for quite a bit I recommend wearing these on top of another lipstick. These can definitely be worn on their own but I do have to warn you when you try to wipe it off there will be glitter EVERYWHERE on your face. It took me a good scrubbing around 10 minutes and even then I still woke up with glitter on my face.

Overall though I think these are super fun glosses and great for going out.

3.5/5

Lychee Lava- Pinky Red

Lychee Lava Swatch

Lava-ender- Intense Violet Purple (This one took even longer to get off but a great color for the season)

Lava-ender Swatch

Lazy Fall Day Makeup Routine- BLOGTOBER OCTOBER 20, 2014

As much of a makeup addict I am, I still have my lazy days where I do not want to do anything. But life is unpredictable, so I devised myself a quick little standby routine that I can easily apply with no fuss and still look somewhat presentable.

Step 1: Foundation/Concealer 

Any makeup look always starts out with a good base. On my lazy days esp. when I have to leave the house quick I don't like to fuss with heavy foundation. My go to product this season has been my Maybelline Pure BB Cream. I just apply it with my fingers and viola! It is super easy to blend and has great coverage. After I apply my BB Cream it is time to cover up my dark under eye circles. I been loving the Cover Girl Ready Set Gorgeous concealer. It covers my pesky under eye circles and brightens up my complexion as well. Even on days where I don't apply any sort of foundation I still apply concealer on my under eye circles. Trust me it makes all the difference in the world!

Step 2: Powder

Any time you wear any type of liquid product, it is always a good idea to set it with a powder. Powder not only keeps your makeup on but also blends your foundation a little more. I been using my Maybelline Dream Wonder powder quite a lot this season. When I first bought it I didn't really like it. It made my skin really shiny and my foundation cakey, however I started to apply it with a lighter hand and it's been working pretty well keeping my makeup together. 

Step 3: Bronzer/ Blush

Just to give myself a bit of color. I like to contour a bit with my Rimmel Bronzer and the blush I been obsessing over is my Benefit Dandelion. It is a pretty netural pink that is great with all looks and skin tones. 

Step 4: Brows

I don't like to put on eyeshadow on my lazy days but I do like to fill in my brows a bit. It makes me look more alive and not like I just rolled off my bed. The Maybelline Master Brow has been a holy grail. It combines my brow color and gel in one so all I have to do is apply and I get nice looking brows.

Step 5: Lip color

Probably the easiest step. Just take you favorite lip color swipe on and go. I been using my L'Oreal Balm in Tender Mauve. It is perfect for fall and a great all around neutral color that won't wash you out. 

XOXO

NEW! CoverGirl + Olay Face Lift Effect Firming Makeup

Firming Makeup

$17.99 @ Walgreens ($14.99 w/ Walgreens rewards card)

The foundation is very similar to the original CoverGirl & Olay Advanced Radiance Creme Makeup except with a $18 price point instead of $6. CoverGirl has some of the more decent skincare makeup lines out there today in the drugstore only reasons why more people don't buy it is 1.) Price and 2.) the color range. This particular foundation had only 4 shades on display in Walgreens. The packaging is a plastic container which I am not a fan of at all. Containers like these can turn into a cesspool for bacteria if you are not careful. So use a clean makeup spatula or clean cotton q-tip to get the product out. DON'T use your fingers!!! 

The foundation texture is a mixture between a creme and a mousse. It is not light but not extremely heavy either. It applied very easily but took a little while to blend and smooth out. The coverage is a nice medium coverage. I don't recommend layering this foundation or otherwise it can get greasy. Definitely set with a powder for a longer wear time (This product started to come off a bit after 3-4 hours). 

The product itself claims to give a face lift effect. It gave a nice coverage and finish but comparing it to a face lift I think this one looks a lot better than the surgery.

De-Puffer Eye Concealer

$7.99 @ Walgreens ($5.99 w/ Walgreens rewards card)

The line also has a de-puffer concealer to combat the puffiness of under eye circles. The actually de-puffer essentially comes from the metal tip and not the product itself. The metal tip has a cool feeling to it that allows it to gently de-puff the eye. The concealer is not anything special but gives a light and awake look to the skin and is easy to wear and blend.

NEW! CoverGirl Ready Set Gorgeous Collection

I popped into Walgreens this morning to run some errands and saw CoverGirl's new collection featuring Katy Perry. Of course I couldn't help myself and had to pick up some of the products from this collection. The collections features their new Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation, concealer, and powder. It also has 8 new cream eyeshadow sticks, 9 new nail polish colors, 4 new Smoochies and a couple other new CoverGirl Outlast Lip colors. I decided to try out their new foundation, concealer and powder. 

Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation

$8.99 @ Walgreens ($6.99 w/Walgreens rewards card)

The foundation comes in a wide plastic squeeze tube which personally I am not a fan of. I like my foundations to have a pump to prevent bacteria from going in however this particular packaging is easy for travel. There are 12 shades in this foundation line which is a pretty amazing color variety for a drugstore brand but it is quite difficult to determine your shade due to the thick plastic packaging. 

The formula is oil free and is semi thick. I do really like the consistency, it is easy to apply and blend into the skin. The coverage is build able from light to medium. The finish is very natural (semi-matte) giving you just enough coverage that allows your natural skin to peek through. If you want a heavier coverage foundation this probably isn't the one for you. 

This product is great for dry and oily skin with a decent wear time for both. I have dry skin and it lasted about 5-6 hours on me and I had a friend with oily skin that lasted around the same time on her with a powder. 

Ready Set Gorgeous Concealer

$7.99 @ Walgreens ($5.99 w/Walgreens rewards card)

There are 6 shades of concealer in this line and is matched with the foundation by the shade number, however you do not have to pick the same concealer for foundation. (TIP: For hiding dark under eye circles apply your normal color concealer or a shade darker and then apply a lighter shade to cover the darkness.) 

The formula is nice and creamy and easy to blend. I don't find the coverage of this concealer to be too amazing but it does the job when you want a light coverage. It didn't crease throughout the day and set very naturally.

Ready Set Gorgeous Powder

$8.99 @ Walgreens ($6.99 w/ Walgreens rewards card)

Along with the foundation and concealer, this line also has 6 matching powders. The powder did a decent job setting the foundation while providing a little bit of coverage. I wouldn't recommend this as a powder foundation by itself. The only issue I had with this powder is that it doesn't match the foundation very well and looks very dark in the packaging. I recommend going one shade lighter just in case. 

You can purchase this collection at Walgreens nationwide

NEW! CoverGirl Outlast Illumina All Day Lipcolor

720 Beaming Berry

Lip Color

Conditioning Balm

A new take on the original CoverGirl Outlast Lip Colors. These have been around probably longer that I have. I remember watching my aunt use these when I was young. She had a bunch of colors and I was always fascinated with how pretty and fun these were. When I was able to wear makeup this was one of the first things I got. I absolutely love these and have been wearing them still. I haven't really found anything like these out on the market today. The number one reason being is that these lip colors stay on FOREVER. They don't smudge or feather out throughout the day and are easy to wear. They come in a bunch of colors.

The new line has 6 or 8 colors in all and the only big difference is that the colors have an "illuminating" or shiny finish to them while the original ones were a bit on the matte side.These new colors are part of the new Katy Perry collaboration with CoverGirl. They are perfect for the upcoming summer!

Like the original these come with a lip color and a conditioning balm. You apply the lip color first and let it set then apply the conditioning balm. These lip colors do last ALL DAY and not easily removed (I recommended using olive oil for removal). They are highly pigmented and look great on the lips.

Where to purchase: So far I have only seen this at CVS and Walgreens for about $11.49 

Hot or Not: CoverGirl Bombshell Mascara

HOT OR NOT?!?!

COVERGIRL BOMBSHELL MASCARA

PACKAGING: Comes in a very thick hot pink tube. This is CoverGirl's first dual wand mascara. The 1 tube is the same brush as the CoverGirl Lash Blast mascara and the 2 tube is a thinner brush with hair bristles. Personally I think the size of the mascara is pretty ridiculous and not necessary. 

FORMULATION: The side that is labeled #1 is basically CoverGirl's Lash Blast mascara. So if you are a fan of that you will like this. The formula for this side is to add volume. I never had any luck with the Lash Blast formula so this one made no difference considering it is the same exact product. The #2 side is a lengthening mascara and one that I actually liked. It gave me more volume rather than length and it separated my lashes very nicely. Both formulas have a typical mascara scent nothing too overwhelming. 

HOT OR NOT: NOT As much as I like the second side for me personally its not worth the money. Like I said before I am not a fan of the Lash Blast formula and this is exactly that with an addition mascara. If you are a fan of the Lash Blast by all means you will love this mascara. 

AVAILABLE AT DRUGSTORES NATIONWIDE.  

Review: COVERGIRL Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation

I'm really picky when it comes to foundations. Being Chinese I have a very yellow undertone to my skin. This makes it really difficult for me to find that perfect shade that matches to my skin. I have tried numerous foundations from department store brands. drug stores and makeup artistry brands. Over the years I have found a few that I reach for but nothing I love so much that I would repurchase again. 

One day I was grocery shopping and I walked by the cosmetics aisle and I started browsing through the CoverGirl aisle. CoverGirl is not one particular brand that I tend to reach for when it comes to foundations. I have tried pretty much all their foundations and have had pretty luck from caking to numerous breakouts. But I been hearing some great reviews on their new Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation. It claims to have the lasting power of primer, coverage of a concealer and a blendibility of a foundation in one plus it also has a SPF of 20. 

The packaging is glass with a plastic pump and cap. I love the pump, it keeps the foundation clean and bacteria out. I however am not a huge fan on the glass bottle. It makes it difficult to travel with and adds a bit of weight to my makeup bag and the cap is not sturdy. However the actually foundation itself is wonderful. It is super blend able like it claims and has great coverage. I find with this foundation I do not need any concealer or the need to set it with a powder (I have dry skin but if you have oily skin you may want to set the foundation with one). The lasting power is pretty impressive as well. The first time I wore it I did not use a face primer and it lasted for 8 hours without any touchups throughout the day. Foundation is one of those makeup items that for me does not last long on my skin so I was pretty impressed with this one. The color was also a perfect match even with my yellow undertone (I'm in the color medium beige). 

Overall I give this product a 4.5/5 

Prices with this foundation varies from store to store I got it for about $6 at my local grocery store. Some stores like Target or CVS have it at $7. 

DISCLAIMER: I PURCHASED THIS PRODUCT ON MY OWN AND AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH COVERGIRL. ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.