May 9th, 2011

Rose-coloured reviews CoverGirl Natureluxe foundation

Warning: I suspect that this post is not going to be of interest to many. I’ve often thought it would be fun to write service pieces for women’s magazines: getting paid to write zippy little articles about how I made use of some lovely free sample the magazine would give me. But I actually have plenty of free samples, due to a boring and impoverished period a few years back when I put myself on every mailing list on earth. So I thought I’d give the form a try here, just to see if I like it. Also, as you might guess, I still haven’t fully settled into my new at-home lifestyle, and now there is something baffling wrong with my neck. Thus the paucity of posts, so I’m just glad I’ve gotten myself to my desk long enough to write this.

I do not normally wear foundations. I think a lot of females got into the habit of foundation in early adolescence, when so many people’s skin goes crazy. Mine didn’t, actually–I only got the occasional zit throughout high school, so I never bothered with cover-up. And this remains the case–I think if you don’t use up your lifetime alottment of zits in youth, you’ll just keep getting them once in a while forever, at least in my case, well into your thirties. So while I don’t have amazing skin, it is largely fine and I am very lazy and cheap, and therefore I do not wear foundation.

Except when it comes in the mail at a time in my life when I am looking for distractions. Natureluxe foundation came in two tiny packets in the mail last week. I tried the “Aspen” first (will there be a follow-up post about the “Maple” packet? Probably not.) It was immediately apparent that I am not aspen-complected–the goop out of the packet was several shades fairer than my actual face. However, since it was already there, I rubbed it in and strangely it blended ok. The subtitle of this stuff is “liquid silk foundation” and it is actually very silky. There was a lot in the packet, and it took me four uses over five days to use it all up. By the fifth day, it was a bit thick and gritty, but I think if you were to actually pay money for the stuff and it came in a bottle with a lid, that wouldn’t happen.

I applied a really small amount the first time, and the stuff was thin and runny, but the coverage was actually really amazing. As I say, I believe my skin to be fine, but it was shocking to see all the veins and shadows around my eyes disappear, all the little blotches and colour variations and ghosts of zits past. When I finally had it all worked it in, my face was completely monochromatic except mouth and eyes–without depth or shadow. Successful foundation, I guess, but slightly creepy.

What this pushed me to do is I suppose what the CoverGirl people want–I put on more makeup. Blush, eye-shadow, even mascara gave my face back some depth, and I felt I looked more or less normal, and not like I was about to star in a musical.

I spent the day, and the several subsequent, watching people closely for their reactions to my miraculously even skin tones. There were none; even those I asked about it couldn’t go much farther than “You look very nice!” Which just goes to show what I always believed about most beauty products–they are far more for the wearer than the viewer. I actually felt kind of glam with my smoothed-out aspen-coloured skin, and if that helped me enjoy my day more, I’d probably go out and buy Natureluxe. But otherwise–no one cares.

Oh, I should note that it was easy to get this stuff off with cleanser and a washcloth at the end of the evenings–a very important plus in the makeup world, in my book anyway. It really is nice to wear, too–my skin didn’t get that naked burny feeling after it was off (I have had some bad makeup experiences). Really, it’s a nice product and I think many people would like it, though I personally remain too cheap and lazy to do more than use the free samples.

EDIT: It turns out I’m a “maple,” almost exactly. The effect is not as spooky when the skin tone matches, it turns out. You know, I might actually buy some of this stuff…someday. But first I have about 4 more uses in the packet.