Hi! I've been meaning to post this review for awhile now but I'm just now finally able to get around to finishing it. I included a few CoverGirl products in my Summer Inspiration post a couple of months ago but I hadn't used them for a long enough duration for me to feel comfortable posting a review on them. They weren't running down my face with the heat though, which is why they made the Summer Essentials list. With summer over though and having had the time to wear all of these for various lengths of time in different weather conditions, I think I've experienced enough to write a review on them all. Let's get started!
1. CG Smoothers BB Cream + Tinted Moisturizer with SPF15
-Light formula
-Doesn't dry out my skin
-Super easy to blend out
-Combines well with foundation and sits nicely underneath pressed powder
-Rubs off quite easily
-Tends to itch after having it on all day
This BB cream has a light formula, which I appreciate. It also doesn't dry out or cause breakouts on my skin, and since I have found that many makeup products tend to do that, especially if I haven't been properly moisturizing, I appreciate that as well. It blends out super easily and has a versatility that I really like. When I needed a bit more staying power I just combined a bit of this with my CG foundation and it gave me a great finish and lightened the feel of the foundation on my face. When I wear it alone the pressed powder on top gives my face more of a flawless, matte finish, which I like. I know most BB creams give the 'dewy' look, but on me I think it just looks sweaty, so I prefer a matte face. I don't have issues mixing it with anything or blending it out on my face.
As for the cons, though, the biggest one was that it tends to smudge quite a bit throughout the day. Others can't really tell right away, but I can tell so I usually have to take pressed powder along with me and touch up my face throughout the day. If I'm using the phone or my sinuses are acting up and I have to blow my nose, I always end up with product smudged all over the Kleenex or my screen. That gets annoying. The other con about this product that I've noticed the more I wear it is that after awhile, my chin and cheeks start to itch. At first I thought it was just the brush I was applying it with so I switched the brush, but after a few hours I noticed it was starting to itch again and it just spreads upward. This isn't something I can wear all day with no issues, but it holds up well for a few hours. I did notice that the itching decreased when I combined it with a little foundation. That's probably just how it reacted with my skin though; my regular foundation is also by CoverGirl and I've never had that issue, so the itching is probably just how my skin reacted to it.
2. CG Intensify Me! Eyeliner Pen in Very Black
-Tip allows for more control in application
-Style of the tip allows for more versatility with lines
-Not too watery
-Dries out quickly
-Is darker in swatches than on the eye
-The applicator in some pens is a little hard on the skin
I had such high hopes when I used this for the first time. I loved the style of the tip, although it took me some time to learn how to use both successfully. I liked that it wasn't a more flimsy tip because those are harder for me to apply eyeliner with, but--and I don't know if this was just mine or not--the applicator was a little too hard, as I scratched my eyelid a little bit the first time I tried it. But that aside, I loved the style. From what I'd read, that was actually a complaint of many of the dissatisfied users; they didn't like the style of the applicator. For folks like me for whom a cat eye is usually either spectacular or an epic fail, however, that style gives us much more control over where and how the product is applied. It's much more firm, which also allows for more precision, whether the line is a thin or thick one, winged or straight. Unlike many liquid eyeliners with a brush applicator, this pen's formula isn't too watery, so I don't have to spend 5 minutes repairing smudges or places where there's a glob of liner on my eye. I would recommend this for a beginner because of the ability to control the intensity of the lines you draw.
But on the other hand, it dries out super quickly. After a few hours of wearing the liner, I've noticed that it tends to crack a little on the outer edges of my eye. I accidentally left it without the top on for no more than a couple of hours and when I found it, it had already completely dried out. I've tried wetting the applicator, I've tried pushing the formula back into the applicator, I've tried everything I could think of to get it to start working again, but all to no avail. So if you carry a big purse or put your makeup in your backpack, be careful with this one or you'll find yourself in need of a new liner. One of the things I was most excited about when I first purchased this was how dark it initially swatched on my hand. The first time I wore it it was super dark and I loved it. But I noticed it gradually beginning to lighten, and the last couple of times I used it I had to go back over the line with my regular liquid eyeliner. Maybe that's just my complexion though, I'm sure it'll show up better on more fair skintones.
3. CG Super Sizer Mascara in Very Black
-Very dark
-Easy to remove
-Good for days with light makeup
-Formula + brush are prone to create clumping
-Doesn't have the 'oomph' I prefer with more dramatic looks
-Tends to smudge
For a couple of months before I finally broke and picked this up, I'd been seeing it all over social media with folks touting it as this big deal. When Influenster added a snap to my dashboard to pick up the duo of the eyeliner and mascara, take a photo and upload it to IG though, I figured what the hell, why not. I needed a new mascara anyway, so I tried it out. I'd been using it for a couple of weeks when I created the Summer Essentials post, so I'd gotten a pretty decent idea of how it worked by then. Since the goal was to keep my makeup light for summer, I didn't need another mascara to get the effect I wanted. Well, at first, anyway. But I'll get to that in a minute. The first thing that I really liked about this mascara is how dark the formula is. I don't know if this is just a complaint of mine, but I've noticed with some mascaras that the color isn't very intense. I prefer my mascara to be really dark and this one was, so I enjoyed that. For days when I want really light makeup, this one does the trick. It lasts throughout the day and at first, I didn't need to use it with another mascara. When it's time to remove it at the end of the day, it's not difficult at all, and I like that. The Bombshell mascara was a real [expletive] to remove, even with eye makeup remover, so I was a little concerned that I'd have the same issues with the Super Sizer, but I don't.
After using it a few times though, the results changed. I noticed that my lashes were much more prone to clumping and smudging, especially underneath my eyes. The one good thing about this mascara and my lower lashes is that the smaller wand bristles are really well-suited for them; I just wish it wouldn't smudge. I think because the formula is so wet, it ends up making my lashes stick together and I usually have to go back through them with a comb every time I wear the mascara. I was hoping this brought the drama with elongating my lashes, but it doesn't. I always have to use another mascara to get them to look as long as I like, but that always makes them more prone to clumping. The cons are things that I can easily work around so it's not awful, but they're a little annoying. lol
Overall, I like all of these products and actually still use the BB cream and mascara on a regular basis, but I wasn't terribly impressed with any of them. If you don't bother much with eyeliner or struggle with the applicators on most liquid liners, the Intensify Me! will be good for you to use. If you prefer your mascara light and have an eyelash brush on hand, the Super Sizer would be great for you. And if you, like me, usually prefer lighter coverage for your face or don't have oily skin, the CG Smoothers will be perfect for you. These aren't bad products at all; I think my primary problem with all of these products was simply that they didn't live up to the hype. I was expecting these to be through the roof awesome, but they were just okay for me. Do you own any of these products? How'd they work for you?
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