Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Beauty Guinea Pig: Cover Girl NatureLuxe Foundation

Even though I'm a hardcore MAC foundation fan, I get the urge every now and then to try something new.  Especially if the new product in question is cheaper...much cheaper.  Back shortly after Christmas, I was in Walmart when I ran across a display of Cover Girl's NatureLuxe foundation.  They had some testers, and when I tried it, it felt very light and comfortable on my hand.  What also appealed to me was the fact that several shades had pink undertones.  The lack of pink undertones in MAC foundation is what will probably force me to change brands, hence my testing new brands. 



I like how NatureLuxe feels on my face, very light and soft.  It blends very well and has a nice dewy finish, so matte face lovers might want to look for a different product.  It contains SPF 10, which I almost feel could be done without since a majority of moisturizers contain SPF nowadays. NatureLuxe also has a fairly strong floral scent to it.  Normally, I hate fragranced cosmetics but this scent doesn't bother me.  As far as wear goes, I got a little over six hours before I started to notice fading, and  it didn't settle into my pores.  This foundation at best provides a medium coverage but I couldn't get it to build very well.  I have some minor acne scarring, and NatureLuxe didn't cover that very well, but it did even out my skin tone well.  It also covered my slight rosacea well. 

Overall, it's a pretty solid foundation.  I'd give it a 7 out of 10 stars.  The only reason I won't buy this particular foundation again is because I can't get the coverage I want with it. 

At the same time I bought this foundation, I also purchased the Cover Girl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm.  Like the name suggests, it's a balm with a shiny finish.  I bought the coral color.  I have to give a "No, Thanks" to this product though.  It states that it gives sheer color, but I didn't see any color whatsoever, just a barely there sheen.  It didn't even last thirty minutes with no eating or drinking.  No, thanks Cover Girl.  1 out of 10 stars.   



Here's a swatch comparing the NatureLuxe foundation with MAC's StudioSculpt.  I'm currently mixing the two to get my perfect shade.