Over the past ten years, the cosmetic industry finally, finally ‘got’ it: The women who use their products are busy by choice or by necessity. If you design a time-saving, dual use product for them, they will come!
Cover Girl’s “Ultimate Finish Liquid Powder Makeup” is exactly as the label says. In one relatively small, compact and manageable container, the product can be used as both a foundation applied first to the face, and also as a ‘finishing’ powder to cap off your makeup. Cover Girl touts it as being ‘dermatologically tested’ (we certainly hope so!) and ‘fragrance and oil free. “The smooth, even coverage of a liquid and the camoflaging of a concealer with the beautiful finish of a powder – all in one easy step!” (The exclamation point at the end of this sentence is theirs.)
I actually started using this product about eight months ago, by accident, actually. I was looking for a foundation that came in a small package, one that I could carry easily in my handbag’s makeup case. I didn’t want to load it down with those oversized jars of liquid foundation that I kept and used at home. Because of the creamy consistency of the product, I mistook it for foundation in a compact. What I didn’t realize was that not only does it serve very, very well as a base foundation, it also makes for a pretty nifty finishing powder as well.
In ‘ancient times’ (i.e., ten years ago), a woman who wore makeup as part of her daily routine needed to have both a liquid foundation and a compact which held the finishing powder for that foundation, to give it a ‘settled’ look. With the combined foundation and finishing powder as one product, not only does this save a ton of money (by not having to purchase two separate products), it also saves time and space. Actually, I was somewhat leery at first about trying it. If it can also be used as a ‘finishing powder’, just how good could the foundation itself be? What I did find was pleasantly surprising.
The foundation was good enough – sheer enough, with even coverage and a very light touch needed to apply it – that quite often, I don’t even bother using it a second time as the finishing powder. I just apply one coat and I’m off! Having this opportunity is quite remarkable for those of us who really don’t like all that much makeup. As I’ve grown older, I’ve found over the years that too much and certainly too heavy a hand in applying makeup gives the sense of a circus clown in the room – or perhaps someone who had applied her makeup in a dark closet. Having a light, barely there foundation with just enough coverage to make me look human and cover my most significant skin flaws is great! In a hurry? Use that gentle, soft, flat sponge to literally wipe a light swirl of foundation on, add perhaps a touch of lip gloss and one application of mascara, and you’re most likely more than presentable.
There are two great things about Ultimate Finish that I’d like to be certain to mention. Because it is manufactured by Cover Girl, it is relatively inexpensive – in the range of $10, plus or minus. If you have a coupon for Cover Girl products, that brings it down in cost even more. Also, it is sold in a wide number of places: drug stores, grocery stores, any retail establishment that carries Cover Girl, Maybelline, L’Oreal ‘lower end’ brand cosmetics. As far as I am concerned, it works just as well – if not better, in truth – than more expensive ‘brand’ name foundations I’ve purchased for $25 and up. Since it’s sold in so many types of stores, you don’t have to run out to a high-end department store to purchase it. Another big factor? Cover Girl doesn’t waste a lot of money on packaging (hence the realistic pricing structure). This product is packaged in a small paper sleeve with the opened foundation available to see. It comes in at least five different skin tone colors, and you can match it up to your own skin tone by holding the package against your wrist or face right in the store. (Also, many drug stores in particular have a great policy that if a cosmetic you purchase from them isn’t just the right color or what it is supposed to be, they will refund your money, if you have the original sales receipt.
Check to see if the store at which you’re shopping offers this kind of service.) Another plus is that many drug and grocery stores offer some pretty deep discounts on cosmetics, often ‘buy one, get one half-price’, ‘all Cover Girl products 50% off’, etc. The grocery store where I shop recently had ALL of their ‘low end’ commercial cosmetic lines reduced by 50%; the sale lasted for 10 days, and pretty much everything was cleaned out by the end of the sale – especially if you also had a product coupon! And yes, I did my own share of damage in the sale. Check out your Sumday newspapers’ coupon section, as well as the fliers for Walgreens, Eckerd, Acme, ShopRite, CVS Pharmacy and any other local/regional grocery and drug stores. It’s amazing what a wide variety of cosmetics are on sale for a sold week. Again, add in that manufacturer’s coupon (and your own ‘preferred customer’ card, like the CVS red plastic Bucks card or your grocery store preferred shopper), and you may find even more savings.
One thing that I should mention is that this product is not entirely odor free, basically because of its ingredients and composition. If you need cosmetics that are totally free of scents, head over to the Claritin section of your local department store. The Ultimate Finish has a barely noticeable but nevertheless present scent that to me, smells a tad like perfume or a tad of baby powder. I myself am highly allergic to a number of scents, unfortunately, but I have absolutely no allergic or other reactions to the Cover Girl line of cosmetics.
Other than its price and accessibility, what else do I recommend about “Ultimate Finish”? Its ease of use. For many women, and for a variety of reasons, they prefer to wear some type of foundation when being out. Whether it’s socially or on the job, they just feel more ‘dressed’ with some kind of foundation; their skin may feel ‘naked’ without it. “Ultimate Finish” comes in its 3″ x 2 1/2″ case with its own white sponge, making for very easy and quick application of the foundation. The sponge stores nicely right in the same case. If you have the time to first apply a different type of liquid foundation and then finish it off with powder, the smooth, easy and silky feel of the “Ultimate Finish” when used as a finishing powder is remarkable.
In short, “Ultimate Finish” can be used in one of two ways. It can serve as your base foundation, applied in a matter of seconds. It can also be used as the finishing powder to ‘cap off’ your makeup with a nice, clear layer of light and sheer powder. I would highly recommend this product, which I use every day. It’s the perfect, dual-use cosmetic product – inexpensive, long-lasting, and it does exactly what its packaging promises: “smooth, even coverage…with the beautiful finish of a powder – all in one easy step!
How great is that – a soft, even foundation that also doubles as a finishing powder over a different type of foundation OR over itself! Thanks, Cover Girl!
