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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Review: New CoverGirl Intense Shadowblast Primer + Shadow


As you all probably know by now, I've been very excited to try this latest eyeshadow from CoverGirl. When I spotted it at CVS, I had to pick one up, and I decided to go with Beige Blaze since I thought it would work best as a primer underneath other powder eyeshadows.

 CoverGirl Intense Shadowblast Primer + Shadow in Beige Blaze
(retail: around $8, .27 oz)


The first thing I noticed about this product is that the wand is not your typical sponge-tip applicator. The sponge on this applicator is much more "fluffy" and slightly larger than other sponge-tip applicators. I really love it as it feels softer against my lids than other sponge-tip applicators.

As you can see in the swatch above, this is a pretty standard shimmery beige. After applying it several times to my lids, I can confirm the following:
  • It blends very easily, but it's not "intense" once you blend it a bit with your finger. I find that on its own, the color of Beige Blaze is actually quite sheer, and the shimmer seems to lessen a lot as you blend it.
  • When I tried to build the intensity with additional layers of product, I experienced some creasing, so I think it's best to use just one layer and blend it for a softer, subtle look if you're going to wear it by itself (as opposed to wearing it as a base for other shadows).
  • When worn alone, this product lasts all day on my lids with very minor creasing or fading. But again, it's a subtle look and not an intense pop of color on its own (of course I can't speak to the other shades in this range, which might be more intense when worn alone). After letting this product "set" for a few minutes, it doesn't go anywhere. It seriously doesn't budge, which is great because I can also use it as a highlighter on the inner corners of my eyes--it's wonderful in that capacity.
 But now I'd like to tell you how this works as a primer, which is pretty much the sole reason I purchased this product to begin with!

I decided it would be nice to try it with some other CoverGirl powder shadows, so I chose my trusty Shimmering Sands trio (which I also purchased with my own personal funds, many moons ago):

 CoverGirl Eye Enhancers 3 Kit Eyeshadow in Shimmering Sands
(retail: around $4)


In the swatches below, you can see how each shade in the Shimmering Sands trio looks when 1) worn on top of Beige Blaze and 2) when worn alone:

(click to enlarge)


As you can see, Beige Blaze REALLY makes these colors pop. The beige color of Beige Blaze does alter each shadow's color a tiny bit, but boy does it make the colors more intense! Also, I want to point out that if the powder shadow you're using already contains shimmer, Beige Blaze will definitely intensify that shimmer.

I thought it would be interesting to see how Beige Blaze worked with some of my less-pigmented shadows, and then I also wanted to show you how it worked with a true MATTE shadow:


As you can see, it REALLY intensified the shadows from the Princessa palette, and it it also intensified the shimmer of those shadows as well. 

If you're a matte shadow lover, I'd like for you to enlarge the above photo and take a closer look at the swatches of Bobbi Brown Woodrose. I hope you can see that when worn on top of Beige Blaze, the matte finish of Woodrose turns a bit more satin, but I don't think it's shimmery. In fact, it some spots it still looks pretty matte to me!

When worn as a primer, I absolutely LOVE CoverGirl Intense Shadowblast in Beige Blaze. In fact, I might go so far as to say that Beige Blaze seems like a cross between Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin and Eden. It's sort of combo of the two! It's got the shimmer of Sin, but it's a bit close in color to Eden (note: it's definitely not a dupe of either one--again, it's sort of cross between the two).

On my oily skin, this product sets in a few minutes and once it's on, it's not going anywhere. In fact, I had a hard time removing it with my usual towelettes! I find that as a primer, it's easy to apply my powder shadows on top of this product IF I don't let it set for too long. I accidentally let it set for over five minutes once, and I found that my powder shadow didn't adhere quite as well as when I wait just a minute or two to let it set. But once it's on, I think this product works beautifully as a primer to intensify my powder shadows--shimmers, satins and mattes alike! And it also functions beautifully as a highlighter for the inner corners of my eyes, which is a nice added bonus!

FINAL VERDICT: For me, the "intense" part of CoverGirl Intense Shadowblast in Beige Blaze really comes through when it's worn as a primer underneath other powder shadows. WOW, it really makes a wide variety of my powder shadows POP in intensity, and it heightens the shimmer of already-shimmery shadows as well. When worn under matte shadows, I find that it can make mattes look a bit more on the satin side, but nothing too dramatic at all. I find this product also works well as a sheer wash of color when worn alone, but be careful not to use too much if you're wearing it by itself or it might crease a bit. It's also fantastic as a highlighter for the inner corner of my eyes, but my favorite way to use it is as a primer. For me, it doesn't budget and my powder shadows seem to last all day with very little fading or creasing. Just expect a little trial-and-error and experiment a bit with how much to use, and how long to wait before you apply your powder shadows. I'm confident that many of you will find the perfect combo and will be able to make this one work for you. Bravo, CoverGirl, for a fantastic new drugstore eyeshadow primer!

Have you tried any of the CoverGirl Intense Shadowblast Primer + Shadows? If so, how do you like them? If not, do you think this product might be a good fit for your needs? I'd love to hear from you!
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28 comments

  1. I might try this for summer when my skin gets even oilier, to make my shadows last longer! xxx

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  2. wow, this looks like a great dupe for urban decay's sin primer potion!

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  3. thehouseofy: I'd love to know what you think if you do! :)

    Ashley: lol! I actually mentioned that in my review! Well, I said that I think it's sort of a mixture between Sin and Eden (it's got the shimmer of Sin, but the color is a little more like Eden). Hope that helps! :)

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  4. wow, this is such a rave review! i def.ly want to check it out now :)

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  5. Ooooh Looks like it works fine, since is shimmery, that would change the matte eyeshadows?

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  6. This is pretty amazing. The photos/swatches speak for themselves, haha.

    I may have to give this a try come the next cosmetics sale.

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  7. went to Walgreens today looking for this shade so i could do the BOGO and of course this was the one shade that was sold out! lol will try next time! thanks to your review i want it even more

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  8. oh no >.< I really want this hahha. I'm pleasantly surprised that you said it was long-wearing. The only drugstore cream shadows I own are from Revlon. I love using them to intensify other colors, but the staying power is just awful. I will ahve to pick this up next time I see a CG sale, the color is just lovely!

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  9. I have been curious about these, thanks for the review!

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  10. Great review.....I can't wait to try it. I've been looking for a new primer.

    thanks for the info.

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  11. Wow, a primer shadow that works; I will definitely try this... Thanks!

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  12. Im gonna have to try this as ive been wantin to try UDPP in Eden or Sin. Oh and i also spooted the Covergirl lashperfection at CVS today but still not Wet n wild:-( But im gonna wait to get these products when I get the coupon from this Sundays paper and Covergirl products are buy1 get 1 half next week at Wags.

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  13. What a great find! Will definitely be checking this out during the next visit to the drugstore.(: Hopefully it'll hold up on my oily lids.

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  14. Yay, I'm so glad you find you like this product! I bought the shade Brown Bling, and had the exact same findings. It works great as an eyeshadow base! I went without my usual UDPP and wore the CG product plus WnW Nutty, and it wore fantastically, and looked nice too! I'm so glad CG improved upon those terrible double ended Shadow Blast sticks. Now I just wish they had more vibrant colors in their line! :D

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  15. Great review G. It's the same with Urban Decay primer potion. The shadows won't adhere well if I let the primer set for too long.

    Right, now I have this thing for primers. Face primer, shadow primer and lip primer haha.

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  16. wowww! The shadowblast is extremely pigmented!!~ It looks like a gorgeous color~ LOVE!

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  17. I had these in my basket last week at CVS and ditched them right before I checked out.. Am soo happy you did a review : ) Def going back and getting them now. Have been wanting UDPP again, but havent wanted to spend that kind of dough. Thanks G !!! You have saved me once again!!!

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  18. This is a FANTASTIC review. I'm definitely going to check this product out next time CG goes on sale for BOGO 50% off or something.

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  19. I didn't even know they came out with a primer, let alone a *shadow primer*... I'm glad you posted about this because I definitely want to give this product a shot!

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  20. I snapped this up last week in this color because I've been on a creme shadow kick and that's what I wore it as. Just a quick pop of color on a day I hadn't had enough sleep and needed some eye brightening. I really like it! I noticed minimal creasing and the color did brighten my eyes up nor did it irritate my super sensitive eyes, which CG powder shadows do. I'll probably get a few more!

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  21. This is exactly the same as Max Factor's Masterpiece Colour Precision Eyeshadow. This CG Beige Blaze is the same as MF Pearl Beige (which I own). I think it is a fantastic product, and indeed it does work very well as a primer. Once it sets it does not move, crease, fade, smugde or anything. Really good product.
    CG and MF are owned by the same company, and since Max Factor was recently discontinued in the US, it makes sence they "transfer" some MF products to CG (in fact they already have; the Smoky Shadowblast by CG is a MF product). Anyways, the Masterpiece had only 4 shades, wonder how many will CG have??

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  22. based on your and femputer's recs, I'm going to pick up the Brown Bling & try it under my WnW stuff. I currently use Carmindy's shadow base as primer, and have been wanting to try UDPP. Since the latter's out of my price range these days, the CG product sounds like the thing.

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  23. I just picked up the Intense Green, and I love it. It held all day with some fading, but no creasing. I liked the soft applicator, and it was easy to blend. Once it is dry, though... It is on!

    If you like golden olive greens, this is a great one to pick up. I think I am going to pick up a couple of other ones as well. I have a couple of the Too Faced Lockdown colored primers, and I think I like the CG better.

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  24. I'm glad I read your post first, I think I would've been sad if I had bought one and it wasn't "color-blasty," lol
    But I think I have to try this shade as a primer, just because;-)

    Love the new site fonts/colors/design/whatsitcalled, lotsa fun!

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  25. I love the new Covergirl "intense shadow blasts" eyeshadows. I have "platinum" love it! WILL NOT MOVE!

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  26. I have two of these, Beige Blaze and Brown Bling, and I love them! Definitely getting Platinum soon!

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  27. Thanks to you, I picked this up in Beige Blaze and LOVE IT!

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