Covergirl TruBlend Foundation Review

If you have a hard-to-match skin tone, you may want to try Covergirl's new TruBlend line. I got a sample from BzzAgent recently and have been enjoying the heck out of it. The reason is that I have a cooler toned complexion, and it is hard for me to find a foundation that doesn't look too yellow or orange on my skin. This one does a fantastic job with the cool-to-neutral factor, and that's worth saying something!

It also feels good on my skin: it's water-based and absorbs lightly and easily. Totally not greasy or heavy, and it blends really well. This foundation is light and sheer, so I can't use it as an all-in-one foundation-plus-concealer like I can with my Clarins, but Covergirl also offers TruBlend concealer twist-up sticks and powder I'd like to try.

Finally, as someone still acne-prone even as I enter middle age, I am most pleased indeed with how good my skin feels. TruBlend has not exacerbated my acne at all. I feel good and I look good.

Covergirl's new TruBlend is a quality product for sure. I will almost certainly buy it when the sample runs out! Here's my happy face. Look... awesome blending. No jawline weirdness!

You can find your shade, too! Use Covergirl's fun online tools right here. It lets you visually pick something out, or it lets you convert from another brand's shade (for just a few brands).

As far as what is pictured: I am using L3 (Natural Ivory) but might do well with their M1 shade, or even a blend thereof. Anyway--pleased with the L3 nonetheless.

Good stuff.

Secret Clinical Clear Gel Completely Clean Review

I got a sample recently via BzzAgent of Secret Clinical Clear Gel. I've tried it in all the everyday circumstances you might imagine (and it smells and works great), but today I got a chance to really put it to the test.

My coworking space, LAB B in Brampton, had the honour of hosting Matt Galloway and Metro Morning, the Toronto morning show on the CBC's 99.1FM. It meant rising at 3:15 a.m. to be at the office at 4 a.m. Here I sit right now, writing this at a little after 2 p.m., having already been at the office for ten hours--and I have three more to go!

This morning meant hostessing duties, greeting people, doing LAB B's social media during the broadcast, making extra coffee and cleaning up coffee and pastry messes, and a million other things. And of course I didn't want to mess up in front of such a prestigious radio host. So, as you can see, I really put the Secret Clinical Clear Gel through its paces and it continues to impress. They say it prevents "stress sweat" and I think today proved that.

Here's a list of cool stuff about this product:

• Tested it on recently-shaved skin and had no irritation
• I skipped a day and was fine the next day with the previous day's application
• Love the scent. It's fairly noticeable, but really fresh and clean.
• A little goes a long way: one twist of the base and I have plenty of product

All in all I am very pleased with this free sample. It's going to be well worth it to purchase a full-size of this product when the sample size runs out.

Vidal Sassoon London Luxe Review

This past summer I had my first product sample with BzzAgent, which was Vidal Sassoon London Luxe. I picked Merlot/Medium Vibrant Red/5RR because it was the best match to my preferred colour. (I have been going red for years.)

If you want the TL;DR, I enjoyed the sample a lot. There were two parts I specifically loved: how thick the mixture was and how long-lasting the colour was. The main down-side was the conditioner scent. Now, if you want all the details, let's dive in!

Thickness of Mixture

The reason this stood out to me was because even my favourite colours (mostly L'Oréal Féria tend to be drippy. I like to use some on my eyebrows (I know! I know! Bad.) and so the safety of this thick mixture made me feel more confident doing it. Also, there was significantly less drip down my neck and shoulders.

The down side of this is that I did get a bit of hairline staining, but it was mostly gone within 24 hours and repeated face-washings. I felt like it was totally gone after another thorough shampoo.

I will admit the texture initially felt odd, like it wouldn't be enough hair colour, but it was enough. I think anyone with much longer hair than mine might consider a second package, though. Note that my hair is short, but thick.

Long-Lasting Colour

This is the most impressive aspect. Here's a picture of right after I coloured. The lighting wasn't the best so I had to tweak it to get the right shade, but this seems close to what I saw with my naked eye. 

The colour remained vibrant for quite a long time after I used it. With red that can be difficult to achieve. Indeed, here's a bright (really, really bright...) outdoor photo from right before I coloured again. I think it was about 5 or 6 weeks out. You can see it's not crazy red like it might be the day after you colour, but it still looks great. No mistaking this for red!

The Down Sides

There weren't many down sides. The hairline staining as mentioned above, and the conditioner scent I found off-putting. It was something like a cross between vanilla and banana Now-and-Laters (for people who remember those). It had a very fake, overly-sweet scent. It did not stop me from buying it again, but it certainly made me think twice. I'd encourage Vidal Sassoon to create a gentler scent to the in-box conditioner.

Conclusion: Buy

When all was said and done, I purchased this colour a second and third time. I think I want to go back to a bit more warmth in the colour than it has, but I'll see if the Vidal Sassoon London Luxe line has such a colour (maybe the 6RR?) since there was a lot to like. I would certainly be happy to return to Féria again, too, but I can highly recommend London Luxe. 

Thanks again to BzzAgent for the opportunity to try it out!

New Review Blog

Since becoming a member of BzzAgent last year I pondered starting a Canadian product and service review blog. Now, during my second sampling period, I decided it was time.

I'd be interested in reviewing samples from other products separate from BzzAgent at some point, but I am definitely a big fan of their "Bzz" style. It perpetuates honesty and transparency, both things that are important to me. My freelance business is all about a no-BS approach, and I want to keep that going in my reviews, too.

Welcome! I hope these reviews are useful for you. Comment below if you have any questions or comments.