NEW! COVERGIRL Vitalist Healthy Elixir Foundation

​I've not done a foundation review in a while so let's talk about a new "drug store" one I picked up recently. I'm gonna be the first to tell you that I am not the biggest fan of Covergirl makeup. Nothing personal at all it just never has worked out for me. There will however be a special place in my heart for my first compact (and piece of makeup) which was from Covergirl. So there is that. 

Now, I'm not saying I totally avoid them. It's just the products that I've tried haven't knocked my socks off. The most recent powders being some of those. They aren't bad they just aren't amazing. I hadn't tried a foundation of theirs in a very long time. So I seen this foundation the: "VITALIST HEALTHY ELIXIR FOUNDATION" and I must say, before ever seeing any reviews, it perked my interest due to the nice packaging and the fact that it was a pump container. So when I did see some reviews pop up on it and I seen that it had done well for some people I thought "why not give it a go?". Which is what I did. 

I got mine from Walgreens, but my information like price and color range, etc will be coming from the Covergirl website. Basically, I grabbed the one with the more "yellow" undertone. I find Covergirl tends to have more "pink" undertones in their ranges, from my experience anyway. So the color I got was 725 Buff Beige. I find that it's a bit too dark for my skin at the moment which sucks tremendously because I'm not sure any of the lighter shades are going to work. The main reason why I'm really wishing this color could work is because this is not a "summer" foundation for me. It would be an IDEAL winter foundation though. I'll get into that later on. There are 14 shades in the range on the Covergirl website and 9 on the Ulta website, mine being the 4th color. The price from the Covergirl site is $11.49 (The prices vary, ie: Ulta is $12), which is basically the same price as L'Oreal and Revlon foundations these days. I actually feel like it's a little more pricey than I've seen coming from Covergirl and their normal price point. However, I understand the price point for this much more than I understand the higher price point for other "drug store" foundations. 

The reason I understand why this is a little more costly is 2 reasons: First, the packaging. It's a nice thicker and heavier glass bottle, gold accents, and a pump. So that alone explains some of the price. The second reason is that that this foundation has some really impressive skincare "claims" to it along with being "oil free". I know a lot of foundations often say "hydrating", "spf", etc to be beneficial for the skin but I think this one has them all beat, at the drug store anyway. As a rule I don't feel like most foundations can't really have a lot of effective skincare benefits except sun protection sometimes and possibly keeping the skin look less dry. This one is different to me because it is most like a moisturizer. Therefore, bringing out the hydrating claim that it has. I think it does do that. It also claims to have an antioxidant benefit with Vitamins E, B3, and B5. I'm not sure how effective that can be especially if there are other barriers between your skin and the foundaiton like: primer, moisturizer, seperate spf, cc cream, bb cream, so on so forth. It also has Broad Spectrum SPF 20. If you've not read my blog post on why "broad spectrum" SPF  is important, I will link it here. 

To break down the Vitamins for you I'll give you the function of them so that you better understand what you're buying other than "oh this has vitamins so it must be very good" which is what we tend to think.

Vitamin E: used often, especially for dry cracked skin, it's very healing, it's in Aquaphor for example. It's in Cocoa Butter and ointments that are to heal cuts and fade scars (which actually according to some it's not beneficial for scars, I tend to disagree somewhat but I'm researching it further). It's found naturally in the skin and becomes "depleted" with exposure to the sun without proper protection. Most of it's typical forms or names are: "d-alpha-tocopherol, d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, dl-alpha tocopherol, and dl-alpha tocopherol acetate". The "D" meaning that it was naturally derived and the "dl" meaning that it's synthectic. All of them serve as an antioxidant, which is it's biggest benefit, but many sources say that the natural ones are the more effective ones. 

Vitamin B3: Which is most commonly used with or as Niacinamide. Niacinamide is used most for it's "anti aging" benefits and how it helps restore the skin and also smooths the skin. B3 has the anitoxidant benefit, but also has the skin restoring benefit and a hydration benefit to it.

Vitamin B5: This is known more as "panthenol" or  "provitamin-b5" more often. It's best explained as a magnet for moisture in my opinion because it attracts moisture and then it keeps the moisture in and keeps the skin moist. It can be derived from plants (naturally derived), animals, or produced synthetically. It mixes well with other vitamins and ingredients and it works well to improve the "feel" and "appearance" of the skin upon application. I personally find this can take a while to "dry down", it tends to stay tacky and I believe that's because of the B5 in it. I don't like to powder wet or tacky feeling foundation because it causes the powder to cling in the areas that haven't dried down which can lead to a patchy look or can deepen the color of the foundation. 

They all work as antioxidants because that's what Vitamins do. While that's great, once again I do not know how much of a benefit it can be for the skin if other barriers are in between the product and the skin so we'll just have to see how that goes. They all provide some amount of hydration benefit as well. This product is "oil free" so I believe the hydration is coming from these Vitamins. There is also Dimethicone ( a type of silicone) in it which is what makes the appearance of skin look and feel smoother because it has a "blurring" technique for pores and fine lines by filling them in, and helps a product blend better into the skin. So I agree that this product does make the skin look very nice and "healthy" upon application. 

It's also a thicker formula much like a rich cream texture. It holds true to the "light weight" claim that it advertises. I find it just right on the apex of "full coverage" a bit more than medium coverage but not maximum coverage or cakey. The texture is the part that reminds me and acts like a moisturizer that goes on the skin. You tend to think with that being the texture or the "feel" of the product, then it probably won't have a good coverage. Wrong. This does have very good coverage with the bonus of feeling like a skincare product as it goes on and then light weight as you wear it. Now with saying that in the summer I don't typically fuss with "full coverage" foundations just because they can turn into an oil slick faster I feel. So I'm much more of a CC Cream or something similar if my skin is doing good enough to get away with the minimal coverage. Basically, all I'm wanting it to mask some of the pink in my cheeks and even out my skin tone in the summer. 

First Test(no primer or setting spray):
Here's where I have my issues. It's a lovely foundation. It does not hold up well in heat. It also tends to transfer easily onto clothes, and hands if you touch your face a lot. It easily get's on another person if you give them a hug. So while it may be hydrating and light weight it doesn't want to stay on the skin very well. God help you if you are sweating. I found that it did oxidize just a tad and turn into a different more like an  orange undertone but that was hardly noticeable. I want to be very clear when I say that the oxidation was minimal. Meaning that, it wouldn't stop me from using it on it's own. This may be something for drier skin types. I feel like it's a nightmare for oily and even combination skin, especially in the summer. I have very normal skin and it's too much for a hot day of all day wear. Could it be fine for a few hours or more indoors? Maybe. If you don't touch your face and such. So in the winter I think this would be something I would reach for most often IF they had a pale enough shade with the right undertone and if I could find a way to stop it from transferring and getting on everything. 

Second Test (with Cane+Austin Mattifying Primer):
This went much better. Granted I was indoors and not in the heat. It wasn't on as long maybe 6 hours. It did get a little shiny around the sides of the nose even indoors and with the primer, but nothing major. Used a little less I think and I used a flat top kabuki brush that wasn't as dense as the one before. Still the transfer was there, the oxidation was there a tiny bit like before. Definitely need a primer with it but enjoyed it immensely today; how it applied, how it looked through out the day, and how smooth it made my skin look. 

My final thoughts are: try it if you're interested and if your skin needs all the hydration it can get just be careful if you change clothes or whatever while wearing it. It is a beautiful finish, not super dewy or shiny, light weight, and good coverage. Do I feel like it actually helps skin concerns? Not sure. I feel like it helps the look of skin (fine lines and pores) for the moment if that's your concern but I tend to think that's thanks to the Dimethicone in it, and then when you take it off the skin is the same as it's always been. I do feel like the SPF works in it. I wore it for a couple hours outside, mid day, hot as can be, and had no burning or tan on the face. To put it bluntly I wouldn't buy this for the skincare claims it has, you can not use this in place of a moisturizer or other serums that are for targeted problems in my personal opinion (and I don't feel like they're marketing it that way either, I just know how we love to cut corners). I certainly hope it does prove to benefit the skin in the long term but I'm not placing my money on it. Also, I would love it if they had just a few more shades for deeper skin tones and an equal amount of undertones in the range. I do feel like this is better than the L'Oreal Lumi and Loreal Pro Glow foundations which are cult favorite "luminous" foundations.