Lumene Beauty Base Cover Palette review

Since my quest for the HG concealer is NOT over yet (upcoming post....), i decided to rummage through my abandoned ex-lovers and bring back to light old favorites. What's a student budget limited person gotta do, right...

So i dug up this old concealer from Lumene. Had it on yesterday, suddenly remembered how great we used to get along, and decided to blog about it. I have had this product for so many months i'm surprised i never mentioned it.

Ok so this is the little fellow:

As it says on the lid, the little case contains three concealer shades meant to neutralize red and blue undertones, either in imperfections or undereye circles. The salmon-ish tinted triangle is the blue neutralizer and the other two are meant for concealing red undertones-one is darker than the other to allow for customizing the optimal shade.

Apart from the rather high price (around €12 and 3.6 gr/0.13 oz.) for a drugstore product, i think there are no other flaws of this product. First, i like its versatility. Second, and the best thing about this- it's very creamy. The creamiest drugstore concealer i own, perhaps a softer, more moist consistency than the Nivea one (since the latter is a stick concealer). It picks up on the fingers/brush at the slightest touch (as you can see from the indentations on the sections), it's easy to blend in and allows for a very natural finish since you can mix the colors until obtaining the desired shade.

My usual problem with concealers, drugstore or not, is that they are not creamy enough. Most of them are downright dry, settling into the fine lines and giving an impression of 'cracked' makeup to the overall skin, which is highly disadvantageous especially when it comes to mature skins. 

This product, being intensely creamy for a drugstore concealer, settles into the fine lines under the eyes but not as dramatically as other higher-end products i've used in the past. And if i blend it in immediately and set it with powder it will not crease at all; i think it resists for about 5-6 hours without any touch ups; my definition of 'touch up' when it comes to concealers and foundation doesn't imply applying a second layer, but slightly patting the skin, either with the ring finger, a brush or a sponge, to absorb whatever oiliness that has formed and even out the possible blotches/ color patches that inevitably form after a certain amount of time. 

It works great on moisturized skin because the soft consistency becomes almost 'the real deal' in creaminess.  The coverage is mild medium i'd say. Definitely not sheer, but if we're judging by what 'medium' standard coverage means today (Double Wear foundation is allegedly a medium coverage one, go figure), then this is a light medium coverage. Like in the 1st half or middle of the medium spectrum. You get the point :)

Squint eyes with flash:

I don't have killer dark circles but they're tricky like hell. The upper lid is a brown-ish color and the undereye area is a dark pink, almost red with purple undertones. I found that if i use something by itself (99% of the cases except for Helena Rubinstein's concealer) it just won't cover them completely and will lack a natural finish- basically i'm able to see the rather dull purpleness showing through. Bleh.

This is not the best concealer in the world, absolutely. But if you're looking for a palette that allows for customizing your shade and contains something similar to Eve Pearl's salmon concealer, then this is the one you should try before purchasing a high-end product (for example i'm watching a video-actually listening to it- right now and it's about a certain degree of disappointment in MUFE's concealer palette...).

I should definitely start digging up older favorites more often...yep.

Finally found- my HG concealer

Two days ago i wanted to decide about which concealer that i already own would actually become the HG. I really floated around and couldn't put my finger on it...because yesterday i went shopping, and i did find it.

It's the Nivea Coverstick in 09 Beige. *breaths in* Ladies, this is IT. It is ONE of them actually. Excuse the impetuousness.....*rolls eyes*...my bad. I do it all the time!



Price and packaging: It's quite cheap, less than the equivalent of 10 euros, and the packaging is very nice. Sometimes the typical lipstick-shaped drugstore concealer bugs me because it's so uncomfortable to use, especially when you use it and the top becomes a little blunt; it's hard to get into all the small creases of the nose or in the inner eye corner. This one is shaped like a thin stick; to get the product out you simply screw the bottom and then screw it back when you're done.

At first i thought this was going to be a Clinque Superfine Liner for Brows-kind-of-job- a terrific product that unfortunately cannot be twisted back...hello drama. I'm really happy with this little aspect because hey, this is supposed to be a cheapster, remember? I can't wait to slam my friend who's rather snobby and solemnly declares she 'loathes' Nivea makeup! Ha!
The color of the packaging is a nice peachy beige, a nice nude that mimics lighter complexions' natural tone. It's not one of those transparent lid disasters that get all slathered with product and look like a mess after three uses.

Shades: I have mine in 09 Beige, which is quite funny (and confusing at the same time) since they only had two shades in the stores (and on the website), namely Nude (i forgot the number, perhaps 05?) and Beige. Errr why would it be 09 if there are only TWO shades available? It's not like it bothers me, but it could be a little confusing (it was for me!), you might end up rummaging through the makeup rack looking for something a tad lighter/darker, namely the expected number 08 or something like that. You won't find it, at least not right now (or maybe it's just a Swedish case, who knows).




When i tried this shade i was a little worried it was going to be a 'mistake', as my Maybelline Coverstick experience turned out to be (light plummy pink concealer anyone?). The color appears as a very light peach, period. No pinks, no nudes, no beige, just peach. Hmmmm. Half of me wanted so badly to take it home (i'll get to the best part in a second), the other one was pulling my sleeve and guiding my eyes to the Maybelline rack...i went back and forth between Nude and Beige, but i finally gave in and purchased Beige. Nude was way too light (think about someone with W15-W20 skintone).

This is THE perfect concealer shade for me, and i own quite a bunch. I always think about Eve Pearl's advice- never get something white, it will make you look like a raccoon, never get something too dark, it's easy to be fooled, and you'll look sick. get something as close as possible to your natural skintone, preferably on the peachy side, two shades lighter (or even one, not more). This is it! I cannot believe i found it!

I usually get overexcited about products, at least more than my favorite beauty bloggers do. But this time, it's so right! The color is perfect for me. Not too light, not too dark, not too pink (i HATE PINK undereye circles!), not too peachy. I just couldn't go wrong with this one! Really!

Consistency: This is one of the best perks- it's CREAMY. The creamiest stick concealer i have ever tried. I remember my old Shiseido cover stick- no way. That one was harsher and harder to blend in, and it costed four times this one. It's just crazy!! This little fellow glides on my skin, leaving a PERFECT amount of product, and for really imperceptible retouches, you can just TOUCH it to your skin and it will leave a bit of product. I am VERY, very pleased and surprised with it.

Staying Power: another positive aspect. It stayed on with absolutely no problem from 4 p.m. when i put it on in the store and it didn't budge till 10 p.m when i took my makeup off. Though i am sure it would have continued doing a great job way past midnight....anyways i am going to test it really soon- clubbing and dancing i mean. Let's see what happens :)!

It doesn't crease, not even remotely close to what other concealers crease like. It just didn't set into my lines which is fantastic! However, i prefer to moisturize my eye area, because well, i always do it, and because i find it even more gliding when i apply the concealer. I think setting it with powder it's optional, i didn't do it because i don't think it's really necessary (combination skin here).

The most pleasant part about it...it is scented :) and i really like it. Smells like Nivea makeup remover, NOT like the Nivea creme or Nivea Visage cream. It's REALLY scented but it doesn't reek. Personally i was getting fed up with stinky, plasticine smelling concealers (Maybelline, L'Oreal, Max Factor, even Clinique and Shiseido) and when i felt the scent i thought i was delirious :)
The smell isn't overbearing at all, it's just there, and you will stop noticing it in a few minutes so no worries there. I LOVE how it smells!!!! Kept sniffing my hands (where i tested it first) on the way home!

For the moment, it's definitely my HG concealer. Waiting and seeing, who knows. But right now, i am seriously in love.

The perfect concealer

I'm talking about the Kanebo Sensai Brush-type concealer, hands down the best thing ever.

I have wacky undereye circles that sometimes appear purple-ish, sometimes look yellow-ish, but most of the time they're plain reddish. Horrible. so i've been searching for the perfect product for years and i keep getting back to this one. It's simply unbeatable.

It is pretty expensive, i think around 35 euros or even more. It looks small, but it has a lot of product inside; i like the brush, soft and pointy, pretty much like the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat one.




I love it because:
- it makes a difference because it's very moisturizing. it doesn't dry out my eye area at all, it's creamy and lasts all day. waterproof, smudge proof, anything you want. I have read some reviews on Makeupalley and a few people mentioned they were disappointed with a certain dryness around the eye area, or heaviness of the product because they have set it with powder. This concealer is pretty much similar to the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation- you have to let it dry by itself, it takes a little while but the result is impeccable. I find that setting it with powder tends to dry the eye area, only because the product wasn't calculated for this addition. basically you don't need powder unless you're using it on the face, for scars or other imperfections, and you just want to make sure. i honestly never had a problem with transfer, oiliness, shine, dry patches or any other happenings that occur when using a concealer. This stuff is simply amazing. I've had mine for many months, almost a year, and i still have product left. i can't see the exact quantity that's left because the tube is dark gray, but i still get a lot of product out whenever i press the little button on the top of the tube.
-the brush is fantastically soft, delicate, and has that shape of YSL's Touche Eclat that i mentioned- basically it's not round or squared but gradually thins down to the tip, allowing for a flawless and easy application. with a click i get the perfect amount of product for both my eyes, and with another one i can cover all my other imperfections (nose redness, spots, etc).
- it looks very thin on the brush, that doesn't get gunky or sticky with product buildup (you will never experience that) but it feels satiny and light on the skin. you don't feel like you're wearing anything, which is good because it might be just me but sometimes i can 'feel' the concealer just as well as i can feel foundation layering on my skin, giving that suffocating impression of pore clogging. eeew.
-it does NOT settle into the fine lines if you let it dry accordingly. i used to make the same mistake some girls on Makeupalley mentioned, setting it with powder immediately after the application, and then getting frustrated when it showed my lines. you have to let it dry and it will look and feel extremely smooth
-it's also great for mature skin because it gives the optical impression of hermetically sealing the lines
-doesn't remain sticky at all even when dry; i never experienced eyeshadow fallout that i couldn't remove very easily, just with the stroke of a brush
-i use it as an eyeshadow base as well and is GREAT. doesn't dry out my skin, makes the colors pop out and i don't need another expensive primer- this one does a perfect job, it's like a 2-in-1 concealer and primer. yay!

so yep. i think i am going to purchase this for as long as they manufacture it. I'm currently using the number 2 shade, C02, that is the medium one, designed for all sorts of imperfections. It is a great shade, medium light with beige undertones, but the perfect one would be the 03 one, which is the darkest and acts a bit like a chameleon shade- it fits every skintone, every shade, every undertone (for light skin only). it is beige with a little bit of pink undertones on the hand or on a white sheet of paper, but when i apply it looks amazing, managing to conceal everything. a small complain would be that they could come up with more shades to cater to darker skinned women since there three shades are suited for white and asian skin only....that's because nothing in this world is perfect. but this is as close as it can get to perfection.