The Product Pasha » Cover FX

A frank chat with Cover FX’s Jenny Frankel about primers + incredible giveaway

PPasha — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:59:29 +0000

A few days ago I had a chance to meet the incredibly beautiful and talented Jenny Frankel, vice president and co-creator of Cover FX and chat a little bit about the overall importance of primers and why exactly we should use them.

The brains behind 3 fantastic primers, you know Jenny was the right person to ask. Here’s what she had to say.

Q: Cover FX takes primers very seriously. Why is that?

Jenny: Our objective is to ensure all women and men have a positive experience with the world of coverage and foundation. We know that to the novice foundation wearer, they need help to blend out their foundation so that it looks natural, but yet also still provides ideal all day coverage. If I could give 1 must have tip to the foundation wearer, especially if they are choosing a medium to full coverage foundation liquid or cream texture, is to prep your skin with a foundation primer. A close up of the skin will show peaks and valleys, which are fine lines, rough texture, dry skin and pores…richly pigmented foundation may drag over these peaks and valleys, making blending a challenge. When foundation blending is a challenge, the ultimate result may not be as natural, smooth and youthful looking as desired – the solution is always preparing your skin with a primer. Also, you don’t want pigment to settle into and accentuate fine lines and pores. By choosing a primer, you are smoothing out fine lines, dry skin and pores so that you easily blend to achieve natural looking coverage that wears all day. Many times a foundation wearer may say ‘the foundation makes my skin look dry’, when really, the skin is dry, and a moisturizing primer will perfectly hydrate the skin so the foundation looks flawless.

Q: What is the one ingredient often found in other primers that makes you cringe the most?

Jenny: Try to avoid primers with parabens used as the preservative.

Q: Why?

Jenny: Some of the questions being asked: Is the rising incidence of breast cancer linked in part to the fact that parabens, which have a weak ability to mimic estrogen, have been found in breast cancer tumours and can be isolated from other body tissues? Are declining sperm counts and increasing rates of male breast cancer and testicular cancer related to the fact that these chemicals can be absorbed into our skin, potentially disrupting our endocrine systems? There are no conclusive reports, however, COVER FX believes more research is necessary, and has decided to NOT use parabens in our formulations.

Q: Cover FX has 3 different primers, each addressing different conditions. What should be the most important aspect of choosing a primer that is right for you?

Jenny: Choose a primer that is made for your skin type and skin concern. Choose a multi-tasking cosmeceutical primer that is good for your skin, for instance if your main concern is acne/oily skin…choose a matte foundation primer with anti-acne benefits. If your main concern is skin aging, choose a primer rich in emollients with ingredients such as peptides and anti-oxidants to repair signs of skin aging such as wrinkles. If your concern is hyperpigmentation, choose a primer that evens out brown spots with high SPF to prevent further brown patches.

Q: Financially, things are tough for many people. If you could only afford to buy a really good primer OR a really good foundation, which should you choose?

Jenny: It depends on what your primary concern is. If you want to look flawless instantly, then choose a foundation. Evening out skin tone will provide an instant flawless effect, making your skin look youthful and picture perfect. You may need to have more patience in application to ensure proper blending. If you have dry skin, you should at least try to moisturize first. If you are a novice, choose a liquid or powder formulation that will be easier to blend for a natural looking finish.

Have a specific primer concern? Need a recommendation? Leave your question for Jenny!

In the meanwhile, Cover FX has partnered with The Product Pasha to offer a lucky reader the chance to win The Big Cover Up 3 Step Essentials ($135 value) – a kit including five must-have Cover FX products:

Skinprep FX Nourishing Foundation Primer and Anti-Aging Serum – 15 ml/0.5 fl.oz
Cover FX Total Coverage Cream Foundation (3 shades total 12g/ 0.43oz)
Setting FX Translucent Setting Powder – 6.5g / 0.22oz.
Foundation Brush with pointed tip
How-to Instructional DVD featuring Lee Graff

To enter, follow me on Twitter (@ProductPasha) and RT the following: “Follow & RT to win a @CoverFX Big Cover Up Kit from @ProductPasha http://bit.ly/98psOd.” Not a Twitter user? No problem! Just leave a comment below. A winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, May 2^nd.

Best of 2009: BeautyXpose Anne Houseman & Fashion.St.Beauty Kristin Booker’s picks

PPasha — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:47:01 +0000

As the year comes to a halting end, we started talking to bloggers everywhere to find out what their best finds for 2009 were. From beauty inventions to good reads, these gals and guys have lots to recommend.

When I asked Anne Houseman (editor-in-chief for beautyXpose) to tell me what her favorite products for 2009 were, she had no trouble making the selection! Here are her picks:

Conceal FX by Cover FX – It’s an amazing liquid concealer that provides heavy coverage for even your most troublesome spots, but it never appears cakey like a “stick” concealer sometimes does. (See BX Review here and The Product Pasha here )

Passionate Purple nail polish by Nubar – This glittery nail lacquer in Nubar’s Cleopatra collection is a striking purple with navy undertones: the perfect combination of jewel tones for any season.

When I asked Kristin Booker (editor-in-chief of Fashion.Style.Beauty) what her favorites were, she didn’t even know where to begin! According to her, “2009 has been such an amazing year for all sorts of fun things.” Here are a few of her favorite products:

Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara – Another whammy of a product from Cover Girl, I adore the thick, gorgeous and clump-free lashes from this genius formula. I swear allegiance to their mascaras. Sometimes I just wear this and lip gloss.

Huge Lips, Skinny Hips Lip Gloss – The best beauty invention of 2009 hands-down goes to Purple Lab for a genius lip gloss that plumps lips and has a mild appetite suppressant to keep me from noshing after I reapply my lip gloss post-dinner date. Double duty beauty is here, people!

Audio Chi W-5 headphones – I’m a true audiophile and I like to listen to my tunes in the most pristine, clear audio possible. This new import from the UK allows me to hear sounds in audio tracks I’d never heard before. If you know someone who’s a true music snob, this is the best gift ever.

Physhion Vixen Bag - My ultimate secret style weapon, it’s a full-waterproof, multi-pocket sleek athletic tote that goes from gym to street in effortless style. You guys have seen me carrying mine all year and I’m obsessed. I need the yoga bag next and then I need the new wristlet style that they’ve released. Watch for this hot handbag line to explode in the coming year!

How about you? What are your picks for 2009? Let us know at productpasha@gmail.com

Cover FX Week: Finish the Job Right with Cover FX’s Setting FX

PPasha — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:51:00 +0000

After this entire week of praising Cover FX’s primers and foundations, it’s only appropriate that we finish our first -ever!- week dedicated to one brand with Cover FX’s own finishing touch, Cover FX’s Setting FX, a translucent setting powder.

However, like all things Cover FX, this could not simply be a setting powder. The natural minerals here help nourish and protect your skin while setting both cream and liquid foundations to lock-in colour, extending the wear of your look by making it last all day. The micronized Mica also plays a role here: it gives your skin a silky feel while acting as a optical diffuser, reflecting light and softening the appearance of all of your imperfections. It’s 100% translucent and will complement any of the 30+ shades of foundations they make – pretty incredible, ey?!

Cover FX Week: Show off your Skin with Skin Tint FX Moisturizing Treatment & Tint SPF 30

PPasha — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:21:00 +0000

I love tinted moisturizer. They are probably my hands-down favorite type of coverage for everyday use and I find myself more often than not ignoring foundations in various formats to simply smooth a little bit of a tint over my face. It’s perfect for a person like me – someone who doesn’t like heavy makeup and prefers showing off her beauty regiment, letting her skin speak for itself.

So, it’s safe to say that I have a nice collection of tinted moisturizer that I turn to again and again. Well, that collection might be gathering some dust from here on out because I found my tinted moisturizer soul mate in Cover FX’s Skin Tint FX.

This tinted moisturizer does everything you want/expect from a tinted moisturizer and a bag of chips! Following the footsteps of Cover FX vast line of foundations, Skin Tint FX comes in 6 different shades, complementing pink, yellow, and olive undertones. The mineral tint helps create a natural, not orange, too dark, or too light finish on all skin colors.

In addition (and here’s the “the bag of chips!”), Skin Tint FX is super rich in antioxidants vitamins A and E, peptides to promote collagen synthesis, zinc oxide and bisabolol to calm sensitive skin and “dehydrated hyaluronic spheres which release a steady flow of moisture.” What does it mean? Calmer, nourished, hydrated skin that glows from within.

Application is a breeze: I just use my fingers to spread a drop over my face and tada!- world, here I come! I have also discovered that I can take a drop of Skin Tint and mix it with my body moisturizer for a flawless look. Try applying this combo to your legs, arms, and decolletage next time you find yourself in a dress. It will change your life!

Cover FX Week: Pout with Confidance with Cover FX’s MintGlaze FX Fortifying Lip Treatment Primer

PPasha — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:52:00 +0000

I never think of treating my lips. I try to wear lipstick or lipgloss with SPF but that’s about it. So I was super excited to try Cover FX’s MintGlaze FX, their brand spanking new Fortifying Lip Treat-Mint Primer. It does so many things all at once that it’s hard to believe it’s only 1 product.

the Lip Fill Technology (a blend of peptides and hyaluronic acid) helps bring lips back to younger days, restoring collagen and providing time-released hydration.
the F.A.C.E. vitamins concentrate keeps your lips nourished and protected with peppermint oil.
SPF protection helps keep UV exposure at bay.
mint glaze provides instant cooling.

I use MintGlaze FX both as a lip primer and alone. As a primer, it helps smooth lines on my lips and adds mucho shine to whatever color I wear on top of it. Alone, it’s just perfect – clear, glossy, minty, making my lips appear fuller and softer.

Cover FX Week: Be Flawless with Cover FX’s Conceal FX Camouflage Concealer

PPasha — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:22:00 +0000

Come September, the world will look very different. Why? There will be no more dark circles under our eyes, thanks to Cover FX, a.k.a. the foundation authority. And we know that this is no easy task, but these folks know a thing or two about covering and hiding imperfections. Lee Graff, Cover FX co-creator/president and a camouflage specialist, has spend years teaching patients how to use makeup to cover scars, acne, rosacea and other imperfections. And now this wonderful company is bringing coverage to where we need it most: our eyes!

Conceal FX Camouflage Concealer is an instant, flaw-erasing concealer cream that has a super lightweight velvety finish. Use it to cover under-eye dark circles, redness, dark spots, sun damage, blemishes, tattoos, birthmarks, fatigue, and anything else you don’t want the world to see.

But Conceal FX does more than just hide those things your don’t want others to see? Its formula is packed with ceramides plus, comfort complex, multi-peptide complex and vitamins F.A.C.E. that help get rid of wrinkles, rejuvenate the skin, and firm it as well.

Because Conceal FX is made with rick colorants, light-diffusing mineral pigments, you only need a little bit to hide a lot. And the fact that it comes in 6 shades makes finding just the right one a little easier.

Cover FX Week: Achieve Nirvana with Cover FX Briteprep Foundation Primer

PPasha — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:54:00 +0000

I have to admit it: I fought it for a long time. The idea of adding yet another step in my morning routine was just something that did not interest me. I have enough to do with washing, and toning, and serum-ming, and moisturizing. And all of this before beginning to put on makeup. I though: I use foundation – good foundation. Isn’t that enough? And the answer, my friends, is “no.”
Primers are as important as any other step in your makeup routine – perhaps even a little more important. Why? A good primer:

gets your skin ready for foundation;
diminishes the appearance of large pores
smooths fine lines and wrinkles
evens out skin texture
helps makeup stay on skin longer
makes your foundation last longer

And these are just some of the benefits of using primers. And though it does add another small step to our routines, this one is worth it. And now that the folks at Cover FX came with a primer that brightens the skin, improves makeup performance, and has a SPF of 50, we have even more reasons!

Briteprep FX Brightening Foundation Primer and Photo Aging Defense combines super advanced primer technology with cutting edge skincare ingredients to brighten the skin, while renewing it and protecting it from UV exposure. With BioActive BearBerry Extract and ODA White (key ingredients in long-term improvement in skin tone, texture, and pigmentation), this primer helps lighten dark spots, minimize brown spots, and bring a radiance to your skin that you didn’t even know you had.

I have been guilty of wearing Briteprep alone, as though it were foundation. It just makes my skin so luminous and glowy!

The Product Pasha » Cover FX

A frank chat with Cover FX’s Jenny Frankel about primers + incredible giveaway

Related posts:

Best of 2009: BeautyXpose Anne Houseman & Fashion.St.Beauty Kristin Booker’s picks

Related posts:

Cover FX Week: Finish the Job Right with Cover FX’s Setting FX

Related posts:

Cover FX Week: Show off your Skin with Skin Tint FX Moisturizing Treatment & Tint SPF 30

Related posts:

Cover FX Week: Pout with Confidance with Cover FX’s MintGlaze FX Fortifying Lip Treatment Primer

Related posts:

Cover FX Week: Be Flawless with Cover FX’s Conceal FX Camouflage Concealer

Related posts:

Cover FX Week: Achieve Nirvana with Cover FX Briteprep Foundation Primer

Related posts: