Product:  Cover FX Custom Cover Drops.  Is your foundation too light, dark, warm, cool or too sheer?  This product actually changes the color and the coverage!

Overall Rating = 3.33 Stars – Good

Cost: $42.00 (.5 fl. oz.) ($84.00 per fluid ounce)  Price Category: Expensive

Sold By:  Cover FX; Sephora.

Container:  Glass bottle, twist-off cap with attached dropper, outer carton.  (The container is not ideal.  Please see Cons below.)

Description:  Cover FX Custom Cover Drops is a small bottle of pure pigments in liquid form.  The concentrated drops allow you to tint or change the color of any lotion or cream makeup.  You can also add color and/or coverage to any mixing medium such as colorless primer, sunscreen or moisturizer.

Formula:  Cover FX Custom Cover Drops is a pigmented liquid.  The formula is not intended to be used by itself.  It must be mixed with another product which I am referring to as the mixing medium.  The finish is more of a matte finish than a dewy finish.

Sensitivity:  Cover FX Custom Cover Drops is free of fragrance, gluten, mineral oil, parabens, phthalates, sulfates and talc and is appropriate for those with sensitive skin.  The product contains a small amount of alcohol and the scent dissipates once the alcohol evaporates.

Company Claims:

“Create your ideal foundation or tinted moisturizer by mixing these revolutionary drops of pure pigment with your favorite liquid beauty products.

What it Does:

These award winning, revolutionary drops of pure pigment were not designed to be worn alone but instead allow you to transform all of your favorite liquid beauty products into your ideal foundation or tinted moisturizer.  With this breakthrough formula you can customize both your level of coverage and desired finish.  What you choose to mix Custom Cover Drops with will determine your finish.  For a radiant finish, add to products like oils, serums, or creams.  For a matte finish, mix with a mattifying primer or lightweight lotion.  The possibilities are endless!  Then, simply adjust your coverage by the number of drops you add.

1 Drop = Sheer Coverage

2 Drops = Medium Coverage

3 Drops = Full Coverage

4 Drops = Extra Full Coverage

Custom Cover Drops are NOT designed to be used alone. Failure to shake well before adding drops to your favorite product will distort the coverage and result in less than desirable results.”

Discussion:  There was a lot of buzz in the beauty industry when these were introduced a couple of years ago.  People seem to have a love/hate relationship with them.  If used properly, they are a wonderful product that allow you to customize colors and achieve perfect matches to almost every skin tone.  When they haven’t worked for people it is probably because they used too much.  The pigments are highly concentrated, so more is not better with these drops.

I have always custom mixed foundations to achieve the proper color for clients, so when these came out I was hoping they would make the matching process easier and they have.  If you don’t want to fuss with blending and mixing products together, you won’t like these.

Colors:  Cover FX Custom Cover Drops comes in twenty-four colors.  I won’t list all of them here.  I will explain their color system for this product:  There are four colors that begin with “P” for Pink undertones; there are 13 colors that begin with “N” for Neutral undertones; and there are 7 colors that begin with “G” for Golden undertones.  It is important that you know your undertone before purchasing this product.  There is a shade for everyone from very fair to deep.

Finishes:  Cover FX also makes a product called Custom Enhancer Drops that comes in two bronzing shades and four illuminating or highlighting shades.  Those drops will add a glow and a pearlescent finish to any foundation, moisturizer or primer.

Daily Review:  The hours of wear that you will achieve from using Cover FX Custom Cover Drops depends purely upon the mixing medium that the drops are combined with.  I really like to add one drop to sunscreen to turn the sunscreen from a ghostly white product to a nice natural tint.  Also, one drop is all it takes to completely change the color of an airbrush foundation.  A little goes a long way with this product and it works the best if you use the least amount possible.  If a foundation is too light and needs to be darkened or warmed up, one or two drops is all that is required for an entire face.

Application Tips:

• Shake the bottle well to mix the contents as separation will occur.
• Fill the dropper while the cap is still on the bottle.
• Begin with one drop.  I never use more than two drops.
• Combine the drops and mixing medium on a small sterilized palette or something similar.  Mix with a clean makeup spatula or small brush.
• Make sure the drops and mixing medium are completely blended prior to applying them to the face.
• If you apply the drops full strength to the face, the finish will be thick and unnatural due to the concentration of pigment.
• Don’t empty the dropper back into the bottle prior to replacing the cap to avoid air bubbles.
• Keep the bottle tightly closed when not in use.
• Using 4 drops to achieve full coverage is simply too much and the finish will not look natural.
• I cannot tell you what application method works best, i.e. brush, fingers, or sponge because I don’t know what you will be mixing it with.

Overall Review:  Cover FX Custom Cover Drops perform very well for their intended purpose.  The drops sound gimmicky, but they actually do serve a very useful purpose.  If you have a bunch of expensive bottles of foundation that you have only used once because they were too light or too dark, you can change the color with these drops.  If you don’t like to wear foundation and only wear sunscreen or tinted moisturizer, you can get a little better coverage or color by adding a drop or two.  As a makeup artist, they really help with custom matching and offer a lot of versatility.

If you like the idea of this product, but not the cost, I’m going to review similar products (one is supposedly a dupe) from Clinique, Hard Candy and NYX in the coming weeks.  The Hard Candy and NYX products are only $7 and $10, respectively.  We’ll see if they perform as well and if so, I will definitely let you know.  Please sign up so you don’t miss the future posts.

Pros:

• Mixes well with a variety of products
• Provides customization for hard-to-match skin tones
• Wide range of colors will match all skin tones

Cons:

• Price
• Product dries out quickly once exposed to air
• The bottle with dropper delivery system is messy, exposes the liquid to bacteria, and reduces the longevity of the product.  A squeeze tube would have been far superior.

Suitability:  Cover FX Custom Cover Drops is suitable for the following users:

• All users

RATINGS REPORT:

Daily Rating = 4 Stars;

Average from Other Testers = 4 Stars;

Value Rating = 2 Stars;

Overall Rating = 3.33 Stars = Good.

Would Buy Again?  Yes.

(Please review the About 365 Cosmetic Reviews page for the rating info.)

Ingredients:  Ethyl Trisiloxane, Caprylyl Methicone, Bis-Hydroxyethoxypropyl Dimethicone, Isododecane, Dimethicone, Mica, Jojoba Esters, Triethylhexanoin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Silica, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Water (Aqua, Eau), Alcohol, Acacia Decurrens Flower Wax, Polyglycerin-3. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)

Important:  Please read our full Disclaimer before using this or any product.