(Carter Beauty sent DailyEdge.ie products for the purpose of reviewing them. DailyEdge.ie was not paid to write about the products, be it positively or negatively.)
THE BEAUTY WORLD was a buzz when Cocoa Brown creator and CEO Marissa Carter announced that she was branching out into the world of cosmetics.
Marissa promised quality makeup at an accessible price-point, similar to her beloved tan range. What’s not to get hyped about?
DailyEdge.ie decided to try out some of the products to see if they’re any use.
So, what did I get?
Carter Beauty sent me a selection of makeup artist Gemma Leigh’s favourite products, which included:
Warm Velvet 18-Shade Eyeshadow Palette RRP €14.95
Full Measure HD Foundation in ‘Shortbread’ RRP €9.95 and Covert Concealer in Marshmallow RRP €4.95
Mini Blusher Palette in ‘Cupid’ RRP €7.95
Mini Bronzer Palette in ‘Phoenix’ RRP €7.95
Free Speech Lip Tint in ‘Hillary’ RRP €6.95 and Word of Mouth Lipstick in ‘Bey’ RRP €6.95
Throw Shade Duo Contour Stick RRP €4.95
This is what the foundation looked like on the skin, primed, in natural light.
It promises medium-to-full coverage, with a matte finish and it delivers on that. The packaging is kind of frustrating – I thought it was a pull off dropper lid like the concealer, but it’s actually a pump. I ended up yanking the whole thing off by mistake.
I found this lasted pretty well on the skin, with it getting a little shinier after six hours wear and minimal powdering which is as to be expected. I didn’t find that it separated though, and I still had a lot of coverage.
The foundation didn’t match me 100%, but would have been grand had I any leftover tan on.
Here’s a before and after of the concealer application.
Full disclosure – I applied way too much product. I’m not used to using droppers and kind of just went HAM with the concealer as a result.
If it looks mask-y or heavy to you, that’s probably why. However, I was unbelievably impressed with the coverage of this for the price (a little goes a long way!). It’s really brightening today.
However, I really wish it came with a pump. Carter Beauty has a video on Instagram going through how to use the dropper though, if you’re stumped like me.
Here’s some pictures of me putting together my eyeshadow look.
I used a variety of Zoeva brushes to put together this look. I applied the shadows to unprimed eyelids to see how they would last.
I really enjoyed the eyeshadow palette. Even swatching them was pretty pleasant – some of the metallic shades had a little kick back, but very few. I found some of the darker shades didn’t swatch as well, but in a look which I did not photograph, it came off nicely on the eye.
For the price point, this is a very decent palette, with a wide variety of shades. I love warm shadows, so I can see myself doing a lot of different looks with this.
I found the type of brush I used when I applied them made a difference, especially with the more metallic shades. Fluffy brushes will struggle to pick them up – always go flat.
The bronzer is where I fell (slightly) out of love.
You can see from the swatches that they’re not incredibly pigmented, and I found them to be a bit muddy when applied to the face.
However, I did enjoy the blusher palette.
The light in my room washes me out a bit in the above photo, but I found them to be very pigmented, yet subtle on the face when applied with a light hand.
What about the lipstick and the lip tint then?
The lipsticks are the creamiest ‘drugstore’ lipsticks I’ve come across in quite sometime – they just glide on. I’ll definitely be picking up some of the nude shades, for sure.
While I was impressed with the pigment of the lip tint, (I also love the colour!), it wasn’t incredibly comfortable on the lip, feeling heavy. It also doesn’t allow for the tidiest applications. Again, I’d like to try with a more manageable shade – a nude, perhaps – to see if it works out better.
I will say though that they both made my teeth look mega white.
Overall verdict
There’s some seriously good products in the mix here – people pay above and beyond for concealers that are similar to the Covert one, which seems crazy when you see how good it is.
The same goes for the Warm Velvet palette. It contains a lot of shades that you regularly see people lusting over in spendier palettes, but why drop massive amounts of €€€ when the discrepancy is so small? Save your cash, boo. (Kudos to the lipsticks for being stellar, too!)
The blusher palette should act as a great reintroduction for people to the art of blush, as it kind of died a death when highlighting and contouring rolled around. Who doesn’t love a natural flush?
The foundations is decent, but at the minute, it doesn’t rival anything that I already have in my arsenal. I think I’d prefer the brand’s Half Measure dewy foundation, but haven’t had a chance to try it yet.
The bronzer palette was the only total fail for me. It’s not pigmented enough for my liking.
Hero products: Covert concealer, Mini Blusher palette, Warm Velvet eyeshadow palette, the Word Of Mouth lipsticks
Skip the…: Bronzer palette. If you’re all about subtle glow or you’re new to contouring, this could be the product for you. But I’m not about that life. I need more definition than what this offers.
You can find your nearest Carter Beauty stockist here.
