Quite a few of you were all kinds of pissed after Queen Latifah’s poorly managed Cover Girl auditions.
I had more than one righteously angry reader e mail to tell me that they would never buy Queen Latifah’s products, threatening to get together a petition and everything.
But months have passed, and hopefully time has healed some of those wounds. And if you’re still mad, don’t shoot the messenger. I’m here to tell you that Cover Girl’s Queen Collection is surprisingly good stuff, and if you’re a bella on a budget, you should definitely check it out.
Shortly after the audition debacle, I was sent a little review package of items. The first thing that impressed me is the range of liquid makeup colors. If you have a hard time matching your shade, definitely try these out. Seriously — you should try to find a drugstore with testers, because I had a hard time guessing what shade I was.
I knew I wasn’t in their Ebony Bronze range, but Brown Bronze still didn’t blend with the skin on my inner wrist. I was all ready to give the Light Bronze shades to one of my olive-skinned amigas in the office, but when I tried the classic bronze shade lo and behold, it blended effortlessly. I couldn’t believe it.
So lesson learned — don’t try to eyeball foundation through the packaging. I would have never found my correct shade that way.
I passed along the Ebony Bronze shade to my co-worker, Raina, who has flawless, chocolate colored skin. She had a mixed review.
“Since it was my first experience with foundation, at first I loved how it evened out my skin. But then I kinda hated how it took away my natural glow and kinda made me look ashy.” Still, she would recommend it to bellas on a budget, “From a foundation virgin it seemed pretty good to me. And since it’s affordable and so easy to get it is something I would recommend.” Her experience made her open to trying Queen Latifah’s mascara or eyeliners, but in terms of foundation, not so much. “This product has made me want to try some of the more expensive (better?) brands,” she added.
Now I’ve already declared my disdain for liquid makeup, but I actually liked the way the Queen Collection blended right into my skin. It was simultaneously oil free and moisturizing, didn’t leave my skin looking cakey, and it effectively covered up my hyperpigmentation. Plus, it costs $7.49 at your neighborhood drugstore.
If you’ve been looking for an affordable liquid makeup that matches your hard-to-match skintone, I’d suggest you give the Queen a try.
I like the liquid makeup, but I LOVE the eyeshadow quads.
I already mentioned the Blue Notes quad in my How to Take a Bangin’ Mug Shot post, because the minty aqua shade almost perfectly matches Foxy Brown’s shadow in her most recent police station photo op. Of course, this eye shadow quad costs $4.99, so it’s probably not what Fox-Boogie is actually using. Although maybe she should be — homegirl hasn’t had a hit single in a while.
You all know how much I love bright eyeshadow, and shades of blue really compliment brown skin and brown eyes. I love these eyeshadows, because they’re bright but not as highly pigmented as L’Oreal HIP or Urban Decay. If you’re looking for a subtly sheer wash of aqua around your baby browns, step right up for this quad.
And if you don’t know how to use eyeshadow at all, check out the Queen Collection website. They offer detailed, helpful step by step makeup looks for the eyeshadow clueless. Check out Sheer Soul for tips on creating an effortless nude, daytime fresh face. I am also feeling Island Rhythms, and that raisin eye shadow would compliment my skin tone to a tee. Another alternative is Copper Penny, which is a deep, bronzed, winey shadow that’s classy, not trashy.
I can’t even find the shade of moisturizing lip color that I have on the official website, which is just as well, because I’m not a Peach Spice girl and I probably never will be.
If I had to choose a shade, I’d go for Bordeaux, or Toast of the Town. But the lipcolor glides on as smooth and silky as lip gloss, and it did last through three glasses of wine, so I’d recommend it to a friend.
In terms of people’s personal feelings about the Queen, I get the impression that she’s faced so many false rumors and accusations about her weight and her sexuality that she doesn’t really care what people say anymore. Can’t blame her for that.
As a big boned black woman, I have a lot of love and respect for her — bad movies aside, she’s done quite a bit to enhance the portrayal of plus size women of color, and I feel proud to see her as a Cover Girl.
All in all, I have to give Queen Latifah’s collection two snaps up. Despite all of the drama surrounding the campaign, she’s actually repping a collection that represents the changes in the makeup industry that so many of us have wanted for so long: good, affordable products for women all shades of beautiful.
I’ll have to cop Copper Penny for sure! That’s one color that looks soooooo good on me.
Covergirl Queen Collection is not sold where I live!!! I’ve been to Walgreens, Wal-mart, Target & Eckerd I haven’t seen it anywhere. I have yet to find a foundation that matches my skin without costing me an arm & leg or make me look like Golden Brooks.
Hmmmm. . . that Sheer Soul look is so flawlessly fly that I might just try this makeup thing one. more. time. Thanks for keeping us current Afrobella – you are appreciated!
Thanks for the product reviews. I love a nice inexpensive eyeshadow and these may just fit the bill!
I actually tried the Queen brown bronze foundation a few weeks ago, but ended up returning it to my local Walmart. When I applied it, it looked red instead of my natural brown color. I have brown skin with yellow undertones, and have found that the Iman foundation in earth color #3 worked much better for my undertones. Has anyone else used Iman cosmetics with good or bad results?
Cool-Caramel, I ADORE the Iman stick foundation! That was my go-to coverup for a while, and I used it until the tube ran out. These days I’ve been trying to use the stuff I already have, and I did notice that the brown bronze foundations had a red undertone. I have a yellow undertone too (in high school they nicknamed me Yellows, actually), so I always have a problem with shades like that. But the light bronze worked with my undertone. Maybe the Queen Collection needs more shades in their middle range, more variety in the Brown Bronze section.
I haven’t been able to track down the Queen collection either. The Targets around here just stock regular CoverGirl products. No love for Latifah.
In response the cool carmel…I use Iman foundation and have for several years…my big pay off..i live in Arizona and here her line in now available in Walgreens…from 20 bucks down to 10…how is that for deal…i love it…i use a little spritz of water thins it out..looks more nautrual less made up..Bella thanks for the eyeshadow tip..i am going to check out the blues….Thanks!
bella i love her foundation. it was quite a surprise when i tried it and it worked! some of the glosses though seem to be repackaged cover girl stuff. i bought just about every quad in the line because i love queen, but aside from the blue quad a lot of the colors aren’t the bold colors i prefer, though for the not-so-makeup-inclined it makes it wearable on a daily basis. i still love the effort and seeing queen look so beautiful in the ads!
Queen Latifah has shunned the mammy roles. I think we are used to seeing plus-size Black women as nannies or maids. I loved “Livin’ Single” because she was portrayed as a confident, entrepreneurial woman who always got the guy. (Sidebar: Did Candace Bushnell rip off Livin’ Single?) She gave many women hope, and when she became a “Cover Girl” I was very pleased. Her makeup is flawless, and her stylists put her in clothes.
oops I meant to say in flattering clothes. 😀 Of course, she should be wearing clothes LOL!
Great blog! I’ve got an important event coming up this month in miami. I’ve got a carribean complexion similar to yours meaning it’s made up of all the flavors of a good pelau. Where do you suggest I start looking for good foundation etc or possibly a makeover in the dade area? Thanks for your help.
The Queen collection is no where to be found here in Toronto. In fact none of the cosmetic companies carry any of their products here in the “darker” shades. I complained about it and was told that it does not sell?!? Its actually something that I would like to launch a complaint against. The only options are MAC, Fashion Fair, Iman or Prescriptives which are not exactly as inexpensive an option as The Queen collection. This discrimmination of Black women and women of darker complextions in the industry really needs to be blown wide open. We should be able to walk into any drug store at any time and buy the same make up a Caucasian woman can in OUR shades.
@cool-caramel Re: Iman, I’ve tried her cream to powder foundation but it is not “oil-free” and caused me to break out. Are there any oil-free options?
I recently went to Walgreens and bought the Queen latifah’s lip gloss in Pearled Peach. I did not like it at all. I mean the color was nice and all, but when I left it on for no more than a few minutes, my lips started to feel funny. They felt like they were going numb..ugh..so please believe I will be returning that mess back to Walgreens. I guess I will have to stick with the MAC lip stuff……
APPLEDIVA: the sitcom FRIENDS ripped off Living Single. Exact same format.
The Queen Collection is not carried in a lot of stores around me either. I was lucky enough to find it when I was visiting a friend 2 hours away at Target. I have to say that it is the best foundation I have used. I have a MAC foundation that I use as well but I prefer the Queen Collection better. I was so pissed when it was lost on a trip back home to my parents house. I guess my mother secretly stole it from me. I have to get another bottle ASAP.
I have looked & looked here in San Diego no love for the Queen collection here either. I was shocked to find Iman in Target not in the black niehborhood?
London somwhere lol