MONIKA BLUNDER BLUNDER COVER | WORTH THE HYPE?

 

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After a much-hyped launch in the UK on Cult Beauty, I decided to treat myself to the Monika Blunder Blunder Cover (4.5 Vier) | £45 | and the Call Your Bluff Angled Brush | £34 | on sale, but were they worth all the buzz and are they worth your money...?

This product is essentially a solid balm complexion product and I totally get why celebrity makeup artist Monika Blunder would create something like this as a kit essential, but it definitely seems to have a lot of appeal outside of being a niche MUA product. I guess some of that comes from the fact you can use this really easily on-the-go and when travelling (if you want to cut down on your liquids); in theory you could have shades for contouring, highlighting and one to match your true skin tone (or several to match tonal variations across your complexion). The coverage is 'buildable', meaning you can sheer it out, to apply it to your face for example, or build it up, say to conceal under the eyes.

I decided to start with this product by picking up a shade to match my skin tone, though I have to say: I did struggle and I'm not totally happy with the one I have! I chose the shade 4.5 Vier online but the jumps between this shade, 4.25 and 5 were pretty huge. Whilst in theory I could've picked up 4.25 too, I felt like this was already a pricey product and I didn't really want to double the amount I was spending on a formula I hadn't yet tried. If you use me as a shade reference (I know a few of you do): this will probably be fine on me during the summer, I think, and it's not too far off matching my neck, it just looks very orange once applied. It's fine once my full face is done, but I don't love this shade for me. I dove a little into the shades outside of my bracket and the jumps are really quite big for a product that's designed to be built into quite an opaque coverage; it's not like this is a tinted moisturiser. It's also just not that varied on the deeper end of the spectrum: you get just 2 options.

Swatched with two swipes

In terms of application, you might like to apply this with the warmth of your fingers (given it's a solid), but I actually really enjoy this brush as a tightly-packed option; I actually think this density is perfect for spreading and buffing this kind of makeup product. It can also be used for cream contour and blush.

It's a kind of balm that melts into something a little more moisturising, though I'd still say it has a 'natural skin' finish once applied. It's not too dewy, it's definitely not matte either, on my skin (which is normal-to-dry) when it's prepped as usual with lots of hydrating good stuff. I like how it applies - I thought that with it being a more solid product, I might get some pilling as I buffed it in over my sunscreen but I've experienced no such issues. I personally like to apply a light layer and build it up where I want the extra coverage and I feel like it naturally works best as a medium coverage, as the solid texture makes it harder to get a really sheer finish. However, if you're going out for the evening and want a more flawless finish: it still looks good and not at all cakey if built into a full coverage.

In terms of longevity, I do feel this product has good staying power - even after a longer work day, I don't feel it's gone patchy or disappeared over the hours of wear. I'd just say it does get a little more glow-y throughout the day. It's not an issue for me, but if you're oily, you might want to use a matte primer and / or top up with powder in your problem areas during the day.

All-in-all, is it worth the hype for me? Well, I do totally see the potential in this product, but I just think for my personal makeup preferences, I find the more whipped formula of the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer more versatile (I like mixing it with moisturiser, for example). I do appreciate the longevity and the way the finish should suit most skin types, but the shade range just isn't good enough for me to recommend this! I think you could spend a lot of money trying to create the right shade here and still not quite be satisfied; I personally think with a product that's designed to have that fuller-coverage potential, you need a pretty decent match and a lot of people won't find that in this range. I will finish this product but I wouldn't buy more shades or repurchase. On the bright side, though: the brush really is great!

Check out my demo Reel here.

Have you tried Blunder Cover?

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