REVIEW + SWATCHES: Pony Effect Cover Up Pro Concealer (Ivory, Beige, Buff)

Not everyone is born with flawless blemish-free skin and I totally understand the struggle as I'm personally dealing with many skin issues myself (which will all be exposed below, yikes)! However, that's the beauty of makeup! With the right base products and tools, you can learn to cover up almost any imperfection on the surface of the skin and today, I'm reviewing one that's been helping me A LOT: the Pony Effect Cover Up Pro Concealer!

If you're currently dealing with blemishes, scars, redness and/or dark under-eyes, you might want to listen up because the Cover Up Pro Concealer has helped me conceal even some of the toughest imperfections, including a cystic acne bump (or two). Plus, one of the most notable things is that the shade range now expands out to include shade 25, and though it's still not a huge range to say the least, it's definitely a much needed improvement! 

PONY EFFECT COVER UP PRO CONCEALER

"Cover Up Pro Concealer by Pony Effect instantly covers blemishes and hides acne scars, hyperpigmentation, and skin imperfections for a natural-looking, even complexion. An advanced water wrapping system ensures moisture stays locked in to prevent unsightly creasing and cracking. Just a little dab of this high-coverage concealer goes a long way, as it leaves a long-lasting, smooth, and semi-matte finish." Source: Memebox Product Page

INGREDIENTS:

#13 FAIR: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Titanium Dioxide, Polybutene, Mica, Isodecyl neopentanoate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Ceresin, CI 77492, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Methicone, CI 77491, Caprylyl Glycol, Squalane, CI 77499, Water, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Narcissus Tazetta Bulb Extract, Chloropenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract

#21 IVORY: Titanium Dioxide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polybutene, Mica, Isodecyl neopentanoate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, CI 77492, Ceresin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Methicone, CI 77491, Caprylyl Glycol, CI 77499, Squalane, Water, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Narcissus Tazetta Bulb Extract, Chloropenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract

#23 BEIGE: Titanium Dioxide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polybutene, Mica, Isodecyl neopentanoate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, CI 77492, Ceresin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Aluminum Hydroxide, CI 77491, Methicone, Caprylyl Glycol, CI 77499, Squalane, Water, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Narcissus Tazetta Bulb Extract, Chloropenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract

#25 BUFF: Titanium Dioxide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polybutene, Mica, Isodecyl neopentanoate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, CI 77492, Ceresin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Aluminum Hydroxide, CI 77491, Methicone, Caprylyl Glycol, CI 77499, Squalane, Water, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Narcissus Tazetta Bulb Extract, Chloropenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract

***All shades are FREE from: MIT, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Alcohol, Silicones, TEA, PEG, Triclosan, Talc, Parabens, Sulfates, Propylene Glycol, Coal Tar, Formaldehyde-releasers, Dye, Mineral Oil, Formaldehyde, Phthalates

PRODUCT WEIGHT: 3g

RETAIL PRICE: $17

The Cover Up Pro Concealer comes in a lightweight, miniature compact completely coated in a mirrored rose gold finish. Featuring an easy-to-use snap/shut closure, the slim compact is very portable and reminds me of a shiny coin (but obviously much bigger). Not only is the concealer housed inside the compact, but there's also a mirror! It's a small mirror that allows you to view maybe a quarter to a third of your face, but it's a very useful addition since you're able to check up on your blemishes and apply touch-ups on the go.

The slim, portable compact coupled with the included mirror makes this product an easy choice for traveling with or carrying along in a purse. Packaging is definitely a win for me, however, note that the compact case attracts endless fingerprints! 

There are currently 4 shades available for the Cover Up Pro Concealer, so the range is still pretty limited despite their expansion to include #25 in their base products. I'm not sure of my exact skin tone at the moment but I feel like NC25-30 is a good guess! For reference, I currently wear the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger (it's a tad dark for me, but the shade up, Custard, is too light I think) and generally I'm a light-to-medium skin tone.

If I had to compare, Buff would be the Ginger (Nars RCC) equivalent and good for those around NC30 and maybe even those a bit darker. On my skin, Beige is slightly too light, but Buff is slightly too dark, however once blended out the shades are pretty forgiving on the skin. 

The shade range consists of mostly warm hues with a few different undertones - most are yellow, while some may have an added bit of peach or golden tones to it.

Out of the four shades, Memebox kindly sent me the darker 3 to review: 

#21 IVORY   |   #23 BEIGE   |   #25 BUFF

#21 IVORY 
Ivory is a light beige with yellow undertones.

#23 BEIGE

Beige is a natural beige with warm yellow undertones.

#25 BUFF

Buff is a warm sand beige with golden undertones.

The Cover Up Pro Concealers have a smooth and creamy formula that's lightweight and breathable on the skin. The creaminess makes them easy to blend and they set to a semi-matte finish. It's a very pigmented concealer that offers high opaque coverage, while also maintaining a very natural "second skin" like appearance! The concealer is able to cover up imperfections such as blemishes, redness, discoloration and etc very easily without looking cakey or "too much", but use it sparingly because a little goes a long way!

The concealer can be applied with a brush or your fingers! Personally, I like applying with my fingers to sort of "melt" the product onto the skin for better adherence and application.

If you have dry/dehydrated/or flaky skin, beware that this concealer clings to dry patches and flaky skin, thus accentuating them and making them much more noticeable! The best way to apply these is to spot conceal by dabbing on the product (rather than rubbing the product around), which can help eliminate the problem. It's crucial to apply a good moisturizer, and it might help to exfoliate as well. 

In this Before + After, you can see the concealer bunching up around the drier patches on my skin. Nonetheless, it does a really decent job with masking redness, discoloration, and blemishes!



Sorry about the difference in lighting! I was using natural sunlight to capture the true essence of the concealer, but the sun just wasn't staying consistent with me. But below, I was going through a cystic acne bump on my chin as well as some acne scars and the concealer helped cover all of that!



The Cover Up Pro Concealer probably isn't intended for masking dark circles, but I wanted to try it out on it regardless since my lack of sleep (darn you, college!) made it really bad the day I was taking photos. SO YES, WE'RE PUTTING THESE CONCEALERS TO THE ULTIMATE TEST!

AND.... It worked really well! I wouldn't recommend it if you have drier under-eyes, but these provided very decent coverage. It does settle in fine lines a bit, but even with after 8 hours of wear there was very minimal creasing, and I didn't even set it!

Performance-wise, the Cover Up Pro Concealer is very long-lasting . My blemishes were still decently covered, and not much is really peeking through at the 8 hour mark. It holds up really well, but the most troublesome areas were around the drier parts of skin - it made those areas flake more after 7-8 hours of wear but still, it was not super noticeable.  

Here is my full face comparison with just concealer, no foundation or any other makeup! It's definitely a major, MAJOR improvement! It may not be the BEST concealer around, but it does a pretty dang good job at concealing and covering up my flaws.

And, here's my finished look after adding on a light layer of cushion foundation, some bronzer, blush, and highlighter!

FINAL THOUGHTS

I've always gravitated more towards liquid concealers for some unexplained reason. I just find them super easy to work with as you just swipe some on and blend (and it even replaces my need for foundation sometimes)! However, the Cover Up Pro Concealer definitely has some advantages too: (1) they offer much more opaque coverage, (2) they're very lightweight & natural-looking on the skin, and (3) a little truly goes a looooong way.

Sadly, this concealer has a tendency to cling to dry patches and accentuate flaky skin making it a bit difficult to blend, so those with dry/dehydrated skin might not like this. It also requires a bit more effort while prepping your skin, like making sure to use a really good hydrating moisturizer and maybe even exfoliate the skin before use! I found that the best way to apply this concealer is with your finger and to dab the product on rather than rub it around. Other than that though, I'm pretty impressed with this concealer as it offers long-lasting high coverage even with 8 hours of wear! 

WHERE TO BUY?

The Pony Effect Cover Up Pro Concealer (3g) retails for $17 and is available HERE!

Check out the entire Pony Effect Collection available HERE!

Disclaimer: These products were sent to me for reviewing purposes by Memebox, however all reviews are my own honest opinions. Post contains affiliate links.