The recent news that Coty is looking for a buyer for the Rimmel and CoverGirl brands (among others) has brought the CoverGirl Clean Fresh Clean Color Eyeshadows back to the top of my mind. I tried them several months ago, and to be honest, I’ve been putting off this review lol. In the last couple of years, I’ve made it a point to reacquaint myself with drugstore makeup, and checking out these eyeshadow quads was part of that. I have a soft spot for CoverGirl, so I always expect great things, but these quads didn’t impress me. I purchased the shades 252 Spiced Copper and 262 Golden Toffee. The CoverGirl Clean Color Eyeshadow Quads are cruelty-free, talc-free, fragrance-free, and vegan.
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**CoverGirl Clean Fresh Clean Color Eyeshadow ($13.99, 252 Spiced Copper and 262 Golden Toffee) Swatches
The matte eyeshadows are ok. Each of the quads I bought has one smooth shimmer, which is also ok. But each of the quads also has a chunkier, loosely packed shimmer that was such a mess, I couldn’t be bothered with them after my initial test of the quads. I prefer a drier texture for my eyeshadows, as I’m not a fan of messy ones, and that texture really annoyed me. Lastly, they each have a matte with shimmer running through it, which I don’t really like in any palette. Most of the shimmer does dust away, but what is left still leaves me wishing these were plain matte eyeshadows. Except for the messy shade (far right in each quad), the swatches gave me high hopes, but the actual performance on my eyes wasn’t great. They look a little dry on me, and despite the amount of pigment that I see when swatching the metallics, I didn’t feel like I got very good payoff on my eyes. Unfortunately, these just didn’t work out for me.
**  | $ 13.99 SalePrice $ 13.99 RegularPrice |
| CoverGirl Clean Fresh Clean Color Eyeshadow – Golden Toffee | |
Did I buy Expired Eyeshadows?
I had heard good reviews about these, so I checked the batch codes and discovered that the quads I purchased were already 3 years old. My issues with the dryness and texture of the 4th shade may have been due to the eyeshadows drying out over time. I’m not moved enough to find out if a newer batch code would work out better. Plus, hearing the news that Coty is looking to sell the CoverGirl brand doesn’t give me much hope for how much will be invested into the brand in the meantime.
Final Thoughts on Coty’s Possible Sale of CoverGirl
When CoverGirl went cruelty-free in 2018 (just 2 years after being acquired by Coty), I expected the brand to gain popularity and become a more attractive option at the drugstore. If they did, it didn’t last long enough. Although that was quite some time ago, I still see a lot of discourse around people avoiding L’Oreal and Maybelline because they are not cruelty-free. So, I just thought that more people would flock to CoverGirl, and one of the larger brands in the drugstore, which is cruelty-free. And I’m not trying to say that other brands aren’t seeing sales declines (because they are), but I did expect CoverGirl to add value to Coty’s portfolio, rather than become an element that is dragging it down. I’m also shocked that the **Simply Ageless Skin Perfector Essence Foundation, which was lauded as a Chanel dupe, didn’t stay in people’s minds for long. They more recently released the **Trublend Skin Enhancer Balm Sticks, which come in blush, bronzer, and highlight versions, and had a brief moment of excitement. Today’s rapid pace of beauty releases makes it hard for products to gain traction. I was hoping to see some additional shade expansions in CoverGirl’s Trublend Blushes and Trublend Bronzers, but I guess I will have to wait and see what the brand can accomplish during these uncertain times.
What do you think about Coty trying to sell CoverGirl and Rimmel? Do you think it’ll be easy to find a buyer? Do you have any favorites from these brands?
If you’d like to check out more of my content, here are some places to start.
- Blush Index
- Brands A-Z
- Bronzer & Highlighter Index
- Brush Index
- Concealer Ranking
- Eyeshadow Index
- Foundation Round-Up
- Lipstick Index
- Makeup Storage and Organization Ideas
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Nikki From HR 
The metallics were pretty , but it’s honestly hard to find a good drugstore shadow that performs well , at least for me . I’ve been burned by covergirl , and wet n wild shadow formula’s before . But I do like other products like blushes and highlighters that are drugstore . I wonder if a sticky primer could help you salvage those shadows ?
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Shadows usually cling to my MAC primer pretty well, but I’m sure something stickier like the NYX glitter glue would be better. An that is true for me as well, I don’t tend to like drugstore eyeshadow as much as my higher end options.
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