Pony effect cover up pro concealer Review + swatches

You know I love me some Pony effect but unfortunately, I haven’t got the chance to try her base make up due to the SPF laws in North America, prohibiting products with SPF that isn’t tested in North America to be brought in.  Luckily this time around, her “cover up pro concealers” didn’t have any SPF in it, hence it being able to pass through the borders and into Memebox US. I personally have been getting into trying out a lot of K-beauty concealers (click here for my K-beauty concealer overview) so I was excited to add another one to my collection.  Unfortunately for me and my dry skin, I find it hard to use any type of balm or potted thick cream products since it usually makes my skin dry looking.  We will have to see so let’s get started!

Full name of product:
Pony effect cover up pro concealer

Limited edition/ Permanent?:
Permanent

Description of product:
“Cover up! This cute little cream concealer is perfect for touching up your makeup on the go. Little goes a long way as it instantly covers blemishes with the tiniest amount. – Built-in mirror – High coverage – Semi-matte finish – Long-lasting”

Price:
18,000 won

Amount of product:
3 g

Duration before expiration:
2 years

Country of Manufacture:
Made in Korea
Manufactured by Memebox Inc.

Animal testing?:
Pony effect products are all animal testing free

Where to buy:
Amazon

Shades available:

Ingredients:
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

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

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

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

How to use:
Depending on your preference, you can either use these before or after foundation.  If you are using this after foundation, dab or brush some of the product onto concern spots and blend away.

Product packaging:
I seriously have the hardest time photographing reflective products because it just looks like this.  This is what I get for using a white background haha but then I have been using the white background for all of the Pony effect product reviews to date so I don’t want to change the uniform now.  Anyways, the packaging for this cream concealer comes in the signature rose gold compact that is surprisingly slim.  The compact measures 4.7 cm in diameter and 1 cm in width.  On the front of the compact, there is the usual “Pony effect” logo and on the back, there is the usual information such as name of product, manufacture company, etc.

To open and close the compact, it has the regular clasp in the front.  Flipping open the compact reveals a nice sized mirror which you can see a quarter of your face.  The mirror is actually a really nice addition since concealers usually don’t have mirrors.  You can also adjust the mirror to sit however way you like it.  45 degrees, 20 degrees, whatever. It does not however flip all the way down to 180 degrees since it stops at around 130 degrees.

Color/ Pigmentation:
Pony effect, along with Etude House, espoir and a couple other K-beauty companies, are the only ones advanced in the shade range game.  Most K-beauty companies either have only one shade or maximum three shades for you to choose from.  Rarely have I seen four shades of concealers to choose from so I’d have to applaud her for doing that.  She also has 7 shades for her BB cushions, something I hope the rest of the road shop brands to do since we aren’t frinkin’ 2 shades of pale PEOPLE!  Like how they described this concealer to be, these are definitely high coverage since with just one swipe, they are true to colour to what appears in the pan.

*Please excuse the single photo shots. For some reason, they are looking super duper orange and dark.  I think the rose gold reflection was messing up my white balance.  Please refer to the show with all four lined up or the swatches down below for a more accurate and life like shade range.*

Fair: Light cool tone pink undertone shade (Mac NC10-15)
Ivory: Light yellow undertoned shade (Mac NC20)
Beige: Medium yellow undertone shade (Mac NC25)
Buff: Warm yellow undertone shade (approximately Mac NW30-35)

Please note the Mac cosmetic comparisons are only from viewing the shades online and not ones I have on hand.  That is the best way I could give you guys a little more information on what the shades look like on skin.  All of these are super pigmented and densely packed with pigment.  Personally I couldn’t find the perfect shade for me since I was somewhere in the middle of Ivory and Beige.  I used mostly “ivory” on my skin but if I got any darker, I’d have to mix if with “beige”.

Texture/ Finish:
Unfortunately for me and my dry skin, these cream concealer’s semi-matte finish doesn’t really work for me.  I usually stick to liquid concealers since I don’t need that much coverage first off, but also because cream products tend to stick to my dry patches all the time.  These were no exception and did just that.  On the day of my shoot, I had some nice red blemishes on my cheek and chin since my period was just around the corner.  I tested the concealers out on my blemishes and they caught onto every little crack and dry patch.  I tried to blend it out with my finger, with a puff, with a brush, nothing really helped with the dryness.  I even tried patting some moisturizing primer onto the puff and dabbing it over but that just made it worse since it rubbed off.  So if you have dry skin or dislike high coverage products since they usually feel heavy on the skin, this product may not be to your liking.

Okay let’s test this product out.  I personally don’t have crazy blemishes, just little ones here and there and a bit of redness I’d like to cover.  I already have my base make up on and just a little bit of lip balm as well.

Dabbing some of the concealer onto my redness and blemishes…

And there ya go.  It doesn’t look too shabby from afar but since I’m picky on how I’d like my make up to look, I prefer a dewy or satin finish so my dry patches doesn’t get more accentuated.  The coverage is definitely medium to high.  I tried to use it over my eyes but that was horrendous since the formula is so dry, it just made me look ten times older.

Look closely and you’ll see the concealer kind of bunching up.  My pet peeve!

Coverage:
These concealers definitely have a medium to high coverage.  With that formulation, it does tend to be on the drying side so you have been warned.

Lasting power:
Although these were looking hella dry already with the first application, these did last long, about 8-9+ hours.  It did get dryer and dryer looking for me personally which isn’t something I like but for the sake of testing out the product, that’s what I gotta do.

Fragrance?:
No fragrance detected.

Pro:
-comes in four shades
-has a mirror inside
-slim compact
-medium to high coverage

Con:
-doesn’t work that great for dry skin

Repurchase?:
Most likely not due to personal preference.

Stars given out of 5:
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall thoughts:
Although I personally didn’t enjoy these concealers, I can see a lot of you guys out there who enjoys high coverage concealers to maybe be able to use these better then I could.  I always stay away from cream products whether they are concealers or foundations, they never work for me.  I’m always open to try new products since you never know if they are good or not, but unfortunately these fell short due to my own personal preference and skin type.  I can see people with combo or oily skin type really enjoying these since the adherence is really nice and it does have high coverage, it just didn’t work out for me.  Overall I personally will pass on these but I think some of you guys out there not with dry skin may enjoy these.

Are there any cream concealers out there that will work for dry skin types (Korean or western)?  I’m still on the hunt for some amazing concealers so let me know what are your favourite concealers down in the comment section!  I look forward to hearing your recommendations.

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