Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Super-Charged Foundation & Remedy Concealer Pen Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:32:53 +0000

Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Super-Charged Foundation

Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Super-Charged Foundation ($48.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is supposed to be a gel-based formula that is “anti-aging, long-wearing” and “awakens your skin to its ideal radiance and clarity.” The coverage is supposed to be buildable from natural to full coverage, and it is supposed to have “supreme hydration.”

I tried Ivory Medium (14), which is most certainly not my shade (it appears to be the second lightest shade in the spectrum). I’ve included a photo below, but it’s a very sheer application so that most my natural skin tone can come through more and ended up having to apply loose powder (in a shade just darker than my natural skin tone) to make it presentable. Ivory Medium has a soft yellow undertone and a natural satin finish. It’s a little lighter than my forearm, which is light-medium. The very first thing you absolutely need to know is that this foundation is heavily fragranced–one of the most perfumed formulas I have tried. I don’t even remember Chanel being this scented. It smelled like stale flowers to me, but I’m not keen on floral scents (there just seemed to be something off about the scent, though), and I loathed wearing this foundation for every second because of the lingering, all-day scent.

From afar, the foundation looks fine, photographs nicely without any flashback. It has a lightly thickened liquid consistency that spreads evenly across the skin and has a wet, cool feel. It’s completely unforgiving to dry patches, though, and I thought maybe it would be more forgiving after a few hours (because this is touted as hydrating), but it just got worse. I have normal-to-dry skin, but this accentuated any dryness to the point where anyone talking to me would notice the foundation clinging to each piece of imperfect skin. Part of this seemed to be ensuring not to apply more than a light layer of product, and the best way to apply this was with a sponge (like a Beautyblender) over a brush, as most brushes seemed to give it a rather streaky finish. I was able to build to about medium coverage, but it starts to look thick and slightly caked on the skin.

It wears eight hours well, and then it starts looking faded/patchy in places (beyond just the drier areas) after ten hours of wear, so the wear-time was good. I wouldn’t say much longer than average, and I live in a dry climate (California), so I can’t say I’ve tested this under extreme conditions.

Marc Jacobs Bright Idea Remedy Concealer Pen ($39.00 for 0.08 oz.) is described as “an all-in-one eraser, brightener, and corrector.” It’s available in nine shades, and the one I tried was Bright Idea, which is a universal shade. It’s a pale pink with warm, pink undertones. It worked well to camouflage dark under eye circles and smudges (I’m wearing it on my left eye, which is on your right). The consistency is thin, not as thin as water but still quite liquid. It offers light-medium to medium coverage, and it takes a few minutes to really set in place. I would recommend applying, and then checking as you continue to do your makeup or get ready to blend the product again, because it will settle into creases as it sets. Once I’ve let it set and blended away any initial creasing, it doesn’t settle into my fine lines for the rest of the seven hours it wears well. After seven hours, the darkness seems to come back slowly but surely over the next few hours. It comes in a click-type pen, and the applicator is made out of palladium, so it is cool to the touch.

Remedy Concealer Pen

$39.00.

B-

8.5

Product

8.5

Pigmentation

8.5

Texture

7.5

Longevity

Application

82%

Total

Genius Gel Super-Charged Foundation

$48.00.

C-