Cover Girl Makeup: Lash Blast, Clean Fresh and Drugstore Rivals

In 1961, in Maryland, the company behind Noxzema launched a line of makeup and called it medicated. The first collection had six products, and the pitch leaned on the same camphor, menthol and eucalyptus that Noxzema was known for. Two years later a 14-year-old named Jennifer O'Neill became the brand's face. Makeup borrowed from the medicine cabinet, worn by a teenager. That is the origin of one of the most familiar names on any drugstore aisle.

COVERGIRL, or Cover Girl as most people type it, has had a long career since. Procter & Gamble bought it in 1989, Coty completed its merger with P&G's specialty beauty business in October 2016 and now runs it, and the slogans keep changing. "Easy, breezy, beautiful" arrived in 1997, and "I Am What I Make Up" in 2017. The brand says it is Leaping Bunny certified by Cruelty Free International, and its Clean Fresh line is made without sulfates, formaldehyde, phthalates, parabens and talc, with coconut milk and aloe. I find it funny that a brand which started as medicated makeup has come back around to skin first.

The trick is to shop it by category, not by everything at once. Start with eyes. Lash Blast Volume is the lead mascara of the set, and Exhibitionist Stretch & Strengthen is the second one if you like length. Perfect Point Plus is the eye pencil. For skin, Clean Fresh Skin Milk Foundation is the lighter base and Simply Ageless Skin Perfector Essence Foundation is the one for skin that would like a little care in the bottle. For lips, there is Outlast All-Day Lip Color With Topcoat for wear, Clean Fresh Yummy Lip Gloss for shine and Clean Fresh Tinted Lip Balm for everything in between.

Brush your brows up before you fill them. Half of a good brow is just the hairs standing in the right direction, and most of the pencil is there to tidy the gaps.

COVERGIRL has three quietly good brow tools. Clean Fresh Brow Enhancer Gel is the clear, brushed-up one. Easy Breezy Brow Micro-Fine + Define is the pencil, with a fine tip for small strokes. Use them in that order and you will look like you did nothing.

TruBlend is the cheek family. The Skin Enhancer Baked Luminous Blush and Bronzer are baked powders, and the Balm Blush Stick is the one I would tuck in a coat pocket. The TruBlend Luminizer is the highlight of the set. Dab the stick on first and sweep the baked blush lightly over the top, and the colour will look like it came from you.

Powders are a choice between two. Clean Fresh Pressed Powder is the compact, and Clean Invisible Loose Powder is the one to reach for when you do not want any visible finish.

What I would skip: baked bronzer and loose powder in the same sitting on a warm day. Pick one, and let the skin show through.

Run a fair test. Put the COVERGIRL mascara on one eye and a rival on the other, and look in the mirror at the end of the day. Nothing beats a side-by-side.

The drugstore aisle is crowded with good options. Maybelline's Lash Sensational Sky High is the obvious rival for Lash Blast. Maybelline's SuperStay Matte Ink is a liquid lipstick for a long day. L'Oréal Paris' True Match is a super-blendable foundation that competes with the Clean Fresh Skin Milk. Revlon's PhotoReady Concealer is a good companion if the base leaves something behind.

NYX Professional Makeup brings Buttermelt Pressed Powder Blush and the Micro Brow Pencil, and they sit well beside the COVERGIRL brow pencil. e.l.f. Cosmetics has Camo Liquid Blush and Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm, which makes a nice blush-and-balm duo. Mixing brands is the whole point of drugstore shopping.

A pairing I like: COVERGIRL mascara on the eyes with e.l.f. Camo Liquid Blush on the cheeks. Keep the eyes from one brand and the cheeks from another, and the morning stays easy.

What I would skip: buying a full new routine in a single trip. Try one new thing per week and keep what you use.

Curl before mascara, never after. A curler on coated lashes can pull them, and the curl holds better with the mascara on top.

Tweezerman's ProMaster curler is shaped for almond and deep-set eyes, which is a useful detail if regular curlers never seem to catch your lashes. Revlon's Triple Step is the simple one, and tarte's Picture Perfect Lash Curler is the third option. Try the shapes against your own eye if you can, because a curler that does not match your lash line will not curl evenly, and the fit matters more than the brand.

For base, Beautyblender's Resetter Reusable Blotting Sponge is a useful reset for a shiny midday. The Power Pocket Puff is for setting and baking. Sephora Collection's Flawless Complexion Angled Sponge reaches the corners of the nose, and the Pillow Dream set gives you spares. Laura Mercier's Velour Puff is the classic way to press on loose powder.

A little powder on a velour puff goes a long way: press it into the T-zone and the under-eyes, then fold the puff over and tap off the extra before it touches your face. The same puff works for any loose powder you already own, including the COVERGIRL one from the second grid.

What I would skip: sharing a damp sponge. Wash it often and let it dry fully.

For most people, I would start with Lash Blast Volume, a curler and one brow product. That is three small things and a real difference in a face. Add a base only when you know your shade, and try the Clean Fresh Tinted Lip Balm if you want colour without effort.

The brand began in 1961 with six products and a medicated pitch. A cover girl in the Noxzema days got camphor and menthol. You get a mascara, a balm and a choice, which I would call progress. Keep the receipt habit, too: if a shade looks off in daylight, bring it back. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Chanel Makeup and Naked Sundays.