Pop Studio by Sarah Geronimo review

Pop Studio Sarah Geronimo review, price, swatch

PRICE: P1,199/set

FROM: Shopee

OTHER LOCATIONS: Available at select SM Department Stores, beautybeat.ph, and Shopee

THE VERDICT:

Sarah Geronimo is the latest celebrity to enter the world of beauty entrepreneurship with Pop Studio. Made under iFace, the same makers of Lustrous by Nadine Lustre, this is the second celebrity- driven cosmetics line added to their portfolio and is officially launching this Friday through a concert.

I started listening to her songs after hearing the song 'Tala' in a visit to OBar, an LGBT club in Ortigas; I loved the song and this prompted me to look deeper into her discography. Sarah G., I realized, has pretty good songs! Great melody, great lyrics, and of course, phenomenal voice. I've been a fan ever since and yes, you can call me a Popster. :) My favorite songs of hers are Forever's Not Enough (OG Sarah G. song!), Kilometro, Misteryo, and of course, Tala.

I'm pretty excited to try her makeup line so I bought a set right away when it launched in Shopee. My thoughts on her makeup line below!

Pop Cosmetics' concept is 'YOUR BEAUTY BFF' because the products are all dual; each makeup features two complementing products to cover everything you need to achieve a great base, brows, eye makeup, and lip look. 

Pop Studio offers individual products and sets; there are lipstick sets and the main one is playfully called Pop Album, which is a reference to Sarah G.'s music icon status.

Pop Album comes in three sets: 1 for fair skin, 2 for medium skin, and 3 for dark skin. I got 3.

The products included in the set are:

1. Blush/Contour
2. Dual mascara
3. Lip and Cheek Tint Duo
4. Foundation/Concealer
5. Lipstick/Lip Balm
6. Duo eyeliner
7. Brow pencil/Browcara
8. Translucent/Pressed Powder

Based on the photos, a lot of people thought that the packaging seemed "like a toy", but when you hold the products, they're not anything like a toy; packaging is okay and decent.

Let's check out the swatches and the featured shades inside Pop Album 3:

1. Tempo Lip and Cheek Tint in 01 (P299)- one side of the cheek tint has a doe foot applicator, which is ideal for targeted application and the other one has a paddle applicator, which is ideal for covering large areas like the cheeks.

First tint is a deep purple color; the other one is a brownish red, reminiscent of Lustrous Lip and Cheek Tint in Vermilion.

2. Minors Liquid Eyeliner Pen Duo in 01 (P249)- one end of the eyeliner is a big, thicker applicator and the other end features a smaller one for precision lining.

3. Majors Brow Pencil and Brow Mascara Duo in 01 (P299)- One side features a semi- creamy brow pencil that's smaller in terms of volume, just because packaging had to make way for the brow mascara. Meanwhile, the brow mascara has medium pigmentation, semi- watery consistency, and yields light hold.

4. Covers Foundation Stick and Liquid Concealer in 03 (P349)- The foundation stick yields medium to full coverage and a soft matte finish and shade is a warm beige with a yellow undertone. The concealer yields medium coverage and shade is a warm peach.

5. Hits Matte Lipstick and Lip Balm in 04 (P249)- The lipstick has a matte finish with pretty good pigmentation. The lip balm has an appetizing floral vanilla fragrance and lightly moisturizing texture that's perfect to be used under lipstick because it's not goopy and too runny.

6. Tones Blush and Contour in 03 (P349)- The blush is a rosy plum shade and the contour powder is a deep taupe. Both have smooth texture, medium to heavy pigmentation, and matte finish; the powders don't seem to be pressed well in the pan though as I saw lots of powder crumbs scattered inside the compact when I opened it.

7. Duets Mattifying and Coverage Powder in 03 (P249)- The white powder is a mattifying pressed translucent powder and the other side is a regular pressed powder. The translucent powder yields a hint of white cast so I apply sparingly. Meanwhile, I love the pressed powder because it's a medium dark beige that suits my skin tone, coverage is medium to full, and overall fits my skintone; wish they would come out with a single version of the pressed powder.

Now it's time to test the products!

On the left side is my bare face; the other side is covered with two layers of the foundation stick.

The foundation has good pigmentation; I didn't wear it with any corrector and it managed to conceal my discolorations. It's also very blendable and doesn't look streaky; it also has good staying power: my t-zone oiled up after 4 hours of wear; promising considering the price!

I have an issue with the concealer though:

Bare under eyes

With one layer of the concealer

The concealer is blendable and all; I also like the hydrating formula, but I find it oddly darker than the foundation and it performs more of a corrector than a concealer; if you look closely in the photo, it did not brighten, but rather corrected the darkness on my eye bags; it didn't help also that the foundation is in the warm range so I didn't get the brightening effect I expect.

The contouring powder and blush, I like; the blush reminds me a bit of MAC Coygirl, which is a great plum-rosy shade for morenas. The contour and blush are very pigmented and look fairly natural on top of the skin. Staying power is okay; those with very oily skin will need to retouch during wear.

Bare Brow

With Brow pencil + Brow mascara

The brow pencil is a tad bit creamy so I need to comb it out in between application; it's pretty pigmented so sometimes, I only apply the product on the middle portion of my brows and spread it all over.

The brow mascara keeps tiny hair strands in place without giving off that crunchy look. However, I find that the mascara lightens up my brows more so I rarely use this; just the brow pencil.

Staying power is very good! I use the brow pencil to Crossfit and it holds up!

Bare lashes

With volumizing and lengthening masacara

The mascaras are just okay. I'm pretty hard to please when it comes to mascara because the benchmarks for me are Maybelline, Chanel, Lancome, and some Japanese brands so I don't gravitate towards anything that doesn't come close to the quality of these mascaras. I saw that there are people who loved Pop Studio's mascara so hey, maybe it may work for you, but it's something that I won't really recommend.

The eyeliner is one of my favorites as well because of the thin/thick applicator feature; it's also very pigmented, sets quickly, and lasts the whole day. 

Wearing the translucent powder on my t-zone, pressed powder on the rest

The translucent mattifying powder is okay; it's convenient, but nothing amazing about it. What I'm raving about is the pressed powder; I rarely find affordable pressed powders that match my skin tone so I really like this one, plus coverage and staying power is good at 3 hours before my skin oils up.

Lip and cheek tint

I tried doing an ombre look with the lip and cheek tint. Unfortunately, it is very patchy and the shade, not for everyone. I tried working this lip and cheek tint by applying it on top of dry lips and lip balm, but to no avail; it still is patchy. On the cheeks, it doesn't transfer well, plus it stains my fingers like crazy. There are a lot of lip and cheek tint formulas out there that are very workable so I hope Pop Studio will keep on looking and change the formula.

Lipstick in 04 + Lip balm

The lipstick has a comfortable feel, non- drying, and I love that it's moisturizing, but stays matte. The lip balm is also a good addition because aside from getting another product, it creates a good lipstick habit and that is to prep then color. The lip balm doesn't affect the finish of the lipstick in any way, plus it provides light hydration.

Overall, Pop Studio by Sarah G. is a good brand for the price; I also love the concept of putting together complementary products, which makes them ideal for traveling; they just have to work on the other products like the concealer, lip and cheek tint, and mascara; the powder duo, blush/contour, eyeliner duo, lipstick/lip balm duo, and brow pencil/brow mascara duo, I recommend! As for this set, it's a great gift, but if you're buying it for yourself, I suggest go for the singles first to know if the products will work for you.

Which Pop Studio products would you like to try?

POP STUDIO BY SARAH GERONIMO POP ALBUM 3 RATING