10 Worst Beauty Products of 2012

Christine — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 04:58:49 +0000

10 Worst Beauty Products of 2012

There have been several disappointing products released over the past year, but these are ten that really frustrated me… They’re in no particular order! Now that these are out of the way, we can end 2012 and start 2013 on a happy, positive note going over all the bests of the year

NARS Soft Touch Shadow Pencils — this product continues to plague me
Revlon Diamond Lust Eyeshadow — gorgeous in the pan, but welcome to Fall Out City!
Dior Swimming Pool — huge let down in pigmentation and texture
MAC Shade & Smoke Shadow/Liners — ow, ow!
NARS Self Portrait Eyeshadow Palettes — where was the pigmentation? (We could just say the Andy Warhol collection.)
MAC Pressed Pigments — still surprised these are permanent fixtures now
MAC Fabulousness Neutral Palette — poor pigmentation, wear, and texture
MAC Marilyn Monroe Eyeshadows — total disappointment
Chanel Infini Eyeshadow — doesn’t hold together at all
NARS Debbie Harry Palette — dry, powdery, sheer mess

What was the worst product you tried this year?

Dior Swimming Pool Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Dior Swimming Pool Eyeshadow Palette

Dior Swimming Pool Eyeshadow Palette

Dior Swimming Pool Eyeshadow Palette ($60.00 for 0.24 oz.) is one of two limited edition summer eyeshadow palettes from the brand, and while Aurora soared, Swimming Pool sinks (couldn’t resist!).

The upper left shade is an iridescent pink-peach with sheer color. It had a powdery texture, though it wasn’t as bad as other shades in the palette. Tarina Tarantino DIamond Dusk is similar but has no peach. Bobbi Brown Black Ruby ends up looking similar because it’s also very sheer. Make Up For Ever #940 is very similar but has a much stronger duochrome.

The upper right shade is a pale silver with sheer color payoff and a powdery finish. Tarina Tarantino Lovely has a similar silver but has a more frosted finish. Guerlain Les Aquas is similar but has a more metallic finish.

The center shade is a light-medium sky blue with a mostly matte finish. It is very powdery, and it’s one of the most pigmented out of the five–but it’s still on the sheer side and impossible to build up on the lid. I wore this in the crease, and I kept going back (four times!) to get mediocre color payoff. The powdery texture makes this extremely easy to blend into oblivion–it just disappears as soon as you attempt to soften the edge. Buxom Husky is a smidgen lighter. NYX Cool Blue is darker. MAC Styledriven is very similar but has a frosted finish. Inglot #367 is lighter.

The lower left shade is a seafoam green to the eye, but when applied, it’s a sheer iridescent aqua that seems to bunch up on itself and disappear in sections. It doesn’t like to blend, and it doesn’t apply evenly. Giorgio Armani Airy Jade was the most similar, though it’s more metallic. Cle de Peau #112 doesn’t have the same finish. Lancome Fashion Forward is greener.

The lower right shade is a pale, frosted beige–the high metallic finish makes it appear almost white, though. This was the other more pigmented shade in the palette, though it’s still on the sheerer side. The texture was also the least powdery. Dolce & Gabbana Jewels seemed the closest.

This palette is characterized by two things: sheer and chalky. Let’s throw in powdery, too, because nearly every shade kicks up a ton of excess powder even when you barely touch your brush to the pan. When I applied these eyeshadows to the lid over a primer and over bare lids, I still couldn’t get much color payoff, and they didn’t want to blend. The aqua shade disappeared and looked so uneven. The blue shade insisted on looking like a pale, pasty blue. I’m about medium in color, but it’s horrific on me–the chalkiness is just emphasized and exacerbated with the genuine chalky base of the shades. I think the only people who could possibly wear this would be really pale skin tones. What little manages to apply to the lid wears so-so; it seems a little faded after six hours or so both with and without a primer.

Swimming Pool may be one of the worst palettes I’ve come across from Dior. I can’t get over how powdery the finishes are, how sheer the colors were, and how they didn’t want to stick to the eye at all. I can only think of one compliment: it was a nice combination of colors in theory, but the execution was awful. I typically don’t return products I buy for review, since I get my “use” out of them, but this makes me want to reconsider that policy and get my $60 back. I’ll have to settle for letting all of you know to check this out in person first!

The Glossover

	Swimming Pool F
	Chalky, powdery textures abound in this palette--accompanied by pitiful pigmentation! The eyeshadows are soft, but they are difficult to blend together, partially because they tend to disappear and blend to nothingness with little effort. I think the only hope this palette has is on really pale complexions and for someone who wants only sheer washes of color.
	Product 3/10 Pigmentation 5/10 Texture 5/10 Longevity 6/10 Application 2/5

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