Do you own a beauty product you love but can’t get to work on you? Why doesn’t it work? (Maybe someone can help!)
NARS Soft Touch Shadow Pencils; they crease like nobody’s business on me no matter what.
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Black eyeliner. Doesn’t matter what brand, kind, or how I want to wear it, I look like a gothic raccoon princess no matter what.
Try Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper (black). I had the same problem as you (tried UD, MUFE, all the drugstore brands, Stila) and this is the best.
Pricey liquid liner but stays through tears and sweats. It might fade but doesn’t give the tattoo look. I wore it over MUFE primer to get it to last longer without fading but I had to experiment with several kinds of primer first to figure it out. It fades rather than smudges all over so you won’t look like a raccoon princess.
I bought MAC Stereo Rose mineralize skinfinish because I absolutely love the color. Unfortunately I’m so cool-toned that it looks orange on me. Not coral. ORANGE.
I’m currently going back and forth about buying Benefit Rockateur because I’ve heard it compared to Stereo Rose and am afraid the same thing will happen.
I’ll buy it from you!
I actually sold it a while ago after trying it 3-4 times and being dismayed at its continued safety-orange-ness on my face.
Still sad but at least I got my money back…
Have you ever tried Expensive Pink e/s? I am extremely warm-toned and it is straight up orange on me. I wonder if it shows up pink on cool tones…
I am super cool-toned as well, and Rockateur doesn’t pull orange on me at all. It’s a natural, understated flush for me. I’ve actually been wearing it non-stop since I got it a week ago, which is unusual for me! I’ve been a victim of coral pulling orange before, and I totally understand how sad it can be.
Ugh, I have yellow undertones, and many corals pull pink on me. Really really pink. I WISH they pulled orange.
For me is Sushi kiss by Mac and watch me simmer I love the colors but they wash me out so bad!! I’m Hispanic with yellow undertones and I’ve try different method but nothing works!
MAC Mineralise Shadows of any kind. Even wet I can’t get them to stay put and blend effortlessly like they claim. On my hand it’s beautiful, on my lids, fall out and too much sparkle.
Yes! MAC’s chatterbox, impassioned & rocker lipsticks. Love them so much, but they just look awkward on me 🙁
Illamasqua’s liquid metals. Look amazing swatched on hands, lips and in pan but crease so damn badly on eyes that they’re unwearable.
MAC studio fix fluid. I love the coverage but it does somthing wicked to my skin. But i still use it. Lol
tom ford cobalt rush…still working out how a warmed tone girl (with asian eyelids!) could pull off such a bold and cold palette.
MAC lipstick in Innocence, Beware! Love that shade. LOVE IT. Perfect beige-y nude pink for me, particularly with a smokey eye. The problem? Dries me out like none other. Sinks into lip lines. Within an hour of me putting it on, it requires me to smooth it out with a finger to get rid of the lines. Every two hours, I have to reapply balm. I’ve heard Maybelline Nude Nuances is nearly a spot on dupe for it, so I’ll have to give it a look and see if it wears better on me.
Hourglass Immaculate Foundation, because I used to have very oily skin, but now it’s technically combo (which is great improvement but, when my skin gets oily it’s an oil spill….I love Hourglass products but this foundation would get dry and patchy on me even if there was oily sitting on top of my face.
I am so surprised by this answer! You’ve never given any indication that they’re crease monsters before! /sarcasm
Viva Glam Gaga II – the nude one. Gorgeous, but always looks weird on me. I use it to layer on lippies but I wish I could wear it alone.
My Cornflower pidment by MAC. I love it to pieces, but it just gets messy. :/
Nope, if I can’t get something to work on me, then you can bet I really won’t/don’t love it!
MAC prep + prime loose powder, as well as Nars hd loose powder and Tarte smooth operator, all those powder leave a beautiful finish, but by the 3rd day, I’ve had broken out like crazy, and I am not acne prone. It must be an ingredient there that my skin just doesn’t like. I have try them, and is always the same thing over and over with those powder.
Nope. I return anything that I don’t like/doesn’t work and apply it towards something that does!
I have a ridiculous amount of trouble getting dark pigments with shimmer to look like they do swatched. They often just look black, which annoys me.
Benefits erase paste. Love the coverage, but the texture is to gloopy for me, it is difficult to blend out with a brush without leaving marks and if i use my finger It doesn’t look even on my undereyes., plus it creases horribly within an hour.
MAC Cream Color Base in Pearl. I love it in the pan, but it’s just okay on me. There are other highlighters I still prefer more.
Sugarpill Chromalust loose eyeshadows. They crease on me like CRAZY, no matter what primer I use! Doesn’t stop me from using them, however. I don’t mind having to touch them up.
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencils… With so many absolutely stunning shades, I’m always sooo tempted by the multi-pencil sets, but then I remember what happens… Somehow, my skin seems to simply absorb the product; no creasing, slipping, smudging, smearing, or fading-it just disappears completely in less than an hour, with no sign it was ever there in the first place.
What makes this even stranger, is no other liner does this. In fact, every pencil I’ve tried, regardless of pricepoint, wears like iron on me. I’ve actually fallen asleep with those infamous NARS pencils on my bare lids, not set with powder of any sort, and woke up with my eyes looking as fresh as they did when I first applied the product.
Kevyn Aucoin sensual skin enchancer is tough sledding. I love the product, but it’s very challenging to work with. I find you have to get just the right balance of pre-moisturization and tipping either side of the scale makes for a simply awful base.
My two Chanel Rouge Coco lipsticks fell short of expectation, as did the Joues Contraste (baked).
Firstly, Stacy; i used to have the same problem with black eyeliner, fluid that is, until i tried the H&M one. I don´t know if H&M sell their own make up-line in the US but if you can find it then try it! In Sweden it´s about 4 dollars and i always have a back-up at home.
The one thing i can´t get to work on me are the Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencils. Neither do they glide on nor do they stay once on the lid. No matter what i use for a primer or seal them with shadow they start to come off in half an hour. I now call them glide off pencils! There are so many beautiful colours and i purchased them over and over wanting them to work but they just won´t!
Nars Outremer, which is gorgeous but impossible, that’s what Outremer is : impossible ! ( both to apply and wear ). I sometimes dare though !
Illamasqua pigment in Ore, it looks amazing on the swatch on my hand but just goes on my lids pretty plain/boring…I love all their pigments that I own but this one doesn’t cut it for me unfortunately.
I also had a few purple eyeshadows which I really loved but purple doesn’t go well on at all so I swapped most of them.
At first nothing came to mind, because I am good about returning things that don’t work for me, but then I remembered my love hate relationship with Deborah Lippmann Nail Polishes. Don’t get me wrong they are beautiful and I love the colors I have, but I can’t stand the brush and top. For some reason they are just so hard for me to use! I mostly take them when I get a pro mani or pedi so I don’t have to struggle with it! lol
I really loved the color of Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Golden Pink. It was the kind of color I could see myself wearing as an everyday color. I could not get the formula to apply smoothly on me. It was so disappointing. I’m hoping to run across a similar color in a powder formula.
I can’t think of any powder formulas of this color, but Benefit makes some really good (imho) creaseless cream shadows. The ones that come to mind are R.S.V.P(maybe more gold than pink?) and Bikini-Tini (which may run more pink than gold).
The laura mercier caviar sticks dont budge at all!
As I mentioned in a previous comment, MAC Expensive Pink e/s pulls extremely orange on me : ( Not that I hate orange makeup (I own like 8 orange blushes) but its not my favorite color for the eyes and doesn’t really go with my style of clothing.
Also MAC Vex. I thought it looked so lovely but it’s a patchy, strange grey-ish color on my lids. I also have some cool toned mauve-purple-red blushes that don’t look good on my warm skin, Nars Dolce Vita and thebalm Cabana boy. I want all of these things to work on me but I haven’t figured it out yet haha.
i agree about MAC Vex. In the pan, and swatched on my hand it is gorgeous,but it looks so dreary on my lids. It makes me look sick.
Smashbox photo finish foundation primer. It makes my foundation look flawless at first, but no matter how little or how much I use of it, or which foundation I use, after about 3 hours my foundation separates and melts off my face.
Nars Orgasm blush. It looks GORGEOUS when I first apply it, but after 2 hours it’s all gone.
I second the Smashbox primer. I think maybe its because I have oily skin? On me, it completely defeats what I’m looking for in a primer-which is to make my makeup last longer. Especially on my forehead and cheeks, it basically melts off my face in patches (!)
NARS Taj Mahal is such a beautiful orange blush but I had to return it. On me, I could only see the golden shimmer making my cheek look like a disco ball 🙁
Eyeliner! Wish I could get that technique down! And lilac / lavender powders and blushes – for some reason I am obsessed with them, but unfortunately I have warm toned light skin, and they make look like I am the undead or have just been beaten up or both.
Laura Mercier’s new Spellbound illuminator. I lusted after it for sooo long, finally picked it up (it was really expensive too!) but when I got around to trying it on, I just couldnt get any to lift onto the brush. when I finally managed to load it into the bristles and dust it along my cheekbones it pulled EXTREMELY brown/orange on my skin for some reason. it was like brushing sparkly instant tan onto my face, go figure. the powder looks absolutely killer in the pan… so I think that’s where it’s going to stay :/
Red lipstick. One would think it would look great on me, but it is scary. I need a richer undertone to prevent it from looking ruddy on me.
Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids–I love them on others, but I can’t seem to find one that works with my skin tone.
MAC Rubenesque — swatches beautifully, but creases like mad, and only wants to apply very sheerly to the lid
Clinique Stay Matte Foundation and Covergirl Outlast 3-in-1 — I’ve tried samples of these and liked them a lot, but they do insist on making them PINK! There’s no shade that would remotely work for me.
I love the Nars The Mulitple highlighter sticks but sadly doesn’t seem to work for me! I love the South Beach color but cant seem to blend well enough or I over blend and it disappears. Anybody else? Maybe I need a better brush? Or maybe just not made for oily skinned ladies.
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Dark. I love the texture but my neck is considerably lighter with more yellow undertones than my face. I will they had another shade in between the the two darker shades. I also just bought the NARS Radiant Cream Foundation. I found the perfect color but it need more T-zone oil control. I am hoping the cooler weather and not applying to the nose area will help. I really like the coverage and color match.
MAC Pressed Pigment in Deeply Dashing & Bobbi Brown Sparkle eyeshadow in Cement. Both have massive fall-out. I’ve tried paint pots as primers, Too Faced Glitter Glue, Ben Nye Final Seal, and MAC Fix+ as primer attempts. Everyone seems to love them but I DON’T love the stubborn glitter on my cheeks!
Long wear pencil eyeliners absolutely destroy my contact lenses, I just stare at the urban decay 24/7 liners. I returned the NARS cream foundation, I loved the texture, finish, color, everything, except that it did not have any staying power at all.
I used a NARS face primer underneath (apply primer in thin layers and large smoothing motions, not too much “blending” and wait a couple of minutes) and applied the NARS foundation over the top in a similar “smoothing motion” with a bit more blending to keep it clean. I tried it with other primers with similar (though not as good) effects. The foundation finally stopped “breaking down” on me within a couple of hours. The NARS primer + foundation combo worked so well that I actually used it for my wedding as it was the only foundation that perfectly matched my skin color (set my oilier zones with some sheer face powder).
Kat Von D- Shady Business I bronzer. Its shimmery and I have noticeable pores and it just makes them look more obvious. I got it from Sephora, but I’m embarrassed to exchange it. I’ve already exchanged four or five products this year alone and they know me by name there because I shop there every week. Another product I have that won’t work for me is Tarte Exposed. I’m fair, cool-toned, but with a ruddy complexion that I try to neutralize. Exposed is a nude-red-brown blush that (I feel) just undoes all of the concealing of the ruddiness.
Chanel Illusion D’Ombre and Buxom Stay-There Eyeshadows. I have almost every color because I LOVE so much how the shades, how they look, the ease of application and the texture. They are lovely! BUT they just CREASE instantly and constantly on me! I tried many things to make them work, but mostly failed (I tried many paint pots, cream shadows, eyeliners and primers that didn’t work; I also tried experimenting with powders as a base or on top, but no hope either!). However, a couple of months ago I tried them with Mac Paint Pot in Bare Study and this shade of paint pot seems to do the trick! Happy! 🙂
MAC Trax eyeshadow! So hard to make it work
Illamasqua skin base – straight into pores.
MAC Mineralize Moisture foundation – straight into pores, melts off in hours.
Hard Candy Glamoflage concealer – separates, blotchy.
MAC kohl pencils – crease, smear.