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What was the last product you bought and now regret?


What was the last product you bought and now regret? Share!

Kat Von D Lipsticks. I just regret buying so many–I should have bought a few, tested a few, then went from there.

Thanks to reader Lotus for today’s question idea Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.

97 Comments

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Klaudiaczy Avatar

Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture for Combination. I waited too long to return then lost the receipt. It doesn’t do anything but gave me pimples. 🙁 Should have saved money and gone back to Lancome night cream.

Elizabeth Avatar

Probably the IT Cosmetics Tightline Mascara Primer. It just did not work for me at all – I could not get the promised “tightline” look, it did nothing for me as a mascara/primer, it flaked, and was super hard to remove. All around fail, which was surprising since I really like their Hello Lashes mascara.

JadeYaz Avatar

Interesting. I love mine!
I also have the Benefit push ip liner and I hate it because it comes out in a glob and the glob is very dry, very difficult to apply.

Juliana Glumac Avatar

Dior Star foundation. I like it but don’t think it’s worth $77.00 Which what it costs here in Australia. I got a makeover and then got the foundation as my redeemable product as I prepaid for the makeover.

Maddie Avatar

Same here. I returned it two days later. It’s very nice at first, but it’d separated near my nose and lips. Same with YSL Fusion Ink Foundation, which I also returned. Such a shame because it had a very nice finish, but for the price it better be flawless!

Wednesday Avatar

Count me as one who really likes Dior Star foundation. It’s an excellent match for my skin..eureka. But, I can see it not working for people with combination or oily skin. My skin runs dry and I have no separation issues.

I hated YSL Ink foundation as well 🙁 and promptly returned it.

Stacey Avatar

Yep….for the price you paid for those awfully performing lipsticks, you could had gotten a few more Guerlain G lipsticks…I own only one….Gigolo….discontinued but never the less, beautiful passioned color lipstick. I would own a few more if it wasn’t so expensive and I like them so much better than Tom Ford.

Jennifer Avatar

Limited Edition colorful eyeshadows. I bought multiple greens and oranges of those monthly loose shadow pots. I really regret buying them, as I may never use them. I only need one colorful eyeshadow to make a colorful look, not four types of greens, and four types of oranges. Colorful looks are not my thing at all.

TLDR; Colorful eyeshadows. I only wear neutrals.

(and yes, I have tried colorful looks, but they look to harsh on me. Even black eyeliner looks terribly harsh and stands out against my “soft” coloring)

Laura Avatar

L’oreal foundations in True Match and True Match Lumi. I even bought two of each so I could mix the perfect color, but they were so awful on me. One was a thick, cakey mess and the other disappeared in a blotchy mess after an hour. =/

Lisa Avatar

I would have to say Urban Decay’s Vice 3 palette. The packaging feels cheap and the shadow quality is off from Urban Decay’s usual high quality.

Mariam Avatar

Kat von d lipstick in lullabye, cle de peau concealer.. These two items were on the top of my wish list and they didn’t work for me. At all. The concealer is soooo expensive. I paid about $90 for it, including shipping to Australia from the us. I hate it:(

Michelle Avatar

Yah I bought that concealer too and just don’t see the hype. No different than any MAC concealer to me. I’ll use it up, but will never, ever repurchase.

Mariam Avatar

I don’t even know how to use it up.. I just want concealer for under eyes and this doesn’t work for my under eyes, no matter how I apply, the only concealer that has worked for me is Mac Pro longwear.

Alix Avatar

Nars Shrinagar lipstick. I rarely let salespeople even influence me, much less talk me into things, but a salesperson talked me into getting this color. It seemed okay in the store lighting, but every other time I’ve worn it, I haven’t liked it on me. And my sister doesn’t like it, so I can’t give it to her, either. But there’s no way I can put a $26 lipstick in the trash!

Fran Avatar

I usually return products that disappoint me. If I didn’t make a practice of doing this, I wouldn’t have much makeup, because my wallet would make me too afraid to try things that I couldn’t get samples of. In the end the stores where I shop benefit because I do try to ‘try before I buy’ and I end up spending a ridiculous amount of money in them because makeup is one of my creative outlets. So the purchases I end up regretting are palettes that I’ve purchased and kept because of one or two favorite shades, and its only as time goes by and I keep having difficulty using the other shades and I end up de-potting and throwing some shades away that I really start to have regrets. This is why I’m struggling with Vice 3 — the shade ‘Dragon’ keeps calling to me, it’s a gorgeous and not very dupe-able green, but my next favorite shade is ‘Sonic’, which is a difficult kind of shade for me to actually wear, and many of the neutrals in the palette that I would want to use to make a complete look seem to have performance issues, even with a primer… $60 is just too much for one gorgeous shade, no matter how gorgeous.

chris Avatar

A lash fiber extension product. There are three stps, including applying your regular mascara. I apply my make-up in the car, except for special events. Too cumbersome.

andrea Avatar

hey just a thought. luster finish lipsticks are aupposed to be sheer and glossy, if you wanted pigmentation go for mattes and satins. snapdragon is one of my fav colors!

Lys Avatar

I regret buying the Clear Improvement face mask by Origins. It’s a great face mask so I won’t complain about the quality, but the condition of my skin is actually not that bad which makes the mask useless for me.

Andrea Avatar

I normally plan my purchases. Do the research, wait for reviews unless are limited edition items, to which I normally don’t pay much attention for the same reason. I’m trying to think… Has to be the Chanel Charming palette from last year that bought cause of Lisa Eldridge video. Oh yeah, and the Eve Lom cleanser.. I bought the largest. Still hurts me seeing it. I use it every now and then, but I think the price is ridiculous and I have no idea what was I thinking.

Emily Avatar

L’Oreal True Match Lumi foundation. It’s just not good on me at all. Poor coverage, collects in my pores, patchy, not long-lasting. I like the original True Match but this one’s not as good, in my opinion. Luckily it was relatively inexpensive and if I can find the receipt, I’ll return it.

Jennifer Avatar

Actually, not much. I tend to be very conservative in my makeup shopping. Not in colors, (I like to know I can disguise myself as a psychedelic clown at a moment’s notice) but I tend to buy only after I’ve seen a gazillion swatches and read a bunch of reviews. So In my whole collection I have a BB creme that’s the wrong shade now but was a good match when I bought it and was spending most of the day outside, and a concealer that’s the right shade but too pink in hue to conceal acne marks well.

Aline Avatar

It cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye. I have terrible dark circles and trying to conceal them takes up a large part of my routine. So many people said this was their HG and could cover anything, but it’s really thick and hard to work with. In the end, it didn’t even perform that well in terms of coverage. I use the Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Circle concealer and it’s better than any high end product I’ve tried.

beka Avatar

i usually return stuff i don’t like, which is why i shop at nordstrom and sephora. i did buy a foundation (tom ford traceless perfecting). i should have known better than to buy a foundation without testing a sample first. i LOVE the formula, but the shade is way too dark. i can’t return it because i got it at neiman’s. now i’m trying to find something to mix it with to make it work. ugh! my $ will be going to nordstrom for face products from now on for sure!

Jenny Cupcakes Avatar

BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic palette. It was only $15 but I never reach for it :/ Also Cover Girl Colorlicious – my goodness were these awful! I also don’t care for Maybelline Color Tattoos but I think that’s because I’m not using them right lol.

Maddie Avatar

Generally, I return everything I don’t like, but that can be tricky when you shop online. Recently, I hauled a bunch of Maybelline Color Tattoos online and I got a teal one I don’t think I’ll be using too much. Honestly, I only got it so I could get free shipping, since the shipping would cost me the same as the product itself. I suppose I don’t regret it too much lol

Meghan Avatar

Probably the MAC Alluring Aquatic bronzers. I should’ve listened to everyone saying they were too warm toned!
I also lost my Lorelei eye shadow from the same collection! I can’t find it anywhere and that’s disappointing! 🙁

Michelle Avatar

The Beauty Blender. I finally caved to the hype last week and as I suspected, it was no better than my brushes. I did one side of my face with the BB, the other side with brushes (or my fingers) and there was absolutely zero difference. So I returned it.

Grey Avatar

For the longest time I obsessed about the Too Faced Chocolate palette and Hangover Rx (moisturizer??) Unfortunately, as soon as I wear both either separate or together my face starts itching like crazy 🙁 Some ingredient must make me breakout. So I have a completely new palette just sitting on my makeup desk 🙁

Magda Avatar

ugh it was the Physicians formula Airbrushing pressed powder. The color is very strong, picked one very light and it enhances my pores. Even applied with a brush not a very good option. I was disappointed.

Emme Avatar

YES! This happened to me too, I thought the powder was going to be a bit lighter in coverage, but woah it’s got major coverage, for it not to be labeled as a powder foundation. Made me look cakey.

Lisa Avatar

Lancôme’s La Vie Est Belle perfume. Usually I will get a sample of a perfume and try it for a week and then if I still like it I purchase it. I smelled the Lancôme perfume in a store and bought it immediately and regretted buying it. It is a nice scent, but it just wasn’t the right scent for me. Another thing I regretted was buy a Mac foundation in the color Nc20 instead of my normal color Nw20. The salesperson told me that Nw20 would just wash me out, but I have a lot of redness in my skin and I couldn’t get the Nc20 to blend into my skin and it looked awful.

Helene Avatar

I like La Vie Est Belle. I have a sample bottle that I use sparingly to make it last 🙂 Perfumes are really hard to buy, I think. If I can’t get a sample, I go and test at the counter at like five different days, just fo be sure, They cost too much to get wrone.
Sorry you don’t like yours, I hope you can give it away, or sell it on.

BreTheMakeupGeek Avatar

Yes to the Kat Von D lipstick & her mascara, Nars lipstick, Julep nail polishes, nails inc nail polishes. I’m pretty sure there are many others.

issy Avatar

2 ” night miracle” treatments:
-bare minerals night powder mineral foundation ( my God= the idea is almost comic but I HAD to try it)
-what I got as substitute for the alternate days I don’t use the liquid gold : the sara chapman skinesis oil treatment. Is not bad but there are much cheaper products performing the same.

Lesley Avatar

Dior skin flash, another dior foundation, dior powder
Dior eye quad, dior extase, blackout, and another
Dior mascara. Pretty much anything dior except
For J’adore. Terrible stuff. Slid off my face
Or flaked off my eyes. Just awful products.

Donna Avatar

I have the same problem with Dior (except the mascara). The problem is, everything Dior makes looks so pretty on the monitor and in the store. I cannot blend a Dior shadow and everything they make makes my skin breakout. Stay strong, just say No to Dior.

Mina Avatar

Tarte pin up blush set. I got a strange reaction on it, it seemed like my cheeks turned red under it and I looked sick instead of healthy pinkish look. I’m not sure if it’s blush itself that i did not like, or really me skin reaction, but it was the first item I returned.

zFashionizta Avatar

I am regretting buying the Brooke Shields Gravitas palette but its no big loss because I will be returning it in a few days.

I really regret purchasing and losing the receipt for the too faced 3-Way liner.

Sami Avatar

There are quite a few…. NYX Dusty Rose Blush, Rimmel Airy Fairy Lipstick, Mac Lustering Lipstick, and a few more I’m not ready to admit. The blush was an attempt at duping Exposed but I ended up purchasing that later on (love it!) while the lipsticks just seem off in color on my skin tone so they are not being worn

Dani Avatar

Benefit Erase Paste… I know a lot of people love this product but it doesn’t really conceal anything on me, it’s more of a corrector than anything. I have to layer it with my other drugstore concealer to get any real coverage. 27.00, wish I had saved it for something else. I’ll use it up but it’s not worth the hype for me, def not repurchasing.

Donna Avatar

Nars lipstick in Pago Pago. It has a ridiculous amount of glitter and is so difficult to remove. Also, Giorgio Armani lipstick and gloss in #614. I may as well purchased clear balm and gloss instead. It does nothing for me. Better Than Sex mascara is not. It weighed down my lashes and stuck them together.

Sarah Avatar

I’d say my biggest regret purchase is the Naked 1 palette. I bought it when first re-entering the makeup game. Neutrals are my thing and this seemed to be the hail Mary of neutral palettes. It’s not a bad palette, but it just doesn’t speak to me. It just doesn’t excite me to use it. I use it for work or school looks when I don’t need to feel extra glam. But I am gradually learning to put better looks together with it as I gather more experience.

Emme Avatar

Cargo Shanghai nights palette – ugh. The one from last year, Vintage Escape palette, that one is amazing! But this years, meh. I only paid $20 so no biggie.

And Jurlique Advance Herbal Recovery Serum. Did NOTHING for my skin. I used the whole bottle, just in case “I needed to give it time,” but NOPE.

mybeautymusings Avatar

I hardly have regrets because I buy things that I will truly use. But I would say I regret getting a huge size of the Caudalie cleansing milk, Bobbi Brown Antigua blush and a foundation from the Japanese brand, Addiction. I bought the foundie sight unseen so that was a mistake. :/

Katherine T. Avatar

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray – it’s so hyped but was horrible on me. Very strong perfume smell that never goes away. I felt like I was spraying perfume on my head. It did absolutely nothing to hair, no volume, no texture. Or it would mix with my gel/regular hairspray and make my hair feel like straw. Returned it the next day

Kaitlyn Avatar

Benefit’s Push Up Liner. It kept getting raves, so I decided to try it out and thought it was terrible. I either got too much product or not enough, and found it to be very flaky.

Brenda Avatar

I haven’t been buying much over the last few years, without really thinking and researching or sticking to small samples (meow & fyrinnae) of colourful cosmetics that won’t get used as much.

Mascaras however, have been a different story. After discovering my favourite had been disc’d, I tried Great Lash Doll Eyes – I regret buying it because I have an unopened Great lash regular and it’s exactly the same! It does NOTHING it claims to. Oh, and I regret recently trying L’oreal Voluminous again. I bought it a few years ago, hated it then, bought it a couple months ago, STILL hate it. I know they are only drugstore products but I feel awful wasting products and money.

Laura Avatar

Most recently it was Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in violet ink. I wore it for the first time when visiting with family and didn’t realize I’d spent the day with streaks under my eyes where it flaked and melted off. It went right back…no staying power at all.

Jeanette Avatar

Today I just received three Smashbox Limitless 15 Hour Cream Eyeshadow, and they are of no better quality than Maybelline Color Tattoo – which I already have. I was really hoping to find a something easier to work with / creamier – and something that lasts a while. I’m returning them today. Big disappointment for $60.

Lola Avatar

Jill Stuart blush. The princessy packaging is the main reason I bought it, and there are tons of review about how cute it is. And it is very cute, but the blush is very powdery, not natural at allllllll!!!! A huge fail…and it’s about 38 euro

Cati Avatar

I love all my Inglot eye shadows, but the blushes were a big disappointment. The last one I bought was Blush 45 (freedom system) and it is so powdery, it applied patchy on me! It is a beautiful-beautiful coral blush. when you press the finger on it feels like silk, but when you try to swatch it… it becomes a totallyl different story!

Nikki J. Avatar

Buxom Full-Bodied Lipstick in Scoundrel. I like the color and the formula is nice, but I’ve since found a formula I prefer better because it’s more moisturizing to my dry lips (MUFE Rouge Artist Natural lipstick). Due to my new preference, I never reach for Scoundrel. I wish I’d tried the MUFE line first.

fancie Avatar

Marc Jacobs Dizzy Spell lipstick. Hands down the worst formula I’ve ever tried! It just didn’t work for me at all. It was super drying and made my lips crack and peel like crazy. Plus it only lasted for like 2 hours. I’ve never disliked a lipstick so much lol. I actually picked up another shade along with it but it’s still sitting in the box. I’m scared to use it!

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