Are there products you don’t use because of the way it is packaged? Which ones?
Oh, yes, definitely! One of the products I distinctly remember is Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray–the product is great, the packaging is awful.
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Yes! MAC Prolongwear concealer, you waste so much product and in Brazil it’s so expensive. lol
When the prolong wear concealers and foundations launched, we all agreed at the MAC counter I worked at that the pump sucked. I use the concealer and love it but here’s what you have to do… when you purchase it ask for a sampling container and simply pump a bit into it and pick it up with your brush from there. We made this standard practice to always give away a sampling container and it works great!
Thanks for the great tip! I’ve been ignoring mine because of the packaging. lol.
I used to have the same problem with it until I had a great idea – I pump the product into an empty jar 🙂 that way the product left doesn’t go to waste as I keep it inside the jar and can use it whenever I need to. 😀
There are products I don’t use because the packaging implements poor aesthetic design, yes. (I’m looking at you, Urban Decay and Too Faced) The only product I can think of with really, really impractical design is NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadow.
oh i agree so much! i never use the nyx pigments because its a mess and hate the packaging. its a shame because i love the color.
MAC pro-longwear concealer, the pump always gives too much product for what you tend to need.
Same with Mufe and their HD blush…too much comes out!!
I used to have the same problem with it until I had a great idea – I pump the product into an empty jar that way the product left doesn’t go to waste as I keep it inside the jar and can use it whenever I need to.
I bought ELF’s Studio HD Powder, the packaging is AWFUL!!! The sifter comes out when its not suppose causing you to lose a lot product which then gets on your clothing or all over your counter. I never use it cause each time I open it powder comes flying out.
Amen to that!!
Right on! I had that problem too! When finishing my MAC Prep and Prime Powder, I kept it to put the ELF HD powder in it! Works great now! I can’t stand the packaging of Revlon colorstay foundation, no pump! Also the original UDPP even the new one isn’t great, it dries up and you really have to pull to let some product out!
I can’t stand products with packaging that I would be too emberassed if other people saw. For instance too faced is just too over the top for me with their packaging designs or that urban decay palette with the 3d butterflies and the ipod speaker…I don’t have room to store all that for a few eyeshadows and it looks like something a teenager would use. I prefer sleek black packaging or soemthing elegant and functional.
Totally agree! I HATE the carton box packaging in most brands but Too Face is the most horrible with the tacky drawings and over the top glitter on their pallets. Also, I just hate Revlon’s packaging, they put small products is enormous boxes.
The only product that I can think of is UD’s book of shadows. I got the BOS IV for Christams and it’s just so bulky! Plus the little drawer is soo hard to pull out, I have to yank it out.
Same exact product. Stay dont stray. I looooove it but I won’t be purchasing again unless they change packaging. The deluxe minis are nice. But I returned my full size because the pump is lame! Too much product was coming out 🙁 even with the slightest tap. Tube it and I would be the happiest woman alive!
Oh, yes. I mostly buy and use lip products and keep a lot of them in my purse, which I am not very gentle with. If the packaging doesn’t look like it can stand up to being tossed around and dropped a few feet on a regular basis, I leave it. It’s led to some disappointments, though – I adore the look of Hourglass’ Siren lipgloss, and have had great success with their lipsticks, but the packaging for the Siren tester at Sephora looked and felt so flimsy that I had no reason to doubt the numerous reviews I’ve read about it bursting. It’s a bit baffling given that their other products are so sturdy. I also refuse to buy any product that packaged in a way that prevents you from using up the majority of it. That’s a waste and a scam, even if unintentional.
It doesn’t stop me from using it, but I have a L’Oreal concealer whose brush pulls out inanely superfluous amounts of product when you unscrew it. I usually wind up pulling out the wand, then just dabbing it gently against a finger or concealer brush before using it. There’s no way you could use the attached brush to apply it, not with the amount that comes pouring out.
the body shop- shimmer cubes palette. I have #06, it is a gorgeous warm brown eyeshadow palette but the packaging bothers me to use it everyday. I have to open each plastic lid to use each color! You know what I’m talking about if you have used this.
I ditched the inner lids and just use the big lid, now! it drove me nuts to take each little lid off every time I used it… I just have to be more careful with it now that I don’t nick the edges of the cubes with the larger plastic lid.
I normally regard myself as pretty much practical and resourceful person when it comes to cosmetics purchase. I’m majorly able to restrain myself from cute packages (if the products don’t meet my required standards and such) and try to buy makeups solely based on their quality no matter what it looks like. But there’re really some products that their packages regrettably shun me off ; too faced and Urban Decay. Their products are mostly good but I agree with comments above. Why do they have to make a bulky paper palettes that aren’t really that pretty and are very unpractical to use. I like cute stuffs, of course but function always comes first. It doesn’t have to be super modern or super cool and sleek or anything, just a simple and clean (and easily to clean) packages will do fine. I personally like some japanese brands pacakages e.g. Shu Uemura,Suqqu (an archetype of simple&clean but expensive looking) and RMK. Jill Stuart, Paul and Joe or Anna Sui, they aim to be flamboyantly cute so they’re a lil bit bulky but sturdy and still practical at an acceptable level. Unlike Too faced and UD, in spite of their stellar cosmetic quality, their paper bulky packages (and also velvet naked palette packages, forever and ever dusty :(((( ) really really distress me at some point. What a pity!
I can’t think of anything, actually! Even if the packaging is impractical I tend to try and be creative and work around it, even if I sometimes feel I shouldn’t have to. ^^;
oh yes. Urban Decay eyeshadows palettes for the space they take.
UD loose pigments! Such a great quality in a really badly designed packaging. Had to depot the five I have into 5 grams plastic jars with shifters, otherwise they would still be sitting on the bottom of my mu box. I think UD’s Book of Shadows is ok if you use as your everyday eyeshadows, as my cousin does. If you have tons of other products in more compact packaging, getting out BoS4 can be a hassle…
I’m happy they introduced the new packaging for UDPP! Also I prefer not to use moisturizers/primers/concealers that come in a jar, because of hygienic reasons.
I would have to agree with the UD book of shadows. The packaging is so big, I have them stored in a drawer and rarely pull them out. I also can’t stand the packaging for MUFE HD concealer. It’s a twist up stick and the product comes out of a little hole on a silicone… applicator? It;s just this silicone nubbin thing, so I put the concealer on the back of my hand. It’s so difficult to control the amount because of the twist up and then residual product keeps coming out after you’ve twisted. It wastes so much product and is a pain to use.
Yes, any product where packaging supersedes quality, infact. Or where the packaging is responsible for a large fraction of the price. For the same reason, I do not buy products with overspray either. Over the years I have come to realise that even for non-professionals, professional makeup is the best option (think Kryolan, Ben Nye… even MAC, though mainly in its pre- Estee Lauder). Sometimes I will decant/transfer/depot a poorly packed product into a recylcled, fancy container for the ease of carriage or use, but that is all.
ELF Studio HD Powder. I couldn’t take that with me anywhere. The squared edges, the bulkiness, the mess. Ugh.
MAC Prep & Prime Face Protect, SPF 50 is poorly designed in terms of product accessibility.
The housing is stiff and makes it almost impossible to squeeze out the product. Determined to use every bit of it, I cut
the tube in half and found enough residual product to fill a small travel jar & last another two weeks or so. It appears eye appeal and esthetics out weigh pragmatism. If accessibility & use are cumbersome and/impeded I will not repurchase that product.
i agree, it drives me crazy…i should really stop buying it too and just find something else -_-
Yes. I prefer elegant, simple packaging. Urban Decay puts me off with their packaging. Their books of shadows are almost alive! lol Foundations without pumps also put me off.
I stayed far away from the MAC Wonder Woman collection. It screamed JUVENILE. I hated it.. The look of it aside, just the big bulk of it all made me not even want to entertain trying it.
While we all like fancy packaging, i’d rather have a product I can use all of, not spill it,waste it, 0r have it bust out of the tube (Yea, i’m talking about YOU, Urban Decay) etc.
probably the only product I’d stop using because of the packaging are MAC PAINT POTS, they are drying so fast it drives me crazy, however the product itself is great, I’ll switch to Mac Paints instead, tube rocks, and doesn’t dry so fast
Use your fingers. I’m serious, I even have one a few years old. The online makeup community has an obvious reliance on brushes, in my opinion, even when they are unnecessary. I tried using brushes with my new paint pots for hygienic reasons, but it’s not worth it when my finger warms it up and blends it out SO well!
I use my fingers for the Paint Pots as well. I’ve had one for 2 years and I waste less product when I use my fingers! Ditch the brush and just wash your hands before you use it (that keeps it from getting oily)!
Store the pot upside-down! I do this for all my cream shadows and gel liners and it really makes a difference in terms of them drying out so quickly.
Really? I don’t think paint pots ever last long enough with me to dry out! 🙂
Agree on the Benefit Stay Don’t Stray. The packaging is awful! The pump pumps out wayyy to much product no matter how careful I am with it. A lot of product gets wasted.
Although I can’t say it’s stopped me from using the two shades I have, the Urban Decay lispticks with their little swords are just unnecessary. I don’t know how many times I poked myself with those silly swords. I’m actually hoping mine break off.
Do you have trouble getting the cap off of yours? I have to have a good grip on the sword before I can pull the cap off. And I agree, the sword is pretty annoying sometimes when i am rummaging through my bag.
If it does break off, you’ll never be able to get the cap off! I have one and the sword broke off, I had to fling it across the room to get it to open! I ended up throwing it away because it wasn’t worth the hassle.
Totally agree on Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray. I LOVE the product and have found nothing like it. I tried some others over the last 6 months and wasn’t satisfied so I just ordered a tube of the Benefit. Way too much comes out but I will figure out a way to use the excess. Great post!
I really hate loose products, they just seem to much more inconvenient.. I still use them but I really try and avoid it because it’s such a pain to me..
I don’t not use it because of the packaging but NARS stuff gets so dirty looking so fast, I’m embarrassed to pull it out in public.
I have a similar thing with anything chrome. Fingerprints /twitches.
I keep all mine in the boxes for that purpose. They stand upright a little better, and they stay spic and span. Although it is an extra step in the morning… :/
Christine – I am just the opposite on Stay Don’t Stray. I think the product was a sad replacement for F.Y.Eye. F.Y.Eye changed my life! I was so upset when they discontinued it. I did actually really like the packaging for Stay Don’t Stray though and I found it was a much better under eye concealer but not good for on the eyelids. Creasage!
Not sure of many I don’t buy because of packaging. I do buy Too Faced’s palettes but I wish they weren’t so immensely bulky.
Yes, I don’t like lip glosses with a brush applicator and won’t buy products with a brush .. I simply prefer the doe foot applicator.
And I really despise the Revlon ColorStay Under Eye Concealer SPF 15 in the click up applicator .. ugh, you always get way too much product, which continues to flow out and makes a mess in the cap if you don’t wipe the tip off. The concealer is great .. but I’m always hesitant to buy and always looking for a great concealer with a nice applicator.
Although, I have to say that I don’t mind lip gloss with a click top applicator .. go figure 😛
M.
The packaging of the UD loose shadows is absolutely horrible. I swatched mine once and haven’t touched it since! Also I never used my NYX loose pigments before either but then I pressed them with glycerin and now I love them!
Oh, yeah, those are so bad!
ELF Studio HD Powder here too! Hate the packaging.
I used to have a lip gloss (can’t remember the brand) that had a click-up applicator, and you’d have to click it a few times for it to actually move, then it’d shoot an insane amount of product out. I rarely used it and threw it out a while back.
Absolutely! I’m very leery of applicators where you twist and the product comes out on a brush tip – I’ve had those break/stop working. Also, pumps where it’s tricky to get a small amount out and you end up wasting product – that really annoys me!
And I’ve given up on loose pigments – I don’t have the patience for the mess. I just bought a kit for pressing loose pigments – if that’s easy enough, I may do it more, but I have a feeling I’ll just think there’s enough beautiful pressed stuff out there, why bother. 😀
Off the top of my head would be palettes that have powder blush or eyeshadow with lipgloss or lipsticks in the same palette. I have purchased them and I do use one by Bobbi Brown (powerful) but all in all if it’s a combo with the powder/lippie I try to avoid it.
I can’t stand products where there’s more packaging than necessary. So while I can live with UD palettes like Naked and the 15th Anni one (which could still be smaller but it’s gorgeous packaging), things like The Black Palette I just refuse to touch. Something about widely spaced circles in a palette always looks cheap and poor quality to me.
I’m not a fan of squeezy lipglosses either, but I’ll still buy them.
Any product that comes with a pump that dispenses too much product….Benefit Stay Don’t Stray, MUFE HD Blush, Mac Prolongwear. I hate wasting product, it makes my wallet cry 🙁 I also refuse to use UDPP with the new packaging. Its truly terrible; I bought the pro size, and it dried up so fast! You also have to squeeze it really hard to get any out. I’m a TFSI girl now 😉
I was almost going to say UDPP, but I had to make a compromise because how great it works for me (so happy they introduced the new packaging)! I am also not a big fan of bullet pen packaging, mostly because I don’t think you can clean the brush thoroughly, but also because some break easily!
Someone probably already mentioned this but the Benefit boxed powders! I was never really a fan of them since the cardboard seems cheap and bulky especially for travel but the way they attached the lid to the base and made some sort of hinge drives me insane! I’m afraid the corners of the box will nick my powder as seen in the testers in Sephora and Ulta. I was always tempted to try the Hoola Bronzer but I’ll just stick to NARS Laguna for now.
I hate the packaging of MUFE loose powder because it gets everywhere but I still use it. Never understood peoples love with pigments, seems so messy to me and not with the hassle UDPP in the old packing flakes little purple specks over my face so I avoid using it and won’t even repurchase in new packaging. Don’t like juvenile looking brands so much like too face and UD so I avoid those. I love nars packaging just wish it wouldn’t get so dirty.
I totally agree with Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray, but since I love the product so much I use the travel size bottle with the doe-foot applicator and when I run out I pump some in from my regular Stay Don’t Stray. But Benefit should really fix that because it’s a really good product!
The black rubber-like coating on NARS packaging is gross! It gets dirty and sticky feeling. I actually cringe when I touch my older NARS products.
Covergirl Clean Foundation.
YES! The old Urban Decay primer potions. I stopped using it because once you get to the bottom you cant get any product out of it. I know you can cut it but who has time for that? Good thing they changed the packaging 🙂
i really don’t like tokidoki’s packaging…there’s cute and then there’s ridiculous, imo! i like the art but i don’t need it all over my makeup!
Loose eyeshadow, I’m kind of done with, though I like what I’d ordered online, I never use it. (I can deal with loose setting powder, but trying to do an eyelook requires more than one color and ACK.)
My Ulta professional primer pump decided to just up and break. It’s one of those wacky ones where you twist the cap and the pump pops out and snaps into place before you press down. Thank god I got it as a free perk, because if I had paid $25 to not be able to use half of my product…. >:|
I don’t know if it’s a fluke or not, but the filigree broke on my one fullsize UD Lip Junkie gloss, and it’s very annoying because the inner part of the cap doesn’t turn easily on its own.
If a gloss comes with an applicator wand, I am a lot more likely to buy it if it comes with a brush. Usually, this is pretty consistent along lines, if not brands. However, I got a two pack of Smashbox glosses on deal at Ulta this summer…one had a brush, one didn’t. So now I don’t know what I’ll get with theirs!
All the time. There are so many drug store products where I just look at them and think “So…who thought this was practical??”
The Loreal True Match Roller. That Maybelline Instant Age Rewind foundation with the puff ball on it. Loreal’s Mineral makeup with the tiny brushes on the caps!! Who can use those?!
And there are so many more I just can’t think of right now.
I wish company’s would just stick to the K.I.S.S method to packaging and let the makeup speak for itself.
the MUFE HD clicky pen-rubber thing. love the product, the packacking however dries out the liquid and make its all goopy. refund!
ooh yeah Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray was a major miss for me too. Not only do you get WAAY too much product even when you try to ‘pump lightly’, but after about 2 months all I would get was this oily gunk that smelled rotten. I’ll be sticking to UD Primer Potion thank you.
When I was searching for the best loose setting powder I came across some really weird packaging, like some containers were too small and not fitted for a normal size powder brush and the worst ones didn’t have that extra lid with holes that controls how much powder you can shake out of a container. But overall I’m pretty indifferent to packaging, as long as it works OK. I can’t think of any product that I stopped using just because I hated the packaging. And I don’t really care about how packaging looks. I actually own some products that some people find “cheap-looking” and “juvenile”, like Hello Kitty eye liners and Benefit Dandelion.
What about Benefits Lip and Cheek stains! I mean, I love cha-cha, but how to get it on out of the bottle is very tricky! Yes, there are other methods to mix and apply, but using the “nail varish” wand without a lovely orange line on your cheek is impossible! Maybe if the remarketed it as “Lip, Cheek and Finger Stain” I’d have a different expectation!