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Are there brands that you want to love but keep letting you down again and again? Share!
I sat here for five minutes trying to think of a brand that consistently puts out bad product (with no redeeming products) but couldn’t think of anything.
Thanks to Carrie for today’s question!
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I can’t really think of anything that ALWAYS lets me down. Maybe Rimmel. People seem to like their products and mostly really dislike them. The only okay things to me are the lipsticks and I even hate the smell of those. If I think of it as what brand have I returned to the store the largest percentage of items it would be MAC. Sometimes it seems like the products are so over hyped that I’m disappointed when I get them and really can’t get over that enough to want to use them.
A thousand times yes! I’ve tried several Rimmel products that were well reviewed (particularly some mascaras) and I really didn’t like them.
I also feel like some MAC products are really over hyped. Feline, for example, migrated within two hours, and all I was doing was sitting with some friends, eating pizza. I don’t have particularly oily eyelids, either! Any other time a liner has migrated on me, it was at the end of a VERY long day or due to vigorous exercise.
Don’t get me wrong, I have a few MAC products that I love (Woodwinked eyeshadow and Lady Bug lipstick, stop looking so sad — you know I still love you), but I get excited about so many MAC products, only to find out they’re lackluster.
MAC.. I have a love/hate relationship wiyb them.. They were my first love so I’m kinda attached but their products have become watered down and everything is hit or miss these days.. But they will always have a special part in my life.. Dnt get me wrong me wrong though.. Sometimes we “makeup” lol but most of the time we dnt
Ditto. This.
For me it’s always been Benefit, I can never seem to find anything I like in their products.
completely agree! i want to like benefit but nothing seems to suit anyone darker than a vampire, it smells weird, and just seems horribly over priced!
OMG, I LOVE Benefit! It’s probably my favorite brand. I do agree though that it tends to work better for the paler skinned. I’m whiter than white so it works great for me. Eye Bright is awesome, Boing!, Hello Flawless, and I love the new skincare line! So sad that it doesn’t work for you guys.
Agreed! Except I decided pretty early on that I didn’t want to like them anymore haha.
Smashbox… every single time *sigh*
I am right there with ya on Smashbox. Years ago I bought a lot of it (like maybe 10 yrs ago). Now I don’t even look. I have been let down so many times, I just avoid it. Over priced, lack of performance & not the best shades typically in their ltd releases for me. I am not even interested in looking when they have a program on QVC and usually I will take a peek if I am around at any of the cosmetic/skin care line presentations on air.
Dittos on Smashbox. I haven’t found a single one of their products that I really like. I have liners, shadows, primer, foundation, etc. and haven’t been in love with any of it.
The only product that I have been slightly disappointed with is Benefit. I really don’t like how the products (blush in particular) are so heavily scented. I feel I often pass on using the product due to the scent. 🙁
I’ve found that Benefit is VERY hit and miss. Personally, I’m a fan of the Creaseless Creams, the powder eye shadows, Erase Paste, and the tints. Everything else I’ve tried has ranged from okay to terrible.
Smashbox eyeshadows for me they are never pigmented… at least on me they don’t work
Have you tried the single eyeshadows? they are very pigmented, unlike those in the trios.
Yes, MAC. Although i love it i have been frustrated more than once. At first I was dissapointed from the mascara, not at all good, or maybe I should say, nothing great. Then I hated studio fix, nothing special.
The employees in the MAC store are so rude, they never talk to you and they are bored. Not to mention the attitude when you ask for info.
And so many collection, I believe they only want our money.
Anyways I love MAC but I am not easily convinced to go and give all my monthly wage. I am doing a research and I know what to buy exactly everytime I go.
I will have to agree about the attitude of some of the MAC employees. They act like they are doing you some favor by helping you and many act annoyed when you dare to ask a question. Not to mention that every MAC store I have ever been to is overcrowded and understaffed.
That’s too bad! I wish you could visit the MAC stores in Natick, Mass and Boston, they are so nice.
Funny! That’s where I shop too, and I completely agree. Small world 🙂
I can’t think of a brand I’m consistently disappointed in, but also I generally don’t buy things just because of the name.
It is indeed a small world for this is only MAC counter I have been to where I was actually greeted, waited on and given superior customer service. Most of the MAC stuff I order is online but when I do need to go to a counter – it is off to the Natick Mall I go.
the staff at the macy’s in nashua, nh are so nice! it’s sad that they’re not that way at all the stores.
Really? The Nashua Macy’s? I stopped going there because everyone was so clueless and they always seem to be out of everything I wanted. 🙁
Really? I’ve been there a bunch of times and everyone was very nice knew their stuff!
agreed. While i do like some of their permanent items, i find most of their stuff to be overrated. I still try to find something I’d like every collection they release, but it is very difficult. Have only met one nice and knowledgeable MA throughout the entire NYC areas. Plus for me, its not always the more pigmented the better. I do not find most of MAC MA’s makeup very attractive. way too cakey.
their makeup is always very well done, but agreed. always very cakey and drag queen-esque. i can’t help but oogle it though lol. however, it’s weird that they all tend to look like that in the stores… the counter MAC staff doesn’t, nor do the MAC MA artists on the MAC website… i want to know who tells them to wear it that way?!
That is true I told one ma this is your job and if you dont want to be friendly or help get another job. Your not saving lives your selling makeup dont take your job so seriously.
Really? I find MAC employees to be wonderful! But then again, I like it when sales people keep their distance. Say “hi” when I walk in……and then leave me alone. Only speak to me if I come to with a question or ask for help. I also find that they are very knowledgeable….
I agreed. I have been to MAC counter in Australia and Asia and they are all pretty rude. The one in Sydney is always understaff and the mark up here is ridiculous. Their products are so so but there are so many other brands that looks and uses better. Oh, I really don’t like their packaging as well, really boring but I guess that is just personal taste.
tbqh I feel that cosmetics/beauty employees usually are rude and act like snobs. I’ve had both pleasent and unpleasant experiences in the MAC I go to. Sometimes a nice girl is eager to help and even compliments me on my makeup and other times I’m unfortunate enough to get some chick who acts as though she’s better than you.
Doens’t apply to MAC only though. 🙁
Too Faced 🙁 I have 2 of their eyeshadow palettes and I’m not happy with either one of them. Even with a primer their shadows just don’t stay put for me, and I don’t find them incredibly pigmented. A few I like, but the rest are just meh to me. Bummer.
Agreed! Even with primer all Too Faced shadows seem to turn the same color after very little wear. The only product I really like from them is the Chocolate Soleil bronzer because it is so different from anything else of there.
Have you tried their cream shadows? They have the Too Faced primer built it, and thus they stay on me for hours and hours without creasing.
tarte! i love that they use natural ingredients, but for some reason, their products just never worked for me
I second this! I have not gotten one product from Tarte that didn’t soon end up in the trash from frustration… off the top of my head, I’d say I’ve bought 5 products from them in the last year and been super-disappointed in all of them. In fact, everyone loves their Amazonian Clay blushes but I won’t buy and try one because of my disappointment with their products in the past.
I was not a fan of anything I tried in Tarte because they did not last on me. THEN the Amazonian Clay lines came out…I am a total fan now…the shadows are wonderful – great stay power, The full coverage foundation (only sold on QVC right now) is fabulous. It controls the shine for at least 14 hrs on me. It might be a bit drying for some however. I really would encourage you to try something in Tarte again with the Amazonian clay. Even the cheek gel sticks that were all the rave for so long that faded on me in 5 mins, the new Amazonian clay formulation of these lasts! I am in love with the pressed powder blush that came in the first QVC auto delivery collection. Not so much with the lip glosses however.
I think you should try the Amazonian Clay blushes! I had the exact same feelings about Tarte until I tried them. I really wanted to like a lot of their other products, but they’d always disappoint me, and like you, I’d just throw them away in frustration. But the Amazonian Clay blushes have totally changed my mind! I already have three of them, and I want the rest! I’m still hesitant to try other Tarte products, but give the Amazonian Clay blushes a chance. 🙂
I completely agree with this comment. I’ve been disappointed with several Tarte products, but the blushes are fantastic. The color range is beautiful and they’re really pigmented!
Origins. I love the thought of their all-natural, paraben free products…but every time I purchase a product from them I never finish it and end up using something else from another brand.
MAC nowadays! bah
Hard Candy, tokidoki, and generally anything saying mineralized won’t cut it for me. I just had to return two of MAC’s mineralized blushes because they weren’t what I was expecting. It just never works for me. Oh, and the Murad skincare products. I’ll stick to philosophy and LUSH for those.
Yes, unfortunately….. MAC always lets me down!! 🙁 It is such a major brand, and so many makeup gurus are obsessed with it. But I don’t understand how it is so popular!!! I think MAYBE the only thing I have bought at MAC that was good, was the powerpoint eyeliner.
I have bought foundation and concealer (dry, cakey, with an odd smell), MAC pigments (decent color payoff but EXTREMELY irritating to my eyes, mineral pigments are way better, safer, and cheaper), lipgloss (too thick, sticky, and again, bad scent), lipstick (terrible scent, drying), glitter eyeliner (again, dry and crumbly on my lid), and mascara (did absolutely nothing for my lashes).
It makes me sad because their campaigns are gorgeous, but I guess that’s good marketing for you. I prefer Sephora, because there are so many other better brands there for makeup (and I am a major makeup junkie).
I will perhaps still try their eyeliner in the future, and maybe a lipstick since their color range is so good. But the quality of all their products….YUCK 🙁
Oh, don’t bother with the eyeliners. My MAC eyeliner experience has ranged from “eh” to “GOOD GOD, GET IT AWAY FROM ME” (MAC Feline, argh). It’s not just the eyeliners, though: many MAC products are subpar. I’d suggest trying one of the lipsticks, but not a Matte finish one if you had a problem with your lipstick being drying, or an eyeshadow, particularly one from the Veluxe Pearl line. I own Woodwinked, which has a gorgeous color, and it’s really smooth and easy to blend.
Clinique :/
I second this. :/
I love clinique but I think their products seem to suit yellow-toned people only and their foundations only come in light-medium yellow based colours. That’s why they work for me but not for everyone.
I was actually gonna disagree with you about the yellow based colors. I find them too pink… but I love the texture of their foundations, so I still use them, but apply a yellower powder.
Smashbox Everyone raves about their primer and I keep trying it in samples and each time my face breaks out badly.
Yeah Smashbox sort of stymies me. I have one great black eyeliner from them. But the tokodoki collab in particular was a crying shame
MAC!!
If there was a brand that let me down more than twice, I just wouldn’t want to love it. 😉
I was thinking about this lately and yes, the biggest disappointment is MAC. Being a loyal customer form many years, I started to leave it now.
Lately the quality is not just there. It started with a brush last year, I don’t remember the number but I returned it. It felt like a drugstore quality brush. More recently the Quite Cute beauty powder that is so flaky and now this week’s collection, absolutely no color payoff with the eyesahdows.
Thanks for reading
I don’t like MAC anymore… I have been a loyal customer for many years (more than 10 years!) but I feel the quality has dropped…
NARS!
Limecrime? I love the idea of yellow and mint lipstick, but even the new lipsticks don’t review well.
really? i bought all three of the new ones and i love em! but i use them as bases to mix with other colors most often. i haven’t reviewed them yet – but i also haven’t looked up other reviews. i have to do that and see what others are saying! (i still love em tho lol)
Urban Decay – I love their products but I can’t stand the bulky packaging on most of their palettes and the silly little dagger on the lipstick that makes it a pain to store. But the big let down is how often they repeat colors in palettes. I have like 4 or 5 smog eyeshadows, and I don’t even like that color. It makes me wonder if they’re really such a great value when you get so many repeats and maybe one or two new shades. And although I’m ecstatic they put their primer in the squeeze tubes I think it took them way too long. We’ve been begging for years for a change, and although I don’t work for a big cosmetics company, something tells me it isn’t THAT hard to design a squeeze tube.
that dagger is terrible! it broke of in my handbag onces, and now i cant open it 🙁
I’ll take that extra smog. ;P I love urban decay but I only buy singles instead of sets
Nars.I can’t say “again and again” and not that they constantly come up with bad products but most of the time I am disappointed with nars.I think it is an over rated brand
I think Nars have a few good products, like the Sheer Glow foundation and the Loose Powder, but I’ve been disappointed with them often too. Some of the formulas are awful, like the Cream Shadow, Lip Lacquer, Concealer, and Velvet Matte lip pencil.Their products are expensive as well!
I love NARS but their lip glosses taste terrible, like really really bad. They look great but I want to tear my lips off when I’m wearing them.
actually…MAC :S
To be completely honest, MAC’s special releases normally disappoint me after reeling me in for a great collection. Their permanent line is great, don’t get me wrong. The quality just doesn’t seem to be there in many of the collections, and it’s driven me away from getting many “new” products from MAC.
NYC comes to mind…
I have one… Essie Nail Polishes… Their colours are gorgeous but I just hate the formulation… I want to love them badly 🙁
I agree. Essie’s formula seems to be very hit or miss.
and is it me or are their nail polishes sometimes stubborn coming off?!
Yes! I first got into higher end makeup after having a (really good)full faced makeup consultation from Smashbox. The girl who did my makeup was really friendly and had great tips but I feel like smashbox doesnt make the cut when it comes to other brands like Nars or MAC. I really wish their quality was just as nice especially since their prices are up there as well!
I think the only brand that does keep letting me down is MAC. However, MAC does redeem itself. This year they put out several terrible lines like cham pale and quite cute. But they also put out peacocky which was amazing.
Almay is one brand that makes me go, “eh”. Their products (esp eye makeup) are not too bad, but in our current beauty market (when women going bolder with color and intensity) I would like them to step up their game and offer brighter (MAC inspired) shades, like what L’Oreal did when they released their HIP line. The only Almay product I loyally buy is their thickening mascara.
I’d have to say L A Colors and Covergirl. People rave about products from said companies but when I buy them their duds. My last foray into Covergirl was the lip perfetion lipsticks but none of them worked for me.The undertones of the lipsticks were just off. LA colors was just horrible; their eyeshadows are perfumey and they caused me a rash around my eye area.
I agree about the CG lipsticks. The undertones are always pink–even the browns!
I agree with LA colors! They are absolutely horrible. I have heard so many people rave about them being a great inexpensive brand.
MAC, obviously. They keep repromoting stuff and things just look the same. Most of the products they come up with are lacking in quality. LOL. Same goes for NARS. Quality is there but the colors look either boring or the same as previous collections or like the ones in the permanent range.
For some reason I think of MAC, they do have great products and are cheaper than most brands in the same level (although they keep increasing their prices, banking on fidelity) but their collections have been disappointing in the past year in a half, in my POV…
For me, it was Tarte. And now I’ve seen a few products of theirs that have gotten good reviews (like their blushes), but I just can’t bring myself to try them after my past disappointments.
Lately, Mac! I was so excited for the past several collections but ended up not getting anything.
Also, Laura Geller- except for her blushes.
a lot of MAC limited edition stuffs, especialy the eyeshadows… not as good as permanant rage.
It’s Mac for me. I used to love them but they haven’t put anything out in years that has wowed me. They only thing I will buy from them now is their paint pots or their brushes. Everything else is just meh to me.
For me it isn’t so much a brand as it is a type of product – face primers. I’ve been on the hunt for a mattifying primer for my oily t-zone since forever!! If anyone knows of a good one, please let me know.
I just got a clinique product its called pore refining solutions instant perfector for your oily tzone area? It seems to work pretty well on me and isnt tooo ex;pensive at $22.00
Thank you! I’ll be sure to check that out.
L’oreal. I want to like them because they are a subsidiary of Lancome so they should have some really good, quality products, but I feel almost all of their products are too gimmicky (i.e. the “one sweep” eyeshadow, the foundation roller, the list goes on). I tried their True Match pressed powder once, it looked great when I first put it on, but two hours later it had oxidized so badly that my face looked similar to that of an Oompa Loompa. Plus, they are way too overpriced for the quality.
Actually, it’s the other way around, but yeah. L’Oreal is pretty lame.
lately….mac has…hopefully their upcoming collections will redeem themselves…..yay first 2 comment lol
I am going to have to say MAC. I love the brand (sadly because of hype [yeah I suck lol]) but I keep finding their products to not be as fantastic and amazing as everyone says. I do love some products but I am not in love with some of their lipsticks for example because they dry out my lips a bit. Maybe I shouldn’t give into the hype or am I trying out their more crappy products?
I have to say Korres. I’ve tried many products from them and nothing has worked out. The very first prdouct was the Evening Primrose Eye Cream 3 years ago and the latest being their blush in Peach. I’ve never been impressed by anything I’ve purchased but for some reason I continue to try things even after being letdown.
paul & joe beaute! i love their formulas, but none of their foundation colors work for me (too orange or yellow!), and the staying power isn’t there. too bad because i love their packaging.
MAC. I like some of their products but I’m not impressed with the brand overall, at least not for the price. I also want to love Chanel’s eyeshadows but they always look muddy on me. I keep buying them anyway!
Chanel and their eyeshadows for me too. I just so much want to find a way to make them work for me.
Mac and Benefit!
Benefit seems so limited in the skin tones it fit. Its just such a boring line. Looks cheap, smells cheap, works like cheap product.
Mac– I want to love it because so many other people do and i have a concealer thats OK but im a lip gloss fanatic and i hear people rave over lipglass but i cant get into it. I hear that its non sticky but every one i get makes honey feel thin! NONE of the colors suit me either they are highlighter bright or so pale i look dead! The eyeshadow–i know variety is the spice of life but there is SO much variety at Mac that i get overwhelmed and just leave lol (im a makeup lighweight!)
I never thought of this but now that you point it out—you are right. MAC has so many eyeshadows that it can be overwhelming and because there are so many, there are a ton of dupes within the line. Thank goodness for Christine and “the dupe list”, it has saved me from so many unnecessary rebuys.
wow i didn’t even consider smashbox when i posted my original comment but they’re always a big let down for me. Their products never grab my attention and the few that do leave me kinda down.
It’s sort of sad how many of us have named MAC. I was a die hard MAC girl for years but I can honestly say of the last 20 or so collections they have put out, maybe 2 were stellar. I am getting to the point where I am considering dropping the brand all together and I really hope they listen to their customers and improve quality!!!
As the original poster, I have the same feeling about how it is sad that so many have named MAC and if you pressed me…I’d say the exact same thng.
MAC is what really got me into make-up, and I keep hoping and hoping that a new collection will get me enthusiastic again, but outside of Peacocky (which I do admit to loving) I’ve been let down again and again.
If anything, it’s taught me to not put all my make-up eggs in one basket, which is probably better, but still a disappointment.
SMASHBOX. I have tried so many of their products and am always disappointed. They have great looking promo kits, and every time, I say, well maybe this one will be as wonderful as it looks in the box. The products end up returned or in the garbage. AARGH!
Quo. I want to support them because they’re a Canadian brand, and I love buying Canadian. They often have great-looking products with nice packaging. But almost everything I try by them is overpriced garbage. I pretty much have an embargo on Quo, because I’ve been burned by them too often.
i can’t think of any. closest for me would be benefit? even so, i’ve only ever bought three things from them and returned just one. i think i kind of know what i want before i purchase – if a brand doesn’t have the kind of products i’m looking for, i just won’t bother (does that make them a let-down? hmmm… i don’t think so).
too faced shadows. time and time again they let me down. I gave them another shot, and the same thing.
MAC! I think they have really innovative and creative ideas, and there are so many products that I want to love, but I frequently have issues with their formulas… It’s disappointing, since they come out with beautiful colors and some really snazzy concepts. Unfortunately, I’ve almost been scared off of the brand completely because it’s so hit and miss. Every once in awhile, I get something from them that I really like, though.
Agreed! I bought 3 products and never again – big eye mascare is horrible, the eyeliner isnt pigmented at all.. such a disappointment
Eyeko consistantly let me down and I want to love their products because of the packaging. The eyeliner smudges almost instantly, the creams aren’t blendable, the lipglosses have next to no pigmentation, the mascaras don’t thicken or lengthen eyelashes, the bronzers are TINY, the nail varnishes chip in hours…the Fatbalms are good, but not worth the new prices.
MAC… it just doesn’t work for me.
Nars and MAC. Declining quality. Disappointed.
smashbox
I hate to say it, but MAC. When I first tried it out, a few months ago, I was very excited because it was far more pigmented than Clinique, lasted longer and more variety. But the LE products are a big disappointment, my Revlon l/s is more moisturizing and longer lasting, my NARS l/g is less sticky and more pigmented, my Illamasqua blushes are to die for and I am waiting for my first Inglot order!
It’s got to be essie. They take FOREVER to dry, and since loreal acquired them i’ve been weaning myself off.
Smashbox and Urban Decay
Smashbox because everything I buy there is a dissapoint, and I recently recieved the 500pt bonus perk and all the products were not worth it.
Urban Decay because of… Glitter! Such beautiful color eyeshadows and they are all ruined for me by all the glitter.
Try some of the UD matte shadows – they are fabulous – at least the ones that are not too wacked out color wise for me.
I agree about UD. Their shadows are usually high quality but their use of glitter is overdone. Their matte shadows are beautiful but they need more of a slection.
I completely agree with you about Smashbox… I can’t seem to like any of their products. Their primers make my skin an oil slick and I also recently received the 500 pt. perk from Sephora. I’m extremely disappointed… the eye shadow trio is powdery and dusty and isn’t pigmented, the liner is waxy and hard, and the mascara is awful… doesn’t do anything for my lashes. I was like, “I spent 500 points for THIS!?”
My sentiments exactly. I should’ve held out for a better brand…
yes; NARS (which really makes me sad b/c I want more than one of their great blushes to look good on me!), Rimmel, L’Oreal, Too Faced and UD, and yes, finally MAC who has been more and more of a letdown lately.
While there are some things I like about Clinique, I always find their eyeshadows disappointing. Even when I try to layer them on or apply them wet, I never get any color from them.
I also dislike almost everything by Benefit. With the exception of their Creaseless Cream Shadows and some lipsticks, all of their other products break me out or have horrible packaging that always seems to self-destruct around me.
Check out the powder eye shadows, too. Benefit is very hit and miss, but the powder shadows are as good as the Creaseless Creams, in my opinion.
Benefit. For the price, I should adore them. However, I’m mostly Muh about their products. The creaseless shadows are good but I’ve seen other brands just as good at a fraction of the cost with shades other then nudes.
Illamasqua. Hands down.
for me it has to be maybelline. i love the colossal mascara but everything else has been a let down.
Bobbi Brown! Her products never do what is described!
MAC – I’m less likely to get caught up in the hype now, because I feel like they are pushing the products out so fast that at times the quality isn’t consistent. I guess I have a love/hate relationship with them lately. Almay is another one. I’ve tried a lot of things but they just don’t seem to work for me.
Honestly, Benefit has let me down so many times with very few redeeming experiences. I WANT to love them but I just can’t.
Dior. Everything is crazy expensive. The eyeshadows don’t have a great color payoff for me and don’t stay on too long. Their lip gloss is average. I have really only LOVED one gloss of theirs, and they discontinued it. :-/
I would have to say for me Laura Gellar’s makeup has become quite the annoyance for me lately. I use to use her products when they sold them in Sephora and than I bought them from QVC ( Iknow, I know their shipping is outrageous, but it was free)the balance and brighten, and many other bake products seem to have a diff. formulation. Cakey and dry. I am very disappointed, but maybe I’m the only one 😉
Yup – that brand for me is Benefit. Have never bought something and kept it, always has to be returned. Just awful products that don’t work on me.
I have to agree it’s MAC for some reason they have to bring out a collection every month but some of there products makes you wonder who thinks of these colors don’t get me wrong they do come out with nice stuff but sometimes maybe they should skip a month lol
Like many others have said: MAC. 🙁
However, I would say that MAC is a brand that I DO love, but it has been letting me down a lot lately. I haven’t been that excited by the offerings/quality of a number of the more recent launches. But I haven’t given up hope!
As far as customer service goes. I find that the representatives at the stand-alone MACs are incredibly condescending. Thankfully, many of the representatives at my local Nordstrom are nice, approachable, and helpful. 🙂
I’m not sure if it’s new, but I was made away of MAC’s return policy of 30-days-with-a-receipt when dealing with my local stand-alone MAC. The policy just makes me feel unappreciated as a customer. Even Target has a longer return window!
A few weeks ago, I overheard a manager at that MAC stand-alone store telling her staff that if a customer tries to make more than 3 returns of the same kind of item they won’t take the return even if it’s within the 30 days with a receipt! I understand they need to keep people from taking advantage. But I’ve had experienced with a representative telling me a color looked good on me, but once I got home and wore it, it was a no-go. What do they do in the case of someone having trouble finding a foundation match (both in color and in formula)?
For me, it’s NYX. I could forgive the occasional chalky eyeshadow or unevenly applying lipstick… but that revolting, burnt plastic taste and scent that they allow into many of their lip products is incomprehensible to me. It’s like sometimes they just don’t even bother to deodorize the oils and waxes they use. Other manufacturers can manage to make products in a similar price range that -never- smell so horrible… why not NYX? Blargh!
omg you totally read my mind I HATE their lip products- nasty!!! But everyone else in the blogosphere seems to love them, so I thought it was just me!
Have you tried the Black Label lipsticks? I HATE the round ones — the scent is revolting — but the Black Label ones are great (in my opinion). The scent doesn’t bother me (it doesn’t smell like gross plastic or wax) and they stay on for a really long time.
I haven’t yet, but I’m definitely planning on it. Thanks for the tip!
NARS, even though I wish it weren’t so.
I’m really not crazy about Sheer Glow. I have normal/dry skin and after a few hours of wear, it turns my face into this…slick looking mess, like my skin doesn’t feel greasy – it just looks greasy. It’s so weird, I can’t explain it! It does this even when I use a setting powder. I do seem to have gotten it under control by using a primer underneath it, but…
I have their cream blush in Penny Lane and again, I’m not crazy. It slides all over my skin and ends up looking like some sort of rash. I’m so disappointed because I absolutely LOVE the color but I have yet to figure out a way to get it to stay put.
Turkish Delight lipgloss – total miss for me. Does not last, smells HORRIBLE and looks like a hot, streaky mess over my lips. 🙁
It has to be Urban Decay for me. I get so excited about their shadows palettes & buy them only to see repeats over & over again & shadows that could be cousins. They always have those few colors I have to have that make the palette worth it. I bought the book of shadows for rockstar, loaded & haight. But I got stuck with another smog (#4 for me) maui wowie, snatch & uzi. It is a serious love hate relationship for me. Please make another palette like the Black Palette with colors that haven’t been seen before or at least not in 6 other palettes.
Like many others, I’m a long time MAC fan with a huge collection but I haven’t bought much over the last year or so. My big beef is that the “hot” LE items sell out in less than a day and I never get to even try the tester. It’s making me stop even bothering with the new collections, why look forward to something I’ll never get to buy?
NARS – I have a few products by nars and i love there deep throat blush.
I dislike there orgasum blush because it has to much shimmer.
I hate there eyeshadow i have ondine (nice colour but the shimmer drops on to your cheek with in an hour of application) I also have the same problem with all of the shades in the nars pleasures of paris palette.
And there all so expensive i wont buy anything eles from nars.
I also wish that MAC was more consistent. Especially with Matte eyeshadows. I find that their mattes, which are limited, are not always good.
And Urban Decay. Wish they would (1) do some innovative well pigmented mattes (2) and not continually re-promote the same colors. How many Smogs do I need?
I agree with Lil. NARS eyeshadows are the weak link in their brand. I still buy a bunch every season (and a lot of palettes — which are unreturnable to NARS), and I’m less than happy. The shadows always looks great in the pan, but on application… Whoa Nellie. Watch out. Not always a good result. And on me they change color over the day.
Hmmm…starts with M and ends with AC. I am referring to their collections as of late. I wish they would learn to EDIT their collections into 3 or 4 a year. The brand is losing credibility with me and I’d rather buy Inglot or Lorac, etc.
Smashbox. I feel like everything is either average or breaks me out.
I can’t really say a brand it self but if it were a product type it would be elf cream products. They all are so dry & horrible to work with.
Too Faced…i recently bought one of their lipglosses because of the beautiful nude color but when i put it on it was sooooo sticky and had zero pigmentation! It felt like I had just thrown $19.00 out the
window:(
Chanel. Every time I try something everyone raves about it’s never that great, certainly not worth the price. Plus, I don’t think I’ve ever met a NICE Chanel sales associate, which just sours my whole experience with the brand even further.
I hate Smashbox!
I have learned over the years that not one brand does everything well and even the worst lines stumble across a hit here and there. My makeup drawers are made up of a lot of different brands. Skincare may be the one area where I see more consistancy within a line, but even there I have a mixture of different products from different companies.
I do have to say that the MAC LE are exteremly hit or miss and in general disappointing.
Is it a cheat if I say that the Sephora brand is disappointing? (I feel like it is somehow.) I popped in the other day to get a concealer palette, since I was running low on my corrective colors in the quad, and found they’d redone the whole foundation/concealer/powder section. At first I thought it’d be for the better, and bought a click-up lilac concealer pen for brightening. Trying to use it was a mess, trying to blend it was a mess…not only is the delivery method poor for concealer in general (just give me the quad and let me use my concealer brush, PLEASE), it’s this strange, clumpy consistency that actually angered me. I’ve had this experience a few times, when I’ve mentioned to sales associates that I’m looking for [insert thing here] and they pull me over to the Sephora section and hype something. Never a great experience with one of their products, just…at best, passable.
I’ve also been burned by Benefit. Their highlighting creams are great, high & moonbeam, but I avoid all of their skincare options, as they’ve caused breakouts. I also heard awesome things about Stila’s eyeshadows, and haven’t gotten the hype. Granted, I may have entered with a bad palette (one of the $10 travel palettes) but I definitely expected more.
most brands let me down in one way or another, but I would say too faced. eyeshadows are worthless and other products are mediocre, even drugstore brands are better.
Benefit for a start; then there are other brands, like the Italian Collistar (i especially hate the skincare).
the Sephora makeup line is just meh: with their huge connections and knowledge in the industry they could deliver a much better line of makeup!!
Drugstore brands in my country. There are a lot of people out there who love them but they keep disappointing me over and over again. I’m an eyeshadow lover and these brands always disappoint in that area, gorgeous colors but poor pigmentation, lots of fading. Down to the fact that I get allergic reactions although the ingredients list is no different than MAC’s or Benefit’s. I want to love them for the easy access and the cheap prizes but quality must come first!
For me, almost all drugstore brands. Actually, mascara, makeup remover, ans a few WnW items are the only d/s items that make me happy, but I keep trying anyway. He he.
I know I’m going to get a lot of backlash on this…but for me, its Bare Essentials….whenever they have those TSV’s on QVC…I’m like captivated by those little pots of color…(kind of how I used to be fascinated by how chanel used to have their eyeshadows in those little half circles..) and I ALWAYS BUY them….I DO have oily skin…and live in the south….it just doesn’t work for me…yet…I keep buying those little pots of color…and they look fabulous on me for like 10 min…and then poof! Gone…for me..despite using Urban Decay original primer, NARS primer, it just doesn’t stay on me….I end up giving it all away…I’m sooooooo popular with my co-workers…I think they’re waiting for me to die so they can get a hold of my infamous makeup collection!
I have oily skin, too, Maile, and BE does not work for me. They have pretty, pretty colors, but I refuse to give in to temptation. If it doesn’t work for me, I stop buying it.
Break the cycle, girl!!!
Bare Essentuals. Bare Minerals. Whatever.
Makes me itch, doesn’t provide the coverage I need, and their eyeshadows don’t have much staying power. For me, its an overpriced, overhyped product.
SO OVERHYPED. BE is great for people who have slightly uneven skin. If you have acne, dark under eye circles, or any other problems, it won’t work for you because it looks REALLY obvious when you try to build up coverage. One of my best friends rotates through various foundations, and she has moderate under eye circles and mild acne. I can tell on sight when she’s wearing Bare Minerals. I keep complimenting her when she wears different foundation, but she still keeps cycling back to BE. :/
It’s MAC for me, even though it’s a big brand. They just have too many collections with not too impressive packaging and quality. Getting worse because of the massive collections every other month. It’s all the hpype about different collections, then after I bought it, it’s just ok product, nothing to rave about.
Too Faced! I want to like their products so bad because they have the cutest packaging, but I haven’t found anything that works. It’s a bummer, but I still keep the things because they look cute on my vanity =)
MAC…don’t know why….but literally ALL thier products have let me down….and 2nd LUSH…..i am always tempted with the “natural handmade cosmetics” but it has always always always let me down..
Givenchy. sigh.
After too many disappointments, I have given up on Smashbox and Cargo.
I was a die-hard UD fan. But lately their eyeshadows just aren’t doing it for me. I’m tired of all the glitter. I like the shimmery ones, but the glitter ones are just too too much. I think I’m done with them as far as eyeshadows are concerned. I’ll always be a UDPP fan, though!
Bobbi Brown… love her brushes, but it seems that every new product I buy goes back. She thinks everyone is warm-based and her skincare products are “meh.” I do buy her corrector non-stop, but that’s about it. Too blah and neutral for me. Seriously, how many shades of nude and brown are there?
I hate Covergirl. They suck at foundations, eyeshadows, etc. They lipglosses taste terrible and are too thick. Every time they miss the mark for me
I have to say its Urban Decay for me. I hate UDPP, their e/s are way to glittery for me, and their brushes aren’t anything special.
MAC- they’re the low end of “high end.” As a makeup artist, their foundations are CRAP. I’ve seen gals use their foundation daily and just completely wreck their skin. I like their Fix+ spray but it’s pretty much just water and glycerin, so charging $20 makes no sense. Their shadows/lipsticks/blushes are hit or miss- many better ones out there
Clinique Skin Care. I really want to like it but it just doesn’t work for me. Most of the time it’s too irritating and I always end up using only half of it. I like most of their makeup, except for their foundations. The colors don’t suit my skin most of the time and I find them feeling heavy on my skin.
Benefit let me down a few times. I fall in love with the cute packaging every time but the price just doesn’t match the quality and it’s very heavily scented. Average quality for a high price.
I have been deeply disappointed in the MAC lipstick line. Having heard so much about Ruby Woo, I finally purchased it. It began to flake and fade within 20 minutes! I couldn’t believe it. Although the colors are beautiful and dramatic, MAC lipsticks are (in my opinion) inferior to drugstore brands like Revlon (Super Lustrous) and CoverGirl (Lip Perfection). When I want a high-end lipstick, I usually go to Makeup Forever (Rouge Artist Intense).
This is a really good question. It took me some time to think about. When I first started doing makeup back in 2008, one of my friends told me to get some things from Stila, because that was her favorite makeup brand. And I knew nothing about what other brands were available at that time. So, I wound up getting some things from Stila. And even though the products that I bought were not that great, I kept going back and purchasing more products!!! I guess it was because I had no clue about other makeup brands out there. And I wound up spending a fortune on Stila makeup that just was not good at all. I have not done that since, because I know better now, but at that time I did not, and it was a big mistake!
IPSA which is a Japanese brand that has both makeup and skin care. I really want to love their skin care products because everything looks so pure and sophisticated but every time I am disappointed….
Benefit – the products are so cute and gimmicky I get suckered into buying. I’ve never liked the quality of any of the products I’ve tried.
NARS – It’s such a popular brand and I hear such great things about them, but every eyeshadow and blush I’ve tried has just been sooo chalky. I also had a potted gloss from them and it smelled rancid even when brand new!
I have to say that above all others Bobbi Brown is a brand that I would love to love and really…I don’t. I would think with all the hype about her experience and the work that goes into each product they would be amazing. All of the foundations are YELLOW based and I’m sorry, if you have pink undertones, yellow just does not work. I don’t care for the textures of any of the shadows, blushes, lip products, mascaras or skincare. I’ve tried and tried, but I most likely won’t waste any more money on that line.
Lante