Do you use products you dislike to finish them?
Depends on why I dislike the product, but in general, no, I don’t. I’d rather pass it on to someone who might like it, since the cost is sunk either way and I have more products than I could ever finish in 400 lifetimes, so it doesn’t make sense to “suffer” in an area that I don’t need or have to suffer in.
If it’s a performance issue, I wouldn’t keep using it just to say I finished it if there were better options in my stash. If it was something like, “don’t love this scent” but it doesn’t drive me crazy, then I might keep using it if I liked everything else.
— Christine
No, not if it can be passed on to someone else who might enjoy it! Things like liquid lipsticks etc just go in the trash, and having learned that I donāt really enjoy any liquid lipsticks I donāt buy them any more, no matter how hyped something is.
Amen! No liquid lipsticks.. I am over it! Dry crusty lips and emphasized lines.. why struggle?
Nope. Life is too short and I have too much makeup to choose from!
No. I sanitize and donate.
Same.
Makeup products, I pass on to family/friends. Face skincare products I will use other areas of the body.
Same. There are a lot of face creams that end up being hand cream or body lotion. I have lovely Decleor face oils that are simply too rich for my face so they now have become lotion or body oil mix-ins.
Unless I hate it, I try to–it’s the only way I can assuage the guilt for having so many products (usually in the form of little sample bottles from my many subscriptions). I’ve been using a lot of this kind of stuff while being quarantined, and saving my best products for when things go back to “normal.”
No. If something is just a bad quality, I’ll return it or throw it out. If it just doesn’t work on me, but the quality is good, I’ll pass it on to a friend or donate it.
No, life is too short to make yourself miserable with things that are supposed to make you happy. I either toss them or donate them.
With the size of my collection, the likelihood that I would use up a product in general is low, so trying to use products I don’t like just wouldn’t work. I try to pass them on to someone that would use them.
No. As you said, it’s a sunk cost.
No, I usually see if I know anyone who wants them or else they go in a my black hole box of makeup. I’m not good at throwing makeup away unless it’s gone bad.
The only exception is a liquid foundation by Bare Minerals that I use for chores like grocery shopping on the weekend when I don’t want to waste my precious EL Double Wear. The Bare Minerals isn’t bad, but it’s just not as good as EL, so I’ll slowly use it up.
I have definitely used foundations I dislike for chores or situations I’m in public for just a few minutes. š
I’ll try to use it a few different ways/combine w/ other products before giving up entirely. But if I can’t find a way to use it that’s at least OK, (and it’s a decent product that can be sanitized), I ‘ll try to give it away.
Yes, I try to for a while. I’m currently cruising through a foundation I don’t love. I figure I don’t use it as much anyhow while I work from home and don’t wear foundation when I wear a mask, so I don’t want to open a new one unless I need to use it regularly again.
Sometimes I will try on an eye shadow I haven’t been wearing in a while to understand if I dislike them, or if the shade just doesn’t suit me at a given moment. Once I have eye shadow on, I don’t think about it that much during the day.
Fortunately – largely thanks to Temptalia – I have very few products that I don’t like. There are times I buy something on a whim or in spite of a mediocre review (an e/s quad from that “Cham-Pale” collection from MAC) and I will try to use it – most things I buy on a whim aren’t entirely a lost cause. If something causes me a problem, though – a skin reaction, for example – or REALLY doesn’t suit me, I’ll pass it on to someone (usually my daughter or a good friend).
I have a stupidly expensive 35 SPF tinted moisturizer that I am using up despite the fact that it is not flattering because I need to use SPF and no one sees me in it these days except my husband who doesnāt notice things like that. Normally, however, I am like you and cut my losses ASAP. I do wonder whether Project Beauty Share, where I send my unwanted products, will continue to take things going forward.
Lesley, I emailed them recently and they said their partnered shelters are desperately in need of donations, whether it is gently used beauty products to other feminine care supplies. I was really happy to hear this, as I have a bin of barely touched makeup that never made it to friends or family prior to moving out of state quite literally before the pandemic broke out.
Yes if they are high end. Or at least try to use them as much as possible to justify the purchase, maybe mixed with other profuct to improve the formula or achieve a more flattering colour
No, usually not. Unless it was something quite expensive, then I might. Especially if the issues are ones I can somehow mitigate, then I’ll try to use it up. Just depends on what those issues are. For example; I do have some very pricey matte eyeshadows in a few palettes of the same brand that can go on too patchy, so I simply set my eyeshadow primer with either MAC Orb or RMCA No Color Powder and they apply just fine then. So, I still use them. Yet, if a shade is just all kinds of wrong on me, I won’t bother. If I can still return it, I will. Otherwise, I’m give it away or it just sits there unused.
I used to feel a need to finish what I start–books, movies, tv shows, makeup… But I realized that spending time on stuff I don’t really care for as much is sort of a huge downer. It is very freeing to not limit ourselves like that!
Most times I really try to make things work, maybe try different combinations and techniques.
If I just dislike them, but they still perform decently, I will try to finish them. But if they perform terrible (mascara or eyeliner that smudges badly after a couple of hours, foundation or concealers that it’s too much of a bad match or looks horrible upon application, etc.) or they cause me irritation I won’t try.
I’m assuming I can’t return the product. I see beauty products as a guilty pleasure and if its usage becomes irritating–then it defeats the purpose for me. If I mildly dislike the scent but it works well otherwise, I’ll see if I can put up with it bc most smells do dissipate after using. If I dislike the color on me but it works well otherwise, then I’ll see if I can blend it with something else to create more colors. If it seems defective (like a quality control issue), I might think about contacting the company but that has never actually happened. If I have a skin reaction to it or it just changes color on me, but I still like the initial color–I might store it away for color referencing when I want to shop for a dupe. If I have something similar already –I’ll just toss it.
No. It’s just makeup and life is too short to be using something that I dislike. Makeup is an enhancement; not an obligation!
Having done so in the past, I now do not keep any product that I really dislike. Now that I know my correct foundation undertone, I don’t have to suffer wearing a foundation that is the wrong shade.
Thanks to your excellent reviews, it is rare that I ended up with a product I dislike. I now purchase beauty products, such as eyeshadows, that I know will suit me and I will use – even if it means waiting a long, long time to find something I will really love.
I donāt. I give them away. I cannot do pink, reds or reddish orange eyeshadow. Doesnāt look good on me like it does others. If they are part of a palette I like, I will chip some of it out into a small container and mix up with balm and make colored lip balm.
I keep lip colors I donāt love the color but the formula and wear while working from home.
Life is too short to waste on things that you don’t like. I will pass the item on to someone else if it is an expensive product or toss it if it is less expensive and doesn’t perform to my expectations. I never thought to use face creams or oils on my hands or body, but I will remember this if I find something that doesn’t work well on my face.
I don’t continue to use products I dislike. Dependiing on product, I either discard or pass it on.
Depends on the level of dislike.
This was a great question/response. I really think I’m going to work on NOT feeling guilty about just pitching something that doesn’t work well. Honestly, during this COVID-19 craziness I don’t need the added discomfort of using something I don’t really like or the stress of finding an appropriate source for donating.
I’m a keeper, I have to admit. But it really depends on a product. If it’s a moisturizer that didn’t work for my face I’d use it for my hands or feet. As for makeup products, I keep them for a few months and see if I can make it work (like keeping a dark foundation and using it in summer). Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s not and I toss it or give to a friend. But still I feel guilty if I about it, especially if it was pricey or it was a gift from a good friend or family. I guess Iām going to work on not feeling guilty about things that didn’t work for me (it’s you, product, not me!)