Have you ever had an allergic reaction to a beauty product before? Share!
I think so! I mean, nothing so much that I’ve gone to see a doctor for, so it might not be an official allergic reaction, but there’s something in many lip plumpers that doesn’t sit right on my lips.
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Every time I use the UD primer potion my eyes start to itch, same with the naked palette, it’s so weird.
I was SO bummed when I finally got my hands on Naked 3. I was allergic to it!! But Coastal Scents has dupes which I was able to wear.
Oh Thank God No! I haven’t had such bad luck with any makeup item I have bought/tried yet.. If that happened it would really put me off all makeup exploration!
I had purchased L’Oreal’s Million Lash mascara per recommendation, and not an hour later, It broke down into my eyes and I was blind from the burning until I could get it rinsed out. It was the only time that had happened with a mascara ever, and I was thankfully able to get it refunded without any issues.
All of UD’s purple based eyeliners (especially when used on the waterline) give me pink eye (the allergic reactions sort) and it’s sooooo painful! My eyes are red and swollen for a few days. Needless to say, I no longer wear those. I’m almost positive it’s due to the Carmine. I don’t seem to react to shadows of the same shade.
Me, too! I can’t wear anything with red or purple because of the Carmine in it. I get a horrible pink eye reaction that takes days to clear up.
me, too! I check ingredients now before I buy something but it’s a bummer because some of those purples are too beautiful!
So lucky! It doesn’t take much for my eyes to flare up like golf balls. Certain concealers and mascaras irritate the heck out of me.
Yes–Marc Jacobs highliner gel eye crayon on Blacquer. Made my eyes swell up and itch the following morning. It has an incredible staying power though hahah
Stila foundation! I swatched it in Ulta and a few minutes later I noticed I kept scratching my hand, looked down and it was all rashy. After I left the store, it turned into a hive and itched like crazy. I have no idea what it was though because I’ve never had a reaction to foundation, and I’ve tried several. Who knows.
The other, much weirder reaction I’ve had was to eyelash curlers! I’m thinking it must’ve been latex because I know I’m allergic to that.
I’ve been lucky (perhaps my skin just isn’t that sensitive?) but no allergic reactions yet.
Can’t say the same for some perfumes though. Sadly, something as lovely as Fracas can leave me with a debilitating migraine for days, even if I just catch a whiff of it on someone else. . . go figure!
I definitely had an allergic reaction to Maybelline Faslsies Mascarra. I had a huge swollen eye, and had to stay in the hospital for two days. My doctor prescribed to me some antibiotics, and told me to apply a hot press for my eye for a week. Since that experience, I never touched another Maybelline product!
OMG yes. I tried 3 different Paula’s Choice products (at different times) that contained niacinamide. They all burned, irritated, and dried out my skin. It was incredibly painful and my skin was so red its still just barely recovering from the last reaction.
Well, I got rashes all over my face and neck from a Cetaphil cleanser. It wasn’t serious enough for me to go to the doctor but it did last for about 5 days.
It hadn’t happened until recently when i tried the lemon drop eos balm. I’d tried the others before and they were great, but then the lemon drop caused my lips to dry up and crack, and there was even small petechial hemorrhaging. Scary. The Body Shop’s aloe lip care made them okay again!
Not a beauty product but a skincare product. In the ninth grade, benzoyl peroxide was the new miracle cure for acne, so I bought a tube of Oxy something-or-other and overnight went from small pimples to giant red welts! It was the mother of all reactions!! I was made to go to school like that and remember being asked if I had measles or something. It took four years to get my acne under some sort of control.
B peroxide and s acid can have a bad effect on some people 🙁
which is sad cause I need something for my acne….I know they are supposed to make your skin flake and itch at first and then get better, but the better part didn’t seem to happen. I also have flaky skin and that makes my acne worse cause my pores get even more blocked from it and make up looks cakey on my skin.
I put bp on a strange break-out I had on my left cheek and it just made it worse…more irritated….damn, I should’ve just left it alone cuz when it got very inflamed it was all big whiteheads that were so soft that they exploded when i smiled….so I had to squeeze them then…and then 3 new ones appeared next to those 8 i already had…and so on…..that thing took 5 months to back down after i applied a dangerous medical bacteria, virus and yeast killer with iodine(which messed with my thyroid, btw, cause sometimes i forgot to rinse it off in 1 minute and left it on way longer…but it’s gonna ger out of my body eventually)….and 2 months later it got inflamed again but less bad and it went away….but the scars are so red, even now….sometimes a lil pimple appears on them but i leave it alone…i never slept on my left side but sometimes i like to lie in bed to watch tv on that side but for half an year i couldn’t do it…and now i’m afraid to.
I tried sa all over my face 2 summers ago for a few days….i bought it to help me with my already flaky oily skin(probably seb dermatitis) but it just made it flake more….it’s said to do that at first so i kept applying it on places that needed it the most only….even flakier….the recovery part never came. Also, you have to avoid sun while you’re using them(and i agree, ofc, too much sun ages you), but in my condition i need a bit of sun exposure to help with my flaky skin(just like in worser conditions-psoriasis, for example). As long as I only stay long enough to just get rid of the flakes but not begin to tan, it’s perfect. Beside that, our bodies need a bit of sun to get vit D(for our bones), so completely avoiding it or wearing sunscreen all the time is unhealthy, especially in the winter months, when we need more exposure to get our daily intake of vit D(30 min or an hour, depending on how weak the sun’s rays are).
A lot of the chemical sunscreens cause cancer, btw. It is so because they penetrate deep into the skin. On the other hand, physical ones usually look chalky…..so now they make some with nanoparticles…..which are also said to be dangerous. >.< I hope they aren't….after all.
A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO THESE 2 TO EXFOLIATE THE SKIN AND KILL BACTERIA(and also get rid of nail infections and that thick hard white skin on some ppl's feet and elbows) is UREA. I kind of never given attention to stuff that contains it cause they were always marketed for dry skin(i thought they meant skin that is just dry and wrinkly and oil-less, not flaky one). I didn't think it was made out of urine like ppl assume(it wouldn't be hygienic, would it? lol). It's made in a lab, indeed. I recently was browsing a site with cosmetics and saw a shampoo for flaky scalp that contains it and i wondered why cause of my assumptions. then i read about urea and I found out that it is a normal component of our skin and yes, pee. it helps skin to regenerate and stay hydrated….which is a plus compared to Bp and SA(they dry it badly). It seems that people with flaky skin problems have too little of it in their skin(beside other problems like eating bad food and bad digestion…stuff that i'm still trying to change but it's hard for a couch potato like me).
So yeah, after a few applications(you have to use a lotion, cream or gel that contains it cause shampoos are only meant to stay a few mins on one's skin until the detergents in it become irritating) and some light physical exfoliation(rubbing the skin so the almost detached flakes fall off), my elbows were flake-free and my face was smooth…which is good cause i don't have to stay as much in the sun as when i don;t use it. A con of it is that you have to keep it away from your eyes and wounds cause it stings like hell. (so it's not good for flaky and very red hands in the winter, only when the cracks heal and there's only flakes). This con goes for bp and sa, too, so i guess it's expected and alright. You can also apply it all over your legs 1-2 days BEFORE you wax or electrically remove your hair because it releases the ingrowns. The big amount isn't a problem-most of these creams are cheap(that's cause they're usually marketed as foot or hand care products….it's funny how prices skyrocket when products in general are marketed for the face even tho the ingredients are the same or even better, in this one i got…no perfume, no alcohol(and no mint like some foot care may have in it). I won't say what brans cause I don't wanna do adv and besides, it's not available outside my country…there are tons of other brands that do these creams all over the world, but you gotta check the ingredients list.
Lol, I wrote a long comment. I should start a blog :)) (I did, but I don't write in it…yet)
Pixi endless silky eye pens. Ive never had a reaction to any other product. They hurt my eyes, made them red, swollen, itchy and runny.
I’m being treated right now for a reaction to fragrance in hairspray. Wherever my hair touched I’m completely covered in an itchy rash. I look horrible and feel worse from the prednisone. Went to a wedding forgot my hairspray and ended up with the same brand but not unscented.
Feel better!!
Yes! I got a severe eye reaction to my Estee Lauder DayWear Cream! It lasted for hours and in the end I just went to bed (at like 8PM or something) because I just couldn’t keep my eyes open and my eyes were so swollen and tears kept rolling out.
The same exact thing happened to me with my EL Daywear cream too. I was a long-time user since the product came out, but at some point, the formula changed (I think it was when the “Plus” was dropped from the name of the cream in 2011-12) and my eyes became constantly red. The daywear cream was the last thing on my mind to blame because I figured I had used it since college with no issues, it had to be something else. I switched shampoos, contact lens brands and despite hundreds of dollars in eye doctor visits and prescriptions, no relief. On a whim I bought Neutrogena to take on a trip instead of my Daywear jar and lo and behold, no more redness in my eyes. I wish I knew what the ingredient was that caused it. I miss Daywear because that cream was so good for my skin. I’m using Philosophy’s Miracle Worker with SPF and that’s been good, but not the best.
Yes! I’m allergic to bismuth oxychloride, and I get a horrible rash. It’s not as bad if it’s in an eyeshadow, but I can’t use anything like Bare Minerals, MAC mineralized skinfinish, etc. Plus due to its structure, it gets really deep down into your skin, and I have to use iodine for several days to get rid of the bumps. I wish BM, MAC etc. would use higher-quality ingredients 🙁
as someone who frequently experiences bizarre rashes, it’s difficult for me to pinpoint the source sometimes. If I am using a new product and experience something unusual with my skin, I ditch the product. I have never been hospitalized or experienced dangerous swelling from a product though.
Ditto.
The first allergic reaction I had was during high school when my mother bought me a face powder from Avon and after a few days of use, my face itched badly so I stopped using it. Second time I used another Avon powder I also had an allergy so since then I never used any face powder from Avon anymore. Then last month or so, I started having allergic reaction from eyeshadows and it started with Wet ‘n Wild Blue Had Me at Hello. I used it a number of times before but I did not have that problem. Now, whatever eyeshadow I put on my eyelids, I’d feel slight itchiness a day after. Maybe it was the weather or something so I’m not using any, at least for now.
Yes, I have – I tried a new Biotherm product a few months ago, and it made my eyes burn. I didn’t use it around my eyes, so it wasn’t a contact thing – it was the scent of the product itself that made my eyes burn. I had to take it back – luckily the company offers a 30 day guarantee, or I would have been out sixty bucks.
I’ve had a reaction to a few products! The Bobbi Brown BB cream, Pond’s moisturizer, and an Aveeno moisturizer!
I guess I’ll just have to stick to what I know works :/
My mom is allergic to every mascara, so far as we can tell — Korres, Benefit, Maybelline, the gentle Clinique one, Physicians’ Formula, whatever organic thing Whole Foods sells… they all turn her eyes red and swollen.
And I don’t know whether this is straight-up an allergic reaction, but ever since I started using adapalene, I’ve gotten chemical burns whenever I put moisturizer on my face — even the parts of my face I don’t put adapalene on. No idea why. I had to switch to moisturizing with a combo of beauty oils and Aquaphor.
I’ve also had to switch to oils and Aquaphor.
It may be a natural skincare product but Caudalie Vinosource moisturizing sorbet turned my face instantaneously red. Nature can also be dangerous! 🙂
I got a hot, red rash all over my cheeks after using Boscia’s Makeup Break-up Cool Cleansing Oil. So bummed!
Eczema all around my eyes and eyelids. I’m currently on my second steroid cream.
I made a solution of 1T Johnson’s baby shampoo in a 1 cup of water, and was using that to remove my eye makeup. This was at the same time I tossed out almost all my eye makeup (they were old) and bought new. It took me 6 months to cycle through eyeshadows, UD primer, eyeliners, concealer, foundation, before I saw a post somewhere to suggest the eye makeup remover.
In 45 years, I’ve never had a skin reaction to anything, ever. It’s been one week now, and it’s finally disappearing!! YAY! Johnsons – boo.
That shampoo has a lot of fragrance in it, most likely, like all shampoos. NOT smth to put on your eyes…
Baby shampoos aren’t better than regular shampoos.
The most common reason for eyelid/eye dermatitis is nailpolish, so I would consider if it is this causing your eczema.
I don’t know if this counts as an allergic reaction, but I’d say it’s a strange one. Years ago when I wore a certain brand of lipstick (can’t remember, might have been Maybelline or Revlon), I had an immediate sore throat as soon as I applied it. It was without fail, and it wasn’t an old lipstick or just the one tube. No swelling, just sore. Weird.
I’ve worn false eyelashes once, to a Halloween party, felt so proud that I got them on rather easily. Then the next day comes, and my eyelids are all swollen because of the glue.
I’m not allergic to a lot, but when I am, the results are pretty bad. 🙁
Sadly for some reason I can’t use anything by Revlon. My eyes will water or I get a rash on my face. I wish I knew why because I love some of their products.
I had a reaction to a Maybelline lipstick. It made my lips peel and burn almost immediately, so I threw it away. That’s the only time, though!
I will first note that I have crazy sensitive skin…..
-Tarte Maracuja concealer
-Philosophy Moisturizer
-Murad Blemish cleanser
-Exuviance purifying cleanser
-Urban Decay big fatty mascara
-Jack Black mint lip balm
I get nervous to try new stuff, I envy those who can wear whatever, le sigh!
The lavender in Bobbi Brown Foundation, and cetaphil cleanser. Quite a few things have also broken me out in irritant dermatitis but I can’t remember what off the top of my head. One was a serum, if I recall correctly.
I have reactions to all sorts of things that are usually fragrance related. I also have quite a sensitivity to products with Bismuth in them. It is in a lot of cosmetics, especially powders and foundations. Let the itching commence!
I loved wearing lipstick but four years ago I developed an allergy to any lip product from lipstick to simple unscented lipbalm. The reaction consists of red, itchy lips that are peeling and feel uncomfortable, are sensitive and look awful for weeks after the application. I still don’t know if it’s just an ingredient, as I tried sooo many different products with the same results. I have to try not to look at new lip products here at Temptalia as it makes me sad that I can never wear them again.
I also had allergic reactions to some face creams and especially eye creams. I like Clinique at the moment. The list goes on with some eyeliners (afraid to try new ones..), and purple/red eyeshadows. The patch test on my back with “common cosmetics ingredients” at the doctor didn’t give me a helpful answer (nickel, a fragrance mix, palladium).
YES!!! Jack black lip balm! I loved it when I first tried it like 4 years ago but the SPF in it (as low as it is) killed me!!! Several other chemical SPF’s have given me a reaction so bad that I swelled up and broke out and itched like crazy! I thought it was the brand but after trying a few others I just realized I can’t wear the chemical SPF’s. Non-chemicals leave am ashy cast on us brown skin girls but I’d rather be ashy than burned! Lol
The last few times I’ve worn any kind of lip product – stains, pencils, lipstick, lipgloss, the next day or so my lips will are dry and cracked for a few days. I slather Carmex on it every 2-3 hours and wait until they get normal again. So far UD, Revlon, Em Cosmetics, Benetint and Lioele Lip tint have dried out my lips… not sure if it’s a single product or if it’s because I layer them. UD pencil definitely made them crack. There’s something in it but I’m not sure what. Also, I tried out Yes to Blueberries face wipes in April and broke out in rashes that covered about 60% of my face for 2 and a half weeks. Since the initial rash, every two weeks or so my left cheek will get a little rash. It has really restricted my diet and I’m nervous to use anything on my face other than coconut oil and cetaphil. Sometimes I wear makeup but never to cover my whole face.
It seems anything with honey or bees wax in it my skin reacts to. I first discovered this when I tried Burt’s Bees lip balm for the first time. My lips started to turn really red and started to burn. I got it off fast but the chapped lips took about 2 weeks to fully heal.
A few years later on I tried a diy face mask. With honey in it. My face got really dry and peeling for like 2 or 3 weeks. That’s how I discovered honey is not my faces friend.
The worst though was from EOS lip balm. I could not figure out what was constantly chapping my lips and making the crack and bleed so badly. It was also around my lips that was having the reaction. I had been using the EOS for a few months. After trial and error on what it could be. I finally figured it out. I was putting different lip treatments on to try and heal them and not much was healing them. Everytime I used EOS it happened again. It took a good 3 months for it to fully heal and go away. I have a lovely little red scar at the bottom of my lip from where it would constantly crack and bleed.
Once – my face became swollen and my eyes almost swollen shut. It was an awful experience. Doctor gave me meds but it took quite some time for all of the itching and swelling to completely go away. The product was “Fruition” – it’s not available now. I didn’t contact the company.
Was this an Estee Lauder product? If I’m thinking of the right one, I’m pretty sure this product contained retinol, which a lot of people are sensitive to. They discontinued it and replaced it with a product called Idealist, which I’m also very allergic to. 🙁
I’ve been pretty fortunate with using products
Without any allergic reactions to anything I have
ever used. Makeup or skincare.
Thank goodness because I love trying different
makeup all the time:)
None that I can remember. However my eyelids are strangely dry and flaky near my lashline today, and I’m wondering what’s caused it. Hoping it’s not the NYX HD eye primer, since I only recently purchased it and haven’t had much use out of it yet.
Oh yes. Many lip products, especially lip sticks cause burning, itching and peeling. I just had a reaction to a Philosophy cleanser. My face was bright red with itchy bumps. Each time I have a reaction I use hydrocortisone ointment and it clears up.
I had a reaction to clinique’s moisturizer.
There was a Rimmel London eyeshadow once that made my eyelid puff and swell whenever I used it so I stopped and it never happened again.
Yes, I’ve had an allergic reaction to some type of Mary Kay lip cream. My lips and my face were swollen. I ended up at the ER. So now I don’t any lip products that contain fragrance.
Considering that I don’t have any real food allergies and I don’t get seasonal ones too badly, it’s kind of surprising how many beauty products I’ve had reactions to:
– Most Clarins skin care products I’ve tried
– Every Chanel skin care product I’ve tried
– A lot of Benefit products, including High Beam/ Moon Beam, etc.
– Virtually every type of sunscreen, particularly chemical (rather than physical) ones
– YSL Rouge Volupté lipsticks and Kiss & Tell (only on the lips, though)
– Almost all cream shadows, particularly shimmery ones
Mac Mineralize eye shadows don’t cause a full-blown allergic reaction, but they make my eyes very itchy and watery, which I guess is pretty much the same thing, except that the reaction goes away as soon as the product is removed. Bottom line: I seem to have a lot of cosmetic allergies for someone who claims she isn’t allergic to anything.
Almost all lip products give me an itchy throat!
Unfortunately I’m sensitive to something in the YSL Glossy Stains! It’s terrible because I love the texture, shade and finish of mine and know how many people absolutely love them!
I get pinkeye from any eye product, shadow or liner, that isn’t a neutral like brown or grey. Needless to say, I own a lot of neutral palettes…
uh-huh. I’m alergic to carmine, which is used in pink eye shadows and I’m also allergic to something in some purple eye shadows, which is such a bummer because I love purple on my eyes. I’ve bought plenty of purple shadows that I’ve sadly been unable to use after the first try.
My first major allergic reaction was to the UD eye primer potion. I ended up in the emergency room with an IV of steroids to stop the HORRIBLE swelling in my eyelids. Permanently ruined the skin on my eyelids too. Now I don’t use ANY eye primers and make sure I keep my face primer away from my eyes. I’m also sensitive to mascaras and purple based eyeshadows and liners. I love the color purple so that bums me out. Also very allergice to sunscreens, have had really bad reactions on my body as well as my face. This is no fun when you like to play with make up as much as I do! 🙂
Yes. To everything, almost literally.
I tried Jergens Natural Glow 2 weeks before my wedding and my entire body broke out in a rash. Thankfully it was only a mild reaction and cleared up in a few days, but I did panic a little bit.
LORAC luster drops, silver. My eyelids started burning and itching within seconds of applying the stuff (the redness lasted an entire day).
TARTE smoldereyes pencils. I cannot wear any of them in my waterline (watering, itching).
L’Oreal carbon black telescopic liquid liner (tried to do a winged liner, started itching and burning within minutes).
It’s rare for me to have a bad reaction to makeup items, but these were pretty bad.
Yes…. I’m allergic to Estee Lauder double wear stay-in-place Makeup Foundation. I don’t usually wear a lot make up, I do use foundation daily. I love clinique’s foundation but its not waterproof and I got oily skin so I decided to try something that was all day wear. I like the consistency of Estee Lauder but I noticed that once I took it off I had what looked like a heat rash around my nose, cheeks and upper lip area. I thought it was something else, however I tried it again and the same thing happen. The foundation was not cheap but I wont bash the brand because perhaps what doesn’t work for me works great for someone else. I will be going to Sephora and M.A.C to try some samples, because i need something that is all day wear. If anyone knows of any good all day foundation for oily skin please let me know. Thank you.