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Has a favorite beauty product changed formula on you?
Has a favorite beauty product changed formula on you? Was it an improvement or did it change it for the worse?
I’m sure there are more than few examples, but the one I can remember is MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator–I loved it the first release, but it wasn’t quite as good in subsequent releases. I have also experienced a decline in brush quality with MAC with some standard brushes (239s, 217s) that I’ve purchased in the past year compared to my brushes from three to five years ago.
Thanks to Patricia for today’s question! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
Pond’s cold cream. It sucks now. I don’t even know what half the ingredients are. Before, you knew!
I’m pretty sure CVS has their own brand cold cream that is the same as the old Ponds cold cream.
I don’t mean to spam I’m sorry haha, If not CVS I know for sure Walgreens has one that has the original Pond’s 7 ingredients.
I’ve heard that Walgreen’s and CVS both have their own brands which have the original 7 ingredients that Pond’s had, but I’ve looked and can’t find them. They both have all the chemicals that Pond’s now has.
What a disappointment! I wonder if Pond’s has noticed a decline in sales?
I wrote to them about it-you cannot even give them a phone call, there is no number on their website-and their response was to say they were sorry for my bad experience and send me some coupons for a couple of jars of cold cream-which is the exact same stuff I complained about. They did not address the issue of their formula being changed.
As far as I know, when Pond’s changed their formula, CVS, Walgreens, and other “store brands” changed theirs too to match 🙁
My favorite leave-in conditioner (I think it was Herbal Essences?) changed their formula and eliminated the natural raspberry from it, replacing it with an artificial perfume. I couldn’t use it anymore because the scent aggravated my allergies 🙁
YES!!! MAC prep & prime spf 50. 🙁 Was my Holy Grail primer for about 5 years… before they messed up the formula :'(
Mine too! I wish I would have purchased several backups before they changed the formula! Have you found something to replace it? It was such a great product.
My theory is it is cheaper for MAC to produce the new formula and that’s why they changed it.
Oh yes!!! Years ago when I was finally tired of caking makeup onto my face to hide my acne (didn’t work!), I found a product by Mary Kay that they called all those years ago a tinted moisturizer. Well, it was just perfect for me. Not too light, not too heavy, good packaging; I was in love. Naive me at the time thought I had found my makeup for the rest of my life. Silly girl!!! About 2 years later my consultant said they were just revamping the packing of the line to make it more modern but I would be getting my beloved product back in no time.
Oh the horror!!! This was NOTHING like that light, creamy makeup I was wearing before. This was thicker, darker and had no pump. I was like “Oh no you didn’t” and the reps actually tried to tell me the packaging changed and nothing else. Well that was the beginning of the end for me. Just don’t lie to me you know?
I can’t think of anything offhand, but I find it so irritating when a display sample is a different formula than the product you buy and take home. I’ve swatched in-store eyeshadows or foundations and then when I get home, the texture is nothing like in the store.
Yes! my bioderma micelle solution changed scents and now it burns my eyes! 🙁
clarins gentle foaming cleanser for normal/combo skin. not the same since the package change,
i’ve got a few!
– clinique’s overnight acne treatment from many many years ago. it’s now disconned, but before that, it was reformulated. the original was AMAZING, and the reforms were as if it was just water in a tube.
– clinique’s total turnaround cream. the very very first one. before there was a whole LINE of related products. it changed skincare for me in one fell swoop. when they reformed it, i had to go to college bookstores’ cosmetics counters to hoard it! 🙂 alas, it’s no more, and there’s nothing comparable that i’ve found, even within the same line…
– finally (and here’s the killer), estee lauder’s doublewear stay-in-place powder makeup. i had what i believe is the original, and when i discovered it, i thought i’d found the complexion holy grail. my skin is very acne-scarred and unevenly toned with large pores; this stuff made me look like i had pre-teen skin. miracle, y’all. then, reform #1 – much less product for much more money, AND some oxidation. reform #2 – MORE oxidation. worse this time. reform #3 – complete reformulation because of SPF laws, INCLUDING the elimination of many shades, and the introduction of lots of new “comparable” (pfft.) shades. (for the record, MUFE’s powder foundation is pretty great, but the color match just isn’t hacking it…) my lost love…
Laura mercier eyebrow pencil omggg this use to be my favorite brow pencil like holy grail now it’s all waxy n thick I absolutely hate it!!! They need to bring back the old formula the spooly great but that’s it!!!
Urban Decay lipsticks! UGH! I hate the new formula and finish!
My favorite foundation, Jane Iredale PurePressed Base changed a while back. It’s still way better than all other foundations out there, but I preferred the old formula, it was less powdery, more firmly pressed and had more coverage, also my shade warm silk was a bit cooler toned.
I agree with you on MAC brushes. They seem more like every mass produced brush out there now. I mean, they are still good brushes for most part, but some are scratchier than others and there seem to be duds from time to time. My newest 239 can be uncomfortable to use on the lids 🙁 I guess I feel they should be better considering the price range.
For MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator, they increased the price significantly and reduced the size too! I never tried the first release but I got the second release.
Sephora’s oil control primer. I had to take it back. The new formula sucks I can’t even explain how disappointed I am….
When Estée Lauder changed the formulation of the Double Wear foundation I cried for days. The most perfect foundation in the history of the world was now a thin, mediocre coverage, pore enhancing disaster. And if the texture wasnt bad enough they changed the colors! my perfect shade was niw a funny orange color! What on earth would possess them to do this?? Clearly they didn’t use their own product, because if they did they wouldn’t have destroyed it. I have since recovered and moved on to another full coverage foundation, but I still dream of the day when 2N2 Fresco will rise from the ashes to live again in my bathroom. Rest in Peace.
YES! I’m so bad Estée Lauder changed their formula and the colors! It was the best foundation ever! They made a huge mistake! 🙁
What did you replace it with?
A change I liked: the relaunched Dior Addict glosses. The formula is even more shiny and more moisturizing than before, it feels so good to wear.
A change I disliked: the relaunched Shiseido Tender Sheer lipsticks. They’re not as glossy, and I preferred the previous color range (Natural Red and Natural Wine especially).
Estee Lauder Double Wear changed and a lot people are upset by it. I tried a sample right before the change and I loved it. I was going to start wearing it because I needed a long-wearing foundation because foundation does not stay on me due to hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating). I am happy that I did not get the chance to really love it (like having purchased a bottle or two) and then I am SOL because I have to search again for something else. Christine, would you say that the newer 239s are still worth purchasing ?
I haven’t found anything yet that replicates the shape and feel of the 239, so for me, yes, I’d probably still purchase!
Chanel lipstick in rouge hydrabase. Now they changed to rouge coco and in creased price also. New formula is not good. I bought couple of rouge coco then I returned.so sad
Yes! One of my favorite red lipsticks was from the Rouge Hydrabase line. I get asked so often what brand it is when I’m wearing it and it makes me sad to say it’s discontinued 🙁
Yes! Estee Lauder changed the formula of their Double Wear foundation. It was the only foundation I wore for years and years and years. It WAS my HG. It sucks now. I can’t find a color match and it separates and looks patchy on my skin after a few hours. It’s horrible. The only thing I am grateful for is it kicked started my love of finding new products when I had to go on the hunt for a new foundation.
Urban Decay Primer Potion!! I have really oily eyelids and TFSI never worked on me, but this did back when the formula was much drier. Now the formula is a little too silicone-y to work on my oily lids, even if I use a bit of powder on my lids before and/or after. It all worked out in the end though because I discovered the NARS primer which is 50x better than UD’s original formula! My eyelid priming routine is probably much more complex than some people’s entire eye look: MUFE HD powder, then NARS primer, then MAC Painterly Paint Pot. No creases here anymore!
My beloved mascara, Tarte LCL. I’ve used and loved it for years, but in the past year everytime I bought a new one, regardless of the store I purchased it from, it failed to impress me and started drying up within a couple of weeks… I haven’t bought a new one in months, maybe I should give it another try…
I don’t know if it’s just me, but MAC Paint Pots. This pro longwear version seems stiffer than the original formula. I have Layin’ Low and it didn’t go on smoothly (too much tugging) even though I used a brush. I don’t have that issue with my Groundwork in the original formula.
I don’t have any of the pro-longwear paint pots, but I think you might be right. Making products less emollient will also pro-long wear time and make them more crease resistant.
i have a pretty extensive list. I don’t mind progress, better ingredients and improved packaging, but most of the time I find “new and improved” to be just worse! As for that phrase”new packaging”, I have sadly learned that this is code for “changed product” and most likely not for the better. A few of the disappointments that continue to bug me: alas, the newer Mac brushes (mine from a very long time ago are softer and don’t shed), Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Black…yikes, it is awful! And the plastic brush scratched my eye! I have a stub of a beloved Dior Kohl pencil in black that never smudged no matter what no matter where….perfect for tightening. The new ones are rubbish! A long time ago, Maybelline eyeshadows were good value for the money and were nicely pigmented. Not so any more….again..rubbish! Just don’t get me started on perfume! Of course, I understand about all the new regs and why classic perfumes had to be reformulated…but gosh, to replace natural ingredients with artificial ones doesn’t make any more sense to me than the reasoning behind eliminating the floral oils and distillations that made my beloved old school perfumes so amazing, beautiful and tenacious. Reformulation in the perfume world has never ever made a scent better…..it is just a tragedy in the beauty world, as far as I am concerned. I am old enough to remember the originals and I mourn them….enough ranting…sigh.
>>Maybelline eyeshadows were good value for the money and were nicely pigmented. Not so any more….again..rubbish!<<
Back when they were in the black packaging right? Those were amazing.
UDPP, UD 24/7 pencil eyeliner, and the UD Skyscraper mascara! Now my eyeshadows and eyeliner crease like crazy no matter what, and my mascara is super wet and goopy. :/
Two come to mind, one bad and one good –
1.) The Good – I LOVE the new Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer + formulation. Even better than the original, which was no pushover. (But I’m also relieved that Clinique kept the original around for people like my mother, who really struggle with allergic reactions to skin products. She was very worried they’d discontinue the old version, and she’s been using it since the ’90s!)
2.) The Bad – I do not like Revlon’s new lustrous lipgloss formula that replaced the old Super Lustrous range. I particularly do not like that they discontinued most of my favorite shades and didn’t replace them with similar versions. *pout*
I have a MAC blush brush from 10 years ago that is so much better than the new one I bought last year every time I wash it I am still getting small hairs fall out. It is horrible quality. I often have to remove the brush hairs from my face I hate it!!
Labello/Nivea Hydro Care chapstick. It was the best thing ever when it was released first, I mean, it did wonders not even to my chapped lips but the really dry area aroind my lips in the winter. But since they changed the packaging, it became an average crappy drugstore chapstick with no effect whatsoever.
MAC brushes. They are horrible now. I have ones that are over 12 years old that are in perfect condition while the newer ones are generally crap. But then again, most of MAC’s products have gone downhill in the past 5 years. Cheaper ingredients and quality.
Not make-up, but perfume. It made me SO mad when Dior decided to reformulate Miss Dior Cherie, because they wanted to own the formula instead of paying royalties to the lab that created it or something like that. I hate the new one, it smells like oranges to me!
All of Mac’s products have become too expensive and have lost their color, quality, and creativity. That is what I used to only buy but now I look elsewhere. They find their packaging is more important than their product.
My once Holy Grail MAC Prep + Prime Face Protect! The previous formula met the company’s claims of prolonging foundation, abating oil, and helping foundation glide on smoothly. It also contained physical Active Ingredients (Zinc Oxide) for broad spectrum SPF protection. The new formula contains chemical Active Ingredients, which can be problematic for sensitive skin, and the Inactive Ingredients list is twice as long as before. What was once a great product is now a moisturizer with SPF suitable for dry/very dry skin.
Christine, Have you found brushes to replace the 217 & 239? Im considering purchasing Hakuhodo”s J5523 and J242G. Do you have experience with these? The downgrade in quality makes me hesitant to purchase any more of 217s and 239s from MAC.
Hi Lauren,
I would get the J5523 over the MAC 217 (it’s probably cheaper, but I don’t remember the prices for each off hand). I don’t find the J242G comparable to the 239. I haven’t found a good replacement for the 239 and its shape. From what I’ve heard, the J242G is the “most” comparable, but it’s a totally different brush to me. I reviewed it previously on the blog as well.
Thanks so much for your input! Will you link me to the review of the J242G? I can’t seem to find it in the search. Thanks again! 🙂
Hey Lauren!
My bad – I thought I had reviewed it but I confused it with another brush – I will be reviewing, but I’m not sure exactly when yet. So sorry about that! It’s smaller, narrower, and a less fluffy brush, which is why I don’t find it very similar to the 239! More like the MAC 242.
No problem! Thanks for the info. I look forward to reading your full review. 🙂
Noxzema face wipes. Recently the scent was changed to them, from the original medicinal noxzema smell that I love (hey it helps clear my sinuses) to a nasty flowery scent.
I’ve been considering purchasing some MAC brushes, but now I wonder if all the rave reviews I’ve heard no longer apply. I’d be really interested to hear more about the “downgrade” that many people seem to have noticed. I noticed that you have reviews of the MAC 239 and 217 from back in 2009–I would love to see an update of these, maybe with a comparison to the newer brushes.
Hi Lisa,
I have no plans at this time to repurchase the entire MAC brush range to find out – so sorry!!
Me too!!
Too many to talk about but one that comes to mind is Fructis shampoo and conditioner. I used to love the scent. It smelled like the tropics and a hint of banana. Now it smells like fake peach and cat hair. I don’t buy it anymore.
LOL!
I’m pretty sure L’Occitane changed the formula of their original hand cream. I had repurchased it last year – I think I bought & returned about 2-3 of them before realizing that they must have changed the formula. It left a weird film on my hands. I stick with Julep’s Rock Star hand cream now!
I bought Lancome Hypnose Mascara when they first launched it, and I LOVED it. You really could layer it up ridiculously and it never clumped. I couldn’t afford to replace it when it ran out, so I bought other mascaras for years, then decided one day I would splurge on it again. Not the same at all, I was so disappointed.