I can’t recall that being true! If the packaging was actually faulty, I might avoid purchasing additional shades if it was going to cause issues (e.g. a cream eyeshadow prone to drying out).
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In general, any skincare item that comes in a jar.
Same Amy!!!! When are brands finally going to get on board with the fact that jar packaging is unsanitary and also renders active ingredients and antioxidants unstable and ineffective very quickly. Hate jar packaging.
And it doesn’t even feel all that luxurious! Not even with those crazy little spatulas you sometimes get with the jars. Nope!
Oh the spatulas are the worst. I mean, how would you manage to keep that sanitary for each use – like, where would you keep it so it stays completely sanitary? It’s such a dumb idea. When will skincare companies wise up??
Same here; pumps are convenient, hygienic and much more practical, and economical too.
I second this
I was disappointed that theBalm new highlighter palette didn’t include a picture of a woman of color on it. So more money for me!
I love the Alien fragrance, but the name and bottle are so unattractive to me that I refuse to buy the full bottle fragrance!
That’s funny because I recently thought that the bottle was extremely pretty and unusual looking!
I like the bottle ok, but agree the name is so stupid. Total turn off.
That’s interesting, The name and bottle are actually what DREW me to the fragrance, I was so disappointed to find that I didn’t actually enjoy the fragrance itself. The bottle is unique and as a space nerd I appreciate and enjoy the name. Definitely don’t think the name is ‘stupid’ but everyone is entitled to their opinion. Interesting how different perspectives can be.
I think it’s because I associate “alien” with the grey, extra large headed kind of extra terrestrial being that has come to define the word “alien” in the public imagination; and not anything glamorous and definitely not something that I would want to smell like lol!
If there are issues with the packaging, it’s definitely deal breaker for me.
I don’t want to face a mess or seen the product changed when I open something.
I never buy cream products in pans, cause for me, they’ll dry out more quickly than those in a pot.
I wish they make more pans with hermetic lids, so the cream products inside won’t dry out that easily.
I wish to have a hermetic pan with different colours of gel eyeliners like the fluidlines.
I so agree! Long before most brands had an eyeshadow primer, Clinique was making their Touch Base which is a nice shear sparkle in several shads (they still make it!), that said, the product dried out very, very quickly – sometimes was dry when you purchased it. (shakes head). I still think it is one of the best but refuse to buy.
Just about anything that has powder and cream products in the same place. If they’re not divided then the powder always ends up in the cream, no matter how careful you try to be. But it’s not packaging that’s the main decision maker. I’m soo very turned off by limecrime and the founder that I’ll never give them my business again. They could turn out the holiest grail of all makeup and I still would refuse it.
I’m all about the packaging! I love the high end design of Guerlain and some of the other luxury brands. I tend to disregard cheap looking packaged brands but if they get good reviews i’ll give them a second look. Certainly if the packaging is faulty I’ll take a pass – i’ve been weary of gel liner pots since my UD dried out.
Don’t forget Inglot Duraline for refreshing. I threw mine out before thinking to look for something to refresh. C has noted it in the past.
Only if the packaging would break easily or cause the product to leak or lose potency.
I don’t want powder, lipstick, or foundation spilled all over my bag or purse. Nor do I want any product whose packaging causes it dried out or unusable.
Last year’s Tarte Blush palette was so bad that I wouldn’t buy it. I loved the products inside but the packaging was terrible.
Completely agree! When it comes to holiday palettes, packaging can be a huge turn off. Just like the Tarte holiday blush palette this year, I love the colors, HATE the packaging. It reminds me of the cheap 2$ makeup kits we got as little kids. Yuck!
Yes. Makeup Forever Nudes You Need Palette. It’s too much money for such cheap and tacky packaging.
I have yet to buy a Too Faced palette for this reason. And The Balm for that matter. The packaging is either cheap or childish. And the raunchy or juvenile color names def don’t help!
I only have one TooFaced palette (the Matte Neutrals one) because of their middle-school-esque packaging. And don’t even get me started on how ditzy The Balm’s whole look is.
I agree, extremely tacky!!
I definitely avoided that one Smashbox master class palette with the flimsy packaging, because the shadows and products were easily broken.
Lorac pro palette or the diorfic lipsticks
Meteorites in the cardboard box!
I hate those makeup pens that you have to click to get color out of them. You have to click it like 20 times to get a tiny drop of makeup. Or you click, and a ton of product oozes out. And after a while, it stops clicking
good point~ Despise!!!
I hate these, and avoid anything with a click pen.
The Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator! I was interested in trying it but the packaging was so cheap looking. I already have the similar makeupforever one so I had to pass on the Laura Geller
I have to agree with you on that one, not sure what they were thinking when the designed the packaging.
ALL the time. I’ve actually been avoiding buying the Naked 1 palette because of the flimsy cardboard packaging. If they’re going to charge 50+ dollars for something, it better hold up over time. I also tend to avoid brands like Benefit and TheBalm unless it’s an item I REALLY like as I find their packaging too cute-sey for me. Also TheBalm’s palettes and their non-linear pans kick off my OCD really bad so I definitely won’t be buying them ever. I could probably list a ton more examples, but the answer short answer to the question is “definitely yes”.
All of those Too Faced products with the hearts (blushes, the bronzer/blush duos, the new Chocolate Bar palette). I just can’t do it. It’s way too cutesy for my liking.
Same here!!! I’m not a teenager. I prefer grown up makeup.
With the exception of Kevyn Aucoin’s Contour Book Volume II (come on, it’s such an amazing deal, especially with the recent Rouge discount), I normally don’t go for palettes which contain both powder and cream products. Eyeshadow fallout settling on top of lip gloss pans = ugh.
Yep – I had a few MAC look in a box kits and even with the plastic cover to protect the lipsticks, it just looked gummy and grimy after awhile.
Same – I keep that rule too but threw it out momentarily to buy the new KA book! 😉
Yes!!! Over two very different and distinct factors:
1.) Flimsy or fragile packaging that doesn’t protect or preserve the contents, or keep them from creating a disastrous mess.
2.) Pornographic or Satanic imagery or symbols. If I find it offensive to my personal standards, I’m not buying it. I don’t judge those who do, however, because thats not my place.
I agree Nancy – sometimes the names of the products are a turn off for me because they are just either pornographic or tacky. I refuse to buy those products no matter how good they are.
And yes, flimsy packaging does not protect the contents at all.
I know what you mean, Genevieve! I may be able to overlook a few shades in an eyeshadow palette, like some of the names in say, an UD Vice palette, but not something like a lipstick, where someone may ask me what I’m wearing!
Satanic porno makeup? Sign me up!
LOL!!! ?
Urban Decay Primer Potion! I love the product but now they’ve renewed the packaging and I really don’t want my eyeshadow primer that I use every single day for a year to come with a doe-foot applicator (that’s nasty!)
The good news is that you can still get the original in the old packaging from Sephora and UD website for only $10 now, so stock up! I have a couple backups plus I got Eden in the old packaging for $10 as well!
I wouldn’t say turned off, but I wish I bought the too faced chocolate bar palette. It has great reviews in terms of pigmentation and variety of shades, but I really didn’t like the big tin packaging. I prefer packaging to be more slim and streamlined. (Eg: Lorac pro)
Anything with a dropper. I liked the “Cover FX” drops, but there was too much of a mess balancing/controlling product I was getting, and I didn’t find them life-altering in the end.
Well considering I am more Nars x Steven Klein than Disney mirror…that would be a no. I have found some packaging that has turned me off buying a product again due to functional challenges. A friend of mine recently balked at the bright orange packaging on the new MUFE palette. I bought it anyway. It’s easy to find in the morning 😉
A fan of high glamour! Same here!
I actually avoid buying more Mineralized Skinfinish highligthers and blushes since Mac changed to that new horrible packaging. I can’t stand it! It’s so bulky, plasticky and ugly 🙁
I usually don’t buy blushes that come in stick firm because they tend to remove the base underneath. Missing out on the Charlotte Tilbury beach sticks and Nars multiples coz of that. Also not a fan of gimmicky or cheap packaging coz I grow to love the product only to have it break weeks in. Ticks me right off.
I really hated the look of the MAC Archie’s Girls collection and the Simpsons collection. Didn’t get anything from those collections, eventhough I did like some of the products.
I thought the Simpson’s collection was really odd. I couldn’t get past buying makeup to emulate a blue-haired cartoon figure.
Also meant to add that I did like one of the eye shadow palettes and a blush from the Simpsons and 2 lipsticks from the Archies, but the packaging and the promo pictures for the launches were a turn off.
Yes! I’m pretty picky about packaging nowadays. Cardboard is often a no go, especially stuff like Benefit’s blushes which seem to be packages in the most inconvenient way possible.
Well, it wasn’t how the packaging looked but how it functioned. Maybe I was just unlucky but the Bobbi Brown Skin Weightless Powder Foundation I bought completey broke up. I was very careful with it, more so that I was with my MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation, and yet it crumbled. I managed to use it up anyway, and I assumed it was just a one off so I got another one. Same thing happened! So I’ve given up on it even though I love the foundation itself. Oh well, the second one hasn’t see the light of day for ages now!
I’ve found skincare I like in jar packaging and haven’t repurchased because I dislike getting product under my nails and feeling like I’m wasting it.
I also really don’t like a lot of the UD palette packaging and while I’ve never used that as the sole reason it’s definitely been a factor in my purchase decisions.
Before I knew about Z palette I would avoid getting single pans even though I wanted them. Z palettes are a great invention!
Ofra Cosmetics.
I bought two of the liquid lipsticks and while the formula wasn’t bad, the package was beyond cheap! Particularly the fact that the Ofra name and color were just a clear sticker on the tube. It just bugged me since their lipsticks are $20!!! Can’t they do better??!
* I used a coupon code so I got it cheaper but still; it’s the principle!
I have so many of them, and i know what you mean about the cheap packaging. The sticker thing sucks. But I LOVE the formula and colors, so I can look past it. (Plus, with Kathleen lights 40% off its not too expensive)
The Nars X Guy Bourdin Collection. I can’t believe that was even sold anywhere.
Yeah, I’ve avoided Nars products since then.
Yeah, the Guy Bourdin stuff was seriously messed up. And the more recent Steven Klein imagery is also really problematic. I won’t be getting any NARS products any time soon.
Yeah, we know I’m no fan of those pics from either the Steven Klein or Guy Bourdin collabs either! I find their “art”, if one wants to call it that, to be demeaning towards women and just thoroughly distasteful to use on cosmetics packaging or promo pics. But I will still buy Nars regular line of products.
I haven’t purchased any NARS products since the Guy Bourdin release. I’m happy to see that I’m not the only one.
There’s too much great stuff on the market in this price range to compromise your principles. I feel much the same way about Tom Ford products.
oh lord yes. The Anastasia and It Cosmetics palettes come to mind because they’re in such a cheap cardboard box. It looks like something you’d buy for your tween niece for Christmas at Walmart.
Jarred skin care, anything that will melt if it gets wet, anything with cream and powder in the same palette, and anything that will come apart easily – there’s nothing like reaching into your pocket/purse and finding that your new lipstick is now adorning everything you had in there.
I love NARS – hate that rubberized packaging.
I understand why they do it, but if their packaging was more like ELF’s hard plastic, I’d buy more NARS.
In general I’m not a fan of cardboard packaging, but that won’t necessarily turn me away. Cheesy packaging however (for example that tacky Too Faced plastic heart shaped blush) I will 100% not buy. Anything that looks like what I’d have as an elementary schooler is a no-go.
It is interesting that the imagery of the packaging is as much of a turn-off as the functionality, to so many. Also, portability is another key factor. I rather like edgy imagery. When imagery is cutesy or cartoonish, it makes me think I have outgrown the brand. Like Benefit + Balm. But that won’t stop me from getting the Manizer set. I overlook imagery, if I like the product. Avoid jar packaging in skincare, ’cause Paula says so! Not only messy, but the product gets too much air exposure & deteriorates. Cardboard has not been a problem: put on original Meteorites this AM, still fine. But I think twice about rubberized containers, as they really crap out. I have had to depot virtually every Nars, and l/s doesn’t depot real well. Air exposure in the jar, again….
The original Naked palette! I have tactile issues due to OCD, and I can’t STAND velvet. It makes my skin crawl. I wish they would re-release it with the updated shadow formula (a la Lounge) and packaging that matched the other palettes.
I dislike all of the palettes the come in cardboard, as well as those with cutesy or kitschy designs . I’m looking at you the Balm, Benefit and Soap and Glory to name a few. If I’m spending the money, I want my products to be lovely to look at and hold, though minimalist designs like MAC or Kiehl’s don’t bother me at all.
Yes, absolutely. I hate chunky packaging and I avoid brands like Dior like crazy because of that. Regarding skincare and liquid/cream makeup, if the product isn’t packaged in a way that will prevent the ingredients from drying out, becoming unstable, and losing potency, then I’ll avoid it.
If NARS packaged their products in something other than that matte finish that gets so DIRTY, I’d probably have more products from them.
Functionally: I find cheaper tiered kits can be hard to open and close, and/or break easily, so I avoid them. I also hate pumps that stick and don’t work right. Ditto for aerosol sprays that are prone to clogged sprayers or the lid or sprayer comes off all the time. I’m not fond of cheap eyeshadow palettes that just have a plastic film on top instead of hard clear plastic.
Aesthetically: Shu Uemura’s Shupette collection was just too ugly and juvenile for my tastes, but if I’d really wanted the products, it would not have stopped me from buying them. (I didn’t want any of it, though.) I normally love unusual, cute, weird, kitschy, etc. packaging, but I just had an instant aversion to this collection’s design.
Morally: While I actually liked the photos on the NARS Steven Klein collection, reading more about Steven Klein turned me off it. His talk of his some of his images he says are of women tying down and planning to rape men, and calling them “empowering” made me sick to my stomach.
Other than that, I don’t care much. If I don’t like the packaging, I can usually depot it. If not, I live with it if I love the product.
Oh, wow–that’s _horrible_ about the Steven Klein comments. I was already avoiding Nars due to the Guy Bourdin issues, and will continue to do so. Ugh. (No judgement on folks who do buy their products, though.)
Wow. I didn’t notice before, but after reading your comment, I googled the images….yeah, no….I was considering forgiving NARS, which I haven’t purchased since the Guy Bourdin collection, but now just no. I’m ok with a certain level of sexuality in names and in marketing, as long as it’s in good fun, tasteful and CONSENSUAL, but they are so far over that line!!! I also will not purchase from any brands that use the name “Walk of Shame,” which sooooo many seem to do. Don’t get me started on that rant. Sigh. I was going to splurge on NARS Sheer Glow, since it’s the best foundation formula I have ever used….but never mind that! Also, in terms of functionality, I can’t stand lip glosses with brush applicators. Gloopy, uneven, and kind of tickly.
Okay, don’t stone me, and don’t take this personally: I can’t bring myself to buy the Naked Palette because the packaging reminds me of those creepy, tacky velvet paintings from the 1970s. I’ve wanted to get that if my chest for years. Lol.
Lol!!
😀 ha ha ha ha
I’m very similar. I can’t do the cheap packaging. If they updated it to be like the 2 or the 3 I’d buy it, but until then they aren’t getting my money.
Yes! The latest Nars collection. I find the photos disturbing. As much as the blush palette called my name I couldn’t get past the pic on the front.
Yeah that whole collection freaked me out.
I still ended up buying it, but Illamasquas packaging is awful. It’s great professional product and I’d love to use it more for freelance, but the packaging doesn’t make sense and takes up so much room in my kit.
I generally love Too Faced’s packaging, even though I’m not a girly kind of person. It reminds me of my childhood and that’s heart warming to me, for some reason. However, I’m not fond of their old carboard palettes, the ones with a picture of an eye on the cover. They’re so tacky, even for the brand’s kitschy aesthetic. Romantic Eyes has lovely colors, but I really don’t like the packaging.
I love the Chocolate Bar palette packaging and even the Country one, but yeah, those old-school palettes sorely need an upgrade.
if there’s serious issues with the packaging i wouldn’t buy it or at least reeeeally consider my choices (if there’s a really close dupe with better packaging-formula), the packaging of the wetnwild lippies is **** but overall for the price and all that, i mean i still dislike it… just seeing the transparent cap stained with lipstick it’s ugghhh but i try to be as precise as i can when i close them.
recently i didn’t buy hoola (i know, it’s hoola, mother bronzer) because of the carboard box packaging it wasn’t really appealing and in the reviews almost 50% said that it was kind of difficult after a while when the carboard lose its firmness and bla bla. it happens. also gerard cosmetics… before the whole bullying problem, their packaging looked so cheap and forgive me but kind of tacky… so the whole hype didn’t get me.
it depends.
You can get Hoola in one of their holiday tins, the ones that come with a handful of blushes, and they’re surprisingly easy to depot! I have last year’s tin of blushes all in a z-palette now! I can’t believe I held onto that tacky Christmas tin house packaging for a whole year! 😉
Kat Von D and Urban Decay (although I do like Urban Decay’s Naked line and the Naked eye shadow palettes). Viseart isn’t so much a turn off as it is boring – I wish the packaging wasn’t so plain.
All quality products but I can’t get past the unappealing (to me) packaging.
This isn’t really a packaging thing but language, too. There are a few brands out there that I think in their newness or their attempt to feel accessible and establish a foothold, they use slang or familiar language that you’d use with friends and it’s just off-putting to me. I don’t know why it bugs me, but it does – I suppose all the brands do that to some degree – use language to cater to their demographic – but the slang language bothers me more than the snobby, ethereal language of high end brands. With some of the newer brands out there, I’ve wanted to try a few things but I’ve passed because I don’t like the familiarity in the language. Example, “Wear this color when you don’t want to remember what you did last night but want them to remember, gurrrrl” – I made that up, but I’ve read product descriptions similar and it’s such a turn off. I don’t want to have that as a reference when I reach for that product.
I’ll admit, I kinda avoided UD’s BoS IV for looking ridiculous, but then they got marked down rather low…so, I thought, for a good deal, it’d be worth it, and I’d just depot it.
I’m so paranoid I’m going to wreck product depotting it, that it’s still in that giant, stupid box.
Quinctia!!! You can totally depot that!!! I had that same big stupid cardboard box in my collection for ages and just recently decided to get over my fear of depotting stuff, buy some z-palettes and go for it!! Once you cut the cardboard exterior away (this is the hardest part, as it’s surprisingly sturdy!) the pans just come right off the glue. Those pans take up so little room in a z-palette I cannot believe I held onto that dang book for so long!
Yep. I still won’t even try most of too faced’s products for that exact reason. I’m a grown woman who loves makeup, not a teenager looking for cutsey gimmicks. Give me quality, luxury, or don’t bother. Lol I just can’t.
Yes. Brands that do cheap/generic looking packaging but charge mid-range to high prices. Model co is a good example. Laura Gellar too. A lot of brands at Ulta and through Ipsy. Japonesque also comes to mind. I actually bought LG Ballerina based on your reviews but I never would’ve given the brand a second look if it hadn’t shown up on Temptalia!
All benefit products cause of too cheap packaging…
Nars products. I don’t know why, but their rubber cases eventually go sticky and gross on me. I can’t bear to touch them. Depotting is an option, but an easier solution was to buy someone else’s products. Does anyone know if they’ve changed the packaging material yet? It would be about time…
I have. There were numerous occasions I wanted to try a certain product (especially if it was new in my country), but the packaging was so cheap (kiddie makeup style) that I left it on the shelves.
I’ve heard and read about many women being turned off by the Viseart palettes because of the packaging. SERIOUSLY? These women really don’t know what they’re missing out on. I have 6 of the Viseart eyeshadow palettes and I LOVE them. The quality is like no other IMO. If I’d discovered Viseart sooner, I would definitely be a few palettes lighter.
As for packaging turning me off, I hate the conditioners that come in the upside down bottles. I end up having to cut the end off of bottom of the bottle way too early into using them. Whoever designed those must’ve been having a bad day they came up with that design. Needless to say, I don’t buy my conditioners in those types of bottles anymore.
I think people forget that Viseart palettes are made for professional makeup artists, and the packaging reflects that. It’s meant to be functional, not pretty.
-Anything that has blush plus eyeshadow or that feels like any kind of kit gets on my nerves, and I’m unlikely to trust it or buy it.
-Jar foundation. What are they thinking??
-Things that feel gimmicky or bulky are generally hard to forgive and get passed
-Makeup can be fun and whimsical but things that feel juvenile or infantalising, or that don’t feel like they respect how adult and competent people use their products—such a turn off
Personally, I dislike the new MAC packaging. I find those compacts very hard to open. I can’t just flip the lid open. I need to use both hands and turn the thing upside down. I still don’t really know if it just clicks open or if I have to squeeze the indentations on the sides to get it to open.
I still like their products but hate that new packaging.
Yes, I don’t purchase items packaged in cardboard.
Totally agree with the jar packaging thing – unsanitary, and renders active ingredients useless very fast.
There’s also been a time or two that I’ve considered products by Benefit – but I just can’t get past their cutesy packaging overall. Most of it looks like it belongs in a teenager’s backpack!
No – the packaging doesn’t ever put me off because you end up throwing that in the bin.
However, if the packaging was damaged or faulty I would be concerned that the product had been or could have been tampered with.
Sadly, it was the packaging that tipped me over to “NO” for the new Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca eyeshadow palette. The cover is so gorgeous, why, oh why, is it a slide-out palette?! That cover is going to be trashed in about ten minutes, and it just feels so cheap and cheesy.
Ditto what everyone said about skincare/foundation in jars. That’s just nasty.
ColourPop packaging for their shadows and blushes. They do have some nice products and for the price point you can’t beat it, but you’re gonna have to deal with the crappy packaging. Twist off tops are just tacky and annoying to get the hec open, especially the shadows since their are smaller in size.
I usually get annoyed with packaging after the fact, i.e. I’ve already bought the product and I find the packaging is difficult. Some products are hard to open, like the Nyx shadow palettes and the Benefit face powders. That annoys me the most. I also don’t like cream products in tiny pots, because I usually use my finger to apply and it gets under my fingernail and it’s really hard to clean off.
I couldn’t bring myself to buy any of the heart shaped blushes by Too Faced.
They are way too nauseating cutesy for me. As much as I LOVE my Paula’s Choice
Nude Matte palette, the flimsy cardboard packaging pisses me off every time I reach for it.
If it wasn’t for the fact the shadows are like buttah, I would have pitched it already.
Yep. I won’t buy all the Too Faced heart shaped stuff. It seems like it’s meant for teenagers. I want something classy, elegant and durable.
Basically anything by Physicians Formula. Great products, but needs a new marketing team.
I won’t buy Wet n Wild anymore. I don’t love the formulas, but for $2 a pop I’d buy them for the colors if the packaging weren’t so junky. i have no use for a lip product that can’t survive in my purse.
I don’t get turned off by how the packaging looks, generally. If the product’s good and I like it, then that’s usually good enough for me. However if something’s easily breakable or too flimsy then that’s a no-no for me. I don’t mind cardboard packaging, it’s better for the environment anyway. I love the Tarte Holiday blusher palette although I don’t like the glitter on the packaging, it looks tacky and falls off. I do think that cosmetics companies are trying a little too hard with coming up with new names that have double entendres (or even blatantly erotic). I think NARS’ Orgasm has a lot to answer for!
I like cutesy and kitschy packaging, it speaks to the little girl in me that loved glitter in the 80’s and makes makeup fun and light-hearted. So what if I’m in my late 30s now, lol!
At first I was going to say no but then I remembered there are a couple of wet and wild lipsticks that are not in the mega last line and I didn’t buy them because of the packaging and when I think about that now it seems ridiculous because right now I totally would buy those lipsticks especially because they are such great quality wet and wild lipsticks are my favorite brand of lipsticks The Markwins company Who owns wet and wild comes out with those gift sets every year at the holiday time and their lipsticks are so flipping amazing I can’t even handle it! They feel so smooth on the lips and they are rich and creamy and are very comparable to high-end lipsticks. I don’t think you can buy them individually I think they only come in the holiday packs but I have a few colors and every single one of them is absolutely amazing!!
The appearance of packaging has never prevented me from purchasing a product but defective packaging drives more nuts.
I’ve had a squeeze tube where the crimping opened with more than half the product left. I’ve had moderately high end lipsticks whose cap won’t stay on and makeup pencils whose caps fall off, ruining the sharpened part of the pencil. Also hate when the hinge breaks on clam shell packaging.
This happens when I’ve forgotten where I bought the item. Grrrrr
Many of the Benefit packaging has stupid pictures too. Maybe it does affect my purchases to some extent.
I wash the spatulas just before use.. I have to wash and refill my water container too then as I usually apply my shadow damp. I can immediately clean those brushes when I’m done too.
I hate, hate, HAAAAAAATE paper/cardboard palettes. Hate. I hate them even more when they’re by a high-end brand and there’s no earthly reason for them to be so cheaply manufactured. They get water-stained, bumped around and banged up, and they end up looking like garbage. My first midrange palette was the UD Ammo palette back in 2006, and when I finally went through my train case this year to junk all the old stuff, I was appalled at how grungy that thing looked. Naked 1, the Anastasia palettes, the recent MUFE ones–I’d love to get them, but there is no way I’m getting them with those cheap junk cases. Put them in metal ones and then you can take my money.
I happen to like Too Faced’s palettes–I’m secure enough in my adulthood that I don’t feel infantilized by makeup packaging. I’m more turned off by packaging like NYX’s, which might be mostly basic black but somehow manages to look cheap and cheesy.
When I first saw the Steven Klein/NARS collaboration, it made me feel uncomfortable. It wouldn’t have mattered if the most amazing formula or unique color scheme in the world were contained inside that packaging, I would have felt uncomfortable each time I used it.
Other than “disturbing” packaging… I’d have to say that cheap and/or generic packaging turns me off but not enough to refuse to buy something if it’s a good product I’m interested in. The only makeup items I carry in my purse are lipstick, lipgloss, and a powder compact, which are kept inside of a tightly packed bag they can’t move around in, so I don’t worry too much about durable packaging.
100% will not buy anything in flipping cardboard packaging. No.
the new blush, bronzer palette from Nars x Steven King collection. Products are great but the packaging was a major turnoff, so much so that I debated whether or not to purchase it. the artwork really creeped me out.
I stopped buying theBalm’s Bahama Bronzer because every single one I ever bought (4) broke after like 3 uses. I’m not talking cracked slightly, I’m taking powder bomb when opening it. I swear I was gentle with the last 2 but they still broke.
100% on board with those of you who have mentioned jarred…umm…ANYTHING, actually. I was going to say skincare and eye shadow pots, but I honestly cannot think of one jarred product that I have purchased that has left me feeling great. I guess I should add in the caveat that by jarred products I mean those that your finger is touching the product. So, so unsanitary and it shocks me that companies still think this is ok. BUT, my absolute hatred as someone already mentioned is THE SPATULA. What. The. F. Why?!?!?! It always gets lost, drops on the floor, sits on my bathroom counter where lord knows how many germs cover that thing regardless of how often I clean it (why are men so bad at cleaning up after they shave?!)…it is confounding to me. Like, I could MAYBE, maybe see if they included a slot on the jar for it, but actually, no, it’s still straight up luxurious circa 1962. I can’t even deal. Ok rant over!
Other packaging non-sense:
-Matte black, uniform, OPAQUE Nars eyeshadows and blushes. There is no good way to spot the product you are looking for without having to scroll through however many you have to look at the bottom of the case…and I’m sorry Nars, I love makeup and I know most of the names of my products, but you are not THAT special that I remember all of your offensive/unpronounceable/trying way too hard to be chic product names that literally look identical. Oh, with the exception of the nasty concealer smudges left on my hands that end up on the case and requires heavy duty makeover remover to get off. OVER IT!
2. Benefit’s stuff is just tacky and I actually just won’t buy it anymore.
3. I don’t know if anyone else feels this way, but I find the First Aid product line to be totally unappealing and I think it actually misrepresents the line. It looks cheap and I do not whatsoever want to associate my lovely makeup products with my medical supply kit. I have received samples of some
Of their stuff that actually has impressed me, but I’ve yet to make a purchase of a full sized product because I can’t get over how much I hate the packaging.
🙂
I don’t mind all in one palettes, but I get annoyed when they include lip products that aren’t removable. Mostly because they’re all almost universally too large to take WITH YOU and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t slip their lip product into their purse or pocket on their way out. Bobbi Brown is a good example of someone who can do both. She put out a few eye/cheek/lip party palettes there were small enough that it wasn’t an unreasonable ask, but I’d still be more likely to grab a version with a removable lip.
Bare minerals eyeshadows/pressed powders – I hate the packaging and I refuse to buy it, I don’t care how pretty the colors are
Foundations and creams without pumps
Packaging that has gold on it (feels cheap/old) exception – Hourglass Ambient blush and bronzer 😉
Blushes with clear plastic lids, anything that looks/feels cheap (exception – Reserve Your Cabana by Wet N Wild – but it does stick out like a sore thumb in my collection!)