If you had to get rid of three products, which would you let go of right now?

They’re already in the donate bin/give to family (gloss can’t be donated if used), so here are some noteworthy disappointments as of late that I won’t be keeping for future reference: Melt Glitter Gloss, ColourPop Lux Glosses, NARS Overlust palette.

— Christine

46 Comments

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Celesta Avatar

Oh, that’s a good question!

I think my ABH Master palette by Mario. The formula is lovely, but I don’t like all but two shades on my skin tone.

My Colourpop Disney Princess palette, the first one. Not the greatest palette and I have enough neutrals in my collection. I mostly purchased it in the first place because I love Disney.

My No. 7 Lift and Illuminate Foundation. It’s a lovely foundation, but I don’t reach for it over others, and the date on the bottom says it expires at the end of March.

Heather Avatar

An old glittery bite beauty lip gloss — sticky and the glitter migrates; a crappy drugstore brow fiber-gel that I picked up for 70¢ on clearance — leaves my eyebrows looking crusty and gunky and uneven; Benefit Bad Girl Bang! mascara — it flakes like crazy and irritates my eyes, even though I really like how it looks when first applied.

…brb, decluttering.

Erica Avatar

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Concealer & Foundation… looks cake on me & breaks down easily

Laura Geller Smokey Neutrals Baked Eyeshadow palette. Picked up at TJ Maxx bc I never tried her shadows. Realize I don’t like baked shadows

ABH Soft Glam. The tone of this palette just falls flat for me!

Ashley Avatar

My ABH glow palette in moonlight, all my Becca highlights and blushes (they’re so thick and pigmented they look unnatural, even compared to major high shine ND highlights), the ND sunrise palette (the small $65 one; I got it on sale at Christmas but all the looks wind up being warm coral/ orange, I thought I could get lighter mauve/ purple looks)

M Avatar

That’s interesting, I somehow managed to avoid the Becca hype but it’s interesting to note that I’m hearing more and more these days about how their formula doesn’t really hold a candle to other formulas. Then what was the multi-year hype about?!

Seraphine Avatar

1. Anastasia Beverly Hills Moonchild Glow Kit—I hate the texture of these highlighters. The MUA had actually tried to talk me out of buying it, but I didn’t listen.

2. ColourPop Double Entendre Palette—I have other CP neutral palettes I like a lot better (Night Owl, Going Coconuts), and some of the shade names are cringe-inducing.

3. All of my Kat Von D lipsticks—I stopped using her products in 2018. Since then, they just sit in a box untouched.

Wednesday Avatar

I could easily declutter three lipsticks and it’s an area I have been meaning to tackle.. I’m not as adventuresome as I used to be; not even close

Sephora Lipstories #59. It’s looks like I smeared my lips with hazelnut spread. A bad colour for me all around and the lipstick is so pigmented and heavy feeling/looking.

Revlon Lilac Mist – I hate it on me, but I couldn’t resist because it was cheap on Amazon

Lancome L’absolu Laquer 236 pour toujours – a bad expensive whim buy.

Rachel R. Avatar

I’ve got stuff sitting a box ready to go, too. I keep adding to it as I work my way, ever so slowly, through destashing.

1. Several DS neutral eyeshadow palettes. I have ones I like better now.
2. All my Sigma eyeshadow palettes. Their formula just doesn’t last long on me. I don’t think the formula is bad quality at all, it just doesn’t get along with my oily lids or skin chemistry, or something.
3. Morphe Blush Palette. The shades are way too pigmented and dark for me. They’re nice, though.

Lisa Avatar

Bare Minerals power neutrals eyeshadow palette. It’s too cool toned for my skin tone and the shadows are just a bit muddy looking.

Nars matte skin tint. Shade is too pale for me and the formulation clings to dry areas.

VDL highlight powder. Swatched on the back of my hand it’s beautiful and a very subtle and sophisticated highlighter. But it’s barely visible on the cheekbones.

Nancy T Avatar

Wow…I’m not very good at getting rid of stuff. However, I am moving in less than 2 weeks, so some stuff has to go, I suppose. Still, though!
1.) UD Naked Smoky
2.) Several Sephora Contour Pencils that have dried up on me. But not because I don’t like them!
3.) Everything I find as I pack up that has turned rancid or separated. I know there’s several MAC lipsticks in there…B2MAC’ing those.

Crystal Kitty Avatar

And if it’s more than three items…
– Anastasia Beverly Hills Moonchild Glow Kit (and the second one)
– ND Metropolis palette (It is very orange on me and I dislike it)
– ND Star palette (It’s a muddy green on me)
– Milk makeup glossy palette
– Charlotte Tilbury shimmery gloss (Blondie)
– Abh lip palette
– All my color changing lipglosses
– Fenty clear lipgloss – it leaks
– Colourpop Pretty Fresh Moisturizer – it’s not my shade (mine was sold out) so it’s orange

Ana Maria Avatar

It’s so hard for me to make this decision, since I only have one item of each (except color). Removing some products would actually leave me with no option. 😆

But if I was forced, I would toss my eye pencils, I have one green, one black and one brown (MAC Devotion, Graphblack, Stubborn Brown). In the last yeast I started using eye pencils less and less.

kjh Avatar

In addition to mandatory purging, BH Love in London, CT Sex on Fire blush, and TF Steeletto. OMG, very disappointed with the TF. I like the Lunatick, Lime Crime, and Smashbox palettes in that general colorway SO much more. Btw, Sephora only has quads up now, no more iconic palettes.

xamyx Avatar

Melt Cosmetics glitter lipglosses; I bought the entire Millennial Pinx collection, because I wanted the palette, and 2 of the glosses, but had no interest in the gel liners. Ironically, I ended up loving the liners, and hating the glosses, LOL! That said, I do hope Melt Cosmetics ends up doing glosses in the same “base” formula, but adding a bit more pigment, and skipping the glitter. I do really like the overall gloss formula, but the glitters are too textured, and all 4 shades look too similar when on the lips.

ColourPop Super Shock Highlighters; I have Flexitarian & Monster, and when I searched them in-store with my fingers, I really liked them. However, I don’t love the way they apply with a brush, and I don’t use my fingers at home. That said, they’re still very new to my collection (about a month), so I still want to play with them a bit more to see what I can do…

Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara; it’s an okay product, and does a good job (doesn’t flake, not heavy, adds definition, is very black), but there are way too many mascaras I prefer, for a lot less money. I have a mini that I’ve been working on for about 3 months, almost daily, and it’s still going strong, which is its only remarkable quality. It states a 6 month expiration date, but I’ll probably just toss it in a few weeks…

Urban Decay Electric palette; I honestly don’t think I’ve ever actually done more than just swatch a few shades, but I can’t seem to want to get rid of it, and a part of me still wants to pick up the Wired palette…

xamyx Avatar

That’s one type of brush I haven’t tried, but I do have one, which ironically I don’t love for foundation, LOL! I was thinking a denser brush might actually work better for the ColourPop highlighters, since I tried actual highlighter brushes, which tend to make them more “glittery” as opposed to “metallic”. Thanks for the tip!

Caslon Avatar

-any and all lip crayons – i’m coming to terms with the fact that i hate using them, i find them finicky to apply neatly, and there’s nothing they offer that i can’t get from another lip formula. i have a few bite beauty crayons and a couple nars pencils that if i got rid of right now i wouldn’t miss at all.

-naked 1 – i bought this when it was 50% off but i don’t know if it’s a me problem or a palette problem but i just cannot make this work for me & my skin tone.

-Kiss me Heroine Make Long and Curl Advanced Film Mascara – from what i read of reviews this one seemed to be tubing-esque and wouldn’t give me panda eyes. it gives me panda eyes.

TheOtherHelen Avatar

My picks to toss are:

Tom Ford illuminating powder duo in flicker. The contour shade is just too dark and looks like dirt on my skin. And when I use as a eyeshadow it doesn’t last more than a couple of hours.

All my Becca highlighters because they break me out every time.

Huda Beauty mini palette- the red and the green ones. Something about Huda’s formula makes my eyelids itch and feel irritated.

Alisha Avatar

Oh I have way more than 3 I’m trying to use up! I tell myself if I’m going to buy stuff that’s not reviewed on here and I don’t like it then too bad, I need to use it and not waste it to learn my lesson. Mostly products that are getting older though (foundation, gloss, lipstick) and waterproof liquid liner which I hate removing. I’d rather risk a mess on my face any day!

Mariella Avatar

3 things???? Probably MAC Early Morning Mineralize blush (the colour is all kinds of wrong for me), Shisdeido Synchro Skin foundation and an old Too Faced liquid lipstick thing – the ones that were in a squeeze-y type tube with a doe foot type top and they were matte and, IMO, just dreadful!

AJ Avatar

My two big old Urban Decay palettes — the NYC themed one and the one with the butterflies in the lid. I’ve had them since they were new and I can’t remember the last time I used them! When I cleaned up my palette crate this weekend, I took both of them out and I ordered a Z-Palette so I can pop the pans out of the packaging. Yes, the packaging is cute but it’s so incredibly bulky for 16 pans of shadows each.

Technically the shadows are old enough that I should probably throw them out but I shamelessly ignore the suggested shelf-life of powder shadows.

And I have some also pretty old Sephora lip glossy things (from the year Emerald was the Pantone color of the year IIRC) that I need to toss. I think there’s like 4 of them but they can count as one item.

If we count the two palettes as one item and I have to get rid of something else… I’ve got a green-tinged ColourPop Super Shock Highlighter that I only ever use if I’m going all-in on green cosmetics for funsies. I probably wouldn’t miss it if it was gone.

But I’ve actually been pretty good about getting rid of stuff for the past yearish. In 2019, I made a point of trying to wear every lip product I owned, and while I didn’t quite make it, any time I put something on and it was just irredeemably bad (not something that could maybe be salvaged with a hydrating primer or a good lip pencil or a pretty topper), it went straight into the trash. And I’ve periodically gone through my eyeliners and swatched a bunch and tossed any that had dried out.

Lesley Avatar

I get rid of things on a regular basis so I am pretty satisfied with what I have, but I wouldn’t mind parting with ABH MR and the 2018 TF Gingerbread palette. Also MJ Sheer Gel Lipstick in Anais. Hello, Concealer Lips!

Megan Avatar

Nudestix Lip Glace in Nude Cherry: not a bad formula but my lips overlap quite a bit, so it’s tricky getting lip products to stay on if they’re not a stain or a balm. The color is more of a pinky red that can look a little clownish on me.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed: not sure why I bought this! I liked it when I tried it on in Ulta maybe four years ago and bought it on a whim in 2020. I immediately felt buyer’s remorse as the one I got gets hard pan really quickly. I think it worked better on me when I tried it out all those years ago because I was much more tan. The blush looks a little ruddy on me now.

Elf Jelly Pop Dew Primer: this is actually not a bad primer at all and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking to make a light or medium coverage foundation gain greater opacity. I’ve streamlined my foundations down to just the MAC Face & Body which works best without primer. On the plus side, this helps F&B stay on a bit longer on my nose which gets really slick throughout the day. I think I may actually hand this off to a friend who has oily skin and is always looking to have her foundation last longer while walking around campus!

Genevieve Avatar

Hmmm – that’s tricky, but here goes:
1. Tarantino’s Emerald palette – it has really pigmented shades, but I just don’t use it enough and there was no emerald shade in the palette.
2. A couple of eyeliner pencils from L’Oreal that I thought I would use but didn’t
3. Clarin’s Joli Rouge lipstick in Fig – the shade is too dark for me.

Latika Avatar

Thanks to youtube and learning how to apply makeup it has been a ride. I was caught up in the new release hysteria but now that I feel seasoned/ experienced I have specific tastes. There are now certain brands that I just don’t buy anymore as I felt the colors were pretty but the application/performance/ wear etc just

Brenda Avatar

I declutter pretty frequently. I just gave my daughter my last 2 ABH liquid lipsticks, 3 Marc Jacobs lipglosses, Tarte lipstick/gloss combo, Nars and Bobbi Brown lipsticks.

If I had to declutter tonight it would be the following:

Lime Crime Venus 2 XL – the color scheme had so much potential, but, with only 3 mattes the looks you can create are limited.

Marc Jacobs Steeletto – other than the 1 gorgeous metallic shade (that shade is the only reason I’ve kept it) the rest are just underwhelming. I also find the mattes muddy easily.

Melt Gunmetal Stack – It’s just okay; not wonderful, but, not bad either.

Susan Nevling Avatar

I have about a million NARS eyeliners that I don’t use. I have excessive MJ Hiliners in colors I don’t use. I really only use black, dark brown and navy now.

Rachel Avatar

I actually just went through this. I have makeup I keep out and use often, those stayed. There is makeup I haven’t used in a while and have it stored in a box (to protect from light, etc….). I pulled out products, checked the expiration date (after opening, 12 months, 24 month….) and in some cases smelled them. Some liquid lipsticks and glosses smelled rank, so out they went. Liquid or creme eyeshadows that had turned to bricks, out. Foundation well past it’s prime or bad shade but I kept it because ‘I spent too much on it’, also went.

Notably I gave a fond farewell to the following:
YSL Vinyl Cream Lip Stain in Carmin Session. I LOVE the color, but the formula for the Vinyl lip stain got….to viscous and really did turn to vinyl-like consistency. It was thick and tacky and unwearable. Shelf life on opening for this particular range really is short.

Coty Airspun Powder. Yes, I know it’s a ‘classic’ but I just can’t make it work for me. Makes my face cake-y and accentuates every single line.

Glossier Lidstar in Fawn and Club. The colors in the tube didn’t match what was on the screen and look horrid on my lids. Lesson learned.

Seraphine Avatar

I have one of those boxes, too. My intention was to take all the products I rarely use and store them away, then revisit the box and get rid of stuff I know I’ll never use. I just can’t seem to get myself to that point, though. It’s that ‘I spent too much on it to throw it away” mentality. I can’t get past it.

moi Avatar

I know I’ve seen you mention this before- and Christine has mentioned tips before also. But you are NEVER going to get your money back by storing things. If they are resale-able, try that. If not, why keep all that negative energy around? It’s like a box of failures staring at you, and life is too short to worry about makeup mistakes!!

Wouldn’t donating them feel good (and maybe be a small tax write off) ?

Keri Lloyd Avatar

I decided to go with category, not specific products…. here goes!

1) highlighter – it just doesn’t excite me. I’m 45 and work in a very conservative setting, so I mostly forget to use it anyway!
2) blush – I use sheer/light coverage foundation most of the time, and I have a natural (permanent) flush to my cheeks. I absolutely do not need blush!
3) novelty colored eyeliner –
As long as I have black, brown, and ivory I’m good y’all!

Joy Avatar

#1: LA Girl’s Green Pro Prep HD Color Correcting Face Primer (feels stingy on my skin).
#2: UD Vice Lipstick (shade looks awful on me)
#3: makeup revolution matte base foundation (way too drying on my oily face)

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