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What brands have you fallen out of love with?
I was musing about this the other day as I saw Guerlain had launched some new lip products, and I just felt so little inside… and they used to be a brand I would get excited to see new product from (particularly lip product at that!). They’ve just fallen off my radar in the last couple of years. On Monday, I noticed that Le Metier de Beaute launched a new lipstick, and my first thought was, “They’re still around?” because it was another brand I really enjoyed years ago but barely registers for me now.
— Christine
MAC. I used to adore their stuff but not anymore. Now I view it as overpriced for the frequently under-par quality, and just not very interesting any more.
This. I used to believe that they had the best selection of products and colors and was pretty excited at how accessible they were (swatching products prior to purchase is important to me) but now… I don’t even know. They’re very meh. The way they advertise their products and the constant stream of lq collabs is not appealing to me either.
I went right off them when I realised they test on animals to sell in China and haven’t given them a lookin since.
OMGGG Ali I was thinking the same thing.I never used anything they produced in years. Horrible way to run a business.
I totally agree. I was also quite disappointed at the way they recently handled the lunar new year’s day collection, managing the stock, promoting the line before and after the launch, through sns or otherwise.
I have a whole suitcase full of Bare Mineral loose eye shadows. Nowadays nothing they sell interests me. I think they should have stayed in the loose minerals business – which they started – rather than the pressed minerals business.
I agree with this. I used to be a Bare Minerals girl. I think the loose shadows had a learning curve, but I quite loved them and now the brand seems to have lost their distintiveness. I still wear their tinted moisturizer, but buy it at Sephora and barely go into their own store anymore.
It also seems like several years back they made some choices about which demographic to pursue and it feels like they didn’t go with the one I’m in. Lastly, the decision to get mote into skincare marked a turning point after which they just have not really gained my interest back.
Top of the list for me would be Hourglass. Their products – all of them – are certainly on the high end of the price spectrum and I can live with that because they do make some products I really like. But the fact that they’ve consistently really over-priced their Holiday edition palettes and special releases has turned me off the company entirely. And except for foundation (LdeP and Babyglow), Guerlain is another company that hasn’t got my $$$. Most of their products – eyeshadows, lipsticks, etc. – are over-priced and under-performing at that price. BareMinerals – so much of what I really liked is being phased out, at least here in Canada, where Sephora is the only “bricks and mortar” retailer around me. Otherwise, I’d happily purchase more, especially their loose and “Ready” eyeshadows.
MAC. Their collections are incredibly lackluster and the quality just isn’t there anymore. I’m not quite sure why they took this turn, when they were SOOO known for having playful, memorable collections AND great pigmentation/wearability in the early and mid 00s. But, I guess all good things must come to an end.
I tend to think MAC hasn’ actually changed since the 00’s … it’s just that all the other lines quality has gotten a lot better and they now offer more interesting colours/products. MAC carried on being exactly what they always were.
Lost all interest in Bare Minerals. Since they sold to Shiseido, they got rid of or changed most of their products, including the new READY line. READY foundation was my favorite.
And Nars, Cle….
MAC is the only one that comes to mind. I got my first ‘grown up’ eyeliner, eyeshadow, blush etc. from them. I’ve been disappointed enough in recent years across behaviors and products, and enough other options have developed, that I’ve moved on.
I was thinking the same thing about Le Metier de beaute. I have a bunch of their kaladescope palettes that I just don’t use anymore and they take up SO much space. They send me emails every year for their monthly box program and where I was sad to not participate the first year, I have no desire anymore. They just aren’t really all that exciting anymore.
Too Faced, without a doubt. I was never in love with Estee Lauder but did buy a few of their products decades ago, and now I marvel that they’re still around, because I never hear of them doing much and they seem stuck in the past.
Estee Lauder has been having some of its best sales and in an era where “millenials” are killing old stand bys, Estee Lauder has had incredible growth. Just read an article about it . I don’t buy much from them and of course much of this is bc of the brands they own MAC, Smashbox, Clinique, Tom Ford but I’d hardly wonder why they are still around. People still rave like crazy for their Double Wear Foundation for ex
It’s the foundation and skincare. Their double wear and advanced night repair are the best selling products worldwide in their respective categories.
Erica and Beth, thank you for the info! I just hadn’t heard anything about them in my neck of the woods. 😀
No problem- check them out. My doublewear is my holy grail long wearing foundation
This surprises me because Too Faced have launched lots of popular products lately. Better Than Sex mascara, the Chocolate palettes and Melted lipstick range to name a few! I actually think they have made something of a comeback.. I remember seeing them in (UK) department stores circa 12 years ago (the only product I really remember from then was Lip Injection) and then it seemed to disappear and you couldn’t really buy much Too Faced here anymore. In the last couple of years they have reappeared back in shops and seem to be more popular than before.
Having read your comment again I think I misunderstood in that you were actually referring to Estee Lauder not doing much, lol. They are one brand I have never really used to be honest, I don’t know why it kind of comes across to me as a more “mature” brand, like older ladies would use it or something.
People don’t want hype. And that was how major brand advertise. The NAME. These are dept store brands. Because of the internet the Indy brands don’t need to spend so much money on advertising. Instagram….free. I buy from Indy brands. Except for Suqqu, I don’t buy from dept stores like before.
Beautylish. WOW. Net-o-Porter. Another wow! I get my products so fast.
Yes….I need to get my fur brushes.
Indie brands are nothing but hype. What do you think Trendmood does. Really think people would buy Farsali without hype? Indie brands imo rely on gimmicks and cutesy packaging but have no better quality than department store or drugstore. Look at Black Moon Cosmetics. Hyped the heck out of that orb of light palette for months and what do they deliver ? 8 matte shades that read pumpkin spice latte and had zero to do with hype. Storybook Cosmetics just slaps means girls on a cardboard box or some Disney junk and sells it for far more than its worth. If that’s not hype, gimmicks and overrated…lmao
I agree mostly. I mean brands have to start somewhere and can’t all make a big splash on their release like Fenty, so I can’t group them all into this category. But sometimes they are just slapping a label on stuff that looks like some generic crap from a factory in China. And take Sigma for example, so much YouTube hype in the beginning, not much originality (same # as MAC with ‘ss’ in front?!). I bought a brush set from them and sold most on eBay. When they came out with the HD?brushes though, I actually liked those. But now there are so many copies of those from brands I’ve never heard of, I’m not sure what to think. But I don’t watch yt or go on IG much anymore…I’ve lost interest.
Never heard of any of them.
When I think of indies, I think of brands like Life’s Entropy that produces really solid products at great prices because they don’t have the slick webdesign or staged photoshoots of bigger brands. LE for example has dupes for OCC Lip Tar and Anastasia Dip Brow that cost about a third of the price.
But I totally agree with you about those indies. It’s like they start off doing the low-key thing in response to big brands, and then just end up trying to emulate them when they get a little success. Storybook in particular annoys me because it’s using the existing success and name recognition of another property to sell pretty average quality cosmetics.
Makeup Geek. They never come out with anything new and the store is low on stock. There are always promises of new products but they never materialize. There are other women owned indie brands that are killing it that I look to now.
I used to stan for MAC collections but I don’t go there now except for a couple of staples.
I completely agree on MUG. I still love most of the products I have from them, one of their highlighters is my holy grail… But I can’t even remember the last time I purchased anything, and I disengaged from their social media when most of it became pictures of Marlena in nice clothes and inspirational quotes.
I forgot about Makeup Geek. I jumped ship after the Sparkler debacle. For me, it wasn’t that they were crap, it was the way she handled it all. Lost respect for her and all interest in the brand. And you’re right about nothing new coming out – I think the last was the liquid lipstick that bombed?
I watched a lot of worst products of 2017 videos and her Showstopper lipsticks were in a lot of them.
MUG, too. Quit them when they doubled half my order. I sent the dupes back…their fault; hadn’t opened the sleeves. No reply to emails. Bad practice. I understand no returns, but even CP does it, documented. The sparklers. Fixing what isn’t broken. I disengage with cos to which I can apply the phrase: The problem isn’t who they are, but who they THINK they are. The cult of personality is a bit steep for me. When she was a fresh entrepreneur, fine. Now? Forget it.
Definitely Too Faced – I loved a couple of their 9-shade eyeshadow palettes, but the quality has gone down, the packaging has become cutesy, and most of the offerings just don’t interest me as much. Revlon is another brand that I used to love but I don’t shop at the drugstore as frequently and don’t follow the brand like I once did.
I don’t buy Too Faced, Tarte, Urban Decay, Becca, Kat Von D, or Benefit anymore. I just can’t justify paying for strangers’ vacations and those over-the-top PR gifts and packages.
I’ve also fallen out of love with drugstore makeup. (With the exception of ColourPop). The prices are too high nowadays for low quality products.
As a whole, brands are just pumping out “trendy”/limited edition products that I have no interest in. If I see another “holographic” anything, I’m going to scream.
Some brands I’m still in love with: NARS, MAC, ColourPop, Real Techniques for brushes, Drunk Elephant for skincare.
I was surprised at how much BM spent on a single BG, in the hundreds of thousands! Makes one wonder if that’s where the buyers’ money goes now. Not that the infomercial crap they invested in in the past was better but still. Nooo thanks.
“The prices are too high nowadays for low quality products”
It’s what brands think consumers will pay. I’ve noticed that there’s more heavy users who are more likely to buy expensive items now in general and that’s who you market to if that’s significant portion of buyers. The advertising and exposure from BGs is what sells, so that’s what hey invest in the most. I don’t like it but that’s just how it is.
I like the holo trend but it’s gotten old at this point, ngl. Next week another “trend” will be co-opted and more extraneous shit will flood the market.
I disagree with you on NARS, though. they’re one of the worst brands in my view. Collabs with controversial photographers, one of them did the Kylie in a wheelchair shoot, the appropriation of anything relating to sex. Boring color schemes. I freaking hate it.
Kat Von D Beauty doesn’t usually send out extravagant PR, they mostly send PR to smaller makeup pages on Instagram (most of the PR she sends out is to Instagrammers with less than 100k followers) and she’s never done a PR/sponsored brand trip/vacation. Just thought I’d clarify 🙂
Guerlain. I was excited to get some Rouge Gs a couple of years ago and even planned on systematically collecting the Meteorites from about 2013 forward and . . .meh. I only buy the basic Perles in 03 Medium as a finishing powder to meld everything and don’t go for any of the special Meteorites.
I’ve never been a fan, but I can’t believe Elizabeth Arden is still around. For me, they had the same reputation as Lancome and Estee Lauder (until Victoria Beckham breathed life into EL) and I never see any releases or anything, just the counter in Macy’s.
Jane Iredale. They used to be my go-to products in almost every category — i swore by the PurePressed Base — but now I really don’t care. It doesn’t help that I had a poor customer service experience with them.
I too peeled off from JI due to poor CS.
MAC, Guerlain and to a certain extent Dior. I used to buy all of Dior’s quints but finally realized they aren’t worth the price generally, although some of the new formulas have been good. I’m even a little off Tom Ford right now because they seem to keep putting out the same colours?
I feel like there are a lot of them and that the list of brands I am still interested in is a lot shorter! A few that have completely fallen off the radar for me are MUG, Lancôme, Bare Minerals, Estee Lauder, Clinique and to some extent MAC. I do have HG products from MAC that I consistently repurchase but I haven’t purchased anything besides those products in quite a while. I feel like I haven’t really been excited by any products from these brands in a long time. I too am finding a lot more products that I love from Indie brands and Asian brands.
Guerlain for sure. I used to buy all of their LE and new releases (makeup, skincare, perfume) and now I don’t even bother to look.
I’m kind of over Dior and Chanel, too.
Same with Bobbi Brown.
Re skincare, I was all over La Mer for a long time but I’ve realized that it’s not that special for that kind of money. I’ve gotten actual results from Charlotte Tilbury skincare products for far less money.
I have fallen out of love with all brands! Too Faced really helped push me over the edge. The always new and constant rotation of the latest and gimmicky thing (Peach!!!!) just ruined it for me. It is too much. Plus when you find out that all of these smaller brands sell out to the same huge cosmetic companies so in the end you are really just buying different price pointed items from the same company….it feels a bit like you are being taken. I am now refusing to buy into any of this anymore and just focusing on tried and true products that get great reviews for doing what they say they do.
I don’t know if feeling taken is the right way to look at it. It makes someone’s years of hard work, success and decision to reap the rewards of that hard work as a personal affront. I agree with you on the hype and gimmick, but I just wouldn’t take the buy-out so personally.
Yes, you are right. I can’t fault someone for working so hard that eventually a big name company wants to buy their company!!! In a few cases, not all, I just feel the original feel or message gets a bit lost and I do find that disappointing. I worked at Sephora for several years so maybe I was just too close to it and I need to take a step back to appreciate things again! 🙂
Too Faced!! Not that they were ever groundbreaking & the vast majority of their stuff was never really my style to begin with but for me a lot of their products were baby’s first bronzer, baby’s first palette, etc etc, so there was a sentimental attachment there. They’ll occasionally release something decent (I remember thinking the chocolate gold collection looked pretty good) but I think when you’ve knowingly released as many awful products as they’ve released against customer feedback there’s honestly an element of disrespect. I guess KVD to a point but for me it really boils down to her bullet lipsticks lmao. Something about pulling an already middling product for reformulation, re-releasing it significantly worse, and posting an essay on your website about how terrific the product is now.
There’s an essay? Oh, I’ve got to find that.
I completely agree about Too Faced, Ione. I forgot to mention them in my list. I haven’t seen anything from them that has interested me in a long time. I picked up the Peach Matte palette primarily because I could get it on sale for practically nothing and it is okay but nothing I couldn’t find elsewhere. I have to say though, just when I think I am completely free of them Jerrod will tease something that looks amazing. On his IG he released a picture of his upcoming “Natural Face Palette” which appears to be a blush, highlighter, bronzer palette with 6 pans and beautiful embossing. So, I will probably at least be looking at it. I don’t have high hopes though.
Sorry, I should have put a link in case you wanted to look at it too!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfECjmQFyy7/?hl=en&taken-by=jerrodblandino
Very pretty, hope the quality is there.
Too Faced, Hourglass and Tarte. Nothing has wowed me from these three companies for a good while. I’m not in love with new MAC collections, but I’m still a huge fan of their permanent products. I did like their Fairy and Aquatics collection but haven’t really been wowed by anything this past year. I’ll stick to regular stuff.
Urban Decay. In their prime they filled a hole in my black heart that no big brand could even touch; now there are indies that do the same or similar things, and usually better. Don’t get me wrong, I still like UD, they just aren’t the only star in my sky anymore.
Agree. Urban Decay was once great before it was sold to Loreal. I think it was Loreal.
Luxury brands in general. There is so much competition nowadays that when I do end up buying new products I’ve been sticking with mid-range brands like Cover FX and Bite Beauty.
In addition to the aforementioned Makeup Geek, I have to say I personally have lost a lot of my love for Urban Decay. I’m happy with my Heavy Metal palette from last year, but a lot of their recent launches have been so disappointing — the Liquid Moondust shadow, the lip toppers, the liquid lipstick. Hmm, maybe they just need to stay away from liquid formulas? But also that recent palette with all the transforming shades, and the ridiculous layout of the kaleidoscope inspired palette, and going all the way back to the Looking Glass palette. So many misses, with a few gems in between.
As for MAC, I was never a huge fan because I pretty much shopped at Sephora and Ulta. I’d only go to the MAC counter for specific items that were recommended to me by friends. But now I don’t even do that. I feel like they’re a brand that is in need of some new leadership who will reformulate their products to catch up with their competitors’ improvements, and make better decisions about LE launches and collaborations.
I really enjoy the lip toppers … admittedly I only have 2 and have no interest in any others … but I use them every week.
I don’t really have brands I’ve fallen put of love with. More like brands I was on the fence about or over looked but for some reason gave a chance and now love. Clinique, Bare Minerals, Colourpop, just to name a few!
I’m steadily losing interest in several brands that I once previously liked, at least, if not loved. The ones that immediately popped up in my head were, in no particular order: Too Faced, Tarte, Lancôme (except for their Teint Idole 24H foundation), and at least half of MAC’s LE collections. The last thing the Guerlain put out that had my heart racing was that splendid, beautifully done snow dome Meteorites with the gold stars from a few years back.
Hey NancyT,
I have that Snow Dome Meteorites from a few years back. I purchased it for the fabulous packaging and found the scent and product to be divine, but haven’t been thrilled with Guerlain since!
Yep Nancy their Meteorites and their bronzer. I am swaying away from most of these brands now. Can’t say I really love a certain brand. somehow the products just don’t give me that “OMG-I-need-that” feeling. What happened to lemmings? I need that feeling back, dammit, or I might as well just close shop.Well for now my band account thanks me. Maybe its because my interests have been with shoes,clothes and bags for now.
MAC, Christian Dior, theBalm and Chanel. I used to buy so much from these brands, usually something from each new release but after I quit my job of 17 years and walked away from a steady pay cheque, I had to curb my spending dramatically. When I eventually had disposable income again 8 months later, I decided I would only pay luxury prices for luxury products that were exceptional in every way. Unique shade, finish, texture, scent, packaging – it had to be worth the $ outlay. Unsurprisingly, very little met that criteria – or at least, I could get brands that had product as good for about 10% of the price. The more I saw high end brands putting out product that wasn’t any better in quality (I have Jordana and Rimmel lip stain crayons that leave Clinique Chubby Sticks in the dust) the more I have turned away from any particular “brand” and just bought what I thought was best in performance and value.
So many in all price spectrums, most of which have been mentioned: MUG, MAC, Benefit, Tarte (except its concealer), Too Faced, Clinique, Estee Lauder (except VB’s highlighter and bronzer), Shiseido (except for one brow pencil shade), Lancome, ColourPop, Chanel, Dior and Chantecaille come to mind immediately. Several died on the vine without my ever trying them because they use ingredients I’m allergic to, such as Coloured Rain and Violet Voss.
Funny, I just rediscovered LMDB! Most brands have something great to offer, but I am utterly uninterested in Bobbi Brown, EL, Armani, Stila (which was my uber-favorite brand back in the day before the EL behemoth ruined it, as it has so many other brands), Tarte, Too Faced, Laura Mercier, Besame, Ellis Faas, KvD, Edward Bess, ColourPop, and many others. Oddly, my interest in UD, MAC, and RBR has been rekindled lately, and I’m loving Kjaer Weis, Butter London, and a few niche brands. Elizabeth Arden has some really innovative gems in their line, and Merle Norman has some great basics. My lesson has been to check out trendy brands, but be sure I’m not going for the fad but for what works for me.
Lots of them!
Guerlain is probably the biggest, because I used to be such a huge fan. Now I just keep an eye out for new Rouge G lipsticks, which means that I buy about once a year. In general, the traditional “prestige” brands have fallen by the wayside: Dior, Chanel, etc. I find that their releases are way too repetitive, both of what they’ve done before and of each other.
MAC lost me a while ago with the too-rapid limited releases and have never gotten me back.
I was also a huge fan of Rouge Bunny Rouge, but pretty much everything they’ve done in the last few years has made me less interested in their products. I haven’t bought anything from them in ages.
I had the same reaction to LMdB as you. They became so wrapped up in doing these micro-launches that were only available at specific stores that I just gave up trying to find them, and I think that a lot of people did the same. It’s too bad, because I really like the products that I got from them, but it’s too difficult to track everything down, especially from Canada.
Now that I think about it, if I look at the brands that I was buying the most five years ago and the ones I buy the most from now, there isn’t a lot of crossover.
Trish McEvoy
This company had such a great idea to build your own palette and luxury planner kit. They have very few “new” products in 20 years.
Illamasqua. The quality has dropped drastically, their packaging is excessive (why does a bubble mailer need to be packaged in a cardboard box filled with shredded paper? How is this not totally wasteful?), and they have an incredibly petty, obnoxious , and passive aggressive slogan printed on their mailer boxes about how they’re cruelty free. It puts a really bad taste in my mouth.
Dior / Urban Decay / Chanel / Nars / Guerlain (I still buy the loose powder and Bronzer) / Benefit.
You hit the nail on the head Christine with Guerlain – like Dior, they have lost the plot. When I think of my beautiful Les Gris eye palette, Guerlain was at the top of its game. Now it is overpriced and average.
Same for Lancome – their beautiful 5 pans were generally stunning in the past, but now are so ordinary.
The lipsticks are overpriced as well.
Bareminerals, with their fantastic Ready formula, were so good 3-5 years ago and now they quite average too.
It is very sad when brands take a dive in quality.
I don’t buy Too Faced, Tom Ford, Tarte, Kat Von D, ABH or MAC because they are far too expensive here.
Christine, I agree about Guerlain. Back when good bronzer was more rare, Guerlain was more sought after. Ive never used one, but the eye kohls had some popularity; and of course meteorites. I also feel maybe MAC has slowed down a bit with collections, but they haven’t really increased the quality. Maybe I’m wrong or new releases don’t interest me that much, but I just picked up a new highlighter palette and I can’t remember the last time I bought a MAC item right after its release. 5+ years ago I remember snapping up LE lipsticks even if I had 10 similar versions. Now it’s like meh, I only buy it if it’s something I don’t have in my collection and you give it a good review. I won’t buy it until I see a review for almost everything. Makeup on here except foundation, mascara, and brow products (and skincare).
Def Guelain. The old rouge g liquid lipsticks were so spectacular. The longevity was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Then the new ones came out and lasted like 3 hours tops. Lots of let-downs from them.
Chanel also. I tried every foundation they make out of curiosity over the fall. Because they used to make the best things back in like the late 90s early 00s. Their then-concealer and then-liquid eyeliner were incomparable. I remember the sales girl explaining and demo-ing the new one after they stopped the old concealer – I cried in front of her it was so bad and I felt like my life depended on it. Not one of the foundations I tried last more than 6 hours. And the ultra tenue was just not worth the effort involved. They never did restore their glorious concealer.
These guys both used to have a mystique. Like they invented beauty or something haha. Anyways that mystique is just gone an no one else has it. Now it’s like ah well I dunno. MAC and Benefit always seemed like 100% hype to me so I never tried them. I feel like each brand maybe does one thing well. Tops. I think I just relate differently to “brands” now vs when I started wearing make up 30 years ago. I resisted Jeffree Star because of the 2 e’s haha but boy is that some amazing LL. I don’t know why it’s never reviewed here. Charlotte tilbury makes such a weird brand-image but stellar makeup. Glossier and Wander couldn’t be less appealing if they were trying. *shrug* sometimes I miss the way the old couture houses make up made me feel special.
I fell out of love with Benefit, Estée Lauder, Bobbi Brown , Clinique , Lancôme and MAC a long time ago . Urban Decay has a lot of misses lately and I’m losing interest but still love what I have . I’m in to Algenist, The Ordinary, Becca and Chanel these days .
MAC. My skin got too dry for their foundations. Then they had too many releases, everything including the quality became a blur. Finally, I aged out of their customer experience. I dreaded the loud, obnoxious music in their stores. Just eye-rolling at some point. They coasted for a long time on their company values, while every other part of the brand broke.
Other brands had too many middling-to-bad quality experiences: Dior, Bare Minerals, and KVD.
Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Trish McEvoy and to my surprise Laura Mercier come to mind. I have a few LM that I still like and use, but I’m not drawn to the brand like I used to. Stila is another brand I fell out of love with a long time ago. When they culled their line way back and got rid of their single shadows, I was really unhappy. Now that they’ve been bringing out a lot of new products I’m just meh. Sadly, I think ABH is also quickly working its way onto my out of love list. I don’t really reach for the shadows I do have and I’ve been less than impressed by their recent releases – not to mention how they handle feedback.
I do agree with another poster about the holographic trend (and unicorn and everything else that everyone jumps on) but I will say the Dior Holo Pink highlight is really nice and will be my one and only purchase related to the aforementioned nonsense!
Bobbi Brown- there was a time when 80% of my makeup was from BB, – boring & poorly performing releases have caused me to pass BB by
MAC- I buy a pot of Nylon & Blushbaby every other year, nothing new from MAC in years & their service has always been crap
Lancome- used to be solid for quality performing makeup (never very interesting though) now it’s hit or miss so I don’t bother
Benefit- overhyped & disappointing products make me pass them by
For me, it’s any company that does too many LE items. In the seconds it takes you to realize you need it (or decide you can afford it), it’s already history. And if you DO happen to snag it, I agree that the product is often sub-par. Companies are trying to compel us to blindly order their latest without thought- for me, all that makes LE stuff more aggravating and insulting than it’s worth.
Furthermore, SO many palettes look exactly the same! (I just can’t with the warm nude palettes anymore. Just. Can’t.) This means you: Urban Decay, theBalm, Tarte, Nars, Bobbi Brown, Jane Iredale, Laura Mercier, Bare Minerals, ColourPop and Too Faced, etc, etc.
I agree about the spotty quality of both Mac (but I do love their Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set) and Makeup Geek; plus Dior and Smashbox now give me allergic reactions.
So that’s the stuff that gets the big shrug from me.
I’ve cut off some brands due their to not being cruelty free, including MAC, Nars (my heart broke when I found out, but I’m pretty sure my wallet cheered), Lorac, Tony Moly skincare, Philosophy, and OGX (haircare).
A lot of others just never appeal to me anymore, like Too Faced (this is the main one), Tarte, Smashbox, theBalm, and Colourpop (I love their pressed shadows but I don’t buy palettes anymore and that seems like ALL they release, and I don’t like liquid lipsticks).
Overall though, I’ve lost a lot of my interest in new makeup releases, and am only buying main collection items when I buy anything.
So funny. Two weeks ago I was looking up LMdB to see if it was still around. I was surprised to see them still kicking.
The top two that come to mind are MAC and Too Faced. Overall since Estee Lauder acquired MAC I’ve noticed a significant drop in quality of the eyeshadows and MSFs (esp since those were repackaged). I feel like it’s all hit-and-miss now whereas before the vast majority of the eyeshadow were hits. Neither here nor there but the vast majority of my MAC brushes shed terribly and fell apart over the course of 3-4 years and although that’s a considerable time frame I find I’m able to find similar brush shapes from Crown for much cheaper that hold up similarly or better. Too Faced was one of the very first brands I purchased in buying makeup for myself so it holds some sentimental value; I can’t say their products were every super wow but they were solidly good quality (imo) and I loved how they used to always put together “try me” sets with various minis (or occasionally full-sized) versions of several of their products so you had an idea of what the brand produced. That said the past several years has been a decline for the brand and my opinion of it what with the inconsistency of the palette quality and the poor customer service and public bickering with customers on social media. Tarte is another one that’s sort of getting on my radar in terms of falling out of love with. I thought, and still do think, the majority of their products are good quality and work well BUT after the Shape Tape debacle I’m wary of giving my money to a company that thinks people with deep complexions magically turn Caucasian in the wintertime. -. –
I am kind of done with Bobbi Brown. Not because its a quality thing but because it just doesn’t seem interesting to me anymore. Not exciting or new, I WANT to fall out of love with Chanel because I buy too much. I want to find a natural brand that I love and that works for me too. I just sent away for some Rituel de FIlle samples and I’m excited.
I am also wondering why you’re done with Le Metier de Beaute? I just got a lipgloss and I loved it but lost it and I got two shadows and love them as well.
Tarte (not telling customers about security breaches; ignorant comments about foundation release; many products getting boring since they sold to Kose) and Stila (products getting boring since they were sold to Estee Lauder; calling a product g*psy). I think I’m done with both companies unless they make some big changes.
I still like a lot of Too Faced’s items, but I think they’ve gone downhill since they were sold to Estee Lauder. I was not happy it took five weeks, Tweeting, and two messages to two different customer service addresses to get my Clover palette AFTER I’d paid for it.
I was starting to fall out of love with ColourPop, because it seemed they’d gotten rid of a lot of the brights and glitters and fun colors that made me love them. The new, more colorful release of SSS, the great pressed shadows, and the new lipsticks have brought me back.
For me it’s Dior. I used to love Dior, in fact they were one of the first top end brands I bought back in the late 80s when I started work and had a disposable income for the first tine. I can still remember the name of the first 5 Couleurs eye palette I bought – “Dessin”. However, these days I buy very little from them as I just don’t feel included by them, I feel they aren’t interested in my demographic, they just want to appeal to 20-somethings. Their loss!
Urban Decay – the brand I first started out with when I first got excited about makeup. I still go to them for things like primer and setting spray, but their other products don’t interest me
Lime Crime – again used when I first started out. Now I realise their products are gimmicky and pretty poor quality.
Kat Von D – to an extent. I used to really enjoy bright colours in makeup so the brand was pretty perfect. Now a prefer a more natural toned look. Also the poor reformulation of their lipsticks is alarming.
Too Faced – again, very gimmicky.
Dior, but that was quite some time ago. Lancome, a very long time ago, Chanel also years ago.
not so long ago, Too Faced, I never loved their products but I liked them, now after they went all unicorn-y and mermaid-y I just don’t even look at their counter anymore. Benefit, Smashbox, MUG.
I still like MAC for the permanent range, I hope they will get it together and make some stellar LE’s and not release so many bad ones.
I’m actually more than a bit tired of LE’s and all the hypeing.
Just about everyone right now. I’m trying hard to be disinterested in all of it. Unless suddenly there was a magical holographic makeup that changed colors throughout the day, I don’t think anything would turn my eye, but then that’s because I need a makeup break. As for a particular brand, many of the same as mentioned, Bare Minerals (been off for years, only used to by it for my eldest when she was young, but now she’s almost 30 and can wear what she wants), Guerlain (twice bought the pearls, and that’s that…to many highlighters and similar products out to pay that kind of many for those beads), MAC (never can find a good eyeshadow quad over comfortable hippie from them, so they’ve been off for a year plus) and perhaps Pat McGrath (only because I still can’t even touch her products in France yet, so I’ve just let go of ever purchasing a palette from her until whenever).
The Body Shop — lots of products to try.
FYI: 40% off today online for Shade Adjusting Drops Liquid Foundation (ITEM 41523) $12.00 (regularly $20.00). I’m not affiliated in any way whatsoever. These are great for lightening or darkening your foundation.
Looks to me, after reading so many comments on this topic, that we are not as loyal to a particular brand is we may have been in the past (if we ever were). We are looking for value for the money, quality, a range of colors that enhance or are different, and sometimes something special in the packaging (its fun to collect pretty things and for many it is a hobby).
Too Faced for sure. I used to be in love with their Natural Matte palette, but the quality since has fallen off completely. Everything is so gimmicky as well. Pass!
I too was kind of over MAC – however a few weeks ago I visited my local counter (for the first time in YEARS). I used to be a regular and the MUA remembered me and asked why I hadn’t been in in so long – and I told her that I hadn’t really been seeing good reviews on a lot of the new collections like in the old days (2010-2012 ish?) when I used to actually be excited for them. She told me that MAC just fired their creative director and re-hired the old director from when the collections were more fun in my opinion (Temperature Rising, etc). She said the upcoming collections are more similar to those of the “good old days”, so I’m cautiously optimistic….
Too Faced and Tarte. Tarte’s just boring and nothing new. Once you have 2 or 3 palettes from them, you’re all set. And Too Faced has just turned into a giant gimmick. They were at their best from 2012-2015ish. But now the quality is missing and everything is a gimmick.
I totally agree. I was also quite disappointed at the way they recently handled the lunar new year’s day collection, managing the stock, promoting the line before and after the launch, through its sns accounts or otherwise. Lost all interest in MAC.
I agree with a lot of you on Too Faced. I still like some of their products, but the overly cutesy packaging and gimmicky releases have really turned me off the brand to the point where I am inclined never to buy anything of theirs again. It doesn’t help that I am not a big fan of scents when it comes to makeup – that’s what my deodorant and perfumes are for.