What has been your biggest make-up let down so far this year? Share!
Probably Hourglass’ eyeshadow palettes…
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The Becca Pressed Shimmering Skin Perfector. What little shimmer it had only lasted for an hour or so. What a waste!
I guess I just found a lot of the spring collections kind of boring. Just my opinion though because I’m not into neutrals/nudes, bronzers, contour kits, or pastels(except for lavender lipstick) at all.
Also I was sad that most of the spring collection things I DID want were super LE and sold out before I could get them.
Totally agree with this. Nothing got me excited enough to go hunting in stores or online.
It might be the NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation. On the one hand, it covers very well and lasts +12 hours on me without primer. But it’s a very tricky foundation – put too much on and it won’t dry down, then when you add even a little powder, it’ll cake. And it clings to every dry patch and after a while, will settle into fine lines around the eyes. And it’s not luminous at all, more demi-matte. I bought it to use during the summer, when my skin is more normal/combo, but it’s been so cold and windy lately, my skin’s on the drier side. I’m playing around with it, trying different things to make it work, (primer, moisturizer, beauty blender, adding highlighter ) but if it doesn’t, I have 2 weeks left to return it 🙁
I completely agree with this! In the winter, I used the MAC Prep & Prime Essential Oil, one or two drops blended in. This really helped with the dryer patches on my face. Now I’m putting extra moisturizer on, then primer then the foundation. I use the MAC 130 Short Duo Fibre Brush to stipple the foundation on and then the beauty blender to blend it in. My return period has ended and I’m just trying to use this up. Will definitely not repurchase!
I just got mine in Fiji and I find it preforms differently than the sample I got in a different shade.. I’m thinking perhaps because the large size doesn’t mix as well when shaken? I dunno
That happen to me with MAC Face & Body Foundation – I got a small sample and loved it. Purchased the full size but it was different -was runny and coverage too sheer, had to return it 🙁
Looks like we’re not the only ones having problems, reviews have been really mixed on this one. It shouldn’t take this much work to make a foundation work!
I tried a sample of this and I’m glad I did instead of buying a full bottle! Looked horrible on my dry skin regardless of how well I prepped it, was nowhere near full coverage and it was impossible to build it up. The only nice thing I have to say about it is the large range of shades meant I was able to find a good match for my skin color.
Yes, guess NARS missed it on this one. I have to shake the bottle and then add the one drop of the MAC Prep & Prime oil, to two drops of the NARS foundation. I use a MAC 130 Brush to stipple the foundation on and a wet Beauty Blender to blend it in. I might not need to use the MAC brush for the stippling but this method seems to allow for the blending of the two products and getting the foundation onto the skin. The Beauty Blender is needed to blend it into the skin (oh and I use MAC Prep & Prime Primer but it seems as though any primer will work the same with this method). It is a lot of work for a foundation but it does last 8-10 hours and I don’t get any dry patches when using the oil. I have very dry skin.
Glad you found a way to make it work!
I am usually in the shade Deauville in the Nars All Day.. but because summer is coming and I have been tanning, I purchased Stromboli to mix with Deauville. Stromboli is WAY thinner than Deauville- when I shook Stromboli oil seeped out of the cap, and it was still happening after 5-7 pumps. It still seems seperated after it’s pumped out also. They mix fine, but there was definitaly an inconsistancy in the two shades.
Wow, interesting! Glad you found a way to make it work. I’ll be returning mine and looking for something less fussy
I really disliked the LM “paint wash” lip gloss this year, although it got some good reviews. Come to think of it, I have not tried anything in the Laura Mercier brand this past year that I have found interesting or innovative. It used to be one of my favorite brands! I alson didn’t care for the Hourglass swirled blushes. Too powdery for me.
urban decay naked 3, the shimmery shadows aren’t great, i need to use fingers or a wet brush to get pigmentation
Same here. I read that there were some dud palettes that got sent out and I wonder if that’s what we received. I practically have to scrap some of the shimmers out of the pan, that’s how bad the pigmentation is. But I kept trying to make it work, and now it’s way too late for me to return or exchange it.
Instead I bought the LORAC Unzipped palette, after reading the review here. It isn’t a dupe for the colors in Naked 3, but it has colors that are in the same rosy-gold family. Fantastic quality, and cheaper! It’s the eyeshadow palette I reach for the most these days.
Yep! The Hourglass eyeshadow pallets were by far the biggest dissapointment! Expensive and awful…so unfortunate!
I’ve been lucky in that everything I’ve purchased in 2015 has been great but that is due in large part to this blog, Christine. I probably would have parted with big bucks to get at least 2 of the Hourglass palettes had I not seen your reviews. I will probably still get the green one (Colour Field?) but for some stupid reason, the Sephora nearest me doesn’t that that one – it has ALL the others but not the green one. I will have to check the next nearest, which has a wider selection of products, to see if they have it but I won’t buy it online. I want to check it out first, especially since these have been such under-performers.
Yeah, agreed. They looked so promising but just didn’t deliver.
I have two- Trish McEvoy lipstick primer and Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution.
The primer is totally ineffective. It takes several minutes for it to become tacky enough to apply a lipstick on top, and it never really dries down enough to act truly as a primer.
CT lippies are gorgeous in color and texture, but I expect longevity in a matte. These wore off after less than four hours and forget about eating or drinking- Sexy Sienna was melting onto my coffee mug. I was so disappointed, because Amazing Grace was going to be my wedding lippie, until I saw how poorly it stood up, even with two coats and setting powder. 🙁
I’ve actually made my peace with what I thought would be my biggest letdowns.
The Hourglass palettes: I find I am able to work with them. So while, they are a bit tricky to apply (I always start with wet tacky base and pat shadows on), I am really enjoying the plum palette. It’s so gorgeous on hazel eyes; especially the plum brown and shimmery shadow in the center of the palette. stunning!
Bite beauty fiasco with the LE lip color in January. I very much respect the refund (Canadians were not given replacement lipsticks, but rather a cash refund), while it tuned down my excitement for that particular line -I am not feeling the monthly leap of faith purchase so by the time I feel assured the product will perform, they are invariably sold out on Sephora- I have no hesitation buying regular Bite beauty line products.
Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara … gloopy, dry and huge brush is difficult to control
Omg I couldn’t agree more with this! I realize mascara is different for everyone and performance can vary based on a variety of lashes along with personal preferences on performance (length, volume,layers, primer or not) but with what I thought was a more universal love for this mascara I figured I would try it out and was excited to get it in an Ulta sample during the beauty event. I have yet to experience anything life changing let alone performance that would even come close to its namesake 😛
I didn’t have that problem with it. I thought it looked great on, but the frangrance or something in it made my eyes water and itch. Story of my life with mascaras.
I recently purchased a Jordana matte lipstick that feathers really badly. At least it was only $3! I’m also trying to get the Urban Decay Vice 3 palette to work for me. The brighter shades aren’t as pigmented as I’d hoped they would be.
I bought 2 of the Jordana matte lippies based on some great reviews, and they dragged like crazy and looked chalky on me. After reading more reviews, found out there’s a QC issue with some batches.
I noticed when I was buying my Jordana matte lippies that there were products labelled as the same shade that were CLEARLY different colors.
Good to know – thanks Katherine! I had the same chalkiness but I chalked (ha!) it up to it being an almost-pastel. Sure looked nude in the bullet though…
Thanks for the info, Katherine! I had the same problems with the shades I bought. They were so hard and difficult to apply that I couldn’t believe that they were the same lipsticks that had gotten so many good reviews.
I don’t know, maybe I’ll try them again in the future once they’ve gotten all the kinks worked out. But there are so many nice drug store matte lip products available right now that it’s not really worth buying the Jordana ones and hoping that I get one from a good batch. Even for three bucks!
The new Clinique Cheek Pops for Spring 2015. They looked so gorgeous on you and in the pan, but on me, they just looked like an unflattering silver shimmer rather than color. I also had a really hard time get any product on the brush (tried different bushes). I am fair but have strong yellow undertones. Just couldn’t make them work. Luckily Sephora is great about returns so nothing lost.
I must say, with great ache in my heart, YSL Tint In Oil 🙁
It dried out my already fine lips that don’t need much moisture! I was shocked! Must be an oil in it that just doesn’t play well with my lips… But oh well, it has a new home already 🙂
Hmm.. I don’t buy a ton of stuff anymore but I was pretty disappointed with the Origins Drink Up Intense Overnight Mask. I always sample first and I was really surprised when this irritated my face.
The last thing I purchased that I was sad about was a Hard Candy baked e/s quad. I know it’s not high end, but I’ve had good experiences with Hard Candy thus far. For lack of a better term, it sucks.
I am tied with the Hourglass eyeshadow palettes and the Anastasia liquid lipsticks. 🙁
KatVonD highlight and contour palette. Read a million reviews. Way too warm. I don’t find the powders blend that well. Overhyped. Kevin Aucoin book was way better despite worse reviews.
Bite Beauty kip lab limited for January, but at least they reformulated.
Lip*
The ABH Artist Palette… so dismal in performance and I really couldn’t get any color to stay at all. I would have rated it as a D-, and it will be one of the very few items I have ever returned!
The Nars dual intensity eyeshadow palette
I don’t think I’ve had a let down this year. More because I’ve done SO MUCH research on everything that I’ve bought beforehand that I could prevent a fail. Maybe a powder foundation by Pure Luxe Cosmetics that broke me out but that’s the only thing I can think of!
NARS Skincare and All Day Luminous Powder Foundation.
I thought the Too Faced Soul Mates blush/bronzer just did not have a lot of pigment until you uaed it a few times. It shoudnt be difficult to use brand new makeup, really disappointed
I could not agree more! I bought it was my skin was at its fairest (N20) and I couldn’t make it work. So sad, because it was adorable. 🙁 The color just didn’t show up.
I haven’t had any issues with quality, or individual products, but I’ve been kind of disappointed with the following:
LORAC; since they left Sephora, and have been mass-producing b the inexpensive palettes, they’ve added things like petrolatum & talc to their products.
NARS; again, not the products themselves, but the fact nothing has been compelling enough to buy from the last 2 seasonal collections.
Urban Decay; not the palette itself, but the way the whole Vice LTD release was handled. From sporadic distribution to website/release time & date not being accurate, it just left a bad impression of the brand as a whole,
Finally, tarte; besides slowly adding talc to their products, since they were taken over by an investment firm, any little bit of creativity/innovation has gone away completely. While they keep turning out products more often than before, they’re the exact same shade with different gimmicky names. I don’t mind the same shades being released, but at least be honest, and name them the same so I can compare it with what I already have; there are sooo many complaints about NARS always releasing Orgasm and/or Laguna, but at least I can make an informed decision whether to buy/skip…
I havne’t bought them since Christmas, except for the Miracles of the Amazon 6-piece collection. I didn’t realize they’d started using Talc. That might explain the quality change in their latest palettes.
I just purchased the CoverFX Custom Cover Drops during the Sephora sale because it got some serious raves. I’ve only tried it twice so far, but both times it’s been awful. Looks good when I put it on, but halfway through the day HOLY COW — I have never seen a foundation break down so badly. It goes all patchy and what’s left looks really cakey. I’ve tried it mixed in with my moisturizer and I also tried mixing it in with a light coverage foundation to add coverage. I’ll give it another couple of shots, but I’ll probably end up returning it.
If you end up returning it, and are looking for something with the same concept, try the Ardency Inn American Custom Coverage Concentrate. If possible, get a sample. I’ve had good experience with it, but have been wanting to try the Cover FX , only because I wanted tofind a better ccolor match.
I was ready to pack up my Cover FX Custom Cover Drops and return it on Monday! I tried it with my primers (Hourglass, Smashbox, Cover FX Anti Aging) and was disappointed with the coverage, texture and lasting power even after setting it with powder. Then I tried it with BB/CC creams (Tarte, Smashbox) and noticed no difference in coverage whatsoever. I was really hoping to add a little more coverage to some lighter weight products for summertime use. So today I tried it again with my Cover FX Anti Aging primer, but applied it with my fingers and it worked so much better!!! I had previously tried a MAC stippling brush, Beauty Blender, and Sigma F80. I don’t typically like using my fingers to apply foundation, but I’m going to go back and try it with my BB/CC creams again to see if they go on better!
I purchased the drops in a few shades darker, so I could darken up some foundations for summer. The color was great, but it really interfeared with the foundations formula. It broke down badly half way through the day.
My biggest makeup let down is Bare Minerals. The design of their make up counters are higher than any other brand I know and as a wheelchair user, their eye colours are completely out of reach for me. Other brands have risen to the challenge of making their make up accessible for disabled people, so why haven’t Bare Mineral bothered?
Chanel Muscade Poudre Compacte and Dolce and Gabbana powder foundation
Dior’s Tie Dye collection. The blushes look so pretty but the coral one is pretty orangey-yellow and the rose one is brown on my cheeks. Might as well just use bronzer. The lipsticks were nice in consistency but were too light for my lips so gave ’em to neighbor who is paler than I am. She loves ’em. I was so looking forward to this collection as I love color and especially Spring/Summer color, but this collection just didn’t work for me.
Ambient ethereal
It was a hard powder that did nothing for me.
There have been a TON of fails this year: the Hourglass palettes, that ridiculous Bite Watercolor Lip gloss set, way too many purple lipglosses that were splotchy, uneven, sheer, etc. But I haven’t been wasting my $$$ on them though, due to your excellent in-depth and very honest reviews. I cannot thank you enough, Christine!
I haven’t really bought anything from the spring collection because the emphasis is on pinks and neutrals – so that is, I guess, a disappointment for me. I was hoping for more marsala lipstick colours and perhaps they will come out in your autumn range.
totally agree! I swatched at the store and read your review then decided not to buy it. such a shame because it’s a really beautiful design!
my biggest let down so far is the clinique melon pop. I have fair to light skin with pink under tone so theoretically it should work. I love how it looks on you. but I can’t seem to get it on the brush?! I’m using the sephora professional blush brush which works well with other powders. what brush do you recommend to use with cheek pops, Christine? I’m confused. >_< thank you!
I haven’t had any brush that’s been hard to use with it – and I have used Sephora’s Pro Precision Blush Brush too! 🙁
I’ve had the exact same problem with Clinique Melon Pop blush. I’ve tried many different brushes. Maybe I’ll return it.
You should!
The Anastasia liquid lipsticks! Great colours, awful formulation. Sad Girl does indeed make me a sad girl every time I attempt to apply it.
Also, Nars All Day Luminous Weightless foundation is such a finicky product. I felt like the stars had to be perfectly aligned for me to get an acceptable application out of it… although it would inevitably end up in my fine lines and completely disappear off my forehead anyway.
I agree the NARS one is really tricky! If I get it right, I look flawless, but if not, it looks pretty bad on me, and since my skin changes, it’s like a moving target!
Dior Diorshow Iconic Overcurl, I thought it would help for my straight lashes, but didn’t; and it dried super hard.
Benefit’s Roller Lash Mascara. I got a sample from Sephora and I’m glad I didn’t dole out the $$$ for it. It didn’t “curl” my lashes, though nothing usually does but the big fail was when I removed it..out came my lashes! I don’t have that problem with other mascaras and I used the same remover/methods with all of them.
I don’t think I’ve had any let downs for anything I’ve personally bought this year. Even my ABH Artist Palette was great, except for Blue Velvet being a bit underpigmented and patchy.
NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette was by no means a disappointment, but I don’t understand all the raves about it. It’s a very good palette, but not outstanding IMO. The shadows are much drier than I thought they’d be. I definitely like using them better wet. Also, Subra was the shade I was most excited for, and it doesn’t read burgundy on me. It’s totally brown, and only looks good on me wet. That’s not NARS’ fault, but disappointing. On the other hand, Giove surprised me by being my favorite. It’s such a stunning midnight blue on me, when I thought it would be a nice, but average, navy. I love it for lining, and it sets off the other colors in the pallete beautifully.
I rarely buy luxury brands, which have had a ton of disappointing duds, but most of which I couldn’t/wouldn’t have bought anyway. Those gorgeous looking Hourglass eye palettes made me very sad. I was going to splurge on the plum one. Stila has become completely boring for me. I love Tarte, but the last two large palettes had mixed reviews, and are too much like what I already own.
I was really disappointed that the Laura Mercier Watercolour Mist Eye and Cheek palette was so bad. Also, that so much of the MAC is beauty collection was so sheer. In general, too many nudes and sheers are out, but that’s just my tastes. They are in style, after all. I’m surprised we haven’t seen more Marsala makeup. It’s the COTY for 2015, and there was a glut of it at the beginning of the year, then it seemed to just go away.
One thing I have thoroughly enjoyed is my Sephora Facets of Marsala palette.
I have to go with the Hourglass eyeshadow palettes too. I really wanted those to be good, but between your review and my own swatches, I ended up not buying them.
Oh, I have several.
◆Too Faced Natural Matte palette (poor pigmentation & only wore for about 4 hours)
◆It cosmetics cc illumination cream (illumination? NO, its shimmer! I will stick to their original CC cream which is fabulous!)
◆ABH Pure Hollywood (I wear colors like this often but this one made me look like one of the zombies from the walking dead also people said that they were long wearing & difficult to remove but I easily removed it with a tissue.
Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue, UD Perversion Mascara, Stila Body Palette
I bought my first Rouge G (Gisela), after ages of longing for it and believing it would be my HG. I am so disappointed! I love the colour, but the transfers is over average. And what is even worse is that it dries my lips so badly! I guess I am sensitive to an ingredient… Huuuuuge disappointment.
My search for HG lipstick thus continues…
Origins Mega-Bright Serum- did absolutely nothing for my skin for 75$
Rimmel Provocalips 16 hour lipstick stain-feels like plastic on my lips and peels off from the inside center out plus only removable with oil
OMG, looks like I wasn’t the only one having problems with Rimmel Provocalips! I had the same issues
I know many people love them but the too faced melted metals were a big letdown for me. They have absolutely no staying power on my lips! Very literally, they completely disappear on me within twenty minutes.
For me, definitely Cherlotte Tilbury Fallen Angel eyeshadow quad! I get those eyeshadows to look okay for 3 to 4 hours and after that they crease like crazy (and on UD Primer Potion – which works wonders on my eyelids, even with cheaper eyeshadows). Shame, these are really nice colours!
Probably BB creams .. they kinda suck .. too greasy, too shiny, no coverage .. bah! I might as well just wear foundation 🙂
Monica.
My biggest disappointment has to be the Cover FX Custom Color Drops. No matter what type of base I used them with, they clung to my dry patches and settled into my fine lines. I wanted to like the product so badly, and I tried and tried to make it work, but ended up having to return it.
I’m sad to hear so many people are disappointed by the Hourglass Modernist palettes. They seem to be a love-it or hate-it product. I absolutely love them–I have Exposure and Obscura, and I’ve added Monochrome to my wishlist because the first two I got are so great. I don’t have any issues with fallout, they apply beautifully, blend easily, and really last. I really wonder why people’s overall experiences with these palettes are so dramatically divergent?
Chanel’s releases so far this year have been boring, samey and uninspired to me.
What fun I had reading this thread. Sounds weird, but you all write so well.
I haven’t bought much this year, mostly skincare, but I happened to walk by a Dior counter and fell for an eye shadow, 045 Fairy Grey, it swatched fine, I thought so I bought it. Unfortunately it just doesn’t work on my eyelids.
I will not stop at a Dior counter in a long time, as most of what I’ve bought from them the last couple of years have been disappointments.
Oh, we can’t return makeup products, I so envy you who can!