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There’s a part of me that still loves Urban Decay, but they’ve discontinued so many of my favorite products (with no real replacements), and a lot of their newer releases have been underwhelming.
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Urban Decay was my immediate thought, as well. I used to clamor for their new releases (the 15th anniversary eyeliner vault springs to my memory, as does their Book of Shadows line) but I feel like in recent years, everything I’ve purchased has been a miss. Their products don’t stand out or perform the way I remember from my college days.
Colourpop because of the constant releases that are quite similar to each other and because they refuse to restock (or even have?) staple products. Their “fast fashion” business model is generally very disheartening to me.
ABH – after the Norvina line came out last year, the brand lost its “specialness” to me, also I don’t consider their eyeshadow formula “the best” like back in the days, maybe because there is much more choice now (including better pricing), it’s difficult to compete. Their eyeshadows decline in quality relatively fast too, so I probably won’t repurchase them. Not to mention ABH’s controversies regarding the workplace environment.
Hourglass – because of the continuous lack of inclusivity. Also, while I think Hourglass products are good quality, there are other comparable products (for example, Nabla’s face products remind me of Hourglass) for a much better price.
Thanks for reminding me about Hourglass. I’ve boycotted them for so long that I’d forgotten about them entirely when making my list. I can accept (though it’s painful) their very high prices but what really galls me is that their Holiday palettes are excessively overpriced compared to their cost-per-ounce of their regular products (thanks to Christine for pointing this out in her informative reviews) and this is at a time when every other company offering Holiday palettes and kits is actually giving consumers “extra value” for their money. This turned me off the brand entirely and it is something they seem to do and get away with every single year.
👏 I feel no need to reiterate nor elaborate.
I never fell in love with Colourpop specifically for their fast fashion approach. My opinion might not be… mainstream 😅… but I hate having too many choices. I just want to buy from brands with core staple products, tried and true, perfected overtime. I just get decision fatigue if I have too many options.
And I find Colourpop to be quite a fake brand. When they launch products every other week and promote the fast fashion behavior, they shouldn’t brag about having recyclable packaging; it’s green washing. There’s nothing sustainable in their practices, recyclable packaging means nothing without educating costumers how to recycle (recyclable doesn’t automatically mean it ends up recycled) and without cutting your own corporate waste (I can’t see how having launches so often can be environmentally sustainable).
I guess pretty much every brand has aspects that make me fall out of love – everything from exorbitant pricing (especially when it’s not warranted because of poor quality) to limited access (Nars and Chanel), to coming out with really lousy products when they should absolutely be able to do better (I’m thinking primarily of MAC’s recent disappointing releases). I’ve been getting more than a bit fed up with Clarins for d/c’ing so many of my favourite products (primarily skin care ones) but I think I’d also have to get on board with Urban Decay and their discontinuing of so many really stand out colour cosmetics.
Is Bite Beauty considered mainstream? I get that they wanted to make a commitment to being vegan and “clean”, but they discontinued their signature product without a ready replacement, their vegan reformulations of the lip care products are, in my opinion, inferior to the original, and they decided to launch into face products, which seems incongruent with their brand and if an attempt to rebrand seems unsuccessful. The few new products they have put out have been ok, but not great. It’s a shame because I used to be able to reliably blind purchase Bite and know that I was getting a consistent and quality product.
The discontinuation of quality products (colors and formulations) without a respectable replacement is also a major issue I have with Urban Decay – although their decision making doesn’t seem to be driven by something like a core value at the company level so it’s just baffling and frustrating (as is their commitment to branding things “naked” that well…aren’t).
Overall though, inconsistency is probably the #1 thing that makes me fall out of love with a company.
I really can’t believe Bite still hasn’t relaunched their lipstick line. It’s been a YEAR! They really were hands-down my favorite lipstick. If I had had to replace my entire collection, I would have gone for Bite to replace every shade of lipstick I could.
I too, am disappointed by their pivot to a “clean” makeup brand instead of their previous laser focus on creating high-quality, food-grade lip products.
I have mentioned this before – but MAC. On the high end side – Guerlain. I bought them for the glamour, really solid powder cases, lovely lipstick bullet cases. Now everything is cheaper plastic that breaks easily.
Too Faced. I’m tired of the schtick, the sexual innuendo, the owners and their racist relatives. It feels marketed to a horny teenagers, not women or men interested in make-up for day-to-day use.
Yes! I agree.
Pretty much all the mainstream ones I don’t buy from except for my foundation from origins and they just reformulated it and it’s horrible and they went from glass to a plastic you have to squeeze and can’t control how much cones our. Used to use Ester Lauder and Bobbi Brown, don’t any more, disappointed in there products and prices!
Although I agree with you about UD, I have a soft-spot for them, so I haven’t completely given up on them (yet).
There are quite a few that I do not even look at any longer (Tarte, Smashbox, Lorac, Zoeva), an entire category of brands that I now dismiss since they are made in China (Morphe, BH, Juvia’s, Violet Voss, NYX), and a few brands that I overlook with the exception of one item, i.e. IT Cosmetics’ universal brow pencil, BareMinerals’ tinted moisturizer. TooFaced, MakeUp Geek, KVD Beauty are all teetering on the edge of joining the “brands with which I am done” list.
And of course, anything that is not cruelty-free.
Christina D, I had forgotten about Smashbox and products from China.
Hi ShariP — unfortunately, the list of products made in China seems to be growing, and on occasion, a brand will manufacture in China for their holiday sets (I’m looking at you, Tarte and TooFaced).
I also forgot to mention brands that I used to buy until they gave up being cruelty-free, (definitely NARS, and I think also MAC) so they could sell in China. I stopped buying from them immediately.
I used to *love* ColourPop. This year, though… ugh. From the way they handled the Sailor Moon and Hocus Pocus launches to the super bland releases to the complete lack of anything in stock… I’m just so disappointed. Most of their colorful Supershocks are gone and nothing they’ve released this year has even remotely tempted me. So much neutral and blah! :/
Yesssss… I wish they’d STOP releasing things, take a deep breath, and spend like three months doing restocks. There’s stuff on there that is literally never available as far as I know. Meanwhile they’re doing, what, one new palette a week now?
Let’s see…ABH used to make utterly gorgeous eyeshadow palettes, even if difficult to use, creative and beautiful shade arrangements. Not anymore. They went all neon brights and 1970’s kitchen themes. Not a cute look.
I once LOVED Nyx. A lot. But everything that once made them THEE perfect affordable, yet very innovative brand has largely disappeared. Now it’s just too many different products, but with a lack of what put them on the map.
And woe is Urban Decay! No more blush, awful eyeshadow palettes, and they are DC’ing anything else almost that made them famous and highly sought after.
“1970’s kitchen themed” is so on point!
I’ve got several ABH palettes, some more subdued and some bright. I like that I can choose between them. I do get a lot of fallout though.
Urban Decay still makes nice pencil eye liners though.
I think I have fallen out of love with most mainstream brands somehow.
Oddly, Urban Decay definetily was my first thought also. From the overall anaesthetics, to the eyeshadows, eye pencils, eye primers, the Naked complexion line (foundation, powder), I somehow lost interest in them. I have found better formulas… and I don’t feel Urban Decay is as grungy as I considered before.
I also fallen out of love with Benefit. I used to love their brow products, but nowadays I like the Hourglass and MAC better for that. 6-7 years ago I used to like their entire line, purchase those sets with multiple products… nowadays they simply don’t speak to me.
Anastasia Beverly Hills never got me beyond their brow products, but I have kind of fallen out of love with them once the whole brand lost it’s identity with Norvina. Nowadays I only buy their eye primer.
Kat Von D definitely had my attention due to aesthetics, but during these years I have learned that I can achieve a grungy look without purchasing from a brand I consider “edgy”.
When I stopped buying from brands that cause animal testing, I was forced to break up with many brands that I loved but if China ever gets its act together on animal testing, I will take Chanel and Lancôme back in a heartbeat. Showing my age here, I guess.
KVD Vegan Beauty. I fell out of love with them when Kat came out as anti-vax. Then when it was announced she was no longer going to be involved in the brand in any way, I had hope that maybe I could give them another try. But I feel like the rebrand from Kat Von D to KVD Vegan has been completely bungled. I mean, I even saw images for THIS YEAR’S holiday sets that still had the “Kat Von D” branding on some of the items!
As for Urban Decay, I wouldn’t say we’re entirely out of love, but maybe our love affair has turned into more of a comfortable roommates situation. I still trust them to provide me with Primer Potion and my foundation, and I still reach for my 24/7 liners, but their new releases don’t thrill me like they used to and I rarely reach for the UD palettes I own.
Urban Decay and MAC were my first make up loves as a teen– and really the only brands doing anything cool/alternative at the time, along with Hard Candy– but I rarely shop either of them anymore.
Guerlain just discontinued 90% of their makeup and what is left is so boring. YSL, I also used really love now I just walk past without stopping. Bobbi Brown which is EL is now boring though she is now bringing out her own range under a different name. Hourglass Christine’s heads up but I never really look at their products now. Becca another boring brand which just seems to release nothing but lipsticks and highlighters now. Laura Mercier, I never seem to want to look at now.
Too Faced and KVD Beauty were My MUST BUY brands a few years ago, but their owners’ remarks (like Kat von D being an effin’ antivaxxer) made me refrain from buying them. Even if KVD is under new management, the brand has failed to produce something that makes me want to buy again.
Urban Decay, of course, for all the reasons you stated earlier.
Bobbi Brown. The oldies are still good (the ones they kept), but not impressed with the new releases, or the price.
I used to love Tarte – so many products were great, and I believed the marketing that they’re a ‘clean’ brand, then found out …not so much.
I miss their stick blushes, wonderful lip crayons in holiday sets for a great price, and the best eyeshadow palette I ever bought was theirs.
Now…..not sure what’s left that might be worth it (if I ignore the misleading marketing) – because I just don’t buy from them anymore.
Tarte has so many products at this point, that just by statistic probability something is worth it. 😅 I periodically check their website just to see what other 100 products they added; skincare, haircare, gazillions palettes, 7 mascaras with 3 of them in several special edition packaging, unicorn brushes, and their keep coming out with stuff.
And the only thing I hear people talking about is still the Shapetape.
Bobbi Brown. That used to be practically the only brand I purchased from. They became more disappointing once they were bought out by Estee Lauder. (As did Stila.)
Most of them to a degree? Indie brands have become a force to be reckoned with.
MAC: I still love a lot of their classic products and some of their recent launches have been really great, but they’re definitely not the consistent industry leader they used to be in terms of quality and trendsetting colors and finishes.
NARS: Their launches for the past couple years haven’t knocked my socks off the way they used to and I wish they hadn’t reformulated all their lipsticks. They murdered one of my desert island lipsticks (original Funny Face).
UD: Obviously.
Hourglass: For actively excluding deeper skin tones from their amazing complexion products.
Anastasia: Their liquid to matte lipsticks are dry and cakey and I always find their eyeshadows way more muted than in the pan.
Dior: Makes some gorgeous lip colors but the packaging gets really dinged up and feels ridiculously cheap for a luxury brand.
MUFE: Reforumulates core products too often and has too many misses in reformulations.
I stopped purchasing from most brands these days and only buy a few new products a year when they really catch my eye and everyones comments have really made me realize exactly why I am so over most brands. It seems they stray very far away from what their customers love just to be able to constantly pump out new releases. One brand in particular I was always excited for was Huda Beauty but their price point is just so high for products that are never very interesting anymore. All of their recent eye palettes look the same once swatched.
MAC. Which is actually very sad because MAC was my first big brand. But I did a recent de-stash and literally the only item I kept? My MAC lipsticks. I just didn’t like the blushes, the eyeshadows, the bronzers, any of the rest of the powder products I had, actually. I just found they don’t work for me like they used to.
I’ll always love MAC, but I’ll buy significantly less of it.
Urban Decay was my immediate thought, followed swiftly by ABH. ColourPop and Makeup Revolution (sorry….the every week thing).
For no good reason, perhaps lack of interest? I have also stopped utilizing Cover Girl, Almay, Neutrogena, L’Oreal and Maybelline….actually I think since I discovered Beauty Pie (and I am able to purchase high-end products at a drugstore price) I have stopped with the drugstore all together.
Might be shorter to list the brands that I still look at consistently. Those I don’t are UD, Too Faced, ABH, most MAC except my HG MAC Fix + and Brow product. I have tended more towards Indie Brands and very specific products, from major brands, that I have used before and continue to purchase.
One hundred percent Urban Decay. It used to be my favorite, but after the disappointment I suffered in the quality of the Naked Ultraviolet palette, I fell out of love. I had to come to terms with the fact it’s not what it used to be. It’s a shame but luckily there are so many great brands out there.
MAC for sure. They were my first brand love around 2004/2005. I was ALL IN for MAC. However, it seems like so many brands have improved in quality and innovation while MAC has stayed stagnant. I rarely use MAC anymore.
Once upon a time it was all about Urban Decay, Stila and Too Faced for me. And now each brand has one or two products that I still genuinely enjoy and I do not care at all about anything else they offer or come out with.
Like you Christine, Urban Decay has just about lost me – none of their newer releases can compete with their much loved ones several years to a decade ago.
ColourPop fails to interest me too – with their fast releases, average quality and so many look alike palettes in very warm shades.
ABH’s Norvina line lost me as well.
Urban Decay and Bite Beauty come to mind for me.
I used to eagerly look forward to Urban Decay releases because they were always so creative and well thought out but I think after they stopped the Book of Shadows and focused all their energy into the Naked line, I sort of gave up on following them.
Bite Beauty had such a beautiful lipstick formula between the Luminous formula and then the Amuse Bouche but the continually discontinuing of loved products is incredibly frustrating. The fact that they still have not replaced the Amuse Bouche formula is baffling since they released a few other lip products.
It pains me to say this, but MAC. They used to be THE brand for me and now… nothing special. The Internets and social media really has leveled the playing field and unseated so many giants. I will still buy my the staples but I think I have aged out of many of the new releases or just the trends in general.
Also Tom Ford. I love the quality of the blush but many other brands sell just as good for half the price. I wouldn’t waste my money on the lipsticks for the same reason. And the quads….. I like the Nude Dip formula but even that is underwhelming compared to some other brands for me.
Clinique is the first that comes to mind. Was die hard for Clinique when I first started wearing makeup as a teenager and was pretty dedicated to it through the rest of my schooling. Then I discovered Sephora when I actually started having a decent salary lol! I still like a few Clinique products, like their foundation and lipsticks, but I am never satisfied with their eyeshadow palettes. They’re just not very pigmented, which is probably what they’re going for anyway. My mom is still die hard for their matte shadows. I can’t convince her that yes, mid-sixties women can wear satin and shimmer eyeshadow!
Too Faced (except for their BTS Mascara) for so many reasons. 1. The brand itself, 2. I’ve spent good money on REALLY bad products 3. I love whimsical things and girly things but I feel I’m being talked down to by the company.
Mac (except for their lipsticks and their blushes) It seems that every year around this time they release some beautiful but under-performing products with a premium price.
I would say MAC, still love the Extra Dimension line especially Double Gleam, but their eyeshadow tends to be inconsistent in quality. I would also agree with Urban Decay. I have some favorite single shadows and Naked 1 and 2. Otherwise I haven’t bought anything from them in over 2 years….except Perversion mascara. Almost forgot that one.
I notice that a lot of people mention UD and NYX. Both went downhill not very long after L’Oreal bought them out. Pretty much every time an independent company is bought out by a massive one like L’Oreal, the quality goes downhill.
Pretty much all of them……. didn’t even buy during the sephora sale, a first in many years….. will loose my rouge status too…… indie all the way….. I love giving my money to these innovators over the big brands for sure. There just isn’t anything that is exciting about the big brands to me and I have so much that I am shopping my stash lately. I still love what I have from the big brands however just won’t repurchase most……. and it will take me years to even make a dent in most of it! One caveat : mascara and makeup I like the big brands for these two, and some of my powders as well, other than that I when making new purchases its most definitely indy!
I have to agree with you Christine. Urban Decay hasn’t thrilled me like it once did. I have been so disappointed with their new collections, and they have discontinued so many products I loved that were my Holy Grails. There was a time I loved Too Faced too, but I haven’t bought anything they have released in years. My Mom got me quite a few KVD things before she passed away, and I can’t bring myself to use them, nor can I just throw them away. I hope to find a line that I like as much as my former loves someday, but I just haven’t been excited about anything from any brand right now. Oh well, I have a lot of backups I can dip in now, so until I find a line that excites me, I am going to use up my much loved backups. It’s time I use them anyway.
Norvina has killed Anastasia for me. To various degrees, Too Faced, MAC, Tarte, Urban Decay, Wet n Wild, and Almay.
agree. i loved urban decay for their mono eyeshadow, but then now too many large pallets with a lot of colours. a bit boring. no replacement of the one colour that might finish first in the large pallets. i have fallen out of love of urban decay.
same with tarte.
havent paid much attention to other brands.
ABH Their too frequent releases made me stop wanting new eyeshadow palettes. They single handedly made me realize that makeup market was too oversaturated.
UD Their quality went downhill. At one time they seemed so innovative. Now they just put out the same old boring stuff.
So many. Tom Ford, Byte, Nars, Becca, Too Faced, Burberry, all drugstore brands, all department store brands (Clinique, EL), Kat VD, UD…
Many of the department store brands. Where I am, most of the stores just stock the basic items. Anything decent or new is only sent to the ‘million dollar’ locations. I still use one or two products from the various lines. I find it frustrating that to get anything new and interesting, I have to either order products online from the brand’s website, or visit the higher-end location and see if what I had an interest in is still available. I just don’t have the time or energy.
Many of the higher end lines like Chanel, Burberry, Gucci, etc. are rarely available here. No access to testers or anything. Buying blind or reading reviews here.
I might be more interested in Colourpop if the brand had a better shipping rate to Canada. I find it also as being ‘fast makeup’ – it may be inexpensive in the US, but I face a $50 order to get it to Canada without paying exchange, duty and expensive shipping rates.
Urban Decay has declined. Most of the new releases don’t really interest me. Don’t even look at Hourglass, or Huda, or Fenty, etc. Tarte seems to skew young and I feel too old for some of the products.
Tom Ford prices continue to increase, without the increased quality. I’m not in a place where I can regularly justify a $70 lipstick. $115 for an eyeshadow palette? Not really.
Only a handful of drugstore products even catch my eye now.
MAC seems to be in the Colourpop rut – a new release seemingly all the time. I feel overwhelmed and turned off. The ‘cool’ factor ended a while ago.
I do like ordering Chanel products online because it always comes in nice packaging. I’m not rich, but the packaging makes me feel special. That there was a bit of thought and care and respect for the customer, no matter how rich or poor.
So many! Urban Decay (yes, me too), Nars, YSL, Guerlain, Too Faced, Fenty (even though they have a few goodies every no and then, and one that I never thought would, Makeup Forever (after they changed their shadow formula).
Hi !
First off, all the brands I was going to point have been pointed by someone else, so I’ve got nothing new to bring to the table.
However, I have a question for Christine.
You make a fair share of post like this one, where we can talk about brands and products, what we wish for, what are our regrets, etc. And that’s great, that’s how you keep your community alive, and we can share our point of view, and I love reading what everybody has to say.
Are you sometimes, yourself, contacted by brands, who reads your blog, and those kind of post, and wants to better themselves, using critiques from your community, do you think that someone, from beauty brands, is reading and looking at us, and maybe, listening to us ?
Thank you !
I don’t know if any brand has contacted me following a question like this, so very rarely!