Archived Post
What was the last brand that disappointed you?
Kat Von D’s Serpentina palette; the way the release was handled was frustrating, and I don’t know why it was released in such small batches, which made it seem like it was selling out in minutes when now it seems like there is plenty of stock to go around. Then, to make matters worse, the product itself seems to have a lot of quality issues, but these quality issues extend into inconsistencies, too, as readers have reported different shades working differently!
— Christine
Smashbox was mine. I got the Art of Color palette on sale, and I was super excited. The packaging was gorgeous, and the colors looked great, until I started trying to use them. They had absolutely no staying power and blended into a mess with just a couple strokes of a blending bunch. My attempt to make a purple smokey eye promptly turned into me looking like I had two black eyes. Needless to say, I returned it.
Agreed. This was going to be my answer.
UD . Everything from them is a disappointment. From their liquid liners that burn my eyes to their eyeshadows that have fallout and fade throughout the day. Find them so overrated
I agree! And I feel like I’m sometimes in the minority when being disappointed by UD’s shadows. I bought Naked 2 long ago and felt like no matter which shadows or techniques I used, my look always came out looking the same…a kind of muted smokey-ish taupe brown :/
I also recently bought Vice 4 because I loved so many of the colors. They swatched well, but that doesn’t seem to translate to how they actually show up on the eyes, which is kind of just…eh. To get anything close to the pan color, it seems like I have to use a sticky white base and keep patting color onto the lids, and even then I get a so-so result.
I agree about UD. Very overrated brand. I seem to always forget that when I’m shopping or talking to people. Their skin products are not good (foundation, bb cream), and I find their 24/7 liners fade and transfer badly. They really only have 2 “great” products, the shadow primer and some of the eyeshadows. But even those products are not the best available. Personally I like Nars eyeshadow primer better, and there are tons of eyeshadows as good or better. It’s one of those brands where people get caught up on the name, instead of the quality of the products. Smash box I straight up will not use. When I get their products in sephora favorites boxes I always use them once or twice and then give them away. I’ve tried, but I don’t think the quality is there. I honestly think they are a drugstore brand at sephora prices. I 5hink loreal is higher quality than smashbox.
Haha I have only really tried Smashbox primers. The photoready primer makes my skin so greasy even though it is for oily skin. I don’t get it.
I tried the UD 24/7 liquid liner and it made my eyes water so bad. Their primer Potion isn’t terrible but tbh it is no better than my Milani eyeshadow primer. I don’t see a difference . Why pay $20 when I can pay $6 right?
And I really want to like their eyeshadows. I have tried them since the early 00’s but they just do not do it for me. I wear them with a primer too and they just don’t have the pigmentation/staying power like my MAC or Lorac shadows. Canniot deal with their fallout and fading!
So agree with you Andrea – Smashbox is just one of those brands that try to stay in the market distributing horrible products. When Max Factor (loved this brand) stopped producing products here in the US, Smashbox suffered big time and it shows.
I was really dissapointed about the new highlighters, I swatched them and I was like meh! Boooring!
I actually like UD. had a couple of lipsticks (Ex-Girlfriend and Naked), eyeshadow (Beware), eyeliner (Smoke) and the anti-age eyeshadow base and I, personally, think they all live up to my expectations 100%. Sorry you do not find their products perform to your standards.
I think their lipstick and lipliners are very good. Can’t speak to the rest of their product line though. I keep looking at it, but just not motivated to buy for whatever reason.
I agree with you, although I don’t like liquid liner from any brand really. So maybe the reviewers above are onto something. I have Naked Basics, one of the Vice palettes, and 2 Vice lipsticks (Gubby and Bobby Dazzle) and I have loved them all. In fact, I am probably going to buy more palettes of theirs on Ebay.
My UD experience is mixed trending positive… the couple of eyeshadows I have (all matte to satin, nothing glittery) work nicely, pure colors, generous portions. I never liked the Naked palettes but due to coloring not quality. I depend on Lovelight sheer lipstick and have a couple of others I use often. Their eyeliners are meh; expensive for the varying to poor quality and unimpressive color sophistication. I do find the brand super hyped.
Everyone has their own experiences and their own expectations when it comes to various brands. I want to love UD bc they put out so much but I just don’t. Lol at some point you just have accept and move on to brands that do work for you and you do love:)
Kat Von D.
I bought the Innerstellar palette because there are so few neutral toned palettes for truly cool gals out there, but was overall disappointing – powdery with so-so wear and colors that tended to muddy up if you tried to blend them. I then tried the metal crush shadow and it creased terribly on me, even over NARS’ pro-prime. Finally, I debated getting the Mi Vida Loca Remix palette last year, but all the colors that would be more wearable for me – the blues and the purples – had pretty poor quality.
It’s a brand I WANT to like because I love how they aren’t afraid of color, but I’ve yet to find a product that impresses me enough to want to give them another chance.
Oh “yes” to the KVD Serpentina Palette!
Not the only recent misstep from the brand, either. Those horrid cheek Shade & Light numbers, too!
MUG has been another “hit or miss” brand lately. Just inconsistent. Some of Marlena’s new blushes are quite nice, but then there were those Sparklers, and those matte eyeshadows. There’s other brands, to be sure, but these 2 stand out to me because we *know* both are highly capable of excellence.
Agree with KVD. She has some hits (Metal Crush shadows, love her Featherweight primer) but seems like a lot over-hyped products with QC issues -the Shade & Light Blush Duos were terrible and had to be recalled, different batches of Lolita with different colors, and now this over-hyped Serpentina palette whose quality varies by batch.
I got the “special” Lolita and didn’t even know it (Me: WHY IS THIS SO BROWN WHAT HAVE I DONE), but the formula turned out to be one of my favorites. Mixed feelings.
well, the last return i made was to nyx.. i got brooklyn thorn because i actually liked the color – which was a very new experience for me, since usually browns are just kinda gross to me. i liked it on my lips, too, but it ended up being very drying, which is something i hadn’t previously experienced with their liquid suede lipsticks. in the end, that was sad, but at least now i know to look for something in that color range if i ever need a brown.
Ya know Nyx for me is a brand I want to love bc they have so much variety as MAC or UD and they are affordable and easier to come by esp since Target started carrying them but other than a few lipglosses, I have yet to be super impressed with them. I’m learning a brand that has more variety isn’t always a good thing. Sometimes it’s better to be smaller and more refined:)
Try their lip cream in Berlin if you want a brown.
The Balm. I got one of their automatic eyeliner pencils, in Scott Bordeaux, it was the worst thing ever. So waxy and crayon like I couldn’t draw any sort of line with it. The lady in the shop told me to try using a lighter on it to melt it, still no dice. So disappointed, every time I see it in my vanity I get cross.
I could say the Balm as well. I finally got one of those in stain blushes. Have eyed and swatched them for over a year but when it comes to purchasing I always went for Lorac or Cargo but I finally bought one. Was not impressed. Got Houndstooth. Just difficult to get any color pay off and the color fades very quickly. My blush from Wet n Wild have better pigmentation and color pay off!
Maybe they are uneven batches, too. Got 4, including houndstooth, and they are all fine.
Maybe but that’s kind of shitty to deal with that mess when you are paying $20 for a blush. Kind of a turd of a company if they putting uneven quality products on the shelf!
I love the Instain blushes and really find they last longer than any others. I don’t like their eyeshadows though. Too much fallout, and they look like nothing once they’re on the eye.
I say Becca, but only because it costs more expensive that Chanel and Dior here. So it is the price vs what I get for it (no fairy dust of magic sparkles 🙂 ) that makes me disappointed, otherwise it is a good brand.
Cannot get myself to like NYX. The products just seem lackluster to me, maybe cause I’m spoiled by MAC and NARS and MUFE, but after trying so much, I just don’t feel “happy” when using NYX.
Maybe that’s true about Nyx. Just not impressed with them
Jeffree Star…enough said.
Absolutely – nasty stuff! Like gimmick products.
MAC — I know their products get a lot of love here, but for me, this line is so hit and miss that I don’t even bother anymore. I think I have returned more MAC products for quality problems than any other brand, and in general, the brand is overpriced.
I agree with Anne, not impressed with Mac, I have returned a ton of product too!
Yeah that one was a big dud. Especially after such a successful shade and light release. MUG kinds let me down with all those matte blushes but I’m sure most people loved them!
I hesitate to comment, but I am beginning to wonder if Colour Pop is becoming a “hype” brand that intentionally builds up their products and doesn’t meet demands on launch dates. On the other hand, I realize they’re a smaller company and may be genuinely surprised at how sought-after their products are becoming. They may be working diligently to adjust their tactics and production to meet their growing popularity. I hope that’s the case. I would hate to see every new launch turn into the metallic lipsticks and the Churro highlighter situation.
ColourPop is mine too, for the lippie stix. I bought several (so cheap! exciting!) and have really not been thrilled with the overall performance. I still like their blushes and eyeshadows, though.
I also picked up the Nyx eyeshadow primer that seems so popular on social media and I hated it. Just did absolutely nothing for me. No primer would have been better. Returned it and spent the extra for Too Faced Shadow Insurance.
You should try Milani’s eye primer, it is awesome!
I’ll give it a shot when I am done with the Too Faced!
The one from Milani is the best!
I recently placed an order with ColourPop after a waiting for so long and honestly, I’m totally disappointed. My order didn’t even get touched for 9 days, even AFTER I emailed them twice about it. The lady never got back to me about my package not even being fulfilled and I was getting rather sick of waiting. It eventually came and I was excited but completely disappointed- Nillionaire was a MAJOR glitter bomb and didn’t look anything like the swatches I’ve seen (which are all super concentrated and not blended out which is very deceiving), Bae had poor base pigmentation and again, glitterbomb and the highlighter Spoon was the same exact way. It was basically just glitter in a greasy base. I was so disappointed and honestly, I’m not sure I’ll ever order from them again. The poor customer service and misleading online swatches left a really bad taste in my mouth.
I’m starting to feel the same way about Colour Pop. I’ve bought two liquid liners and 3 eyeshadows. The liquid liner colors were amazing but the packaging sucked. They leak. I’ve never had a lip product leak.
Also I don’t find their cream shadows to be that long wearing, definitely not on par with bobbi brown or laura mercer. And yes, I get that is more affordable, but regardless of my price point I want things to perform as intended.
Well, I’ve heard from a couple places now that bloggers who reviewed Becca’s Aqua Luminous Foundation poorly got taken off their PR list, which is disappointing, especially because that foundation was really not good at all imo. It had so little pigment and didn’t blend into the skin well for me, plus their shade range was limited. And then to burn bloggers for telling the truth… well, we all want to believe the best in brands that have delivered good products in the past, and built relationships with the blogger community.
Well stated Ashleigh. That’s horrible. I’m tired of crap products being promoted without any thought or proper evaluation being placed on its performance. I rarely look for product recommendations on youtube because of this. As in: Woops, there goes another hour, I should have posted yet another glowing review of a useless product who everyone is going to forget in 15 minutes.
Bingooo, you guys. I only YT for amusement or swatches, never for ‘reality testing’ like we get here. Even WG touts less than admirable product.
MAC. I went for Water Deities lipgloss, to be told by MAC counter salesperson that it was in store only 15 days and this is how limited edition work, was I not aware. Overall, my MAC experiences have been off/on — I’ve had many high quality MAC favorites over the years but so many have been discontinued (e.g., brown script and uninterrupted shadows; rich ground and navy liners), and I find them their counters and stores overwhelming and staff sometimes cordial but as often barely managing disdain or impatience. So I basically don’t go there any more.
I have heard and read soooooooo many times about how rude the staff at MAC stores are. It is a primary reason why I haven’t tried the brand. Who needs people who have their noses in the air when there are dozens of cosmetics companies offering equally good or superior products?
I hear that but I have been to a Mac Pro store many times and I have had nothing but good experiences. Good experience with MACY too. You really shouldn’t not go to a place bc of someone else’s experience. Just my opinion. Judge it for yourself. Js.
Rouge Bunny Rouge. Despite their ‘long lasting eye shadow’ claim, I found their longevity to be very poor ( 3 hours if I was lucky), and primer didn’t make a jot of difference. Considering RBR is so expensive, I would have expected a much better performance – why bother with beautiful colour and pigmentation if it doesn’t last?
I’m gonna say my most disappointing products were Becca backlight primer and Peter Thomas Roth in general. Also most things by GlamGlow I think are too pricy for the results. Becca back light primer was scary looking on its own, and undetectable under foundation. It gets great reviews, but I didn’t like it at all. They are really, really milking the heck out of the “glow” obsession lately. Peter Thomas Roth cc cream was 55 dollars total and looked orange and horrible. His masks are about 55 for the full size and I can detect absolutely no difference after using them ( I tried 3).
Glam Glow is extremely overrated and overpriced. The Youth mud dries out very quickly and you may as well take a brick to your face to scrape it off. It does not move. It is so harsh.
I’m still determining how I feel about GlamGlow. I think my Chantecaille mud mask is better than the Clearing mud which dries so tight. The Chantecaille mask pulls out the impurities without drying out your skin, so your face is clean and soft/smooth when you rinse. I’m about to try the Supercleanse, so we’ll see on that one.
Yay – my question, now I need a good answer! I find Charlotte Tilbury to be frustrating and on the whole disappointing. Like another poster said, I WANT to love it so much, but until this latest round of releases of lip and the Nordstrom face palette, I’ve been hard pressed to not be irritated. Some of it has to do with color options – the lipstick range until now reminded me of early Bobbi Brown when she introduced her 10 shade range. These weren’t all brown, but they were quite warm based which made it hard for me to find something that jumped out at me. In terms of the eye products – the quads looked like Tom Ford, but cheaper quality and the color chameleon pencils had some nice colors, but zero staying power – particularly when you compare to Laura Mercier and byTerry (which makes Laura Mericier pale in comparison). Dark Pearl is gorgeous and so convenient to throw in your purse, but it fades quickly on my non-oily lids. I thought Champagne Diamonds would be good for an inner corner highlight and a throw-in-your-bag type (I don’t always remember the inner corner highlight), but it’s such a glitter bomb and very chunky. I passed on the original 5 minute face palette for the same reasons as most – it was very blah looking. Apart from the convenience factor, I didn’t understand the color selections and I’m super fair, so theoretically it should have been perfect for my light tones. I did get the new Nordstrom one and used it this morning. Eye shades are lovely – truly. I’m still iffy on the blush and I was very concerned about the bronzer being too much for me, but when I got into decent light I was pleasantly surprised. I do have two of the matte revolution lipsticks now too – the repromote Very Victoria (which I do wish was slightly more pinky-nude on me) but works with Urban Decay lipliner in Rush to add a little hint of pink and Secret Salma, which is gorgeous.
I have hopes that my opinion will turn-around on CT, but for all the hype and raves, etc. it truly felt like an effort to find products that were worth the exposure and name recognition the brand had. Admittedly, it took me a while to get on the Tom Ford bandwagon as well. I saw the shimmer in the eye shadows and didn’t get it at all – but the product quality, and how the shimmer actually functions in the eye look and application make sense to me now. There was a rhyme behind the reason, even if there was the occasional execution issue.
I agree! I don’t agree with the whole Tilbury hype, from the cheap packaging, GWP quality brushes at decent enough prices, to the mediocre products. And don’t get me onto the “Tilbury Tap” method to apply her silly “magic cream”! I used to admire her as a make up artist, but once I saw her red carpet looks that she did herself, she’s not that fabulous. Lisa Eldridge, who is far more humble and talented, I much prefer!!!
Isn’t Lisa Eldridge fabulous? *gush*
I haven’t tried tons from Charlotte Tilbury, but I do like her Rock N Roll Kohl Eye Liners -have it in 4 colors, they are creamy, pigmented, and wear like iron on my super oily lids. I also have 3 of her Nocturnal Cat Eyes shadows. The eyeliners and shadows got mixed reviews on this blog, but I seriously think there were QC issues with different batches, which isn’t acceptable at this price point. I don’t like her creams because they have a lot of fragrance, and I’m sensitive.
I’m glad there are more products out there that work well. I don’t hate the brand, but given the hype, I’ve just been “meh” overall. I don’t expect every product to be amazing from every line – brands have duds for sure. I think I just expected more and perhaps that’s my fault for buying into it all.
Lea, I’m so happy to have come across your comment today because I was just about to buy the Nordstrom Charlotte Tilbury palette! I was planning on placing the order today. Is it worth it? I really don’t need it at all (I have tons of palettes and blushes) and I really don’t have a spare $75, but I thought I would give myself one special treat from the sale. Should I not? Anyone else have an opinion on this?
If the colors really appeal to you, I would say yes – but know that there is some kick up with using the kit. It’s not powdery per se, I just noticed a lot of kick up when I used it this morning that I didn’t really see yesterday doing my make-up on the fly. I do really like the highlighter and eye shades very much – particularly the pewter and bronzey ones. I was afraid the bronzer was going to be too much for my fair/cool skin, but it wasn’t – though I did (and do) use a light hand on bronzer. The blushes aren’t what I would typically choose for myself, but it does all go together very cohesively and really works for summer.
I’d be curious for others to comment if they purchased it too if this is going to be your splurge item. I’d say go for it, so long as you return things if they don’t work. The beauty of Nordstrom is they have an amazing return policy, but I know not everyone likes to return things. I hope you like it if you decide to buy! Good luck!
Thanks so much for your response! I’m happy to hear that the bronzer works on your fair/cool skin, because that’s what I have and I’m not a heavy bronzer user either, so that sounds good. How’s the longevity of the eyeshadow?
You’re right. I should return if it doesn’t thrill me. Last year’s splurge was the Burberry set and the mascara is defective….unfortunately I only opened it a few months ago so I think I’m out of luck. I’ve never had such a bad experience with a mascara wand….
The shadows wear really well. They’re the reason I bought the palette to begin with.
Bite beauty disappointed me a number of times over LE issues with their lipsticks, but I’ve gotten over it. Lately, I’m more disappointed with the youtube vloggers and their waste of time ‘first impression’ vids. I’m sorry, but you don’t get to know a product and its limitations by slapping it on for the first time on camera and then misleading your audience by raving about it. This particularly annoys me with foundation products. Oh hell, every product~! Everything seems great…at first.. Sorry to switch gears, but I had to rant out.
There have been an unfortunate few!
ColourPop definitely comes to mind. The super-limited launch of Churro, the “in, no wait…now it’s out” stock problems with the ultra metallic lips, and the influx of holiday orders that still haven’t been addressed for many people…kind of a nightmare. Don’t get me wrong, ColourPop is a ride or die kind of brand for me. It’s just frustrating to see them try and move so fast with little accessible warning.
Jeffree Star is another one. The King Tut highlighter fiasco could’ve been handled better but also, like…Jeffree himself is handling brand problems and people very rudely. I never planned on buying from him but his treatment of others and the problems in his products just aren’t worth it.
Finally, we have Makeup Geek. I’ve yet to buy anything from them just because of the fluctuating opinions. First it was all my favorite YouTubers saying “these are my favorite eyeshadows, 10/10 recommend!!” Then it was the sparklers monstrosity. A collab with MannyMUA and then issues with keeping it in stock. Now they’re coming out with some stunning blushes but I’m not sure how to feel about them yet. I think I’ll try, but that’s still a hesitance.
I am so over ColourPop for the time being – I agree with you with they handled the ‘release, oops out of stock, release, oops out of stock’ ultra metallic lip release until I didn’t even want it any more – and I didn’t buy it. That won’t prevent me from looking at future products but it left a very bad taste in my mouth.
Jefree Star, although I was never compelled to purchase products from his line in the first place. Other than that, I haven’t had any issues lately as I have been super picky about my purchases.
UD, but only because I got a defective Moondust palette. I’ve never had to return a UD product before.
I was swatching the shadows for my daughter when all of a sudden, I noticed the pan where Galaxy had been moments ago was missing most of the shadow! It had fallen out of the palette onto my dress (but retained its shape fairly well).
I’d only had the palette since Monday, and I certainly didn’t pay $50 for most of my favorite shade in the palette to pop out of its pan the day after I bought it. I never dropped it or handled it roughly either, so I exchanged it at Ulta this afternoon. Hopefully, these shadows will all stay in their pans this time.
For me it was UD’s Naked Smoky palette, read a few of the reviews that said it was so-so, but I still had to go buy it. Colors had a lot of fallout or they just faded on me even with primer, big disappointment! That’s what I get for not heeding those reviews!
The UD smokey palette just makes me sad. I fell in love when I saw it, especially after seeing some tutorials. But wow, what a disappointment. The mattes lack pigmentation and apply very patchy on me (even while using a primer), and there is fallout everywhere. It just sits in my drawer now. Such a shame.
Too Faced, with the whole Sweet Peach hype, false scarcity, and completely BS release. Then, judging by most of the reviews I saw, it was just an average-quality palette with only three peach shades which were the worst performing of the lot. I ended up skipping it, when originally I was really excited for it. I love their new Totally Cute Palette, but the shade I <3 TF is so bad. It's annoying when there are only nine colors in a palette. I can make it work, but it's not worth the bother for regular use.
Viseart Cashmere Palette. Super disappointed!!! I wanted to love it. The shadows were chalky and would not blend with soft Wayne Goss brushes. Primer, no primer. Had to return.
I keep looking at these, but haven’t pulled the trigger. I can’t get a solid read on colors as photos vary significantly from site to site and blog to blog, that plus my aversion to pre-made palettes where I don’t feel I can use everything stops me from trying it out. I did come across one palette in a Sephora but the tester was so gritty, I didn’t want to risk that it was the true texture or if it was nasty from everyone putting their fingers in it.
No, it’s gritty. I was really disappointed.
Yikes- that’s so unfortunate (especially at that price point) – but very good to know. I’ll stop looking!
Jeffree Star Cosmetics
I feel like the Beauty Killer palette was so hyped up, and it ended up being a huge let down.
It was not pigmented, very hard to blend, and a lot of fall out. I could tell the quality was very cheap.
Morphe palettes. By the time I walk out the door my eyeshadow has disappeared, even with primer. Bad quality.
Chanel eye sticks. These shadows I returned, burnt my eye balls ,they were full on crying. Of course maybe me, but the shop assistant did mention when I returned them that others have the same troubles!! How about a warning sticker, may burn you.
UD for their eyeshadows bc of the fallout.
I would have to say Makeup Geek for their eyeshadows and Colourpop for their lippie stix.
I could never get the MUG eyeshadows to stay, primer or no primer. I now don’t care what they release; I’m not interested. CP’s lippie stix dried my lips out so bad that I could only wear it a few times (but Colourpop does have awesome eyeshadows!).
Nars. I have some products there were realy hype but for me they are just meh…
UD ‘s Vice 4 palette 🙁
I was very excited about the colors but many have crazy fallout and some feel like sandy chalk. The shade crowbar in that palette is the absolute worst quality I have seen in a shadow. It feels like someone sprinkled dirt and dim glitter in a pan.
Quite a few. Urban Decay, Kat Von D., Estee Lauder, Clinique, Lancome, Lorac. I’ve tried many different types of cosmetics and skincare and it didn’t seem to work well for me or on me. Major disappointments. Sadly! The worse was Bye Bye Foundation. Live and learn as they say.
Too Faced & their peach palette! I wanted it so badly & tried many times but *sigh*. I know they understand the hype around certain products. I think for as big as a brand it is, they should have known & manufactured a larger quantity.
I promise you…you missed nothing! Almost every person that received/bought it gave it a mediocre/bad review. Although the palette’s packaging is so pretty to look at ?
I recently received a deluxe sample of the YSL Vinyl mascara in black and honestly I just didn’t get it. Shiny lashes – who cares! I was seriously disappointed with the Nars dual intensity eye shadow palette. For the money I spent I expected more.
Kylie K lipkits. Not worth it at all. It constantly amazes me that celebs believe they can slap their name on a crappy product, and people will eat that crap up. I got a couple of the kits as a gift..I would’ve never bought them.
Haha but they do don’t they? I’m amazed people are gagging over the most mundane liquid lips. Everything from the packaging to the color selection is so basic and can be found at every price point from a variety of brands. I fail to see why her lip kits are so unique. Why I should go from ABH or Nyx to hers? Lol
Diors new lip gloss. I tried it on in Sephira and fell in love. Had I known it would be almost gone by the time I got to my car I wouldn’t have purchased. I kept it hoping it would last longer with the direct brush on. It’s in my purse but I only pull it out now when I’m about to meet up with someone. Then I’m constantly reapplying. I love the Dior Mascaras and eye brow liner. I was really disappointed in this purchase. If I didn’t live 90 minutes away, it would have gone back.
I guess I am most disappointed by mug, and their failure to address duplicating my order, as I mentioned in the desire review. Despite sending 5 duplicates back with an explanation and a separate email, they hand not responded or even offered me a store credit. Mac disappointed me in the vibe tribe fiasco. Excessive research lends to not usually being disappointed in m/u products, and I double the research on Asian skincare, though I am vaguely disappointed by Konjac sponges, expected more exfoliation.
Dior with the new Forever foundation only because of the shades who turn too dark in minutes….ever a problem with the dior shades 🙁 Too dark,Too rosy,Too oxidize…
Marc jacobs liner,that i heard so much good even from you Christine,if im right you love them,but i have buy (hoppefully) only a kit with 3 travel size…I ‘ve used the black it was a disaster! Too big for a liner for me and too dry,a brown so so,my Essence eye pencil in Teddy have a prettier brown and never been dry or hard to use and The bronze color that i never use, totally forgot because of the both dissapointment 🙁 so weird,i really dont expect that,i was so happy that they sell this kit for trying and i was ready to become addict but i have only lost my money! 25$ (20euros) for that its ridiculous,even more when you learn that they are the same who are given for free sample with purchase! lol im down with this affair…
L’Oreal – their foundations are far too yellow on me and their lipsticks have no staying power at all. And I wouldn’t buy their eye shadows because they are too dry and dusty.
You should try the Loreal infallible eyeshadows though. They are fantastic but I would never buy any of their eyeshadows otherwise. I love their trumatch foundation. Wasn’t impressed with the Loreal infallible one. Don’t like the feel of it. But yeah they appeal to the warm or neutral tone people. If you have a pinky tone to your skin, you will have a hard time finding a match. Not just Loreal but with many brands I think
Yes, I should have mentioned that the Infallible eye shadow range was the best thing they have done for a long while. I do have a couple of them – Golden Emerald and Golden Sage and they are great. But their eye shadows in those little quads are pretty horrible. And it’s true, I do have have a problem getting a good match with my foundation.
I don’t like L’Oreal lipsticks, either. The only ones I liked were those long lasting gloss-stains like the YSL ones. I don’t even buy their regular lipstick line at all. On me, they don’t have much color payoff at all and last about 5 minutes if I don’t eat or drink or move my lips. If I do any of those things, they last about 5 seconds.
Haha Loreal owns YSL so they are not Loreal like. They are the same thing lol. I cannot stand the smell of Loreal lipsticks. You’d think now that it’s 2016 and with so many competing brands they’d get rid of that horrible perfume smell. I can deal with a lipstick that needs reapplication often but the smell? Nope no go
I knew L’Oreal owns YSL so I figured the products would be similar. I could get 3 L’Oreal stains for the price of one YSL, too. I happen to really like the fragrance of the YSL stain, and was ok with the L’Oreal stains but I really don’t like the general L’Oreal line of lipsticks at all. I don’t buy them. They just don’t work for me. Low color payoff, they don’t last very long. They seem to me like a young girl’s lipstick so they think they have makeup on but it’s subtle so they don’t look “painted”. They are more like tinted balms on me than true lip colors.
That’s exactly it with those L’Oreal Colour Riche. I love the colors and don’t have an issue with their wear, but the smell is a little rough. I have sucked it up many times though because they have so many beautiful shades.
Hmmm. IT Cosmetics eyeshadow palettes and most Two Faced eye shadow palettes. I do like the matte natural eye for basic day wear.
I intensely dislike any matte lipstick on me bc my lips are too dry anyway.
I also don’t like any Perricone skincare products. My skin does not react well to the line.
Anything else is hit and miss.
Today I learned that either my expectations for products are set really low, or there are a lot of inconsistencies in formulation/performance with almost every major brand. So, so many things mentioned by others work great for me.
The brand I’ve been most disappointed with is MUG. Right before they reformulated their eyeshadows, I had spent a few weeks (an hour here, an hour there) looking for swatches on someone with a skintone similar to mine and reading reviews on performance. As soon as I had compiled my list and was going through it one last time before ordering… BAM!! They announced the changes. And the changes weren’t so great for quite a few of the shades I’d picked. So… I started buying ABH shadows instead.
After the eyeshadow ordeal, I thought to myself, “Well, at least they haven’t screwed with the blush…”
I don’t your expectations are low lol. It just there is such a wide range of makeup that it brings up a lot of different experiences and expectations for people. You may like something and another may not. Your expectations for something may not be similar to what another was expecting from that product etc
I was only joking about my expectations being low! LOL I was just stunned to see so many products mentioned that perform well for me. I think skin type has a lot to do with how a product performs. For instance, some eye products that crease, fade away, or smear on those with combo/oily skin work amazingly well on my drier lids.
There are also inconsistencies in formulation and mistakes made at times, such as the Highliners and Sky-Liners released by Marc Jacobs last year, the applicators in the Kylie Jenner Lip Kit, the MAC mascaras that were filled with the incorrect formula, and the BECCA x Jaclyn Hill eyeshadow palette.
I agree with Erica – everyone has different experiences with brands and products that work for one person, won’t with another. The brand I talked about, I do have some things I found that I like. The same goes for other brands that people have mentioned – combine that with your experiences with similar products from other brands and your expectations of results will vary widely from others.
I was only joking about my expectations being low, I just wasn’t expecting to see SO many products that perform well for me mentioned. And yes, there are different results from products based on a number of variables, like pore size, skin type, and/or texture. Occasionally, a person’s experience can vary with the same product, as with a bad batch or mistakenly (I hope!) receiving a product that is old, dried out, or otherwise altered in consistency due to a faulty seal or being mishandled during shipping.
anything by Smashbox. they just are not worth the hype.
also, i hate to say, but BH Cosmetics eye palettes. i bought several on the word of tymetheinfamous on youtube, and the fact that they were super cheap. i thought there was no color payoff in any of their eyeshadows. and i am an eyeshadow fanatic. i try every one that comes down the pike. i feel that BH just isnt worth the tyme . . .sorry, bad pun.
Gucci. The worst taste of lip gloss I’ve ever had. Thrown away… almost new and so expensive.
Christian Louboutin’s Loubilaque Lacquer lipglosses were disappointing in that although I liked the color of Altareva a lot, there was nothing about it that justified keeping it as even though it was pretty, it was sticky and tasted weird when I would accidentally bite or lick my lips.
L’oréal with the fifty shades of beige new foundation . It’s annoying.
NARS. Don’t get me wrong- 99% of my NARS things are great. But that luminous foundation…. man I tried to make that work for months. And all it ever did was slide right off my face. Also, I recently had major customer service issues with them because they hadn’t marked something “out of stock” on their site and they kept sending me samples instead of the full size I paid for!
Unfortunately INGLOT. They started as a small Polish brand and I had my first nail polishes from them for like 2 USD 20 years ago so there is some sentiment. Then they got pricier every year so I kept my distance.
It’s not before just recently that I tried some of their FREEDOM system eyeshadows and with all that hype and people comparing it to MAC I am really disappointed. They are dry, the colors are not as vibrant on the lids as in the pans and they fade way too quickly. Swatching seemed fine but at home they did not translate to the lids. Maybe it’s a because I bought a premade set (I’m sooo not into choosing the perfect shades one by one…), but all shades are removable and are available separately so it should be the same thing,
I like some of their other products, like the Fix spray and my on-the-go rescue matte Rainbow eye/brow shadow (the formula is also dry but this little pan is very versatile). Also the empty palettes are great (the version with a mirror) and since INGLOT eyeshadow pans are big, many other brands fit well in these, But my first encounter with their flag products doesn’t make me go back.
almay…with their subpar products and extremely limited shade range.
Agreed, especially about the shade range…light, light/medium, and medium. The actual colors are really more like very light, light, and light/medium. I’m pretty medium and find everything they sell except their lip colors to be too light for me – but I love light lips.
L’oreal. The infallible pro matte foundation. I sweat a lot and usually change my foundation for summer to something lighter. Everyone said such great things about this foundation…..within minutes of sweating it started dripping off! Wow, really! With all the primer, setting powder, and setting spray I use, my makeup does not drip off!
Gucci was my latest one :/
Splurged on a beautiful eyeshadow quad and… ugh. I felt robbed.
But my BIGGEST disappointment of all was Too Faced. And even though it was a while back, it sure made a lasting impression on me – I’ll never, ever, buy their eyeshadows again. I ordered Le Grand Palais knowing I would use only the primer and the palette, which I really really wanted. What I did not know was how horrified I would be the minute my brush touched a pan: soooo dry, soooo gritty, soooooooo awful! And of course, incredibly poorly pigmented. Any dollar store Frozen-themed eyeshadow kit for girls would have compared for, like, $55 less.
So I bought all this pricey pink cardboard full of dazzling goodies, and all I’m left with is… a tube of primer. I split the rest between my 8 yr old daughter (mascara + melted Peony), the recycle bin (so. much. cardboard.) and the garbage can (you guessed it: The guilty palette). Now I’m thinking, maybe they should have name it Le Grand Gaspillage* instead of Le Grand Palais…?
*Gaspillage = Waste/Wastage
Oh, and this was my first TF purchase … …
Cover FX colour corrector. It blended with my foundation and turned it chalky white. Yuk. Tried it again and it didn’t dry and did the same thing. I’ve been disappointe with NYX, MAC and a number of other brands. Now, I just buy high end and designers products because they are cheaper in the long run because I’m not fighting with it and throwing them out. I can get a palette which is around 15 to 20$ a shadow and as cheap or cheaper than low end and they work wonderfully and I love them.