SUQQU Extra Glow Lipsticks. While they’re not bad and are hydrating, I just expected greater coverage based on the claims, paired with that luminous sheen, which is the type of lipstick I gravitate towards!
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Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips lipstick in Liv It Up. On me, the shade looks nothing like it does swatches or worn on others. It much too faint a pink to suit me. It’s better for me to wait until I’m at a CT counter or find a similar shade among brands I have access to.
CT is better tried in person for sure. The lip colors are very, very different from person to person. They remind me of the original Bobbi Brown lip products in terms of color intent – very neutral scheme and very different based on your undertones. I found a few I like, but it’s better to do in person.
Perfectly summarized, Lea. It’s an undertone thing. I usually ask for multiple recommendations when I’m at a counter. At least BB is local and I have a good MUA who offers exceptional suggestions (or if I must have a certain shade, she’ll show me how to best wear it, likely pairing it with a gloss or lip liner to make it more ‘wearable’. I’ve also asked for suggestions to bring down the vibrancy of a lipstick so I can wear it beyond the particular season.
Exactly the same problem with the same exact shade.
A CT MUA recommended Iconic Nude liner, which helps but is still a little dark for my preference, but I’m playing with it. I tried to give it to family members but it didn’t suit any of them.
Dior Capital of Light shadow kit — it swatched fine on my normal/dry hands, but my super oily lids just ate the shadows up alive 🙁 I tried everything to make it work, finally had to return it and get my money back.
Clinique redness solutions primer. It made my skin feel sooooo greasy and even if I let it set for 20 minutes my foundation would apply streaky. Also it had a tendency to turn into little green chunks on my cheeks.
Have you tried the Givenchy Acti’mine color correcting primer in kiwi?
Thank you for the recommendation! My friend who sells Mary Kay hooked me up with their foundation primer and I like it a lot. It’s not color correcting, but using it, their CC cream, and Besame violet setting powder pretty much covers up the redness in my cheeks.
The Smashbox primer that is an avocado green color works great to reduce redness also.
What did you end up using? I have finally realized the small area at the base of my nose needs a green corrector. I got a Drugstore one that was icky.
I started using Mary Kay primer (not color correcting), and I apply CC cream a little heavier on my cheeks and nose. The primer helps me get more even coverage with the CC cream, and then I top it with Besame violet powder. Luckily the redness in my cheeks is pretty mild so that covers it.
Disclaimer: Not because I don’t like or even love the product itself, but because it wasn’t what I ordered!
MAC Taraji Glow wasn’t actually Taraji Glow, but Highlight The Truth. It is beautiful, without a doubt, but not quite what I was expecting. MAC has fixed the issue, so I am no longer p.o.’d at them.
Oh! And Opi’s Squeaker Of The House is not greige. At all. It’s the color of ? on my ?. Bletch. ?
Nancy, the speaker of the house comment just cracked me up! I have Suzi the first Lady of Nails and I adore it, the hubs thought it was awesome cause I am all “camo’d” up and we were hiking the same week that i wore it.
omg @ Speaker of the House! That color was on my wishlist too!
Nancy, I didn’t like highlight either but was playing this morning and realized it is a beautiful topper for red blush (I used Lorac’s Infrared but bet it would look nice on Clinique’s Cola Pop too).
Yep, I also LOVE it with Cola Pop, myself! That combo gives me a gorgeous rosy-rust cheek that GLOWS!!! ?
MAC’S Mineralize Skin Finish in OTHEREARTHLY turned out to be barely noticeable on my skin. Nothing special and I spent $33 on it ! I let too much time lapse to return it.
Great question. Honestly maybe the glitter component of the Pat McGrath Bloodwine lip kit? I can’t believe I’m saying it and I think they might be fighting words. The glitter was actually the whole reason I wanted the kit. It is pretty and I love how dimensional it is, but I feel like it is prone to getting kind of lost in the lipstick and/or gloss and just becomes a gritty texture rather than visibly glittery some times. I’ve worn glitter lips with other products in the past and never had that issue. IDK if it’s the shape of the glitter or the way it adheres to the other products, or what. On the other hand, the rest of the lip kit exceeded expectation. I even bought a backup of Blood 2 as a solo lipstick because I felt that it wore exceptionally well for such a dark color.
Almost every review I’ve seen mentions that same issue with the glitter.
Sorry for the late reply. 🙂
That is so upsetting! I’ve been too lazy to watch the youtube videos about the Pat McGrath products, and it seems like there are especially few written reviews with still images of her stuff. I see why that would be, the way she’s able to hype the launches and then they immediately sell out is perfect for instagram and snapchat, and good on youtube where you have gurus basically doing haul videos, but for review blogs that are more geared towards helping people make purchases, there’s no point in reviewing an LE item that sold out in one day. I hope some time soon they re-release everything permanently so we’re all able to purchase her stuff less impulsively.
Did you pick any of the lip kits up? If not, were you tempted?
I didn’t, though I thought the golden pigment that came in the one set was gorgeous. I thought her lip kits were overpriced for what they were, but that gold pigment mixed with the gloss on the lips looked beyond stunning.
Lancome’s new bendable Grandiose eyeliner. While it’s a great deep black and super long-wearing, it skips a bit on my textured lids so I have a very hard time drawing a sharp line with it.
Sadly enough it was the Finally Free lipstick. I thought it would be warmer, but on my lips it is more like a raspberry shade. In the beginning I was disappointed but now I realize that my natural lipcolor is going towards a light raspberry/plum (let’s say an unripe rasberry, hahaha) and actually this shade does suit me very well. Only thing is that I need to apply gloss if I do not want the lipstick to dry into my lips after wearing it for a couple of hours.
The CoverGirl Katy Katt Matte lipsticks. I bought the colors I wanted right when they were released. The perfumey fragrance was over-the-top, even for CG. The colors were pretty and the names were cute, but the perfume scent & taste did not go away. I had to return them.
Oh no there was a few of those I was going to pick up this week! But if it’s super scented I won’t be able to wear it, so I’m glad I saw your comment.
A week ago, last Friday, I came incredibly close to buying Kitty Purry! Such a cool looking shade with an apropos name. After reading your comment, I am SO happy I didn’t!
The Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster. Broke me out horribly.
Can’t think of an answer for this question. It would have to be something long-enough ago that I really don’t remember. I think I’ve been pretty fortunate in my purchases for a while now. Also, I think that I do so much reading before buying that when something I decide I want has issues, I know about it before purchase and am willing to accept it, so can’t claim to be disappointed when it does what I know it’s going to do.
This wasn’t supposed to be attached to your comment! Don’t know how that happened! Sorry!!!
But since I’m here … it’s a shame the Booster didn’t work for you. I started using it religiously when it first came out and I honestly think it has made a real, visible difference to my skin. 🙁
If you haven’t already remedied the situation, downvote/complain in a review. They will print it anyway (unlike Sephora) and ask you to contact CS for a refund or whatever. I knew you disliked that one, so I didn’t put it in my order last night. Plus, I might do curology. Likely, curology would put niacinamide in my rx.
Yeah, I sent it back. They said they’d refund me. Now just fingers crossed that the package arrives.
Please save it from being the Chanel Empriente quad. I need help! I have had this two months, put it on for the first time yesterday, and was shocked at how bad it looked. The colors went on patchy and it all just looked dirty on my eyelids. I know I’m either using the wrong brushes or not placing the colors on correctly because everyone loves this quad. Any suggestions? I would love it if the readers here would share how they are wearing these colors and what brushes they use for application.
Oh no! It is one of my most loved, so much so that I just ordered a second.
My daily pre-eyeshadow routine is a primer and then a dusting of translucent powder before I apply any shadow. I use the medium brown in the crease, the dark on the outer edge and the green on center to outer lid, the lightest shade center to inner lid or sometimes I’ll do the lid green and then pat the lighter color over it. I use natural hair brushes (Wayne Goss) for application. Maybe you are using synthetic brushes, or brushes that are too dense?
Pearl, I was using a synthetic brush! I used my Hakuhodo natural hair brush this morning and it made all the difference?!
Yay!??
I just got it and was heading out but listening to news, so lazily used the small brushes that come with the compact, and they did a reasonable job. After I took off my makeup, I wanted to see how it would look of I applied green on the lid and gold above – I’m a Packers fan. It looked great and I was using my fingers. The quad benefits from a primer, for sure.
Glad you got it working for you, Tammy! Thanks, Pearl for the application suggestion. ?
Welcome! ?
If you google it, then select “images” at the top of the page, you’ll get pictures of the way various people have tried it. Hope it helps.
It’s a toss-up between the 2 Guerlain La Petit Robe Noire lipsticks and a Clarins LE 5 pan eye shadow palette “Natural Glow” (not very pigmented, the lightest shade is a bit of glitter mixed into a “nothing” base; the whole thing so disappointing).
Certainly would have been the waterblend…the Rosacea look was diminished in the am, though. Thanks, topical cortisone and snail. Was disappointed that the iredale found was light, but that’s bec I’m darker than I think. Very disappointed in the Taraji glow mislabel, but they are fixing that. Bet it will be good with Chimps.
ABH foundation stick. Hateful. The contour stick in colour ‘shadow’ is outstanding. It’s just not a product I want to use all over my face.
p.s. thanks for the heads up, Christine. That Suqqu lipstick formula was on my short list.
Colourpop! I bought some Ultra Metallic Liquid Lippies that bring out lip lines I never knew I had and make my lips feel as dry as paper, and Ultra Metallic Lipglosses that are just not flattering.
For me, definitely the new Urban Decay All Nighter foundation. It was so bad for me that it’s the first product I’ve ever taken the time to return to Sephora…
I guess I have to say it was the Jaclyn Hill Becca collection face and eye palettes (which makes me feel great that I’m not wasting money on a lot of flop products recently.) I wanted to like them so badly but when I got them I just felt “meh” about them.
My UD Vice lipsticks debacle. Planned it out, took my time selecting, picked four, and ended up hating the quality of each and every one of them. That and the fact that I must be allergic to something in those lipsticks since my lips hurt and stung every time I wore them. Not UD’s fault I’m allergic, but it just added to the whole bad experience.
I know I sound like a cosdna co rep or something, but it has helped me so much in figuring out what ingredients give me reactions. The irritation rating, plus tracking what products give you problems and those product’s commonalities let you isolate what ingredients you should avoid. It has helped me immeasurably as I have developed reactions to things that never would have bothered me before. I’ll cosdna the vices to see if there is anything that is commonly glaring. Nothing bothers me yet, but I only have 2 thus far.
I will, thanks! I am super curious about what the heck happened, and to avoid in the future.
Smashbox photoready primer or the OG Beauty Blender. They aren’t bad. They don’t live up to the hype for sure. There ARE cheaper alternatives I prefer and reach for more tbh
The Charlotte Tilbury La Dolce Vida palette. What a disappointment and for that price it should have been exceptional. I bought it on the spur of the moment in Seattle while visiting and wished I had spent more time to look at reviews. I purchased one for my daughter also and she hates it. The shadows do not blend well, the glittery shade gets sparkle everywhere except where you want it and the shadows only wear for a couple of hours even with primer underneath.
If you like warm bronzy copper/rose gold/brown shades, suggest checking out the Lorac Unzipped palette -it’s not an exact dupe but looks like the same color family. All of the shadows are pigmented, the shimmers are buttery smooth, and the mattes are some of the best in my stash. With primer, the shadows last +12 hrs on my oily lids, no creasing, no fallout.
Sorry you had a miserable experience with your palette. I quite like mine, just wish I could mix and match the eyeshadows between the first and second palette. What I find endearing is that the bronzer leans red, which is perfect for me. Regardless, you shouldn’t keep something that isn’t working for you. I hate sparkle all over my face, and I have beef with CT lipsticks. Hope you were able to return the 2 palettes.
Smashbox liquid lipsticks. I tried one on in Sephora and was super impressed. But I chose a different shade and it feels gross on the lips and doesn’t wear well. boo!
YSL:
Volume Effet waterproof mascara. They had a sale and offered monogramming (why not), and I’d heard good things about it. Love the mascara itself and it holds the curl nicely, does everything a waterproof mascara should. The fragrance makes my eyes water for about 5 minutes after application. I’ve spent the last week driving to work, dabbing my eyes with a tissue about every 3 minutes. It abates after about 1/2 hour but I definitely won’t be re-purchasing.
Pur Couture Radiant Lipstick Trio and Shine in Oil lipstick in Caresse Rose or something like that – was so excited for these because they would be my first YSL lipstick purchases and I really liked the colors (especially the fuschia in the trio). The texture is drying and my lips are worse for wear after wearing them (even the shine in oil), but I can always put a balm on before hand and “make it work”. The packaging is luxe and they even have little lips imprinted on the lipstick itself – a nice little touch. The deal-breaker is the fragrance – I tasted it the whole time and after a while I start to feel like I’m eating perfume.
Why do companies feel the need to put fragrance in mascara, of all things? I use (and love) YSL’s non-waterproof Volume Effet Faux Cils mascara and every time I put it on I ask myself that. I’m lucky that it doesn’t irritate my eyes, but I bet that mascara would be so much more popular than it is if they took the fragrance out.
Totally agree that added fragrance is unnecessary and a major turn off. It’s especially good to be warned, as I have no sense of smell, and then wonder wtf is wrong!
That can’t be easy to deal with. Companies should absolutely make it clear when there’s fragrance added to a product, more than even just putting it in the ingredients list. So many people have problems with fragrance at all, you’d think they would go the extra step to let people know.
Exactly – I think mascaras should be a fragrance free product. I love YSL’s Blur primer (it’s my HG) and I’m sure that’s got fragrance in it but it doesn’t seem to bother my skin at all, same with Guerlain’s Meteorites Perles. Lipstick and Mascara or any eye product needs to be fragrance free (for me, anyway), though!
I do too! I think most people would agree with you-I don’t know why companies don’t listen.
Revlon Matte Balm in Fierce. While the formula is quite nice, the color was this awful red/brown. I was hoping for a brick red. Oh, well .. at least it wasn’t expensive .. lol.
Monica.
The Urban Decay All-Nighter Foundation. The shade 3.25 was a perfect match for my skin tone, or so I thought. I wore it 3 or 4 times and it was lovely. But one hot August day I spent much of my day outdoors. I came home and it had changed into an orange mask. I was disappointed because I rarely find a full coverage foundation I like.
I returned it to Ulta.
Honest Beauty Luminizing Powder in Midnight Reflection. I love their eyeshadows, but this was a definite fail for me. I swatched it in store and it was so gorgeous, but I’ve had some time to try it and in my opinion it’s the kind of product that’s way too shimmery to use as an all over face powder (which seems to be the intention of this product) but way too subtle to use as a highlighter. It also really emphasizes my skin texture and sunk into lines on my forehead that are so thin I can’t even see them well without a magnifying mirror. I saw them when I had this powder on my face.
Interesting question that finished playing out today! I finally got my hands on Too Faced matte liquid lipstick in Queen B. Color should have been perfect for me. Hated it. Sooo drying and ashy looking. I wear grey mauves, but just no. Returned to Sephora this morning.
Makeup forever HD concealer. If possible, it made my undereyes look worse than usual.
Guerlain Meteorites perles – I’ve tried a powder brush (both dense and loose) and a powder puff and I STILL don’t see any difference before and after application.
Laura Mercier Cream Contour Kit – the color just sat in my pores, making it look as if I had hundreds of dark brown dots on my cheeks.
Are you referring to the meteorites primer Dianne?
No, it’s the Acti’mine primer and comes in various colors – the one I got is pale green. If you’re comfortable sending me your address I can send you a sample of it. It was a game changer for me.
Sorry, I thought I was responding to a diff comment I made on here. I’m speaking of the regular little balls. I can’t see any difference when I put them on.
Ha ha I thought it was me!
The little balls come as a powder or suspended in liquid as a primer. I have both and really like them. Such a shame you’re not happy as the product isn’t cheap!
Not the last one but the one I can remember now, UD Alice through the looking glass palette. The colors were not what I was expecting and some of them were not pigmented at all.
I bought the UD Alice palette because there were a few unique shades I absolutely love. I knew from reviews that those shades performed well. So I was happy with the purchase from that standpoint. But if I bought it for the whole palette, I would be disappointed with performance.
Essie Gel Couture polish system. It tore up my nails as badly as actual gel polish. They all broke off and are peeling from the top. JUST when they were the best they’d been in years.
Hourglass Primer- huge disappointment.
Yep, mine went back because it made my normal to oily skin like an oil slick. If you are looking for comparable recommendations, YSL’s Blur primer has the same mattifying effect without encouraging the extra sebum.
Yes, love the YSL product ! But favorite primer is still Armani one that comes in the black tube.
Oh, wonderful – happy to hear another endorsement for that as it is on my ‘next buy’ list to go with my Lasting Silk Foundation. ☺
Hopefully nothing! BUT iam waiting for the AnastasiaBH pro pencil base 1 that i want since i swatch it so i hope that i will not be dissapointed in few days…
But the most freacky its that iam waiting for the Tarte Pretty Paintbox Palette in few days too,but i was on Sephora.com and i have read lot of bad reviews so im scary to this time to be really dissapointed for my FIRST Tarte product! (not sell in france) so…:(
Sadly, MJ highliner in Sunset. Gorgeous color, but it’s been drying out so quickly that I have to break the dried nub off now every time to use it, even after only a few months. I hear this was a formulation problem that’s been fixed, but I’ll have to think about it before springing for another since there are less expensive dupes.
The Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Eye Palette in 07 Blush. I bought this online and, although the quality is nice, the colors do nothing for me. I thought I was going to be able to overlap the peach and pink to create a sunrise/sunset look but those two shades are too alike and too light for that to work. It is just another palette that I will continue to reach for sporadically as long as the sting of the expense is fresh then will pass along, sigh.
Tatcha Dewy Luminous Skin Mist. Not because it’s not good, I was just told it’s Silicone free and it’s not.
Urban Decay Alice Lipstick. It seemed like a perfect fit for me. And I liked the color. But it settled into fine lines horribly on me. I tried the hardest I have ever tried to get a lipstick to work for me. But couldn’t make it work. Still sad about it.
Did you try layering it over a lipliner that matches your lip color? That might help.
I did….I tried it over balm, over another lipstick, over lipliner, bare lips….It just looked bad! I returned it, but I still am in mourning over the look I thought it would give me. It’s so pretty!
That really stinks. I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you. 🙁
Tracey E. and Lea, CT meaning Connecticut?! I’m from Milford CT. I have lived here all 44 years of my life. Well, Sept 28th I will be 45, L! But anyway I have to agree that they do have awesome people who help you. ….. I returned Clinique Redress Solution Primer. I have combination skin and it felt like I was putting Crisco on my face! Yuck!
Hi Rose, we meant Charlotte Tilbury and one of her lipsticks called ‘Liv It Up’. I’ve visited Connecticut once or twice and found it to be lovely. ☺️
Oopsie!! Sorry Tracey! Now I really do feel like a dumb blonde! I already started baking Christmas Cookies, and I skimmed through the answers! Lol. Embarrassing to me, my bad! I apologize. Xo
Happy soon to be birthday, Rose!
Pearl, awe! Thank You hon! Xo ?
Urban decay Moondust palette….aweful!
Definitely the revlon lipstick in coralberry. I wanted to love it as the shade is beautiful but it just dries out my lips and settles into line so horribly! Also not too impressed with the Rimmel 25hr foundation, trying to make it work but sadly just not really loving it 🙁 despite it being a cult favorite!!
Maybelline’s Divine Wine lipstick – I got this awhile ago now. I love the colour but it turns out that it is too matte for me. It dries my lips and leaves a stain that I don’t really like. At least it wasn’t an expensive lipstick.
ColourPop Crystal Ball ultra glossy lip. The color is beautiful and pigmented and definitely great for photos, but it fades extremely easily and quickly from eating food even as carefully as I could. I’m at least glad that it was affordable because it is still nice to have around for fun pictures. 😛
Makeup Forever Ultra HD Liquid Foundation .. simply basic and not worth the hype.
Sunday Riley Luna Oil and Martian toner…not for oily skins. Love good genes!
Bobbi Brown shimmer blush. Not much shimmer and have to heavily layer.
Hi Bon Bon, I have 1 Bobbi Brown shimmer blush and to make it more opaque on the first swipe, I push the bristles together to pick up and apply the product, then relax the bristles to blend and do any touchups. It’s a trick I learned at the Dior counter with on of their multi-colored blushes. Used technique with Tom Ford’s Love Lust because I have to have that gorgeous glow. In all cases was using a Bobbi Brown Blush brush. If I had used Wayne Goss’ Air Brush, it picks up product like no other brush I have. Used it on a Bobbi Brown Blush kit that has 2 blushes and a highlighter. Could never get much of the highlighter to show. Thought it wasn’t very pigmented until I used the Air Brush. It’s like I have a brand new highlighter!
IT cosmetics Superhero palette. Looked so beautiful on line! In person, not so much. Very frosty, ALL of the shades – except for one very light, very chalky greenish shade billed as an eye “foundation”. Since it was marketed as being for “mature” skins, I was disappointed with the heavy frost. Some of the colors would have been so good without it. I just need at least some mid tone mattes! Returned it.
Mine was one of the Lorac and Smashbox palettes (I can’t remember which ones because I gave them away). Both of the eyeshadow palettes seemed like when I lightly put the brush in the shadow, it picked up WAYY too much product and there was a ton of fall out from just putting the brush in the palette…and it didn’t blend well for me either. Maybe I was doing something wrong 🙁
No doubt. Anastasia Dip Brow. I looked so forward to it and also used their brush. I am well aware it was part tecnique but I may have well been using a Sharpie. 🙁 I switched to her thin pencil until It Cosmetics came out with a similar one.
Donya, for the Anastasia Dip Brow, try using the smallest amount possible. Take the brush, and just lightly skim the surface of the product, almost barely touching it, and that should be enough for at least 1 brow. Then use short, light brush strokes, like you are drawing in eyebrow hairs . The first time I used it, I swiped the pan generously, like it was a shadow, and swept it across my brows like a maker and ended up with Sharpie, Groucho Marx brows, EEEK!! Took like 4 cotton balls soaked with makeup remover to get it all off. I ran to the internet to see what I was doing wrong and found out. I’ve been using everyday for at least 3 years now, and I’m maybe half way through the pot, still hasn’t dried out yet.
L’Occitane Violette & Rose fragrance. When I wore it it smelt reminiscent of furniture polish. Gave it to my daughter.
Shu uemera S curler. Meant to use for precision curling of eyelashes. Completely useless as far as I can tell. Complete waste of money!
I have been keeping far, far away from Sephora for years way too expensive since my two kids started attending universities I still love the NARS foundation and Marc Hacob designs Drive me nuts but being in a tight budget have become an expert on drugstores makeup and really appreciate a few beauty bloggers suck Kathleen Lights, Emily Noel, Lancôme, etc. and am super happy with my findings. On target! I would say the Pixie bronzers I purchased without reviewing and have not liked much that brand. Also I’m happy with my skin and wear a light hand at makeup applications on a pale face. Love the Milani baked blushes, WetnWild. Lately tried the three Cover Girl blushes and they turned out beautifully.
I haven’t been horribly disappointed with anything in quite some time. I have been following you, Christine, and a couple of beauty bloggers like you. I am so glad you do such unbiased reviews. If you say something either doesn’t perform well, no matter if it is from a brand I love, I will pass it up. You have saved me from quite a bit of disappointment, as well as my budget! That way, I have more money for something you have reviewed as great. I try to sample some things that have intrigued me, based on your review of it. I live about 4 miles from Ulta and 3 miles from Sephora, so I go test a product you gave a good review to, and even if it is out of stock, they always call another store or the warehouse, and get it sent to my home if I really want it. I have some really great products as well, Christine. You have reviewed products that I would not even know about, so you have not only made me more savvy when shopping, and introduced me to some really nice things that are my staple products, you have saved me time too. You really do your research, your posts and evaluations are very spot on. I am not very likely to go buy a limited edition collection or part of it if you said it wasn’t at least a B+ per your opinion. Thank you so much for doing what you do!
Oh, wow! Thank you so much, Elizabeth 🙂 I am so happy to save you from disappointing products!!
I was excited about the relaunch of Urban Decays vintage lipsticks in Roach and Smog. Ordered them off the UD website, and was disappointed. The swatches on this site looked like rich, coppery shades, and on me they looked like death. Very weird colors on me so I sent them both back. 🙁
I found Bite a few years ago and ordered their Holiday Remix 2014 set. Four deluxe sample Pigment Pencils in the cute tin with the mirror. I wouldn’t carry something like that in my purse, but just enjoyed the whole thing, packaging, too! Later, found I love their Matte Crayon even more! Great experience! I eagerly awaited their set the next year which turned out to be 4 Matte Crème Lip Crayons! WOW! Contained my favorite color to that point which is Torte, but not (yet) available full size! This year’s set is 4 new Amuse Bouche. It was like that kid at Christmas feeling waiting. These samples didn’t feel as substantial as the ones prior but worse I found broken pieces of the mirror in the package box? Opened the set to find a corner of the mirror gone and crushed glass in the tin. These things happen in shipping sometimes but how did any broken chards end up out of the tin? So this isn’t so much a disappointment with the product but the experience was disappointing.
And ultimately my disappointment with Bare Escentuals Lip products of late that has led me to search for alternate brands. Update, just tried their most recent, Gen Nude and disappointed or not thrilled with all of it! Sorry for the complex answer. 😉
Urban Decay Smoky. So, I didn’t get originally, because I didn’t need it and early reviews were meh on formula. But you know, kept eyeing it. Then, it went on sale earlier this summer. 50% off. I’ll call this a planned purchase because I’d been looking at it, but the sale made me pull the trigger. I *knew* i could make it work, plus I liked the look of the brush. I doubled up on sale and points or whatnot and got it for $17. Practically free!! I worked with it for 2 weeks… I could not get happy with it, so blotchy, could not blend with any brush or primer or method I had at hand, even though I loved some of the colors (esp. the taupe ones).. only shade I liked and that looked good on me was dirtysweet. I returned it… got my $17 back… so deeply discounted I almost kept it but it was that bad. Good reminder to trust the comments! And no sale is enough to make a poor product good. I’ll learn eventually.
The new Hourglass Surreal Light pallet. I loved the colors but the fake marble packaging looked cheap, the pans were small and the products were very powdery. I have always loved Hourglass and was just crushed this pallet was so bad. Last years holiday pallet was horrible also and I was counting on Hourglass to improve their pallet for this year but it’s the same poor quality. I returned mine.