What were the last five products you've tried that felt overrated?
Tough one for me since I tend to try things as they release so before they’re really overrated… but here are ones I think might fall under that umbrella looking back: Anastasia Blush Trios (textures were often troublesome), Smashbox Cover Shot Palettes (hit or miss for me), Fenty Galaxy Palette (it’s fun, but it can be a lot of work to use), Pat McGrath Lipglosses (good but not as ground-breaking/improved upon compared to other glosses), Too Faced Just Peachy (better than anticipated but not stellar).
— Christine
MAC Vegas Volt Lipstick—It looks really patchy on me. I’ve tried putting it on different ways, including with and without primer. It’s like my lips just reject this particular MAC shade!
MAC Retro Mattes in general—They’re hard to put on and uncomfortable to wear. The holiday mini versions of Flat Out Fabulous and Ruby Woo are in the regular matte formula and I absolutely love them. I wish they’d release full size matte versions of them, and also Relentlessly Red.
MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Foundation—Not long-wearing on me at all.
Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner—They smudge and run very badly on me an hour after I put them on.
Givenchy Le Rouge Lipstick in Framboise Velours—First let me say that I love the packaging, I love the formula, I love the color, I love how long-wearing it is…so why is it on this list? The smell. I don’t like it and it doesn’t fade away.
1. Kills me to say this — Viseart Absinthe palette. A brand I could trust without thinking is now too iffy for my liking given their (once stellar) reputation. This shimmers and (stupid) glitter in this palette is soooo bad, IMO. The greens redeem, but barely.
2. Hourglass bronzer. What a snore. Gave it away. The blush I have from them I don’t like much better. Have their new setting powder in a deluxe sample — passing on that too. Guess I’m not a fan overall.
3. Marc Jacobs blush. I know I am in the smallest of minorities on this, but I just did not like that product.
4. Urban Decay Vice lipsticks. Any of them. All of them. Just no for me.
5. Georgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. Little staying power. Breaks apart by mid-afternoon.
Luminous Silk is the best foundation I’ve ever used, even though I am constantly searching for something better, lol. It’s so strange how one person’s holy grail doesn’t work for others.
Right? No matter what it’s terrible for me. My HG is EL Doublewear. Nothing to date has compared. 🙂
I just started using EL Doublewear myself and I absolutely love it! It’s my new HG!!
LindaP, as much as I sometimes like a good glittery eyeshadow, I do not like the glitter in that light khaki shade in Absinthe at all. Not exactly daytime wearable, especially here! But, even though I think it looks kind of pretty when used with my Nyx Glitter Primer, these particular glitters irritated my eyes badly if one fell into my eye. Something tells me that they’re NOT truly eye safe! I will still keep it, but will sub a different light green or golden green for that one very worrisome shade. I wish Viseart would reformulate this troublesome shade before someone gets an eye injury from it.
Gosh, that’s so true. Those pieces are big enough to truly be an issue. Never thought of that. One more reason to be so sorely disappointed. Booo.
Wow glad you guys mentioned this I was just about to buy the Absinthe palette from the Musebeauty 15% Memorial day sale. I have Natasha Deanna’s 28 pan Green -Brown palette but I thought Viseart’s would be more travel friendly. Money saved!
Denise, I’m so glad. You’re not missing anything.
Signed,
Sad Former Fan Girl 🙂
UD Primer Potion. Average and no better than a lot of drugstore eyeshadow primers
Original Beauty Blender. Maybe innovative when it first came out but nothing miraculous. So many better affordable sponges now and it was never worth the $20 price tag. Didn’t make my makeup go on faster, smoother or whatever exaggerated claim it gave. I simply prefer others
It CC Cream. Forget that it smells awful and it broke down anything else I had on my face. It really is an over priced BB Cream. I didn’t think it covered well and there are better BB Creams with good SPF coverage
Morphe brushes. I know a lot of influencers use them bc they have codes and they are affordable but even for an affordable option, I don’t find them that good. BH Cosmetics, Real Techniques, Sigma, elf, Wet n Wild all offer better imo
Loreal Lash Paradise mascara. It does work a bit better when I let it dry out some but I don’t see what is so amazing about this mascara. It doesn’t flake on me terribly like others have complained but still I don’t think it did anything miraculous for my lashes either. I prefer other drugstore mascaras like those by Essence
Absolutely agree with you on these things: Lash Paradise was so clumpy I threw it out after using it only a few times. Cover Girl Clump Crusher is much better. I find the Real Techniques makeup sponges are just as good as Beauty Blender at a fraction of the price. I only bought one Morphe brush and I think it is scratchy and the bristles poke out in odd directions. I much prefer Real Techniques and Sigma bushes. And UD Primer Potion isn’t any better than drugstore primers I’ve used.
What Tammy said higher up is so true. I rely 100% on Urban Decay Primer Potion when I want to be sure my eyeshadow will last and remain as crease-free as when I applied it. And IT CC cream is my favourite face product bar none – looks good, wears well, is quick and easy for me AND has SPF 50. So true that one man’s meat is another man’s poison (or in this case, one woman’s HG is another woman’s HH – Holy Hell!)
Funny top bc UD Primer and It CC Cream does NONE of that lol. UDPP creases, doesn’t make anything last on me and it’s low grade imo. Also It CC Cream didn’t cover much and it broke down everything on my face. I applied it with a sponge, a brush, my fingers. Applied a lot and a little and mixed in with another foundation. No matter what it looked AWFUL. Liked someone mentioned another time, it’s my skin but WORSE. lol.
It’s true though what works for one doesn’t for another. My daughter loves Benefit Rollerlash and she considers it HG but it was just meh for me. Which is why you shouldn’t consider anyone’s review , no offense to anyone, gospel bc their opinion is based off of their expectations, experience, skintone and skintype and that may or not work for you. Consider it but also know yourself and your needs too:)
Yeas me too, what’s up with this mascara , it’s horrible , sorry , didn’t work for me , pulling my lashes , can’t understand the hype
I can agree with 4/5 of these, but I’ve honestly tried so many sponges and nothing comes close to the original pink Beauty Blenders. Even the other colors they’ve released that I’ve tried don’t have the same density and bounce to them. I got a Pro Pack of the black BBs and they feel more like cheaper sponges, like Sonia Kashuk or Real Techniques; they’re too firm and I feel like they don’t expand as much as the pink BBs do.
See I don’t like Real Techniques and Sonia Kashuk is complete garbage . The original BB is ok but I didn’t reach for it. Definitely nothing special for $20. My favorite is from Earth Therapeutics. You can find them at Kohls. I also really like the Loreal but I do prefer the egg shape. Also the BB got moldy way faster than any other blender I’ve tried. My daughter has the one from Morphe and she really likes it but I haven’t tried it and I want to try the one from Flower Beauty. I am actually not into using sponges at the moment and am into complexion brushes:)
Concur on UD’s Primer Potion. And it doesn’t last long (as in the longevity of the product vs. others).
Two products immediately come to mind. I’ve been mostly fortunate, but succumbed to Becca anti-fatigue under eye primer and Becca under eye brightening setting powder. Total waste of money. My usual NYX eye primer is a mere fraction of price and vastly outperforms the Becca. The under eye powder make me look 10 years older. I’ll stick to my Laura Gellar or the new hourglass (have a sample and impressed for under eye use).
Just as a recent win: I’ve been a shapetape fan for the last year, but it does require careful prep as to not look too dry on my mature skin. I decided to try the MAC Select Moisturecover (based on recommendation from Pixiwoo. It’s fantastic. I like NW20 which is a bit dark for my skin, but very peachy which does a great job of covering my under eye darkness and absolutely does not dry out, or look the least bit cakey. Very impressed!
X2 on the Becca. I didn’t buy it, but tried it barefaced in Sephora. Oh no. That powder = +10 years for sure.
Giorgio armani face fabric foundation (it’s super glittery), nudestix eye pencils (not overly hyped up but I hated them so anything I heard about them was overhyped for me), marc jacobs summer eyeshadow palette (I think called fantascene? It was pretty but I returned it because I felt like I only used 4 shades which wasn’t worth the over $60 price tag), colourpop lux lips (they’re fine – the pigmentation is good but honestly I have other formulas I prefer. I definitely don’t think they’re ground breaking), and fenty beauty mattemoiselle lipsticks (again, they’re fine but I don’t think they’re ground breaking. I’m also a bit biased because none of the colours suit me very well).
Tough one, since thanks to Temptalia I have few disappointments.
1 – UD Naked Heat palette: colors suit me but so hard to get a variety of looks out of it
2 – Laneige lip mask: makes my lips drier and crack more
3 – Elizabeth Arden ceramide capsules for eyes: irritated my eyelids, while I was hoping it would be soothing
4 – Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation: great formula, just cannot seem to find a good shade match; I’m not that exotic a skin tone, a basic NC10-15 but nearest shades are either too yellow or too pink
5 – Marc Highliner in Sunset: loved the color but it dried out so quickly, I had to toss it before used much. Since I have the Sephora dupe, just haven’t been interested in repurchasing
AB, the number of waxes and silicones in Laneige lip mask is astonishing., right at the top of the ingredient list. Plus it has alcohol, placed before the few good ingredients (fruit extracts, which they call Berry Mix Complex), that are at the end of the list. No wonder that it makes the lips dry. It is more like a silicone-primer for the lips, imo.
So good to know! I didn’t look at the ingredients, just took myself right back to Jack Black and didn’t look back.
You too, AB? I had tried a generous sample of the Laneige Lip Mask before buying the full-size jar. It worked for around a month and a half. But it no longer does SQUAT. My lips look pretty rough right now as a result, I believe. It just vanishes by the time I get up! ?
It didn’t work on me from the start, including that after the lip issues I tried it as a cuticle cream and my nails broke like within a week or two. Interesting how it did for you and then just stopped, I wonder how that works.
The alcohol in any skincare product helps certain ingredients penetrate more easily into the skin. The immediate feeling is that the product feels weightless and the surface is smooth. However, it is a “false” friend as the alcohol breaks down the skin’s protective barrier and the collagen. Its effects persist even after it evaporates. With time, the broken collagen speeds up the aging process and it leads to broken capillaries, redness and even rosacea.
In the case of Laneige Lip mask, the few good ingredients are effectively absorbed because of the alcohol; however, the % of silicones, synthetic waxes, PEGs, outnumber by far the few fruit extracts (which are antioxidants and not moisturizers) and the glycerin that are in the second half of the list. Glycerin should be the first or the second ingredient in order to make up for the rest.
I know it’s not always obvious when you buy a product to make sense of the ingredient list, but after I got through some really bad phases because I used certains face creams containing alcohol and other harmful chemicals a couple of years ago, I learnt my lesson 🙂
Amen, every one of us, must read the ingredients list and protect our health and wallet. As consumers, we have the power. Let’s not buy effortlessly, swallowing everything they serve/offer us.
Agree 100% about grain alcohols. All I know is that my skin turned around completely when I rid my routine of it. It’s less oily and I don’t have breakouts. I never knew how to read an ingredient list and what should and should not be there. A lot of “natural” ingredients tend to be just fragrances and it’s tricky to find things that don’t break the bank but also have proven benefits.
It’s a bummer about the Laneige Sleeping lip mask. I had high hopes for it
I’m with Seraphine on the UD 24/7 liners – they smudge and run on me just as they do on her. Fortunately, I avoid a lot of disappointing products simply by virtue of the work you do, Christine. The information you provide helps me avoid costly mistakes. Even so, I guess my biggest disappointments would be:
Nars Radiant Crappy, oops, Creamy concealer: it is so dry and scaly looking on me
UD 24/7 liners
Marc Jacobs Edgitorial palette
Tarte Pin Up Metallic eyeshadow (not at all the colour I was expecting from how it looks in the pan)
Lise Watier 24 Hours Glam mascara: it’s not horrible but not at all what I was hoping for/expecting
Stila Shimmer and Glow e/s – looks horrible on my lid and I bought from Beautyish so can’t return
Marc Jacobs Air Blush Soft Glow Duo – sat on my skin and looked like I had paste on. Returned
Marc Jacobs Highliner e/l – smudges like crazy no matter what I try. Thankfully just a sample so no $$$ spent
Bobbie Brown gel liner – smudge city – returned
UD liner – tried several colors and all smudged. Returned some, still have some because they were colors I really liked and I keep hoping my skin will change.
Laura Mercier cake liner – see a pattern here? Smudged. Still have because I was too lazy to return to Nordies.
So far the only liner that stays on me is the Revlon Colory Stay liquid and my HG blush is Clinique Cheek Pops and e/s is Nars Duochrome.
1.) “It” CC Cream is the first thing to spring into my head. Bought it last spring, and the breakouts that sprung up during the humid monsoon season were worse than any year prior! Plus, it made me look very greasy and oily, too. Yuck!
2.) Nyx Angel Veil Primer. I bought it because so many raved that it was an exact dupe for Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer. No, it most certainly is not.
3.) Hourglass Vanishing Highlighter. Sorry to those who love this product, but I found it to literally VANISH on me! Like; where’d it disappear to?
4.) Last year’s Ulta exclusive Nars VLG set of brighter shades. These dried my lip out horribly! As have 2 other raved about / well performing on others lip gloss formulas of late: UD Hi-fi Lipgloss in Beso and GA Ecstasy Laquer in Luce. These 2 I will continue to use with discretion, because they’re too gorgeous not to.
5.) It’s a shocker! Because I named it as my my favorite lip tint only a few days ago, but hadn’t actually worn it an entire day before declaring my love for it, lol! UD 100 Degrees. So dayum pretty! But it guns up and gathers in weird bunched up deposits near the corners of my mouth, which looks positively GROSS.
Honorable mention goes to Laneige Lip Mask. It worked fabulously for the first month or so, now it just disappears by morning when I wake up, and no longer gives me nice, soft, pillow lips. They are chapped and sore presently. Going back to Jack Black!
*gunks, not guns. I’m using a different keyboard app and it needs to be “trained”!
Brow Gel – no matter how expensive or inexpensive, it just didn’t work for me. I found the ABH one tricky to use.
Swisse Q10 Night Moisturising Cream – had a botanical smell that could slow a dozen elephants.
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder: Very expensive here in Aus, it didn’t really do anything that my Rimmel Ultra translucent powder doesn’t do and there was very little product in the pan..
Revlon lipsticks – none of them last really long on me at all.
1. Kat von D 10th Anniversary Everlasting Glimmer Veil Liquid Lipstick in Gold School. It’s dry and sheer. The applicator sponge tip started peeling off the first time I used it. I’m returning it.
2. Milk Blur Stick: It didn’t blur squat for me. It’s a decent primer, though. I’m glad a friend gave it to me, and I didn’t spend any money on it.
3. ColouredRaine Berry Cute Palette: A bunch of purple loving friends recommended it to me, but your review was spot on. It’s good, but not as good as the hype.
4. Viseart Theory Palette in Amethyst: The same scenario as the Berry Cute Palette. I should never ignore your reviews. lol I love the shimmers, but I just can’t make the mattes work very well.
5. SugarPill liquid lipsticks. I really like the colors, but everyone raves about the formula and how it’s the best out there. I think they are somewhat drying, and they are not my favorite formula. Good, but not great.
1. L’Oreal Lash Paradise mascara. Flaked, smeared and gave me raccoon eyes.
2. Benefit Bad Gal Bang mascara. Same as above. I have mascara issues, what can I say.
3. NudeStix Lip Pencils, crayons, whatever they are called. Sucked the life right out of my lips and no amount of balm could help.
4. Viseart Eye Shadow Primer, did not prolong the wear of eye shadows, creased and made the crepey inner corners of my eye look like I had sludge built up even though I paid particular attention to smoothing it out in the corners. Much rather use the Milani eye shadow primer at a fraction of the cost.
5. Smashbox Photo Edit eye shadows. I only purchased one and primarily for the cool toned brown/grey shade which was a good shade as transition for me or to darken a lighter transition shade. I really liked that color but the whole thing crumbled shortly after I purchased it and crumbled just by my opening the lid. I didn’t drop it or do anything that should have warranted the three pans to just crumble. I did consider picking up the same one again just for that shade but decided against it. It would be just my luck that it is a fault of the shadows and the new one would do the same. It was fairly close to the shade Omega from MAC which I also love so I just substitute Omega.
I. IT cosmetics underage concealer
2. KVD metal matte eyeshadow palette
3. KVD matte quad palette in navy and greys
4. Dr Brandt no more pores exfoliating cleanser- too drying.
5. Virtually any matte lipstick. Instantly fried chapped lips even with primers or balm
under them
1- Essence mascaras- tried Lash Princess & Extreme Volume, flaked a bit & NO volume. Not horrible but not great either.
2- Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation- went on beautifully, disappeared in 2 hrs.
3- RMS Living Luminizer- looked great, disappeared in an hour.
4- Lancome Teint Idole foundation & concealer- oxidized to orange in 10 minutes
5- Artis oval brushes- they are okay, but they really haven’t changed my makeup application much & you can buy dupes that work just as well for much cheaper
Trying to think real hard but can’t come up with anything that I dislike in my heavenly drugstore collection. A thumbs up for the Essence Princess mascaras best I have tried that really amplifies my lashes for once. ?
Hmmm? Thumbs down to the almost near neon pink & peach blushes I tried from Essence. Colors look so vivid but nothing like it once applied. ??
Milani has been fantastic!
UD Moondust palette-colors weren’t very vivid, shades seemed to look similar on the lid/returned
ABH Amrezy highlighter-dry, hard texture, didn’t blend well, standard gold, nothing special/returned
Too Faced Peach palette-shades don’t show saturated color, except for dark shades colors apply very lightly and don’t build up well, okay for days when I want a soft look
Smashbox Primer Potion-got two bottles on sale, no different than using water to spritz
Becca liquid highlighter in Champagne Pop-not worth $41, can get better effect by mixing powder highlighters, which I have in abundance, with moisturizer/returned
UD Naked Heat-love the formula but looks really do come out all looking the same no matter the shades I use
Dior Lipsticks: hate the fragrance, does not dissipate, cannot buy them.
Stila Eyeliners: dry out too quickly.
Viseart Neutral Palette: Hello? It’s not neutral, it’s warm. Not as warm as UD Naked Heat, but still warm. Three orangey-peachy shades with a whole lot of browns. A black and gray does not make it neutral. What a waste.
And lest we forget:
The Natasha Denona Purple-Blue Palette: Purple? Not so much. More like the Brown and Blue Palette. Naming the shade, Lavender Grey, which Christine aptly described as a “warm taupe” does not miraculously turn it either lavender or grey. Calling a shade, Cool Plum, which Christine correctly describes as a “warm brown” –same. Words are not voodoo which turn one color into a different color.
From this I’ve concluded that Denona designs exclusively for warm toned girls. She’s entitled to her niche. I’m not in it. And I won’t be buying from that brand.
I can’t really think of anything I’ve used lately that’s felt overrated.
Fenty foundation – like cement
Urban Decay Naked Heat – underwhelming
Tarte Tartelette Toasted Palette – just awful to apply and didn’t last at all, even with primer and setting spray.
I don’t think I have 2 more.