What’s the worst packaging you’ve come across? What was so bad about it?
Of all the packaging that sticks out in my mind, Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray is the one I’ll never forget. It was just the wrong choice for the product type. It just pumped out far too much product, probably 10 to 20 times too much!
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As much as I love Illamasqua I don’t love their packaging! The skin base foundations are really hard to squeeze out and I always chip my nail polish trying to get into their concealer, eyebrow & eyeliner cakes.
I use the round flat end of my tweezerman tweezers to open brow cakes..I have the same problem. I also have problems with Dior in similar fashion.
I don’t like that you can’t really store MAC lipsticks upside down so that the color shows. And the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes are kind of hard to open. I have to use some kind of tool to open them. I’m sure there are much worse out there, but these are the things I immediately thought of.
You might want to look into storing your MAC lipsticks in a 60-cube ice tray. I saw this on a blog and the half-sphere molds held the lipsticks perfectly.
Oh how well I recall that total f-up. I’m inclined to agree with your choice, Christine. I remember thinking: they do know this is concealer and not foundation, right? Then I got all pissy about it and felt like I was being rudely ripped off by the company and developed a rather serious hate on for a product that was actually pretty darned good. I’ve moved on to better pastures since then.. the horror the horror!!!
Physicians Formula Powder compacts. I decided to try both the Healthy Wear Powder “Foundation” SPF 50 and the Mineral Wear Talc-Free Airbrushing Pressed Powder SPF 30. I can’t believe they come in these ridiculously bulbous compacts when the product is so thin and the applicator in both products are horrible. First, I’ll say the product itself isn’t bad. But the Healthy Wear comes with a sponge that does not pick up any product and is impossible to use. (And the product is too dry/chalky with coverage that is way too sheer to be called a foundation, but I digress.) The Mineral Wear powder comes with a so-called “Buffing Kabuki Brush” that is just a flat little brush. And I’ll just say again that the compact itself is not compact — it’s totally bulky for such a thin amount of product that you get. Plus the metallic blue and bright orange/pink compacts are tacky-looking. I’m going to take out each powder pan and put them into old silver Prescriptives powder compacts that I still have for some completely unknown reason.
I have a silver Philosophy compact with a powder I don’t like (shimmery pink, not a good go for me!) You just totally gave me a great Idea what to do with it! I don’t love the Physicians Formula compact either. I hope it works.:)
I think the Philosophy compact would be a perfect replacement.
I depotted my PF Pressed Powder immediately, and it’s now housed in a sleek Mineral Fusion compact I got as a freebie. Woo hoo! I’m all about sleek packaging.
I agree on that Healthy Wear Powder. It’s way too bulky and I find that the packaging does not feel very sturdy either which is annoying since PF is one of the more expensive DS brands.
I honestly hate ANY white packaging when it comes to makeup–I just know it’s going to get dirty/ruined if I’m not extra careful. I’m also not a big fan of cardboard (such as Benefit’s packaging). I also hate dust and fingerprint magnets, which I notice UD has done a couple of times now. Yuck.
I think my lint roller has been used more frequently to clean some of my UD palettes than it has been on my clothing.
Well, I have some no-brand glitter from TKB Trading in this silly stack–UGH, why?! Glitter gets everywhere. Even more everywhere than usual. Makes it really hard to want to use it!
Also, any nail polish whose brush is too damn short and doesn’t touch the bottom of the bottle. Why do that? With Seche’s products for example: On top of the thickening, I couldn’t finish a bottle if I wanted to. What am I supposed to do, pour it onto my nails? WTF.
YES! Ditto on the Seche stuff!
UGH, I am currently using Stay Don’t Stray for eyelid primer and it is unbelievable how much product I waste even though I try for a tiny, tiny pump! I liked it in the sample size container much better!
If you have an empty sample jar, you could put a pump in there and use it from the sample jar until you’re ready for more! 🙂
That’s such a good idea! I’m currently trying a tiny sample of Stay Don’t Stray, first day on my oily lids, fingers crossed!!
stila lipgloss in a pen with a brush-lip enamel luxe gloss – it continues to drip even after you stop turning it-to get gloss onto brush, all caps are full of gloss-gross!!!
Ah, yes .. I dislike the twist top applicators as well. Revlon color stay has a great concealer in this type of packaging .. darn thing dispenses too much then leaks.
I guess the infamous Urban Decay Primer Potion would be one of the worst I’ve ever seen(irregular shape makes it difficult to get all of the product, not the most sanitary and eventually the purple metallic paint starts to flake off and gets stuck to your face!). I’ve also got a Pixi eye, cheek, lip palette that is a cardboard cube that is just very unwieldy.
I actually prefer the older UD primer potion packaging. I love the wand and how easy it is to apply. I actually don’t like the squeeze tubes at all. The new UD primer potion gets jammed in there. The TFSI version gets watery and separated. But the UD genie bottle is great and it lasts forever.
I agree with on the original UDPP, I have one left and got that horrible purple metallic paint on my face, next to impossible to remove. So glad they changed it.
i dont like the stay dont stray also but hey, i dont like the product AT ALL – one of the most expensive eye primers and does little to me. now i can recognize that the rimmel stay matte powder has a really bad lid that just doesnt stays on.
oh i dont like also any foundation without a pump, wich for me would me revlon colorstay and mac fix plus fluid – although i loove the mac packaging especially the rubbery top! just a shame having to purchase a pump by side.
I work at sephora, and whenever someone buys the stay don’t stray I give them one or two sample containers to take home and keep the excess in. I hope benefit changes the packaging eventually,
MAC Pro Longwear concealer, with each pump you get way too much product and you end up wasting so much product 🙁
Smashbox older eyeshadow trio packageing, you had to screw the lid on and off, it was such a bother it was the reson i got a Z palette!
I feel like Urban Decay puts form ahead of function with their packaging sometimes. For example – the old UDPP bottle was SO annoying and wasteful. Also their lipsticks with the stupid little dagger thing – they look kind of cool but make storage a pain and they snap off too easily making the lipsticks impossible to open. Then there was that Book of Shadows with the gimmicky speaker and smartphone thing – argh!
Creamy lipgloss in cardboard packaging. The pan was housed in the cardboard and after all it was such a nice thing to look at: cute patterns and under a lid the lipgloss in the middle. However, application was a drag. The gloss had the texture of a balm and you had to stuck your finger in it to get some out. Which meant that if you weren’t careful, you could easily smear the dreadful fuchsia coloured thing all over that nice little box.
Worst thing of all, I almost used up the whole, because it was a really nice hydrating gloss, great colour, semi-sheer with lovely shimmer…. just a great product. Still, you can guess how the packaging looked at the end. Argh!
UD Book of Shadows…especially IV version…so bulky, cumbersome, not travel friendly….I got so frustrated that I depotted IV version into the Z palette. Makeup is for applying makeup…..not necessary to have the gadgets and also not necessary like the NYC version or the Alice in Wonderland to have those pop- ups.
UD razor sharp powder. The foam sponge applicator thingy made me so mad I ended up depotting it!
I am so disappointed with the packaging of the latest Sleek Palettes. I got a really hard time opening those. So does a co-worker 🙁
I hate packing that gives you completely useless applicators. I love Chanel products, but are these tiny applicators necessary? Does anyone use them? Mine just fall on the floor when I open them and the cat chases them around the bathroom.
I agree… if you can afford Chanel and similar, you can afford your own good quality makeup brushes! My cat, however, prefers q tips!
Lol if you are talking about the brush applicators that come with the blush I use them 😀 lol I love Chanel aswell.
The original urban decay primer potion was terrible… But nothing irritates me more than MAC pro longwear
Concealer.. I hate it to death
agreed!! it pumps too much product!!! I love the concealer, but I either mix the rest with my foundation, or put it on top of the pump so I can use it the following day!
I have a Charlotte Ronson eyeshadow palette that is literally impossible to open without a knife or tweezers or something. I don’t use it because it ruins my nails just trying to get into it!
The Illamasqua pure pigments. I have one in Ore and its beautiful however the lid needs to be popped off not twisted and everytime i do the glitter gets EVERYWHERE…hands, sink, floor.
Packaging that won’t stay together in a drawer or purse has always made me nuts, especially when we’re talking about lipstick. I’m baffled as to why so many cosmetic manufacturers don’t put more effort into creating packaging that will stay closed until you open it! There are many perpetrators, but since you mentioned Benefit, that’s the first that came to mind. Back in the earlier days of the company, when they had a really cool catalog, I ordered some of their lipsticks. I liked the product, but hated the packaging. They would NOT stay closed! Very frustrating. I have no idea if things have improved, since I haven’t purchased any of their lipsticks since. This is the kind of thing that will keep me from making future purchases from a particular brand.
My least favorite packaging for products I own is the Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV. It takes up so much space and I hate the pull drawer. I actually really like the shadows, but I don’t actually use them that much because the packaging is so awkward to use.
Take them out of the awkward packaging! I did that and put them in a Z Palette a few months ago and it’s SO much better!
So far for me, Urban Decay Primer Potion in the “genie bottle” is the absolute worst. The weird shape of the bottle made it impossible to get all the product out and decanting it was a mess that onyl lead to the product drying out way too fast.
I have so many and many people have already mentioned.
1) UDPP genie bottles. I like the squeeze tubes they have now.
2) Stila lip gloss pens. Just a gloopy hot mess with that brush. I love me a doe foot applicator!
3) I have a foundation that I cannot remember the name. It comes in a pump and pumps out way too much. I have to pump it into a sample jar.
4) Hard Candy baked bronzers. I don’t know why but they always seem to slid off the base of the compact. It’s great when I use my bronzer brush it the product slids everywhere!
5) Colorevolution e/s stacks. BEAUTIFUL colours but poor packaging. I get more product on my hand, the stack, sink/counter and shirt :@
6) Any tough as nails compact. I aways chip or break a nail when trying to open these. I use a flat end of a pair of lash curlers.
Boots number 7 eyeshadow palettes always annoy me. They have a very flimsy plastic catch that is always easily broken meaning you have to store them flat. If you put them into a make up bag the powder goes everywhere. And why is it that lipsticks can open in you handbag and twist up ruining both the lipstick and the inside of your handbag!
I particularly don’t like press powder and blush packages that have the applicator in a compartment underneath. Every time I want to flip open the top to get to the product, I always flip the bottom and the applicator (that I don’t use) falls out.
Jemma Kidd Light as Air foundation is a super liquidy formula in one of those squeezy tubes that stands on it’s end. It makes the biggest mess!!!
AGREED!!!!! Worst package especially when you love the product!!!
The Urban Decay loose pigments. They had a huge brush/wand coming out of a tube and loose product would get everywhere! Pigments are naturally messy just because they’re loose, but it would have been better off in a jar where you could select which brush you use to get product. I got a lot of them on clearance for $1.
Hands down worst packaging EVER. I watched a video on youtube and unpotted all mine. They are now in little pots I picked up at the craft store.
I absolutely despise UD lipsticks with the annoying little dagger that makes it impossible to store and very easy to never be able to open again. Their primer potion bottle also irks me. I also kind of don’t like, but not hate NARS eyeliners. There’s this strange negative space around the product and when I sharpen too much it sort of wobbles around. Hard to describe, but super irksome.
revlon colorstay foundation! NO PUMP!
ELF mineral eyeshadows. The actual product is AMAZING. But they’re loose with a sifter, and there’s always waaaaaay too much and it gets everywhere.
I have to agree with the Stay Don’t Stray packaging, it is a pain in the butt until my sister managed to somehow make it work for us. I love it because I can use it under my concealer to maximize the staying power. I will repurchase again just because it is a great product, but I have to say that when I got it I got the Pretty Comitte package, which had three full size products and a mini one for $38 dollars
The only thing that stands out is Maybelline Dream Matte Powder, which I bought out of desperation (my MUFE powder broke while we were in the boonies). Instead of a normal compact, this is a twisting/sliding contraption with the mirror on the bottom. I threw it away at home.
Make-up Forever’s HD Invisible Cover Concealer is a great product-it matches my skin like no other. But the container is awful. You have to twist it to dispense the product. It has a silicone tip that jams and drips. If you don’t wipe away the excess after every use it dries into a hard mess. It is very wasteful. If it came in a regular tube I would buy it again.
Any Clamshell packaging that does not have an easy way to open. Noting worse than wanting to use a product after purchasing it, but having to wait because you don’t have any scissors.
Revlon’s Colorstay without the pump, I ended up purchasing the PhotoReady foundation and put it in the empty container. I don’t like the PhotoReady foundation. Benefit stay don’t stray pumps out too much, I put it in a sample container. I have to be very careful with my ProLongwear concealer because it also pumps out too much. MAC brush cleanser bottle is impractical, I pour it into my empty Sephora daily cleanser bottle which came with a pump. Lastly, I dislike the packaging for Bobbie Brown corrector, the pan on mine is loose and always falls out.
MAC Pro Longwear concealer!! It pumps out too much for me, and I have A LOT of acne scars that require heavy concealing all over my face!!
caudalie vinoperfect mask. It comes in this tiny squeeze tube and it has a brush on the bottom. Its nearly impossible to get out any product at all but when you finally do, too much come out, and the brush eats most of the product and you get sooooo little for such a big price!
Well one of my top beefs has already been mentioned many times, the MAC Prolongwear concealer. With practice you can get a smaller pump but it takes a very steady hand! Also pretty much any loose shadow that comes with one of those screw off felt tip style applicators, ugh- so messy! And the Inglot gloss duo container is just awful (it’s the same container that PF used for the concealer cubes, with a different gloss in each half- it gets gross and melty and they break very easily). A shame since often the products are really nice but who wants to deal with awful packaing? > <
MAC Brush Cleanser for sure… such a weird cap for a liquid product