Beauty products that disappointed you?

midnight_train

Which beauty products have you bought and then wished you hadn't?? I know I've spent a fortune on different products over the years, some of them worth it and some of them definitely not.

My latest disappointing purchase was Benefit 'They're Real!' mascara. I'd heard so much about it, how great it was, etc. Couldn't believe the price tag of €26, but thought I'd give it a try, given the fact that it's the best-selling mascara in Britain and Ireland, according to the sales girl.

However ... there is absolutely nothing special about this product. I bought a Rimmel one a few weeks later, and it is much better.

So, don't waste your money on this one!

aoifemcd

I was very disappointed by the benefit products I tried - both the they're real mascara and high beam. Thankfully I bought them in a sample set so didn't pay full price for them.

I was also very disappointed with the Lancôme hypnose doll eyes mascara. I got it during the €10 sale in debenhams but talk about spider lashes!! I'm Hoping if it dries out a little it might be better but I wouldn't get it again. Very disappointing as I LOVE the original hypnose mascara!

Loreal infallible 24hr foundation was also a major disappointment. It oxidised like crazy on my skin and didn't last at all. It had all but disappeared in about 3 hours.

Sheela

Love these kinds of threads!

Got both the Pixi Glow Tonic & Ren Clarifying Toner as I heard so much about it from Caroline Hirons, TBH both are nothing special IMO and much prefer the Clarins Toner.

Bought the Estee Lauder Idealist Serum a few weeks ago and it was mentally expensive (€75) and all its done is give me a ton of spots on my chin :mad:

Another Estee Lauder one is the Touche Eclat Foundation. I've been colourmatched for this twice. The second time, the sales rep in Boots in Liffey Valley sent me outside with a mirror to make sure the colour was ok, which it was. But when I used it later it was too dark. Since I've been on holidays so have a tan, the colour suits better and looks really nice when its just been put on, but an hour or two later it looks like I've no make-up on as its just disappeared.

womandriver

Hypnose Drama mascara, I just find it clumpy spidery disaster.

bscm

A lot of Benefit stuff: Dr Feelgood, Bad Gal liner, Benetint, Erase Paste. Thankfully got some of those in a Christmas gift set as a present, but they were so bad. Erase Paste was horrific, both colour and performance. Didn't stay put for an hour and every bit I put on somehow managed to move to the same line and sit there. I did like the Bad Gal mascara, I have naturally long and curly lashes so most mascaras do look very obvious on them.

Most MAC foundations. Studio Fix was very heavy, I liked the coverage but it destroyed my skin. Select was good for the few years I repurchased it, but holy crap was it orange. One of the Studio compact foundations (the cream one) was ok but it only lasted a few weeks. Sculpt was good but not wow.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. Sweet jebus this stuff is dark and orange. The lightest shade in Boots was so dark on me last summer.

YSL Touche Eclat foundation. Only got a sample, but on my skin it looked almost metallic. And that was on first application. I would have hated to see it after several hours on my oily face.

midnight_train

oh, also the MAC fake eyelash glue. It is crap - soupy, goupy, never dries and a total rip-off for €12!

bscm

midnight_train wrote: »

oh, also the MAC fake eyelash glue. It is crap - soupy, goupy, never dries and a total rip-off for €12!

I got the Duo glue from MAC and really loved it, my false lashes lasted entire debs nights without budging and had to be pulled off the next morning

retro:electro

+1 on the benefit they're real mascara, thought it was useless. I also didn't like touché éclat; do not get the hype surrounding this product!

Toto Wolfcastle

I like They're Real.

I was disappointed with Smashbox primer. My make up went on well over it but it didn't last as long as it lasted when I didn't use the primer.

fussyonion

Before I found the wonder that is Estee DoubleWear, I used to use Elizabeth Arden compact foundation.
I'd bought the shade that was APPARENTLY my skin-tone but my God it was orange.
Orange orange orange. Totally obviously orange. Carried on using it because I wanted my money's worth; just diluted it with moisturiser.

I was also disappointed with that Maybelline mascara in the pink and green tube-really cheap brush and spider eyelashes.

Best mascara I've ever used was Avon SuperFull, but currently it's Maybelline Illegal Lengths.

Was also VERY disappointed with a Dior quad eyeshadow I got (and still have) as three of the colour pans just popped out!

Had to get boyfriend to glue them back but I didn't expect that to happen with a Dior palette!

aoifemcd

bscm wrote: »

Most MAC foundations. Studio Fix was very heavy, I liked the coverage but it destroyed my skin. Select was good for the few years I repurchased it, but holy crap was it orange. One of the Studio compact foundations (the cream one) was ok but it only lasted a few weeks.

Have to agree with this. I tried samples of each of the mac foundations with the aim to buy one to wear in work so had to be long lasting. My God they were awful. The colours were all wrong on me and I didn't find that they had any lasting power whatsoever. Couldn't justify spending 30-odd euro on them.

Luckily in all my searching I found Estée Lauder double wear light...fantastic foundation that ticks all the boxes!!

sunbeam

Illamasqua Skin Base foundation. Great pale shades but made my dry patches seem much drier and flakier and seemed to disintegrate and slide off my oily nose no matter how much I powdered it.

Honestly I find L'Oreal True Match miles better.

anewme

[QUOTE=anna080;90858899........ I also didn't like touché éclat; do not get the hype surrounding this product![/QUOTE]

Totally agree with this............worst product ever! Pure waste of money for me.

dee_mc

Estee Lauder waterproof mascara - clumpy and smudgey and generally expensive rubbish.
Never quite figured out the point of Clarins Beauty Flash Balm - made my foundation come off in little flakes

madmaggie

Dove facial cleansers, they're supposed to be gentle, but brought me out in dry patches. The body lotion had me itching all over. :eek:

alleystar

Would definitely agree with Benefit's They're Real massacre being pretty disappointing, you could buy a budget brand mascara and get a much better result.

I don't think Benefit's primer is anything to write home about either.

How Strange

Benefit high beam. It's just horrible and cheap (without the cheap price!). Laura Mercier primer and tinted moisturiser. I don't get the hype at all. Touché éclat for sure. Totally underwhelming. I remember buying a Chanel foundation a few years ago and it was awful. It never sank into my skin so looked terrible after a couple of hours.

Clockwork Owl

Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair isn't doing much at all to my skin thus far. Such a shame, as I'd heard the stuff was supposed to be excellent.

Dark Phoenix

madmaggie wrote: »

Dove facial cleansers, they're supposed to be gentle, but brought me out in dry patches. The body lotion had me itching all over. :eek:

I've sensitive skin and cant touch dove body wash or I itch like hell too! The only dove product I can use is the gradual tanner, apart from that I have to steer clear of dove and simple as they make my skin go mad.

I bought a mini benefit they're real and don't get the hype at all. Granted ive naturally very long lashes so I've learned its a volume mascara I need as the lengthen ones just give me spider lashes.

Smashbox primer - awful stuff I tried the plain one and the bronzed one - my foundation went over it so badly.


Byphasse face cream and vichy idealia face cream oh god both of these created massive itchy angry spots on my chin that took weeks to get rid off - this was after only a few days use - never again!

Loreal elvive hair range and that fibrology stuff. Every shampoo type / range they have just makes my hair lank and greasy, I don't get it!

Rimmel make up in general. Hate the eyeshadows as they are poor coverage and horrible texture. Found the rimmel and maybelline mascaras just terrible.


Wet & Wild nail polish. Nice colours and coverage but the smell off the salon style range of them is really horrible it stinks of chemicals. Not sure if the other ranges smell as bad but it really put me off using this again.

Essie nail polishes - grand but not worth the price tag considering how many of the shades go on kind of streaky and then don;t dry nicely.

Cocoa brown 1 hour tan. I was practically the same colour as before after using it so I was surprised so many people rave about it. I do love the exfoliator and the gradual tan though.

molly09

I thought the lancome visionnaire foundation was very poor - the concealer that came with the foundation was very drying and very difficult to use.

I also think the get real mascara is very poor, however my friend loved it.

Sheela

A few more...

LRP Serozinc - don't get where its meant to fit into your skincare routine. It's not an exfoliating toner, neither does it hydrate. I've been using it to spray onto spots that are healing and it does seem to clean them up quicker than normal, but don't think that's what its meant for.

Siche Vite - takes an eternity to dry. The way cheaper Sally Hansen Top Coat is miles better.

Kate Sommerville Cleansers - are ok, but for their price (around €20) I expected more.

Kiehl's Creme de Corps - Really don't get the hype with this one. I normally use Garnier Intensive 7 Days which costs a fraction of this. CdeC did nothing for my dry skin, v disappointing whereas the Garnier one totally does.

molly09

Sheela wrote: »

A few more...

LRP Serozinc - don't get where its meant to fit into your skincare routine. It's not an exfoliating toner, neither does it hydrate. I've been using it to spray onto spots that are healing and it does seem to clean them up quicker than normal, but don't think that's what its meant for.
.

Oops I ordered this online about a week ago, still waiting for it to arrive in post!!!

Sheela

molly09 wrote: »

Oops I ordered this online about a week ago, still waiting for it to arrive in post!!!

You might love it though! Its just as I said I don't know what its meant to do as Caroline Hirons uses it as her hydrating toner and I don't see it working in that way for me.

dublintweety

Soap and Glory products dont get the hype! Now I have only used two the body scrub and the Ultimelt hot cloth cleanser, both useless. I also cant use Simple products - make my face very itchy.

FullblownRose

I absolutely love ''They're Real''. I think it's incomparable to any other mascara, having tried YSL Babydoll, Hypnose, Max Factor Masterpiece, Maybelline, Bourgeois and Rimmel over the years. It is dear but it lasts me ages and I apply three good coats most days!

High Beam, on the other hand, made my face look like I had mermaidish patches of fish scales wherever it was applied and no matter how lightly or carefully it was applied. Posy tint didn't impress me, either.

Touche Eclat disappointed me. Mac Light Boost suits me much better and is cheaper.

It goes to show it's so important to get a sample or try the testers because people seem to have vastly different experiences of products

boogle

Got Lancome Miracle air de Teint foundation there a couple of months ago. Very disappointing really. I love the texture of the original teint miracle foundation but I'm too oily for it. This new one is terrible. Doesn't go on evenly and offers no coverage whatsoever! The Loreal nude magique eau de teint is the same type of foundation, but miles better.

Pang

The Eve Lom cleanser and the Liz Earle cleanser. I really thought they would be amazing but they weren't.

Touche Eclat is definitely overrated.

MMc Mineralise powder just looked caked no matter how much or how I applied.

The Real Techniques Face Expert brush. It just streaks my makeup. I can never get it to blend my makeup in.

PinkLemonade

Studio sculpt by Mac, it's awful!

Clinique liquid face wash, it's ruined my face, made it so dry.

Nars Orgasm, it's okay, but I like it a much as bourjous blusher

Nails inc varnishes also are only okay, wouldn't waste my money on them

TeletextPear

I love They're Real, haven't worn any other mascara for about a year now!

Was disappointed with Benefit's Porefessional, I felt it highlighted my pores even more instead of covering them up.

Wet n Wild nail polish I found useless, it chipped so so quickly. Essie and China Glaze polishes both disappointed me too, I didn't think they were worth their price tag.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum just sat on top of my skin, it was impossible to blend in.

rachblue

Vichey Dermablend foundation, had to stop using it after a week or two as my whole face was pretty much peeling off, it was so dry! Good coverage though

xzanti

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

I like They're Real.

I was disappointed with Smashbox primer. My make up went on well over it but it didn't last as long as it lasted when I didn't use the primer.

I agree on both counts.

With They're Real, I find it's best to keep layering.. don't expect miracles on the first couple of coats.. keep at it and you can do great things with it without it going clumpy!!!

Sunny Dayz

Dissappointed with Nails Inc polishes. They are expensive, I have only ever got them free with a magazine or on special offer in TK Maxx so at least I have never paid full price for one. I find that for some reason they tend to flake off. I'm normally a chipping nail polish type of person but these seem to flake of my nails and not nessessarily at the tips.

Also some one had mentioned Posietint from Benefit. I would agree, it's a very light colour and I kinda don't know what to do with it really. Because I don't want to let it go unused, I tend to apply it to my lips to just get a use out of it - most expensive lip colour ever (for me)!

amydoll

oh my god so happy to find a form to give out about awful beauty buys !!!
any foundation by benifit is just pointless !! there so thck and dont take to the skin well even with a beauty blender its still like iv lizard skin !! its such a shame because the packaging is cute but the colours are awful too

_Whimsical_

By far and away the worst thing I've ever bought was Gimme a Brow by Benefit. It would be much more aptly named Muck and a Brush.
It is not only utterly useless it's disgusting.

I also hated High Beam. No matter how carefully I applied it I looked like I'd been laminated by the tooth fairy, shiny and glittery yuck.

dee_mc

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

By far and away the worst thing I've ever bought was Gimme a Brow by Benefit. It would be much more aptly named Muck and a Brush.
It is not only utterly useless it's disgusting.

I also hated High Beam. No matter how carefully I applied it I looked like I'd been laminated by the tooth fairy, shiny and glittery yuck.

It's like poetry!

suitcasepink

They're so cheap I feel like I shouldnt give out about them but the wet n'wild lipsticks dry my lips worse than anything else..
Not gone on the Revlon colourburst balms either, dont think they last any length at all.

I think a lot of the Benefit products are just very over priced for what they are. I personally like high beam for nights out, but its definitely not worth paying €30 for. Same with many other products, the porefessional, posietint, watts up etc they all do a job, but so many other products can do that job(and some much better) for a lower price. As much as I love the cute packaging and convincing myself Ill fall in love with one of their products, it's just not happening.

Ziegfeldgirl27

I am disappointed with everything that Benefit makes. I remember like 10 years ago when I first used Benefit products, I remember thinking that they were quite mediocre products but I adored the packaging so I forced myself to like them! Now that I am older (and wiser! ) and have used many other brands, I realise that Benefit are comparable to your Essence or Wet n' wild, with a high end price tag. For the same money, I can get Lancome, Clarins or Estee Lauder products. Real luxury.

Benetint is probably the worst of their products that I have tried. It's just red water. It doesn't even tint my skin. Absolutely useless, and it costs how much?? What a joke.

StripedBoxers

Another one here for Benefit. I've tried samples of their tints (utterly useless), some highlighter thingy that made me look like a disco ball, and the the porefessional which didn't even sit right on my skin, regardless of whether I use my fingers or a brush. My make up just slid all over my face when I put it on over the porefessional.

Clinique high impact mascara, my lashes just clumped together when I used one light coat of this stuff. Clinique eye-shadows, little to no pigmentation. Lipglosses are quite sticky too, which I hate. Lipsticks aren't great either, I have one and it feathers like there is no tomorrow, even when I use lipliner.

Lancome juicy tubes, again they are really horribly sticky which I can't stand. They are like glue on my lips. I have one bright pink lipstick which I absolutely love, but it slides all over the place and bleeds, even when I use a lip liner. It's such a pity because the colour is gorgeous and I just can't part with it. I have another lipstick from them which is a gorgeous nude, 'my lips but better' and it doesn't slide or bleed.

Armani luminous silk foundation, OK, it wasn't awful, it has a gorgeous satin finish and has great coverage, but it used to slide around my nose, chin and the sides of my mouth, and anytime I smiled I had those god awful looking 'lines' of foundation.

NARS Orgasm blush, its a nice blush, but over priced. I've seen similar shades of other brands which aren't as expensive and just as nice.

MAC blot powder, does nothing (for me anyway) and is over priced. I much prefer Rimmel's stay matte and Collections lasing perfection ultimate wear powder, much cheaper and far better.

Bobbi brown face touch up sticks, they cake like there is no tomorrow and their concealer kit, just like the touch up sticks, this stuff cakes and is hard to blend in and it wears off really quickly too. Their foundations are nice, but very yellow toned (for me anyway), they make me look ill when I wear them.

MAC 190 foundation brush, maybe its just me, but I cannot get my foundation to look anyway decent when I use this brush or brush in a similar shape. It looked streaky and like I made no effort whatsoever.

Estee Lauder Sheer Tint Release day thingy (whatever it is supposed to be, primer, moisturiser?), did nothing for my skin, it smelt nice, but it didn't do anything, I didn't notice any changes to my skin so it was kinda a 'meh' product. I was glad I tried a sample and didn't splurge on the full thing.

L'oreal lash flutter mascara, it clumps, flakes, makes me look like I have 3 or 4 lashes. Awful awful stuff. The wand is hideous. The mascara itself is OK, not worth €16, I just have to use wands from other mascaras in it so it doesn't go to waste.

L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick by Color Riche, really don't like this at all. I do like the colour I got, but the product itself, I dislike. It's gloopy, sticky, it smears on my lips and it is just uncomfortable to wear. Not worth €12.29 anyway.

Rimmel eyeshadows, I got some newer ones and there is no pigmentation, no matter how much I use I can never get any pigmentation from them so they're pretty much useless to me. What's the point of wearing shadow if there is no pigmentation? I have some older ones and they have great pigmentation, did they change the ingredients or formula or something?

Wet n Wild lipsticks and lip liners. The liners don't even show up on my lips and when I try them on my hand, they are sheer in colour. The lipsticks are very drying, as soon as I put one of their lipsticks on my lips feel like sandpaper or something, its very unpleasant.

Collection ultimate perfection concealer, horrid stuff. Same goes for the Seventeen/17 hide away concealer. Both are useless.

That's all I can think of for now, no doubt I'll be back to give out about more products.

EDIT: Reading back over that post, I sound like a moany auld thing, I swear I'm not like that at all!

retro:electro

Seems a lot of people find benefit disappointing! I have to say that I love high beam and posey tint and they are staples in my make up bag; the rest however I find useless. Do not get the hype surrounding 'hoola' this is so lightly pigmented it made no difference whatsoever, same goes for 'thrrrob', it's meant to be a pink powder blush but same as before it's just nothing in a box. I've tried a few of their blushes and found the same problem with them all, lovely packaging and smell but utterly useless product. I also used their 'fake up' concealer and this too was crap! It made my under eyes look wet and shiny and highlighted any creases I have. I gave all of these products to my 15 year old sister who uses them. I honestly think benefit should be geared more towards the teenager market whose skin doesn't need much coverage but just a little boost, those of us who expect more from a product (such as coverage and pigment!) such steer clear.

confusticated

Yeah I liked benefit a lot more a few years ago...used to love the Boing concealer but it started to settle into lines around my eyes (probably didn't before just because I didn't have any!) I like Hoola a lot though, just can't justify the price tag.

For me Estée Lauder Double Wear was a big disappointment. Horrible cakey foundation, tried it more than once but couldn't get a shade to match, sat really heavily on my skin. And all the reviews were so good!

Lia_lia

Any Bobbi Brown Foundation I've used. I have used 3 of them. All useless. One stinks of Lavender, and none have stayed put on my face. Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation looked great for about 20 mins and then just melted off my face! And I don't even have oily skin. And they are so expensive! I don't mind paying extra if it's a good product but nope.

Which is a shame because I've never found any brand of foundation to suit my skin colour so well (the shade "Sand!")

Lancome Hypnose, hopeless. I've tried the normal one, the star one and the doll eye one. All gifts! I always end up going back to a Loreal mascara which is the best for me. Was going to but that Benefit one today actually to try it out but glad I didn't now

Magenta

Lia_lia wrote: »

Lancome Hypnose, hopeless.

Same. did nothing for me!

confusticated wrote: »

For me Estée Lauder Double Wear was a big disappointment. Horrible cakey foundation, tried it more than once but couldn't get a shade to match, sat really heavily on my skin. And all the reviews were so good!

Not to mention its full of SPF which makes it make you look like a ghost in flash photos!!!

Ziegfeldgirl27

Has anyone ever noticed that Benefit is basically cutesy sort of "highlighting" products - they have hardly any base products? They have foundation sticks and that Hello Flawless Oxygen foundation, but I think that's it?

doriansmith

I really like They're Real, have re-purchased it a couple of times.

I hated Hypnose Drama, find it really clumpy & useless.

Aveda shampoos/conditioners are the most expensive beauty mistake I've made. Have tried their Shampure & the ones for coloured hair & found them both absolutely useless. Ridiculously expensive & I despised the smell of Shampure too.

Benefit High Beam & That Gal too. That Gal just doesn't do anything at all, I can't see anything when I put it on.

charlietheminxx

Urban Decay naked skin foundation. No coverage, made me so shiny and wore off within 2 hours!

Such a shame as I am generally a slave to urban decay but would never bother with their foundations now.

dee_mc

Another Benefit one: You Rebel. I'm not a fan of tinted moisturisers in general but absolutely hated this particular one Very greasy and changed colour after about half an hour, awful stuff.
Playsticks is very heavy and mask-like (although i still bought it for a time because the shade suited my skintone perfectly), it's horrendously bad value too - very small amount of product for a fairly steep price.
Hate their mascara, and any Lancome one I've tried - it's hard to get a decent waterproof mascara!
I do like some of their products though - I like BadGal waterproof eyeliner better than any other pencil eyeliner I've tried, and I use Sugarbomb and Hoola although I prefer Bobbi Brown blush. Also liked one of their perfumes, 'Gina - My place or yours', I wore it for about a year - adorable packaging too

paulers06

Another one for Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. Colour is quite yellow and just made me look wrecked. Awful stuff.

Daisy78

Clockwork Owl wrote: »

Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair isn't doing much at all to my skin thus far. Such a shame, as I'd heard the stuff was supposed to be excellent.

Try their resilience night cream instead. ..its amazing, I found it much more effective than the night repair.

Stepping Stone

Another Benefit product. I bought the They're Real Push Up Liner (I love the mascara) and it is a nightmare. It is difficult to control how much is actually coming out, so I ended up with clumps on top of my lashes, it is more like a tick paste than a gel, combined with the rubber applicator means that it drags your skin, not glides on. I don't know if I picked up a dud or not, cos it seems to be getting rave reviews but mine is a disaster. You can forget thin or even sharp lines too. Grrr

Dark Phoenix

Daisy78 wrote: »

Try their resilience night cream instead. ..its amazing, I found it much more effective than the night repair.

or the perfectionist serum (purple bottle). Got a decent sample of it recently an it was great found it way better than the advanced night repair

Ilyana 2.0

Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24h Foundation broke me out terribly, my skin ended up worse than it had been in months. And that was only after using a tester. The pale shades are awful too. So glad I never invested in a bottle.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Foaming Gel cleanser - rather than unblocking my pores, it left my skin in an absolute state. It was such a shame as I normally love LRP products.

Cocoa Brown Night and Day false tan - the Night shade was great on me, and the Day tan faded to nothing!

MAC Studio Fix foundation - I was badly matched, and the orange, patchy, greasy complexion I was left with has put me off Studio Fix for life.

Sleek Blush in Coral - it seemed lovely until I had a breakout, and it started to cling to every blemish, streaking terribly.

NARS Sheer Matte foundation gets no love from me either, after I realised how badly it was oxidising. So disappointing!