Twenty-Five Days of Beauty- High End Makeup Product Fails

DAY FOUR OF THE TWENTY-FIVE DAYS OF BEAUTY 

HIGH END MAKEUP PRODUCTS I REGRET BUYING

As a self-professed beauty junkie, I buy and test new products frequently, trying to find the best of best. However, there are times when a product just does not cut it and does not live up to their claims. This post is to not meant to trash a product or a brand. This post is to show that some products just do not and that is ok. These products may work for you and if they do, that is great; however, for me, these products were major fails.

Bare Minerals “Well Rested” Loose 

Under Eye Brightener

$19.00/0.07 oz

This product is advertised as a “mineral-based powder miracle concealer and eye shadow base.” This product, specifically the shade “Well Rested” is considered a beauty-cult favorite. Everyone was raving that this product was the perfect undereye setting powder. They claimed it was full coverage and since it is yellow-toned, it instantly will brighten the undereye.

WRONG! This product DOES NOT like my skin. I tried this powder will all types of concealers and foundations and I still end up with the same result. First, even when I tap off any excess powder from my brush, the powder sticks to the concealer immediately and does not move or blend out. When I do try to blend it out, it literally moves and removes the makeup underneath. The longer I wore this powder, my undereye gradually became more and more dry and cakey. Because of this, you could see the product building in every crease on my face.

I use this product now as an eyeshadow lid color.

MAC “Luna” Cream Color Base

$22.00/1.2 oz

When hi-lighting because a big thing over the year, my first stop for hi-lighting options was MAC. I asked for the best hi-lighting base, where I could apply a powder hi-lighter on top for a long wear. I was guaranteed that this product was everything plus more. 

Once again, WRONG! When applying a cream hi-lighting base, I either apply it with my finger by dabbing it on the highest points of my check bones or use a duo-fiber brush. This product is so thick that I could barely get any product off on my finger or brush. When I able to pick up product, the cream immediately clumped and was impossible to dab and/or blend on my skin. When I tried, it picked up and moved my makeup or applied in a 3-D clumpy effect. This also occurred when I tried to use the product as a eyeshadow base.

I no longer use this product.

Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Concealer

$25.00/ 0.58 oz

As you might be able to tell by now, I am a huge fan of Kat Von D makeup so when this concealer cam out, I was beyond excited to try it and had high hopes for it. It claims that it is a highly-pigmented, full-coverage, transfer and water resistant concealer. Sounds like the perfect concealer, right? WRONG! This product dried out my undereyes so bad that I looked as though I aged 10 years. It looked liked it created new creases in my eyes and it looked as if skin was going to peel off any second. A concealer SHOULD not be this thick. The pigmentation is great and could definitely cover any discoloration, however, the dryness it causes it not worth the money. 

I absolutely do not use this product under my eyes. The only use I found with this product is to use it to clean up my eyebrows.

Sephora Bright Set Loose Finishing Powder 

in Banana 01

$16.00/0.08 oz

I was browsing through the Sephora website and came across this powder. I immediately put it in my basket thinking that it might be an inexpensive alternative to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Banana setting powder. My excitement turned to disappointment before even using the product. The loose powder comes in a container with a shifter to control the amount of product that comes out. The shifter is three of the tiniest holes I have every seen and no product comes out now matter how hard you shake it. I literally cracked open the container and placed the powder in a another clean container I had on my vanity.

This product is horrible. This is NOT a dupe for ANY kind of banana shade setting powder. On my kin, when I applied this product, it immediately oxidized and turned dark. The powder also did not apply evenly under the eyes which always made my makeup look sloppy. 

I do not use this product at it. It sits in a drawer.

Benefit’s Fake Up Undereye Hydrating Concealer

$24.00/0.82 oz

I was intrigued when this product first came out and had high hopes. Basically this concealer has a moisturizing outer layer with the actual concealer in the middle. It claims that the concealer is enriched with vitamin E and will control creasing, hide dark circles and diffuse fine line for a smooth and natural look. 

Based on their claims, I thought this concealer was made for me as sometimes my undereyes tend to be very dry (especially in the winter). After giving this product a fair shot, testing it out for months and in different weather climate, basically this concealer did the complete opposite of its claims. 

The stick packaging was great and the product went on smoothly, however, this concealer creased on me from the start, even after immediately setting it with a powder. Since the concealer is surrounded by a layer of moisturizer the concealer is quite light, therefore, none of my underage discoloration was covered. Throughout the day, the concealer continued to look worse and worse. Even with “baking” the setting powder, using a thicker setting powder, adding more of the concealer, nothing works. 

To not waste money, I have actually tried using this as a lip balm base to give a moisturizing layer to my lips while slightly concealing the color of the lip color prior to apply a colored lip balm for everyday looks.