The Products I Didn't Like

As someone who is a self proclaimed beauty lover and has had Platinum and Rouge memberships between Ulta and Sephora for years, I've tried a lot of products...I've also gotten to try a lot because of my job. There's something nostalgic too about looking back on old products I used! Thankfully, products I've loved out weigh the ones I didn't. And after this post, they can move onto a good home!

When trying new things, I usually either start with a sample or if I have the full size, I give it a handful of tries before I decide if it stays or goes. If I don't like it, the review usually appears on my stories on Instagram in some dramatic fashion. I change my mind on products for multiple reasons, just like anyone! It could be ingredients, it's not for my skin type, the application/wear wasn't for me, etc. Or worst of all, I break out...*coughs* Clinique *coughs*

The Smashbox Photofinish Primer is still one of Smashbox's best selling products and for the life of me I can't understand why. It's basically a tube of silicone. It's meant to smooth the surface of the skin for a more even complexion to prep for foundation. However, if you have little to zero texture, this is going to slip off your face and so is your foundation. I tried it several times but after working with such a silicone texture when I love a cream base typically, I grew to hate this. The concept is there but the ingredients aren't my cup of tea.

Still on the primer side, Milk Makeup's Blur Stick is another popular one that I have tried and tried to make work in multiple ways (application directly to skin or warming it up on my fingers and pressing it in). But regardless, it does nothing. I see no difference when it comes to using this. My pores are still there! Although I love Milk, I sometimes wonder if sticks are really the best way to go.

Even though I own a lot of foundations, I've always wished I could find a Nars foundation that would suit my skin. I hoped for the best in the Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation because it ticked all my boxes description wise. But my experience through all day wear? Horrendous. It was AWFUL. I remember I changed primers a couple times and switched between using a brush and a sponge. Application was perfect but hours later...it had broken up all over my skin, pulling that weird screen-like finish where I could see my skin through the foundation. I've held onto this purely for this post but I can't wait to toss it, even though my coworkers love it. What gives?

Giving Clinique a chance was a big step for me because I normally stay far away from the "dermatologist tested" brand *eye roll* I had high, high hopes based off the hype of the Clinique Take the Day Off Balm but after a week of using it, new spots continued to pop up along my jaw and my chin. Realizing it was this, I quickly passed it on and said bye! The same result came from the iconic Moisture Surge. It now lives in a container for the next person who can trust Clinique.

Another well hyped product that I didn't see myself repurchasing anytime soon was Glossier's Solution. A liquid exfoliator at the end of the day, this chemical exfoliant was a tad too gentle on my skin for me to notice any difference. I'd only ever repurchase it as a morning cleanse but there's so many other liquid exfoliators out there beggging for my attention that I don't see that happening anytime soon! Packaging was good, price is v affordable for a product like this, but not my favorite Glossier product.

I always say mascara would be one thing I would bring on a desert island with me so I'll always have my lashes looking fierce as I wait to be saved. After trying almost every mascara, two I don't wish to revisit come from Marc Jacobs and Nars. Katie Jane Hughes and Allana Davison make the Velvet Noir look effortless upon application and their lashes like HELLO but mine? Clumpy, not volumnized, and a little sad. However, being a wet formula, I've used it here and there to let it dry out some. But if I layer it over Glossier Lashslick (one of my true loves), everything's sound. Would I rush out to buy another one? Probably not. I was jazzed about Nars' new Climax mascara because Audacious (tbt) was not audacious tbh. The new soft fat wand was screaming my name and the packaging was everything to me. The result? A dry af mascara that did barely anything to my lashes. I tried and tried to build it up which resulted in nothing. I feel like mine dried out pretty quickly which cut our time short but after that experience, I'm hesitant to try it again.

I'm sure I could reach back in my head and Beauty Insider account and go over old stuff too that I never repurchased but I won't keep you here. I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the few things that weren't my favorite things! And now I can get rid of some of them now that there's a photo for this post lol.