Products I regret buying – 2014 recap

It was a bountiful make-up year for me, as I already mentioned in my first recap regarding the best products of 2014. But everyone makes mistakes and I'm no exception to the rule. So without further ado, here are the products that disappointed me the most in 2014. Again, I'm trying to keep this short, but I will include the link to my previous reviews regarding these products, if I already wrote them. 

Let's start with face products. 

 

The L'Oreal Mat Magique foundation I already talked about here. It is supposed to be a really mattifying foundation but it only lasted a couple of hours on my face before it started melting away and my face got oily again. I've tried it since with several different primers and fixing fluids, to no success. 

All-around concealer by Catrice seemed like a good, inexpensive option for the days when I actually take the time to color correct my face before I apply foundation. I chose this particular palette because I thought that it would be a good learning tool, but I find that the product is really difficult to blend (with fingers, beauty blender or with brush) and cakes on my face where I apply it. 

Bahama Mama was a big, big disappointment because I've heard so many bloggers go on and on about how it's a great contouring bronzer. I somehow managed to make it work when I had some tan from summer (read about that here) but now I just look like I've been rolling in the mud every time I attempt to use it. I am afraid that it is not meant for us fair-skinned folk, unless you are going for the Kardashian look on an everyday basis. 

As far as eye shadows go, I made two rather unsuccessful purchases this year, but the one that really left me down was the Maybelline Nudes palette. 

You can find the entire review over here, but if you don't feel like reading it, let me just say that half of the shadows in the palette are so bland and have such low pigmentation that they are useless and the other half are nothing special, really. You can find better palettes at Essence, Barry M or BH Cosmetics for half the price. 

Another fun chapter was my eyebrows and lashes. The biggest flop of the year regarding my high expectation and the high price of the product was undoubtedly the Benefit They're real mascara. This mascara is so wet that it's impossible to apply without getting those spidery lashes and what's even worse – it's absolutely impossible to get off. Apparently, it comes with a special remover for this particular formula but I did not bother buying that so I could spend as long as 5 minutes rubbing the stuff off and still wake up next day with panda eyes. 

I was really disappointed with the e.l.f. primer and sealer because it is so dry that it is impossible to distribute in a normal manner on the eyelid. I have tried the fluid version of the e.l.f. primer and love it, though, so I would definitely recommend it. 

Another e.l.f. product that was not up my alley was the Eyebrow kit in #D36. It comes with a darker cream formulation and a lighter powder but none of these two really worked for my eyebrows and had almost no staying power. The story was quite different with the Rimmel Brow this way (001 – blonde) which was very pigmented (I am sorry, I know the swatch below looks like something pooped on my hand, but oh well, you get the picture) but the spoolie was SO incredibly large that it was impossible to maneuver normally around the eyebrow and not go over the edges about 10 times. I could probably use it with a brush but I just cannot be bothered with the mess. 

Two brushes that I already had a rant about are the e.l.f. professional bronzing brush (which does nothing professionally other than leave the bristles all over the place) and the Essence Smokey eye brush (which also sheds and leaves color). Fortunately, they cost next to nothing so I won't feel bad when I toss them in the trash. 

For nail polishes, I had a hard time choosing the biggest disappointment since there were quite a few this year, but I must say that the ones that probably left me most frustrated were the Make-up Revolution polishes below – you can see the swatches here.

This formula really is nothing to write home about – it's bland and doesn't apply evenly, but what is most frustrating to me is that I need three coats to make it presentable which inevitably means that I can expect chipping in 3,2,1… I will not purchase more polishes from this line although the colors are very beautiful and unique. 

Last but not least are the lip products. Again, I tried to bring it down to the ones that were absolutely unsatisfactory and leave out those which are just… meh. 

I Heart Makeup lip combo named Yesterday's favorite is a beautiful red matte lipstick on one side but it’s so matte that it cannot be worn without a lip gloss. I love the idea of the gloss on the other side (sort of a 2 for 1 deal and very practical indeed), but it contains so much shimmer that it would only be manageable for some sort of photo shoot or something, not for everyday wear. 

I’m not sure what I was thinking when purchasing the Rimmel Apocalips in Nude eclipse, but obviously I didn’t take enough time to really check out the swatches on internet. This color may be nude on someone’s lips, but I could as well use it as a concealer because it’s more skin-toned than anything else. Toss. 

Last up we have the Catrice Ultimate shine in 270 (What’s AP-ricote). The formula itself is nice, very soft and quite long lasting, but the color was just off for me – not pigmented enough to be orange, not light enough to be coral with orange tones – just a very unflattering color in all. 

What were your biggest disappointments of 2014? Let me know below!

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!

 

The Balm products review

I admit I have been spending quite a lot of money lately. One of the brands that really caught my eye was The Balm, which is available throughout USA in most drugstores and in larger EU online stores, but guess what – you can also get most of the products in Slovenia through Licila.si. So I picked up three products, all of them for my face – Sexy Mama Anti-shine translucent powder, Bahama Mama bronzer, shadow & contour powder and Mary-Lou Manizer.

The first thing I can say is that the packaging of all three products is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Both Sexy Mama and Bahama Mama are in nice cardboard packages which I was quite anxious about, but it turns out they are very sturdy. There is a magnet in the lid, but I’m still not convinced it could take a lot of travel. But they will probably spend their lifetime in my bathroom so it's OK by me. The Mary-Lou Manizer comes in a plastic compact with a nice big mirror and it closes up really well, so I wouldn't worry about its lifespan. 

First up, let's talk about the product I have wanted to get for quite some time and also mentioned it in my Highlighters and illuminators post – the Mary-Lou Manizer. First let's just sit back for a moment and admire how beautiful it looks (don't mind the speck on the mirror though – it didn't really show up in real life but looks kind of horrible in the photo). 

When I first swatched it I was afraid it was going to be a bit too shimmery but in fact it's easy to put on (either tap it with your fingers along your cheekbone or use a brush) and even easier to blend in to the point where it's more or less invisible except for the slight illumination. 

This is definitely not a highlighter and can't be used all over the face (well, it can, but I wouldn't do that if I were you). I must say that I've gotten used to the liquid highlighters so much that it's quite different to use a powder – the Mary-Lou Manizer is so pigmented that you barely have to touch the brush to the pan to get enough for one side of the face. This means that this product will be with me for a long, long time. 

Next, let's take a look at the Bahama Mama bronzer. As said, the packaging is cardboard and I'm not too crazy about the orange color around the mirror to be quite honest. 

This definitely is a product which will be more appropriate for summer season because it's darker than any other bronzer I own and so pigmented it's not exactly simple to get it right. It did take me quite a few tries to get it perfect – in the end I opted for a smaller, less dense brush and it came out looking ok, whereas before I only looked like I was rolling in the mud. I don't think I could get away with using this as an everyday bronzer because my skin is quite fair, but it's a perfect contour as far as I'm concerned. 

Last but not least, let's discuss the Sexy Mama Anti-shine translucent powder. For some reason, I thought this would also act as a loose powder and not be just a setting powder, but whatever. 

Again, the packaging is super cute and it's a product I would gladly bring along with me during the day to touch up whatever party is happening on my face. But guess what – I don't have to. I've had a few very stressful days and although I was running around like crazy this powder kept me looking like a sexy mama all day (well – except I don't really think of myself as sexy, and I'm not a mama, but still). So not a shiny spot in sight, which basically means the product does what it promises to do and that's good enough for me. At least I'll be able to reach for my e.l.f. HD powder less and consequently maintain my bathroom in better order, but that's a case for another day and time. 

You can get all of the products mentioned at Licila.si at very reasonable prices which are not much different as in the States. I would definitely recommend Sexy Mama and Mary-Lou Manizer to everyone, but if you're looking for a light everyday bronzer, perhaps Bahama Mama isn't the one for you. 

Have you tried any of these products or other ones from The Balm? Are there any you'd recommend to me?

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome.