Disappointing Beauty Products: Don’t Believe the Hype

In the interest of balance, I want to keep you all updated on beauty products that not only impress me, but also my most disappointing beauty products. I think that’s just as important and valuable to you guys.

In this blog post, I wanted to give you my view on hyped up beauty products, that disappointed me.

Disappointed: “sad or displeased because someone or something has failed to fulfil one’s hopes or expectations” (Google Dictionary). In other words, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the beauty products in this post are terrible :p

IT Cosmetics CC Cream 

I mean… it’s grand! Medium coverage, nice finish on application and contains broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection. But, like a lot of beauty products on this list, there was just TOO MUCH HYPE and so my hopes were high!

I have combination skin, dry with oily areas, and I found it to be a bit greasy looking on my oily bits. I felt it on my skin which was probably the SPF in it, and it didn’t do well in the heat, I found it breaking down after about 5 hours.

Vita Liberata Body Blur 

I was expecting unbelievable things from this Body Blur but it turned out just to be a nice, very expensive, instant tan. It didn’t have as much coverage as I thought it would and I would much prefer my beloved Rimmel Sun Shimmer BB Instant Tan which is a fraction of the price!

 

Bare by Vogue Instant Tan

I have written about the Bare by Vogue tanning range in detail here. Whilst overall I was impressed (the foam is STUNNING!), I was disappointed with the Instant Tan.

It gives the skin a gorgeous glow and smells incredible yes but I found the Dark shade to be more on the light to medium side and I would not pay €18 again for it! It is over priced in my opinion and I can’t see any real difference to Rimmel SunShimmer to justify the €11 price difference.

Luna by Lisa Jordan Leave-in Conditioner

I got sent the Luna Leave-in Conditioner before my trip to Marrakech which I am very grateful for but my hair didn’t enjoy it. I have a lot of hair and so it tangles easily. If I sprayed this on my hair any more than 4 times, it would feel not necessarily greasy but heavy and gritty as if there was residue on it. If I sprayed anything less than that, I may as well not have had anything in it at all.

I’ve seen so many people online rave about this but it did not suit my hair and, at €16, it’s not cheap either! One of my favourite detanglers costs about €6. You can read all about that here along with more beauty products that really work for me.

SoSu by Susan Jackson Hot Fire Eyeshadow Palette

I really like Suzanne, I’ve followed her since the beginning and love watching her building an empire for herself! And I actually LOVE her tan too… full review here. BUT…

I had such high hopes for the Hot Fire palette and was so disappointed. The colours themselves are perfect. If I was to create an eyeshadow palette, these are the shades I would pick, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of performance.

It swatches beautifully with my finger but when I apply it on the eye, it’s not very pigmented. I remember Suzanne saying on Snapchat she made it so that the colours were buildable rather than overly pigmented but I prefer a lot more colour pay-off from my eyeshadows.

Again, there are plenty of people with a lot of love for this palette. I just think Huda Beauty has set my standards too high! Read all about my Best and Worst Eyeshadows Palettes here.

Update: Suzanne has mentioned that they are working to remaster this palette! As I said the colours are perfection, if they align the formula to the SOSU X Keilidh Urban Bible Palette, this will be the perfect warm palette! I’m excited.

Revlon Uniq One Hair Treatment

I asked on Snapchat one day what the best leave-in hair conditioner was and so many people recommended the Revlon Uniq One Hair Treatment. When I went to order it, I seen they had a coconut version and so I ordered that one. You should know, I’m obsessed with the smell of coconuts, read some of my favourite coconut smelling products here.

Anyways, it didn’t suit my hair and I had all of the same issues with it as I had with the Luna spray above. Maybe the original (red) version is better but they’re supposed to be the same despite the scent.

P.S. it smelled more like plastic than coconuts 😀

Pixi Glycolic Acid Toner

The reviews about this toner on any beauty website are insane! I just didn’t notice a visible difference in my skin. It’s not cheap at around the €24 mark either. Aldi have released a rip off version/ dupe :p of this, and although I didn’t like the original, I’m still tempted to try it because it’s under €5!

Alpha-H Liquid Gold

Similar to the Pixi Glycolic Toner, I just didn’t notice a difference in my skin. The Alpha Q Liquid Gold is a resurfacing treatment and contains 5% glycolic acid (the same as the Pixi one). It’s a lot dearer though at just under €40 per bottle. Although my mam absolutely loves this (I gave mine to her!).

I think skincare is a hard one to review because it really does depend on people’s skin types and so many other factors. I think going forward, I’ll just avoid these glycolic acid products 😀

Chanel Soleil de Tan Bronzer

This. I just don’t know what it is about this that I just don’t like. Well I do actually… :p I find it ‘orangey’, hard to blend and heavy on my face. So many makeup artists swear by this and after spending nearly €40 on it, I was so disappointed!

Environ Skincare Range

I posted about this range on my Instagram recently and a lot of people agreed with me. I was so disappointed with Environ after spending nearly €300 on a skincare routine. The smell, the feel… I just didn’t like it.

In saying that, my consultation was unsatisfactory to say the least and I think that might have tainted my view of the products! I didn’t use them for long enough to say whether they were effective even. And, by all accounts, this is said to be one of the best skincare brands on the market! Even the Skin Nerd endorses it in her book (which is fantastic by the way)… and she knows what she’s talking about!

The Cleanse Off Mitt

I know, I know. I have a lot of respect for Jennifer Rock and the success she has built for herself. She’s so knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to skin care. There’s no doubt that she knows what she’s talking about but I didn’t like the Cleanse Off Mitt.

I found it was everything that they claimed it wasn’t. For example, they said it only needed water, was really soft and didn’t stain. My view is the opposite. I definitely needed a cleanser for my face to be clean. It was harsh on my eyes and it stained from the first use and those stains didn’t come off in the wash.

My favourite face cloths are the Human & Kind ones and the Penneys Clean Me Sets.

iWhite Teeth Whitening Strips

Again, I was sent these to try and we did not get on. I try to make my reviews as balanced as possible but I can’t think of a single positive thing to say about these.

The gumshield itself is tiny so it didn’t cover all of my teeth (only my front 6). The formula itself is a white cream/gel with tiny balls in it. The texture felt disgusting in my mouth and when I pushed my teeth into it, the gel spilled over the top of the gum shield. It also didn’t spread evenly onto my teeth (only partially covered them).

For €30, it’s more comfortable, quicker and effective to go have laser teeth whitening done. Read all about my experience here.

Don’t Believe the Hype… Do Your Research

I know for a fact there are people reading this saying… “WHAT, ARE YOU MAD… I LOVE THAT PRODUCT!” And that’s the point here. Not all products suit all people, especially when it comes to the likes of skincare.

Be mindful with your few bob, ask for samples and testers and don’t just buy something because it is being hyped up. Ask the person who is raving about it, what type of skin, hair, etc. they have. That will give you a better indication as to whether or not it would suit you. Also, ask the pros in the shops and read reviews online! I’m gone so obsessed with reading reviews, especially on Amazon :p

I hope you got some nuggets of wisdom from this post and, going forward, won’t want to buy everything that’s on board the hype train… like me :p

Thanks for reading pals.