I have quite the collection of makeup. Let's face it, I probably have a small store's worth in my room. I love makeup, and I love how I can get into my creative side with different colors and looks. I also love watching YouTube videos about makeup, which can be damaging to my wallet.
Although I have found so many products through YouTube that I absolutely love, there have been a few that I wasted my money on. These are those products that did not work for me, and that I would not recommend to anyone looking to purchase their next favorite piece.
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1. Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss
Sonia Kashuk products are only available at Target. I have a few of her products and although I love them, I'm not a fan of this one. I bought this product after seeing Hillary Scott from the country group Lady Antebellum wearing one on the red carpet. After a video broke down the products on her face, I ran out and bought the shade 'Ravishing Rose', a bright rosy-pink color. This product was NOT cheap for drugstore, ringing up at $9 before tax. When I got home, I tried this lipgloss on and I was immediately disgusted. The consistency was incredibly goopy, and it smeared across my lips incredibly streaky. It was so pigmented, that you noticed every little application imperfection. It almost reminded me of trying to apply a lipstick that was made for a child. The formula was so incredibly thick, that my lips stuck together whenever I tried to talk or even so much as opened my mouth. I returned it the next day for a full refund. While Sonia has some incredible products, this lipgloss is a no-go if you don't like streaky, thick paint all over mouth that accentuates every single thing on your lips.
2. Gerard Cosmetics Lip Glosses
I swear every single YouTuber, from Jaclyn Hill to Carli Bybel to Nicole Guerriero, raved about these glosses. They looked insanely beautiful on video and when applied, it was so smooth. Plus it has the right amount of pigmentation, so you could wear them alone and still have ample color. I immediately took one of my paychecks and purchased a bundle of five glosses. Originally these products cost a whopping $24 each (more than Urban Decay glosses which are actually decent). I actually ended up using a YouTuber's coupon code to shave off 40-percent off of my order. I was so excited to get these home, until I got them and saw what was inside. These products are just like the Sonia Kashuk glosses, but even more goopy. I could see every single crevice and dry patch on my lips when I used one of these. The applicator was too hard to evenly deposit product. So it ended up just streaking everywhere and left you with a line of disgusting feeling gel outside of your lip line. Unfortunately, me being a clueless consumer, I continued to see the ads online and I went and purchased five more glosses, this time bold colors instead of the five nudes I originally picked. Same situation. I had to toss $240 worth of lipgloss in the trash, and I learned my lesson. I do not like overly pigmented lipgloss, and this type of formula was absolutely dreadful on my mouth.
3. NYX Love In Paris Eyeshadow Palette in Merci Beaucoup
I used to be insanely attracted to pink eyeshadow, and when I saw this on a beauty vlogger's NYX haul video, I picked it up immediately. At around $10 for nine eyeshadows, I felt like this was a decent bargain from a brand that I absolutely adore. These shadows had absolutely NO pigmentation whatsoever. They blend well, but that's because there is nothing there to blend. The palette has quite a variety of tones, yet when I dig it out and use it, I come out with the same look every single time. I know NYX is capable of creating awesome eyeshadows (their Butt Naked palette came out before this and it's great quality), so I was truly shocked when these shadows did not perform the way I hoped they would. There are other varieties in this line that I haven't tried, however I have no desire to. With brands like Milani and even other NYX palettes killing the game, there isn't a need for anyone to have to deal with subpar eyeshadow.
4. Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette
I said it, I like pink eyeshadows. Even though I own Urban Decay Naked 3, I saw this in a Maybelline video and was drawn to the pretty packaging and rosy tones. This is the only palette I have tried from Maybelline's "The Nudes" line, and I'm truly disappointed. The light shades should be condensed into one color, because they all look the same on the lid (and I always use an eyeshadow primer before application). The darker colors are okay, but they still tend to muddy up on my lid and crease once I begin to blend it all together. The texture is chalky. The shadows are pressed very hard into the pans, so even getting pigment onto your brush can be a pain in the neck. This palette cost me around $10, and for the quality it, it's not even worth $2. Wet n Wild eyeshadows, which cost one-fifth of this palette, perform 10 times better than anything this palette has to offer. Save your money, invest in some Wet n Wild or Milani palettes, and don't even bother with this line. Life is too short to blend for a half hour only to have every bit of pigment literally disappear.
5. L'Oréal Voluminous Miss Manga Rock Mascara
I love my lashes to look fake, and on the recommendation of Casey Holmes, I tried this mascara. I have never felt so application-challenged in my life. This formula is the wettest formula I have ever put on my eyelashes. It was like ink; it would go on and then literally stain any skin it touched. My lashes clumped together within one stroke of the wand, and I spent more time wrestling with a lash comb and half dried lashes than I did getting dressed. I would end up with one giant eyelash, which is not a cute look on me. I think I purchased this mascara for $7 at my local Wal-Mart, so it wasn't much of a loss, but this was a huge dud. The regular Voluminous is so much better and so much easier to work with.
6. Maybelline Brow Drama Brow Sculpting Gel
This was advertised to death when it first came out. I had been looking for a cheap tinted brow gel that matched my hair, so I took a gamble on this. I love the formula of this product, but what the heck is up with that weird applicator? If your brows are that big, kudos to you my friend, because this just makes a MESS of my eyelashes, eyelids, and anywhere else this weird ball decides to deposit product. For brow products, you want a small applicator so you can precisely deposit product where you need it deposited. This is cumbersome and time consuming, which is exactly what you don't want in the morning when you're rushing out the door. This does have great pigment, and it holds my brow hairs down all day, but what good is a product when you can't get it on you without looking like you have chocolate all over your forehead (or in my case, my fivehead)? I do not recommend wasting your time or your $9 on this whatsoever.
