As a beauty blogger, I try a lot of products every year. There are of course going to be some I love and some that miss the mark. Not every single new release can be amazing and wonderful. However, it is worth noting that sometimes, things that don’t work for me, might be holy grail for another and vice versa. With that in mind, I have gone through all of the products I tried and tested this year and I have picked out my most disappointing products.
Victoria Beckham Highlighter
I had such high hopes for this highlighter. I lusted after it from the moment I saw it and was absolutely chuffed when The Loop gifted it to me. Alas, this love affair was not to be as I just did not get on well with the VB highlighter.
First off the packing is beautiful and it comes in a fairly substantial compact with a decent size mirror. There is also quite a lot of the highlighter, so for those that love it, they won’t be running out of it anytime soon.
The colour of the highlighter in the pan is very golden. Normally I am a fan of a golden highlighter but this was a little too peachy gold for me. When swatched it looks beautiful and creamy but the problem for me was when I applied it to my face. No matter what brush I used, I found it very hard to blend and found that it just sat on top of my skin. It gave a very obvious streak of colour rather than a glow to the skin. To be fair, if you’re of a darker skin tone than me, you might not find this an issue but it really just did nothing for me.
Would I have a different review if this retailed at €20 rather than huge money that Estee Lauder were charging for this highlighter, ( I can’t find the exact price but it was around the €65 mark). I don’t know! What I do know is it just isn’t good enough in my opinion for the price tag they are charging.
Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter and Glow – Smouldering Satin
Anyone who follows me on snapchat will know my absolute love and obsession with the Stila Magnificent metals in the shade Kitten Karma. It is one of my most used products of 2017. So you would think when I loved that shade and the formula so much, I wouldn’t be featuring another shade in my disappointing products post.
Here is the thing. Not all of these liquid eyeshadows are created equal. It seems that while some shades are unreal. Others really are not. For me the big fail of the shades that I have tried, has to be smouldering satin.
The problem with smouldering satin is not the shade itself, as the colour is beautiful . But the fact that there is huge fall out. Normally I can get over fall out but with smouldering satin, it turns my face into one big glitter ball mess. As the formula is designed to stay on the lids, when smouldering satin falls, it sticks to the face and underneath eyes and does not budge. I have gotten to the point that I just can’t wear it anymore. That being said there are plenty more colours in the range that are incredible and it you haven’t already bought Kitten Karma, I throughly recommend it. You can buy it from Cult beauty here.
Maybelline push Up Angel Mascara
When it comes to mascara, I look for length, Volume and an easy to use wand. Unfortunately the Maybelline Push Up Angel mascara gave me none of these.
The wand is rather strange and one I just couldn’t get to grips with using. No matter how many times I tried it, I felt like the brush was pulling at my lashes but yet still giving me no length or volume. Normally Maybelline do great mascaras but this to me was just not great for my lashes.
Huda Beauty Mauve Obsessions
I bought the Huda Warm Obsessions palette last October and absolutely loved everything about it. Since I loved that palette so much, I went out and bought the Mauve obsessions palette thinking I would feel the same but nope, I really don’t like this at all.
First off there are two extra shimmer shadows in this palette compared to the warm toned palette and personally I don’t find the shimmer shadows amazing. I find that they are hard to apply and no matter if you use your fingers or a brush, they are very hard to actually get onto your lid. They also feel a bit gritty on the lid when applying them.
The mattes are lovely in texture. They apply well and they wear well. My problem is that the shadows are fair more pink toned than mauve and I look like I have a dodgy eye when I wear them. I know this won’t be the case for a lot of people but for me I really was so disappointed with the palette and I think it is going to be passed onto my teenage cousin. At 14 she can get away with the mad looking colours!!
Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick – Underage red
This lipstick breaks my heart. Underage red, is the most beautiful matte fire engine red colour but it is beyond dry. It literally sucks every single last drop of moisture out of your lips and becomes very uncomfortable. Initially I thought this was because my lips were a little on the dry side when I first started to wear it but I gave it a few more goes and each time I had the same problem. It really is an awful shame because it is really long lasting, doesn’t feather or move and it looks gorgeous! If you do still want to give it a go You can buy it from Debenhams here for €21.
Too Faced Born This Way foundation
As much as foundation is a subjective thing and what works for one might not work for another, I really did not like this foundation at all.
This is a medium full coverage foundation that people claim give you a satin finish. It is oil free. SPF free and long wearing. You can see why I bought it as it sounds amazing. Unfortunately on my skin, it was a disaster.
When I first applied the foundation it looked beautiful. It was glowy, looked flawless on the skin and gave great coverage. But the problems began about an hour after application. After a while it began to set in every single pore and line on my face. It clung to dry patches I didn’t even know were there and gave me the mother of all Magnum PI tashes. I wouldn’t mind but I get regular waxes! It also felt extremely uncomfortable on my skin . It felt heavy and drying and I had to take it off as soon as I got home. I have tried it a few times since, with a few different methods of applications and primers but I always have the same problem.
I feel that for a teen or someone in their early 20s whose skin is at it’s peak collagen production, this foundation may be amazing but on my skin it really was an epic fail.
Kevin Murphy Bedroom hair
The Kevin Murphy bedroom hair launched earlier this year with a lot of hype. It is a texturising hairspray that is said to add shine and hold to give you that dishevelled lived in look. I had high hopes for this one, as I know some people seem to have had genuine success with it but for me it was not to be.
I have tried a few different ways of using this spray but each time I did, it left my hair feeling heavy and almost like it was dirty and in need of a wash. I found there was a very very fine line between spraying just the right amount that you could get away with using it. Or spraying that little bit too much, making your hair feel like a helmet.
Keep in mind that I have a massive amount of natural hair and I wear Gold Fever hair extensions so maybe my hair is just too much for this. Maybe someone with less hair than me might have a better shot with it but I have lots of other sprays that give me texture, shine and hold a lot better than this one I am afraid.
St Tropez spray tan
I am the first to admit that when it comes to tanning, I am by no means an expert. In fact I am the dodgiest self tanner going. My sister on the other hand is a pro. She knows her stuff when it comes to fake tan, so when it came to her wedding tan, she chose her life long favourite. St Tropez.
The whole wedding party went to the same salon for a spray tan and I think it is worth noting that this has nothing to do with the salon we went to, as they applied it perfectly and were the utmost professionals. The problem is 100% with the tan itself and not the salon.
My sister got married on a Saturday, so I got my tan done on the Thursday . I left it on over night and washed it the next morning. The colour once washed, I found to be quite orange. I thought nothing off it until my shower on the Saturday morning. When I moisturised my body after the shower, I looked like a scaly mess. The tan was coming off in huge patches! This had never happened me with a spray tan before. I patched myself up with some instant day for the wedding itself and got on with the day.
As the week progressed this tan wore off like nothing I have seen before. I was like a scaldy looking. I actually looked like I had skin issues. The tan was beyond patchy. It was like scales on my skin and no amount of moisturiser or in fact scrubbing it off would budge it. It took a full two weeks to get the last patch off. And it wasn’t just me. Both my mother and sister had similar problems.
I am rarely so scathing in what I say about a product, but I can’t find one good thing to say about this tan. I 100% believe the spray tan is different to the bottled one, as I know that one looks good and wears well.
No Comments