2015 Product Disappointments

Hey! It's a little too "late" to do a "2015" series because we're officially edging towards the end of January. In my defense, I didn't plan on doing a product regrets / disappointment / fail post this year. Why? Well, there were several products that didn't work out the way that they should. Some of them had issues with their performances, others were simply not suiting me. Instead of waiting a whole year, I am thinking to make this more of a quarterly feature. Let's see how that pans out!

Okay, a little clarification on what I am about to show you now. These are not 'bad' products per se, but failed to deliver well as per their claims and my expectations. Some of these get rave reviews from bloggers & vloggers. This is not meant to be a brand-bashing post either. You are welcome to try these out for yourself, if you wish so :-) Just read the following words of caution before you invest in any of these:

Some of you might be surprised by what I have here. Let's have a closer look at the what's, why's, how's, shall we?

Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara - I spent my year trying to find a good replacement of They're Real by Benefit. Ideally, I wanted to grab a mascara that's cheaper in price point, but works well on the days when I don't want to 'waste' good mascara. Please tell me I am not the only one who does that, haha! Anyway, I had read reviews on how Thick & Fast by S&G is a no-nonsense type of mascara with standard bristles brush that work well for an everyday look. The formulation of the mascara was thinner than my liking and it would take a while for it to dry. With sparse lashes and hooded lids, it would always cause some transfer and smudging on the upper eye area. The wetness from the mascara caused my lashes to fall limp - just how water or moisture messes up your hair straightening (my curly hair sisters will be nodding in unison on this. We will fight together for a cure of that -_-), the lash curl loses its shape if the formulation of mascara is a very wet one. Moreover, it runs at the slightest hint of water. I once made a mistake of splashing my face with water while I was wearing this. It bled and ran on my face in black streaks. Sorry to the next person who entered the Ladies' Restroom  and saw me recreating bloody mary's look, you were scarred for life, I believe :-P In short, a big No to this from my side.

NARS Illuminator in Super Orgasm - It was the hardest for me to put this one up here. I have a love-hate relationship with this. It is one of those things that you hold very dear because it's expensive and find different ways to make it work for you. My bestie, F, is a highlighter junkie and that is the ONLY makeup item she wears/likes. She was a big fan of e.l.f. Shimmering Facial Whip and wanted something higher end in a liquid form with warmer undertones to use it as highlighter + tint for cheeks. Since she was fixated on it being a liquid and there were rave reviews about NARS Illuminators along with the swatch pictures, we chose Super Orgasm. The first time I swatched, it was a tad too glittery with no tint or peach-pink color. My friend is a cool-toned NW15. She applied a couple of times with fingers and felt the same. It vanished, leaving visible chunks of glitter. On her sister, however, NC35 this looked more flattering, but did not last well. Over time, its consistency changed to being more liquid-y. She passed it onto me to use and finish. I tried incorporating it in my routine, but couldn't bring myself to like it beyond the swatch. With great sadness, had to pass this on. I have heard great things of Copacabana Illuminator, but I am wary of trying that out after this fiasco.

Essence Get Big Lashes Triple Black Mascara - I am a big fan of Essence mascaras. They truly deliver a variety of options in a cheap price tag. Get Big series was an overall favorite for me. The grey one in the same collection had a great brush shape and performed very nicely. It may have been discontinued now since I haven't spotted it in kiosks for quite some time. This purple version with seemingly 'tiple black' claims became a part of my stash last year. My biggest beef with it is that flat top of the brush. It causes the mascara to deposit in a thick layer every time you take the wand out. You would have no choice, but to rub it on the tube's opening. It makes the mascara to dry out and lose a lot of product. Even if you try to clean the tip of the wand, there will be some of it left and if you have smaller eyes or an unsteady hand, this will not get to the inside corner of the lashes to apply a coat nicely. If you're not careful, there is a huge probability of it smudging all around. Not good. A total toss :-/

Pantene Oil Replacement Nature Fusion Mask - This is an after-shampoo mask version of the Oil Replacement serums/leave-in conditioners that Pantene introduced in Pakistan. As I mentioned previously, I am very enthusiastic about the damage control/reversal hair masks and this didn't cost much for a decent-sized jar, so I got it from Hyperstar in one of the grocery trips. For the first couple of washes, I did not feel any difference in my hair immediately after using it. I changed the shampoo and followed instructions written on the back. Sometimes used it after oiling my hair, other times simply a two-day-old wash. Still, nothing noticeable. The only difference that it made was after oiling and that was ironic - so much for being an 'oil replacement' -_- It simply was an added step, nothing else. I did finish this completely, but would never repurchase or recommend it to others.

Bare Minerals Try.Believe.Love Starter Kit - This was a great value deal, to begin with. Even though the sizes were tiny, it did have a good selection of different products for you to try. I am not comfortable with the 'loose' mineral makeup. I keep feeling like I'd spill it around. The two brushes from the set were decent. They were too small, but that could work for travel purposes and just as a handy thing to keep in your bag for touch-ups. I remember gingerly opening the Original foundation and the Concealer. It sounded weird that a powder concealer would work just as well as the cream/liquid/stick versions, but I gave it a shot to be utterly disappointed by the crumbly and powdery texture. The foundation itself was patchy, with no coverage whatsoever. Wearing these products in summers became a nightmare when my skin would sweat and the patches would become more prominent as this stayed atop my face & pores. It was unsavoury to look / feel. These had to go. I am not too sure if BareMinerals will ever attract me. May be next time I shall visit Sephora and test their products instead of online ordering.

Boots Henna Intensive Hair Treatment - I have read reviews that highly recommend using Intensive Hair Treatment series from Boots. This particular one for the color damage took my fancy and I purchased it from Al-Fatah, Lahore. For the price, you get a decent amount of product, so if you see in terms of value - this definitely is a good bargain. The first few times after using it, I imagined my hair being... ummm... "squeaky". To elaborate the feeling, the wet hair would not feel smooth or soft. Instead, they'd be harder in texture and would feel like how your hair are after a session in the swimming pool or perhaps after cleansing your hair with a strong shampoo. It was surprising that a 'mask' would give off the same feel. I let that not make me biased and continued using this till it was almost 50% consumed. Beyond the squeaky wet hair, the texture and strands felt no improvement with different combinations of shampoos along with the Boots Hair Treatment. It's still in my cupboard as a timeout. Not sure if I will ever get back to this.

Catrice Liquid Metal Eyeshadow in Can You Sea Me - It photographs beautifully! Like a forest-green beauty. It will mesmerize you with its texture and color, no doubt. Will it perform just as well? Nope. The Liquid Metal eyeshadow range from Catrice is pretty darn great. I have tried a few metallic shades and their pigmentation and longevity were amazing. I grabbed Evoblution and Can You Sea Me in a grocery trip because they looked so very exquisite and there were no testers. When swatched, both the shades felt somewhat powdery and harder in texture. Although I am not a big fan of Evolution as well, but the Can You Sea Me was way more disappointing. It swatches differently than what it looks in the pan. The swatch was more black with a tinge of green. Perhaps a good variant for smokey eyes, but that's not what I got this one for. The pigment was harder to pick up with a brush and consequently, it applied poorly on the lid. I strongly recommend that you swatch the testers before purchasing because even though it had a cheaper price tag, it was majorly disappointing for me to not have that ultimate green that I wanted.

That's all, folks! The products that became a major disappointments of 2015. As I said before, the list goes on... and I will continue to share them more frequently, if anything were to fall EXTREMELY short of its claims on me.

What products did you buy due to the hype and found them to be a dud? Let me know in the comments below <3

Cheers,

Bia