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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Wednesday Question (High-End Beauty Fails Edition)

Have you ever made a high-end beauty purchase that did not live up to your expectations? If so, were you able to return/exchange or swap the item? Or is it still in your stash to this day?

I'm usually pretty careful about my higher-end beauty purchases and I do a LOT of research before I commit to that high price tag. But I know that I've been disappointed by a few high-end purchases over the years (especially before I started reading beauty blogs). Many years ago, I purchased an expensive eye cream that I read about in a magazine and it ended up drying out the skin under my eyes (I wish I could remember the brand, but I only remember that it did the opposite of what it promised to do). I kept it though, and I have no idea why!
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28 comments

  1. I really wanted the It Cosmetics bye bye redness to work for me as I can get rather red in the cheeks and nose, but it only comes in one shade and I am quite pale. It just looked wrong every time I used it.. so sad. It's still kicking around in my stash.

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    1. This is mine as well - I really wanted it to work for me but it didn't cover anything and looked weird on my face because the color was off!

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  2. I just bought the mallys poreless primer and the concealer they where both disappointments to me the primer makes my skin oily and the concealer well leta just say my $2.99 L.A.Girl pro blows it out of the water

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  4. Almost all high-end foundations are fails for me. I have such acne-prone and sensitive skin that every foundation from high-end brands I've tried have made my skin worse. The only thing that's worked is the Physician's Formula Healthy Wear SPF 50 foundation. Not as much coverage as I'd like but better than nothing for sure!

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    1. Same here. Acme prone and very sensitive. I have to give my face a foundation break once or twice a week at least.

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  5. Both the Urban Decay Primer Potion and the Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Not that huge of a fan of either, and neither of them astound me with their performance.

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  6. A lot of high end mascaras I find so disappointing! There are most definitely a few greats, that are worth the price tag. But so many are no different than drugstore mascaras. I have a couple favorite mascaras from Rimmel that beat out many high end mascaras!! I get really tired of the claims that high end mascaras make, and they literally are just flakes. Bah!

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  7. I recently bought a Tarte concealer for $24 after reading rave reviews. It's OK but certainly not worth that amount of money and it works no better than the $6-$8 drugstore products I've tried. I didn't try to return it and will use it up, but consider it a lesson learned.

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  8. Chanel lipstick!!!! Oh I coveted them! I actually have several...I kept thinking that maybe "this one will be different". So many ladies seem to love them and to me they just end up as dry waxy blobs on my lips!!! So sad...over time I have taken some gorgeous drugstore shades with cheap packaging and trimmed off the bullet and replace it in the Chanel cases! Hahaha!

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  9. Yes! The Urban Decay Waterproof Cream eyeliner. For $22 I thought it would have been better than it is. It is not smudge proof and leaves me with raccoon eyes lol. It also dries out very fast.

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    1. I agree it's awful. Smudges to bad and so not waterproof!

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  10. Mac Nail Polish. It was the most expensive I'd bought, it was a splurge present to myself....and it chipped in 12 hours. Repeatedly. What a waste. My $1 Wet 'n' Wilds hold up better. (And let's not talk about how poorly I was treated in the store when I was buying it!)

    I gave it away to a friend - apparently, it's working better for her. But I'm never buying another Mac polish again.

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    1. Same here, MAC and Chanel nail polish...total waste! The only luxe np that is worth the extra $ (imo) is Deborah Lippmann. I also never got the hype surrounding the UDPP, never did a thing for my creasy, greasy lids. Best lid primers I've used so far are the WNW Fergie, and the Milani...both very affordable.

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  11. Smashbox Photo Finish Redness Correcting primer....what a waste, I'm using it because I just can't stand for $40 to go down the drain but it literally does NOTHING. As in, forget correcting redness, it's not even remotely discernible as a primer. I am pretty sure some mornings that they just put green dye in some cream and bottled it up.

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  12. I have a few things:

    Benefit Boi-ing concealer. It claims to be an "industrial-strength concealer," but it didn't really cover anything for me. It just made my foundation look cakey in the the areas where I applied it.

    Another Benefit product - Fake Up under-eye concealer. Again, I didn't feel like it did anything and it creased badly on me (probably because I have mostly oily skin).

    A Givenchy mascara (I can't remember which one) - it clumped pretty badly. Definitely not a good look!

    I'm not sure if it's considered high-end or not, but the Julep Blank Canvas eyeshadow primer is gross. I like my eyeshadow primers to dry clear, but the Julep is super thick and more like a foundation that is a shade or two darker than my skin tone.

    Chanel Paradoxal nail polish. I bought into the hype and bought it before the dupes started popping up. It's chipped the very first day every single time I've worn it.

    And finally, Nars Midnight Express nail polish. Even after three coats, it was a streaky mess. I have an "Ain't nobody got time for that" feeling towards polishes that take more than 2-3 coats for even coverage. It seems to work for my sister though since she borrows it.

    All of these products, other than the Givenchy mascara, are still hanging out in my stash for some reason.

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  13. I don't buy much that's high-end. I tried a high-end mascara that is supposed to be the bomb, but it just bombed for me. Tons of flaking, etc. The few times I have bought pricey stuff was for lipsticks, and while I enjoyed them they weren't so awesome as to become must-haves. If I were the type to really stick to one foundation or two or three lipsticks I might go higher-end, but I'm such a cosmetics nut and love to experiment that I feel less guilty about that purple lipstick if it cost $2 instead of $20.

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  14. I purchased the bareMinerals Redness Remedy for $30 and was completely disappointed. It had mostly good reviews on Sephora, so I figured it would be worth a shot. I was hoping that it would help cover and treat my skin problems like it said it would, but it was completely worthless. I also use the bareMinerals powder foundation, and while it works pretty well, it doesn't work any better than the $3 bottle of Wet 'n Wild liquid foundation I was using before!

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  15. Kat von D trooper liquid eyeliner. Its suppose to be waterproof and smudge proof. It's NOT. It's smears so much. Just terrible. My Nyx eyeliner is better!

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    1. I absolutely agree! I love Milani and Maybelline liquid liners.

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  16. YES!! I am still on the hunt for an HG high end foundation!!! i recently bought and returned Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24hr wear. im oily acne prone and that stuff became a greasy mess on me within 1 1/2hrs. i used primer and a setting spray but even then the separated on my skin and just looked gross after 2hrs. UGH and for it costing me $45 i was hoping for so much better... Next on my list is MUFE velvet matte.

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  17. I've had mixed results with the Tarina Tarantino eyeliners--some are gorgeous and stay in place for hours, others are gorgeous and wander out of place in two hours. I've not returned the wanderers as I just discovered I can get them to stay with a bit of face powder.

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  18. I have to say that just about every high end product has dissapointed or failed me......dior show mascara? Total cr@p. Chanel lipsticks? Meh. No magic for me.....nars blush? So-so. I am on the same thought process as the poster above who said make up doesn't have to be $$$$$$ to look good and perform well. I'm happy with revlon foundation. .....loreal mascara and maybelline lipsticks. Once it's on your face no one can tell what brand it is anyway

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    1. I agree! I have mostly drugstore and love it! Most of the things that have been fails for me, are high end! Lol

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  19. Yes for me it's high end mascaras ive tried (deluxe samples) never liked any enough to purchase, i hardly want to spend the $10 on the drug store ones i do like lol

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  20. Oh my goodness! What a great question! I've had lots of high-end fails, even after I watch/read reviews... I ALWAYS a keep my receipt and return it asap! Even a kit from mally on qvc...returned the following day! I never keep things that fail for me. Wether it be drugstore or high end. If I lose the receipt, I try to find them a new home with my fam or close friends (if possible) lol

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  21. Where to begin. Never have had anything good from benifit (there're real mascara was an aweful clumpy mess that left my lashes brittle and uncomfortable) there blushes were nothing special, and don't even get me started on the benitint products. I've hated everything I've ever boughten from mac as well as every experience I've had in their stores, and counters. I've honestly never had a good high end mascara, some is okay, but I always find better from the drug store

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  22. I didn't buy this myself (I got it as a sample size) but I was really disappointed with the Lancome Hypnose Drama. Everyone kept talking about how it was an amazing mascara but it just did not work for me and it smudges really easily. I don't expect non-waterproof mascaras to hold as well as waterproof ones but it was really smudgy and I don't like it. I have much better drugstore mascaras that work better with my lashes.

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