Products I regret buying

I haven’t mentioned my “smart buy” in a while, but this year I’ve tried really hard to be more particular about the things I purchase. It hasn’t always worked. I’m not immune to hype; I am a human who loves beauty products, after all. Unfortunately for me, a lot of the things I’ve purchased because of hype or on a whim have been total failures for me. Some of these things I’ve returned, some I’ve passed on to friends or family, some are still hanging out while I try harder to make them work, but they’re all things I wish I hadn’t purchased.

Ciate London Jessica Rabbit eyeshadow palette

I’m so bummed about this. The palette is really cute, obviously, and these are the colors I wear on a regular basis, so I was super excited when this came out. I bought it immediately, knowing nothing about it and never having used anything from the brand before.

Bad idea.

To be clear: it’s not terrible. It’s not the easiest to work with, and the shimmers don’t deliver the punch I’d like, even using them with my fingers or a wet brush. It’s just a ‘meh’ product, and I expect more from something in this price range. I’m still using it and trying to figure out if I can make it work, but I don’t have high hopes.

Glow Recipe Watermelon Sleeping Mask

This stuff has overwhelmingly good reviews, and people love this brand so much, I thought it would be a sure thing. Nope. But not because it’s a crap product.

The fifth ingredient in this product is Simethicone, which is an anti-foaming agent. It’s also a silicone derivative. My skin really hates silicone. Any time I use products with silicone, dimethicone, whatever, my skin gets insanely greasy which makes me more prone to breakouts, obviously. I used this stuff once and I woke up the next morning and my face looked wet from the oil. So gross. This may work well for someone, but I am not that person.

Fenty Beauty Match Stix Trio in Medium

I know I don’t really have medium skin, but I kind of hated the colors included with the Light trio. I don’t want a light, frosty pink blush/highlighter.

The problem I’ve had with these is that they’re just… dry. I know that’s a strange thing to say about cream products, but all three of these are chunky and flaky and don’t blend well even over other creams and liquids. I’m wondering if maybe I got a bad batch or old product or something. I bought them in the early spring before I went to Florida (intending to only take stick products through TSA), so I haven’t had them long. People are such die-hard Fenty fans and having this be my first experience with the brand was disappointing, to say the least.

Makeup Revolution x The Emily Edit Wants palette

Is it weird that I feel guilty including this on my regrets list?

I really like Emily Noel. I think she’s one of the more honest and genuine YouTube “beauty gurus”, and I typically trust her judgment. I was so excited for her when this palette came out, even with all of the reported issues it had. I wanted to support her and wanted to love it, I really did.

I have a few problems with it: first is that a few of the shades turned hard and impossible to use after only being swatched. That’s not normal. I managed to scrape off the top layer of a couple of them, like Heartbeat, but it happened again the next time I used it. Sorry, I’m not about to do surgery on a palette every time I use it, especially if it’s Makeup Revolution. Not to be a snob, but we’re not talking about some special shadow formula or super unusual shades.

Next is the size. It’s so damned big that I can’t take it anywhere. I travel quite a bit so that’s a factor. It also doesn’t fit in any of my storage drawers easily, so it got shoved to the back under some other stuff and I never reached for it because ugh, I have to move the things.

So this went in the vulture box, and someone else gave it a good home.

Coola Organic Face SPF 30 Rosilliance BB+ Cream

With the arrival of summer, I’m attempting to a) be better about using sunscreen and b) opt for lighter coverage complexion products. Chances are good I’ll be sweating them off anyway, so why not go for something that won’t look like my entire face is dripping off?

I went for this product despite its hefty price tag because I generally like Coola products, and the whole organic/natural thing appeals to me. I was also taken in by the claims of skin care ingredient in this; hell yes I want to use “an advanced bio-complex to smooth, moisturize and replenish your skin’s natural resilience and improve visible signs of aging for radiant, soft and youthful-looking skin.”

This is not at all what I got. They call the coverage sheer, but it’s basically non-existent. I’ve used tinted moisturizers that had more coverage than this. It also smells really bad, not like any rose I’ve ever stuck my face in. It’s hard to describe, but imagine a cheap sunscreen mixed with an artificial rose scent and topped off with a fragranced moisturizer. It was way too much, and it took a while to dissipate. It also felt gross on my skin immediately, and within about three hours I couldn’t wait to wash it off. I had planned to do a dedicated review, but I couldn’t stand to wear it more than once. Back to the store it went.

Winky Lux Whipped Cream Primer

Not going to lie: I bought this because it’s weird. I’ve been curious about the brand for a while and have one of their matcha lip balms, but this primer is the first real makeup thing I’ve gotten from them and it was not good.

To be fair, this is another silicone product so I won’t talk about the wear or the ensuing breakout. I will say that it smells a little like burned rubber, but also chemicals and fragrance. I expected it to have the consistency of whipped butter or cream cheese, and it didn’t. When I opened it, it was dry and crumbly, sort of like bleu cheese. It did fill my pores nicely and the packaging is cute, but this went to a new home.

Urban Decay Naked Cherry eyeshadow palette

This is kind of a weird one. I really enjoy Urban Decay products. I like the aesthetic and the packaging is cool, and the shadows perform exactly the way I’d expect from UD. I even really like the color story. I don’t know why I feel so blase about this palette. I purchased it when I had an Ulta coupon and they were offering a big pile of bonus points for buying this specific item so it was a more affordable splurge, but I don’t ever reach for it.

I think it’s possible that I was turned off by the hype with this one. It seems like every blogger and beauty guru was obsessing about it and I couldn’t open Instagram or Twitter without seeing a dozen mentions of it. Maybe I got sick of it too quickly? I’m hanging on to it for now and hope that soon I won’t look at it and immediately think “Ugh”.

If you’ve tried any of these things, how do you feel about them? Do you regret any of your recent purchases? I want to hear about it in the comments!