Products I Regret Buying Vol. 3

It seems that I like to write these disappointing products posts every two years or so (Volume 1 here and Volume 2 here), so now's the time for another update! We all love a good make-up rant once in a while, so here's me venting my frustration about some nearly useless make-up products I dug out from the murky bottoms of my stash:

Following a recent post on my favorite lip glosses for spring and summer, I had a good rummage through my lip gloss drawer and came up with two products I haven't touched for probably close to two years, if not more. First off, a Lancome Juicy Tubes in Rio Mango ($18 for 14.16g/ 0.5 oz) - I know for some it's a cult classic, but it does feel a bit heavy and sticky on my lips, and to top it off the shade Rio Mango has absolutely no color to it; it's basically clear. Also, mine has completely separated and despite kneading the tube like crazy, I couldn't get it to its former consistency. I think at this point it needs to go in the trash - and I won't buy this again.

Similarly, I absolutely can't recall the last time I wore the Revlon ColorStay Mineral Lip Gloss in Continuous Coral ($6.99 for 0.15 fl. oz) (probably here...?). It was never my favorite formula but I guess when I first got it, I was determined to make it work; these days I probably wouldn't have bothered and simply returned the darn thing. It smells like cough medicine, sits heavily and more like liquid lipstick on the lips, and the shade is just wrong on my complexion. In the trash it goes! Next!

Speaking of Revlon, the Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde ($7.99 for 0.31g/ 0.011 oz of pencil and 1.18 ml/ 0.04 fl. oz of gel), a brow pencil back-up I whipped out a month or so ago, turned out to be at least a partial fail. While the pencil side performs reasonably well (however, not completely in love with the shade), the gel is just horrendous: it dries in white chunks on the tips of my brow hairs and makes me look like I have some weird isolated case of brow dandruff. I'm going to use up the pencil side, but I don't dare to touch the gel side anymore.

I'm also desperately trying to use up the Physicians Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Felt Tip Eyeliner + Serum ($10.95 for 0.088 oz - are you kidding me with that name, PF?! Life's too short for this shiz). A couple years back, everyone was raving about the original Physicians Formula eyeliner with the skinny nib, but I couldn't find at my drugstore and so purchased this instead. Well, the 'bold' felt-tip applicator is very hard to maneuver on the lashline, and the product skips and fails to deliver an even, inky black line. No comments on the serum front. This kind of turned me off trying the original skinny one as well.

Now for some eye bases/ cream eyeshadows: I didn't exactly purchase this little pot of Graftobian Luster Creme in Orchid Odyssey ($4.79 for 1/8 oz), as it was a gift with purchase of their HD foundation (which I love), but I still regret it taking space in my collection. While the shade is a beautiful, glowy lavender with a slight pink shift, the formula of the Luster Creme is so greasy and sheer that it completely fails as an eye product. I suppose it may be usable for theatrical make-up, but I simply can't make it work, and believe me, it's not for the lack of trying.

I have very similar feelings towards NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Cottage Cheese ($4.49 for 5g/0.18 oz). I still hear people rave about these on YouTube from time to time, but I don't see how this would not crease on just about everyone - the formula is just so oily, and the shade I've got is not very pigmented either. I was trying to use it in my inner corners for a while, but I don't know why I should bother - a waste of time, really.

Lastly, here's a nearly full pot of Everyday Minerals Jojoba Base in the shade Alabaster  ($14 for 4.8g/ 0.17 oz), a supposedly moisturizing loose mineral foundation. On me, Jojoba Base fails to cover anything, but quite successfully manages to turn me a weird pink shade all over - and you guys know I have pink undertones in my skin. The shade Alabaster, instead of evening out my skin, almost enhances any redness I already have on my face, making me look ruddy. This also gets shiny on me within an hour or so, an all-time record I think. I'll try to use it up as face powder, but we shall see if I won't run out of patience.

And there you have it! Hopefully this was useful to some of you, or at least you had fun hearing me rant. Have you bought any disappointing products recently? What other make-up products should we all avoid like a plague?