Thursday, July 16, 2015

Mixed Feels: Products I Don't Know What To Think About

I've never featured any of these five products in any of my posts - the simple reason being that I really don't know what to think about them. Mind you, this is different from a non-disputable case of shitty products I regret buying; none of these are bad, really. They're just... not here nor there, maybe? As a long-time blogger, I usually have lots of clear-cut opinions about every beauty product I try, but these five give me very mixed feels:
1. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. I'm a huge fan of FAB Radiance Pads, but their cult extra-moisturizing Ultra Repair Cream doesn't really do it for me. You may be surprised why, as a combination-skinned gal, would I even have this in my stash, but I was actually hoping to use it on my eczema-ridden hands. But nope, it does very very little to moisturize my severly dry, flaking and cracking fingers, and even as a regular hand cream, it's just alright. Is there something I'm not getting about this, you guys?
2. LORAC Front of the Line Pro Liquid Eye Liner in Black ($23 for 0.02 fl oz). I'm not a massive liquid eyeliner user, usually prefering the convenience of a pencil, but I can appreciate the precision of a good pen. This LORAC liner seems to gather a lot of great reviews, having both beautiful pigmentation and a tiny brush (not felt!) tip. However, I can't make it work - I dislike its shiny/vinyl finish on the skin, and whenever I need to go over my line to thicken or even it out, it seems to really drag on itself, making it time-consuming and unpleasant to apply. I'll use it up, but I won't repurchase.
3. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear Concealer in Light ($24 for 0.24 oz, I have a mini that came in a set). This is a really weird one: sometimes I really like how it works on my skin, sometimes I hate it. The big pros of this concealer are its longevity (really stays put, and I would even call it water-resistant) and how well it covers discoloration and redness. The cons are the finish on the skin (dry, accentuates lines and flakes) and not enough coverage to be used for spot-concealing. It's definitely not my favorite, but perfectly matches the foundation I'm currently trying to use up, the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in Intensity 1.
4. Benefit Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel in Light to Medium ($24 for 0.10 oz). Are you shocked? I know this is a must-have for a lot of people, but for me it just didn't hit the mark. I bought it hoping to use it on its own on lazy make-up days, but I dislike how my brows look with it on: the shade is too ashy, making my brows look like they're greying (I guess that's my fault for choosing the wrong color), the texture is quite crispy, but most importantly, it just doesn't give me the definition I was looking for. I have quite good brows naturally, but there's just a couple of sparse areas that I like to fill in to give them a better shape, and for that purpose, using a good eyebrow pencil is undoubtedly superior to this gel. I can wear it paired with my Shu pencil - but that's more, not less effort on my part when getting ready in the morning. On a different note, I think I'm done with Benefit products for a while; I just can't stand their marketing strategy and constant hype. From what they say about their own products, you'd think it was the second coming of Jesus - but from my own experience, the products are mostly overpriced and mediocre. So. You won't see much of Benefit on this blog any time soon. I've had enough.
4. Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Skin Refining Cleansing Oil ($77 for 450ml, mine is in LE Mika for Shu packaging). Shu's oils are like the big daddy of cleansing oils on the Western beauty market, but I think in this day and age, we can all do better than splurge nearly 80 bucks on a bottle of predominantly mineral oil. Does it remove my make-up? Yes, but not all of my mascara, and it always clouds my vision - so I think after I'm done with this giant and awesomely designed bottle, I'll switch to something like The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil, or an Asian drugstore oil.

Have you tried any of these products? If so, what were your thoughts? Have you been using any products recently that gave you very mixed feels?

20 comments:

  1. I have tried the FAB cream, the LORAC liner, and the Benefit Gimme Brow and had similar thoughts, i.e. "What am I missing here?" I didn't like any of them very much. This makes me feel better, because now I know I'm not alone, at least. I also didn't find the FAB cream very moisturizing and didn't like the eucalyptus in it. The LORAC pen was ok, but not good enough that I used it very many times before it dried up, so it was a bit of a waste. And I couldn't get Gimme Brow to work at all. It made my eyebrows look patchy and chunky and stiff.

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    1. Hahah, Lyn, maybe we're beauty review twinsies :) I'm glad at least that most of the products I talked about here were either part of a kit or given to me as a gift, so I didn't really waste a lot of money here... with the exception of the Benefit product :(

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  2. Hey Monika, the only thing I've tried here is Gimme Brow and I flat out hate it. This product basically can't do anything right for me. I am also tired of their marketing strategy. In all honesty, the ONLY product I've tried and liked from the brand is their cream shadows. Other than that, each time I purchase something (because of the hype), I end up bitterly disappointed.

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    1. Sunny, I'm glad I'm not alone! I like the Creaseless Creams too, but I think now they have some very serious competition among much cheaper brands like Maybelline with their Color Tattoos. I'd say from everything I've tried from Benefit, the cream shadows and Hoola bronzer are my favorites, but I don't intend to purchase anything else from the brand in the future.

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  3. I'm with you on the GimmeBrow, I have the darkest shade which is slightly too dark for me but I feel like the lighter shade would be too light and now I can't really use it all too often. Such a shame because it was pricey!

    Same for their roller lash, I'm glad I got to try a free sample because I just hated it. I do like a lot of their products so it's always a bit of a hit-and-miss...

    Love, Charline | Charline Has a Blog

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    1. I haven't tried the Roller Lash, but I had a sample of the They're Real mascara that everyone seems to love, and I hated it - the volumizing result was just average, but the application was painful because of the incredibly stiff brush, and the mascara flaked everywhere throughout the day! I was so frustrated :(

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  4. I love the EL concealer, but I always make sure to use it after eye creams/moisturizer etc. It matches my skin perfectly and makes the purple eye bags disappear. I dont use for highlighting. Once matched up with my foundation, its good! Hope you can make it work for you!

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    1. One thing you need to give to Estee Lauder is that they do have a fabulous range of shades, right? For me, even on moisturized skin it can look a bit heavy unfortunately - but I like layering it with an emollient corrector like the Bobbi Brown under my eyes.

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  5. Ultra Repair Cream is my daily moisturizer. I like how light and non-greasy it is and how quickly it absorbs into my skin; I also like that it's affordable. It's not my HG (the scent could be less eucalyptus-y for sure), but I'll probably use it until I'm in a financial situation to spring for something better.

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    1. I've tried the Ultra Repair as a face moisturizer too, but I found that it almost left some sort of film on my face that would interfere with any make-up I put on top (I'm guessing it's a case of incompatible silicones). I don't get the eucalyptus scent either - if you truly want to have a product geared towards sensitive skin, why not leave off the fragrance entirely? Speaking of affordable moisturizers, I really love Andalou Naturals! Good ingredients for a good price, just disregard the whole 'stem cells' nonsense.

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  6. I've actually gone through two or three tubs of the FAB Ultra Repair Cream. I find that it doesn't do much as a hand cream, either (not moisturizing enough), but what it does for me is soothe irritation that can come from dryness - especially in the winter, when I have chapped cheeks or when I get a cold and the skin under my nose is raw and torn up (glorious image, right?).

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  7. I've tried the FAB several times and am also ambivalent. Scent isn't a deal breaker, but it's kinda strange, and not sure why it's there?
    I actually like the gimme brow though. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one, hahaha!

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  8. I'm so encouraged by your review of the FAB cream, actually, because I tried it a few years ago and I remember wondering why people thought it was moisturizing! And now I'm really excited to try out the radiance pads, because maybe they'll work for me, too, if they work for you and our skins react similarly to other products in the line :)

    I've never tried the Shu oil - or any cleansing oils - and now I probably won't. I'm tempted by an Innisfree one, and I have a few travel sizes of - is it DHC? But I haven't gotten the courage yet to cleanse with oil. I do like the Clinique balm cleanser, though, so it's only a matter of time til I get to the stuff that looks like a salad ingredient!

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  9. Hi Monika, The Shu A/O cleansing oil was reformulated some time ago -- I think the newer version is not as "emulsifiable" as the old one that I like. The old one, I think, is a bit lighter in feel and rinsed of clean and nice -- I'm nursing my last bottle of it, it is quite fab. I agree, though, there are lots of alternatives out there, including my new fave Clinique Take the Day Off balm.
    I can't remember if there are any new products that I'm on the fence lately, but when I saw your title, I immediately think of Kiehl's products... like the entire line :-D I mean, they are not bad, but not wow either or warrant repurchase. Great post, really like all your opinion here!

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  10. The FAB Ultra Repair Cream is like a super top #1 favorite of mine! It just works like nothing else for my skin and especially my hands, but everyone's skin is different - one man's trash is another man's treasure, lol! ;) I wasn't in love with FAB's facial scrub. It was definitely a wimpy variety with lots of cream and very little exfoliation. I feel like all scrubs should come with a light-medium-CRAZEBALLS meter on the back so you know what you're getting. St. Ives scrubs actually have a gauge on the back so you know if it's "gentle" or "boss hog." :)

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  11. Oh and PS: I've wanted to try the Shu oil for a long time, but I can't deal with the price!

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  12. Great post! The shu oil does nothing for my skin - so there's one! Another two i can think of is Kiehl's ultra facial cleanser (too slippery, doesn't lather clean), creamy eye treatment with avocado (weird texture - cream turns into watery goo when applying on skin)! Oh and a lot of shiseido skincare are the same for me - i stopped buying their skincare a while ago, still have some deluxe sample and a full size left, unless they are given to me as samples, otherwise i won't be buying from their skincare line. Their sunscreen and makeup is another story though!

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  13. I really don't get on with Shu oils (they break me out if I don't thoroughly cleanse again straight away) and Benefit drive me mad with the marketing, too. I tried my best to get on with the FAB pads you love but I think my skin needs a stronger formulation for me to see results in all honesty. I think it's good to have mixed feelings about products sometimes, I found this post really interesting to read :)

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  14. The Ultra Repair Cream is kind of weird. It's very no-frills but at the same time, something about the texture does seem off at times. Hard to describe, but it's thin and somewhat plasticy? Plus I swear it's loaded with a kind of pearl? It's so strange. I have been using it mixed with a face oil just as a quick, fuss-free nighttime moisturiser and it has been helping to keep my skin relatively happy during winter. I most likely won't repurchase when mine runs out though (it's on its very last dregs) and will stick with el cheapo Nivea Soft or La Roche-Posay Toleriane Riche instead.

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  15. RE: The Ultra Repair Cream - I feel the same way!! I also have eczema and I didn't find this to do ANYTHING helpful at all. I'm glad to hear your thoughts on the Lauder concealer and Gimme Brow, they've been something I've been considering for a while...might drop those off my wishlist now. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that's giving me up-in-the-air feelings...on the declutter tear I'm on, I've probably gotten rid of them already! :)

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