Top Beauty Disappointments for 2008 – Jen’s List

Jan 3, 2009 Author: Jen Hill | Filed under: Cosmetics, Eyeliners, Foundations, Sunscreens

For your amusement, I decided to list some of theÂ beauty productsÂ that I reviewed Â in 2008Â that left me feeling less than enthusiastic.Â We are all entitled to our opinion, andÂ personally knowÂ individuals who adore many of theseÂ particular items,Â and if you are one of them, feel free to defend your beloved product.Â Â Without further adieu, here are my list of beauty stinkers for ‘08:

LoracÂ aquaPRIMEâ„¢ Oil-Free MakeupPrimer ($30)Â - Love the idea of not adding silicones, absorbed well into my skin, sure it added moisture, but felt like it was overpriced andÂ didn’t notice any added benefitsÂ while using it.
Clinique Superfit Makeup – too much shimmer in the formula for my taste, hard to blend, shade appeared slightly orange with my skintone.
Urban Decay’s Transformaton Potion – Sloppy, hard to apply, and heaven forbid some drips into your eyes, OWIE!Â Wanna create your own eyeliner using an eye-shadow or mineral makeup pigments?Â Â Try this sealant with a bent eyeliner brush:Â “Indelible” Eyeliner SealantÂ ($4 at Aromaleigh.com).Â
Blinc Kiss Me Mascara – Love the fact that this mascara doesn’t run or smudge, hated how my lashes appeared spidery and clumped together.Â Difficult to remove.
NP SET Eye shadow duo – found the color lacked vitality, overpriced, and difficult to apply.
Ole Henricksen’s Red Tea Eye Cream – My eyes teared up for several minutes after using this, whatever is in it, my eyes do not like!
Somme Institute Double DefenseÂ Sunscreen – Similar problem, the sunscreen seems to seep into my eyes and causes them to tear and sting.Â Yes I need the sun protection,Â but can you make it so it won’t irriate my eyes?
YSL’s Radiant Brush Foundation - The application brush stinks, the formula seemed too thin in itsÂ consistency, and my skin’s flakiness was magnified while wearing it.Â Â

Any beauty products that you tried this year and ended up feeling disappointed?Â Feel free to warn the rest of us!

For even more fun, check out Bionic Beauty’s Worst of 2008 and Beautiful Makeup Searchâ€™s 10 Things Iâ€™d Like to Forget.Â Â You won’t want to miss out on these reads.

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18 Responses for "Top Beauty Disappointments for 2008 – Jen’s List"

kate2004rock December 29th, 2008 at 10:55 pm 1

I agree on the LORAC AquaPrime, the Clinique Superfit (sucks) and the transformation potion. The TooFaced Pinpoint Mascara is WAY better than KissMe – and is practically smudge proof.
Mo January 3rd, 2009 at 6:14 pm 2

I had a hard time coming up with my disappointments, but I saw your list and have to agree with a few of them.
Blinc’s Kiss Me has a great concept but it just wasn’t flattering to my lashes at all. I wore it after visiting my dh right before he left for Iraq. Let me tell you, I bawled like a baby with that stuff on, and while it didn’t smear it DID leave tiny black tubes all over my face and my upper and lower lashes started to stick together!
My eye area was a bit tender when I used the Ole Henriksen eye cream and I thought that was the only reason for the stinging. Sorry to hear it’s a problem without the tortured eyes, especially when I really enjoyed some of their other Red Tea items.
Clinique’s colors have always been a little…off. Great if you tan or tan in a can, but not great forporcelain skin. With so many other companies on the market you think they would’ve tweaked that by now.
Michelle H. January 4th, 2009 at 12:20 am 3

I was going to try the Transformation potion because I love UD eye makeup primer. I just purchased a similar formula to the Aromaleigh sealant at jlynnecosmetics.com, but haven’t tried it yet. Thanks for the advice.
Jen Hill January 4th, 2009 at 9:07 am 4

As much as it pains me to admit, this is the one UD product that really disappointed me!

Yes Michelle, you can find this sealant through several private label cosmetic sites, and for $4, you cannot lose!

Thanks everyone for your fantastic feedback!
Decorative Diva January 4th, 2009 at 1:45 pm 5

The Indelible eyeliner sealant works great in my experience. You can use it to foil colors, or for eyeliner. Also, if you don’t want to try that, saline solution works, just not as well as the indelible eyeliner sealant.
Tracy M (dandelion mama) January 4th, 2009 at 2:10 pm 6

I use my artificial tears, but next time I order from Aromaleigh, I’ll give theirs a try.

I was disappointed with the Tarte cheekstain, which I really, really wanted to like. It’s a great color, and looks so natural, and and and… it only lasts about five minutes before it’s gone. It bums me out.

I was also kind of diappointed in the Tarte lipglosses, which also bums me out, because I really want to like Tarte! They just don’t last as long or have as good a color as the Bare Essentians lipglosses.
Jen Hill January 4th, 2009 at 9:20 pm 7

Those BE Buxom glosses are awesome!

I haven’t tried their lip glosses, but love tarte’s mascara, tinted moisturizer, and I do like my cheek stain although it does seem to evaporate quickly.

Thanks for all your tips and reviews, what would I do without you?!
eye4style January 5th, 2009 at 11:35 am 8

I totally agree on the Somme Institute Sunscreen – it also smelled TERRIBLE.
IFW January 5th, 2009 at 12:14 pm 9

Oh man, but it looks like I’m in the minority on a few of these:

LOVED
- Blinc Kiss Me – then again, I have long, thick lashes.
- UD Velvet Rope eyeliner collection
- Ojon conditioning treatment (it’s a love it or hate it smell)

HATED
- Diorshow Mascara. I looked like I had 2 black eyes before the morning was out.
- BE Buxom lip glosses. Maybe I just got a bad tube, because it felt extremely sticky and *ughh* gritty!
- UD primer potion. It did a wonderful job of making my eye makeup last. Unfortunately it also did a wonderful job of accentuating my age.
kate2004rock January 5th, 2009 at 2:35 pm 10

What about Tarte’s new LashHugger mascara, Jen? Have you tried that one?

Personally, I was not so impressed. Lights, Camera, Lashes was not broken. I don’t know what they were trying to fix.
Jen Hill January 5th, 2009 at 6:18 pm 11

Love hearing from you IFW! I have missed you terribly.

Velvet Rope and VIP was a big YES for me this year! And can totally see what you mean about the primer, my eyelids are quite oily (eww…I know), so I think that is why it works well for me. Isn’t it funny how what works for one doesn’t for another?

And Kate, so funny that Ole Miss beat Texas Tech! I haven’t tried the new mascara yet, but cannot see the rationale for changing it either. I recently purchased Smashbox’s Bionic Mascara in Black Violet; they had me at violet and will let you know what I think soon.

Big hugs to both of you!!
kate2004rock January 5th, 2009 at 8:05 pm 12

My friend Kevin, who I was sitting with, got so mad he left after the third quarter. And he didn’t go to undergrad at Tech either! It was amazing though, despite the nasty, sore loser Tech fans.

Save your $18, and pass on the Lash Hugger. I am a big Bionic fan though – can you say “long and soft”?
Jami January 6th, 2009 at 10:09 am 13

YAH for worst of lists! I’m doing mine now and will have it up on Thursday.
Tyna January 6th, 2009 at 3:27 pm 14

Jen – what an awesome list! It’s so easy to find Best of Lists and your honest assessment of your beauty disappointments was a great and different read. The only one I would debate with you is the Blinc Kiss Me mascara â€“ I absolutely love it. I always get smears from mascara (eye rubber, contact lens wearer) but not with my Blinc. The first time I removed this stuff and those little tubes that surround your lashes came off, I had a mini freak out until I realized my actual lashes were fine. Now, I love pulling them off â€“ like I need another beauty ritual!
And hey IFW!! Itâ€™s chichi! How have you been lady? Great to â€œseeâ€ you!
Tyna January 6th, 2009 at 3:31 pm 15

Two more things:

1) I love the photo illustrating this post – hee! her sad puppy dog face rules!

2) IFW – sounds like we have the same issues with smudging. I just bought Diorshow in waterproof and had no problems at all, even after drinking and falling asleep in my make up (What? It was my vacation – it happens!)
Jen Hill January 6th, 2009 at 8:18 pm 16

Woohoo Tyna! Thank you so much for your comments. My hairstylist loves the Kiss Me Mascara too, it just goes to show…

And, I love your website “We Heart This!” – clever, funny, whimsical and am totally hooked!!!
Bionic’s Worst of 2008 with Bionic Beautyâ„¢ January 8th, 2009 at 6:09 am 17

[...] even more fun, check out Mythbuster Beauty’s Top Disappointments of 2008 and Beautiful Makeup Search’s 10 Things I’d Like to Forget. Yippee! Share [...]
The Beauty Blog Network [ Network Blog ] » Blog Archive » Worst of 2008 January 8th, 2009 at 9:47 am 18

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