Friday, September 22, 2017

Recent Disappointments


I go through this weird cycle with products: I'll try five or six new things and will be impressed with damn near all of them, or I'll try five or six new things and toss out 2 star ratings like it's going out of style. I've been in the latter category for the past couple of months, and this time, some of the disappointment shocked me. These are, without fail, products I fully expected to adore.

For the record, this is not necessarily a post about awful, useless products that I wouldn't recommend to anyone. It's just stuff like that left me...well, disappointed.

Glossier Body Hero Daily Perfecting Cream - While it's difficult to get me hyped over cleansers and lotions, the inclusiveness of the Body Hero campaign suckered me in to buying both of their new products. I fully expected to dislike the cleansing oil and adore the body cream, but to my surprise, I've enjoyed the oil and felt quite meh about this lotion. I probably should've noticed that the second ingredient in the Daily Perfecting Cream is silicone, which is usually a signal that a product won't be moisturizing enough for me. Sure enough, this cream has a lot of slip to it, but provides only a little moisture. Running my hands over my body after applying this, I get the weird sensation that there's a film on my skin, almost like I've been shrink wrapped. And while this does add a bit of a glow to your skin, it's a short-lived effect. I'd call this "MAC Strobe Cream for the body," but that wouldn't be fair to Strobe Cream's awesomeness.

MAC Lipstick in Rebel - No, I did not break my lipstick no buy! I took advantage of the Back 2 MAC program to get this tube for free. Because this was a free lipstick, I decided to go with a shade I've wanted to try forever, but haven't been able to pay for with my own money: Rebel, a saturated purple. I've worn it twice, and while it's a beautiful color supported by a solid lipstick formula, I...just don't like it on me. I think if I'm going to go with a cool-toned purple, I have to go for something less bright and a bit deeper.

A post shared by Renee (@reneesanatomy) on


Verb Sea Texture Cream - My overall positive experiences with Verb hair products and a parade of "look at my fabulous curly hair on sea texture cream!" Instagram posts had me rushing to Sephora to snag this stuff ASAP. My hair is either a 2b or 2c texture, depending on which hair dresser you ask, and I have an awful time taming the frizz and maintaining curl texture. Using this cream on days when my curls already had a bit of definition gave me more volume and a slightly more defined look, like above. But when I woke up on days with my curls mangled? It did nada. Actually, that's a lie: it pumped up the frizz in my hair times a dozen. Even when the Sea Texture Cream works, it doesn't work for long; you'll lose the effect as soon as you comb through your hair. I've managed to lose my receipt for this product, so I'll have to finish it up, but it's going to take a while to hit that many good hair days.

Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara -- Every time I've mentioned my search for the perfect "no makeup makeup," uber-natural lash tint, I've received countless recommendations for Maybelline Lash Discovery. I've been testing it for a couple of weeks now, annnnnd...why do people love this? It has a very thin brush that makes it easy to get every lash, that's for sure, but what else shines here? Nothing. The formula is weirdly sticky and actually seems to cling to my lashes as I pull the wand through them. It's easy to get clumped together spider lashes. Throughout the day, wet flakes dropped on my cheeks; trying to remove them with my finger led to awful gray smudges. Maybe I made a mistake buying a non-waterproof mascara for once, but this experience doesn't exactly tempt me to try the waterproof version.

Isehan Sunkiller Perfect Water Essence -- It's hard to beat Japanese sunscreens when it comes to lightweight, pleasing textures and great protection. Unfortunately, it's also hard to beat Japanese sunscreens when it comes to the Denatured Alcohol-Laden Formula Olympics. I managed to find a small handful of sunscreens sans SD alcohol and snagged them on eBay. This offering from Isehan seemed like my perfect match at first: it feels like water when you apply it, has zero flash back, is invisible on the skin, and doesn't dry out my face. Alas, something in this formula definitely broke me out; using it for even a day would prompt patches of pimples before the week was through.

9 comments:

  1. I haven't been super wowed by any of the cult drugstore mascaras (L'Oreal Voluminous, Great Lash), but I do keep going back to Maybelline Full n' Soft, which I've been using on and off since Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the ad for it in the early 00s. For me at least, it's the perfect combo of length and a little volume (esp when doing a couple coats). I also have naturally long and curled lashes though....so there's that. YMMV. I prefer the non-waterproof formula.

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  2. Now that I browsed your mascara archives, I see that you do, in fact, use full n'soft on the reg. So, never mind. Great minds :)

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  3. Just curious if you have ever tried tinting your eyelashes. I had it done in the salon many years ago and they always got product in my eye -it was awful. I recently tried doing it at home and did not get any in my eye ; it is awesome, cheap, as easy as putting on mascara and is a beautiful no makeup look. I have long eyelashes- black at the roots, blonde tips, so it works for me. I know you like volume, but let me if you want product info. V

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  4. I'm curious how you would describe the fragrance of the Body Hero shower oil. There's a niggling part of me that really wants to try it -- I'm a sucker for their branding tbh -- but orange-y fragrances are often a turnoff for me, as I use citrus Dr. Bronners to clean my house. You're into fragrance, so I'm very curious what your take on it is.

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    1. It's straight neroli, in my opinion, so it has more of a "soft white floral" smell than anything citrus-y. That's what I get out of it, though.

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  5. For 'no makeup, makeup' I do love IT Cosmetics Tightline Mascara Primer. The wand is so thin, it makes it super easy to maneuver and doesn't pick up too much product. I reach for it a ton for everyday.

    The downside is it's expensive compared to my usual drugstore mascara ($24). Also, I don't understand the whole tightlining concept with this. Yes, you can get closer to the root with the smaller wand, but I wouldn't label the effect as 'tightlining.'

    Ignoring all that, it's nice. I'll be repurchasing a third time because I grab for it so much.

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    1. I've heard good things! I'll probably break down and try it eventually.

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