Beauty, Hair Care, Product Review

Regrettable Purchases!

I am not the kind who buys stuff on a whim, I put in hours of research and read reviews, watch videos and yet I tend to find myself with products that absolutely suck! This is part of the reason why I set up this blog to provide an honest take on these downers.

I have already wasted money (and time) on these, so after you read this hopefully you wont have to !

Disappointing Beauty products


1: Revlon – Cheek Highlighting Palette | Shade: Peach Glow

Cost : INR 950 for 7.5

Other shades available:  Rose glow & Bronze glow

Revlon Highlighting Palette : Peach Glow

Revlon Highlighting Palette : Peach Glow

Revlon Highlighting Pallet: Peach Glow | Swatches

Revlon Highlighting Pallet: Peach Glow | Swatches

At first glance this looks so promising, it could be used as a blush, bronzer, highlighter even as an eye-shadow, but only if it worked! I didn’t buy this, Ms. Super Consumer purchased this and gave it to me because she thought it was not working for her skin tone. Turns out it doesn’t work for me either because the pigmentation and the color pay off is extremely poor.

The brushes don’t pick it, it doesn’t even show properly when you swipe your finger across it. It took me a good amount of scraping and piling on product to get the picture for the swatches! This one is supposed to be a dupe for the Bobby Brown Shimmer Brick, but I think this comparison is completely invalid. I have given it enough time and tried using it with & without primer, with various brushes but to no avail! So skip this and save money for the Bobby Brown!

 

2: NYX – Wonder Stick | Shade: Universal

Cost : USD 12  (INR 835)

Other shades available:  Deep, Medium & Light

NYX Wonder Stick

NYX Wonder Stick

NYX Wonder Stick in Universal | Review

NYX Wonder Stick

I wonder why NYX decided to call this universal, this is definitely not universal and on some deeper Indian skin tones this is not going to work!

I got this from Ulta.com since at the time it was not available in India. The stick seems such a good portable option and it claims to conceal, highlight & contour. The funny part about this is that the Contour stick is pretty decent. Slightly oily but goes on evenly and gives a natural finish.

NYX Wonder Stick in Universal | Swatches

NYX Wonder Stick in Universal | Swatches

But the highlighter formula is doubly disappointing! It is extremely patchy, and is very difficult to blend. I have tried blending it with a damp sponge, a dry sponge, a brush and with hands but none seem to work. Whatever tool I use the finish is still streaky and irregular. The texture is terrible! It gives a greasy, patchy finish and just doesn’t sit well on the face. When both of them are used together one is bound to look oily and I don’t mean in a flattering way! If you have oily skin, don’t even think about this.

 

3: Maybelline New York : Color Sensational Diamonds Eye Shadow | Shade: Rose Quartz Pink

Cost : INR 575

Other shades available:  Topaz Gold, Sapphire Blue & Tourmaline Purple

Maybelline New York : Color Sensational Diamonds Eye Shadow | Shade: Rose Quartz Pink

Maybelline New York : Color Sensational Diamonds Eye Shadow | Shade: Rose Quartz Pink

I wanted a good Black eye shadow to create looks with gradation. The Indian in me made the mistake of buying this set instead of just a single pan of black! The thought of getting those extra shadows along with the black was too tempting to pass and now I greatly regret being greedy !

Maybelline New York : Color Sensational Diamonds Eye Shadow | Shade: Rose Quartz Pink | Swatches

Maybelline New York : Color Sensational Diamonds Eye Shadow | Shade: Rose Quartz Pink | Swatches

The black in this set is the least pigmented shadow I have ever come across!  The color pay off of the other shades is also extremely poor. Its impossible to get the true color to transfer on the skin! I have tried these with a primer, a damp brush and using the finger tips (which is difficult, since the corner shadows are in a very narrow compartment) but none of it works! The light pink colour is the only shade with some pigmentation but has a tonne of glitter in it, which will fall on the cheeks and is a pain to remove.

 

4: Maybelline New York : The Colossal Kajal

Cost: INR 199

Maybelline New York : The Colossal Kajal

Maybelline New York : The Colossal Kajal

Everybody seems to love this product and the claims are over the top! The brand claims it to be long lasting up-to 12 hour smudge free and contains vitamin E which nourishes the eye! It doesn’t seem to do any of that for me!

It claims to be anti allergic so I decided to try it on on lower water line, which I generally don’t do because I have sensitive eyes. It completely dried out my eyes – my eyes constantly itched and seemed irritated. I used some eye drops thinking I am having a particularly stressful day, as work involves me to constantly look at multiple screens! But then I noticed this was not just an isolated event, this happened every time I applied this product.

colossal kajal swatch

Maybelline New York : The Colossal Kajal

Maybelline New York : The Colossal Kajal

It is also not smudge proof, if you go over with the pen a few times to get a dark black line, it is bound to smudge! If you have oily skin, it will spread on to the skin around the eye and they don’t call that phenomenon “raccoon eyes” for no reason !

5: The Body Shop: Rainforest Shine Shampoo

Cost: INR 795 for 250 ml

On paper this is a really good product. It has some great ingredients, it is Paraben free, has no silicones, no sulphates and is cruelty free and other reviewers seem to love it. In-spite of all that goodness it did not work for me.

The Body Shop - Rainforest Shampoo - Review

The Body Shop – Rainforest Shampoo

The Body Shop - Rainforest Shampoo - Review

The Body Shop – Rainforest Shampoo

My hair is wavy and of mid length (few inches below the shoulders) and is not very thick. That’s neither a lot of hair length nor a lot of volume yet this product is unable to clean it. My hair is dry and scalp tends to get slightly oily and the hair closest to the scalp tends to catch the oil. This shampoo is unable to clean the natural oil properly and absolutely stops working if I oil the hair using a different oil before shampoo!

I have used natural products before and I understand they will not lather as much and behave similar to  regular super market picks, but this one is way too mild to do anything for me. I have gone  through the bottle in just a couple of weeks. It was absolutely not worth the cost and I am definitely not repurchasing this!


Total Money Wasted: 3354 INR

Hopefully this post will help you make better choices. Let me know if this information was helpful to you and what are the disappointing products that you have come across.

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20 thoughts on “Regrettable Purchases!

  1. sukiakatanya says:

    Haha what a Colossal waste! You should make a post on the sales women who goad you into buying such things. Probably shouldn’t have trusted her because she claimed that the foot mask would remove “all the blackheads on your feet” 😀 Organic Harvest hair mask (Rs 799) is also a total dud. I fell for the all-organic, sulphate-free scam :-/

    • I know… All of us seem to have such incidents with the sales ladies. I think now I categorise myself as an advance consumer…so I don’t pay much attention to what they are saying…also considering the fact that in India they are paid peanuts and have to reach their sales target to make money makes them resort to such tactics. But whatever said and done, its wrong and gulliable first timers will fall pray to it … These products happened to me because I trusted some other popular bloggers!!

  2. I haven’t tried any of the products but I feel your pain. I hate spending the money on things that don’t have a great turnaround. I tried the elf baked highlighter. Even though it only cost $3 it was a waste. Could barely pick up with a brush. Thank you for this list.

  3. No matter how much research one does, I think we all end up with the occasional regrettable purchase. I know I have! Thanks for sharing your experiences — I’m sorry to hear you wasted some money, but it’s very nice of you to share this info to help others. 🙂

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  6. Oh…Colossal was such a pain. It doesnt even last for 6hrs, if I remember correct. I found Lakme eyeconic way better than Colossal. But the one by Attitude (Amway) (INR 399) is the best kohl pencil I have ever used!! You should give it a try.

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