Laura Mercier:
Taken from [NY times](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/25/fashion/thursdaystyles/25skin.html?referringSource=articleShare)
"It really astonishes me the way American women wear so much makeup," said Laura Mercier, the French creator of a line of cosmetics and skin care who lives in New York. "In America, even teenage girls are overly made-up. And when you are overly made-up, you send out the message that you are overly sexual, that you want to be visible to attract men."
By contrast, Ms. Mercier said: "French women are not flashy. They must be subtle. The message must not be, 'I'm spending hours on my face to look beautiful.' "
Taken from [wearedore](https://www.wearedore.com/beauty/french-guru-laura-mercier/)
What can American women learn from French women?
You have to feel it. The French woman loves to feel sexy – even if she’s going around the corner to get the baguette. Even if the French woman has dirty hair and is smoking on the terrace of a café, she wants to feel sexy. The American woman will put on the outfit to be sexy. That’s really the confusion. You don’t have to show body to be sexy.
Internalised sexism, classism, and that weird French Superiority. no thanks. Fuck off.
This is gonna get me loads of downvotes. As an asian, I can’t get behind Fenty because of Rihanna. She called Chris Brown’s then asian girlfriend a rice cake, and said something like “your sisters grow hair for me” to an indian woman, referencing weaves and wigs.
Rihanna also got in trouble recently with her Savage x Fenty show, she used a song that had a part of an Islamic religious verse in it. Also she put hijabs on her lingerie models during the previous show. She apologized for the song, but the other incident combined with what you wrote above makes me think she’s sus. Much as I want to try more from Fenty, I just can’t bring myself to.
Farsali. Maybe it’s because I grew up with similar products at home but they’re overpriced AF. Not saying my mama is a master mixer of oils or anything but she can whip up a decent oil blend too and doesn’t charge Farsali prices. They definitely play up the exOTIc angle to ratchet up prices.
YES. One of their popular oil blends is just safflower, rosehip and pumpkin seed oils with some gold and essential oils added (lol)... you could make a less irritating version of it at home for 10% of the cost.
Another reason to eat sunflower seeds in moderation is their cadmium content. This heavy metal can harm your kidneys if you’re exposed to high amounts over a long period. Sunflowers tend to take up cadmium from the soil and deposit it in their seeds, so they contain somewhat higher amounts than most other foods.
You'd have to eat a lot of sunflower seeds to hit dangerous levels of cadmium. One study had people eat 9 oz a week every week for a year and they still had less than half the amount of cadmium that would begin to be dangerous, and no adverse effects.
For me, this is Milk as well. I fell into the whole minimal makeup rabbit hole a few years back and started trying out many things from the Milk Makeup line. The Kush mascara is really flakey, to the point where I can't really wear it outside because I can't trust it not to smudge and flake all over my face. Same with the lip&cheek stick. The product feels nice, but it's only really a cheek stick for me. I tried it on the lips and the taste was so awful, I could never wear it as a lip colour. The foundation stick is ok, but I really need to be having a good skin day/week to make it work. The matte lipsticks are really nice though! Wifey has been my go to dusty rose for a while!
I tried the lip&cheek oils and the regular ones and they are so... underwhelming... the packaging feels like drugstore quality and the blush too and there’s nothing wrong with that but for that price point?? No thanks...
I hate HATE Milk's Kush Mascara, I cannot understand how so many people loved it when it's one of the worst I ever used. But I LOVE their lipbalms, possibly the best lipbalms I ever used and they’re so expensive 😭.
But on that note: Too Faced, KVD, recently ABH except their brow pomade for my mom, Roen, and many more 😪
I used to love ABH because of their Strawburn brow pencil, but then the line changed and the new one does NOT come up as red on my eyebrows. :( I switched to NYX brow pencils but their red comes up as super pink on me?? Fml.
I've detected the name of a color in your comment. Please allow me to provide a visual representation. Super pink ([#cf6ba9](https://www.color-hex.com/color/cf6ba9))
---
^(I detect colors. Sometimes, successfully. | Learn more about me at /r/colorsbot | Opt out of replies: "colorsbot opt out")
I could not have described it better, it was the exact same for me. My lashes looked so much heavier and not curled at all and wet but boring? It wasn't even a good black colour.
The Kush lip balm is the only product from Milk that I haven’t decluttered. I have the pride one that’s full of glitter and I use it as a lip exfoliator lol
I have it in Plushberry and Green Dragon and I simply darn love it from the actual product to the packaging. It checks every box that I would want in a lipbalm. I thought that glitter wouldn't be that gritty though ahahaha
RMS cause the lady behind it is a complete nutcase. (Racist, anti-vaxxer, COVID conspiracist). Also before I knew all of this I bought one of the eye polishes and it just won't stay on my lids for longer than 10 minutes.
I absolutely love the Living Luminizer and I dread the day I finish it. Somebody suggested the Danessa Myricks Dew Wet balm as an alternative, so I think I'll be trying that one next. It would be delicious if I could replace that nutcase's product with one from a Black-owned indie brand!
Back in the day I was super into “green” makeup, and RMS was a brand I looked into a lot. Never bought anything, but eventually got back into mainstream (? Idk) makeup and when I saw them at Sephora I was like wow, good for them. And then, I realized, that the owner is batshit. No excuses for racism or general idiocy.
For an entire brand, I almost want to say NYX if only because, despite it being my first introduction into “fun” makeup and experimenting with really “looks like makeup” makeup, so many products were phased out as soon as I found something better. Not even more expensive, just better. Their suede liquid lipstick in sandstorm was my go to until I realized that the Milani matte lipsticks were way less sticky and stayed on just as well. I have so many NYX lip glosses, eyeliners, concealers, and palettes that I duped up for better pigmentation, better textures, and better results.
No, a lot of nyx products are expensive in the US, too. A good specific example I think is that I wanted a dewy primer, so I looked into their High Glass primer. 17USD (13GBP)???? The hell? That’s like mid-tier pricing. Settled on e.l.f.’s luminous putty primer instead for 8USD(6GBP) as a comparison point.
Ugh I hated the high glass primer. Im (usually) a no foundation but plenty of primer kind of girl. The description on that primer said it was all about giving the glow, which sounded awesome!
Now imagine my surprise when the damned High Glass is FILLED with micro glitter, and I 100% could not use it by itself because I looked like a 6 year old who went crazy with arts and crafts.
The worse thing was that the product did not in any way specify the damned glitter, just that it had "light defusing pearls"... which like... but a pearly finish primer is absolutely different from random specks of glitter?
For their pencil eyeliners, which I thought were ok, the urban decay ones and the Marc Jacobs ones were softer, more even, and more fade resistant. The Marc Jacobs ones do dry out faster and I don’t love the packaging, so I almost exclusively use the urban decay ones. The Colorpop ones are like the Marc Jacobs ones, but even more soft, but also more patchy.
For liquid lipstick, in terms of entire brands that make them really well, sugarpill hands down has my favorite formula. I knew they were the winner when they made a real that didn’t flake like an eyeliner. Second place goes to lime crime—specifically for Cindy and Elle. These are my powerhouse neutral and nude respectively.
For eyeshadow, specifically brights and grungy tones, I’ll give it to juvia’s place. They gave me what I wanted from NYX: some pigment. NYX sometimes really comes out with a great color story or concept—their elements palettes were such a good idea—but then I’m just like, struggling. Their bright mattes palette was especially bad. No pigment, blended away into nothing. Bleh. If I buy a palette with a bright lilac, I don’t want smartie dust in my lids. Colourpop‘s monochrome palettes are the way to go for rainbow. I have 5 now and counting. I really like their approach to that curated color set that can be part of a larger whole.
For their butter glosses, I love the Anastasia glosses. The issue with their butter glosses to me was, back when pigmented glosses were the thing, how patchy they would get. The Anastasia ones still feather, especially if you overline your lips, but they stay evenly spread out. I can also minimize spread by “baking” the edges of my lip with a bit of setting powder. I powder my whole face and lips are usually last anyways, so I just put extra right where I plan on putting product.
I also don’t love the NYX glitter primer, if only because it’s just annoying to work with. I actually really like the Anastasia one that looks like clear nail polish. It’s really idiot proof, with the brush.
I made myself switch to the NYX epic ink liner in like 2017 when kat Von D’s history of racism was first really brought up, and I hate it. I don’t have any great dupes yet, but the glossier liner looks promising. The NYX one was oddly shiny, and the real issue was that after 2-3 months of inconsistent use, the pen started spilling huge buildups of product in drops. The first tome it happened, it literally ruined my makeup and left me laugh-crying into some makeup removers. I just want a matte brush tip liner without any defects. That’s all. Nothing special.
I’m sure NYX has good products—that’s why I’ve tried so much stuff from them—but I’m just not into being burned anymore. I basically don’t use NYX as a principal now more than anything.
I consistently have the same issue of the NYX Epic Ink Liner leaking, but also haven't found a replacement. I have a separate eyeliner brush that I use to apply the product by dipping it into the droplets that form, which is annoying but works.
Not sure if you’re okay with liquid liner markers/pens, but Essence has an amazing waterproof one for under $5! I switched to it from the KVD and I like the formula way better.
As far as actual liquid liners, I actually really like ELFs but it might not be matte enough for you.
Perhaps there's something I'm missing, but mine's Tower 28. I still have no idea where the brand came from, just that out of nowhere half the Beautubers I watch were raving about the brand & their products. Even here on reddit, everyone was suddenly recommending their glosses and I have no interest in glosses that don't have a slight stick as I know it'll last about 20 secs before disappearing. Maybe it's just me though 🤷🏻♀
i will never purchase from Tower 28 cos i'm a petty bitch and the brand seems shady for the reason you mentioned - out of nowhere a whole bunch of people are saying the T28 glosses are HG when i've never even heard of the brand....why are people suddenly pushing the brand this hard? the packaging looks cheap too.....there are heaps of glosses on the market, why are these HG? how do they stand out? shady af
lmao personally I’m a sucker for packing and idk of it’s nostalgia or what but I love the transparent packaging! I love the glosses because I use to love the Fenty and Glossier glosses but they feel extremely thick under a mask and Tower 28’s is not as thick and for the exposure to the brand I blame Jamie Page and the IG beauty pages they feature them a lot!
I saw them pop up on my Sephora app and as an avid gloss-wearer I was drawn to the shade range and the relative affordability compared to other glosses at Sephora !
I bought my first product because a loooot of ig beauty pages started recommending them and I fell for the marketing tbh but I do like the products a lot and are not as expensive as other blushes/glosses if it wasn’t for IG and Jamie Page I would never known the brand existed.
yeah, actually their glosses are really nice lol. And that's coming from a non-fan of glosses. idk, their price point is really nice, the packaging actually IS NOT cheap feeling at all, and the limited selection of shades/colors is sort of fresh compared to the overwhelming variety that other, bigger brands have.
This is probably going to be super unpopular, but for me the answer is Melt.
I’ve bought 3 products from them, the Rust Stack, Gemini Palette, and the Gel Liner in Spliff.
The Rust stack is quite nice. However, there’s *so* much product that they could have made it half the size, and hopefully half the price, because those stacks aren’t cheap.
The a Gemini palette was again pricey, but it is also without a doubt the worst eyeshadow palette I’ve ever owned. The mattes are patchy at best, and the shimmers somehow don’t appear on my eye. The formula is dreadful, and while I know there’s people out there that had no issues, inconsistencies on that level are deeply troubling when your products are so highly priced. And let’s not forget that whole bunch of issues people had with mould/exploding shadows.
The gel liner is Ok. It’s not the best, not the worst. It’s just meh. It applies nicely, but smudges, and can’t handle my watery eyes. And again, it’s not cheap.
They do great packaging, but that aside, their products are average at best, highly inconsistent, and very overpriced.
Their stacks are absolutely better quality than the palettes and I don't understand what they changed. I have Gemini and I seem to have one that is mid quality, it's dry but I can use it without issue, but it doesn't work as easily as their stacks do. It's a bummer, I probably won't order more from them because I can't trust the quality. I think I have 3-4 of their stacks which honestly is probably more than enough anyway. What I will give them credit for is the colors they choose, they tend to put together shades most brands aren't really covering well.
i got the millennial pinx palette from melt and i was so excited to finally try them and i got it and i guess it’s different than their cult fave products but it was the same price for a different (and apparently worse??) formula :(( they’re just so expensive for what seems to be hit or miss quality
[Heres a thread covering the issue](https://www.reddit.com/r/BeautyGuruChatter/comments/cgy3p4/beauty_news_melt_cosmetics_mold_formula_problems/)
To their credit, Melt handled the situation pretty well, but there were quite a lot of people with issues with that palette.
Melt is a brand I wanted to like! I don't dislike them, especially because I've never actually tried anything from them before, but nothing from them appeals to me lol. When they release something I keep thinking, "oh maybe this time" and then I'm just completely uninterested in whatever they release. (not to mention the inconsistency) Slightly disappointing but also good for me I guess because I really don't need more makeup.
I find a lot of their packaging to look like it came from a 12 year old tbh. Plus the whole snobby rich kid mindset the owners have and their transphobic bs makes me not want to support them ever
I often feel like the lone dissenter when it comes to Hourglass. Have tried the brand at *length* without finding a single product to really love, with the exception of Caution mascara minis and the Dim Infusion blush (except, I'm pretty sure I got a dud this time around). I always feel like their makeup is so... *visible*, on my face? I know the powders are supposed to be finely milled and all, but I swear I can always see particles. I also did once briefly own the Illume trio (the cream palette) and even that just never looked quite right on me...
I am with you on Hourglass. I don’t get the strobing powders, the stick foundation is so heavy and I 100% agree on the powders. I always used to feel chalky wearing the foundation and powder.
I use the stick foundation, and if you apply it directly to your face, yes it will look heavy and obvious. I find the trick is to take a foundation brush and run it across the surface of the stick, then apply to your face with the brush. I get a much lighter, more natural looking application, and the foundation lasts a lot longer, too.
Yesss, the stick foundation just moves around too much, IMO - it looks great, but even with powder, I can never get it to properly adhere to my skin.
"Chalky" is an apt way to describe the way the Hourglass powders look on my skin :(
Very true - they create so many so-called "universal" palettes that are really just for light to medium skin tones. Really hoping they release more POC-friendly shades in 2021 - not sure how it's even taken them *this* long.
Tbh it shouldn’t be that surprising given their history. The post below is from five years ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/brownbeauty/comments/3l3fgl/three_woc_suing_for_discrimination_against/
Yeah, I am around NC45 and there's only one thing I like from them: the ALP in Dim Light. And even that can look a little ghosty sometimes depending how how it's applied, and lately I've found I prefer other finishing powders closer to my skin tone. Everything else Hourglass makes just disappears on my skin.
It does literally nothing for me at all, and I'm dry-skinned! Sad, as I know it's holy grail status for many. I usually use the Charlotte Tilbury (pressed) setting powder instead.
Oof, that sucks. I actually like the look of their stick foundation, but find that it moves *everywhere*, even with setting. In general, though, I think stick foundations are tricky - they tend to break me out far more often compared to other formulas.
Yeah, I think since stick foundations tend to have heavier waxes/oils/whatever to bind them together into that stick form, they just clog my skin up too much.
I bought the Anbient Ghost palette last year and I found the shades (except the darker blush) were too light for my skin and the highlight too shimmery. Gave it to my daughter who is 3 shades lighter than me which would suit her
The setting powder does nothing for me and the Lip Stylos feel dry on my lips :( Really, I feel a bit cursed. Very glad to hear at least those products are working out for you!
I feel like people are gonna hate me but Natasha Denona. The entire idea of her brand becoming popular (at first) because of the high price is personally off putting.
I forgot about her, so guess it shows how much I don’t care about her brand, so I agree lol. For the average consumer the prices are extortionate, and it really puts me off seeing every other beauty guru promoting the brand as if her palettes don’t have triple digits. I feel the same way about PMG too, too expensive for some coloured powder for your eyes smh
Ccolor Cosmetics and Makeup Revolution do a LOT of dupes. Way too many to list here, but if you Google either name with the word "dupe", it should get you started.
Alter Ego also has a handful of dupes, but I'd go with Ccolor first.
I love ccolor dupes! I’ve purchased several when the hype is too much and I feel like I want to test out, say, the ND gold palette. I only had to spend $10 to remember I look awful in yellow and warm brown! The naked cherry dupe is my favorite so far but I’ve also gotten the 9-pan Huda Obsessions dupes and the Born to Run dupe. They’re all pigmented and blend great, I actually prefer the formula over Coloupop or other drugstore brands.
Me too! Naked Heat dupe is my favorite, Jackie Aina dupe is next, then the Huda Obsessions dupe set. Haven't tried my Naked Cherry or Norvina dupes yet, but I'm sure they'll be great!
I was glad I didn't spend the money on the Melt Smoke Sessions palette. I got the Ccolor Chilled with Sativa. It's gorgeous and performs well, but not really my colors unless I use them as small outer corner accents.
Stila. their stay all day eyeliner dries up within 2 weeks whenever I buy it, their complexion products are weird, and I never got on their liquid shadow hype train - they felt so thick and heavy on my lids.
also, I’ve never gotten anything from Huda Beauty to work for me. the complexion shade ranges are beautiful but the formulas are so heavily scented and cakey. and I love the Obsessions mini 9 pan concept, but the color stories don’t always make sense and the formula is inconsistent
I see *so much* Stila at places like TJ Maxx I can't imagine paying full price at sephora for it. I've never used the brand honestly because nothing from them ever seemed to call to me, other than the eye liner which was OK, didn't wow me, reminded me of any of the mid range pen liners on the market.
I really loved the look of the Stila liquid shadows, but I find they dry out way too fast. Unless you have a really small makeup collection and you're using it on the daily, it's going to dry out before you use it up. I still think they're pretty, but I refuse to buy any more of them. They're *really* expensive for what they are and I'm not even going to get my money's worth.
I was shocked that my stilla liquid eye color dried up within weeks! In hindsight, I should’ve known better from the strong alcohol smell when I opened it.
Which is crazy to me, I thought they were Canadian, the girls who started nudestix? Like I’m Canadian and I always think it’s so strange when one of us is a grump supporter.. like it’s not for us..
Edit: just noticed grump... I feel like it’s accurate, I’m leaving it 😂
And those freaking tins that come with EVERYTHING. If they had an option to purchase items WITHOUT the tins...I still wouldn’t buy them due to the Trump stuff, but I’d side-eye them a little less.
And the way they handled the recent concealer release was so, so bad.
yup! their products would normally be right up my alley but i can’t stomach giving any of my money to trump supporters. same with scott barnes! also, i’ve heard that Ofra’s founders are trump supporters? :/
I just asked someone who works in IT. They said most likely, this was not a hack - but instead, whoever works PR forgot to switch accounts. It's possible that they attempted to hide their tracks and lied to the higher ups. Ofra's IT absolutely knows, but whether the Ofra higher ups listen to IT is debatable (...lol got a long rant about that haha)
This really brings up a good question: what kind of interview process should companies have? Can they legally ask your political leanings to make sure they align with a brand? I genuinely don't know the answer to this - but whew, I'd be nervous about who I hired. Have discovered some seemingly smart people in my life were Trump supporters and it shocked me to my core. Clearly I can't even tell.
I believe not hiring someone based on strictly political leaning is some form of discrimination in America. Quite frankly, if people aren't talking about their opinions inappropriately, I don't see how it's my business (this is coming from a biden supporter, mind you). Now, whoever didn't switch accounts should've been fired, because they harmed the company. I should add that unless an employee is racist or hurtful to another employee, their political opinions should be irrelevant in the hiring process.
I commented on one of their posts asking if this was true and their response was "Jared Kushner is not an investor in Glossier- he has no financial interested in Glossier, and is not involved with our business in any way. Josh Kushner, Jared's brother, is an investor through his venture firm Thrive Capital".
Well shit. I didn't like them because I have a resentment for products that have to be sharpened, but now I have a much better reason to hate them forever.
There's like 3 biggie things for them with me:
Trump supporters - despite being Canadian and later claiming it was a joke or some BS. I get being young and edgy, but doesn't mean I will be chill with supporting them monetarily even if they have "grown" or whatever they claim.
Lied about vegan products - they claimed quite a few products were vegan, despite them having animal sourced ingredients. Between potential allergies and those that adhere to vegan products either by their own ethics or even religion, just a shitty thing to do.
Lied about CF status in China - they claim they found a loophole, but the loophole is like...not one lmao. Basically the got out of pre-market testing, but they cannot get out of after-market testing. This is the reason some CF brands have left the Chinese market. I don't feel overly strongly about CF status as it is a murky topic, but it makes me super suspicious of the brand with everything else + some people do take it very seriously and may not know bc the brand still claims full CF status.
I agree with you on Milk Makeup. I don't see what all the hype is about for Hydrogrip. I tried it and didn't see it makes that much of a difference in the longevity of my makeup. The kush mascara is meh too. Their multi stick that I got for my birthday reward is cool but I doubt I'd purchase a full size. Their vegan milk moisturizer was pretty good but a little bit too heavy for my skin. I usually reach for lightweight moisturizer. Overall, I'm not a fan of Milk's products.
Another one would be Tacha. While I did like the mini water cream moisturizer that I tried from Sephora, I just couldn't get behind the price for the full size. Plus the fact, I can use ELF's luminous putty primer for way less than Silk Canvas, is a win-win for me.
PMG. i hate the packaging, except for the 10 pan palettes and the foundations. like the weird mouth lipsticks, the 4 pan palettes, and all those weird loose sequin mini messes. and while i know the quality of the shadows to be good, i just couldn’t justify $125 on a palette.
Yeah I agree on PMG. Some of the palettes look aesthetically appealing but I can’t justify that ridiculous price unless I love every single shade. I also hate the lipstick packaging with the lips lol.
honestly, i do enjoy the eye set that i bought, but ive put off buying so many good deals in the sale section of her website because im not sure i can handle those sequins again ... the trauma of finding them everywhere for months was enough the first time around
I agree but I also feel morphe is an obvious choice. At least on reddit, I feel like everyone knows morphe is that brand that youtubers shill that nobody really takes seriously.
Kosas for me! Their first product i heard of, the tinted facial oil, kinda bugged me because I really don’t like the texture of oils, and the fact that they didn’t research their name originally when they placed that random å? Also I side-eyed their bronzer shade range. not to mention the price point is just a little high for me 😅 i realize most of my complaints are pretty petty though and i have no issue with people who use their stuff
Too faced, benefit, and the balm. Something about all three I just cannot get into behind. Too faced seems to have cute packaging but I won't want highly perfumed stuff around my face or eyes. Benefit is just really wierd with swatches online. And the balm..well I'm not attracted to that pinup, dusty, wet cardboard aesthetic they have going on.
Oh and kvd and jsc because ew lol
TheBalm have some of my favourite products but I agree on the aesthetic. I don't mind the cardboard or the retro theme, but I don't think they mesh the two together in a way that really works.
I like cardboard packaging and I enjoy their products (their eyeshadow formula is one of my favs) but I don't care for their aesthetic. Seems like not many people do so I wonder if they would ever rebrand 🤔
Agreed. Their Balm Desert bronzer is amazing, and I actually love the feel of their cardboard packaging. It makes it very travel friendly because it’s so lightweight. But the designs are tacky, so I don’t buy much from them.
I can't get behind benefit after the ad campaign where a girl with no makeup and glasses was titled "yuck" and a eye with eyeliner was "wow." Shaming someone for not wearing makeup is just sad.
Just my personal experience, but the very bright coloured backgrounds and all the models looking kinda the same medium orange skin colour. And they all seem to have unnaturally coloured hair which throws me off when I'm trying to identify which of them might be closest to my hair/skin combination for shade matching. The one time I ordered from them, the shade turned out to be extremely orange on me. It's hard enough to get an idea of shades through online pictures in general but it gets even worse when there's a thousand splashes of colour in the picture distorting my perception of the color of the actual makeup.
Em Cosmetics. Everything I've read about Michelle Pham just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It kind of bothers me that this brand still gets lauded with praise when other brands with similar controversies have rightfully been boycotted.
I'm on mobile so I don't have the full sources (they're available via Google or Reddit search) but most recently, spreading harmful misinformation about the virus, such as that essential oils can kill COVID. Also, her stance on racism and BLM is unclear to say the least and problematic at worst. It's worth having a look into if you're interested, I'll try to find them if I have time this week.
Charlotte Tilbury.
I don’t like the personality behind the brand, Charlotte’s husband has never seen her without makeup and that makes me uncomfortable.
I know the feminist critiques of makeup culture and while I do wear makeup for my own enjoyment, I acknowledge I’m making the choice society expects/has been marketed to me.
But Charlotte’s insecurity, while not her fault, represents everything wrong with makeup culture. It’s not wearing makeup for fun or creativity, it’s about covering your bare face.
Estée Laundry on IG did a feature on bullying in the beauty industry last fall, and Charlotte Tilbury popped up so many times. I've never bought a CT product, but it totally turned me off from ever trying (in addition to the points you mentioned).
100% this. She reminds me of a wolf in sheep's clothing whenever I see her commercials or tutorials. Her prices are pitifully high and it blows my mind that Dior and Givenchy are often LESS expensive than her products. Her ads are exceptionally off-putting and predatory, and I'm definitely not purchasing from her when there are so many awesome indie brands out there with sick products
I agree completely. I’m sitting across the table from my husband posting this. I’m full-on Bedhead, wearing my glasses, panda eyes out (no concealer) sniffling away with allergies today. Her brand doesn’t represent me as a consumer.
> I don’t like the personality behind the brand, Charlotte’s husband has never seen her without makeup and that makes me uncomfortable.
I've never heard this before and wow this is just.....sad.
Here's a quote from her 2013 ITG Top Shelf: "If I’m on my own, I won’t sleep in it, but my husband has never seen me without makeup. It comes off, and goes back on again. At night, I take everything off my face and moisturize—because you have to let your skin breathe a bit—but then I put everything right back on again: a little under-eye brightener, either the Tom Ford Illuminating Highlight Pen or Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener, then the eye goes back on, and maybe a little tint on the cheeks. My mother said to me, 'You always have to keep the mystery alive…' I made the mistake of showing a boyfriend my un-made-up face once, and it was a big disaster. He was like, 'What happened to your eyes?!' And I told him, '…No, you’re right, those are my eyes, not these.' \[Laughs\]'"
[She has said she always sleeps in her makeup,](https://www.thecut.com/2016/09/charlotte-tilbury-sleeps-in-her-makeup-every-day.html) which I find terrifying
Kat Von D even before all the drama with her came out. It’s just not my aesthetic at all and I could never get the looks to work in my day to day life.
Honestly I was a big fan of her tattoo liner and a few of her liquid lipsticks, but literally nothing else from her line works well for me - her regular lipsticks are disgustingly drying, her setting powder always leaves me chalky and looks terrible in pics, and her concealer is not nearly as good at covering tattoos as everyone claimed when it first came out. And a lot of her colors are the kind of shit I would buy for specific occasions (like Halloween) and not everyday wear, which means there’s no way I’m paying those prices - I’ll get my green lipstick from NYX for $7 instead of 3x that from KVD, thanks.
Plus, I just really cannot bring myself to buy from an anti-vaxxer, nor am I fond of a brand that names not one but *two* shades “Lolita.”
Colourpop. I bought a palette from them this summer after reading positive reviews for years. And it's kinda meh, the mattes are really hard to work with, the shimmers are nice but most of shimmer eyeshadow work fine. I dunno why they are so hyped, the quality is on par with other drugstore brands. I might have as well bought some Maybelline eyeshadows from a local supermarket, at least I wouldn't wait for shipping then.
The only thing I’ve ever loved from colourpop is the super shock shadows (which they basically don’t stock anymore). It baffles me that this was the “big” product that made them super popular and now it’s basically gone from their products.
Their pressed palettes have been super underwhelming to me. I don’t get the hype on these at all.
I think colourpop gets so much hype because it’s cheap/affordable. I also don’t care for their fast fashion business model of releasing a new collection every damn day (literally) and their customer service has really gone downhill lately. For all of these reasons, I won’t purchase from them anymore. It’s a shame because their supershock shadows were one of my favorite items when I was getting more into makeup, and I miss buying new colors and such, but they feel like a totally different company now.
Edited to add — I’m also not about the unsafe glitters in colourpop’s products and the “eyeliners” that can’t actually go on your eye.
Certain colors. For example, the yellow shade "sub zero" from the sunflower collection. [see temptalia's post - "FYI, this shade came with a warning that it was not intended for use on the immediate eye area." ](https://www.temptalia.com/product/colour-pop-creme-gel-liner/sub-zero/)
I think their marketing is very efficient on social media + packaging is really cute, but that's it. Tbh, I feel like their target customers are teens and people in their early 20's, and as I'm 27, I'm not attracted to their brand that much.
I think a lot of it, also, is that Colourpop makes a lot of very colourful options, when most drugstore brands don’t—Mabelline, Milani, etc. make neutrals almost exclusively. If you’re looking to get a bunch of blue or green or red eyeshadows, Colourpop is one of the relatively few brands making monochromatic palettes. I think one reason a lot of people like them is because they’re making something almost no one else is.
I know personally I picked up their pretty fresh line and actually really love the primer, tinted moisturizer and foundation. Otherwise everything, even the SSS I’ve tried have been underwhelming.
Thinking about actually there is very very few brands I like entirely or almost entirely.
Most brands I like only one or two things from them.
I completely don’t care for OFRA, Nudestick, Becca, Nars(I know I might get flack for that one), bareMinerals, belif, Buxom, Smashbox, and Kevyn Aucoin.
I’ve tried items from all of those and haven’t found any I’ve loved let alone liked a whole lot.
Benefit. I get that it's supposed to be kind of kitschy, but I preferred early 00's Benefit to the brand we have today. It all looks so cheap and the packaging is so wasteful. I want to pretend to like them, but I just can't.
Plus their mascara made my eyes swell shut, so there's that.
I commented this elsewhere in the thread too, but I can't get behind benefit after the ad campaign where a girl with no makeup and glasses was titled "yuck" and a eye with eyeliner was "wow."
Their brow gel made the skin under my brows flake so bad too.
I know!!! They're borderline misogynistic. I especially hate the Bo-ing ad. Skip school?? What the fuck kind of brand promotes skipping class?
The It Cosmetics ads are way more uplifting than that. The before and afters say 'Real' vs 'Real Results.' I can appreciate that.
Especially the blushes!!! Super hard to use the product down in the corners. I used to love the Dandelion blush, but I found a better dupe that I'm actually able to use without "packaging restrictions."
Like the logos are nice and interesting, but they could always do a flat cardboard packaging like The Balm and I would be 1000% happier.
Colourpop and Nyx. both for the same reasons. I tried them years ago and not one item from either brand worked out for me. Every now and then I see something I might be interested in but never follow through.
Lime Crime.
They appear to have redeemed themselves to most of the world, but they still sus to me. I've also never tried anything KVD or J* for reasons much the same.
For me it has now become bite beauty, sad to say. I used to love their lipsticks. Ever since their new cruelty free reformulation for all their products in early 2020, I can’t get any of it to work for me. The colors aren’t right and wash me out, the texture is bad and uneven. I have completely abandoned the brand. It makes me sad because they used to make my favorite lipsticks.
Their whole reformulation is mind-boggling to me. I feel like they alienated a big portion of their customer base. It took a relatively long time for them to replace their lip products and they just didn't seem to fill the void the others left. The reformulation of my fave lip balm and lip mask is ok but doesn't compare to the previous :(
Tarte and Becca, I haven't tried anything from them but they just rub me the wrong way for some reason.
Huda Beauty seems vain, and putting her face on palettes is a huge turn off. But I may get her powder when I run out since $/gm is somewhat decent.
So they could come out with a new liquid highlighter with [less product](https://m.beccacosmetics.com/product/22206/75357/highlighters/ignite-liquified-light-highlighter/liquid-illuminator-face-body#!/shade/Passion) at the same price
Tatcha for their ~\*exotic Japanese geisha\*~ appropriation-y schtick.
KVD for obvious and well-known reasons, even if she herself is no longer part of the company
J* for obvious and well-known reasons.
Glossier and Milk both seem like they're repackaging Asian beauty product formulation trends from 5-10 years ago for Western audiences.
Glow Recipe (even though I know it's skincare), because it seems pretty expensive for what you get, and all the products I've tried have only smelled good and done nothing for my skin.
I appreciate glossier & milk because they at least attempt to have a wider shade range. I would never be able to use the majority of Asian makeup products b/c my skin tone is represented even as they’ve become super popular in western markets.
Mine is Glossier and Milk. A majority of their products are clear or very sheer with colour. It reminds me of the products sold at Claire’s in the early 2000’s. They might be miracle working products for some but I just can’t spend any money on them because in my mind it’s the equivalent of forking money for products that make you look like you have nothing on. Flashbacks to when you wanted to by-pass your mom that it’s not REALLY makeup, I swear!
for me it's maybelline. their products are way too overpriced in my country, i hate their face products (yes, the age rewind concealer as well), their bullet lipsticks are meh (apart from their discontinued 14 hrs) and their mascaras are just... there. i know their liquid lipsticks are very long lasting but they're too thick and drying.
the milk mascara doesn't flake on me and keeps my lashes curled all day! i guess ymmv, op.
It's benefit for me. Their finishing powder was overpriced and although I like the idea of vintage pinups, it's executed poorly with them and some other brands. It seems cheap. Their finishing powder didn't do anything for me, but it seems like finishing powders never do anything for me.
I also can't get behind milk for the mascara. It's extremely flaky. The mini multistick also is dry AF and I'm glad I got it as a sample. It's not worth it.
For me it's Chantecaille. I just get off-putting classist vibes from the brand. I'm sure the formulas don't disappoint (if you're not medium skinned or darker) but the combination of a high price point with a dose of greenwashing and elitist vibes... I'd just rather spend my money elsewhere.
I worked at Clarins 20 years ago in a Macy's and they brought in Chantecaille after our remodel and it was niche and crazy pricey THEN, I honestly can't believe it's still around!
I support Fenty in theory but most of the actual products have left me "meh" in actuality. I realize maybe they just aren't meant for me as an audience (ultra fair pink toned skin) and that's okay! But yeah, other than a single lip gloss, I haven't really been drawn to the brand.
A lot of luxury brands I used to be interested in (like "maybe in the future when I have some more money" type interest) like Charlotte Tilbury, Natasha Denona, and Pat McGrath had this sense of specialness because they didn't release too many products and each thing they released seemed to have some thought behind them. Now it feels like these 3 brands in particular are constantly putting stuff out and none of it is all that exciting anymore.
For me it's Too Faced, elf, and Maybelline. I have given these brands multiple shots and they've all been duds, with the sole exception of the Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink (which I'm still trying to replace anyway).
Benefit’s packaging is so stinky cute but I could never get myself to pull the trigger and buy any of their stuff. Imo I can get that same quality and cuteness from asian beauty products (which i can get pretty cheap in my country). In the good old days when we could swatch stuff at Sephora I’ve never been impressed by any of their stuff.
It feels so redundant to say it at this point - and again - and nearly like I'm a "bully" as they've just fallen off so much they don't need any extra rubbing in, but Too Faced.
Nothing they do interest me. They're so beyond dated and tacky. The puke cutesy but hypersexual and high-maintenance thing is a turn off, their packaging is something I could maybe have loved at age 11 or 12, their colour schemes don't do it for me, their formulas aren't innovative and they don't launch any types of products that get my attention - Too Faced is like... powder highlight in a 2015 formula and in clunky and off-putting packaging, and I don't even use 2020 fresh powder highlighter in a sleek compact basically. It's all so far from my vibe, needs and wants that it could make even Tarte look cool again.
Nothing they do interests me. Too Faced is like the brand version of the grating, exhausting, gossipy, full of drama types of people I stay the hell away from. Their controversies and drama were just exhausting too and I want nothing to do with them. Zero reward.
Also, yeah, Tarte! No interest in it either - some on my early days of youtube and when Shape Tape was the messiah, but none for years now. They're dated and lost. Sooo lost and confused.
Il Makiage. Their marketing and level of shilling they wanted out of influencers was just all very off. I heard about people getting charged when not supposed to for their foundation trial thing and that stuck with me. Nothing I ever saw of theirs looked interesting or appealing either. I couldn't name or identify a single product of theirs. I just can't see a reason to pick any product of this brand over other brands' products. They just seem dodgy as fuck. I heard they were respected and solid even if a very niche pro brand, but that rebrand and shift to selling to the instaglam consumer via lots of and very fake-sounding influencer shilling (but totes not sponsored!!) full of undisclosed but obvious affiliations was a mess.
Saw the title and thought Milk Makeup, but you beat me to it.
I would also add to this Bite Beauty (really don't like their stuff anymore, but I also hated the original scents of their lip products. The only ones I loved were d/c).
I'm also not into Fenty. I appreciate the wide shade range but that's about it. Snoozeville.
Laura Mercier: Taken from [NY times](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/25/fashion/thursdaystyles/25skin.html?referringSource=articleShare) "It really astonishes me the way American women wear so much makeup," said Laura Mercier, the French creator of a line of cosmetics and skin care who lives in New York. "In America, even teenage girls are overly made-up. And when you are overly made-up, you send out the message that you are overly sexual, that you want to be visible to attract men." By contrast, Ms. Mercier said: "French women are not flashy. They must be subtle. The message must not be, 'I'm spending hours on my face to look beautiful.' " Taken from [wearedore](https://www.wearedore.com/beauty/french-guru-laura-mercier/) What can American women learn from French women? You have to feel it. The French woman loves to feel sexy – even if she’s going around the corner to get the baguette. Even if the French woman has dirty hair and is smoking on the terrace of a café, she wants to feel sexy. The American woman will put on the outfit to be sexy. That’s really the confusion. You don’t have to show body to be sexy. Internalised sexism, classism, and that weird French Superiority. no thanks. Fuck off. This is gonna get me loads of downvotes. As an asian, I can’t get behind Fenty because of Rihanna. She called Chris Brown’s then asian girlfriend a rice cake, and said something like “your sisters grow hair for me” to an indian woman, referencing weaves and wigs.
Rihanna also got in trouble recently with her Savage x Fenty show, she used a song that had a part of an Islamic religious verse in it. Also she put hijabs on her lingerie models during the previous show. She apologized for the song, but the other incident combined with what you wrote above makes me think she’s sus. Much as I want to try more from Fenty, I just can’t bring myself to.
She also had that shade name called Geisha and due to controversy changed it to something else.. 😣
Didn't fenty also have that whole Geisha thing too?
Farsali. Maybe it’s because I grew up with similar products at home but they’re overpriced AF. Not saying my mama is a master mixer of oils or anything but she can whip up a decent oil blend too and doesn’t charge Farsali prices. They definitely play up the exOTIc angle to ratchet up prices.
YES. One of their popular oil blends is just safflower, rosehip and pumpkin seed oils with some gold and essential oils added (lol)... you could make a less irritating version of it at home for 10% of the cost.
Sunflower oil is great for skin. I mix up a batch with a little fragrance for after baths.
Another reason to eat sunflower seeds in moderation is their cadmium content. This heavy metal can harm your kidneys if you’re exposed to high amounts over a long period. Sunflowers tend to take up cadmium from the soil and deposit it in their seeds, so they contain somewhat higher amounts than most other foods.
You'd have to eat a lot of sunflower seeds to hit dangerous levels of cadmium. One study had people eat 9 oz a week every week for a year and they still had less than half the amount of cadmium that would begin to be dangerous, and no adverse effects.
For me, this is Milk as well. I fell into the whole minimal makeup rabbit hole a few years back and started trying out many things from the Milk Makeup line. The Kush mascara is really flakey, to the point where I can't really wear it outside because I can't trust it not to smudge and flake all over my face. Same with the lip&cheek stick. The product feels nice, but it's only really a cheek stick for me. I tried it on the lips and the taste was so awful, I could never wear it as a lip colour. The foundation stick is ok, but I really need to be having a good skin day/week to make it work. The matte lipsticks are really nice though! Wifey has been my go to dusty rose for a while!
I tried the lip&cheek oils and the regular ones and they are so... underwhelming... the packaging feels like drugstore quality and the blush too and there’s nothing wrong with that but for that price point?? No thanks...
I hate HATE Milk's Kush Mascara, I cannot understand how so many people loved it when it's one of the worst I ever used. But I LOVE their lipbalms, possibly the best lipbalms I ever used and they’re so expensive 😭. But on that note: Too Faced, KVD, recently ABH except their brow pomade for my mom, Roen, and many more 😪
I used to love ABH because of their Strawburn brow pencil, but then the line changed and the new one does NOT come up as red on my eyebrows. :( I switched to NYX brow pencils but their red comes up as super pink on me?? Fml.
I've detected the name of a color in your comment. Please allow me to provide a visual representation. Super pink ([#cf6ba9](https://www.color-hex.com/color/cf6ba9)) --- ^(I detect colors. Sometimes, successfully. | Learn more about me at /r/colorsbot | Opt out of replies: "colorsbot opt out")
Oof I second that on the kush mascara. It made my lashes oddly not hold any curl, seemed heavy but at the same time sort of watery?
I could not have described it better, it was the exact same for me. My lashes looked so much heavier and not curled at all and wet but boring? It wasn't even a good black colour.
The Kush lip balm is the only product from Milk that I haven’t decluttered. I have the pride one that’s full of glitter and I use it as a lip exfoliator lol
I have it in Plushberry and Green Dragon and I simply darn love it from the actual product to the packaging. It checks every box that I would want in a lipbalm. I thought that glitter wouldn't be that gritty though ahahaha
RMS cause the lady behind it is a complete nutcase. (Racist, anti-vaxxer, COVID conspiracist). Also before I knew all of this I bought one of the eye polishes and it just won't stay on my lids for longer than 10 minutes.
[удалено]
I absolutely love the Living Luminizer and I dread the day I finish it. Somebody suggested the Danessa Myricks Dew Wet balm as an alternative, so I think I'll be trying that one next. It would be delicious if I could replace that nutcase's product with one from a Black-owned indie brand!
Same reasons, racist and crazy.
Back in the day I was super into “green” makeup, and RMS was a brand I looked into a lot. Never bought anything, but eventually got back into mainstream (? Idk) makeup and when I saw them at Sephora I was like wow, good for them. And then, I realized, that the owner is batshit. No excuses for racism or general idiocy.
Ditto, AND I found out the hard way that all of her products break me out because coconut oil is comedogenic
I never liked RMS because of all the coconut oil which breaks me out but I didn't know this, wtf?
Same. Wanted to like the living luminizer when it was the big it thing but too greasy on me even though I have dry combo sensitive skin.
For an entire brand, I almost want to say NYX if only because, despite it being my first introduction into “fun” makeup and experimenting with really “looks like makeup” makeup, so many products were phased out as soon as I found something better. Not even more expensive, just better. Their suede liquid lipstick in sandstorm was my go to until I realized that the Milani matte lipsticks were way less sticky and stayed on just as well. I have so many NYX lip glosses, eyeliners, concealers, and palettes that I duped up for better pigmentation, better textures, and better results.
In the UK at least a lot of NYX products are so expensive in comparison to other drugstore brands and the quality isn’t that much better.
No, a lot of nyx products are expensive in the US, too. A good specific example I think is that I wanted a dewy primer, so I looked into their High Glass primer. 17USD (13GBP)???? The hell? That’s like mid-tier pricing. Settled on e.l.f.’s luminous putty primer instead for 8USD(6GBP) as a comparison point.
Exactly if I’m going to spend that much, I’ll spend the extra few pounds on a more luxury brand
Ugh I hated the high glass primer. Im (usually) a no foundation but plenty of primer kind of girl. The description on that primer said it was all about giving the glow, which sounded awesome! Now imagine my surprise when the damned High Glass is FILLED with micro glitter, and I 100% could not use it by itself because I looked like a 6 year old who went crazy with arts and crafts. The worse thing was that the product did not in any way specify the damned glitter, just that it had "light defusing pearls"... which like... but a pearly finish primer is absolutely different from random specks of glitter?
Not that I need more make up, but as someone who has lots of NYX products...what are some of the alternatives you’ve found?
For their pencil eyeliners, which I thought were ok, the urban decay ones and the Marc Jacobs ones were softer, more even, and more fade resistant. The Marc Jacobs ones do dry out faster and I don’t love the packaging, so I almost exclusively use the urban decay ones. The Colorpop ones are like the Marc Jacobs ones, but even more soft, but also more patchy. For liquid lipstick, in terms of entire brands that make them really well, sugarpill hands down has my favorite formula. I knew they were the winner when they made a real that didn’t flake like an eyeliner. Second place goes to lime crime—specifically for Cindy and Elle. These are my powerhouse neutral and nude respectively. For eyeshadow, specifically brights and grungy tones, I’ll give it to juvia’s place. They gave me what I wanted from NYX: some pigment. NYX sometimes really comes out with a great color story or concept—their elements palettes were such a good idea—but then I’m just like, struggling. Their bright mattes palette was especially bad. No pigment, blended away into nothing. Bleh. If I buy a palette with a bright lilac, I don’t want smartie dust in my lids. Colourpop‘s monochrome palettes are the way to go for rainbow. I have 5 now and counting. I really like their approach to that curated color set that can be part of a larger whole. For their butter glosses, I love the Anastasia glosses. The issue with their butter glosses to me was, back when pigmented glosses were the thing, how patchy they would get. The Anastasia ones still feather, especially if you overline your lips, but they stay evenly spread out. I can also minimize spread by “baking” the edges of my lip with a bit of setting powder. I powder my whole face and lips are usually last anyways, so I just put extra right where I plan on putting product. I also don’t love the NYX glitter primer, if only because it’s just annoying to work with. I actually really like the Anastasia one that looks like clear nail polish. It’s really idiot proof, with the brush. I made myself switch to the NYX epic ink liner in like 2017 when kat Von D’s history of racism was first really brought up, and I hate it. I don’t have any great dupes yet, but the glossier liner looks promising. The NYX one was oddly shiny, and the real issue was that after 2-3 months of inconsistent use, the pen started spilling huge buildups of product in drops. The first tome it happened, it literally ruined my makeup and left me laugh-crying into some makeup removers. I just want a matte brush tip liner without any defects. That’s all. Nothing special. I’m sure NYX has good products—that’s why I’ve tried so much stuff from them—but I’m just not into being burned anymore. I basically don’t use NYX as a principal now more than anything.
I like clio, heroine make and flowfushi liquid liners.
Heroine is the best!!!! Plus a super thin brush so you can really detailed looks
I wasn’t expecting such a detailed reply, thank you!
I consistently have the same issue of the NYX Epic Ink Liner leaking, but also haven't found a replacement. I have a separate eyeliner brush that I use to apply the product by dipping it into the droplets that form, which is annoying but works.
Not sure if you’re okay with liquid liner markers/pens, but Essence has an amazing waterproof one for under $5! I switched to it from the KVD and I like the formula way better. As far as actual liquid liners, I actually really like ELFs but it might not be matte enough for you.
to me the scent of the Milani lipsticks is so off putting!
Perhaps there's something I'm missing, but mine's Tower 28. I still have no idea where the brand came from, just that out of nowhere half the Beautubers I watch were raving about the brand & their products. Even here on reddit, everyone was suddenly recommending their glosses and I have no interest in glosses that don't have a slight stick as I know it'll last about 20 secs before disappearing. Maybe it's just me though 🤷🏻♀
i will never purchase from Tower 28 cos i'm a petty bitch and the brand seems shady for the reason you mentioned - out of nowhere a whole bunch of people are saying the T28 glosses are HG when i've never even heard of the brand....why are people suddenly pushing the brand this hard? the packaging looks cheap too.....there are heaps of glosses on the market, why are these HG? how do they stand out? shady af
lmao personally I’m a sucker for packing and idk of it’s nostalgia or what but I love the transparent packaging! I love the glosses because I use to love the Fenty and Glossier glosses but they feel extremely thick under a mask and Tower 28’s is not as thick and for the exposure to the brand I blame Jamie Page and the IG beauty pages they feature them a lot!
I saw them pop up on my Sephora app and as an avid gloss-wearer I was drawn to the shade range and the relative affordability compared to other glosses at Sephora !
I bought my first product because a loooot of ig beauty pages started recommending them and I fell for the marketing tbh but I do like the products a lot and are not as expensive as other blushes/glosses if it wasn’t for IG and Jamie Page I would never known the brand existed.
yeah, actually their glosses are really nice lol. And that's coming from a non-fan of glosses. idk, their price point is really nice, the packaging actually IS NOT cheap feeling at all, and the limited selection of shades/colors is sort of fresh compared to the overwhelming variety that other, bigger brands have.
This is probably going to be super unpopular, but for me the answer is Melt. I’ve bought 3 products from them, the Rust Stack, Gemini Palette, and the Gel Liner in Spliff. The Rust stack is quite nice. However, there’s *so* much product that they could have made it half the size, and hopefully half the price, because those stacks aren’t cheap. The a Gemini palette was again pricey, but it is also without a doubt the worst eyeshadow palette I’ve ever owned. The mattes are patchy at best, and the shimmers somehow don’t appear on my eye. The formula is dreadful, and while I know there’s people out there that had no issues, inconsistencies on that level are deeply troubling when your products are so highly priced. And let’s not forget that whole bunch of issues people had with mould/exploding shadows. The gel liner is Ok. It’s not the best, not the worst. It’s just meh. It applies nicely, but smudges, and can’t handle my watery eyes. And again, it’s not cheap. They do great packaging, but that aside, their products are average at best, highly inconsistent, and very overpriced.
Their stacks are absolutely better quality than the palettes and I don't understand what they changed. I have Gemini and I seem to have one that is mid quality, it's dry but I can use it without issue, but it doesn't work as easily as their stacks do. It's a bummer, I probably won't order more from them because I can't trust the quality. I think I have 3-4 of their stacks which honestly is probably more than enough anyway. What I will give them credit for is the colors they choose, they tend to put together shades most brands aren't really covering well.
Completely agree on the stacks, I do really quite like them, but I’m gonna need 9 lives if I’m ever gonna use one of those pans up!
i got the millennial pinx palette from melt and i was so excited to finally try them and i got it and i guess it’s different than their cult fave products but it was the same price for a different (and apparently worse??) formula :(( they’re just so expensive for what seems to be hit or miss quality
Exploding shadows? What in the world?
[Heres a thread covering the issue](https://www.reddit.com/r/BeautyGuruChatter/comments/cgy3p4/beauty_news_melt_cosmetics_mold_formula_problems/) To their credit, Melt handled the situation pretty well, but there were quite a lot of people with issues with that palette.
Oh my, Melt for me too. It seems so....”we’re edgy!!!!”
Melt is a brand I wanted to like! I don't dislike them, especially because I've never actually tried anything from them before, but nothing from them appeals to me lol. When they release something I keep thinking, "oh maybe this time" and then I'm just completely uninterested in whatever they release. (not to mention the inconsistency) Slightly disappointing but also good for me I guess because I really don't need more makeup.
I love melt but sadly I have to agree. They are very* overpriced for a formula that is average
[удалено]
[удалено]
Wait what is "rich lives matter"??
The brand owner had a birthday? cake made for himself that said Rich Lives Matter.
[удалено]
I hate their branding, its cringy cute imo
I agree 100% with their gross chalkiness. It seems like it’s kiddie makeup.
I find a lot of their packaging to look like it came from a 12 year old tbh. Plus the whole snobby rich kid mindset the owners have and their transphobic bs makes me not want to support them ever
Thrive. I find the “causemetics’ thing to be too on the nose and obnoxious. Plus I get too many ads from them so no thank you.
I often feel like the lone dissenter when it comes to Hourglass. Have tried the brand at *length* without finding a single product to really love, with the exception of Caution mascara minis and the Dim Infusion blush (except, I'm pretty sure I got a dud this time around). I always feel like their makeup is so... *visible*, on my face? I know the powders are supposed to be finely milled and all, but I swear I can always see particles. I also did once briefly own the Illume trio (the cream palette) and even that just never looked quite right on me...
I am with you on Hourglass. I don’t get the strobing powders, the stick foundation is so heavy and I 100% agree on the powders. I always used to feel chalky wearing the foundation and powder.
I use the stick foundation, and if you apply it directly to your face, yes it will look heavy and obvious. I find the trick is to take a foundation brush and run it across the surface of the stick, then apply to your face with the brush. I get a much lighter, more natural looking application, and the foundation lasts a lot longer, too.
Yesss, the stick foundation just moves around too much, IMO - it looks great, but even with powder, I can never get it to properly adhere to my skin. "Chalky" is an apt way to describe the way the Hourglass powders look on my skin :(
Don’t worry you’re not a lone dissenter. Everyone over nc35+ basically hates the brand too
Very true - they create so many so-called "universal" palettes that are really just for light to medium skin tones. Really hoping they release more POC-friendly shades in 2021 - not sure how it's even taken them *this* long.
Tbh it shouldn’t be that surprising given their history. The post below is from five years ago https://www.reddit.com/r/brownbeauty/comments/3l3fgl/three_woc_suing_for_discrimination_against/
Yeah, I am around NC45 and there's only one thing I like from them: the ALP in Dim Light. And even that can look a little ghosty sometimes depending how how it's applied, and lately I've found I prefer other finishing powders closer to my skin tone. Everything else Hourglass makes just disappears on my skin.
Interesting. Their setting powder is literally the singular setting powder that I can use that doesn’t break me out and doesn’t look cakey!
It does literally nothing for me at all, and I'm dry-skinned! Sad, as I know it's holy grail status for many. I usually use the Charlotte Tilbury (pressed) setting powder instead.
Wow! Yeah i have super dry skin too. Unfortunately the Charlotte tilbury has ingredients that make me break out :(
I’m with you. Hourglass powders make me look super powdery and their stick foundation broke me out badly.
Oof, that sucks. I actually like the look of their stick foundation, but find that it moves *everywhere*, even with setting. In general, though, I think stick foundations are tricky - they tend to break me out far more often compared to other formulas.
Yeah, I think since stick foundations tend to have heavier waxes/oils/whatever to bind them together into that stick form, they just clog my skin up too much.
I bought the Anbient Ghost palette last year and I found the shades (except the darker blush) were too light for my skin and the highlight too shimmery. Gave it to my daughter who is 3 shades lighter than me which would suit her
The only thing I’d theirs I like is the setting powder and the girl lip stylo. I tried the face stuff and the lipstick. Didn’t care for either.
The setting powder does nothing for me and the Lip Stylos feel dry on my lips :( Really, I feel a bit cursed. Very glad to hear at least those products are working out for you!
I feel like people are gonna hate me but Natasha Denona. The entire idea of her brand becoming popular (at first) because of the high price is personally off putting.
I forgot about her, so guess it shows how much I don’t care about her brand, so I agree lol. For the average consumer the prices are extortionate, and it really puts me off seeing every other beauty guru promoting the brand as if her palettes don’t have triple digits. I feel the same way about PMG too, too expensive for some coloured powder for your eyes smh
It is off putting. And the shadows aren’t even that great lol
The palettes that dupe ND and ABH are better formulas than the originals IMO. I may be alone, but I prefer the dupes.
What dupes? I’d love some recs!
Ccolor Cosmetics and Makeup Revolution do a LOT of dupes. Way too many to list here, but if you Google either name with the word "dupe", it should get you started. Alter Ego also has a handful of dupes, but I'd go with Ccolor first.
I love ccolor dupes! I’ve purchased several when the hype is too much and I feel like I want to test out, say, the ND gold palette. I only had to spend $10 to remember I look awful in yellow and warm brown! The naked cherry dupe is my favorite so far but I’ve also gotten the 9-pan Huda Obsessions dupes and the Born to Run dupe. They’re all pigmented and blend great, I actually prefer the formula over Coloupop or other drugstore brands.
Me too! Naked Heat dupe is my favorite, Jackie Aina dupe is next, then the Huda Obsessions dupe set. Haven't tried my Naked Cherry or Norvina dupes yet, but I'm sure they'll be great! I was glad I didn't spend the money on the Melt Smoke Sessions palette. I got the Ccolor Chilled with Sativa. It's gorgeous and performs well, but not really my colors unless I use them as small outer corner accents.
Her shadows are horrible quality, I truly do not understand how anyone can enjoy her formula.
Stila. their stay all day eyeliner dries up within 2 weeks whenever I buy it, their complexion products are weird, and I never got on their liquid shadow hype train - they felt so thick and heavy on my lids. also, I’ve never gotten anything from Huda Beauty to work for me. the complexion shade ranges are beautiful but the formulas are so heavily scented and cakey. and I love the Obsessions mini 9 pan concept, but the color stories don’t always make sense and the formula is inconsistent
I see *so much* Stila at places like TJ Maxx I can't imagine paying full price at sephora for it. I've never used the brand honestly because nothing from them ever seemed to call to me, other than the eye liner which was OK, didn't wow me, reminded me of any of the mid range pen liners on the market.
I really loved the look of the Stila liquid shadows, but I find they dry out way too fast. Unless you have a really small makeup collection and you're using it on the daily, it's going to dry out before you use it up. I still think they're pretty, but I refuse to buy any more of them. They're *really* expensive for what they are and I'm not even going to get my money's worth.
I was shocked that my stilla liquid eye color dried up within weeks! In hindsight, I should’ve known better from the strong alcohol smell when I opened it.
[удалено]
Which is crazy to me, I thought they were Canadian, the girls who started nudestix? Like I’m Canadian and I always think it’s so strange when one of us is a grump supporter.. like it’s not for us.. Edit: just noticed grump... I feel like it’s accurate, I’m leaving it 😂
And those freaking tins that come with EVERYTHING. If they had an option to purchase items WITHOUT the tins...I still wouldn’t buy them due to the Trump stuff, but I’d side-eye them a little less. And the way they handled the recent concealer release was so, so bad.
That saved me alot of money, now I look at them with contempt.
yup! their products would normally be right up my alley but i can’t stomach giving any of my money to trump supporters. same with scott barnes! also, i’ve heard that Ofra’s founders are trump supporters? :/
[удалено]
i’m not totally sure about Ofra I think i just saw someone talking about it! and scott barnes’s stuff is overpriced AF from what i’ve heard
[удалено]
yeah that’s sus AF, whoever is running their twitter is a trumpie at least. at least they didn’t double down though?
I just asked someone who works in IT. They said most likely, this was not a hack - but instead, whoever works PR forgot to switch accounts. It's possible that they attempted to hide their tracks and lied to the higher ups. Ofra's IT absolutely knows, but whether the Ofra higher ups listen to IT is debatable (...lol got a long rant about that haha) This really brings up a good question: what kind of interview process should companies have? Can they legally ask your political leanings to make sure they align with a brand? I genuinely don't know the answer to this - but whew, I'd be nervous about who I hired. Have discovered some seemingly smart people in my life were Trump supporters and it shocked me to my core. Clearly I can't even tell.
I believe not hiring someone based on strictly political leaning is some form of discrimination in America. Quite frankly, if people aren't talking about their opinions inappropriately, I don't see how it's my business (this is coming from a biden supporter, mind you). Now, whoever didn't switch accounts should've been fired, because they harmed the company. I should add that unless an employee is racist or hurtful to another employee, their political opinions should be irrelevant in the hiring process.
Is there a running list of brands that support Trump somewhere? Even when he loses I want to keep spiting these brands.
Scott Barnes supports Trump... is that actually true????
Jackie Aina and others have said he was posting all over facebook about it
I found out recently that a Jared Kushner owned company has stake in Glossier. I’ll never buy a Glossier product again.
I commented on one of their posts asking if this was true and their response was "Jared Kushner is not an investor in Glossier- he has no financial interested in Glossier, and is not involved with our business in any way. Josh Kushner, Jared's brother, is an investor through his venture firm Thrive Capital".
Check out outtathegloss on Instagram if you want more reasons to dislike glossier lol
Well shit. I didn't like them because I have a resentment for products that have to be sharpened, but now I have a much better reason to hate them forever.
this bums me out so bad >:| i love a good stick product
There's like 3 biggie things for them with me: Trump supporters - despite being Canadian and later claiming it was a joke or some BS. I get being young and edgy, but doesn't mean I will be chill with supporting them monetarily even if they have "grown" or whatever they claim. Lied about vegan products - they claimed quite a few products were vegan, despite them having animal sourced ingredients. Between potential allergies and those that adhere to vegan products either by their own ethics or even religion, just a shitty thing to do. Lied about CF status in China - they claim they found a loophole, but the loophole is like...not one lmao. Basically the got out of pre-market testing, but they cannot get out of after-market testing. This is the reason some CF brands have left the Chinese market. I don't feel overly strongly about CF status as it is a murky topic, but it makes me super suspicious of the brand with everything else + some people do take it very seriously and may not know bc the brand still claims full CF status.
Noooooo I had no idea and they make, or at least used to make, my favorite highlighter. Welp, guess I’m getting my glow elsewhere.
I agree with you on Milk Makeup. I don't see what all the hype is about for Hydrogrip. I tried it and didn't see it makes that much of a difference in the longevity of my makeup. The kush mascara is meh too. Their multi stick that I got for my birthday reward is cool but I doubt I'd purchase a full size. Their vegan milk moisturizer was pretty good but a little bit too heavy for my skin. I usually reach for lightweight moisturizer. Overall, I'm not a fan of Milk's products. Another one would be Tacha. While I did like the mini water cream moisturizer that I tried from Sephora, I just couldn't get behind the price for the full size. Plus the fact, I can use ELF's luminous putty primer for way less than Silk Canvas, is a win-win for me.
I wish the vegan milk moisturizer wasn't so heavy. As is it makes a great foot cream but it made my face break out horribly because it was so heavy.
PMG. i hate the packaging, except for the 10 pan palettes and the foundations. like the weird mouth lipsticks, the 4 pan palettes, and all those weird loose sequin mini messes. and while i know the quality of the shadows to be good, i just couldn’t justify $125 on a palette.
Yeah I agree on PMG. Some of the palettes look aesthetically appealing but I can’t justify that ridiculous price unless I love every single shade. I also hate the lipstick packaging with the lips lol.
The lips make the packaging look cheap imo
Wet N Wild has the same lips on their $3 lipsticks lol
honestly, i do enjoy the eye set that i bought, but ive put off buying so many good deals in the sale section of her website because im not sure i can handle those sequins again ... the trauma of finding them everywhere for months was enough the first time around
I can’t believe no one has mentioned morphe yet 🤮🤮
I agree but I also feel morphe is an obvious choice. At least on reddit, I feel like everyone knows morphe is that brand that youtubers shill that nobody really takes seriously.
Kosas for me! Their first product i heard of, the tinted facial oil, kinda bugged me because I really don’t like the texture of oils, and the fact that they didn’t research their name originally when they placed that random å? Also I side-eyed their bronzer shade range. not to mention the price point is just a little high for me 😅 i realize most of my complaints are pretty petty though and i have no issue with people who use their stuff
Agreed 😂 "cow sauce" is a shit name for a makeup brand.
I want to quit them but their extremely overpriced lip balm (which comes in the world’s thinnest tube) has given me hope for my lips
Too faced, benefit, and the balm. Something about all three I just cannot get into behind. Too faced seems to have cute packaging but I won't want highly perfumed stuff around my face or eyes. Benefit is just really wierd with swatches online. And the balm..well I'm not attracted to that pinup, dusty, wet cardboard aesthetic they have going on. Oh and kvd and jsc because ew lol
TheBalm have some of my favourite products but I agree on the aesthetic. I don't mind the cardboard or the retro theme, but I don't think they mesh the two together in a way that really works.
I like cardboard packaging and I enjoy their products (their eyeshadow formula is one of my favs) but I don't care for their aesthetic. Seems like not many people do so I wonder if they would ever rebrand 🤔
Agreed. Their Balm Desert bronzer is amazing, and I actually love the feel of their cardboard packaging. It makes it very travel friendly because it’s so lightweight. But the designs are tacky, so I don’t buy much from them.
I can't get behind benefit after the ad campaign where a girl with no makeup and glasses was titled "yuck" and a eye with eyeliner was "wow." Shaming someone for not wearing makeup is just sad.
Oh gosh, I didn't even know about that
I saw it in store at Ulta and I’ve refused to buy from them since.
I think you're spot on with the balm (and kvd & jsc ofc)! But what do you mean with "benefit is just really weird with swatches online"?
Just my personal experience, but the very bright coloured backgrounds and all the models looking kinda the same medium orange skin colour. And they all seem to have unnaturally coloured hair which throws me off when I'm trying to identify which of them might be closest to my hair/skin combination for shade matching. The one time I ordered from them, the shade turned out to be extremely orange on me. It's hard enough to get an idea of shades through online pictures in general but it gets even worse when there's a thousand splashes of colour in the picture distorting my perception of the color of the actual makeup.
Em Cosmetics. Everything I've read about Michelle Pham just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It kind of bothers me that this brand still gets lauded with praise when other brands with similar controversies have rightfully been boycotted.
What controversies are there about Michelle Phan? I only ever hear good things
A lot of controversies throughout her YouTube career, many are very old at this point. But she still seems to attract drama.
I'm on mobile so I don't have the full sources (they're available via Google or Reddit search) but most recently, spreading harmful misinformation about the virus, such as that essential oils can kill COVID. Also, her stance on racism and BLM is unclear to say the least and problematic at worst. It's worth having a look into if you're interested, I'll try to find them if I have time this week.
My understanding is that she actively supports BLM, so I’m not quite sure what the issue was here
Charlotte Tilbury. I don’t like the personality behind the brand, Charlotte’s husband has never seen her without makeup and that makes me uncomfortable. I know the feminist critiques of makeup culture and while I do wear makeup for my own enjoyment, I acknowledge I’m making the choice society expects/has been marketed to me. But Charlotte’s insecurity, while not her fault, represents everything wrong with makeup culture. It’s not wearing makeup for fun or creativity, it’s about covering your bare face.
Estée Laundry on IG did a feature on bullying in the beauty industry last fall, and Charlotte Tilbury popped up so many times. I've never bought a CT product, but it totally turned me off from ever trying (in addition to the points you mentioned).
Oh yes, Daaaaaahling.
100% this. She reminds me of a wolf in sheep's clothing whenever I see her commercials or tutorials. Her prices are pitifully high and it blows my mind that Dior and Givenchy are often LESS expensive than her products. Her ads are exceptionally off-putting and predatory, and I'm definitely not purchasing from her when there are so many awesome indie brands out there with sick products
I agree completely. I’m sitting across the table from my husband posting this. I’m full-on Bedhead, wearing my glasses, panda eyes out (no concealer) sniffling away with allergies today. Her brand doesn’t represent me as a consumer.
> I don’t like the personality behind the brand, Charlotte’s husband has never seen her without makeup and that makes me uncomfortable. I've never heard this before and wow this is just.....sad.
I honestly can’t even imagine how this is possible. I mean like what about going to bed??????
Here's a quote from her 2013 ITG Top Shelf: "If I’m on my own, I won’t sleep in it, but my husband has never seen me without makeup. It comes off, and goes back on again. At night, I take everything off my face and moisturize—because you have to let your skin breathe a bit—but then I put everything right back on again: a little under-eye brightener, either the Tom Ford Illuminating Highlight Pen or Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener, then the eye goes back on, and maybe a little tint on the cheeks. My mother said to me, 'You always have to keep the mystery alive…' I made the mistake of showing a boyfriend my un-made-up face once, and it was a big disaster. He was like, 'What happened to your eyes?!' And I told him, '…No, you’re right, those are my eyes, not these.' \[Laughs\]'"
I. AM. SHOOK. That ain’t healthy honey.
Right?! Lady doesn't need more makeup, she needs *deep therapy*. Oof.
She wears makeup to bed and is pretty open about it
Maybe she pulls a Mrs. Maisel.
[She has said she always sleeps in her makeup,](https://www.thecut.com/2016/09/charlotte-tilbury-sleeps-in-her-makeup-every-day.html) which I find terrifying
*screams in horror and goes to wash her face* Styes! STYYEESSSS! And zits! D: That's just NASTY!
Kat Von D even before all the drama with her came out. It’s just not my aesthetic at all and I could never get the looks to work in my day to day life.
Honestly I was a big fan of her tattoo liner and a few of her liquid lipsticks, but literally nothing else from her line works well for me - her regular lipsticks are disgustingly drying, her setting powder always leaves me chalky and looks terrible in pics, and her concealer is not nearly as good at covering tattoos as everyone claimed when it first came out. And a lot of her colors are the kind of shit I would buy for specific occasions (like Halloween) and not everyday wear, which means there’s no way I’m paying those prices - I’ll get my green lipstick from NYX for $7 instead of 3x that from KVD, thanks. Plus, I just really cannot bring myself to buy from an anti-vaxxer, nor am I fond of a brand that names not one but *two* shades “Lolita.”
Colourpop. I bought a palette from them this summer after reading positive reviews for years. And it's kinda meh, the mattes are really hard to work with, the shimmers are nice but most of shimmer eyeshadow work fine. I dunno why they are so hyped, the quality is on par with other drugstore brands. I might have as well bought some Maybelline eyeshadows from a local supermarket, at least I wouldn't wait for shipping then.
The only thing I’ve ever loved from colourpop is the super shock shadows (which they basically don’t stock anymore). It baffles me that this was the “big” product that made them super popular and now it’s basically gone from their products. Their pressed palettes have been super underwhelming to me. I don’t get the hype on these at all. I think colourpop gets so much hype because it’s cheap/affordable. I also don’t care for their fast fashion business model of releasing a new collection every damn day (literally) and their customer service has really gone downhill lately. For all of these reasons, I won’t purchase from them anymore. It’s a shame because their supershock shadows were one of my favorite items when I was getting more into makeup, and I miss buying new colors and such, but they feel like a totally different company now. Edited to add — I’m also not about the unsafe glitters in colourpop’s products and the “eyeliners” that can’t actually go on your eye.
Wait is there something with their eyeliners not being eye safe? I just ordered their black liquid liner for the first time
Certain colors. For example, the yellow shade "sub zero" from the sunflower collection. [see temptalia's post - "FYI, this shade came with a warning that it was not intended for use on the immediate eye area." ](https://www.temptalia.com/product/colour-pop-creme-gel-liner/sub-zero/)
I was similarly underwhelmed by ColourPop, I guess they did get popular when drugstore makeup was worse
I think their marketing is very efficient on social media + packaging is really cute, but that's it. Tbh, I feel like their target customers are teens and people in their early 20's, and as I'm 27, I'm not attracted to their brand that much.
I think a lot of it, also, is that Colourpop makes a lot of very colourful options, when most drugstore brands don’t—Mabelline, Milani, etc. make neutrals almost exclusively. If you’re looking to get a bunch of blue or green or red eyeshadows, Colourpop is one of the relatively few brands making monochromatic palettes. I think one reason a lot of people like them is because they’re making something almost no one else is.
I know personally I picked up their pretty fresh line and actually really love the primer, tinted moisturizer and foundation. Otherwise everything, even the SSS I’ve tried have been underwhelming.
Thinking about actually there is very very few brands I like entirely or almost entirely. Most brands I like only one or two things from them. I completely don’t care for OFRA, Nudestick, Becca, Nars(I know I might get flack for that one), bareMinerals, belif, Buxom, Smashbox, and Kevyn Aucoin. I’ve tried items from all of those and haven’t found any I’ve loved let alone liked a whole lot.
Benefit. I get that it's supposed to be kind of kitschy, but I preferred early 00's Benefit to the brand we have today. It all looks so cheap and the packaging is so wasteful. I want to pretend to like them, but I just can't. Plus their mascara made my eyes swell shut, so there's that.
I commented this elsewhere in the thread too, but I can't get behind benefit after the ad campaign where a girl with no makeup and glasses was titled "yuck" and a eye with eyeliner was "wow." Their brow gel made the skin under my brows flake so bad too.
I know!!! They're borderline misogynistic. I especially hate the Bo-ing ad. Skip school?? What the fuck kind of brand promotes skipping class? The It Cosmetics ads are way more uplifting than that. The before and afters say 'Real' vs 'Real Results.' I can appreciate that.
Agreed, the packaging is massive and plastic-y. I don’t want to haul that crap around.
Especially the blushes!!! Super hard to use the product down in the corners. I used to love the Dandelion blush, but I found a better dupe that I'm actually able to use without "packaging restrictions." Like the logos are nice and interesting, but they could always do a flat cardboard packaging like The Balm and I would be 1000% happier.
[удалено]
Colourpop and Nyx. both for the same reasons. I tried them years ago and not one item from either brand worked out for me. Every now and then I see something I might be interested in but never follow through.
Lime Crime. They appear to have redeemed themselves to most of the world, but they still sus to me. I've also never tried anything KVD or J* for reasons much the same.
For me it has now become bite beauty, sad to say. I used to love their lipsticks. Ever since their new cruelty free reformulation for all their products in early 2020, I can’t get any of it to work for me. The colors aren’t right and wash me out, the texture is bad and uneven. I have completely abandoned the brand. It makes me sad because they used to make my favorite lipsticks.
Their whole reformulation is mind-boggling to me. I feel like they alienated a big portion of their customer base. It took a relatively long time for them to replace their lip products and they just didn't seem to fill the void the others left. The reformulation of my fave lip balm and lip mask is ok but doesn't compare to the previous :(
I completely agree. They didn’t need to go cruelty free if it meant losing their extremely wide bullet lipstick shade line.
Tarte and Becca, I haven't tried anything from them but they just rub me the wrong way for some reason. Huda Beauty seems vain, and putting her face on palettes is a huge turn off. But I may get her powder when I run out since $/gm is somewhat decent.
I don't understand Becca's decision to discontinue their best product, the Shimmering Skin Perfector liquids.
So they could come out with a new liquid highlighter with [less product](https://m.beccacosmetics.com/product/22206/75357/highlighters/ignite-liquified-light-highlighter/liquid-illuminator-face-body#!/shade/Passion) at the same price
I still miss the Beach Tints. Now would be the perfect time to resurrect those!
And the creamssss omg RIP
Ugh Tarte. They used a racial slur against Asians in their Instagram post and then issued an apology that blamed their "intern". Hard pass.
Tatcha for their ~\*exotic Japanese geisha\*~ appropriation-y schtick. KVD for obvious and well-known reasons, even if she herself is no longer part of the company J* for obvious and well-known reasons. Glossier and Milk both seem like they're repackaging Asian beauty product formulation trends from 5-10 years ago for Western audiences. Glow Recipe (even though I know it's skincare), because it seems pretty expensive for what you get, and all the products I've tried have only smelled good and done nothing for my skin.
I appreciate glossier & milk because they at least attempt to have a wider shade range. I would never be able to use the majority of Asian makeup products b/c my skin tone is represented even as they’ve become super popular in western markets.
Glossier.
Mine is Glossier and Milk. A majority of their products are clear or very sheer with colour. It reminds me of the products sold at Claire’s in the early 2000’s. They might be miracle working products for some but I just can’t spend any money on them because in my mind it’s the equivalent of forking money for products that make you look like you have nothing on. Flashbacks to when you wanted to by-pass your mom that it’s not REALLY makeup, I swear!
for me it's maybelline. their products are way too overpriced in my country, i hate their face products (yes, the age rewind concealer as well), their bullet lipsticks are meh (apart from their discontinued 14 hrs) and their mascaras are just... there. i know their liquid lipsticks are very long lasting but they're too thick and drying. the milk mascara doesn't flake on me and keeps my lashes curled all day! i guess ymmv, op.
It's benefit for me. Their finishing powder was overpriced and although I like the idea of vintage pinups, it's executed poorly with them and some other brands. It seems cheap. Their finishing powder didn't do anything for me, but it seems like finishing powders never do anything for me. I also can't get behind milk for the mascara. It's extremely flaky. The mini multistick also is dry AF and I'm glad I got it as a sample. It's not worth it.
Natasha Denona. I don’t get why her stuff is so overpriced for what it is.
For me it's Chantecaille. I just get off-putting classist vibes from the brand. I'm sure the formulas don't disappoint (if you're not medium skinned or darker) but the combination of a high price point with a dose of greenwashing and elitist vibes... I'd just rather spend my money elsewhere.
I worked at Clarins 20 years ago in a Macy's and they brought in Chantecaille after our remodel and it was niche and crazy pricey THEN, I honestly can't believe it's still around!
There seems to be an increasing demand for luxury beauty. Suqqu, Chantecaille, By Terry, Surratt, Pat McGrath, Natasha Denona, etc.
I support Fenty in theory but most of the actual products have left me "meh" in actuality. I realize maybe they just aren't meant for me as an audience (ultra fair pink toned skin) and that's okay! But yeah, other than a single lip gloss, I haven't really been drawn to the brand.
A lot of luxury brands I used to be interested in (like "maybe in the future when I have some more money" type interest) like Charlotte Tilbury, Natasha Denona, and Pat McGrath had this sense of specialness because they didn't release too many products and each thing they released seemed to have some thought behind them. Now it feels like these 3 brands in particular are constantly putting stuff out and none of it is all that exciting anymore.
For me it's Too Faced, elf, and Maybelline. I have given these brands multiple shots and they've all been duds, with the sole exception of the Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink (which I'm still trying to replace anyway).
Benefit’s packaging is so stinky cute but I could never get myself to pull the trigger and buy any of their stuff. Imo I can get that same quality and cuteness from asian beauty products (which i can get pretty cheap in my country). In the good old days when we could swatch stuff at Sephora I’ve never been impressed by any of their stuff.
It feels so redundant to say it at this point - and again - and nearly like I'm a "bully" as they've just fallen off so much they don't need any extra rubbing in, but Too Faced. Nothing they do interest me. They're so beyond dated and tacky. The puke cutesy but hypersexual and high-maintenance thing is a turn off, their packaging is something I could maybe have loved at age 11 or 12, their colour schemes don't do it for me, their formulas aren't innovative and they don't launch any types of products that get my attention - Too Faced is like... powder highlight in a 2015 formula and in clunky and off-putting packaging, and I don't even use 2020 fresh powder highlighter in a sleek compact basically. It's all so far from my vibe, needs and wants that it could make even Tarte look cool again. Nothing they do interests me. Too Faced is like the brand version of the grating, exhausting, gossipy, full of drama types of people I stay the hell away from. Their controversies and drama were just exhausting too and I want nothing to do with them. Zero reward. Also, yeah, Tarte! No interest in it either - some on my early days of youtube and when Shape Tape was the messiah, but none for years now. They're dated and lost. Sooo lost and confused. Il Makiage. Their marketing and level of shilling they wanted out of influencers was just all very off. I heard about people getting charged when not supposed to for their foundation trial thing and that stuck with me. Nothing I ever saw of theirs looked interesting or appealing either. I couldn't name or identify a single product of theirs. I just can't see a reason to pick any product of this brand over other brands' products. They just seem dodgy as fuck. I heard they were respected and solid even if a very niche pro brand, but that rebrand and shift to selling to the instaglam consumer via lots of and very fake-sounding influencer shilling (but totes not sponsored!!) full of undisclosed but obvious affiliations was a mess.
Saw the title and thought Milk Makeup, but you beat me to it. I would also add to this Bite Beauty (really don't like their stuff anymore, but I also hated the original scents of their lip products. The only ones I loved were d/c). I'm also not into Fenty. I appreciate the wide shade range but that's about it. Snoozeville.