Most Recently Failed Product(s)- OBT Prompt #4

"This week's prompt from OBT network is Name the Last Beauty Product That Was a Failure for You!'!  Our Beauty Talk is a beauty forum community where we talk about subscription boxes, beauty skincare and more!" Now, since I cannot seem to force myself to write about only one thing, there are also short reviews on two of my other recent fails below. 

Macadamia Healing Oil Spray (2oz Travel Size which is enough for several weeks of regular use can be purchased for under 10$)

So, I don't have an issue with my hair getting weighed down, in fact it usually helps with my frizz. This oil doesn't make my hair feel greasy, I think this could be a really good oil for some people, but I hate the smell and it contains silicone.


Now, I am by no means trying vilify silicone. Silicone is the bomb for a lot of things, particularly temporary fixes. That's why it is so commonly used in primers and such because it masks flaws safely and temporarily. The reason this is an issue for me is because I'm not in search of a hair oil that will make my hair look nicer temporarily, especially if I don't like the scent. What I was in search of was a treatment that would actively work to make my hair better without extra and unnecessary ingredients.

If you have thick or coarse hair, intend to use this to make your hair look nice for going out on a day-to-day basis, and do not have overly sensitive skin I recommend that you find a place where it is sold in stores and if you like the smell of it, you should try it out.

Some other memorable (and expensive) fails include:

It Cosmetics CC cream- The only thing greasier that I have put on my face is pizza. The coverage was good, I heard such great reviews, I wanted to love it so much, but unless you have extremely dry skin I don't think this will work for you. However, if you do enjoy a lot of the Asian snail skincare, the second ingredient on this is snail secretion filtrate. 

Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer- THE ORANGENESS, how is it that a three dollar elf bronzer isn't too orange, but a twenty dollar one turns me into an oompa-loompa? I am never paying 20$ for a bronzer again. Also, I apologize for not having a photo, apparently I didn't photograph it before I returned it. 

Model Co Volume Eyes Mascara- To be fair, this one was kind of my fault. I know that I hate volumizing mascara, but this clumped and flaked and didn't do anything for my lashes at all length wise.  

Products I Would Bring Back from Extinction- OBT Prompt #2

"This week's prompt from OBT network is 'Name one or more discontinued beauty, skincare or nail products/shades that you would bring back if you could!'!  Our Beauty Talk is a beauty forum community where we talk about subscription boxes, beauty skincare and more!"

This is difficult topic for me, because even with products I love, I tend to understand why they were discontinued. I did manage to put together a little list, though there is probably more justification than is absolutely necessary:



The vast majority of Innocent and Twisted Alchemy's collections- most particularly though I would LOVE for Live or Die and Lovely Tomie (read the manga here) to become permanent. And a lot of her sub shades, because I won't wear Wintertide very much, but it is the most beautiful and complex aqua color and I want to shout from the rooftops that everyone who likes blue eye shadows needs to purchase it immediately. 

However, I do know that making collections for such tiny niche fandoms permanent may not be feasible, and that subscription specific shades are a big plus for a lot of people (not me personally, but I assume other people). It would be super cool though if one shade from each sub box became permanent.


And of course swatches so you can see the gorgeousness of the actual eyeshadows. In these swatches I did my best to capture the sheen,but not so much the base. One of my favorite things about Flaming Antidote (left) is that it is a pretty wearable pink on the base but then suddenly shifts into this bright amazing color. Wintertide is actually just that shiny, but the camera didn't quite grab the scattering of sparkles throughout. 






Bath and Body Works Anti-bacterial Hand Lotion- I am trying to move away from handsanitizer/anti-bacterial products because more and more studies are showing that they are bad for you. However, I will always use them camping, and I will always keep one or two around but I don't want to be constantly using them. Anyway, these were moisturizing, and sanitizing and for the most part they smelled really delicious and I'm going to miss them. 

It should be noted that they were discontinued because triclosan is not entirely filtered out of the water, and so it gets washed back into rivers and causes environmental issues. So, while I loved them I won't be starting a protest or angrily contacting customer service to get them back to anything.

Revlon Beyond Natural Cream to Powder Quads- I 100% understand why these were discontinued. Their texture and actual performance is absolutely terrible, but the colors are spot on. I had no idea how many colors are actually used on a quality nude eye, but these are so intuitive and easy to use. I love cream products especially because they are easy to blend and super quick to apply and don't need any sort of primer. 

Spice

Buff

The Weekly Roundup

Because this is a part of a blog network, other people do these prompts too. The weekly roundup is a collection of all the blogs that did the same prompt. 

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The Makeup Monologues

Show Us Your Eyeliners!- OBT Prompt #1

"This week's prompt from OBT network is 'show us your stash of eyeliners'!  Our Beauty Talk is a beauty forum community where we talk about subscription boxes, beauty skincare and more!"

As a part of OBT's Blog Network I will do my best to participate in these prompts at least half the time. So, without further ado, the picture to your left is all of my eyeliners. I'm going to break them down by category and swatch them all for you. 

Urban Decay's Black Magic Collection

 I swear I own these just for swatching sometimes, because they get swatched more often than actually worn.  This set I think is no longer available but they make other sets which are an easy way to try out this product and get multiple colors to use for a good price. 




 Each two swatches are their own pencil, because the Black Magic collection is a set of dual ended pencils.

Left to right, Demolition and Zero, Smoke and Black Velvet, Tornado and Black Market, LSD and Perversion

Colored Eyeliners

Starlooks Olive Green, Mally Beauty in Pink, Julep Eye Glider in Smokey Taupe Shimmer, Sumita in Gold, Pacifica in Silver and Brown. I'm hoping to find a better silver and gold one, the brown pencil does its job for the time being, the pink is a good quality because it is an eyeliner I use often which I have been meaning to test out in my waterline, and the olive green and smokey taupe shimmer are just very unique colors I received from subscription boxes. If I could buy a box that just sent me pretty colored eyeliners from different brands, I would subscribe for at least a few months because I like to pretend I am too frugal to buy weird eyeliners for myself. 

Glitter Liners

You may remember these from my Jcat Beauty post a while back. I think I like them more now than I did then, so I'm glad I kept them around. 

Compared to my original swatches these have become much more vibrant as they have settled.

Elf Eyeliners

sharpener top

Brightening Eyeliner
Shimmer Black Eyeliner
Waterproof Eyeliner Pen

I have a few of these, and given how cheap they are, I thought people might care to know how much quality you get out of such a small price tag. The answer is that these are okay and will function in a pinch.  

What I will say I enjoy though is the sharpener on top of the pencil liners, it is absolutely brilliant. 

Below are the swatches, the first two are of the glitter black liner to try and capture any sort of shimmer (there is none). The second one is the brightening liner, and the third is the waterproof liner pen.

  The brightening liner is nice to have around, I use it for marking off my brows when I shape them, on the lower lash line, and for highlighting my cupid's bow, but I will be looking for better in the future.






Finally, the waterproof eyeliner pen. I've had it for a few months, it is starting to dry out. Also it isn't waterproof, it isn't even smudge proof.  The left image is the result of me rubbing my finger over it a few times. It both flakes and smudges, which I find odd because it is usually only one or the other. 

All My Other Black Liners

Here is the pile of the rest of my eyeliners, including my one gel eyeliner and the swankie silicone brush I use to apply it. 

You may see the edges of other lines on the top portion of my swatch photo, that is because I labeled them with corresponding letters as my own personal cheat sheet for writing this post. 

Left to right; Hourglass eyeliner, Maybelline Master Precise, Benefit Push-Up Liner, Rimmel Scandaleyes, Eyeko Liquid Liner, Unknown brand gel eyeliner. 

The Hourglass eyeliner is my HG waterline eyeliner. The master precise does not give a consistently even line, I find the tip overly flexible, and it is beginning to dry out (things I hate about liquid liners). I have a mixed relationship with the push-up liner, I liked it more than I expected considering the reviews I have seen.

  I looove  the Scandaleyes liner, I'm fairly certain I've spoken about it before, and that it will be mentioned in future posts. The Eyeko liner was something I got in my Birchbox, and I had no idea it would be so intense and glossy, I kind of like it. Finally, the unknown gel eyeliner I own. There are no labels, it is poor quality, but I like having it around for practice. 

And, that's it. You have now looked at every eyeliner that I own. 

The Weekly Roundup

Because this is a part of a blog network, other people do these prompts too. The weekly roundup is a collection of all the blogs that did the same prompt, because you know you want to stalk everybody else's eyeliner stash. 

The Makeup Monologues