Makeup Regrets

I love makeup just as much as the next person (who loves makeup too, that is). I may not have that many (although my husband would beg to differ), but enough to separate the good ones from the bad. Out of the loads of eyeshadows, blushes, lippies, etc that I’ve amassed over the years, there were a few items that I wished I never purchased.

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Oh yeah. The IT eye makeup primer. I can already hear the gasps from you. “Mon dieu! Sacrilege! How could she not love the UDPP?!” I know. It surprised me greatly too, given that this product works on everyone I know. This was the very first item I rushed to when I stepped into Sephora a couple of years ago during my honeymoon. In fact, I was so excited to finally be able to get it, that without even trying it out, I bought two tubes. Unfortunately, my eyelids are just too oily for this. I found it a tad runny. It just wasn’t matte enough for my eyelids. At the end of the evening, my eye makeup would simply slide off. I ended up bartering this with Legeeque for a tube of Too Faced’s Shadow Insurance. Win win for both of us.

Benefit High Beam

Benefit High Beam
Another winner for most, a sad loser for me. It’s supposed to highlight the eyes and/or cheeks, to give your face that beautiful glow. I tried it out on my browbone, very sparingly, and I ended up looking like someone who wore goggles on a swim meet, had a tan on my face, but with white skin on the eye area. Do you know what I mean? On my cheeks? Too glow-y. I looked unnatural.

NARS Orgasm

NARS Orgasm
Blasphemy! Throw her into the dungeons, she’s lost her marbles!” Yes folks, the very-popular NARS Orgasm is on my list of makeup I regretted purchasing. When I first found out that Mecca Cosmetica stocked NARS products, I was incredibly keen to try this out. I mean, it’s the Orgasm, for pete’s sake! I’ve seen swatches, I’ve seen it on photos, on people. It was gorgeous! Yet, when I finally had it on my cheeks, it did absolutely nothing. Even the makeup artist commented that the Orgasm doesn’t work for everyone, despite the hype. But guess what? I STILL ended up getting the Orgasm, because it’s THE must-have makeup product. Yes, that was truly a *facepalm* moment, and I’m still beating myself up about it, for being so foolish, getting something I clearly knew didn’t work for me, but because every beauty person has it, so I must also have it.

*facepalm*

Clinique Fresh Bloom Allover Colour

Clinique Fresh Bloom Allover Colour
I admit I bought this on a whim. I really liked the pattern; I thought it resembled a cherry blossom (and you all know what I sucker I am for cherry blossoms). But it does absolutely nothing for me. No matter how much powder I apply on my cheeks, the colours don’t seem to show. So now I have something pretty but useless. Eh. *shrug*

NARS Lipgloss in Babe

NARS Lipgloss
I really wanted to like this when I purchased one years ago, but I just don’t. It’s far too sticky for my liking. God forbid that I should be out on a windy day, because my hair will stick to my lips like there’s no tomorrow. They do have lovely colours, but sorry NARS love, your lip glosses are a thumbs down for me.

MAC Scarlet Intriguing Eyes

MAC Passions of Red: Intriguing Scarlet
I believe this was launched about a couple of years ago. I even blogged about it. I wish I was still that excited about it as I was then. I even wrote about how pigmented it was. Sure, some of it was pigmented, but when I finally did put them on, the colours were BORING. Another pretty but useless item gracing my dresser.

Neutrogena Wave Cleanser

Neutrogena Wave Cleanser
Okay, technically, not a makeup item, but I just had to add this in. It’s a gadget, and you all know how I love my toys. Bought it, tried it out, don’t love it. And now, it’s taking up precious cabinet space. I made Tim use this, he doesn’t see the point of it either. The pads do not cleanse the skin as well as I hoped (I don’t mean the squeaky clean feeling, but … oh you know what I mean, don’t you?), plus the formula was a little drying.

There you go, a few pieces of makeup I regretted buying. There’s more, but I’ll save that for another time. Unfortunately, I did snag quite a lot of lemons, most of which were spur-of-the-moment purchases. You’d think I would have learned my lesson, and to properly research an item before buying, right?

NAAAAAAAAAAHHH.

What about you? I’m sure there’s at least ONE item of makeup you’ve regretting buying. What is it? Share with us, so that we may not feel guilty about the duds we have 😛

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They Call ‘Em Minaudières

minaudière (me’no dyer’) – A small ornamental case for a woman’s cosmetics, jewelry, or personal items that is often carried as a handbag.

Gucci Minaudiere
Gucci

Alexander McQueen Minaudiere
Alexander McQueen

Olympia Le Tan Minaudiere
Olympia Le-Tan

Sasha by Rafe New York Minaudiere
Sasha by Rafe New York

YSL Minaudiere
Yves Saint Laurent

And of course, the gorgeous Dior makeup minaudière.

Christian Dior Makeup Palette Minaudiere

I never knew these were called minaudières. They were always just boxy-clutch-thingies to me. I must remember to call them by their actual name now. Sounds so posh and la-di-dah, doesn’t it? 😉

3 comments

Look Ma, I’m In Vogue!

I was on the train on my way to the city when Akisa tweeted me that my blog was mentioned in Australian Vogue (January 2011). I swear to God, I almost screamed in the train. Passengers looked at me funny; I was all kinds of delirious.

Australia Vogue Jan 2011

Australia Vogue Jan 2011 Bloggable Beauty 1

Australia Vogue Jan 2011 Bloggable Beauty 2
Click on the images to enlarge (they’re large in size)

I, err, highlighted the bit where my blog was mentioned. It’s not a feature, mind you, it’s just one tiny line, without a link to follow. Still, I was mighty chuffed. It’s such an honour to see my blog in print, and in Vogue too, no less.

Without a doubt, it was you readers who made it all possible. Without you, who the heck would I write for? I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now, if you will please excuse me, I need to continue stewing in my “high”. What an awesome way to end the weekend!

Have a great weekend, lovelies!

Note: Okay, just a TINY bit of nitpicking, the first paragraph of the article where the writer mentioned that you can get discounted makeup from kissandmakeup.com? I think she meant kissandmakeupny.com. The first link is actually a site for sexy lingerie and other, erm, goodies 😛

21 comments

Wotnot Naturally Nurturing Facial Wipes

Just so you know, I’m a stickler for full makeup removal before bed. That includes using a makeup remover and double cleansing to remove all that gunk off my face before it hits the pillow. But there’ll be days when I have makeup on during the day, and want to remove most of them before I go about my chores and not having to endure a face of gunk for hours before I take my final shower of the day. That’s when facial wipes come in.

Wotnot Naturally Nurturing Facial Wipes

Description:

WOTNOT facial wipes use a 100% natural cloth which is luxuriously soft and pampering. Our formula is enriched with all natural ingredients including Australian certified organic aloe vera to lubricate and repair, certified organic sweet almond oil to restore lost moisture and calm itch and inflammation, and certified organic rosehip oil for skin regeneration and moisture re-balancing. The certified organic jojoba oil base is easily absorbed to condition skin and eyelids making lashes more lush, while the naturally sourced nutrients like Vitamin E help to heal, nourish and protect leaving the skin smooth, supple and glowing.

Wotnot Naturally Nurturing Facial Wipes Ingredients
Click to enlarge

I’ve tried a lot of facial wipes the past 7 years. Johnson’s facial wipes, Simple, Biore, Redwin, Swisspers, wipes from 100yen shops, etc. Thankfully, I was given an opportunity to try out Wotnot’s facial wipes. In terms of makeup removal, Wotnot’s does a decent job. It doesn’t really remove every bit of makeup, especially waterproof mascara or liquid eyeliner, but I didn’t expect it too. I would use a proper eye makeup removal for that. For everything else, it does quite a bang-up job.

But what I love most about Wotnot’s facial wipes, is that compared to every brand of facial wipes I’ve ever used, Wotnot’s wipes were the softest in texture, and gentlest on the skin. When I first took one wipe out of the packet, I thought it was very light in comparison to the other brands of wipes. Initial thoughts was “what a rip off” and “too light, how would it cleanse the skin?”. But all those thoughts immediately vanished when I ran the wipe over my face. It feels like a soft, fine microfibre cloth upon the skin.

Four words. Soft. Gentle. Skin heaven.

Wotnot Naturally Nurturing Facial Wipes retails at AU$11.95 for 25 wipes (12x18cm each) and is available at selected pharmacies, organic and health food stores nationwide. You can also order it online. Perhaps a little more costly than your average drugstore facial wipes, but the quality of the wipes more than makes up for it.

What I like about it: No synthetic chemicals, no artificial fragrances, no alcohol, none of that bad shizz. Biodegradable and compostable. Best of all, softest and gentlest facial wipes I’ve ever used!

What I do not like about it: Not widely available at popular drugstores like Priceline. The lid also doesn’t stick very well.

A small tip when using facial wipes – store the packet in the refridgerator. You’ll love the feel of them on your skin on hot summery days.

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