PRODUCT FLOPS: CHAPTER 3

You win some, you lose some; what can you do right? It’s been a long while since I’ve done these and just so you know, I came across a lot of mediocre, fail products but I just didn’t really care enough to announce them until now. I think I have a good amount of products to share with you that just didn’t work out. Nothing against these brands, some things just don’t out as plan or work the way we want them to.

Glow Recipe Watermelon Sleeping Mask

i-038857-watermelon-glow-sleeping-mask-80ml-1-940I’ve tried time overtime to make this sleeping mask work for me, I really wanted to enjoy this. Don’t get me wrong, I love their other products such as their watermelon mist, pineapple-c serum, avocado sleeping mask, and blueberry cleanser but this, this was not a hit for me. No matter how thick or thin I applied this on my face, it would just pill on me. Whether I had skincare underneath or no skincare, I had the same issues. I’ve tried really hard to make this sleeping mask work for me and it just wouldn’t.

Etude House Double Lasting Serum Foundation

51f9km5qell._sx425_I used this foundation a handful of times and every time I was left disappointed. Not only it separated on my skin, but it also made my skin appear extremely oily. Somehow it clung onto dry patches and leaving a layer of grease on my skin, not sure what to think of this. Perhaps I got a dud, perhaps I didn’t shake it hard enough for the serum to mix well with the foundation. I know what dewy looks like and this ain’t it. Luckily, I got this from PR because I would have been annoyed spending 20 bucks on it and just have to throw it away. I ended up giving this to my friend and she said it works for her dry skin so yay.

Farmacy Honey Potion

zoom_1_product_33489_20farmacy_20honey_20potion_20renewing_20antioxidant_20hydration_20mask_2050g_76178f15a3283189a2c0f66ca0392012519a5a11_1528796116You may have seen this on my Instagram feed a while ago and I liked it but maybe it was all placebo. Sure, it gave my skin that warming sensation but I didn’t really feel a significant difference when removing it off my skin. I think I just liked how it was warming and it didn’t irritate my skin. It’s quite overpriced if you ask me and I don’t think I should have gotten it in the first place. I should have gotten the smaller size and tried it prior to getting the medium size. I did like the packaging for its magnetic lid and spatula but other than that, there are better honey masks out there, such as the Naisture – honey honey mask and also the “I’m from – honey mask”.

RiRe Liquid Eyeshadow

s-l300This is a small Korean brand and I got one of their liquid shadows from a Joah box and let me tell you, it was the chunkiest glitter shadow I have ever seen in my life. It’s definitely not eye-safe and I don’t even know why these brand develops these glitter products without being mindful of the environment and also user’s health. I swatched a tiny bit of this on my hand and it instantly turned red without me putting any pressure during the application. Could you imagine if I put it on my lids? It would have been over for my eyelids. You want a good liquid shadow, try Peripera – they’re just as good as the Stila liquid shadows but a fraction of the cost.

It’s Skin Tiger Cica Calming Serum

dead35_34d17ec33008487e9a5d396696c8f27emv2It’s funny that I’m mentioning this because I had a huge obsession for It’s Skin products and the more I learned about the ingredients and the more I understood what works for my skin and what doesn’t. I have dehydrated skin issues so gel creams are not ideal for my skin type because they don’t serve that much purpose for me. During summer, I tend to use them the most but other seasons? no. This particular serum is a gel-based serum and it just does absolutely nothing for me. Sure, it might be a TINY bit hydrating but nothing more than that and it kind of just forms a film on top of my skin doing absolutely nothing. I think I’ve “graduated” from using It’s Skin skincare. I still enjoy their power 10 ampoules and hand creams but other than that, I don’t think they really interest me as much as they did when I was a lot younger. You know when you have certain phases in your life and you’re over it to move onto the next big thing? yeah, that’s how I feel about their products.

Colourpop Pretty Fresh Tinted Moisturizer

pretty-fresh-light-5n_aWhy? This isn’t the worst product I’ve tried however that being said, why is so overhyped? I don’t understand why this is so hyped up. It’s a very underwhelming product, you won’t get that glow as promised. Also, it’s not that hydrating nor has tinted moisturizer coverage. It’s pretty full coverage for a tinted moisturizer and just doesn’t really match the name of it. I purchased this myself and I am a fan of Colourpop products but this one was probably not as good as a drugstore foundation and you guys who have followed me from time would know I don’t like drugstore foundations that much. I mean, I have a lot of product left so I’m contemplating to use it up or forward to someone who may like it.

I Dew Care Plush Party Lip Sleeping Mask

41q0n46gsgl._sx355_Their packaging is so stinking cute and I had so many hopes for this little guy. It burned my lips like no other, I was in shock because I was hoping it to be similar to maybe the Laneige lip sleeping mask but for a fraction of the cost. You know when a product burns your skin on the surface you feel it, right? This product penetrated into my lips and burned it on the inside. How is that even possible? Luckily I didn’t have an “allergic reaction” to this where it could have been swollen but I did, however, have that burning sensation and it was ongoing for a good hour before it went away. Concerning and a big nope for me, I’m SuRpRiSeD by the amount of “positive” reviews on Instagram about this specific product. Anyway, I did repurpose the container and I put some vaseline in it instead.

The Saem ICELAND Hydrating Toner

21vdvwkbgblOh man, where do I even start with this? The first thing you’ll notice is it’s the heavy fragrance the moment you open it. Not to mention it was very drying on the skin, it was far from hydrating. It also left an unnecessary strange slight tack to the skin, which I did not appreciate. I’m not sure why The Saem thinks it’s a brilliant idea to pour a bottle of perfume in their products. I said this once, I will say it again. Skincare doesn’t need to smell good, it just needs to work. It’s as easy as that but to some brands, they believe fragrances make a product more attractive. It might attract certain consumers but fragrance is a very irritating to the skin.

Glowhill (In General)

glowhill20aurora20whitehole20glow20maskThey gifted me their products and I was so excited to try their products when I first got the PR package. I want to share that just because a product looks pretty and cute, doesn’t mean it will work on your skin. I should have known these would bad news the moment I opened their peel-off masks. Peel-off masks are extremely harsh on the skin because think about it, it dries on top of your skin and you’re peeling it off and sometimes, it really hurts when you peel it off. Anyway, this was heavily fragranced as well so I don’t know why I thought it was a great idea to apply it all over my face. I left this mask on then peeled it off, my skin was very red afterward. No surprise here because peel-off + fragranced, those are two red flags right there. Another concerning thing, there’s glitter in these masks. Why is there glitter in skincare? At first, I was attracted to the concept but the more I think about it, the more I realize it’s not as great as it seems. Roughly 2 days after, I got a giant pimple on my forehead and I’m 99.9% sure this triggered that because I don’t break out that easily and I’m pretty blessed with clear skin for the most part. It’s usually irritating products and poor diet that triggers my breakouts.

That’s it for now, friends. I know there were a lot of products I shared today that may or may not work for you but keep in mind, no two skin types are alike with one another. Be mindful of what you buy and use and also check the ingredients.

[REVIEW] MAMONDE 24H ICE ROSE WATER TONER

Mamonde came up with an innovative product that can provide hydrating, brightening and COOLING results? What if I told you that Mamonde revamped their rose toner formula and created it to stay unfrozen for 24 hours at temperatures of -18 degrees Celcius to -20 degrees Celcius. They also made this toner for those to have a simple and optimized skincare routine. You can use to create a DIY toner mask with this toner as well!

Where to buy: Yesstyle | *currently unavailable on Jolse*

Why keep it at below-zero temperature?

The ideal skin temperature is around 30 degrees Celcius. Summers can be brutal with intense sun rays, the skin temperature may rise up to over 40 degrees Celcius.

Why is this a concern?

The higher your skin temperature, it puts your skin at risk for losing skin elasticity, which may cause dullness + dark spots and potential breakouts induced by excess sebum production.

Claims

  • The unfrozen technology allows the product to stay unfrozen for 24 hours using the Ice Moisture Blending technology, which uses a perfect ratio of minerals, moisturizing ingredients based on the extended study on maintaining the ideal skin temperature.
  • Skin-soothing and firming all in one go – this toner can lower the skin’s temperature by -7 degrees, soothe it from excess heat exposure and restore skin elasticity.
  • Hydration to balance the oil and moisture levels
  • Skin clearing and brightening with a brightening formula – Niacinamide brightens darkened skin by UV exposure while mint leaf extract controls excess sebum production.
  • 7 free – animal ingredients, mineral oil, polyarcylamide, imidaazolidinyl urea, triethanolamine, silicone oil, synthetic color.

My thoughts

I was really excited to try this toner out and with the impression of knowing their original rose toner, I thought they would be similar and this would be the revamped version. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. I found myself quite frustrated with how it irritated and dried out my skin. It was also quite a challenge finding the ingredients list online and I was concerned it would be nowhere to be found but luckily I came across the list on Cosdna. Oh look, Alcohol is their 3rd ingredient. No wonder my skin reacted so negatively and the original rose toner did not have alcohol; It did have fragrance listed but it was really low in potency.

Ingredients from Cosdna

Ingredient English Function Acne Irritant Safety 
Rose

‧Astringent
1
Propanediol

‧Solvent
‧Viscosity Control
1
Ethyl Alcohol

‧Solvent
2
다이프로필렌글라이콜

Dipropylene glycol
‧Solvent
‧Moisturizer
1
Betaine

‧Viscosity Control
‧Antistatic
‧Moisturizer
1
Butylene Glycol

‧Solvent
‧Moisturizer
1 0 1
Propylene Glycol

‧Solvent
‧Viscosity Control
‧Moisturizer
0 0 3
Nicotinamide

1
Hexanediol

‧Solvent 1
Water

‧Solvent 1
Sodium chloride

‧Viscosity Control
1
PPG-13-Decyltetradeceth-24

‧Emulsifier
Fragrance

‧Fragrance 14
Edetate Disodium

1
Ethylhexylglycerin

‧Moisturizer 1
Mentha Arvensis Leaf Extract

1
Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract

‧Moisturizer
‧Anti-inflammatory
‧Astringent
1
Sucrose

‧Moisturizer 1
Rosa Canina Fruit Extract

‧Astringent 1
Indole Acetic Acid

Overall

  • Texture: 5/5 – I love anything watery and lightweight and this definitely did well in that department. How I used this was making a toner mask out of it.
  • Scent: 3/5 – Smells quite similar to the original formula except for a strange chemical, menthol/ minty note with it.  I normally don’t feel nervous about products with mint in it but this one just smelled kind of off.
  • Performance: 3/5 – I mean, it worked and chilled down my skin’s temperature but that being said, I found it kind of harsh on my skin where it irritated it and always dried it out. I knew for a fact there was alcohol on here because my eyes went bloodshot red immediately after applying it on my face. I normally do check for ingredients however I kind of mindlessly chose this toner because I liked the original one and was hoping it would be the revamped version of the original one. Jokes on me because it is nothing like the original formula and I prefer that one over this any day. Sure, it cooled down my skin but can’t think refrigerated skincare do the same? I don’t like the idea of refrigerating my skincare anyway because I’m afraid it could potentially affect the performance of the products so I prefer to avoid doing so.
  • Packaging: 2/5 – The packaging label is really weird. Ok, it’s fine for function but the label is so cheap. It’s the original toner packaging label with another label thrown ontop. I don’t get that, why is it so hard to make a new one? Anyway, not a fan and not sure what they were going for this toner.
  • Overall: 2/5 – It’s a no for me, would not repurchase. I would not even recommend this to anyone. The concept is really cool however it was poorly executed because I cannot imagine why anyone would enjoy putting this on their face and not have to deal with the long term aftermath from it. Alcohol is a very controversial subject, some don’t mind it.. some do. There are multiple articles and news reports of people stating why it’s formulated and why it’s in skincare but due to my dehydrated skin’s sake, I personally would rather not risk it. If you’re interested in trying a fantastic toner from mamonde, you’re better off trying the original rose toner.

    Disclaimer: I was given this product in exchange for an honest review. All views and thoughts of this product are my own. What may work for me, may not work for you so please keep that in mind. Some links on this post are affiliate links. This means that I will earn a small commission if you purchase from these links.

     

 

PRODUCT FLOPS: CHAPTER 2

Hey hey, this is probably the most active I have been on my blog and I really just wanted to stretch this series because there are quite a few products where I just did not like and I really wanted to share with you all my thoughts and opinions on them.

Disclaimer: What may have or may have not worked out for me doesn’t mean it will apply the same for you. Everyone’s skincare type is different. These are my personal experiences with these products.

missha silver.jpeg

The first bb cream I have ever tried!!
At the age of 17, I started getting more familiar with makeup and experimenting with different brands and products. Bb creams were a huge deal back then because they weren’t just for post surgery folks but they are the future of foundation because they are multi-function and provide anti-aging, whitening and buildable/high coverage. Bb creams may vary in texture and coverage but this one was very thick and has medium coverage. I loved this bb cream for my early stages of practicing with makeup. This bb cream had literally ONE shade and it’s most comparable to the Missha M Perfect Cover Bb cream in shade #21 but it has a really heavy grey undertone to it. I didn’t appreciate that it clung onto my dry patches and made my skin look aged especially around my smile lines and forehead. Maybe this bb cream is meant for oily skin users? Not sure but this was a flop for me and I don’t know why I repurchased this thing 3-4 times.

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INC.redible You Glow Girl in Cosmic Blur

This product came out before the Colourpop Jelly shadows and I thought this idea was brilliant but at the same time, it was too good to be true. Anyone who has followed me on Instagram long enough would know that I am all about that holographic, duo-chrome, unicorn look. This is gorgeous when you first apply it and you can layer it pretty well. My issue with this is that if you accidentally wipe or touch your face, the highlight is GONE. I highly doubt this is going to be blendable with other shadows because it’s consistency alone. The concept is great, the formula definitely could be revamped and improved on. Overall, it is a fun product to play around with to take some cool photos with but it’s not meant for long wear use.

2501224 Shiseido Light Bulb Foundation in 774 Light Beige

I had extremely high hopes for this foundation but it just did not work out in the end. The shade match was quite accurate because this was only available online to purchase so I kind of just eyeballed my shade and hoped for the best. The one thing I appreciated about this foundation was that it never oxidized on me. This foundation has such a DENSE, thick and oily texture to it. Not something I would like in a foundation. It really weighed my face down and I felt extremely uncomfortable with it on. It’s the exact feeling I get when my skin is congested from a hot, humid day. The odd thing was my face didn’t oily regardless the fact my face felt weighed down.. it looked quite dewy and healthy but I just did not like it’s heavy texture. If they had a lighter formula for this, I would have loved it.

p425265-av-03-lhero Huda Beauty Winter Solstice Palette

I honestly purchased this palette for the blue-lavender shade aka “arctic glow” but it just didn’t work out. It looked really bad on my skin and it looked like a giant blue strip on my cheek even if I gradually layered it and took my time to blend it. Winter Rose and Northern Lights were okay but I was hoping they would be more buildable. Frosted Kiss (peachy shade) was a cream formula. I personally don’t really like cream highlighters because they don’t apply well and you have to work really hard to blend it in the skin. I prefer pressed powder highlighters because they’re not as messy and difficult to work with.

That’s it for this chapter, friends. Tune until next time for chapter 3 on Product Flops!
Have a good night~

PRODUCT FLOPS

Hey, hey friends!
I am starting a new blog series called “Product flops” aka Products that did not work for me. I posted on instagram asking if anyone was interested in hearing my thoughts on products that just didn’t work out for me and I recieved a positive feedback on my comments along with dm’s.

Disclaimer: What may have or may have not worked out for me doesn’t mean it will apply the same for you. Everyone’s skincare type is different. These are my personal experiences with these products..

I no longer own many of these products because I tend to declutter and give away products that did not work for me to my family members and close friends. For consistency, I will be posting a photo of these products I found online with the description and experience I had with it below.

da837aa283891383dfde030921b9354d.pngGuerlain Lingerie de Peau Fluide Foundation in 02N

A couple of months ago, I was on the hunt for a new foundation to try out and I wanted one that had medium coverage and felt weightless on the skin. I saw quite a few bloggers post about this particular foundation and I quickly went to grab it at my local Sephora. The weird thing was, I swatched this foundation at the store on my hand it somehow turned orange within 10 minutes so I thought maybe the tester went bad and went ahead to grab it anyway. If it doesn’t work out, I can just return it, right? I went home to test this foundation out and to my surprise, I turned into an oompa loompa. Even wiping this foundation off with a makeup remover cloth, you can visibly see that it is full blown orange. Thank god I did not go out looking like that because I’m sure many people would find it amusing. It also has a really bad floral scent to it. I am not even sensitive to scents and I didn’t find the scent pleasant at all. Out of all foundations I own whether it’s from the drugstore or high end, I have never seen any of them oxidize the way how this oxidized on my skin.

0c891e8c6f28f02ea0fec1a53b9e07a4.pngColourpop Amber Crystal Collection – 3 pc – mist, lip balm and liquid highlighter

Something I quickly learned about Sephora “sale” items are that they USUALLY are on sale for a reason. This was when Sephora had Colourpop for a month and then took them off the shelves for some reason. The highlighter was a fail and was just an oil with shimmers in it. It would constantly seperate with the shimmers at the bottom while the oil fluid ontop. It wasn’t even buildable and was a fail for me. The mist smelled horrendous, it smelled like a bitter herbal scent. The only thing that I enjoyed from the scent was the lip balm for it’s beautiful red orange tint, sweet and soft mango butter scent and performance for lasting throughout a long day. I normally love colourpop products but the liquid highlighter and mist was a total fail for me. I’ll stick to their fantastic super shock eyeshadows, pressed shadow palettes/singles and concealers!

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Too Faced Born This Way Foundation in Ivory

*FYI – I purchased this foundation when the shade range was much more smaller back then.
This was my very first high-end foundation and was also the only foundation I swore by working at my first job. It has a medium to full coverage.
The consistency was perfect for me since it wasn’t too thick in formula nor was it too watery but how it performed on my face was a different story. As I played around with more makeup, I started to realize that this foundation does not work for me for various reasons. It oxidized into a Simpsons yellow on my face, it clung to all my dry patches and emphasized my pores and has a very odd paint scent to it just like the UD Naked skin foundation and Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation has. Luckily it did not break me out but I definitely would not repurchase this foundation even in another shade.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation in 2

This was either the 2nd or 3rd foundation I tried when I got into makeup and it was awful. Urban Decay was reputable for their fantastic naked palettes, perversion mascara and the OG 24 hour glide on pencil eyeliners but this foundation was terrible for me. So terrible that I threw it out and did not think twice to give it to pass it on to someone else. First of all, it had a horrendously strong chemical scent between a spray paint x accetone and it had a strange thin, watery consistency and everytime I dispensed it out from the container, the product would have air bubbles in it. When I applied it on my skin, it dried up pretty fast but within an hour my face started to look extremely dehydrated. I’m not sure what was in this foundation but was bad news for my skin… I broke out on my forehead, cheeks and chin and if any of you know me, I don’t break out unless my skin reacts negatively to a product, hormonal or too much sodium in my diet.

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Etude House Tint My Brows Gel in Gray Brown

I’m sure quite a few of you are shocked by why this product did not work out for me considering the fact this is raved and loved by many influencers and was featured on social media for quite a long time. This product is effective however it has a bad side to it. It has a very odd chemical scent to it. I’m not sure how people found it pleasant. I have repurchased this product over 4 times in different shades and my feelings about it have not changed about it. I always thought maybe I got a bad batch, maybe I’m using it wrong. My brows are tinted beautifully after every application, my problem is that I can’t use any face masks or wash my face because the tint will easily come off. The shade I have been using more frequently is Gray Brown but after a few days, the tint on my eyebrows turn into this strange forest green colour… If any of you are on the hunt for a good brow tint, I strongly suggest you to try the clio duo brow pen.

Alright, that is all for today. There are more products I wanted to share but we’ll leave that for another time. Til’ next time, friends.

Toodles!