Disappointing Products

I am definitely one of those people who loves trying new products in search of the next best thing since sliced bread, but every once in a while I try something that really disappoints me.

Just because these products didn’t work for me, doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t work for you! If you are interested in trying out any of the products I mention in this post I’ll put a list at the bottom with links for where you can purchase them.

1) Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Cream

 A couple of months ago, I was having real issues with my skin; constantly breaking out and then finding it impossible to clear the spots and blemishes. I wasn’t sure whether this was due to stress during dissertation time; hormones, or my skin care products being unsuitable for my skin.

A few of my friends use the Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Cream and rave about it, so they recommended I try it for myself. This product claims to reduce spots and redness in four hours, so I was really excited to try it.

The first time I used it I was so hopeful that I had found my holy grail of spot-fighting weapons. Turns out, it wasn’t meant to be. After checking regularly to see if there was that visible difference that was promised to me, I just found the skin around the spots to be incredibly flaky; not the kind of visible difference I was aiming for.

Every time I have used this product I have been left with dry skin that is even harder to conceal with makeup than the spot originally was. Back to the drawing board!

 2) Topshop Crescent Moon Highlighter  

After purchasing and falling in love with Topshop’s Sunbeam highlighter, I was quick to snap up their Crescent Moon highlighter. Crescent Moon is a beautiful pale pink colour that is my idea of the perfect highlighter shade. 

When I swatched the tester in the shop it was really pigmented, however when I got a fresh one home and began to use it I started to change my mind. It is so difficult to get any noticeable amount of product onto your makeup brush and similarly does not show up on the face.

I refuse to accept defeat with this product and have tried it many times with various styles of makeup brush and even my fingers, but I just cannot get the desirable effect I wanted.

Unfortunately (for some) both the Sunbeam and Crescent Moon highlighters have now been discontinued from Topshop.

 3) ARROW BOOST Colour Enhancing Lip Balm

When I used to subscribe to Birchbox, I received a colour enhancing lip balm from their own beauty range, ARROW. This product is actually really cool and changes colour on application according to the unique PH levels in your lips.

 It is really creamy and moisturising and an all-round lovely product. You may now be wondering why this lip balm is featured in this post when everything I have said has been so positive. For me, the colour created for my lips resembles how my lips look when they’re really dry and I attempt to put lip balm on to fix the mess. It creates a very ‘angry’ looking colour that really doesn’t suit me.

I’m jealous of anyone whose natural PH levels appear prettier than mine!!

4) Boots Simply Sensitive Hydrating Eye Cream

I’ve never been one for eye creams, but after watching many night time routines on YouTube I began to realise that this was something that I was lacking from my own regime. As I have sensitive skin I wanted an eye cream that would be gentle for my skin and ensure that the even more delicate eye area wouldn’t become irritated.

I opted for the very affordable Boots Simply Sensitive Hydrating Eye Cream which contains aloe vera. The consistency of the cream is really nice and nourishing and blends really nicely into the skin – a little goes a long way. However, after a few minutes I found that my eyes became extremely watery despite the product containing no fragrance or colouring.

After a couple of attempts I gave up on using this product altogether which was a real shame.

5) NYX Studio Perfect Photo Loving Primer: Anti Redness (Green)

Before I bore you all to tears, I want to talk about one final disappointing buy of mine. Recently there seems to be a big hype around NYX products, especially now Boots have introduced a wide selection of the range into their stores.

Whilst in Selfridges I went to the NYX counter in search of the Born to Glow Liquid Illuminator but they didn’t have it so I bought the Studio Perfect Photo Loving Primer in Anti Redness instead. The formula reminded me a lot of the Benefit Porefessional Primer as it is very silky.

The disappointment came quickly though as the primer made the dry patches of my skin extremely obvious, revealing my imperfections which is the last thing you want a primer to do. My go-to foundation didn’t sit very well on top of this primer either, making my dry patches look so noticeable. NYX is such a good brand but they’ve really let me down with this one.

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Whilst I am disappointed with these products I will continue trying new products and will hopefully be able to report back with some more positive news!

S x

Products mentioned:

Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Cream: http://www.boots.com/en/Clearasil-Ultra-Rapid-Action-Treatment-Cream-25ml_868029/

ARROW BOOST Colour Enhancing Lip Balm: https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/arrow-boost-color-enhancing-lip-balm

Boots Simply Sensitive Hydrating Eye Cream: http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Simply-Sensitive-Hydrating-Eye-Cream-15ml_1189237/

NYX Studio Perfect Photo Loving Primer in Green: http://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/nyx-cosmetics-studio-perfect-primer_277-3004455-SPP01/?previewAttribute=Clear

NYX Born to Glow Liquid Illuminator: http://www.boots.com/en/NYX-Born-to-Glow-liquid-illuminator-25g_1770489/

Benefit The Porefessional Face Primer: https://www.benefitcosmetics.com/uk/en-gb/product/the-porefessional-face-primer

WHO AM I ?!

When I began to consider starting a blog my mind went into overdrive with so many ideas for future posts to share with you. I got ahead of myself without considering that no one would want to read my posts if they don’t have the first idea about who I am.

I thought about the classic ‘25 Facts about me’ post but came to the conclusion that that’s boring and so overdone. I wanted to create a post that would be enjoyable to read whilst still giving some information about me. Therefore this will be (drum roll

 please) True or False; cue the ominous music.

Fact: Elizabeth is one of my middle names.

Answer: TRUE; Elizabeth is my second middle name, Louise being the first.

F: I am an Aries.

A: TRUE; I am definitely fiery and stubborn as my Zodiac sign suggests!

F: I am eighteen years old.

A: FALSE; I’m actually twenty-one even though I don’t look it!

F: I have one brother.

A: TRUE; He’s younger than me and is fifteen years old.

F: I have never left Europe.

A: FALSE; I’ve been outside of Europe three times when I went to Dubai (twice) and New York.

F: I was once sneezed on by a giraffe.

A: TRUE; although I wish this one was false…

F: I have twenty-five screws in my spine.

A: FALSE; it’s actually twenty-six, I’m pretty much Bionic Woman.

F: I dropped out of University.

A: FALSE; somehow I managed to complete all three years of my degree and finish with a 2:1!

F: I have never broken a bone.

A: TRUE; although I did split my chin open as a child around Christmas time which resulted in me sporting a giant white bandage that made me look like Santa.

F: I’m obsessed with Sex and The City

A: TRUE; I own the complete boxset which me and my friends are working our way through together (apart from the time when there was a betrayal and SOME PEOPLE watched it without the rest of us).

F: I’ve met Zac Efron.

A: FALSE; watch this space!

F: I’m a vegetarian.

A: FALSE; There’s no way I could give up my chicken roast dinners.

F: I have the cutest dog in the world.

A: FALSE; I wish I had a dog, I’m trying to convince my family that we need one and I can guarantee that I will win one day.

F: I once got a free meal from the cashier at McDonalds.

A: TRUE; best day of my life!

F: I once had half my eyebrow waxed off.

A: TRUE; leaving the beauty salon with half an eyebrow missing was not the desired effect. This experience has made me very wary of who does my eyebrows.

So now you all have a better idea of who I am, I’ll be able to post interesting things for you to read in the very near future.

I plan to post new content every Sunday but I’ll keep you all updated via my Twitter so do make sure you’re following me, the link to my account is in the side bar.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me and I’ll see you in my next post!

S x