January 30, 2015

Do You Like That New Makeup You Purchased but Maybe Not Love It?

love makeup

Welcome to my world where makeup comes into my life and I end up liking it but not really loving it.

Every have those products that enter your life that you like but not love?

Sometimes a makeup or a skincare products comes into my life and presses all the right buttons. It has a nice texture, the color is beautiful, the pigmentation is spot on, the formula works incredibly well but….yes there’s a but….but somethings off. You can’t really figure out why, because, well, there’s nothing wrong with the formula, but you simply aren’t loving the product. You like it well enough, it works great, but you have this funny little feeling it’ll lay forgotten in your makeup graveyard because it just didn’t quite hit you right.

It’s phenomenon. Complete mystery! Unexplainable to me or any beauty junkie that’s experienced the problem.

I can think of tons of products I’ve had this happen with. More recently it was Lorac POREfection Concealer and Maybelline Master Concealer…both have excellent formulas, fairly good pigmentation, but they are sitting untouched in my makeup drawer…they just didn’t hit me right and I’m not sure why…!

I couldn’t possibly tell you WHY I’m not loving these two products. I like them but I kinda have that shrug my shoulders attitude about them, they just didn’t work for me…

How about you?

What makeup products have you recently tried or tried in the past that you like but don’t really love?

Do you sometimes question why you don’t love them and just can’t come up with an answer….?

Do share!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Lauren

    It happens all the time… Some examples are:

    Urban Decay Naked 3
    It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty palette
    Hourglass Immaculate Foundation
    It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye
    Lorac Pro (I KNOW!!! I’m nuts! I love the Unzipped palette so it’s not the shadows)

    There is more, but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

    • Isabella Muse

      haha! do you KNOW why Lauren? that’s what drives me crazy…it’s like wait these are great products, good formula but WTH am I not loving them!? 😀

      • Lauren

        I have no clue… They are all great products.. But not for me.

        UD Naked 3 is nice, but I just love so many other palettes more, like Lorac Unzipped. It’s not that I don’t like it but…

        It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty is also lovely, but the colors don’t speak to me.

        Hourglass Immaculate Foundation is lovely but my face looks flat when I wear it and it doesn’t last as long as I’d like. It’s a nice foundation, but I prefer the MUFE Mat Velvet Plus.

        It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye has a great formula, but I like Benefit Erase Paste better.

        Lorac Pro has a great color range, but I never use it. I almost always reach for Too Faced Chocolate Bar, Too Faced Natural Eyes, UD Naked 1, or Lorac Unzipped. I almost have to force myself to use Lorac Pro.

  • Jenna

    I think for me this happens when something is good but I have something even better. For me right now it has been Urban Decay Naked Foundation. I like it, people seem to love it but it’s been sitting untouched for awhile now. Partially because my current routine which combines using It Cosmetics CC cream with a little Kat Von D Lock It foundation over my “troubled” areas has been my go to and I get so many compliments on my skin, I just can’t switch it up! LOL.

    Same with undereye concealers, since I started using Bye Bye Undereye…nothing else in my stash has been even looked at for undereyes.

    • Isabella Muse

      jenna I have the same issue with Naked. People love it, formula seems good for drier skin, but I just don’t love it.

      • Jenna

        Exactly, I have dry skin and it’s just not my go to right now. I even bought the brush later on thinking it would make me like it more…and not yet. Though the brush is lovely.

        Also, wanted to add I just got Benefit’s Lemon Aid based on your review and love it! So that’s been a new staple for me since I got it.

        • Isabella Muse

          Oh happy! so glad to hear it, it’s one of my very favorite products glad to hear it Jenna! I always feel like Naked never really sets, it’s kinda too dewy on me 🙁

  • Gisela

    I have this problem with Etude House Moistfull Collagen Essence. It smells good, pretty bottle and I can see a difference in my skin in the morning. Yet … it hasn’t stolen my heart. It’s good. That’s it, and I wish I knew what was bothering me. My sister LOVES it and when she was visiting me she found the 2/3 full bottle in my cabinet with other unopened goodies and was about to snatch it. I ended up saying NOooOo while bribing her with some facial masks instead. I don’t understand myself haha C:

  • reen

    happens to me all the time , with concealers! I think its because I have dry skin, they all make my eye area look dry/cakey.

    I have tried numerous brands, and have not found my HG concealer. right now, im using Bobbi Brown concealer, (the Sephora rep recommended it for dry skin),
    I like it, but don’t love it and don’t use it much. frustrated….

  • Rae // theNotice

    YES dude I get this all the time!!! Sometimes I’ll go through weeks where everything is glitter and unicorns, and sometimes I’ll go months without being able to put my finger on why I’m not loving ANYTHING new.

    Thankfully, it usually works out to be a big coincidence (like, three months later I’ll be able to confirm that all of the loves were indeed worthy), but I wish I could figure out the whys as they happen!

    • Isabella Muse

      LOL! it’s a mystery Rae a total mystery! I have those moments too and I can’t describe exactly what it is I’m disliking when the formula is perfectly fine 😀 maybe we’re just a bunch of nitpicky old ladies haha!

  • Janessa

    NARS sheer matte. I got compliments every single time I wore it, but it never really did anything for ME. I have never heard anyone else say anything bad about it, but I don’t see the hype. The other big one would have to be my VICE 2. I was head over heals for it last year, and now it just sits un-loved in the back of my palette basked. I have zero interest in it, and I KNOW it’s a fabulous palette. Poor girl 🙁

    • Isabella Muse

      talking about nars, the creamy concealer was one that didn’t do it for me. everyone raves it on and on and on and I love the formula so incredibly creamy but it sheers out once applied and just doesn’t do it for me!

  • Kara

    For me it’s about finding the right combination. For example, primers and foundations. I may hate how a primer works with one foundation but it works amazing with a different one. I almost feel like I have to keep a spreadsheet just to keep track of which products to use together 🙂

  • Tracy

    I agree with the poster above in that I just like something more so the product gets pushed back into the drawer. I had thought I had found my HG foundation with the UD Naked Skin but then winter came and all of a sudden it didn’t work for me. So now I’ve been going back and forth between using the Diorskin Star Foundation, the GA Luminous Silk and the YSL Touche Eclat. All three are wonderful for my drier skin during winter. Maybe I’ll go back to the UD but I may not. Who really knows for sure what they are going to like on a day to day basis. I really don’t like being indecisive but when it comes to beauty related products I think it’s ok because I end up trying things I may not have if I found my HG in anything. Does this make sense? It’s Friday and I’m staring at 3ft of snow outside of my office. Beauty related stuff makes me happy.

  • Kimmwc03

    Yep, I’m that way with a few concealers like the original IT one and the NARS radiant one. I do back and forth all the time.

  • Debbie

    Urban Decay lipsticks – everyone RAVES about them, but I just didn’t love em!

  • Debra

    Hi Isabella,

    I went through too many years of experiencing The Phenomenon and then I quit wearing makeup for a while (due to other reasons).

    When I returned to makeup I was cured for the most part. I think the makeup has to have a certain Kismet effect on you – you “feel” it calls to the You you want to be.

    Sometimes there’s just a sort of confusion about the product — like, is it taking me to where I want to go? Have I been there already? Do I want to go “there” again?

    I own a few Chanel lipsticks in the not-quite-there category but I cannot part from them. I mean, they’re Chanel! They’ll probably get re-promoted!!

    Maybe it’s not a bad thing to have the Phenomenon though. It means there’s a mystery inside of us that the physical world has not yet figured out!

    My 2-1/2 cents.

    Happy Friday!

    • Isabella Muse

      debra that was kinda spiritual 🙂 hehe! thanks! I feel better about the mysteries of the makeup world now 🙂 TGIF girl!

      • Debra

        I’ll “hearing” Chanel Tisse Gabrielle calling to me so I hope the purchase this weekend will lead to a metaphysical thing!

  • macy

    Surprisingly enough my orginal Naked Palette is one of those products. there is nothing unique about it. I never reach for it. Its pretty, but just never stole my heart (like the lorac pro, or the too faced semi sweet).

    Hmmm. And my color pop eye shadows!!! They are absolutely GORGEOUS. However, I cannot for the life of me create a good look with them. the don’t blend very well, and they just fall right off the Lid. I wish they worked for me 🙁

    And my nars audatious lipsticks. I love them. But I dont ever want to use them because they are so expensive.and I don’t want to run out Lol

  • Brian

    For me, it was the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. I think my expectations were so high (and it was my first Urban Decay palette from the “Naked” collection) from all of the hype and glowing reviews it was getting. I thought it was a ok but I wasn’t blown away and I haven’t used it much since purchasing it :/

  • Staci

    Naked 1. *gasp* I know! lol I love my Naked 2 more because probably the cool toned shadows. I like the naked 1 shadows but I just don’t reach for it as much. I trying to use it up this year. Hoping to hit some pan. 😀 Also Maybelline the falsies & blush. I just don’t understand the hype about blushes. Gorgeous colours, blends easily & pigmented? I’m just it’s ok. I just love eyeshadows more.

  • snesbear

    I feel this way with my foundation and concealer. I can’t hide my under eye issues (teeny tiny fine lines- I’m 28, tear troughs & darkness). Then there are my foundation issues. My foundation cakes no matter what I do.

    I’ve switched up my skincare so many times I don’t think that’s the issue anymore (I use a konjac sponge every other day & moisturize with squalane at night). I have tried so many different primers, foundations (medium coverage, full coverage, BB creams, & TMs), brushes/BB/sponges/clean hands, techniques (dotting on then blending, use more/less product), and waiting times between products. I’m just upset that I see ladies able to easily slather on their foundation and it looks perfectly like their skin. Why can’t I have that?

  • Andromeyda

    So I’m probably going to be the only person in the world who feels this way But the lorac mega pro palette is a like but not love for me, I mean the shades are absolutely gorgeous BUT they barely show up on my skin (NW 43 for reference). Its like I know it has potential but I just wished it was more pigmented

  • Sharon

    Mac Paint pots! Everyone seems to love them and I can’t quite figure out why I don’t like them. But I can’t wait till my painterly hits pan so I can validate myself to buy another flesh toned base!!

  • Molly

    Ha, I just view all my makeup as toys – like I’m really a teenager at heart and want to play with ALL THE MAKEUP. And then, when I’m done with it, or if I just don’t like it, I pass it on to my nieces – who are actual teenagers. 🙂

  • Kristi

    ^^ we are completely opposite! I love my colourpop and nars audacious!

    For me…it’s mostly brands. If I buy lorac, it just sits there, same thing with benefit. I don’t know why …like the lorac primer. It’s ok…but I’ll never buy it again-I just don’t love it. Same thing with my benefit box blushes…I like them but never use them.

    I’m starting to feel this way about the vice ltd … I like it but don’t love it.

  • Genevieve

    Yes I have had a few experiences like that – my Dior Navy Design – love the colours but it just doesn’t always feel right. Have had quite a few issues with foundations in the past – when they started off looking great but changed colour and then I felt like I had wasted my money. Now I read all the reviews on products and I choose more carefully. By the way I feel the same as Janessa above – love my Vice 2 great colours and everything but I just don’t use it like I should.

  • cat

    Hello every liner or mascara that I like except for the fact that it smudges and I walk around looking like a raccoon until I have time to check a mirror and let that embarrassment really sink in.

  • Krystle

    For me, it’s the Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette. When I first got it, I was in love, but then…it just became “meh” to me, especially compared to the original Chocolate Bar.

    And I’ve never found a concealer that has wowed me. The NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer has come close, but no product has impressed my dry undereye skin.

  • NeenainTexas

    i felt this today. i broke out my brand spankin’ new smashbox cc cream and the coverage is decent, blends well and is a dead on color match for me but …. im meh about it. it looks mask-like on my face. :-/

  • Sammie

    For me, it’s the LORAC Pro Palette and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder trio. The LORAC palette has a great texture, but it’s taken me forever to figure out how to make it look good with my skin tone – which is surprising, because I have a pretty neutral but light skin tone. It’s just like almost every color is either too light or too dark to look truly neutral. I like it better now than when I first got it, but I’m still not totally in love.

    And with the Hourglass palette, it’s like, I can tell that it’s pretty, but it’s not as pretty as my MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle. And I think that’s the issue with both of them, and a lot of new products I’ve been trying lately, or have been avoiding purchasing – they’re pretty, but I’ve already got something that works better for me, so I’m not falling in love with anything new.

  • Tammie

    I am VERY picky so I think a lot of things would go on my list (although I can’t think of them all right now). There are a lot of things that are either OK, but not worth the money to me (I have limited funds) so if I was wealthy I would keep it and maybe use it but I’m not so it goes right back. Basically if it’s not worth the hype or the money it goes right back.

  • Cathy

    I feel that way about the Urban Decay Revolution lipstick. It was perfectly…fine. The formula was fine. The color was pigmented. But every time I wear it, I just feel meh. After a month or so of trying to convince myself to wear it, I returned it.

  • Katmary

    Guilty as charged! The one area I’d like to have my HGs down is concealer and foundation. Some time ago I realized I wasn’t medium, but light to light-medium with golden undertones, no pink or peach (thought I was cool toned)! I spent quite some time looking like a dork in Medium BE! Then the hardest of all, concealer! While I love BBUE and how it conceals, I kept reaching for Tarte’s Maracuja concealer. It wasn’t until someone else posted that BBUE had an odd undertone that I realized it was a bit pinkish or at least cooler than I realized. If it was going to be a hardcore concealer, either yellow-toned or a salmon undertone would be ideal, but it builds well. It’s also a pain to get it out, I can’t imagine using it as foundation!!!! I kept trying to get it to look right and couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Perhaps I’ll try a light layer of it with Tarte’s over it and see how that goes! I think that’s why I keep reaching for Tarte’s as the color LOOKS better and brightens under my eyes, even though it’s more medium coverage and doesn’t cover enough. Same goes with IT’s CC cream as I have gold undertones (basically, light skin with yellow and some olive undertones. Tarte’s foundations looks way better on me. I finally gave up getting foundation and concealer at drugstores as they never match since there’s no samples or swatches at my stores. I WILL try the Fergie Wet and Wild concealer in case it matches better than BBUE!

    With blush and lipstick it’s hard to find the right tones (usually a medium-tone gloss or lip balm works well in the warm or neutral category, not too matte or overly shiny), dunno why but even with Tarte’s blushes not all really look right and I end up skipping it despite having over 10 of theirs, nevermind many others. Hair’s a worse area so I’ll skip that! I’m overhauling my skincare, hopefully that’ll help with the “canvas”! I also keep thinking I’ll like palettes, but unless they’re smaller, I don’t tend to open them that often and have them stashed under my sink. I finally realized with Bare Minerals that I was buying loose shadows because they were so PRETTY, despite the fact that they don’t all look good on me! It’s so tempting to buy makeup with pretty colors or compacts, but it has to look good on me or forget it! With dark under eye circles, that means not going with dark shadows and focus on brightening, no black liner unless it’s soft, and no mascara on bottom as it tends to help the darkness “show” through somehow. Again, I have lots of pretty shadows and liners that are in the back of my drawers but have found some reason to be picky about them! I wish I could trade 20 unused pencil liners for some gel liner pots that don’t dry out! I don’t buy often, but get caught up with the Christmas and post-holiday deals!

  • Jay

    I understand so well! some of my examples: The Urban Decay Naked 1 palette, Lorac Unzipped, Revlon Colorstay foundation, UD Revolution lipsticks, MAC MSF (finicky to use when I’m oily), Nars Audacious lipstick (I know I know! The color range to me is more fit for fair to medium skin tones, so the one I own is pretty but no showstopper). I think I adored owning these products because I was trendy and had what everyone else loved. Now I have to force myself to use them. I like them, but I’m just not IN LOVE anymore!

    I think a lot of it also has to do with how quicly my collection grew. I will have a foundation I think I love, find something better, and suddenly my old standby is no longer that awesome. I’ve slowed down buying everything under the sun just because I read glowing reviews and really focus on enjoying what I already own.

    As a blogger that’s nearly impossible for you I assume :). I’m trying to focus on my current loves instead of replacing them with something better. Keeps my wallet happy too!

    • Isabella Muse

      it is very very hard to slow down and just enjoy one product sometimes Jay 🙂 I feel like I run through to the next best thing before I even enjoyed the launch of something that’s less than a month old! it kinda sucks!

  • Heather F.

    I think the makeup products that I merely like instead of love are either those for which the result is worth less than the time or money I’ve put into it, or those which are plenty nice but not quite as good as a similar product I already own.

    For example, even though my Bye-Bye Undereye is an amazing product and covers up my dark (dark, dark, dark) undereye circles really well, covering something up isn’t nearly as much fun as playing with color, plus it takes a long time for me to apply it well. On the other hand, applying It Cosmetic’s CC cream takes about a minute and a half with my beauty blender, covers up my sad unevenness and hyperpigmentation and sucky adult acne, and finishes with a dewy glow that makes me feel just gorgeous. I love the CC cream because the final result seems so obviously worth the hassle, whereas I merely like the concealer.

    Another recent like-not-love is Clinique’s Even Better foundation. I was hoping it might provide fuller coverage for really bad skin days, but it doesn’t have quite as much coverage as I was hoping and doesn’t last quite as long as my CC cream and the finish is a not quite as natural. There’s nothing WRONG with it; it’s still better than my naked skin, but it’s not as good as the CC cream, so it’s merely a like instead of the love I was hoping for.

    In an effort to curb overspending and Pokemon syndrome, any “likes” that haven’t been used in awhile are put in a box and driven to my mom’s house, where my sisters and nieces are welcome to help themselves. Knowing that anything I don’t adore might end up in a ten-year-old niece’s dress-up vanity keeps me from buying something likely to be only a “like.”

  • DW

    L’Oreal’s Beauty Tubes mascara was perfect for me. But I had no use for the white end.