Disappointing Beauty Products #5

However hard you try some products just won't work for you, some won't float your boat and when others don't live up to the hype it can leave you feeling a bit disappointed. Here are my five latest disappointing products.

Benefit Cosmetics Benetint Lip and Cheek Tint

While I know this is a beauty favourite amongst many, it left me feeling a bit 'meh.' I don't know if  I expected too much from this because of the hype this has. It gives a nice natural flush but it doesn't last all day and isn't very pigmented. It's a nice colour on the lips though it doesn't last long after a drink or snack. It just seems very overpriced to me. (Benetint isn't actually bubbly like in the photo. I'd just dropped it so it had been shaken up and down before I took the photo.) You can read my full review here.

Balance Me Lip Salve in Sheer Red

Balance Me claim this "lip plumping intensive salve boosts hydration as well as treating to a sheer veil of gloss and colour." It's also petroleum free which suggests that it might be more moisturising than petroleum (such as Vaseline) which only acts as a barrier between the lips and environment rather than truly moisturising lips. However I did not find this very moisturising or hydrating at all. I also didn't like the peppermint taste but I know that some people may find this refreshing. The colour though, is gorgeous and is much more pigmented than I expected from a tinted lip salve. However I think I was allergic to this since it made my lips really sore and dry especially around the cupid bow for about two weeks, after just one or two uses.

Limited Collection Lip Liner in Nude

I was hoping this would be a great Kylie Jenner lip liner but unfortunately it's very pale. Much paler than it looks, while my lips are somewhat pigmented they're not that dark either. It could be useful as a lip eraser when you want to cancel out your natural lip colour but I'd rather just use foundation. If you have very pale lips this may be for you. However if you're after a Kylie Jenner lip liner, this isn't it. There were some good points though, the pencil is soft and long lasting, especially for under a fiver so it may be worthwhile checking out the other colours in this Marks and Spencer's  range.

MUA Eye Primer

I don't know whether this tube was an old one off the shelf or if it had been left for too long in my stash or whether it was from a bad batch, but I didn't find that it kept my eye shadow on at all and my eye shadow creased. It seems to help in the first hour or two but after that it did absolutely nothing. The eye shadow had half disappeared on my lids whereas Elf s mineral eye primer would leave it looking immaculate after 17 hours! I didn't feel that my eye shadow colours looked more vibrant either, this isn't my main concern but it would be a nice bonus. There also didn't seem to be much product in the tube. I don't know whether this was just a one off or not.

Revlon Neon Nail Polish Duo in Fluorescent 150

These nail polishes are watery and streaky. The idea is that you paint your nails with a white base layer which is supposed to make the fluorescent layer you paint on top 'pop' and look more vibrant. However the streaks and brushstrokes on the white layer show through no matter how good you are at painting your nails, because the formula is so watery. If you're looking for a bright neon polish I'd check out Models Own Nail Polish For Tans collection. You can read the full review of the Revlon Polish here.

What products have you been disappointed by recently?

 Thanks for reading!

MUA MAKE UP ACADEMY MATTE LIPSTICKS AND LIP LINERS REVIEW

MUA's matte lipstick range comes packaged in white tubes to distinguish them from their original lipstick line (in black tubes). The colour indicators at the base are accurate in that they match the lipstick inside. The packaging is simple,no frills.The matte range smells heavily of vanilla creme brulee but once on the lips the smell disappears. They taste of vanilla too but it's fairly subtle. 

There isn't much slip when applying these MUA Matte lipsticks and it can be  a teeny bit drying on the lips.

Scarlet Siren is a bright red and Wild Berry is a darker vamp cherry shade. From the bullet Wild Berry looks almost Gothic but is actually a dark raspberry shade that is much more wearable than it appears. However Wild berry is a little waxy and can cling to dry patches so that the application doesn't look as smooth as expected.This shade does not last a meal which I didn't really expect it to as it doesn't claim it's long wearing.It can wear off on the middle of the lips but looked quite subtle because my lips are a similar red/pink tone. 

Scarlet siren is a little different because it doesn't cling to dry patches and applies very smoothly. It does transfer onto cups and glasses after a drink but remains intact. Again this lipstick doesn't last after a meal. It can wear off in the middle so be wary of the lipstick ring effect.

                               Scarlet Siren

                               Wild Berry 

On the lips Wild Berry is actually a dark red like a red wine rather than purple which was difficult to show on camera. Out of the two shades Scarlet siren is my favourite  I love the fact it's matte and a classic Hollywood red that looks so sophisticated. 

Priced at just a pound both these lipsticks are a bargain! Thumbs up.

MUA LIp Liners

These lip liners are available in four colours- Red Drama, Brooding Plum, Pink Me Up and Softly Lined. They have a creamy soft consistency just like MUA's eyeliners. The sharpener in the lid is pretty decent. and useful. However be careful if you're travelling with these to wipe down the pencil sharpener so that the shavings don't stain your bag.

MUA lip pencils Top-Bottom  Brooding Plum,Softly Lined, Pink Me Upand  Red Drama,

Red Drama kept the runny Jemma Kidd lip gloss in place and without any signs of feathering.

Softly lined and Pink Me Up are both satin finishes which I've never tried before I'm used to matte colours for lip liners.

These are softer compared to Boots Seventeen's lip liners (which are now discontinued) and while they apply smoothly, unfortunately they smudge easily and have no lasting power. While MUA's eye liners look sexy when smudged the same does not apply to lip liners especially if they're in such bright colours shown here. As much as I like MUA apart from the two with satin finishes these colours can be commonly found in other make up brands and they probably will work better, so give these a miss.

 (If you do want to pick one up you can get them from  Superdrug or MUA online for £1.)

MUA EVER AFTER MATTE PALETTE REVIEW

                                                                                                              
This colour story may look a little boring but neutral palettes are useful for everyday work looks. The darker brown and green could create a smokey eye.

The top row are your spring pastel shades. However I found them lacking pigment and very powdery. The white was just like Talcum powder it didn't really adhere to the skin.I have olive skin but it wasn't the case of the colours being too light to show up (usually pink and white show up on me)  but that the shades were very chalky, hard in the pan, powdery to swatch with lots of fall out and little colour was left behind on the skin. The brown was less chalky and has a decent amount of pigment.

Unwrap (white) Butter (beige) Bare (light pink) Taffeta (Peachy pink) Fade (pastel brown)

Penny (mid brown) Chino (taupe) Truffle ( chocolate) Fog ( dark green) Smoke (very dark brown)


The Bottom row consists of darker neutrals. It's nice that they included a green among all the browns giving the palette a little more versatility. The last colour smoke looks black in the pan but is actually a very dark brown. This row thankfully is much more pigmented and texture is much better and smoother with no powder fall out. I wore Fade and Penny for a natural daytime look, with primer on one lid and one without. After 6 hours the one without primer still had shadow but it had faded and lost a little definition. Pairing Chino on the lid and truffle in the crease is another natural daytime look. I wore this for 10 hours one lid with primer and one without. After 10 hours eye shadow on both had faded although still there, but the lid with primer fared better. I created a smokey eye with truffle and smoke.Again I wore one lid with primer and one without. Eye shadow was still intact on both lids after 12 hours although it had faded a little bit. I would recommend a primer because it makes the colours brighter as well as keeping the eye shadows looking fresher for longer. This palette has 3 taupe browns in different shades which would suit a natural look for the summer or for work and the darker browns for an evening smokey eye.

Packaging: Basic packaging in black. The square pans change it up a bit from the usual MUA circle pans. Although there are 10 pans rather than the 12 usual round ones, you actually get more product (10g vs. 9.6g)

Price: 10 shades (10g) for £4

Verdict
I find this palette to be very disappointing. It is the first MUA palette I have bought where the pigmentation and texture of almost all the top row has been so awful. I would say 6/10 shadows are good-adequate. Matte shadows are difficult to get right however  MUA do have decent light pastel shades in their singles so I don't know why these aren't up to scratch.The eye shadows seem to fade quicker than MUA's other palettes as well. On the whole I don't think this palette delivers a happy ever after. I would recommend checking out the light matte colours in MUA's Smokin palette instead.

MUA Matte Ever After Palette from Superdrug and MUA online £4

MUA SMOKIN PALETTE (URBAN DECAY SMOKED PALETTE DUPE)

MUA Smokin palette is hailed as a dupe for Urban Decay's Smoked palette. Unfortunately I don't own Urban Decay's Smoked Palette so I can't directly compare MUA's Smokin palette to the UD original. However since this is a dupe, the concept of the palette is the same, which is to be able to create an alternative smoky eye, one with added pop of colour.

Top Row: L-R: Glory, Boudoir, Ghost, Fantasy, Mythical and  Broken

Bottom Row L-R: Icon, Unleash, Chaos and Wicked.

The shadows are soft and very pigmented although I did experience fall out when swatching the shades. The top row are neutral shades consisting of four matte shades  Glory (beige-cream) and  Boudoir (Peach)  Fantasy (dark brown) and Mythical (dark brown/black.)  Glory and Boudoir can be used as transition shades. The odd one out on the top row is Ghost which is a shimery grey. Unfortunately Gloryis a little chalkyand doesn't show up well as it's too close to my skin colour and lacking pigment. Fantasy is great for the crease when blending out bright colours for a smoky effect.
The bottom row contain jewelled toned shimmers Icon (Purple) Unleash (blue) Chaos (Green) and Wicked (a dark silver.)

 

I wore Chaos, Fantasy and Mythical together with primer on one lid and one without .After 5 hours shadows still looked immaculate and there was no difference in wear between the two lids.
I wore Unleash and Fantasy for 10 hours one eye with primer the other without. Apart from wearing off a little in the crease the one without primer looked the same as the one with primer, eye shadow still intact and vibrant.

The eye liner is literally glued into the palette so requires a good push to get it out at first but it sits back in fine and the case closes perfectly. What's annoying is that there is no lid for the eye liner.
The pencil is soft and creamy and the colour extremely pigmented. It stayed on 10 hours later and is stubborn to remove when you take your make up off.







Unlike Urban Decay's version this does not come with an eye primer.
Also there isn't a leaflet featuring different tutorials for different eye looks but these can be found through searching YouTube.

Packaging: This is one of MUA's bigger palettes (excluding MUA Luxe) with 17g for 10 shadows. MUA seems to have moved away from the 12 circle pans to 10 bigger rectangle pans. Compared to UD, this packaging is very basic.

Price: At £6 it is slightly more expensive than the other palettes apart from the Luxe palette.
Available from MUA Store Online and currently on sale for £5 in Superdrug

Verdict:
There is a good combination of neutrals and brights making this palette very versatile- I can easily picture packing this for a week away and having all the eye shadows I need.  There is good mixture of  matte and satin colours.
I loved playing around with this palette,it's definitely a big hit and excellent value for money- I urge you to go and get one!

You may like this if...

• You are on a budget
• You want a dupe for Urban Decay's Smoked palette.

You may not like this if...

• You prefer prettier packaging
• You like glitter
• You cannot deal with fall out shadows

MUA LUXE PRETTY EDGY EYE SHADOW PALETTE REVIEW

A departure from MUA regular clear palettes MUA Luxe has announced it's arrival- with studs. The studs make this palette stand out and more importantly this contains a very big mirror inside.
There are 10 eye shadows in rectangular pans that are much like the layout in MUA's Smokin' palette. I love these rectangular pans since they contain more product. There are 6 satin eye shadows on top row and 4 mattes on the bottom row.  This palette has purple, plum, browns is marketed as 'pretty romance with gothic grunge.' This more luxurious line is priced is a little higher than the regular line and I think this paid for the more funky packaging and mirror.

These eye shadows are very soft and powdery so there is a fair bit of fallout. All the shadows are extremely pigmented. I didn't find the matte shadows chalky at all. The shades are very wearable suitable for daytime or smoked out at night. My favourite colours are Toile (lilac shade) and Ruffle (a metallic taupe grey.)
These eye shadows are long lasting. There was almost no difference between one eye with primer and eye shadow and one without the eye primer, the shadow looked pretty much the same 8 hours later than as when it was applied.
The colour Lace (burgundy left)  is very similar to Maybelline's 24 hour cream eye shadow in Pomegranate (far right). I also swatched it against Sleek's Vow in Venice in the Vintage Romance palette but it was pinker than lace.

Verdict- Great value, good mix of matte and satin and cool and warm shades. Very pigmented and long lasting. what more can you ask for?

You may like this if...you are on a budget, love romantic or autumn shades
You may not like this if....you prefer more darker shades or bright shades

This palette is only available online at MUA and coats £8.