Picture the following scenario: There’s a new beauty product, you’ve seen pictures somewhere (leaked, most probably). Shortly after, every beauty blogger/ vlogger starts to talk about it, you start to see it everywhere, and in the end, everybody and their kitchen sink wants it. Of course, it’s also highly limited and hard to get, you’re standing in line at 6am to get it, pay in inordinate amount of money, and then, finally, you’re one of the little group of people who managed to get said item. Success! Or – not?
Maybe you’ll be using it for some time until it slowly dawns on you that it’s not for you. But – what to do now? Usually stuff like that gets buried in my drawer until I find it again during cleaning or sorting through my stash some months later. Judgement day dawns.
Initially yay, and then totally nay
I remember being in London when the Naked 1 palette was initially released and I was seriously hunting for it. I was so happy when I finally found it! I used it every day for a while and then moved on. There were other palettes, other formulas to explore, and I hadn’t used it for years when I recently pulled it out and, in a fit of nostalgia, used it for a simple neutral day look. Nothing could be simpler, right? And I hated it utterly. The obvious glitter, the fall-out, the dust my brush kicked up. It was just such a bother to faff around with a sticky base, clean up, etc. While I still like the shades in the palette, I feel that powder eyeshadow formulas have evolved so much that you can demand the best quality and easiest application across all price ranges.
The lesson:
It was nice while it lasted, but now it’s time to move on. I have quite a lot of products like this in my stash, and it’s a valuable lesson: the industry grows and evolves, there’re inventions and better products all the time. Don’t buy in bulk, because something better *will* come along.
The MAC Forever Marilyn beauty powder is a slightly different animal. Again the same with the hunting (oh yes, it definitely is a factor of desirability), using it for a while and then forgetting it. I don’t know if I was delusional back then, because when I tried it recently it was just way too pink for my skintone as an all-over powder, and too blah as a highlighter.
The lesson:
So, this was an error in judgement. It happens. Don’t lie to yourself, sometimes a hyped-up product just doesn’t work for you, as much as you’d like to will it to work.
Initially nay and then yay!
When the MAC Apres Chic collection came out, I insisted on going to the counter to check everything out, although I just came from the dentist and was quite groggy. I had read some reviews, knew what I wanted and when I got there, I just wanted to go home to some pain meds and my bed. I just waved my list at the SA, got my items, and when I finally tried them on, I found them very, very tricky with my colouring. Apres Chic lipstick – totally blah on me. A muted brick red, which in theory should work well for me. But it didn’t. I was always wondering about that, and this winter I tried it again, but with a very bold, reddish blush (Hidden Treasure by MAC) that was quite close in colour to Apres Chic itself. And lo and behold, it worked. I had tried neutral and peachy blushes with it before and they had been totally wrong. This combo – love. The matter with Hot Chocolate lipstick was again different. It’s a cool light brown, and it washed me out so much. I wore it a few times and decided that I just didn’t like the whole ‘brown lips aesthetic’. But then, again, I tried it when I recently had dyed my hair purple, and that changed everything. Instead of washing me out, the colour now looked very chic and modern, but it was a no-go with my beachy bronde ombre. (Btw, if you’re interested in it, it comes out again soon in MAC’s summer collection!)
The lesson:
Never stop trying if you’re not ready to toss a product! It might work someday – play around with it, pair it with different products, don’t be shy to go for unusual combinations and not all need to be lost. (Also – swatch before buying. Seriously!!!)
Yay, but haven’t used it properly
Ah, the hardest category, because all my collector’s items belong to it. I’ve got a weakness for pretty packaging, powders with pretty embossing, and generally products where form wins over function. I try to keep that tendency down – I’ve never been one for just collecting and not using, but then, I fall victim to it again and again. I don’t use bronzer (once in a blue moon, actually), but I’m hanging on to MAC’s Golden in special packaging that I’ve half-heartedly used a few times. Same with MAC’s Mythical from Alluring Aquatics. I wanted a lipstick in that super cool packaging, I got it, used it maybe twice and I don’t think I’ll ever toss or Back 2 Mac it. Or take Chanel’s super gorgeous Poudre Signée de Chanel – I was so hesitant to use it that I just ever dipped my brush into the upper half to not destroy the embossing. It’s a bit too intense for me, but I’ll hang onto it for dear life.
The lesson:
We’re all makeup addicts. It’s our hobby. We enjoy it. So sometimes the urge to get a pretty product just gets the upper hand. I enjoy pretty products, and that’s ok. No lesson to learn here, but to really enjoy the stuff you get. And if you enjoy it by looking at it, lovingly pet it or whatever, that’s cool too.
So tell me, did you buy products just because they were hyped? And how did that turn out afterwards?
