DISAPPOINTING PRODUCTS || Makeup, Skincare, Haircare || #RivetReview

I get to try out a lot of products as a blogger, and while I don't like to be negative (without constructive feedback), I do like to be honest.

Here we have some products that just did not cut it; whether it be the formula, the colour, the fragrance, or just the general consensus of being poor performing. NO BRANDS ARE SAFE! LET THE HONESTY HOUR BEGIN!

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Disclaimer: Products featured in this post have been tried and tested by me personally, and these are my honest opinions. Some of my commentary may come across as brash. If a product listed here is your fave, I'm actually jealous that you're able to like it!

MAKEUP

Eyes/Brows

Australis Shimmer Pigment Pots [PR Sample/Purchase]
I did post swatches of these on Instagram, and they came up quite beautifully over the NYX jumbo pencil and eye base, but these pigments DO NOT mix well with water, mixing medium or setting spray, for wet use, as advertised. They just do not go on like regular loose shadows (which I have experience in working with). They don't even stick over normal eyeshadow primer. Let's face it, the colours are amazing, but the formula for a loose pigment shadow really bites.

Coastal Scents HOT POT Single Shadows MATTE [Purchase]
I bought these a long time ago and didn't wind up getting much use from them. The formula is like chalk and they're incredibly hard to blend, and get colour payoff. If you want bright mattes, go with Sugarpill.

Etude House Tint My Brows Gel "Grey Brown" [Purchase]
This has been a common occurrence with these "brow tattoo" gels. This is one of the OG KBeauty ones that inspired Maybelline to join the game with their own version of the product. Safe to say, even the Maybelline version in the same shade of "Grey Brown", a purple based brown with cool tones, goes YELLOW after a few days. It's a disgusting shade of failure.

Kat Von D Lock-It Eyeshadow Primer [PR Sample]
I received 3 of these in "Light", "Medium" and "Tan", but of course, I only have used the Light shade. You seriously have to work faster than light to use this primer, it goes tacky so quickly. You have mere seconds to apply your base shadow before you cannot blend anything that touches it. I may have given the Tan shade to a friend, but I remember it being in my pro kit. It just didn't work.

Model Co More Brows "Dark Brown" [Purchase]
This is a coloured brow gel with fibres in it, and it is the single worst brow product I have ever used. They make my brows look god awful not-natural. Ugh, sticking to clear brow gel from now on in.

Models Prefer MP Kit Shadows "Party Glam" [Purchase]
Okay, a little leeway is given here, because these are great stocking stuffers, but I have purchased two of these in successive years, '14 and '15, but found zero colour payoff, despite finger swatching really well. The $10 for these palettes are only worth the brushes they come with.

Morphe 125 "Soul of Summer" Palette [Gift]
Morphe is supposed to be highly pigmented, but this palette was just utterly under-performing and boring. I gave it to somebody else to play with.
[Full Review]

w7 KABROW! Brow Thickener "Brunette" [Purchase]
Another disappointment. I'm not sure whether it is a fibre or powder, or whatever, but it doesn't do anything except make my brows look horrible.

Face

Australis Strobe Lights Palette [Purchase]
I'm pretty sure that this has been discontinued. So much fallout and no payoff on the skin.

Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder "Incandescent Strobe Light" MINI [Purchase]
I managed to justify $35 for a mini disappointment. It doesn't show up on my skin, even with a wet brush!

Illamasqua Matte Primer [Purchase]
I'm pretty sure I mentioned this in an old video on regretful purchases, but it still stands. This primer did nothing. I got rid of it in a major purge a while back.

Thin Lizzy 6 in 1 Professional Pressed Powder "Light" [Purchase]
Mum wanted me to buy this because it works for "all skin tones". Guess who can't use it because she's too pale? Me. It does not go down well as a foundation (as advertised) with fair skin.

Physician's Formula ArganWear Blush "Natural" [Gift]
I have a love/hate relationship with this blush, mostly because it's just ALL gold glitter when you start it, but then later on, when the glitter layer has been removed, the product is so sheer that you have to apply it around four times for any colour to show. To say the least, I use it, but only because the colour is really nice. The pigmentation is pure disappointment.

Lips

Australis Luxe-Lips Pigmented Gloss [PR Sample]
If icky-sticky lip gloss were pleasant to wear, this would be the drugstore choice.

Chi Chi Cosmetics Creamy Matte Liquid Lipstick [Purchase]
Not matte; you keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means. Also a gloss, not liquid lipstick.

Nudestix Magnetic Matte Lip Color "Saint" [Purchase]
I love the idea of this line, I love the colour, but the formula is awful! It feels heavy on the lips, it balls up, and it's impossible to remove. It's really uncomfortable to wear, I regret wasting my dollars on this – and it's way too far past the return date to exchange it.

NYX Creamy Round Lipstick [Purchase]
These are unwearable. The fragrance/flavour in them is so revolting.

NYX Suede Matte Lip Liner [Purchase]
I have high regard for NYX Lip Liners, but the two I got from this range, "Little Denim Dress" (Sky Blue) and "Amethyst" (Violet) went on patchy and did not play well with lipsticks placed over the top. I should've just got the Liquid Suede versions.

OCC Lip Tar Metallic and Matte [Purchase/Gift]
I'm so glad that this phase has been and gone, because these do not dry down. They are pigmented lip glosses. I even got a gift from a friend with brand-new-in-box products that had gone RANCID. How disappointing. Technopagan (metallic) was pretty cool, but Pagan (matte) was not a matte finish by any definition of that word! Also, the "Clear/Primer" was just an absolute rip off. It's just the same formula sans pigment. I'm not sure I can live down with the brand's name being an "homage" to a highly stigmatized mental illness.

Accessories

Cricket Pretty Little Painters Makeup Sponges [Purchase]
I had never heard of this brand, but after a quick Google, I found out they do hair salon supplies. I needed sponges for my professional kit, so Dad bought me these from a beauty supply store. Hard as a rock. These are supposed to be professional sponges and yet they don't take up water and feel like you're bashing a tennis ball on your face.

Manicare x Liz Kelsh Expert Brush Collection [PR Sample]
Don't get me wrong, I like some of these, however there are two particular brushes made with "natural bristles", i.e. animal hair, that are, bluntly put, the WORST brushes I have used in my life. They are the "F12 Powder Brush" and "F14 Contouring Blush Brush". I used these in my professional kit when I did my makeup classes and they were the scratchiest brushes to date, plus, they did not survive the cleanings tage, they shed.

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SKINCARE

Face

Hylamide (Deciem) Photography Foundation "Transparent" [PR Sample]
This stuck to every dry patch of skin on my face and made me look like a flaky Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not even worth mixing into foundation.

Indeed Labs Nanoblur [PR Sample]
This is the most drying product I have ever used and I never want it to touch my face again.

Josie Maran Argan Oil Light [Store Sample]
This "facial oil" is not an oil, but a greasy and gross feeling substitute for the original. This product failed me so hard.

Model Co Micellar Cleansing Water [Purchase]
This almost made me cry from the sheer frustration of how ineffective this micellar water was. Couldn't even cleanse already clean skin, let alone any kind of makeup.

OLEHENRIKSEN Truth Serum [PR Sample]
I'm so glad I didn't pay for this, because this is the lousiest Vitamin C serum on the market. It doesn't do anything.

SKYN Iceland Plumping Lip Gels [Purchase]
These are literally just oversized, expensive, berry flavoured jelly patches for your lips. You get the same amount of hydration from putting on lip balm. Just saying.

Swisse Rosehip Oil [PR Sample]
This is not pure Rosehip oil and beware all the other essential oils in this cocktail!

Touch In Sol CC Moisture Veil Cushion Compact [Purchase]
$5 clearance bin... I don't know how long it had been sitting there, but this product is absolutely UNUSABLE. The foam cushion has disintegrated. It applies like a pink sheath. It feels like a grainy failure. If I had paid full price for it instead of $5, I would be chucking tantrums.

Body

Dermalogica Environmental Control Deodorant [Purchase]
This doesn't help stinky people, FYI.

Lush Snow Fairy EVERYTHING [Purchase/PR Sample/Gift]
Perhaps the WORST fragrance Lush have ever come up with. *GAG*

The Chemistry Brand (Deciem) Hyaluronic Body Mist [Purchase]
I'd give this credit, but the fragrance is like a cross between KFC fresh wipes and lemon scented toilet cleaner.

Accessories/Other

Lush Mouth Wash Tabs "Ugai" [PR Sample]
I tried one of these and could not even deal with the taste. I don't know who designed this flavour, but it doesn't taste anything like green tea. Who on earth puts tea tree oil in a mouthwash? It tastes like it would kill me more than it would kill bacteria in my mouth. Another toilet cleaner.

Raccine Lady-M Massaging Ion Applicator [BeautyHeaven Points]
This is not an ionic tool. These vibrating product applicators do not give the results of iontophoresis, especially because they are not used with ionic serums. My two others from eBay do the same thing as this, except they heat up. Just to clarify, these are meant to aid in the absorption of skincare products. My skeptic eye just doesn't buy it.

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HAIRCARE

Shampoo/Conditioner/Treatments

Lush Jungle Solid Conditioner [Purchase]
I'm sure the formula has changed since, but this solid conditioner didn't condition my hair, nor actually melt enough in the shower to stick to my hair. Could barely get a comb through after using it. It is one of my favourite Lush Fragrances though.

Sugarbaby REV-OIL-UTION Nourishing Organic Coconut Treatment For Face, Hair & Body [PR Sample]
I used this as a pre-shampoo treatment as per instructions. You can literally shampoo your hair about four times and you'll still have residue of this. It's also awful on the body too.

Hair Colour

Directions Semi-Permanent Hair Colour "Neon Blue" [Purchase]
This dye is 1) actually a shade of blue toned purple, and 2) has the worst longevity of all the colours available in the range. I used it on my hair around 2011 or so, but I can tell you, I wasn't the only one disappointed by it.

Fudge Paint Box (All Shades) [Purchase]
I can't speak for the formula in recent times, but this hair dye was just disappointment upon disappointment. There are better and cheaper options. I'm not even sure if Fudge is still cruelty free having been acquired by Cussons PZ.

Styling Products

Ambiance Dry Shampoo "Clear" [PR Sample]
Okay, I must admit that this dry shampoo has its merits for travelling, but I can't handle the brush dispenser. I often manage to deposit too much product and my hair is just full of white powder... And my precious black tshirt is covered in it too.

Batiste Dry Shampoo "Divine Dark" [Purchase]
Coloured dry shampoos are another kind of evil. I used this for my Mum's hair to add volume and thickness, but instead made her hair coarse and unruly.

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Have you tried any of these disappointing products? Let me know what you think!

This post is presented as an opinion piece. Acquisition of products and/or services stated alongside each item, my thoughts are honest.

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