Beauty Pet Peeves 2

[veronika23]

The other thread was getting too long and difficult to load! 

So what are your beauty pet peeves? What grinds your gears? Share your stories!!!

[WinglessOne]

We've all seen at least one favorite product go through a for-worse reformulation, right? Youth To The People recently did it with my beloved Youth To The People Superfood Air-Whip Lightweight Face Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid 2 oz / 59 m... : they've added several bad-for-me fragrance components, on top of the existing "natural fragrance" my skin was okay with. WHY, YTTP. WHY. There was nothing wrong with this moisturizer's scent, and now I can't buy it anymore because you added hexyl cinnamal + 4 other fragrance components. I have 2 unopened backup jars that I think I bought before the reformulation, but I'll double-check their ingredients to make sure I can still use them. Meanwhile, this may be a good time to test The INKEY List Hemp Oil Moisturizer 1 oz/ 30 mL (well, after I'm done testing TIL's peptide moisturizer) as a potential year-round replacement. Guess I can add that to my upcoming sale cart. 

Also, an update on my By Terry/US Customs saga: 

Spoiler

By Terry is still in escalation mode. But they did ship me 2 full size products for free; I think they've sent these as gifts to anyone whose orders were quite delayed due to their own website issues. Anyway, I'm surprised they got here as fast as they did, with no customs holdup or inspection this time. Hooray! 

I've used both these products before; the setting powder is my favorite by anyone, so I'm super happy to have a freebie!

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne I still have not heard back from the brand, and considering how promptly they responding to my first inquiry...not sure what to think. I plan to follow up this week, will keep you posted.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks for persisting, @eshoe ! 💚 I might contact them myself as well, because I checked Wayback Machine for a cached version of their product page with the old ingredients and found it, dated April 6, 2020: 

So, they either tweaked the ingredients after that date or they didn't get around to updating their own site til sometime this year. Either way, I wish they'd just own up to it. Companies reformulate things all the time—it's not an unusual thing—so it's interesting that YTTP's so slow to confirm it. 

[eshoe]

Wayback Machine @WinglessOne? That’s a new one, I’ve bookmarked it for future use😉

I guess I’ve just never considered that companies would be reconfiguring a product if people aren’t complaining about it. But the Herbivore kind of broke that theory. At any rate, will keep you posted if I do hear anything. I haven’t experienced any issues with the new jar I have, I just hope you don’t, either.

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne I have heard back from YTTP already (!), here is the direct communication I received:

”Thank you so much for reaching out! I was able to confirm with our Cosmetic Chemist that our Superfood Air-whip Cream was not updated or reformulated.If you have any question or concerns please let us know, we'd be more than happy to help!”

So...I guess a follow up is in order? Not sure what to make of it🤷🏻‍♀️

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  Thanks for reporting back! Their response is interesting because the old and new ingredients lists are obviously different. I'd send screenshots of both lists to YTTP and ask which list is correct—and also, was the old list always wrong. Example: on the new list, ascorbic acid is the 12th ingredient; on the old list, it's the 8th ingredient. Sure, the % used could still be the same for all we know. Or, there could be less vitamin C in this moisturizer than there used to be. 🤷‍♀️

More importantly (to me), the old list doesn't include the last 4 items on the new list (Citronellol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool) which are all potentially irritating fragrance components. Hexyl cinnamal in particular is an allergen, though I'm guessing the % of folks allergic to it is quite small. 

New list via YTTP siteOld list via Nordstrom site

If YTTP is claiming this moisturizer's contained hexyl cinnamal from day one, in a large enough amount to make them think "huh, maybe we should call this ingredient out on the label from now on instead of hiding it under 'fragrance'," I'll be ticked off enough to maybe stop using YTTP products altogether. That'll completely kill my trust in them. It might also explain some weirdness that's happened with my skin in the past. 🤦‍♀️ 

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne there was a blanket response which I didn’t include, in case you were interested:

Spoiler

We recently launched our 15-minute skin consultations with our amazing education team. It's a great place to get to talk in real life to someone on our team to make sure you’re getting the best out of your routine, talk about your skin type, or ask any skincare questions that may be lingering on your mind. We can also create a skincare routine specifically catered to you and your skin needs. If you’re interested, you can find a place to sign up here!

Have a wonderful weekend, we want to thank you kindly for all your support.

I am going to follow up with your photos, if that is ok with you. 

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  Yep, feel free to use my pictures. 🙂 I wish I'd taken a screenshot of YTTP's product page when it still showed the old ingredients. 

And dang it, both my backup boxes of this moisturizer show the new ingredients. 😞 This change must've happened early this year, maybe springtime? This is what happens when you're so used to restocking a tried and true product, you don't check ingredients before adding to cart and buying. 🤦‍♀️

[eshoe]

Oh no @WinglessOne! I’ve already dug into my jar, so I can’t compare. It seems to me when I first used it I thought the scent was slightly fresher, not as herbal. But it was subtle enough for me to lend it to a fresh product rather than anything else.

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne this is not the best news😭 You know how I feel about this moisturizer. The fragrance was the best part of it, besides how perfectly it matched everything my skin needed. I have searched for dupes high and wide with nothing that performs the same, and now it’s been reformulated? Why take an already good thing and tweak it? Ugh. 

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  I don't know how Sephora stores are handling samples and product testing these days (haven't been inside one since Feb or March), but I wonder if you can find out how the reformulated version smells at a store... maybe a sales associate could swab a tester onto a cotton round or perfume test strip for you to smell? 

I think YTTP might've just shuffled existing ingredients in the formulation; at a quick comparison glance, I noticed some are now higher or lower on the list than they used to be. (You can still find the old ingredients list at INCIdecoder; they have the old one marked as discontinued.) I don't know if that effects the performance, since I have no idea what all the ingredient percentages are. I'd love to buy a jar to find out, but I can't, because I can't put all those new fragrance components on my face without my skin throwing a tantrum. 😞 

[eshoe]

I’m really sorry, @WinglessOne. I know how frustrated you must be😞 Good thing you have a couple of back ups on hand. 

I wonder how recently they actually changed the formula. I just opened a new jar a couple of weeks ago, I already threw out the insert (which looked different than I remember). I wonder why, though...cost-cutting? I am going to reach out to them, not that I am expecting anything novel, but who knows🤷🏻‍♀️

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @eshoe , and please let us know if YTTP replies to you! I'd love to hear their explanation. 🙂

[eshoe]

I will @WinglessOne, you are the one person I know who loves this as much as I do, so I will be sure to tag you. 

[Titian06]

@WinglessOne - Ugh!  My F&F order contains my first jar of this moisturizer.  I was hesitant because of the natural fragrance; I didn't even notice the others!  The other problem is finding something without lavender oil, extract, etc.  It's an irritant regardless what the beauty community says.

[eshoe]

@Titian06 If you do open it, would you please update with your thoughts on the scent? It was originally somewhat grassy. Thank you!

[Titian06]

@eshoe - First, I don't have a very good sense of smell just so you know.  Second, I opened the jar last night, but didn't use it.  I don't recall smelling anything when I gave it a quick sniff.  After reading your post, I I did a more thorough testing.  I honestly don't smell anything.  I put my nose as close to the contents as I could without actually sticking my nose in the moisturizer.  I also dabbed a little on the back of my hand to see if using it would make a difference.  I think I may have smelled an ever so slight fresh scent, but it was gone so fast that I may have imagined it. 

[eshoe]

Thank you @Titian06 for the feedback. I notice a stronger scent when applying it, so based on your thoughts, I’m 🤞🏼 the scent hasn’t been altered too much. I appreciate the tag☺️

[WinglessOne]

@Titian06  Oh man, lavender oil is my face's arch nemesis. I avoid lavender extract, too. Eh, even if lavender doesn't irritate everyone's skin right now, it probably will after some length of consistent use. Or maybe not, I dunno, everyone's skin is different. But lavender is volatile stuff. I've had an easier time finding products without any lavender (unless oil/extract is snuck into the mix as "fragrance," and then I have to smell the product to see if that telltale scent is there) than with citrus oils/extracts. In either case, it's such a bummer to find a promising product and then see those dang oils/extracts listed among the ingredients. 

When your jar arrives, check the ingredients list. I'm not sure when this moisturizer was reformulated, but I could swear YTTP was still showing the old ingredients list on their own product page as recently as last weekend. I remember seeing the updated list on Sephora's product page, flipping out a bit, then going to YTTP direct to compare lists. Today I went back to their site and they'd updated the list. 😞 Anyway, unless Sephora recently dumped/offloaded all their older stock, there's a chance you'll get a jar of the old formula. I hope you do! 

[Titian06]

Thanks for the suggestion,  @WinglessOne !  My order came today so I still have the packaging handy.  😁

Edit:  My box lists the same ingredients as the Sephora & YTTP product pages.

[WinglessOne]

@Titian06  Well shoot. 😞 Thanks for checking, and for doing a smell test. On a potentially positive note, I don't think YTTP removed any of the helpful ingredients. They've just been shuffled around. I'd probably be fine with that, had they not also added those extra fragrance components.