The "WHAT WAS I THINKING???” THREAD

[makeitup305]

I wanted to start a thread talking about those makeup purchases that make you go "What was I thinking?!". It all started while I was looking through my collection and, though I'm pretty good at decluttering products I don't use, I found my Viseart Paris Nudes. Ok, I know why I bought it- Temptalia named it as one of her go-to palettes and it had great reviews. I should have known better. For some reason, this palette screams "Mature” to me. It's mostly muted cool tones, all shimmers but not very reflective, and they don't pop at all. I NEVER use it.  I own almost all the 12-pan palettes but this is the only one I regret. However, refuse to give it up since it was so expensive (unless you want to trade, then HMU). I've definitely had some more that made me think WTH after buying it but this is the only one still in my collection. I'm tagging a few of you guys because I want to hear what everybody has to say 🙂 (hope nobody minds!)

@RGbrown @curlychiquita @tsavorite @ohheyitscindyk @MissPuff @CAcay @PinkEvergreen @blackkitty2014 @darkiceis @angel7594 

[IdrisT]

Bite beauty Watercolor Library. It looked so fun and I was looking for makeup that would coordinate with my hair (teal, mint, purple) but, for one thing, the colors weren't pigmented and second most of the colors were not flattering. (I was going to make a comment about age/being too old but that's not a good reason to avoid having fun with makeup). Sometimes when I try something new it might not go well the first couple of times but I can come back to it and suddenly it works for me. Not this set. It still disappoints. BTW, I love bite beauty and have a lot of their products, just not the Watercolor glosses....they should have been so fun to wear. *pouts*

[snoflakefaerie]

I was tempted so many times by that set because it looked so beautiful. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.

[CookieGirl1]

Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Powder in Aura.  Sephora no longer sells it; there's a reason why.  It's PURE GLITTER.  Don't ask me why but I went through a phase where I (for some reason) evidently wanted to be a glitter bomb and this definitely did it for me.  I ultimately passed it along to someone else who was stupidly going through the same phase as myself...

[gonerogue]

@CookieGirl1 funny you should say that, every time I walked past it at Sephora, I always drooled over how beautiful the glitter looked! Glad I never bought it for myself but I am guilty of buying it as a gift for my then 18 year old sister in law 🤷🏼‍♀️🙈

[CookieGirl1]

@gonerogue that's funny! I used to go into Sephora and liberally dust it all over my cheeks too, until I bought it.  Hopefully your sister-in-law got some good use out of it, lol. 

[gonerogue]

@CookieGirl1 it might be one of those things that works best on the body rather than the face? I know she likes it since I see it laying on her bathroom counter every once in a while 😂

[CookieGirl1]

@makeitup305 I love it that you created this thread!!!

[WinglessOne]

Urban Decay Full Spectrum palette. I bought it... early last year, I think? I hate that palette in ways I can’t adequately convey with words. It hurt my feelings. 

See, I wanted a palette of bright bold rainbow colors. UD eyeshadows had been (and still are) hit or miss for me in terms of quality/performance, but Full Spectrum lured me in because look at all the pretty colors! I excitedly played with my palette the day it arrived and lemme tell you, the “bright bold” you see in the pans is a lie. Most of the shadows are too faint/sheer, or chalky, or both. Didn’t matter if I used them over an eyeshadow primer or very light-toned concealer instead of my bare lids. One shouldn’t need to build up a shadow nearly as much as I had to, just to get decent lid coverage. And even then, coverage was patchy. 

Worse than that was how hard those shadows were to blend. A lot of them “blended” into a muddy mess, and some—especially the shimmers—just dusted right off my lids. Naturally, lots of built-up layers worsened the unblendability. 

I also hate the packaging. It’s got a pretty spectrum logo on the front, but the case is a thick heavy chunky thing. Don’t even think about depotting any of those pans: they’re sunken into the casing, and I assume an attempt to pry them out would cause bent pans and broken shadows because of their narrowness. Not that I’d ever want to depot any of them... right now, this palette’s in the back of a bathroom cabinet, buried beneath a bunch of other stuff, where I can’t see it (and rage over it) on a daily basis. 

I still have it because I refuse to just toss it in the trash. (I like to recycle as much as I can.) I keep saying I’ll try using the palette as watercolor paints sometime, but I’m not convinced it’d be good at that. 😄 I need to see if Origins will take it as part of their “we recycle any brand’s cosmetics containers” program. 

[Indy701]

@WinglessOne  I’m glad I decided not to buy that one now. I agree UD eyeshadows vary so much in quality. I want to love UD but they just won’t let me. The heavy metals palette made me so mad. About 1/4 of the shadows were good. The rest had major fallout. Prettiest my bathroom sink had ever been though. 

[WinglessOne]

@Indy701 Your sink must’ve looked stunningly shiny! 😄 I’ve given up on UD eyeshadow and won’t buy their palettes anymore. Some are good, but the bad ones are just soooo bad. 

[Indy701]

@WinglessOne. That is so true about the bad ones.   I was so shocked by it. I told my niece she could have it but be prepared to look like a glitter bomb went off on her. She’s 18 so she’s okay with that. I don’t see more UD palettes in my future unless there are some amazing reviews. 

[mella900]

One that stands out for me is the Benefit liquid hoola bronzer. I jumped on it when it was first released, bc I was a sheep to the hype. I don't think I've used it once!! I prefer powder bronzers and that's what I always use. 

I have one morphe palette, the 35O? Also a "what was I thinking" item. 

I also bought a trio of Tory Burch lipsticks on sale...I feel like an idiot bc they are awful lipsticks but the packaging is so pretty

[Feebee1115]

OMG same! I never opened mine.

[eshoe]

I didn’t even know Tory Burch made lipstick, @mella900!

[m26430]

This is a great thread topic! Here is my "what was I thinking" list: 

1. Not one but TWO Naked Vaults!!! 
2. KVD Innerstellar palette - I thought I was someone who wore purple a lot. I'm not. 
3. The Balm's Meet Matte palettes. I found the formula to be very chalky so idk why I got the Matte Trimony. 
4. KVD lipsticks - the ones with the spiky packaging. So bulky and impractical. 
5. Marc Jacobs Cream and Sugar lip trio - I knew this would be too nude for me yet I got it anyway. why. 
6. Namebrand makeup on sale at TjMaxx/Marshalls - Just because it's cheap doesn't mean I need it. 

Oh boy. 

[makeitup305]

@m26430 Same on TJMaxx. Once I get home all I can think of is "WHY?"

[michelleshops]

Those vaults are so tempting @m26430 I think they have sucked many of us!

[Indy701]

I love this topic. Mine - Too Faced glitter bomb palette. Why? 1 - I’m an introvert. I don’t want to go to meetings with super glitter all over. That would draw attention. 2 - Bought it at age 37.  I could have gotten a cheaper palette if I wanted to play. I knew I wouldn’t wear it anywhere. 

[Samtian]

Ooh good thread. I have two major ones.

So before I discovered BT (BIC) I think...anyways back in 2014 Sephora had released their Give Me More Lip Kit. I found it on Amazon, and I wanted it so bad. I think it was sold out, or maybe I didn't even know about Sephora it was a long time ago I don't remember...but I bought that stupid thing on amazon for $81.

Now that I look at the photo I still have most of those, some are even unused. But now I can see where I got some of them from and not have to wonder anymore.

The other one for me is the Too Faced Blush.

I bought this one, Love Hangover. I'm terrified of blush, never use this, and think I look like a clown in blush. I can't imagine what I was thinking when I bought this. I'm trying to wear the Papa Don't Peach blush and think maybe I figured that one out, but nope I can't do blush.

[suzyo]

@Samtian For blushes that are a bit too bold (but I still like the color) I apply sheer powders on top to tone it down 🙂