Monthly Misses: April 2024

[greeneyedgirl107]

OK...you know what time it is!  Time to share the beauty products that were total misses!!!

[Loretta55]

I decided to shop my stash this month for mascara @greeneyedgirl107 . I have multiple tubes of PAT McGRATH LABS Dark Star Volumizing Mascara 0.43 fl oz / 13 mL . At one point I even called it my favorite mascara. My eyes started watering from allergies and I noticed that all of the mascara was on my under eyes. When I went to remove my mascara before bed none was on my tissue. Oh well I guess that I will finish my supply before moving on to something else.

[CorgiMommy]

@Loretta55 if you have unopened ones see if your local women's shelter will take them.  No use using something that isn't right for you 

[Loretta55]

What a great idea @CorgiMommy!

[WinglessOne]

Just one major fail this month: 

It’s almost time to file those claws waaaaaay shorter. 😄

Live Tinted Hueguard 3-in-1 Mineral Sunscreen, Moisturizer, Primer SPF 30 - the universal tint in this sunscreen is not enough to mask white cast when I use the amount needed for adequate UV protection. The day I tested this, I’d planned to wear it alone. But since it Casperized me so badly, I had to apply something over it. I normally use powder foundation over ghostly sunscreens. Unfortunately, Live Tinted’s sunscreen made that foundation very dry and patchy—even though I’d used a standalone moisturizer beneath the sunscreen. So, this sunscreen failed as a moisturizer and primer, and it’s definitely not “no white cast” despite LT’s marketing claims. And since it’s tinted, I can’t wear it under clothing (yes, some UV rays penetrate clothing thats not UPF rated) without staining, so I have no use for the rest of this tube. 😒

Luckily, this mini tube was GWP from Ulta. At least I didn’t spend money on it. And I’m sure it might work on lighter skin tones + less dry skin types, so… I’ll try to rehome what’s left of this tube because I hate just tossing things in the trash. There’s no cosmetics brand who has zero duds; Live Tinted’s no exception. I love their concealer and hate this sunscreen.

Note that LT recently released a second sunscreen that comes in various shades. I can’t speak to how that one performs. I swatched it in-store and the scent reminded me too much of the poster paint smell of ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 Foundation, so I didn’t buy a tube to try. 

[danielledanielle]

Oh, you can pass on it @WinglessOne .  The claim there's a shade for everyone is .... questionable.  It runs a bit orange, so I'm hoping once I tan up it'll be less discernable.

I don't know if the orange shows, but it's there.  It's not so bad that I'll return it, but I definitely wouldn't repurchase it.  Kind of sad to hear neither option really works when they should, it claim they should.

[WinglessOne]

@danielledanielle  Good to know, and thanks for the feedback! When I swatched some shades of that new Hueguard Tint SPF 50 sunscreen, the one closest to my skin tone pulled noticeably too warm. I’m not surprised the shade you got leans a bit orange. Hope it does work better for your “summer” skin tone. 🙂 

I know sunscreens are costly to develop and test, and some brands try to keep their shade ranges kinda narrow as a result—and the shades usually reflect brands’ assumption that everyone wants a “got some sun” tan/gold/bronze tone. Interesting that Live Tinted’s range of this sunscreen does include an olive undertone and 2 or 3 neutrals, but the only cool undertone is the lightest shade and none of the medium shades are neutral. 🙄 Then again, the medium shades might all end up being too ghostly on my face vs. my hand (like the original Hueguard SPF 30) so I dunno, I could end up needing one of the deeper shades if I was going to try this sunscreen. The SPF 30 contains almost double the zinc oxide as the SPF 50 (which is interesting; I also see a chemical sunscreen on the latter’s INCI list, and LT might also rely on titanium dioxide to reach that SPF 50 rating), so the SPF 50 might leave less of a white cast on my face. I don’t think I could get past the scent though… that’s one of the things that made me give up on ILIA’s sunscreen. /nerdy rambling

[CorgiMommy]

Kérastase Mini Elixir Ultime Hydrating Hair Oil Serum 1.02 oz / 30 mL was a big no for me.  The scent unfortunately me a headache. 

[CookieGirl1]

@CorgiMommy what a bummer!  That's actually one of my FAVORITE hair oils and I adore the scent so I'm so sorry that it didn't work out for you.

[faeriegirl]

It is definitely very scented @CorgiMommy . 

[CorgiMommy]

Too much for me @faeriegirl 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@CorgiMommy this has been on my radar.   Scented hair oils are a huge problem for me.  How strong is it?  What does it smell like?

[CorgiMommy]

@greeneyedgirl107 it is pretty strong, I really don't remember what it smells like as I found it a pretty annoying right away.  See if you can get a sample before you buy it.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@CorgiMommy that sounds like a hard pass for me!  Why is it that we never get the samples we'd actually try IRL?  

[CorgiMommy]

@greeneyedgirl107 I know this was a foil choice recently

[greeneyedgirl107]

@CorgiMommy interesting!  I don't place as many orders from Sephora as I used to, so I hadn't noticed.  

[greeneyedgirl107]

My "meh" was Duke Cannon Bloody Knuckles Hand Repair Balm.  It was ok, but after using 99% of a mini, I am confident that there are better, less expensive options out there.