Beauty Product Fails

 

There aren’t a ton of products that I would call complete fails as I normally do a great deal of research on products I am going to buy (especially if they are over $15 dollars).  I try to check if they work on dry skin (which I have) or dry hair (which I have) and if it is long lasting (as I don’t have much time to reapply throughout the day).  Unfortunately even with researching and other people’s opinions on how great the product is–sometimes it just isn’t the right product for me.  These 4 products I have tried multiple times to give them a second, third, and even fourth chance and they all come up short.  So I thought I would pass along my fails in case you were looking at buying any of these products.

1) Burt’s Bees Tinted Balm ($6.99): I love their basic lip balm and so I thought the tinted would be great to give me some color and add moisture to my very dry lips.  Unfortunately in all different seasons I have tried this product and it just becomes cakey on my lips.  Anyone ever get that “white stuff” build up on their lips when applying product on their lips? This gave me this result every single time I used it.  Boo. 

2) Clear Shampoo ($6.00): I only tried the Clear Shampoo as the research I had done on the Clear Conditioner would be better for normal/oily hair and since I have dry hair/scalp I stayed away from the conditioner.  I tried the Clear Shampoo though because it stated it would bring moisture balance to not only the hair, but to the scalp.  It would treat the scalp and add nurishment to the scalp leaving it feeling clean & clear–but not dry as some clarifying shampoos can do.  For me, this shampoo did nothing.  I didn’t feel cleaner or clearer than what I did with other shampoos.  It left my hair feeling on the drier side and at times it felt like a residue was building up from it.  I tried it a few times and even took extra steps to make sure it was fully out of my scalp and really no change.  It is a popular product on the market right now–but I still have an almost full bottle under my sink.  Boo.

3) Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation ($45.00): This baby is expensive and hurts my heart (and pocketbook) that it is on my Beauty Product fails list.  So much so that I have tried way too many times to get this product to work for me.  Seems crazy to throw out almost $50.00 dollars! I have heard so many great things about this product and I will say when the product goes on my skin it looks and feels great.  I love it feels a little lighter than my usual foundation, but provides me enough coverage.  It lasts throughout the day and overall I am pretty satisfied by the product (although for price I have found better for cheaper).  The biggest problem I have with it that every time I use it for more than 3 days I break out.  Like seriously teenage breakout.  You would think I would stop after first time, but I kept making excuses and thinking it was something else I was using–but nope.  After 3-4 seperate times in various seasons (was thinking maybe summer sweat was doing the breakouts at one point)–it leaves me with pimples and bumps and other teenage problems.  Now my skin is the opposite of sensitive and at times I have slept with makeup on my face with no breakouts so the fact this product breaks me out is crazy–because nothing else I have ever tried does this to my skin.  So I have to give this a product fail for the price and the breakouts.  Boo.

4) Origins Well Off Fast and Gentle Eye Makeup Remover ($18.00): I got this as a gift from my husband as I have been on the hunt for a good eye makeup remover.  I have used Neutrogena Eye Make Up remover liquid and the Equate brand of the same product and I like those products–but I don’t lovveee them.  The Origins makeup remover actually has been on a ton of the Top 10 Makeup Removers online and so I was really excited to get this as a gift to try! I have been using this for a couple weeks and the only reason I am still using it is because it was $18.00 dollars and it does take off my makeup, but I will not be repurchasing this product.  First it is not gentle–if I put too much on a cotton ball it kinda stings my eyes. Ouch.  But the reason I have to put so much on the cotton ball is because it takes forever to take the makeup off my eyes.  It takes me forever to take my eye makeup off (mostly my mascara) and there are times where I am not certain my makeup is even off! So fast this makeup remover is not.  It does feel a little less oily/slick than the Neutrogena/Equate liquid that I have used in the past, but that doesn’t make up for the stinging and slowness of the product (especially since both of these are in the name of the product!).  For a Top 10 eye remover product I was really hoping for more!

So there you have it…my 4 Beauty Product Fails at the moment.  Anyone have any beauty product fails they want to share? Anyone love these products I mentioned? Anyone have a good makeup and/or eye makeup remover they love to use? I am still on the hunt…

Writers Block.

Here I sit once again to try and write a post. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat down over the course of these 2 months and ultimately end up deleting the post as it just felt “meh”. I can’t say this time will be any different, as I still feel I am in a writing funk—but this space felt so empty that I couldn’t avoid it any longer. Anyone else ever have a writing funk?

At some point I have to just start typing and realize it will not be perfect, but at least it is a start. These last 2 months have been hard. Really hard. Wishing away our summer hard. A big part of me feels sad about this as I had so many wishes for this summer with Lexi. Plus summer is my favorite time of year and it was wasted on wishing it was over? What a bummer! Of course there were shining moments during the summer, but overall it was one big hot mess. This could easily turn into a whine fest over here and I will not bore you all with the details, but our life became a grueling job over the summer. First it was synchronizing a move and a move-in at the beginning of the summer, which was like having two full time jobs. Then it was unpacking and trying to make sense of items that had been in boxes for over a year since our last place was so small. Then it was living through a kitchen renovation. Another full-time job on top of the ones we already had. Then my husband over the summer spent 20 hours a week in a car commuting. 20 less hours each week that he got to spend with us this summer. If I had to rank the grueling jobs this summer this would have to be my number one even though I wasn’t even the one doing the driving. Then there were a couple shining moments of BBQs, walks, farm visit, and soaking up the summer. Quickly followed by a week away from family, daughter spending a week away from both mom and dad because of logistical nightmares, and to-do lists piled high. We then had some more shining moments of swimming, family get togethers, laughter, weekends spent together and getting to know our new city we were slowly calling home. Total bliss for a few fleeting summer seconds. Which brings us to August and tons of highs and lows and more wishing to get through this summer. More logistics to maneuver, adult decisions to be made and handled, a little one with a summer cold, and weekends full of work commitments. I have so many to-do lists running through my head for home/personal projects that my mind may explode. Although those will have to wait a few more weeks because it is that time of year again when my job becomes my life. The students return back to college. It happens every year yet every year I am surprised on how fast the pace picks back up when students arrive on campus.

So where does this leave me? Hopeful. Excited. Ready for a new season. Fall will be better and easier on us as a family. For this I am truly grateful. I know that so many people and families have it harder than even our worst day this summer–but for us it was a very long 2 months. Our life will not feel like grueling work and we will be able to bask in the new Fall season. I feel so blessed for our future is bright. I am thankful for all the work we put in during this hard yet I know it will be worth it in the end summer. We will be adjusted to our new city and new routine. We will be settled into our new place and finally get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We will have time for date nights, playdates, and family activities. We will have more family time in the Fall. Our work – life – balance will be restored once again. I may even get crazy and find time to get a hair cut! The hubs will be starting a new job come this Fall and instead of 20 hours in a car each week, it will be all the way down to 3 1/2 hours each week. Mind = blown. BRING ON FALL!! (let me just be clear that I am in no way saying bring on Winter. That season can stay far away from us for a very long time).

So there you have it. Me breaking through my writing funk and feeling good enough to hit “Publish” for the first time in months. It feels good. The only thing that would make this moment even better is if I could post pictures of the last 2 months to show that we had some great moments even during the hard times. Unfortunately I have not been able to upload my photos to my computer because my Iphoto storage is at full capacity and I am really scared to hit “delete” on my old pictures on the computer even though I have backed them up on an external hard drive. Call me old fashion, but I like to visually see my pictures on my computer! I need to bite the bullet and do this because it is silly to have photos just sitting on my camera. Next post, I promise.