Discovering wonderful products is basically the sole motivation of any beauty junkie or beauty blogger. But it comes with the territory, that along with the good you also find some that are a bit 'meh'. Sometimes you even find that these are products that you buy after reading a lot of hype and then when you finally get to testing them out, you are left wondering what all the fuss was about - and if you are perhaps missing some sort of trick, using them wrong or perhaps just ended up with a dud batch??
Before I elaborate, I should note that these aren't products that I hate - I just wonder if I am missing something as they don't really warrant a rave from me. The purpose of writing this post is to see if anyone else has the same experience, or if anyone else has any tips on how to get the best out of these products?? Please help if you can! It's also a good reminder that, like many things in life - what works for one person, is a big fail for someone else.
So onto the products...
Amie Bright Eyes Eye Make Up Remover (left of picture)
This is a product I am on the fence about. On one hand, I think it does a great job at removing make-up and leaving my eyes generally feeling refreshed (i.e. it's not oil based). But on the other hand, I find that it does sometimes sting my eyes - strangely, it doesn't sting every time, so I wonder if it just depends on how generously I am applying it or just how close to my eyes it gets?
This was a product sent to me by the PR agency for the brand, so when I found that it was stinging I did ask if they had any other feedback saying that it stung and I was told that there has been some mixed feedback (some very positive, and some finding the same thing as me) and that since then Amie had re-formulated the product to address the stinging. So my experience may be totally redundant now, but I wanted to put it out there. If they have managed to solve the stinging issue then I think this is a great product - as I said - it does a good job of removing make-up, but I was concerned by the claim of it being a 'gentle' eye make-up remover and then discovering that it stung.
MAC Fix+ (centre of picture)
I bought this product after hearing on loads of other blogs that it was great at fixing make-up and removing that 'powdery' look - leaving you all fresh faced and glowing. Basically if a product claims to make me glow, then I will want to buy whatever you are selling - so based on the reviews I had read, this had me sold. I like/need to use powder to fix my foundation, but hate the cakey, dry look that it can leave behind - so the idea of a simple product that stopped this but also kept make-up in place sounded genius. But now, having used this a few times, I found that it doesn't really do anything for me - I don't find that it particularly fixes my make-up or that it leaves me looking as glowy as others have found. I just feel like I'm spritzing my face with water.
So please tell me - am I missing a trick? I use it as according to the instructions (spray onto face from about 12cm away...) what am I doing wrong? Or is this just another product that is hyped up beyond it's true performance?
ELF High Definition Powder (right of picture)
This is another one that I decided to buy after hearing loads of positive reviews across the blogosphere. Priced at a whopping (yes, sarcasm) £6 - this is the most expensive item from the ELF range, but according to fellow bloggers it was well worth the extra pennies, being compared to similar products from Make Up Forever (which is far more expensive).
So, when ELF had another free delivery code doing the rounds I made my order (with a couple of others bits of course, but won't go into that now). I was very excited when it arrived and got set trying to achieve the gorgeous, matte, glowy, soft focus, fine-lines-erased effect that the product was promising. But was left feeling let down.
Again, I don't hate it - it does an OK job of leaving skin matte but not flat. But I really don't think I found any sort of soft-focus or HD-ready type of result. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I wasn't impressed and this has pretty much just sat on the shelf.
So, if this is a wonder product for you then please do tell me what I am missing! Is there a special trick to applying it and getting the best result?! Where am I going wrong?!
So there we go, a few examples of products I have tried that have left me feeling a bit 'meh'. Feel free to comment below if you have tried any of these and found something different or if you have your own examples of products you have been left feeling disappointed with.
**The Small Print**
All products in this review have been bought my me, with the exception of the Amie Eye Make-Up Remover which was sent free of charge for review purposes. All reviews or comments are honest and impartial regardless of source.
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