Totally random blog post topic today, but let’s roll with it!
Whenever I travel with a group of girls, we inevitably end up chatting away about our favorite beauty products when we’re crammed in a tiny hotel room getting ready for the day ahead. Recommendations are exchanged, new makeup is tested and tips and tricks are shared.
Traveling and getting ready with my girlfriends has lead to the discovery of some of my favorite beauty products such as:
- Big Sexy Hair Power Play (Great for adding volume to my roots)
- Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (Makes my makeup last 10x longer)
- Benefit Posie Tint (Adds a subtle, natural-looking pink to my lips and cheeks)
- L’oreal Sublime Bronze (I use this on my face for a pop of sun-kissed color that isn’t orange)
But then there are the beauty product recommendations people give you that you try and end up hating. The ones you hear tons of people swear by that for whatever just don’t work for you.
Here are some of the beauty products I’ve tried that everyone else seems to love that I just don’t:
Beauty Products Everyone Else Loves That You Don’t
- Cetaphil
I tried so hard to love this stuff! My sister’s dermatologist recommended Cetaphil to her and Leslie raved about the gentle way it cleaned her face. I bought the facial cleanser and lotion, but after using it for two months, I noticed my skin breaking out more and more. Oh heeey pimple overload! Needless to say, I’ve passed my Cetaphil along to Leslie and have gone back to the Clean and Clear Morning Burst cleanser and Clean and Clear Dual Action moisturizer that I’ve loved since high school.
- Maybelline Great Lash Mascara
It seems like nearly every magazine out there raves about this mascara whenever they publish articles that mention their favorite beauty products. I fell for the claims and bought this mascara to try it out a few years ago. Never again! It was horrible on my eyelashes and made them look thin and clumpy at the same time, which I didn’t know was possible. (My favorite mascara is currently Almay Get Up and Grow. It’s fabulous.)
- St. Ives Apricot Scrub
I used this exfoliating scrub on occasion for more than a year and thought it was great until I got a facial and the aesthetician told me that she could see little scratches on my skin. She said that St. Ives Apricot Scrub is quite abrasive and actually scratches sensitive skin. Eek! No more! (Ryan still loves it though and I think they may have changed the formula recently?)
Can you tell I’m picky with mascara? I bought this mascara after I saw Emily Maynard talk it up but it made my eyelashes look so piecey. I love Benefit products, but this mascara just didn’t work on my lashes.
Now it’s your turn…
Question of the Day
- What is one beauty product you’ve tried because everyone raved about it that just didn’t work for you?
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Ugh, I also hate Cetaphil!! My dermatologist tried to push it on me for so long, and I was finally just like I CAN’T! I still have a huge bottle of it that will never be used, haha.
Totally agree with your number 1, Cetaphil! Can’t stand the stuff and have tried to on multiple occasions!
Everyone raves about FIT ME foundation and I felt it went on my skin chalky, I could see the streaks in a photo, maybe I put too much on? Anyways same here with Cetaphyl, I am NOT a fan, it actually makes me feel like I still have makeup on after I use it. Thanks for sharing this Lots of Love Courtney
I am absolutely right there with you on the mascaras! I do not get Great Lash or Benefit whatsoever. They do nothing for me.
LOVE sublime bronze. I use it almost every day on my top half.
Oooh, I’m with ya: Cetaphil and Maybelline Great Lash do NOT work for me. At aaaalll. The Neutrogena Dry-Touch sunblock is one of those products that magazines always tout as great drugstore SPF product, but I hate it! It gets “crumbly” on my face and feels so sticky and heavy no matter how light-handed I am when I put it on. Clearly I’m picky about skin products, haha! 🙂
I am totally with you on the Cetaphil tooooo! I feel like it’s not even cleaning my face, because of the lack of foam while I’m washing. Suspicion confirmed after I also noticed an increase in nasty breakouts 🙁
I rarely comment, but I cannot agree more with this post. I also tried SO HARD to love Cetaphil and Great Lash, and just today I tried a sample of “They’re Real” – after hearing rave reviews – and it was awful. Glad to know I’m not alone!
SO funny because those are seriously all the beauty products that I don’t love as well. I tried so hard to love that pink mascara with the cute green tube but it makes me eyelashes look thin and piece and Benefit’s mascara is basically waterproof and rips out my eyelashes. seems like you would really love L’Oreal’s Voluminous Millions Mascara it’s honestly THE BEST!
Love this post idea. I wore Maybelline Great Lash for years until I decided to try something else! Wow! I did not know what I was missing. So many better options. I now use Maybelline Illegal Lengths mascara, and I love how long my lashes look.
Another cult favorite that does not seem to work for me is Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. My lids are just too oily!
I have rosacea and have unfortunately found that Cetaphil is the best thing I can use. It isn’t my favorite but my face has gotten so sensitive that a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
I agree with Danielle – I LOVE L’oreal Voluminous! Will never try another mascara again – I always get disappointed. Well, I won’t try another until I try Almay’s Get up and Grow!
I tried bare minerals and did not like the sparkly sheen it gave my daytime face. Plus, it kind of made me itchy. My sister was thrilled to get it.
I also do not get why every magazine seems to pimp the L’Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray. It stinks to high heaven and is totally overrated in my opinion.
And NARS Orgasm blush. meh.
I prefer the Cetaphil bar soap. It lathers a lot more than the pump! 😉
Love this post! I bought Benefit mascara and it is so clumpy. I’m in need of new mascara, so all the mascara recommendations are great!
I HATE Cetaphil and Maybelline Great Lash! I have NEVER understood why the mascara gets such rave reviews, the brush is terrible. I’ve been using Too Faced Better Than Sex, it has a huge brush and works pretty well. I also like the lengthening mascara from Flower, which is Drew Barrymore’s line at Walmart! Super surprising find but it’s a great mascara to comb the lashes out.
How funny! Literally, every product that you listed, I have tried and hated as well. Glad to know I’m not alone!
I am just going to go ahead and second everything on your hate list. Great Lash and They’re Real might even be the two worst mascaras that I’ve ever tried. I’m a big fan of Covergirl’s Lash Blast. I also love Diorshow, but it’s a bit pricey for something that needs to be replaced every 6 weeks!
I also really disliked Tarte’s Amazonian Clay blushes. Everyone raves about them, but I found the one I tried to be super chalky. Different strokes for different folks!
I am a SUPER picky mascara wearer too… Actually I just got a new mascara last week that I was hoping would be awesome but it just seems to clump on my lashes and irritate them… UGH!!! I do love cetaphil lotion for my hands and dry skin!
That orange Neutrogena acne wash
Totally agree on Cetaphil! I tried and hated!
I do however LOVE maybeline mascara! It is the ONLY mascara that works with my lashes! I have even tried expensive brands and always fall back to it!
Everyone raves about the EOS chapstick and I just don’t love it.. I’ll be a carmex girl for life.
Yeah I’ve never been a fan of Cetaphil. I don’t think I ever will. I am all about my pomegrante Hempz lotion!
Gosh, so many, one I absolutely hate is something I currently bought, elf liquid eyeliner. I totally fell for it since it was super cheap. I guess you get what you pay for….however, I love elf eyeshadow. I guess it’s all about experimenting.
I dislike any mascara with the plastic brush heads instead of ones with real (or “real”) brushes with bristles. I have such small and little amount of eyelashes, that the plastic ones don’t give me enough oomph. I really love almay’s mascaras though!
haha great post! I am SOOOO with you on Cetaphil and Great Lash. You know those magazines are being paid off by them! Another thing I dislike and don’t get? BB Cream! Not working for this girl!
Something I shoulda tried years ago? Bareminerals!!! Absolutely love it! And my Say Yes to Tomato Acne stick. Makes pimples go away fast!
I agree, I can’t stand the Mabyline mascara. I also loveeee the St Ives scrub but notice its too strong for me to. I still use it occasionally on my body but not on my face.
Others have recommended Moroccan oil for my hair. I love the smell and the “idea” of it, but it always leaves my hair flat and greasy…no matter how little of it I use…
I totally agree about Moroccan oil. If you want to use it for something else. my Dad who has Alzheiners used it to polish my antiques. They came out looking beautiful!
I can’t say enough good things about that primer! I actually really want to try that lip tint now too! I haven’t been able to get into the spray bottle lotions… They smell and feel like i’m spraying sun tan lotion on. I also feel as though they don’t moisturize quite as well as the lotions.
i so do not love cetaphil either – i feel like it doesn’t do anything!
When my dermatologist recommended Cerave, I freaked out because just the name reminded me of Cetaphil which I had tried and couldn’t stand. The packaging is similar, but Cerave is hands down the best cleanser I’ve used.
As far as products that everyone loves that I don’t- the smashbox primer! Unfortunately tends to be oily and makeup doesn’t last for very long no matter what I start off with!
I break out a lot and have combo/oily skin and always seem to go BACK to cetaphil when I try other things that always make me break out. So funny how some things work for some but not others!
One thing I don’t like that everyone raves about are those stick on and file down nail polish strips. Everyone claims how “easy” they are to put on. Um..no. After an hour and a huge gross looking mess, I called it a day.
I caved in and bought one of those Clarisonic Mia’s and the way people raved I expected my skin would be glowing and fabulous. I’m not impressed and even though I paid half the full price, I still wouldn’t recommend it.
I have tried just about every mascara out there and can’t seem to find one that I love! After testing out those in the post. which mascara do you consistently use?
I had the same experience with the Great Lash mascara. It was worthless on my eyelashes! On the contrary, one beauty product that I had read rave reviews on, Revlon 24 Hour ColorStay foundation, has been a beauty changer! It stays on with even coverage all day just like it claims to do!
Agreed on the Revlon 24 Hour foundation. I have been using it for years and would never even think about switching!
I really don’t t love the eos lip balm. A bunch of my friends swear by it and the packaging is so cute but it drys my lips out like none other! On the other hand, I absolutely LOVE Almay Get Up and Grow mascara!
I’ve never been a fan of Great Lash mascara either. The other product that just hasn’t worked for me is tinted moisturizer. I’ve tried Laura Mercier and Mary Kay and they both make my skin look blotchy and uneven. Everyone else raves about tinted moisturizer, but it’s just not for me!
LOVE your new layout. It’s so cute.
I’m a HUGE fan of Lush Cosmetics because they are all natural, and most are even vegan. I picked up the “Full of Grace’ serum bar to help with scarring and provide some extra moisture….and it was an epic fail. I swore I got an extra pimple every single time I used it. The great thing about Lush is that i was able to return it and get a store credit to refill another product that did work for me though. 🙂
HAHA I love the top three things you don’t like. But that’s why it’s awesome… everyone finds something they love!
I don’t understand BB cream. It just seems like another product to buy between all the primer, concealer, tinted moisturizer, etc. I also have terrible skin so BB cream would just never be enough coverage but still–how many creams does one need for one makeup look?! haha
Oh yes I completely feel you on the mascara front! Both the Great Lash and the They’re Real ma,scaras get crazy raves allover the place and I just don’t get it. I actually work in cosmetics and we sell both of these and yes after so many customers swearing by them I gave them a try. I was very disappointed. They’re both very “meh” at best. At least the Great Lash is a bit more economical so I didn’t feel so bad purchasing it. But the They’re Real mascara is about $20, that’s not cool spending that much on a mascara that’s only sub par. I also felt this way about Dior Show mascaras, Lancome Hypnose etc. I am also picky when it comes to mascaras. I’ve only found a few that work okay but none that I absolutely love or swear by.
This is great, I’m a sucker for products and if I see a rave on a magazine or a blog, I usually run to the store to pick said product immediately, so needless to say I’ve tried most of the ones you mention (and will be picking up L’Oreal sublime bronze, and the Almay mascara after work). I hated both mascaras you mentioned and it’s upsetting because SO MANY people swear by them, I’ve even given them “second chances” and it’s always been a disappointment!
I use Got 2 B Powder-ful…it sounds similar to the Big Sexy Hair powder! LOVE LOVE LOVE. And it’s like 5 bucks instead of Redken’s $20 Powdergrip.
I bought a cheek stain from Tarte after hearing rave reviews about it. NOPE! It just smeared my foundation around. Very thankful for Sephora’s return policy!
In a bit of a different category, but I could really do without those Pandora bracelets. I’m sorry, but I think they’re really ugly and I can’t wait for them to go away for EVERRR *evil laugh*
Julie, I absolutely LOVE this post! I couldn’t agree more — there are some beauty products out there that it seems like every single woman loves and swears by that just do not work for me! I especially agree with Cetaphil — I have tried it several times (because if that many people love it, it must be fabulous, right!?) but I hate it each time. Just doesn’t work for me! I’m glad I’m not alone. Thanks for the fun post 🙂
Totally agree on the Maybelline Great Lash Mascara. I’ve tried it multiple times because like you said you see it in every magazine so I figure i must be missing something. But everytime I’m like nope, this is crap mascara!
a few people recently have recommended Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer. Didn’t work for me!! Not enough coverage or staying power. I prefer MAC Studio Finish concealer for blemishes or Amazing Cosmetics concealer for under the eyes.
Also Nars blush in Orgasm. Too orange for my skin and too glittery for everyday wear. There’s a classic pink Cheekers blush from Cover Girl that I love love love.
Regular Chap Stick…the plain, super hard kind. I feel like it just rips open chapped lips rather than heal them, but people love it…I don’t get it.
EVE LOM cleanser….OMG most amazing stuff ever. I got a sample of it with my sephora order (I’m a big bare minerals fan) and I want some more so bad!! It’s very pricey and you use these special muslim clothes, but when I can get the chance to splurge on some I’m gonna! My face had never felt so fresh and clean, and no dead skin/dry flakes all day!! If you can get a hold of a sample somehow I recommend!
I HATE Maybelline Great Lash! Totally with you that it made my lashes look both thin and clumpy.
Beauty products I despise are those with salicylic acid (like your beloved cleanser). It really irritates my skin!
Try being a woman who hates Argan Oil over the past year! It doesn’t seem to sink into my skin and it gives me weird tiny pimple-like bumps (although it’s not an allergic reaction). It was SO HARD to avoid too because suddenly argan oil was everywhere. Screw you, Josie Maran!
Get the Cetaphil Bar Soap face wash!!! I don’t like the liquid either – it’s so sticky!!! Love the bar soap!! 🙂
i tried La Mer face cream, and HATED it. i broke out like crazy.
also, after watching a lot of beauty gurus rave about the lavanilla natural deodorant, i really had to try it. also completely HATED it. i went back to my Dove deodorant right away!
I have sensitive skin and used to use Cetaphil….now I use Purity from Philosophy and absolutely love it, cleared up my face and is gentle enough to remove eye makeup. No more removing makeup then washing face. Love this stuff! it is a bit pricey but a little goes a long way
I like the look of They’re Real but it dries out so quickly! Not worth $20+!!
xo
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