Beauty Products that Didn’t Quite Work for Me but Might Work for You!

I always feel kind of weird when I do a post on products that didn’t work for me. Just because they didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean they won’t work for you. Particularly since many times products don’t work for me because I am older and have dry skin with some lines and wrinkles, in fact more than I realized I had before I got one of my eyes fixed, lol. So if you have mature skin, then my results may be relevant to you. If you’re younger, then you may very well want to give these products a try.

Melt Metal Gloss

Last week, I wrote about Melt Metal Gloss that I bought for $5 during the Black Friday sales (here). Although the lipgloss I bought is a gorgeous rose gold shade called Seance, I found that it wanders into the vertical lines around my lips that I didn’t have a year ago or even several months ago. I tried various lipliners and they didn’t help that much. However, my friend and sister blogger, Cassie from SoutheastByMidwest beauty blog, asked if I had tried it with MAC Prep+Prime Lip Primer, and I have not. I think I may have a travel size MAC Prep+Prime for foundation from when I subscribed to Sephora Play, but no Prep+Prime Lip Primer, boo hoo. At some point, I will pick up MAC Prep+Prime Lip Primer – I thought I would use my 20% off at Ulta for it, but there’s no store pickup for it at my store, and I won’t pay $5.95 for shipping for it. Worse comes to worst, I’ll try it on top of a regular lipstick for a little shine.

So this is how Melt Metal Gloss reacted on my lips. I have a feeling if you don’t have any vertical lipliners, you would be OK with it.

Sonia Roselli Water Balm

I am a lurker in a group on Facebook that is primarily for makeup artists, but they allow beauty enthusiasts in too. I have learned a lot by being in this group, and I’ve been introduced to some wonderful products. Recently, the group was talking about Sonia Roselli whose skincare line is being either rebranded or reformulated or both. They also mentioned that her current products were being discounted. One product that they universally loved was Water Balm, a facial moisturizer that they said was almost a miracle product to prep all skin types for foundation. It truly sounded like a holy grail product, so I took advantage of the  discount and I did a blind buy.

It is a rather unusual and also delightful moisturizer that Sonia Roselli calls “Skin Prep”. It’s a very lightweight white gel-cream that comes in a jar. The name, Water Balm, truly is perfect for this moisturizer. The second I apply it to my skin it magically turns into or feels like water on my face. Quite miraculous.

Here’s what the Sonia Roselli website says about it:

“A five in one multi-purpose gel crème that kicks your parched skin in the ass.

Water Balm is your  moisturizer, toner/serum, day cream, night cream and makeup primer all in one. Great for travel. Plump up fine lines and wrinkles and any skin issues you may have and be smooth as a baby’s bum.”

So what’s my beef with this lovely skin prep? My skin. My skin is just too dry to use this as a moisturizer/serum/primer in one. I wore it under foundation after I received it, and after an hour or so, my face felt like I had just walked through the desert. My foundation settled into my lines. Ugh.

I am so curious to find out how MUAs use Water Balm on clients with mature skin. I’m not self-confident enough to ask in the group, so I will ask some MUAs that I know.

The way that I am currently using Water Balm is as a primer on occasion. But I like it most as a pick me up or instant hydration during the day. I apply it on top of my moisturizer or my foundation or my skin tint, and it instantly gives my skin a drink and plumps it up for a while. I wish I had known about a product like this when I was younger 😉

Just curious, have you tried Sonia Roselli’s Water Balm? If so, how do you use it, and how does it work for you?

Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effects Mascara

In early October, I wrote about how delighted I was with inexpensive, cruelty-free Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effects Mascara (my original review is here). Essence Lash Prince False Lash Effects Mascara gave my lashes both length and volume, and it only cost $4.99. For the first month to 6 weeks, I got great results with it. My lashes looked plumped and long. There wasn’t much clumping and no fall out.

Over the past couple of weeks, however, I’ve had disappointing results with it. One night as I was about to remove my makeup, I looked in the mirror, and my undereye area was decidedly grey-black with smudges. I had been out that night, so I felt really bad that that is how I must have looked to others. Ugh. I tried the mascara again the same week when I knew I would be staying home, and after several hours, I had the same result: under eye smudges.

Even at $4.99, it’s not worth it. I have a feeling that Essence Lash Princess False Effects Mascara works well when the tube is first opened and for a few weeks, but after a while the formula must change. I didn’t have this problem with Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara, so when I feel like an Essence fix, I’ll go with the mascara in the hot pink tube instead.

Vamp Stamp 3 Piece Kit, Vignette 1 Kitten Size

OK, I bought the Vamp Stamp knowing that it wouldn’t work perfectly for me, but when Ulta had its Fall 2019 21 Days of Beauty and it was 50% off, I had to try it.

If you’re not familiar with Vamp Stamp, it is a rubber stamp device to help you do the flick part of an eyeliner wing if you are cat eye challenged. It comes with a brush, a pad with black ink and the stamp that is in the shape of a small V (kitten size) or a larger V (vixen size). In fact, I think now you can buy stamps that range from 8.5-17mm. The kitten that I have is 10mm.

You ink the stamp and then place it where you want it to be, and press it on. Then you can use the brush provided or your own brush to do the rest of your eyeliner along your lash line.

So I have played around with Vamp Stamp Kitten, and again, I think I’m just too freakin’ old. Sometimes I can get the V in the right spot for my eye shape, and it will stay on for a couple of hours. And it actually looks pretty darn good.

Other times, depending on placement, my eye folds will eat away at the ink, and that is not a good look.

I put the Vamp Stamp away several weeks ago when I was cleaning up, and though I found the box, I can’t find the stamp and ink. Where the heck did I put them? I was thinking it was worth trying again.

So if you have trouble doing winged liner and you have nice smooth skin around your eyes, I say go for it – the Vamp Stamp is generally easy to use, and it might be just what you’ve been looking for. In fact, check out this Vamp Stamp video that shows how to use it. If you’re older, definitely pass on this.

Coco Cabana Cream from Sol de Janeiro

Try as I might, I just can’t get past the strong scent of Coco Cabana Cream Plush Moisture Body Blend from Sol de Janeiro. I reviewed it several weeks ago (here), and I hoped I might get used to the scent, even come to like it, but it’s not happening. Even though the Coco Cabana Cream is a much more hydrating, long lasting, thick body butter than the Bum Bum Cream whose scent I love, I’m afraid I won’t be buying another jar once I finish up the purse jar I got as a 100 point gift at Sephora.

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So, these are 5 beauty products that didn’t work out quite as planned for me (though I am still on the fence about some of them, lol). Again, doesn’t mean they won’t work for you. In fact, I would love to hear from those who had different results and reactions!

Today's Author

Allison Cohen

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