7 Products I Regret Buying

Today, I wanted to share with you a list of products that I regret purchasing. It’s the first ‘regrets’ post I’ve ever done, and I think it’s because I try to do a lot of research on products before I make a purchase. By the time I buy it, I know I’m most likely going to love it! However, it’s usually the impulse purchases that fail for me, and a lot of the products below fall into that category. The other main reason I usually regret buying a product is when the shade doesn’t work out for me.

Arbonne Smoothed Over Lipstick in Peony – $32 CAD

A friend of mine hosted an Arbonne event at her house maybe two years ago. I’m so not into MLMs (multi-level marketing) but none of the other girls were buying anything, so I picked this lipstick up – perfect chance for me to try something new anyways, right? The colour is gorgeous and the formula felt really nice and comfortable when I swatched it on my hand. However, it feels drying on the lips, especially after one or two hours. What kills me is that this was around $32-$34 (I can’t remember exactly) – I could buy two MAC lipsticks, a Bite Beauty lipstick, or almost a Marc Jacobs lipstick for that price! I’ve only worn this a handful of times, and I’m going to give it another chance this summer. If I still don’t reach for it, then it’s being decluttered.

Terrible swatches but I just wanted to illustrate how yellow Electrify is compared to all of the other MUG highlighters I own. From left to right: Makeup Geek Highlighter in Electrify, Lit, Mightnight Sun, and Luster.

Makeup Geek Highlighter in Electrify – $20 USD

Don’t get me wrong, I love the formula of the Makeup Geek Highlighters (I mentioned them in my 8 Products I Love That No One Talks About post) but why did I buy this shade? It’s a straight-up lemon yellow. The funny thing is the other three came in a bundle, and I love them all, but this one I specifically picked out on its own. I’ve kept this around in hopes that I will use it at some point. If by the end of this year I rarely pick it up, then I think it’s another product going in the declutter pile.

ILNP Nail Polish in Flower Girl – $14.99 CAD

I’ve only tried four ILNP polishes and have really enjoyed them so far. This one is on my list of products I regret purchasing because while it’s pretty and performs well, it’s not particularly unique like all of the other ILNP polishes I own. These nail polishes are on the more expensive side (at least for me), and I’m not sure if this shade was worth the price for me!

Bumble & Bumble Thickening Volume Spray Pre-Styler – $34 CAD

I bought this last August when I had my hair done, because I told my hairdresser that I can never get any volume into my hair, and she said that this spray would help with that. However, this really does nothing for my hair at all – it’s like spraying water into my hair. It’s been half a year and I’ve barely used any of it!

Oribe Grandiose Hair Plumping Mousse – $46 CAD

Similar to the Bumble & Bumble spray, I bought this from my hair salon, because she was able to give my hair so much volume when she applied this mousse into my roots. It smells absolutely divine, but it doesn’t do anything to my roots when I use it myself. The failure of this product is probably most likely due to user error. Regardless of the reason, I regret buying it, especially because it was so expensive and it doesn’t work.

 

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser – $27

I bought this because I loved the Ultra Facial Moisturizer, but I don’t like the cleanser nearly as much. First of all, it smells faintly of chlorine and recalls bad memories of swimming lessons as a kid. My biggest gripe with this is that it doesn’t seem to do much for me in terms of cleansing my face. I use this as the second step of my double-cleanse, and I never feel like this takes off all of the makeup and cleansing oil fully.

Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum-Bum Cream – $57

Okay, hear me out before you shoot me for this one. I know everyone raves about this cream, and I do get the hype, I really do. It smells so freaking delicious, and it’s a solid body cream. BUT it’s not amazing in terms of performance – it doesn’t do anything that a normal body lotion doesn’t do as well. I used it for about a month before I realized it’s not quite thick enough for me to use in the winter, so I’ve saved it for the summer. I don’t have cellulite so I can’t really test out its claims that it’s skin-firming, but I’m a non-believer of topical creams being able to help with cellulite. Considering it’s almost the same price, I would rather have spent this money on the Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Soy Milk and Honey Whipped Body Butter, which is so thick and moisturizing and smells just as good.

What product do you regret buying?