Disappointing Green/Cruelty-Free Beauty Products

Let’s be real: there’s nothing worse (for beauty bloggers, at least) to spend your hard-earned cash on something you’ve been eyeing only for it to not live up to the hype. Then it starts collecting space.

Here are a few products that I purchased that just did not do it for me:

Vapour Siren Lipstick in “Hello Love”: I was SO excited to purchase this lipstick. It was hot pink and an exclusive shade to Credo Beauty. The swatches seemed pretty pigmented too. But when it arrived, I was sorely disappointed with how sheer it was. I have lip balms that are way more pigmented than this! (Such as the Fresh Sugar Lip in “Poppy”) And at $25, the tube is smaller and skinnier than other lipsticks (even green/clean-beauty ones I have like from Kosas.). It’s just not worth it.

Clove + Hallow Lip Velvet in “Cupcake”: I have a few other shades of the Credo Beauty Lip Velvets in “Uptown” and “Napa”, but of which I love. I love Clove + Hallow because they are one of the few green beauty brands that is also WOC (Women of Color) friendly, and they have a lookbook of lip and foundation shades best suited for your skin tone. I looked through the guide a while back for the medium skin tones and Cupcake was actually recommended (but looking at the lookbacks now even for fair and light skin, it’s not there). So I went and purchased it and it was way too light for me. I can’t force myself to love a product, guys. I wish I could’ve just purchased the shade “Sugarbear” instead.

Ilia Illuminator in “Cosmic Dancer”: I know that a lot of the times green beauty won’t be as pigmented as their mainstream counterparts, but man, this hardly shows up on my skin! I may as well go bare-faced for the day. I am not expecting anything super-strobing but at $34, it’s nothing special at all. I actually have other green beauty highlighters that are much more pigmented and less expensive. In fact, I will be doing a review on those so stay tuned.

Lashfood Browfood Tinted Brow Enhancing Gelfix: I’ve been eyeing this for a while once I finished my first tube of the ABH Tinted Brow Gel since it was almost about the same price but also a cleaner version. So I went and ordered it. The applicator is way too big for my eyebrows and is not as pigmented. I went ahead and repurchased the ABH gel instead. I’m using that for my Project Pan and once I finish that, I will try the brow gel from Jane Iredale.

Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Blush in “Cantaloupe”: Does this look like a shade I would wear for my cheeks? Absolutely not because it is way too light for my skin tone. Anyway, Laura Geller products were on sale on Hautelook and I specifically ordered the shade “Guava” (a medium rosy pink), and it even said so on my order confirmation and when I got the shipping notification. However, they gave me the wrong shade. I am just upset with the service at Hautelook because it’s not the first time they gave me the wrong shade of makeup. Now I am very cautious about ordering something from Hautelook and won’t be purchasing products from there for a while.

Pacifica Stellar Gaze Length & Strength Mascara: I was so excited to try this, and you know what? It did volumize and lengthen my lashes. But throughout the day, it smudged all over my eyes. It does have some stellar (pun intended) reviews though. For me, I just don’t want to look like a raccoon.

Uniful Mascara: I got this in last month’s Goodbeing beauty box (which I didn’t get a chance to review), and I was just not impressed. It lengthened my lashes but that’s about it.

The Balm Mr. Write Now Eyeliner Pencil: I ordered this from Hautelook (I only order from The Balm from Hautelook now because they usually have 50% off sales there) for about $9…I believe? It hardly showed up any product when I applied on my lower lash line, and the little amount of pigment that did show up faded within minutes.

Real Techniques Stick & Store Sponge Holder: I actually bought 2 of these at Ulta because they were buy 1, get one free. Now I wish I hadn’t. All you have to do is stick them to a mirror or wall. Well, I tried storing my sponges in there and this holder would STILL fall off.

I also have a few honorable mentions (a.k.a. disappointing products that I forgot to add in):

Terre Mere Translucent Photo Finish Setting Powder: Though the full price is $38, Terre Mere is a green beauty brand (incredibly overpriced and not worth it though, even more overpriced than brands from Credo or The Detox Market) often featured on Hautelook so I was able to purchase this at a deep discount. I applied this after putting on foundation and it looked SO cakey and dry on me! I didn’t even put on that much powder and I already have pretty dry skin to begin with.

Pacifica Rose Water Makeup Removing Wipes: I’ve tried a lot Pacfica’s makeup remover wipes, but these were the worst I have ever had. They stung my face so bad and gave me breakouts. Cecilio noticed (before I did) that I had these bumps around my face). Also, when our faces would touch (from kissing or cuddling), his face started to itch as well. I couldn’t think of anything in my skincare routine that would cause it until I realized how painful these wipes were when I removed my makeup. Reading the reviews on Ulta, other people experienced the stinging and burning sensation. I bought 2 of these, but I threw them away and just purchased remover wipes from Burt’s Bees instead.

Hannah Padilla

Website

Hannah is a travel writer, graphic designer, and the founder/editor of Hannah on Horizon. She is based in Sacramento, California, living with her husband and two adorable dogs. She shares tips on how to experience luxury travel on any budget, and how to maximize time at each trip or destination, no matter what your budget or amount of vacation time at work. She enjoys making you feel like you have visited each destination with her through her storytelling and informative writing style.