Hi friends! If you don’t follow me on Instagram (@atleastelyse for all of you asking) let me recap where I’ve been for the past few weeks. Right after the holidays, I finally got my first big girl job! It has been consuming most of my time, but I am extremely happy to start my professional career and hopefully move on up in the industry eventually. Baby steps though. I had every intention of posting a 2020 beauty goals blog post, but since January is more than halfway over I figured we’d start with some decluttering! What better way to get my life in order than getting rid of shit I don’t need? So without further ado, come have a look at the products I’m passing along/throwing out and why.
Essence x Casey Holmes Peachy Bean Palette: $10 (discontinued)
This palette is extremely bizarre. I bought it a little over a year ago and I remember it being on and off the Ulta website for a few days. I don’t however remember it being advertised as a collaboration with Casey Holmes until I read the packaging once I finally received it. At the time, I watched Casey Holmes’ videos pretty regularly and I don’t recall her ever mentioning it either. Besides the fact that this blush and highlighter palette started off pretty elusive, the quality isn’t unfortunately there either. I hate saying that because I love Essence as a brand and Casey Holmes as a YouTuber. However, the formulas are pretty bizarre. Everything feels creamy when swatched, but the blushes are patchy and the highlighters come off chalky on the cheekbones. (Try saying that ten times fast.) They also emphasize texture to the point where it’s past an issue for me. Despite them being light enough for my skin tone, I also felt like the colors just didn’t look good on me,
Milani Prep + Set + Go Transparent Face Powder: $9.99
I’ve had this powder since I worked at Ulta in 2017, which is physically hard to wrap my head around at this point. I’m getting rid of it for a few reasons. 1. Loose powders are infinitely better in my opinion. Shoutout the Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Setting Powder. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that’s my absolute, would-fight-with-somebody-in-Sephora-for-the-last-one-because-it’s-that-good setting powder. 2. This specific pressed powder would leave a pretty gnarly whitecast after application. And who the hell needs that in their life? 3. I don’t use this powder anymore because of reasons 1 and 2, so there’s no incentive to keep it.
Bliss In the Honey and Mighty Marshmallow Face Masks: $15
These are two face masks I tried my absolute hardest to love. Everybody always posts cute #texturetuesday posts with Bliss products and I totally wanted to jump on that bandwagon. However, I can’t do that if I hate the actual product! To get to the point: neither of these face masks do a damn thing. Even leaving them on longer than the instructions recommended ultimately failed. The only thing these face masks have been good for is taking up space in my closet for the past year. And for that reason, I will be decluttering them. As you can tell, I’m still on the hunt for the best wash-off, hydrating face mask, so if you have suggestions leave them below!
VitaminSea.beauty Algae & Rosehip Oil Moisturizing Skin Serum: $18
Not gonna lie, this product really had me in the first half. I even talked about it on my Instagram because I thought I liked it. Then, I finally realized it was not sinking into my skin. Like not even a little bit. Ok, fine, a little bit. The issue though is that it would take a million drops of this product, plus me rubbing my skin for like five minutes to feel results. And even then, my skin didn’t feel half as good as it does when I use my Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Serum which, by the way, is CHEAPER. Learn from my mistakes, and go straight for The Ordinary in this instance.
Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser: $18 (full size)
I had such a different image of what this product would be like when I first envisioned it in my head. Let me start by saying, this is probably the most disappointing item on this entire list and there is literally an exfoliator that tears skin coming up. We’ll get there. I don’t know about you, but “milky jelly cleanser” sounds hydrating with a liquid consistency. Wrong. It is a light cream formula (ok fine) that does absolutely nothing (my issue). And when I say nothing, oh I mean nothing. Not a damn thing. I literally felt like I was rubbing air on my skin. I only used this cleanser TWICE before completely giving up on it. My face felt unclean, dry, and just generally disgusting. Will not be putting this on my skin again. Glossier, I know this sounds harsh (because it is), but I only say these things out of love and because I want you to do better.
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask: $20
I truly drank the Kool-aid (OH YEAH) in regards to this cult favorite. For a few months, I really dug it and then finally realized it doesn’t work that great. It feels nice on the lips after immediate application and while the product remains. However, as soon as I would wipe it off in the morning, my lips still felt dehydrated. Talk about not doing what the entire lip mask claims to fix. In my Over-Hyped Beauty Products Not Worth Your Money post (which you might recognize a few of these items from) I mentioned that there are rumors the ingredients in this product are also atrocious. Can still not confirm or deny whether that’s true, but it’s something to think about nonetheless.
Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector: $39
This was my first big primer purchase when baby Elyse was first getting into makeup. It was recommended to me by a beauty guru named Michelle who, from my knowledge, doesn’t even post videos anymore. Wow, I’m literally so old. Anyway, this primer claimed to mattify and control oil. Spoiler alert: it does neither. The only thing it’s really good at is making your nose look wrinkly and foundation patchy over top. Not something you’d wanna spend your money on. I think it’s finally time to part ways old friend/enemy.
Love Beauty And Planet Argan Oil and Lavender Sulfate Free Shampoo: $6.99 @ Target
I was super excited to try this shampoo because I’ve heard good things, love the smell of lavender, and thought the packaging was super cute. Unfortunately, this was a major L. This product made my hair feel like literal straw. A part of me thinks that this shampoo just liked to suck up every single natural oil from my head. I couldn’t even make it halfway through the bottle without seeking relief in a better option. Clearly, I do not recommend.
Colourpop BFF Mascara in Black on Black: $8
I know Christmas is over, but to quote Elf, this was a product I was “ psyched out of my mind about.” The brush looked similar to L’oreal Lash Paradise and Too Faced Better Than Sex, which are two mascaras I truly love. I did end up falling in love with the brush, but the formula…not so much. It’s more of a dry mascara, which typically never “wows” me. It doesn’t lift the way my Tarte Gifted does and while L’oreal Carbon Black can pretty much fix any first coat of mascara, it looks just ok on top of this Colourpop one. My biggest issue though is the fact that this formula flakes pretty badly. The absolute last thing I want to do is worry about black flecks decorating my cheeks like winter’s first snowfall.
St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub: $4.49 @ Target
Welp, we’ve made it to the dreaded exfoliator. I actually loved this product for the longest time because it works. Whenever my skin felt clogged I would pretty much scrape my face clean with this gritty formula. However, it was then brought to my attention how awful this product really is. My friend @ethicalbunny dmed me one day saying that this exfoliator was known to tear people’s skin and there was a whole lawsuit brought up against St. Ives. Talk about beauty drama. I hate to admit that I used it for a while after finding out this information. However, I abruptly stopped after my inner monologue pretty much said, “hey dumbass, how about you stop ruining your skin?” And here we are folks. I recommend the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Face Mask for unclogging stubborn pores instead.
This primer and I are not friends. I only used it once and that was enough to never reach for it again. First of all, it feels like you’re rubbing cement on your face. It’s so thick, doesn’t sink into the skin, and makes makeup so unbelievably cakey. By the time I tried this out I had already stopped wearing foundation, so I cannot even fathom what my face would have looked like with foundation over top this primer. If anybody tells you this is a good hydrating primer at a drugstore cost, they are straight up lying to your face.
Freeman Anti-Stress Dead Sea Minerals Clay Mask: $4.29 @ Ulta
This was one of those on the whim purchases where I wanted to try out a cheap face mask just for shits and giggles. 11/10 fun to watch your face turn an artificial blue color as you slather this on. It doesn’t really do much though. If anything it just makes your face feel really tight for ten minutes. I recommend their peel off face masks more, just because at least your face feels a little softer afterwards.
Ah, doesn’t it feel nice to just declutter sometimes? I know I’m super excited to gain some shelf space and focus on the products I truly love. 2020 is gonna be a good year for beauty, I can feel it in my soul. Or maybe that’s just my wallet telling me to shut up. Only time will tell.
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At Least Elyse 