Spring Cleaning Part 2 - Products I Would Not Recommend

Continuing on from the Spring cleaning theme of my last post, I thought I'd share with you guys some of the products I came across whilst I was cleaning out my makeup collection that I would not recommend. These are mostly products that I end up throwing out without using them up, or products that I would not repurchase.

Models Prefer Nude Palette
I'm a bit confused about this product because I see people all over Instagram raving about how great this is. I certainly see the appeal: it's the perfect size for travel, contains 10 lovely neutral shades and swatches beautifully. However for some reason, I can't seem to make it work on the eyes. Even using a primer, I find the colour doesn't transfer, the texture is powdery and as soon as you start blending, you lose half the pigment. If you guys want to see my initial review and swatches of this product, click here.

Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer
I find this concealer to be the total wrong texture for using anywhere on the face. It's extremely creamy, but not in a good way. It almost feels buttery, meaning it creases badly under the eyes and slides off blemishes within about 2 minutes of applying it, even when set with a powder. It's very cheap, which I guess is good but I still wouldn't recommend buying it for any purpose.

Maybelline Fit Me Powder
Most of the Fit Me range has great reviews (I personally love the concealers and I think the Matte and Poreless foundation sounds great), however to me this powder is a disappointment. It might work better on dry skin, but I find on my skin, if I set my makeup with this powder, my face is oily within an hour. It has a slight shimmer to it which could look lovely and luminous on a dryer skin, but it doesn't do my oily skin any favours. One plus is that the coverage is decent, but it's just not right for my skin.

Manicare Precision Blending Sponge
This was the first beauty blender style sponge I ever used, and at first I didn't mind it. That was until I tried other sponges and realised how freaking hard this one is. It's seriously so firm you almost feel like you're beating your face with a rock, even when it's damp (okay not quite, but it is very firm). I also found washing it to be a bit of a struggle, because the material is more crumbly than stretchy meaning if you rub it too much when you're washing it, little chunks come off (particularly the pointed tip). Although I haven't tried the original beauty blender, I feel like there are much better "dupes" out there, for example ones made by Chi Chi and Real Techniques.

Essence All Eyes On Me Waterproof Multi-Effect Mascara
Firstly, this mascara is definitely NOT waterproof. I cried one day when I was wearing it and didn't realise I was walking around with huge black smudges all around my eyes, so if you're after a waterproof mascara, don't go for this one. I also found that this mascara did nothing whatsoever for my lashes. The formula is very wet, so it sort of just coated my lashes without adding any length or volume. It also takes a long time to dry, so is prone to printing your upper lid if you look up too soon after applying it. This is a real shame to me because I love Essence mascaras - this one just missed the mark.

Covergirl Brow & Eyemakers pencils
These claim to be soft pencils that work on the brows and can also be used to create a soft eyeliner look. I have these in the shade "Soft blonde", which I'm not sure how I ended up with because it's certainly not my colour (I have a feeling my mum bought these and ended up giving them to me because they were no good). To me, these pencils are useful for neither purpose - they are not pigmented at all, and not in a good way. It's almost impossible to draw colour and the shape of the pencil means it would be very difficult to get a precise line. The colour is also a bit off for an eyebrow pencil - definitely too warm for most people and leaves a streaky texture.