Current "Disappointments"

Disappointment is such a strong word but you know what I mean! I also may change my opinion (I am known for that) and some of these are first impressions, but regardless, they are something that let me down on my (high?) expectations. Complaining does make you feel a bit better, right?

Dermatica Subscription and Brexit

It's been almost A MONTH (including weekends) that my new treatment was shipped. It is still not here. I ran out of my last bottle 3 weeks ago or so. My skin had a freak-out for a moment but it's getting better again. I wonder if anyone else has experienced a sudden unhappy skin after using tretinoin almost everyday for 2 months and suddenly stopped?

Anyway. Customs have had the Dermatica package for a week, almost, too. Plus Dermatica said on their email that they would start shipping EU orders from Ireland to help people with the customs issue. Well, the tracking number that was given to my package by customs indicated it was shipped from Great Britain. I didn't have to pay any customs however this whole process just takes super long time! Not to mention the shipping from GB to EU, a few weeks. I did a Cult Beauty order a while ago and that package came from GB to me in a week and no issues with customs as they had taken care of them beforehand, whatever it means. That was a pleasant post Brexit experience!

If the shipping takes this long in the future, I'll have to see if I find a better option to get tretinoin. There has been nothing wrong the product itself, it has been very effective and absorbs quickly. Great bottle design too.

Benefit Cheekleaders Bronze Squad Palette

I just really like Benefit's style and had been drooling over the box blushes, so you bet I jumped on this palette when it was only 35 €. After playing with it a few times I just don't feel the love. 

Coralista felt pretty low pigmented and barely showed up on me without piling it on, then it just felt and looked powdery. The shade felt very one dimensional, and it did not remind me of coral. Gold Rush was nicer, and while I thought it wouldn't bother me that the gold is just overspray because I knew it, but it still bothered me a lot! As the shade mixed with warm gold looked like statement blush but without the gold it is just... not so bold or unique but still pretty. Well I did notice I do like warm gold on my face so I might go and pick a golden highlighter later on! Hoola and Hoola Caramel are both surprisingly dark and pigmented compared to the blushes. Very, very orange-ish too and difficult to blend, as in, I really had to work on it and I still felt it was unnatural - maybe it was just the shade though. But because they lean orange, especially Hoola Caramel, they can be used as blushes. Cookie feels very nice and creamy and the shade is ok.

The palette feels very clunky and heavy to hold and after holding it for like 5 minutes, I felt my hand was a bit numb. The palette looks charming but it's not very practical. I also did not like the brush that came with the palette, it is such an awkward shape, but again, maybe it is just me and my novice skills. I felt the palette also broke me out a bit, as the new bumps were exactly where I had placed the product.

Overall, I felt like I could have survived well without Cheekleaders palette.

I also read that Benefit uses different formulas for their blushes depending if they are the individual boxed ones, minis or palette. So it means they all look and feel different. Wtf! I checked Temptalia and her individual box Coralista swatches look completely different than my palette! Also the swatches for Hoola look more neutral compared to what I experience! How incredibly annoying!

Becca Closing In September

I couldn't believe these news! For me, personally, this was a huge disappointment as I adored their aesthetics and their blushes and ufo packaging. They actually felt sturdy, I am so going to save my ufos after I'm done with their contents and make them into tiny magnetic palettes or something.

Clinique Cheek Pop Warm Up Palette

I absolutely LOVE the formula of cheek pops! So pleasant, so pigmented, so easy to apply and looks very natural.

But. The only shade in this palette I really like is Ginger Pop. And even Ginger Pop looks quite pink on me, more than what I thought. It's still pretty and unique to me! The two other shades, Nude Pop and Cola Pop, are not for me, at least based on a few times I tried them. Nude Pop is so nude I can barely get it to show up on me! I piled it on probably 4-5 times to get it to show and by that time it was a powdery caky mess. Am I doing something wrong? Maybe Nude Pop is meant for super pale people and as a warm light skinned person it is just a no go? I did however use it to tone down Ginger Pop's pinkness when you mix them. There's also something about Cola Pop I do not like. It just looks wrong. Not flattering at all.

At this point I can just admit that the Cheek Pop palette wasn't so smart purchase but I also finally got to try the formula and "calibrate" my brain about Cheek Pop shades so that I can avoid now the unsuitable ones. I think the ones I would go for now are Fig Pop and Black Honey Pop. 

However, Cheek Pops are not available in my country or online so this is another rant altogether!

Deciem The Chemistry Brand Hand Chemistry Pro-Repair Skincare for Hands Smells Horrible

Smells so incredibly bad and the smell lingers all night! Not super strong or migraine triggering smell but it makes me gag, it makes me physically feel sick. I had high hopes for this hand cream treatment but I just can't get over the smell. I have been using it by not breathing while applying and immediately putting something else with stronger fragrance on top! But this smell came as a huge surprising disappointment to me. I rarely feel sick because of scents, I just usually don't like them but that's it. Even more disappointing because the cream itself absorbs incredibly quick and would be ideal for several applications throughout the day but I can't do it!

Korean Sunscreen Gate

Everyone has probably heard of this fiasco. Many popular Korean sunscreens turned out to be significantly less protective than what they claim. They haven't been tested or not tested properly. It is unbelievable how shady the whole situation is - the manufacturers, the brands, FDA, the claims, aftermath, etc... Especially Purito and their Centella Green Level Sun SPF 50+ that was independently tested finally as something like SPF 20. But it wasn't only Purito's problem, there are several sunscreen that underperformed and I bet you can find lists and speculation if you google!

So it seems that if it is too good to be true, it is! Sunscreen that immediately sinks into skin and doesn't feel like sunscreen? Yeah, we should be wary. I also read that many Korean mineral sunscreens that don't leave the strong whitecast are probably significantly less protective as well, going as far as if they claim SPF 30-50 it could only have SPF 10-20. I have been using Korean sunscreens and a few mineral ones and I do think they had significantly less whitecast than the one I tried from nearby store (in Europe). 

This has shaken my world view as I really thought that sunscreens would be regulated better. I am now side eyeing all sunscreens, no matter where they come from. Many sunscreens seem to fail after market tests, no matter if European, American, Asian! I am still interested in Korean sunscreens and for me SPF 20 or 30 is fine - as long as it is marketed as 20 or 30, not as 50+!

Avant Skincare a Scam?

Reading Reddit really opens your eyes. I stumbled by accident to this conversation and I had no idea! Apparently, Avant Skincare and its sister companies (Symbiosis London, etc...?)  are made to look like expensive, luxurious prestige brands but they might be actually made very cheaply and sold en masse to subscription boxes etc. to up their value. That is their core business model. They might even be shell companies for money laundering, wtf. You should search the thread, it is on r/boxycharm, you can find it searching Symbiosis Skincare.

If this is true, I feel so betrayed!!! Such elaborate scam, it feels untrue. True or not, I feel annoyed and can never look at Avant products the same way, or the companies that put them into subscription boxes.