From Dud to Stud

Out with the old and not-so-good to make room for their newer and infinitely better counterparts.  Yes, guys... I am finally loosening my grip and letting go of a lot of products that I've been needlessly holding on to.  I feel that I need to purge in order to justify any upcoming binging I more than likely will commit.  From beauty to clothes and accessories, I'm getting rid of things that just don't work for me anymore (or never have).  And so it begins...

First up is Revlon's ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder.  Does anyone else remember the buzz surrounding this when it came out?  Everybody was singing its praises and touting it as an exact dupe for MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural powder.  And guess what?  I took the bait and bought it.  And guess what?  It most definitely is NOT a perfect dupe for MAC's Skinfinish.

Besides the obvious difference in appearance, with Revlon's version being marbled and MAC's being a solid colored dome, the payoff and finish are worlds apart.  ColorStay literally gives a dusting to your skin while Skinfinish offers a soft layer of color to finish the face.  Also, ColorStay is parched and rough to the touch while Skinfinish feels soft and smooth.  My immediate conclusion when I later bought MAC's version?  A lot of people got this one wrong.  There's really no comparison.

Another product that got a lot of hype when it debuted was Revlon's Beyond Natural Concealer & Highlighter.  Again, I heard the reviews and picked this up when I saw it on sale at my local drugstore. 

Let me tell you, I put the concealer on under my eyes and it slid right off!  YES!  The majority of it basically disappeared while remnants of the cream settled in the lines under my eyes.  Yes, I set it with powder.  No, it didn't help.  Terrible.  Now the highlighting side is OK, but I feel totally comfortable with chucking the entire thing as it just does not work for me as a whole.

And so, not even qualified to act as understudy, the Revlon dud will exit stage right while MAC's Pro Longwear Concealer steals its spotlight as my preferred go-to and undeniable stud in my stash.

Okay, I got this one on sale as well.  It was an impulse buy.  I've said before that I'm not a huge fan of CoverGirl products, but I've had some luck with a pink quad and their Queen bronzer so I was willing to take the gamble.  Well, guys... I gambled and lost.

The single shadow looked so pretty on the drugstore shelf...

but it fails to hold a candle to other blue shadows I own; the pigmentation is so poor!  It's a dud for sure and must go posthaste!

I'm not going to beat around the bush: the shadows in this Charcoal Maybelline Stylish Smokes quad are mediocre at best.  But the silver in the bottom corner is absolutely awful.

I bought this quad when I first started getting into makeup, but have since upgraded to shadows of higher quality, including this one - Electra by MAC.  And the difference is so very clear; the Maybelline silver spread out as a powdery dust on my finger with no evidence of cohesion in sight.  This was a complete dud for me, so out it goes.

Now this one was a surprise to me.  I mean, it's just an eyeliner and it's by "tried and true" L'Oreal, so what in the blue blazes could go wrong with it?  Well, I should have taken the fact that it was deeply discounted as a sign of possible issues... but it's an eyeliner! 

I'm hoping you can see it, but the eyeliner is loose in the shell of the pencil.  It rattles around during application, which makes it nearly impossible (in addition to utterly frustrating) to use.  And every time I sharpen it, it just gets worse.  I guess I could go old school and try to melt it a little with a lighter, perhaps it would fill out a tad, but I don't even wanna bother.  And the payoff is adequate, but not worth the struggle.  I was gonna return it, but it was only a dollar and some change and it would cost me more in gas for the effort so, again, I didn't wanna bother.  Totally not worth it.  I'm afraid this dud will have to go along with all the others.

So that's my first round up of duds I'm shedding from my collection to make room for the possible new things I'll be purchasing.  And what about you guys?  Are there any items you've been holding on to, but realize you need to subtract from your stash?  Any miscellaneous misfits collecting dust in your long-forgotten makeup piles that need a boot?  If so, do tell!