The most useless beauty products I ever bought....

terra_ferma

I like to buy decent quality stuff, particularly when it's cheap, and hate wasting money!
But sometimes it's hard to resist, and I end up wasting hard earned £££ on useless products!

I have a few examples (some of them inspired by other threads). Anyone else has any? (excluding the obvious swapping expensive brands with cheap ones...)

- Exfoliating creams and gels: they are not necessary and the plastic microgranules in most of them don't dissolve and cause pollution.
Alternative: add sugar to you normal soap/cleansing product (someone has suggested salt as well).

- cuticle oil: any oil will do, instead of paying over the odds for a 'special one'. Solar oil (jojoba oil, sweet almond oil and vitamin e) costs £7 for 15ml!

- cuticle remover/eraser: I've never used them but I suspect something else can be used. Any suggestions???

- face wipes: I have thing for face wipes, sooooooooo expensive when baby wipes are exactly the same product but cheaper and more delicate (no difference I swear, they remove make up the same way!)
PS I have dry sensitive skin, it may not work for other types!

- expensive electric toothbrushes: my dentist demanded I use an elecric toothbrushe. As I don't have a power point in my bathroom for the electric ones I got Colgate Actibrush instead (battery operated but you can use rechargeable ones if you want I'm sure) £8.00 and £3.00 for 2 refills. and the dentist and the hygienist complimented me for my clean teeth!

- Occitane verbena shower gel: it smells gorgeous, and I had wanted one for ages, so I splashed out. The bathroom was smelling very nice, but no smell left on my skin. A huge disappointment!
Now I use Korres ones (lemon is great!), they are cheaper (but not cheap, still £7 but worth it) and wonderful! Sometimes you get what you pay for (not often.....)

What about you?

lostinrates

terra_ferma wrote: »

What about you?

Anything designed to make me tan. Gradual tan, fake tan...for me its all a disaster.

Anything designed to make lashes grow longer...I'm a sucker for this three times over....

cosmetics ...too many to list.

Bronnie

Lots of body lotions, cheap and more expensive, I've found to be fairly ineffectual especially the ones that come as part of gift sets. When I've finally used up the last in my stash, I'll replace with butters or richer creams.

I started using BS hemp hand protector last winter and TBH I use a tiny amount of that on feet, elbows, knees, shins and it moisturises and softens more lastingly far better than any amount of other moisturisers I might spend ages slapping on. It's £10 for a 100ml tube, but you can get away with using it very sparingly, it's so effective. (Bought a tube today actually with the £5 voucher from the Telegraph)

jenniewb

terra_ferma wrote: »

- Exfoliating creams and gels: they are not necessary and the plastic microgranules in most of them don't dissolve and cause pollution.
Alternative: add sugar to you normal soap/cleansing product (someone has suggested salt as well).

I have to disagree- for my skin anyway I worked out if I don't exfoliate every other day or use a daily toner after cleansing I get dry white flakey patches on my skin. Its likely the hard water and dryness of my skin but fact is, exfoliators work for me and also brighten up my complexion too.

Sugar in soap? be very careful with that one. It may just about work on the body (has anyone actually come away from those Lush sugar soaps unscratched??) but the skin on your face is alot thinner and more delicate. Sugar can cause micro tears which can lead to hardening of the skin on your face and un even sore patches. The granuals in facial exfoliants are normally circular and do not cause damage to the facial skin which is why they can feel like they are not doing anything- its often that we compare with out bodies and expect as deep a scratchy sensation to release dirt on out face too- but the fact is the skin is not the same! Be very careful with that one!

terra_ferma wrote: »

- cuticle oil: any oil will do, instead of paying over the odds for a 'special one'. Solar oil (jojoba oil, sweet almond oil and vitamin e) costs £7 for 15ml!

I don't use cutical oil- have been told I have very tiny cuticles (not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing) noneother the less I wash my hands too much to wear nail varnish or have dainty looking nails, they just get chipped and look mangy too fast. Hand cream seems alot easier too rather then two products but I am sure there are those who do have more of a cuticle issue, maybe it may work for them?

terra_ferma wrote: »

- cuticle remover/eraser: I've never used them but I suspect something else can be used. Any suggestions???

Not heard of this one, sorry!

terra_ferma wrote: »

- face wipes: I have thing for face wipes, sooooooooo expensive when baby wipes are exactly the same product but cheaper and more delicate (no difference I swear, they remove make up the same way!)

Baby wipes leave me with an oily residue! I want to like them as they are so much cheaper but the fact is I use facial wipes after washing my face with a cleaner (in place of a toner) and need them to clean everything off my face and eyes (all the residue and hard water particles) so I can apply moisturiser- do you not find they clog your skin or is that just me?

terra_ferma wrote: »

- expensive electric toothbrushes: my dentist demanded I use an elecric toothbrushe. As I don't have a power point in my bathroom for the electric ones I got Colgate Actibrush instead (battery operated but you can use rechargeable ones if you want I'm sure) £8.00 and £3.00 for 2 refills. and the dentist and the hygienist complimented me for my clean teeth!

No one has a power point in their bathroom (aside from shaving power points) its the law/health and safty. You have to set up the charger elsewhere. The difference in the more expensive models is that they vibrate more so can get more debris off. I'd say if what your working works for you then stick with it (I use the throw away versions of what you use!) but remember that there are even "better" models out there which can do an even better job, the price tag does exist for a reason. Unfortunetly for Oral B. Phillips and any other elextric toothbrush company is I like to change the colour of my tooth brush too often and dislike being stuck with one brand! I also dislike having to remember to charge the damn thing every other night...


- Occitane verbena shower gel: it smells gorgeous, and I had wanted one for ages, so I splashed out. The bathroom was smelling very nice, but no smell left on my skin. A huge disappointment!
Now I use Korres ones (lemon is great!), they are cheaper (but not cheap, still £7 but worth it) and wonderful! Sometimes you get what you pay for (not often.....)

What about you?[/QUOTE]


Well, I have more likes then dislikes. You see I find a product I do not like and then find another use for it and suddenly like it all over again!

There are a few that are still on my to-be-used-up list and these are...

Creme Anglais. Bought for me from Lush by a well meaning friend (IT WAS £25 A POT!!!) The scent is ok-ish, baby oil mixed with a sort of coconut thing. I just don't rate it as a £25 moisturiser. Its not terrible, its just not fantastic.

Nivea Aerosol Deoderants. Now I don't know if anyone else has found this but although I can wear these day to day and its fine, once I get into the gym and start to sweat they become very sticky and its actually quite painful after a while. I end up having to rush to the toilets to wash the stuff off then on repeat journys to keep myself clean after not having a deoderant to wear! Its fine with the roll ons, just not with the aerosols.

Mitchum. Similar story, I have never worn this outside the gym but when working out? it just turns to a goo and feels really gross!

E45 Itch cream. May well have proven ingredience in it but never has worked for me, despite this I still make stupid choice and rebuy hoping that one day it may help with my eczema.

Any moisturiser with Rose in it. Just leaves me with a 'film' on my skin which feels heavy and slightly sticky. It may be natural but that does not make it a good ingredient.

Kerastase Subliminal Jour. So lucky this was a hand-me-down and I did not pay for it! It just does nothing for my hair. Nothing but weigh it down in clumps. The Nectar Thermique is much better! (unfortunely I never get that as a hand me down, hmm, wonder why!)

Colgate sensitive toothpaste. This actually HURT my teeth to use! (the enamel protect fares a little better but does not have a patch on the Sensodyne pronamel.)

Radox Shower smoothies- but only as I thought it looked like a scrub. They are NOT scrubs at all, they are just shower gels

puss14

Estee lauder advanced night repair- don't understand the hype at all. did absolutely nothing for my skin, is extremely expensive and smells hideous:eek:
Natio eye makeup remover- does not work at all.

L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Cleansing Foam- extremely stripping cleanser which made my skin feel extremely tight and dry, just awful.

Mirenesse Secret Weapon Mascara- this was a terrible mascara as it was all clumpy and flaked off during the day and it also damaged my eye lashes when I was removing it- Terrible:mad:

Blackmores anti bacterial facial wash- very stripping and drying, ended up using it as a hand wash watered down and even then I had to moisturise my hands after using it as it was so harsh.

puss14

Oh yes Im also not keen on body lotions.

terra_ferma

jenniewb wrote: »

Sugar in soap? be very careful with that one. It may just about work on the body (has anyone actually come away from those Lush sugar soaps unscratched??) but the skin on your face is alot thinner and more delicate. Sugar can cause micro tears which can lead to hardening of the skin on your face and un even sore patches. The granuals in facial exfoliants are normally circular and do not cause damage to the facial skin which is why they can feel like they are not doing anything- its often that we compare with out bodies and expect as deep a scratchy sensation to release dirt on out face too- but the fact is the skin is not the same! Be very careful with that one!

I don't use sugar for my body (makes a sticky shower....), but a shower puff which works a treat.
I find that the sugar dissolves quickly and if I work it slightly before using it on my face it's fine.
I would be interested to hear if anyone uses home made alternatives to exfoliants.

Baby wipes leave me with an oily residue! I want to like them as they are so much cheaper but the fact is I use facial wipes after washing my face with a cleaner (in place of a toner) and need them to clean everything off my face and eyes (all the residue and hard water particles) so I can apply moisturiser- do you not find they clog your skin or is that just me?

I've added a note on my original post that I have dry and sensitive skin. Maybe that's why they work so well. The Lidl ones moisturise my face, and are better than any of the face wipes I've tried.

No one has a power point in their bathroom (aside from shaving power points) its the law/health and safty. You have to set up the charger elsewhere.

I have used the shaving power point with an adaptor (may not be legal though.... but as I don't have children and I don't dip the charger in the water while having a bath in it, I would be fine)

the price tag does exist for a reason.

The price of a product is not linked to its quality or even the cost of producing it (think of loss leaders), but it's only the amount of cash we are prepared to pay for it. In some cases you get what you pay for, in most cases you don't. This forum really helps me decide when it's worth paying extra, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, that's why my regular supermarkets are lidl and waitrose (people react strangely when I tell them, even more when I say that some of lidl's continental stuff is better or the same as anywhere else... but this is a different thread altogether)

Creme Anglais. Bought for me from Lush by a well meaning friend (IT WAS £25 A POT!!!) The scent is ok-ish, baby oil mixed with a sort of coconut thing. I just don't rate it as a £25 moisturiser. Its not terrible, its just not fantastic.

I never use Lush products. For some strange reason I'm allergic to their shops, I can't stand the smell, it seems chemical to me (it probably isn't), too strong to be natural.... What do other people think?

Colgate sensitive toothpaste. This actually HURT my teeth to use! (the enamel protect fares a little better but does not have a patch on the Sensodyne pronamel.)

I use pronamel too, Tesco do a version that I use as well and don't notice any difference (a part from flavour, and price...).

[/QUOTE]

clairibel

terra_ferma wrote: »

I like to buy decent quality stuff, particularly when it's cheap, and hate wasting money!


- Exfoliating creams and gels: they are not necessary and the plastic microgranules in most of them don't dissolve and cause pollution.
Alternative: add sugar to you normal soap/cleansing product (someone has suggested salt as well).

- expensive electric toothbrushes: my dentist demanded I use an elecric toothbrushe. As I don't have a power point in my bathroom for the electric ones I got Colgate Actibrush instead (battery operated but you can use rechargeable ones if you want I'm sure) £8.00 and £3.00 for 2 refills. and the dentist and the hygienist complimented me for my clean teeth!


What about you?

I have recently started using bicarbonate of soda as a face scrub and i love it, dead cheap, natural and it makes my skin so soft and that really squeaky clean feeling you get.....i won't buy ready made scrubs now

My disasters were always fake tans sticky horrible feeling, but have been advised i need a professional formula one to get rid of that.

Most moisturisers leave me with dry patches and tight feeling, so have bought coconut oil and seem to be getting on with it so far.

lostinrates

puss14 wrote: »

Estee lauder advanced night repair- don't understand the hype at all. did absolutely nothing for my skin, is extremely expensive and smells hideous
.

lol, this is one of my must haves. I've been using it regularly as art of the no more toiletries thread, using my stash, not just dipping in occasionally, and for me it really works, incredibly well.

Sparschweinchen

Benefit Bad Gal mascara definitely doesn't live up to the hype -

I love the huge application brush, it's easy to apply and makes my lashes look really long but still natural BUT the mascara just doesn't have any staying power, it ends up in the creases below my eyes after only a couple of hours and makes my undereye shadows so much worse.

retro_bluebell

lostinrates wrote: »

Anything designed to make me tan. Gradual tan, fake tan...for me its all a disaster.

Anything designed to make lashes grow longer...I'm a sucker for this three times over....

cosmetics ...too many to list.

Yes I second the mascara! Im drawn in by all the 3x's longer palaver...never seems to work the best one Ive bought was a cheapy from ELF, its not a lengthening one but makes my eyes looks brighter. I also agree with the facewipes too, I tend to just use baby lotion and cotton wool to take of make up

ETA I bought some expensive (well ten quid thats expensive for me) anti-wrinkle night cream from Avon and its rubbish- the cheap stuff from Aldis works much better.