BEAUTY || Disappointing Products.

We all have those beauty products - either sitting on our dressing tables or stashed away under the bed - where hopes were thwarted and things didn't quite work out. Whether it was the 'miracle' moisturiser of the moment or the lipstick that was supposed to last for hours and didn't make it past your first cup of coffee, the far-fetched promises the industry throw at us can't all be true. Hence why we buy into them and are disappointed when the products turn out to be less than useful. But it's okay, we've all been there!

As a disciple of all things Aussie Shampoo, Conditioner, even Shower Gel related, I had high hopes for their newly released dry shampoos. Well, to be honest, I bought this dry shampoo because CoLab isn't stocked in my local Boots at uni. But hey, I figured it was worth a try. At first, I was all over this product. One good thing it's got going is that it smells divine. A sweet, almost tutti frutti scent. However after a few hours, the smell does get really overpowering. But the real clincher here is that this dry shampoo doesn't combat greasy roots... Instead it leaves your hair with that crispy, cheap dry shampoo feeling and you instantly feel the need to jump in the shower and wash it out. Kinda defeats the purpose of the product, right?
The Dior 'NudeTan BB Cream' is a product I've been battling with for almost a year now - it was one of the first products I bought after getting into blogging and it seemed like everyone was raving about this dreamy BB Cream. I remember because I was on my annual holiday to Cornwall at the time and raced to my nearest Debenhams as soon as I got home to pick one up. Oh the disappointment! This cream is the most concentrated shade of orange, it's almost impossible to pull off. I just about blended it to a normal shade in my 'Lazy Sunday Face' post a couple months back, but that took a lot of scrubbing, time, and effort. Nowadays, I just feel self-conscious whenever I wear this because I feel like I'm walking round with a bad fake tan. For ladies with warmer complexions this might be a winner, but from now on I'm all about embracing the pale.
I've seen what seems like hundreds of bloggers swear by the Clinque 'Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm' as part of their daily skincare routine. But for me, there's just not much to say on this one. Yes it just about took my make-up off but that's it. It didn't make any change to my complexion and I actually found it quite greasy despite the claims that it's lightweight product. The Body Shop's 'Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter' is miles better and £10 cheaper - this one is a total no-brainer.
And finally, the L'Oréal 'Elive Nutri-Gloss Crystal Sparkling' Shampoo and Conditioner. I used to love these when they first came out - I must have been about 16 and the idea of glitter in your everyday shampoo and conditioner was too much to handle. I use to race through bottles and was constantly repurchasing them. I think it must have been boredom and discovering the wonders of Aussie haircare that meant this shampoo and conditioner duo was substituted in my routine, but seeing as they were on special offer last month and I'm a broke student - I thought, why not? It's the shampoo that's the greatest disappointment, as no matter how hard I scrub my hair to get rid of the product in the shower, I'm always left with some sticky residue round my roots. It's not great. And the conditioner is kinda underwhelming and watery. Maybe L'Oréal have 'updated' the formula as these companies always do or maybe I wasn't so uptight four years ago, but either way these products have gone straight in the bin once I hit publish on this post!

On the bright side, not everything you purchase is going to be your dream, miracle, must-have product - it's just part of life that you've got to kiss a few frogs along the way!