What do you HATE about certain brands?

[Sophia]

Oh,also I hate Mac's Studio Fix!! Bad bad foundation

 

[LindaA]

While I can't agree with what most of you say about the packaging of certain lines (with the exceptionof Nars getting soiled so quickly), I'd have to agree about any line that has so many LE items. They are very smart knowing that the urge will be to buy them whether you need them or not, knowing they will not be available that long. I guess we all have to learn not to buy what probably won't work for us. MAC is a fashion line, but they don't need to release a new line every other week.

I'm surprised no one has griped about Stila's cheap packaging for very expensive products. I hate their click pens (anyone's click pens for that matter) because you get little product for the $$$ and a lot of that is unusable because the plunger doesn't go past the point where the barrel narrows. (I am glad that Stila is making them larger now, but I still wouldn't buy one. I've had trouble with other lcick pen products leaking.)

I hate gold labels on the bottom of lipsticks because it makes the glare so strong that you can't read the label.

I also hate lines that sell their palettes empty and then charge a small fortune for the product to go in them. (Stila again, and Fresh!!)

 

[MacSux]

Here'e mine:

Bobbi Brown - hate that the lipsticks smell awful - a deal breaker for me.

MAC - eyeshadows are chalky, too much hype for that line. The SAs alone are reason enough to stay away.

Stila - don't like the packaging. I'm all for putting the money in the product and not the package, but I draw the line at cardboard.

Nars - some of the lipsticks are very dry and the eyeshadows seem to be hit and miss.

 

[ienjoymakeup]

MAC- The SA's mostly. Whenever I go to try and purchase something from them, I am always scared away or shooed off by the people working at the counter. They either:

A) Ignore me.

B) Look me up and down and say "Do you like, have a question or something?" That wouldn't be so bad, but just the look on their face, like they were a lot higher than me or something.

C) I ask them a question and they just look at me, grimace, and walk away. What? Is my make-up really that bad? lol.

I HAVE A LOT OF MAC COUNTERS NEAR ME!! lol, and i've only ran into two nice workers.

Stila- Overpriced on some things. I like their stuff, but I don't understand why I have to purchase the powder and the compact seperately.

I also hate the brands that test on animals.

 

[LindaA]

Originally Posted by Trisha The palette refills are actually cheaper, and our e.s are better value for $$ than MAC etc, not to mention the actual quality of the e.s is better.
the thing is, if you dont want a palette then buy singles, but the refillable palettes do very well as they look more professional, give you more choice of colours and protect your e.s better, i dont know any professional MA's that would tote rounds hundreds of tiny pots when they could store them all neatly in palettes.

JMHO x

From the point of view of a mua refillable palettes are probably best, but I'm not a mua and I never need to carry eyeshadow around -- not even one palette much less one.
Since no one sees my makeup, I'm not concerned that it "look professional." I'm not sure whose shadows you are speaking of that are a better value than MAC, but Stila, for example is very expensive. Buying a palette plus the shadows to fill it costs more than buying the shadows individually in the crumby paper pots. Stila shadows are among the best I've ever used, but I can't justify the cost of the refilliable palettes. Obviously if you use up the shadows and refill the palette you would save money by the second time you filled it up. But I couldn't live long enough ro do that!

(Probably a lot of us here who are not mua wouldn't either.)

Fresh is another line with a similar issue IMHO. You can buy a palette for only 4 pans and the cost of each shadow is much less if you buy them in a pan only. I think the difference is something like $8 per shadow.

 

[Leony]

Chanel - Strong scented

Esteelauder- pricey not because the benefit of the products but because of the packaging lol.

Shisheido : I hate their staff!, not polite enough to attract the customers.

Lancome: Boring.

Clinique: Their staff uniform here in Japan, looks like a doctor uniform or something lol.

Dior: Their advertisement on Japanese Magazines.

 

[NYAngel98]

Originally Posted by Sophia I hate how sticky Mac's lipglasses are!!! I'll third that!!! You have no idea how frustrating it is to have long hair, wear lip gloss & drive with the windows open.... I'm gonna probably start coughing up hairballs soon.

I also agree with MAC's LE stuff... stop teasing and just let us buy it whenever

I also hate lipsticks that taste like old lady perfume... blagh!

 

[gamaki]

MAC-many of their products are hit and miss, this in my opinion is because they seem to focus too much on getting a ton of different new product and limited edition stuff out to the masses instead of focusing on perfecting what they've already got. But, they do have a great selection of some really great products, plus I can get it for cheaper than some drugstore items.

STILA- It's not as widely available as I'd like it to be, but I guess the exclusiveness of it is part of the allure. (like it or not) I also think there stuff is slightly higher priced than it should be. I think they should offer the pro discount in Canada!

However-they do have excellent product and the cutest packaging around in my opinion (except the cardboard packaging items) I also think Jeanine Lobell (the creator) has an excellent philosophy of beauty. Her perspective on beauty and self image is healthy and fresh.

ESTEE LAUDER- The packaging is geared towards and older market. Some of the products are ok, but I would never buy them because I find the packaging to be too bulky and old fashioned looking.

CHRISTIAN DIOR- I am not a fan of the gold packaging. It's pretty old lady looking. I love their newer ultra shine lipsticks and lipglosses though.

CLINIQUE- The pricing is fair enough, but the product is not up to par. Not a wide enough selection of e/s colors.

The one product I love from Clinique is the Almost lipstick in Black Honey. I'll buy that stuff again and again.

LANCOME- Just not enough selection to keep me interested. Some things are ok. The juicy tubes are alright, but they need more colors!

NARS- Although I like the simple sleek packaing, I agree that the rubber type of coating is not so great because it seems to attract product buildup and dust. I also think they are slighty too expensive. I do like alot of their products though and find the brushes to be of superior quality.

BOBBI BROWN- I am not too fond of the gold trim on everything but I like the lipgloss tubes and I think the quality of most of the products to be decent. I think they could stand to lower their prices a notch or two as well.

BENEFIT- I find they make alot of claims about their products that don't live up. But, some of the products are quite good. They definetly know how to set themselves apart from the other lines. Which is good but I think a wider selection of colors would make it better, like someone mentioned.

MAKEUP FOREVER-I feel that because they have such a huge amount of products that it's only natural that some of it is hit & miss (like MAC) But I think overall, most of it is excellent, especially the e/s's, lip/eye pencils, lipglosses and lipsticks.

 

[iloveparis]

Originally Posted by NYAngel98 I'll third that!!! You have no idea how frustrating it is to have long hair, wear lip gloss & drive with the windows open.... I'm gonna probably start coughing up hairballs soon.

LOL....too funny...

 

[xpressit]

i must be crazy...but i love it all! no J/K...seriously i thought forever on this and i really just don't love the Cargo packaging because it is so darn hard to open.

 

[Lealabell]

I think lots of people miss the point of Stila packaging. The idea being that it's all recycled, and that you get better value for money by using the pans and palettes. Yeah, we all know that the cardboard packaging doesn't work for the lip colours so Jeannine has changed it, but isn't it better to have more environmentally friendly packaging? That's part of what drew me to the brand in the first place.

Oh, and a big-up for B2M too. It's cool that they give you a free lip colour but I think the fact that they recycle their packaging is MORE important. All of us have to admit that packaging plays a big part in why we pick the brands we pick (just look at my gripe about Dior!) so I think it's really cool that some brands think beyond aesthetic appeal and consider the impact on the environment too!

 

[Stephanie]

Originally Posted by Liz -ditto on the ugly packaging of certain brands-ditto on all of MAC's LE stuff

-ditto on the pigments. they need to have like a shaker top or something so you don't lose the whole thing if it spills

i was at walmart earlier and looking around in the beauty section. and where they have all the travel sized shampoos and such they had lil containers for 50 cents that have a sifter in them that would be perfect for the mac pigments.

 

[Liz]

Originally Posted by simplykrazy07 i was at walmart earlier and looking around in the beauty section. and where they have all the travel sized shampoos and such they had lil containers for 50 cents that have a sifter in them that would be perfect for the mac pigments. lol. yeah. but i want it to be in mac's packaging. lol

 

[gamaki]

I agree with you all about why it's better to have environmentally friendly packaging. The thing is,if it's crappy cardboard and it falls apart and I end up having to throw the darn thing away, the point is lost...lol

Don't we all LOVE B2M???!!!

-Great incentive. More companies should think this way.

 

[LindaA]

Originally Posted by Trisha LindaA, i dont know how it works anywhere else but its cheaper in the UK to fill a Stila palette than buy the pots, and gram for gram Stila eyeshadows are better value than most eg MAC e/s is 1.3g and Stila is 2.6g, so yes its a bit more money but its twice as much e/s! xin the UK a Stila pan e.s is £9.50 and a pot e/s is £12.50 so its definitely cheaper here xx Trisha, I'm not sure why you take issue with everything I post, but here's how I figure the Stila: Sure the shadows are cheaper if you buy the pans. Here in the US they are about $2 cheaper. (I haven't compared in a while) But if you add the cost of the palette and divide it by the number of wells (which equals the number of shadows it can hold) and add that to the cost of each shadow the cost per shadow is actually more than if you bought them in the cardboard pots. I agree with you that Stila is a better deal and better quality than MAC, at least as far as eyeshadows are concerned, but it's still overpriced. And it's way overpriced in the UK! That VAT adds almost 20%.

Also Stila charges the same or more for items in cheap cardboard containers. At least MAC comes in plastic containers that don't allow air to penetrate into the product. Stila lipsticks go stale much faster than others b/c of the cardboard tube.

 

[LindaA]

Originally Posted by Trisha Im not "taking issue" with what you post, if someone posts a wrong fact about the brand i work for, then im gona correct it.
the palettes do work out cheaper here as the lessened price of the pans means the empty palette is paid for by the difference.

and as im in the UK i am aware of the prices, but you also have to remember its in line with what we get paid over here and our VAT (17.5%) is included in the price we see on things, whereas in the USA AFAIK sales tax isnt always included

xx

Well, Trisha, I don't think I'm wrong about this. According to the Sephora website a single Stila shadow in a paper container is US$16. The refill for the palette is US$14, a difference of US$2. The cost of a 4-pan palette is $14. Divide that by 4 and you are paying $3.50 to "house" each shadow, $14. + $3.50 = $17.50 for each shadow or $1.50 more per shadow than if you had bought it in the paper container.
The 6-pan palette costs US$24. Divide that by the 6 pans it will hold, and you get US$4 per shadow for the shadow "housing". That makes the cost of the shadow $18 -- $2 more than if you had bought it in the cardboard container. I don't see how that saves money.

As I have traveled numerous times in the UK I am aware that the VAT is not listed separately, but is included in the price of items. Here in the US, you are right, it is added to the cost. However, not every state even has a sales tax, and where they do, none comes even close to the 17.5%. There is not national sales tax on cosmetics at all.

 

[Liz]

yeah, the palettes are so expensive over here!

$30 for the 8 pan pallette

 

[LindaA]

Originally Posted by Trisha Well im sorry the palette option doesnt work out cheaper over there, thats the whole point of it after all, it is cheaper over here tho to buy our e/s in pans and purchase the palette too
pan refills are 9.50, pots £12.50

4 pan palette £10

6 pan palette £16

8 pan palette £20

a filled 4 pan £48 vs 4 pot e/s £50

a filled 6 pan £73 vs 6 pot e/s £75

a filled 8 pan £96 vs 8 pot e/s £100

i dont get why Stila would do that in the US, its stupid that it costs more!

the pan/palette/pot thing is changing soon tho.

Also guys, i got the lowdown on whats being developed for release in the next few years! x

:icon_love

Again, go figure!! I did notice the last time I was mu shopping in the UK -- several years ago -- that Benefit had a gift set (it was Christmas) that sold for say US$35 and also 35 pounds sterling (sorry I don't have the character on my pc). Now, obviously, 35 pounds and 35 dolllars is not the same. What a rip off for UK customers!
I have more recently spent time in Italy, and I noticed there that L'oreal products are much more expensive than in the US. A $6 eyeshadow in the US would be more like $10 with the exchange rate at that time. I'd hate to think what it would work out to now with the weaker dolalr!! L'Oreal is not considered very special here -- on the high end of the scale for drug store items and never carried in department stores. ( Unlike the UK, the rest of Europe, and Canada, drug stores and department stores in the US rarely overlap in the brands they carry.)

Borjoise is just the opposite. It's very expensive here and is on the cheaper side in Europe. It is sold pretty much exclusively by Sephora and Ulta in the US as far as I know and can be found in the European equivalent of dime stores and drug stores.

All in all, I think Stila in very high quality, and has beautiful, original colors of eyeshadow. Where they could do better is in packaging. Some items are extremely overpriced. (i.e. the price of the original click pen lipglosses.) That's just my opinion, but I do know it is shared by many as I've read the comments on other boards.

Just a few observations from an international cosmetics shopper. BTW the best bargains can be found at duty free shops at international airports!

Sorry. I didn't mean to get carried away.

 

[Marisol]

Originally Posted by Liz yeah, the palettes are so expensive over here!$30 for the 8 pan pallette

I bought one from mAra for $20. YAY!

 

[Liz]

Originally Posted by LindaA Borjoise is just the opposite. It's very expensive here and is on the cheaper side in Europe. It is sold pretty much exclusively by Sephora and Ulta in the US as far as I know and can be found in the European equivalent of dime stores and drug stores. are you serious?! i wanted to try borjoise but thought it was a tad expensive. anyone want to do CP?!?! lol