Probably my least favorite thing would be that even more companies chose to lose their cruelty-free status by entering markets that require animal testing. Laura Mercier’s Silk Crème Foundation was the closest to a holy grail foundation I have found. Sadly, Laura Mercier is no longer cruelty-free and my hunt for my best foundation starts all over again.
Another heart-breaking loss in the cruelty-free department really took me by surprise. I have been a huge fan of Stila and totally fell in love with their Color Balm Lipsticks this year (check out my review here if you’re interested), as well as their After Glow Lip Colors (reviewed here). Unfortunately, Stila has added the dreaded “unless required by law” clause to their testing policy, so they are most likely no longer cruelty-free.
There are plenty of others and plenty of controversy over some…yes, I’m talking about Urban Decay which is technically still cruelty-free, but not without alienating a lot of their customers. I currently still consider Urban Decay cruelty-free (they are now owned by L’Oreal who is definitely not cruelty-free), but I know many have had it with their recent antics. Despite the sadness of companies being lost mainly so that they can enter new markets which require testing, there is some hope because São Paulo and China are beginning to change some of their laws regarding animal testing…not enough, but it’s a start!
As for specific products that I did not get along with this year, most of them seemed to cause horrible breakouts that I’m still trying to remedy! Grrr! That’s what I get for trying something new. J The first thing that I had terrible luck with is from Alba Botanica and it’s their Pineapple Enzyme Facial Cleanser. I ended up with some pretty bad cystic acne after a few days of using this wash. Fortunately, it cleared up pretty quickly once I stopped use.
Another troublemaker for my acne was the Michael Todd True Organics Citrus Cream Moisturizer. It also caused me to break out after only a few days. Sadly, I ‘ve been having difficulty getting my skin back under control since I tried this moisturizer. I should say that I am prone to breakouts, so I cannot guarantee that these products were 100% the culprit, but I did notice distinct differences before and after using them. Such a shame too, because this smells delicious and has some wonderful ingredients in it!
Another dud came from Trader Joe’s, though I don’t think it is made by the retailer. It looks like it’s from Comodynes Urban Cosmetics and they are makeup towelettes that are simply called Make-Up Remover. I tried them once or twice and didn’t notice any real problems, but the reason these make my Worst list is because they did absolutely nothing! They did not remove makeup and they didn’t really even make my skin feel all that clean. I suppose they might be nice to kind of refresh your face mid-day (makeup-free of course), but they really do not seem to do much.
I have another bummer from Alba Botanica…I actually really like the brand, so don’t take this to mean it’s a bad brand. It’s definitely not. This particular product was just not great…not terrible, they just make a better version of a similar product. The dud is the Natural Very Emollient Sunscreen, which I find kind of weird because their Natural Hawaiian Sunscreen is wonderful! It’s probably one of my favorite sunscreens for the body, but the Mineral Sunscreen is kind of thick and difficult to rub in. It has that undesirable sunscreen white cast that takes some real effort to rub away. If you’re looking for a great sunscreen, skip the Very Emollient version and grab the Hawaiian version! J
From Hard Candy, I have two eye products that both have the same problem. They’re rather dry and look a bit patchy when applied…unless you really rub the hell out of your eyes! The first is the Shadowaholic 12 Hour Waterproof Eye Crayon, which is a chubby pencil that is rather firm. It takes so much pressure to apply this that it feels like you’re poking your eyes out! The other bummer is a cream eye shadow called All Lid Up. I have two of these and they’re both quite dry, which makes it difficult to even get any product out of the pot! If you do manage to transfer anything to your eyes, it goes on unevenly and requires a lot of work to make it look nice. Blending is a nightmare! It’s a shame because these do not budge and seem to be completely crease proof. They may have added a stopper to prevent these from drying, but I’m not sure of that and I don’t know if it would even make a difference. Regardless, these eye products from Hard Candy are pretty worthless - check out the crack in the teal shadow!
I have tried my fair share of crummy mascaras this year, but I think the NYX Propel My Eyes Mascara takes the cake. I’ve tried a couple of NYX mascaras and they’ve all been stinkers. My biggest complaint is that they are just far too wet of a formula for my liking. My lashes stuck together something awful and I seem to remember they never really felt completely dry. Plus, they felt heavy. NYX has some interesting brush shapes, but the super wet formula is not for me.
My final dud is actually a product I really love. Confused? Well, I believe it’s been discontinued so I’m really disappointed! J It is the Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer. I really, really love this stuff and I can’t find it anymore! If you’d like to hear why I found it so wonderful, you can see my full review here.
I think that’s it for my stinkers of the year! Like I said, some of these things might work great for other people, but they’re not for me. I hope you enjoyed this delayed look back through the best and worst of 2013. I must say, I actually think I had pretty good luck in 2013 with the new products I tried. Most were wonderful, some were just ok and only a rare few were not so hot. I hope you all had just as good, if not better luck than I did this past year! J
For the rest of my Best of 2013, check out the links below:
Best of 2013 - Skincare For Face & Body
Best of 2013 - Hands, Nails & Tools
Best of 2013 - Makeup