Thumbs Down Products 

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Please remember that these reviews are only biased by DSP’s personal experiences, as well as preferences of look, feel and results. DrugstorePrincess is not paid to write any reviews to be good or bad - these are just honest opinions of products. These reviews are not the only reviews, also, and before you make a decision to purchase a product, it is wise to read a variety of reviews to make an educated opinion. DSP recommends http://MakeupAlley.com for varied, well rounded reviews on all beauty products.

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Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Shampoo & Conditioner

I’ve always loved Garnier shampoos and conditioners… they’ve never failed me. I had high hopes for this - as it is a SILICONE FREE, paraben free, and dye free product, I wanted my hair to become vibrantly healthy! But it didn’t.

These smell amazing, just like all the other Garnier Fructis shampoos I’ve ever used and loved. BUT this does mean that there are fragrances added to these products, preventing them from being truly natural (fragrances are complexes of hundreds of chemicals). The shampoo lathers well and feels great to wash with! It makes your hair feel very clean, but even in the small time between the rinse and the adding of conditioner, I could really tell that it had stripped my hair. It felt dry, and had that squeaky feeling… not in a good way. It was impossible for my fingers to flow through it. The conditioner is equally easy and pleasant, while you’re using it. It’s quite hydrating and hair does comb through quite easily. It feels as though it rinses out well.

BUT… I definitely felt a LOT of buildup in my hair and on my scalp after using these. While your hair is wet, it looks and feel fabulous… but when it’s dry, it loses all of it’s natural shape and doesn’t feel clean at all. There is no volume and no shine, and my hair feels as though it has been coated in wax. This happened no matter what I did to fix it… I used more, I used less, I double rinsed, I air dried, I used serum, I did a blow out, I curled it, NOTHING helped the awful feel this left in my hair.

This happens whenever I use a silicone-free shampoo and conditioner, no matter the brand. It’s unfortunate that companies feel the need to add even more ingredients after removing just a few (in place of silicones they added different waxes of natural origin). Even though these products have good intentions, I have to say they’ve failed. Too bad! $3.99 each

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 4.0/10.0

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Covergirl Outlast Lipstain

Covergirl disappoints again… although magazines rate these highly (thanks to a nice check from CG) I really despise them. The colors are great and vibrant, but the formula itself is EXTREMELY drying.. no lip balm or treatment will save them. The second you apply these, the very life is sucked right out of your lips. It’s incredible. Also… these are a bit long-lasting, but any lip stain will be, as long as you don’t eat four hamburgers and suck down a bunch of drinks without a straw. These wear off unevenly, and as the day goes on your lipcolor will become extremely patchy and noticeable; even reapplication won’t fix it. These are also impossible to wash off, so the color will still be on, in horrible patches, the next day. Boo! $7.99

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 2.5/10.0

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St. Ives Apricot Scrub

Gasp! I know tons of you are cringing in your seats as you read this. The Apricot Scrub is a rather coveted skincare product that beauty lovers high and low use on a regular basis! I myself used to use this product often. So why is it on my Thumbs Down list? Because… dun dun dun… it’s not good for your skin! The Apricot Scrub is an incredible exfoliant… it could probably scrape the burn leftovers out of a cooking pan. It’s simply too harsh for regular use. Most exfoliants contain small beads that will slowly dissolve as you scrub your skin… the Apricot scrub from St. Ives doesn’t contain microbeads, and substitutes instead actual fragments from the pits of apricots. These fragments will scrape off dead skin, yes, but since they dont’ dissolve and give with your skin, it’s very easy for them to remove too much of your skin. Using every once in a while is okay, as long as you’re VERY gentle… but if you use this regularly it will make your skin sensitive and cause it to produce extra oils. $3.49

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 3.0/10.0

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ELF Studio Tinted Moisturizer

I am usually a big fan of ELF products, but I’ll definitely admit that when it comes to face products, quality runs short. Although there are many good aspects about this tinted moisturizer, overall it’s a big miss, and I don’t recommend it for most people. The Good: It’s so cheap, first of all! The packaging is stellar… it’s a sleek, easy to use squeeze tube from which you’ll always get the right amount with no mess. The texture of this is a light mousse… it’s easily blendable. It also contains an SPF level of 20… adequate for everyday use year round. The Bad: This “tinted moisturizer” is not moisturizing at all… in fact I’d say it’s just a sheer mousse foundation in deceitful packaging. The coverage is fair for a tinted moisturizer, but not enough to cover blemishes. It smells strongly of sunscreen, which happens for some tinted moisturizers, but the ELF one is unique in that the scent does not go away. Also, even though there are seven shades to choose from, they’re all a varying shade of orange… none light enough, none dark enough, and absolutely no cool tones. These also oxidize on oily skin, and they only last a couple hours… even on normal skin. Thumbs Down! $3.00

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 4.0/10.0

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Wet n Wild Mega Protein Mascara

When I purchased this mascara, I’ll be honest - I didn’t expect it to be good. And my expectations turned to reality - this is a truly horrible product. Despite the name and the plant extracts this claims to contain, this mascara definitely doesn’t give you healthier or fuller lashes. Although this is a very pigmented mascara, and the wand is the exact same one that comes in Maybelline’s Colossal Volum, it’s performance was dispicable. The worst part of this mascara was how incredibly wet the formula is… causing clumps when there shouldn’t be, making even thick lashes look much thinner, and leaves marks and smudges all over your lids. This would be okay if it dried within 45 seconds, but this takes a good five minutes to dry.. and once it’s dry, you’ll only want to take it off. Even for the small amount of money that this costs - it’s not worth it. $1.99

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 2.5/10.0

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation

There are definitely some highs and some lows when it comes to this foundation.  Unfortunatley for me, the lows definitely outweighed the few good things I found in this.  This is a mousse foundation, but it is one that is very creamy and actually hydrating.  It gives your face a flawless, poreless look - for a while.  However as time goes on, this melts off your face and transfers easily onto your hands or clothes if you’re not careful.  It can feel very heavy on the skin, unless you blend it almost completely away.  Another downside that I found with this foundation was the color selection - all have very orange undertones, and the second lightest shade was MUCH too dark for my skin… which shouldn’t be the case at all, because I’m not exactly pale.  But the worst part was the fact that after wearing this foundation for just three hours, my face broke out excessively.  I usually never judge any makeup for this reason until at least a week of use, but the fact that I broke out so quickly was definitely an indication that this wasn’t a good match for me.  This could be a good product for people with yellow undertones, with normal or dry skin - but otherwise (especially on oily complexions) this is a miss.   $6.49

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 5.5/10.0

Wet n Wild Eye Makeup Remover

I actually am not sure if this has been discontinued or not, but if it hasn’t yet, it should be! In my initial quest to find makeup products in my stash that I hated, this was the first one to come up. At first I thought I must have just gotten a bad bottle, so I looked on MakeupAlley.com for reviews… and wasn’t surprised to see that this product only had a 1.2 rating. THATS AWFUL - and for good reason. This apparently contains alcohol, or something terrible, because it not only smells putrid, but it literally burns your eyes like soap when you use it. Yes, it removes makeup, but it’s honestly just plain unsafe to use. If you got a lot of this at once in your eye, I wouldn’t be surprised if you went blind. Don’t get sucked in my the low price! You and your health will regret it! $2.00

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 0.5/10.0 (yes, that low!)

Maybelline FitMe Liquid Foundation

Alas, another foundation that has a lot of hype but falls short, by a long shot. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I hate this foundation, simply because so many people get excited to try it, and it ends up RUINING their skin. There, I said it. I too was one of those people, sucked into the advertisements and the promises, but incredibly disappointed. Where yes, this line of foundation does an excellent job of providing a huge variety of matchable shades, good for people with extremely light skin, extremely dark skin, and everyone in between. But that’s where the good qualities end; this foundation gives lousy coverage, wears off within a few hours even with powder, rubs off easily at the slightest touch, and - the worst part - causes even perfect skin to break out, worse than any other foundation I’ve seen in my life. I honestly couldn’t believe it when my friend, who usually flaunts flawless skin, came crying to me with pimples all over her cheeks and forehead. Unless you like the spotted look, I’d skip it! It’s not worth the pain. $6.00

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 3.5/10.0

L’Oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Primer

This was actually the first drugstore primer I ever used, and I’m so glad I mustered up the courage to try some other ones after this horrible experience. Although other L’Oreal primers (the green one for redness, the pink and yellow ones for undereye cirlces) work well and are definitely recommended by me, this one is just.. not good. It’s too goopy and thick, and feels incredibly heavy on your skin. Yes, it works well and helps to make your makeup last all day, but it’s uncomfortable, accentuates oil, and caused horrific breakouts on my face. There are other, much better, inexpensive primers out there - don’t waste your money on this one. $10.99

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 4.5/10.0

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Shampoo & Conditioner

Unfortunately, this product ruined my hair. I’m not even kidding - my once strong, shiny, lustrous blonde hair is now broken and dry, all thanks to this shampoo and conditioner. It’s stripping and although it does lighten my hair, it makes it brittle and weak - and actually gives you darker roots when you normally wouldn’t have any. Steer clear! $5.73 each

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 4.0/10.0

Kiss False Lashes with Applicator Strings

Normally I adore Kiss products (see the Everlasting French Nails under my Thumbs-Up) but for these fake lashes I definitely lost some of my ardor. Somehow, these applicator strings managed to make the already daunting task of applying falsies about 10x harder! The stiff red strings loop through the ends of the lashes and are somehow supposed to make application easier, but when it comes time to remove the strings from the lashes you end up pulling the whole thing right off again. It’s ridiculous. Plus, the lashes aren’t even made from real hair - they’re plastic - so they don’t look or feel natural once you DO finally manage to get them on your eyes (I had to remove the strings ahead of time and apply them like a regular lash). These are definitely not worth the hassle or the hype! $4.95

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 1.0/10.0

Covergirl TruBlend Liquid Makeup

I’m a firm believer that Covergirl doesn’t live up to it’s name. For years when I first started using makeup, I was strictly a Cover-girl, but as I grew older and began branching out to other products and foundations, I realized that Covergirl made my skin break out even more than it already did. TruBlend comes in a vast variety of shades, which is wonderful, but it is sheer and slimy and doesn’t cover any flaws in my face, it only creates them. I think that it is a fine foundation for people who have very few problems with their skin, but for girls like me who need something a little more serious, TruBlend falls short. $8.44

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 4.5/10.0

L’Oreal Double Extend Eye Illuminating Mascara

This double-sided mascara is exciting to the average shopper, especially since it corresponds with your eye color and (OOH!) has a glittery side… but sadly, it falls short. Where this mascara excites with color and shine, it falls short in formula and practicality. It is difficult to use because the tubes and brushes are inverted and very fat, while the brushes are small and clump more than they enhance. It is good for a fancy night out - just go easy on the glitter. $9.97

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 5.0/10.0

CoverGirl SmokyShadowBlast Eyeshadow Pen

The typo in the name first set me off - this is a mess of a SMOKEY eye kit. While the colors are beautiful and application is quick and easy, the formula is greasey, sticky, and thick, and after an hour it will have slid around your eyelid so that the colors and application is unrecognizeable. No other eyeshadow has ever given me breakouts ON my eyelids - but this pen is so oily and gross that I saw some awful spots in a place I never thought I’d see any. Continuing my trend of CoverGirl disappointment, I would not suggest this to anyone except people who are immediately taking a picture and then washing it off. $7.44

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 2.5/10.0

Sally Hansen Salon Airbrush Legs

All I can say about this product is… it’s weird. I purchased it while I was stranded at college and had no transportation to my tanning salon where I have a membership, and I thought it was going to give me an instant-glow. I feared an orangey-faux streaky color… but what I DID get was even stranger. I realized once I got ait home that it wasn’t self-tanner, it was a ‘leg makeup’.. and when you sprayed it on, it went on evenly, but it didn’t make you tan, it just covered up all your imperfections! It also gave them a pretty sheen that made it look like I had panty hose on… not exactly what I was going for, so I was pretty disappointed. But, like panty hose, it disguised my freckles, stubbles, spots and imperfections.. and it is infused with Vitamin K so it is good for your skin. If you need to cover up stretch marks, scars, or freckles - this is actually a great product for you.  It gives all-day coverage of spots and marks, without coming off on your clothes. The only reason I put this on the Thumbs Down list because you’d only use it hoping to tan your legs… instead it gives you makeuped-legs.  $11.24

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 6.0/10.0

Hard Candy Baked Eyeshadow

These small, colorful, glittery little eyeshadow compacts look super-cute and you’d think that they’d work wonderfully… unfortunately, you’ll be disappointed when you buy them. Even the really dark colors (like Asteroid, which I was so excited about - a sparkly navy/black)don’t show up well on your eyes, and the bright/light colors don’t show up at all. Wetting your brush with water will make them show up slightly better however.  The sparkle doesn’t translate whatsoever, and these shadows are too expensive for what they are (especially because they’re single shades!). Sadly, I have to give these rock-chick wannabes a no. $6.00

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 5.5/10.0

L’Oreal Telescopic Liquid Liner

Oh this is awful. It flakes immediately after drying, is gone within a half an hour.. in fact, the applicator (a hard, unforgiving felt tip) doesn’t even apply the liner in a solid line. It reminds me of a marker that’s run out of color. It’s a waste of money, completely. $5.00

DrugstorePrincess Rating: 3.0/10.0