Which products do you NOT recommend?

[Bernadine]

What’s something we shouldn’t waste our money on?

I would say the Pacifica Alight Multi-mineral BB cream. I was looking for something with pretty light coverage, and this kind of just slid all over my face. Didn’t really soak in.

[bex1973]

Cooks Essential cookware. I think we got it from QVC. It's terrible and did not hold up well AT ALL. It scratched so easily and we use appropriate utensils and it doesn't wash up well. I hate it and have replaced a few pieces of it and really want to replace it all.

[jinkies]

Luxillia magnetic eyelashes/eyeliner.

I have non existent lashes and thought that the magnetic liner and lashes would be easier than dealing with glue. I bought this set because it has like 20,000 positive reviews on Amazon.

Turns out the company sends you free stuff for a positive review. A lot of the reviewers hadn't even tried the lashes yet.

The liner never fully dried, it was sticky more than magnetic. But not sticky enough to firmly hold the lashes. One side never stuck at all. Then the liner was almost impossible to remove.

Do not recommend.

[fryjack2]

My dyson vacuum isn’t all that amazing. Based on the constant raves about the brand, I expected more.

[moreace01]

I grabbed some Up & Up Restoring Repair lotion at Target recently and it's the most disgusting smelling lotion I've ever encountered. I feel bad throwing it out, so I use it on the lower half of my legs so it stays as far away from my nose as possible

[omglol]

Feb 11, 2022 8:42:45 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

My dyson vacuum isn’t all that amazing. Based on the constant raves about the brand, I expected more.

I despise our Dyson. It’s horrible.

I’ll add to this that we got rid of Amazon pre-pandemic bc literally everything we got off there was garbage, and I tried to be careful with sourcing the products. Even “name brand” stuff - it was either knockoffs or the cheapest possible iteration of the item (like worse than factory seconds quality). I don’t regret it whatsoever.

[elefun]

I tried the Neutrogena hydro boost water gel people have recommended to me and don't find it's helping me. So if you have severe dry skin I don't think its worth the money.

[omglol]

Ooh I have a hot take that’ll get me run off of this board, lol.

Athleta! I love the look and style of their clothing, I love that they have inclusive sizing, but the clothes wash horribly and look terrible after a few washes. We are careful with laundry, delicate cycle, all the best practices. My other clothes are all fine. Athleta stuff is pilly and limp looking. I thought it was isolated bc I do love the wrap and bc it’s so highly rated I thought maybe it was bad luck, so I got another item on clearance - a sweatshirt of the same material. Did the same thing.

ETA: upon further reflection, lol, I amend this to be the pranayama wrap specifically, and anything else that is made with that same fabric. Other items are fine/good/great!

[VillainV]

Feb 11, 2022 9:05:40 GMT -5 omglol said:

Ooh I have a hot take that’ll get me run off of this board, lol.

Athleta! I love the look and style of their clothing, I love that they have inclusive sizing, but the clothes wash horribly and look terrible after a few washes. We are careful with laundry, delicate cycle, all the best practices. My other clothes are all fine. Athleta stuff is pilly and limp looking. I thought it was isolated bc I do love the wrap and bc it’s so highly rated I thought maybe it was bad luck, so I got another item on clearance - a sweatshirt of the same material. Did the same thing.

Huh. Like half my wardrobe is Athleta and I haven’t had this problem. The only thing I do different from you is that I air dry everything. Sorry you’ve had such bad luck!

[omglol]

Feb 11, 2022 9:10:07 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Feb 11, 2022 9:05:40 GMT -5 omglol said:

Ooh I have a hot take that’ll get me run off of this board, lol.

Athleta! I love the look and style of their clothing, I love that they have inclusive sizing, but the clothes wash horribly and look terrible after a few washes. We are careful with laundry, delicate cycle, all the best practices. My other clothes are all fine. Athleta stuff is pilly and limp looking. I thought it was isolated bc I do love the wrap and bc it’s so highly rated I thought maybe it was bad luck, so I got another item on clearance - a sweatshirt of the same material. Did the same thing.

Huh. Like half my wardrobe is Athleta and I haven’t had this problem. The only thing I do different from you is that I air dry everything. Sorry you’ve had such bad luck!

I will say, my old Athleta stuff (some yoga pants) were/are excellent. They are prob ten years old at least and held up great.

Whatever the fabric is that makes the pranayama is a total fail for me.

So maybe I don’t hate Athleta, I just hate the pranayama after washing. Which makes me sad bc I also love it, I just can’t wear it in public. Teeny tiny pills all over the entire thing.

[stemmie]

Cetaphil Face Wash. I don't get the love.

Chik-Fil-A aside from their milkshakes and lemonade

Tarte Shape Tape Concealers- original and creamy. It does everything it promises not to- creases, cakes and lets circles have their day in the sun.

[gummybear]

Feb 11, 2022 9:05:40 GMT -5 omglol said:

Ooh I have a hot take that’ll get me run off of this board, lol.

Athleta! I love the look and style of their clothing, I love that they have inclusive sizing, but the clothes wash horribly and look terrible after a few washes. We are careful with laundry, delicate cycle, all the best practices. My other clothes are all fine. Athleta stuff is pilly and limp looking. I thought it was isolated bc I do love the wrap and bc it’s so highly rated I thought maybe it was bad luck, so I got another item on clearance - a sweatshirt of the same material. Did the same thing.

LOL, I am a bit of an Athleta expert, shall we say. The fabric you speak of is Nirvana. I own a ton of it and I can say that it IS prone to pilling. I see it returned for this reason from time to time. The unfortunate part about the fabric is the very thing that makes it so soft and cozy also makes it less sturdy than other fabric. Washing in delicate alone is good, but it can still pill. I wash mine inside out and I hang to dry. Its also important to wash it with like fabrics. Washing it with say, jeans, esp. right side out can make it pill. Things with zippers can cause abrasion. All this rings true for the Powervita fabric (studio line leggings and pants) as well. As for the limpness that usually won't happen if you hang it to dry. It perks up quickly and most of the fabrics respond miraculously to steaming. I don't even own an iron, I steam everything.

In the spirit of honesty, it's not my favorite fabric. It def. does not respond to wear and tear as well as other fabrics. I am hard on my clothes so I am not the best candidate for it. It's soooo soft but it def. is moody. For sweatshirts I like the Sundown line which is organic cotton and gets soft like butter the more you wash it, with no pilling. The Triumph line wears like iron as does the Cozy Karma line - but they are def heavier. Anything that is "textured" will wear much better, even if it says Nirvana. They just came out with an Uptempo wrap. That'll be light and wash beautifully. That fabric is even softer than Nirvana but washes much more nicely. 

[litskispeciality]

Cetaphil (is that the green label one?) leaves me feeling greasy

I don't mind the hydro boost lotion, but blow through it and have to buy more.

My Pillow sucks. I bought 2 Christmas of 2021, and neither DH or I use it. We kept having to throw it in the dryer to fluff it up. Oh and the guy gives a bunch of money to Trump so thre.

[omglol]

gummybear
I love your depth of knowledge! Thank you so much for the explanation. Makes total sense. I will definitely keep a closer eye on fabric types when I make purchases there in the future. That new wrap sounds loooovely.

My favorite thing about this board is the wide variety of expertise. Athleta emergencies, art history emergencies, cereal emergencies, Target emergencies, we’ve got you covered! 😂 A++++ highly recommend ML.

[ans1999]

The SuperGoop Glow Screen- it burned my eyes and made me look like an oil slick. So many awesome reviews of it online but I thought it was horrible. 

[gummybear]

Feb 11, 2022 9:19:47 GMT -5 omglol said:

Feb 11, 2022 9:10:07 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Huh. Like half my wardrobe is Athleta and I haven’t had this problem. The only thing I do different from you is that I air dry everything. Sorry you’ve had such bad luck!

I will say, my old Athleta stuff (some yoga pants) were/are excellent. They are prob ten years old at least and held up great.

Whatever the fabric is that makes the pranayama is a total fail for me.

So maybe I don’t hate Athleta, I just hate the pranayama after washing. Which makes me sad bc I also love it, I just can’t wear it in public. Teeny tiny pills all over the entire thing.

The old legging were Pilayo fabric and was virtually indestructible. Athleta is Certified B Corp and most (eventually all) of their products need to be sustainable. So in keeping with the requirements for B Corp, they switched to manufacturing from recyclable materials in a more environmentally friendly way. The downside (besides the price going up) is that some of the stuff just isn't as durable.

[Velar Fricative]

IKEA outdoor furniture, or even any kind of wooden outdoor furniture. OMG, so much maintenance required and even if you do keep up with it as much as possible, it begins to look terrible pretty quickly.

[followyourarrow]

BareMinerals Strength and Lengthen mascara. The brush is so bad! Thankfully I only got a mini because I hate it so much.

[Aloe Vera]

Lululemon leggings. I got one from their "we made too much" category as I didn't want to spend $90 on a pair and people raved about them. I used it for Pilates and this thing is so ill fitting I can't wear it. I don't know if I got the wrong size or what but the belly part rolls down all the time. Never had this issue with the Target brand ones.

[TBM]

Feb 11, 2022 9:01:14 GMT -5 elefun said:

I tried the Neutrogena hydro boost water gel people have recommended to me and don't find it's helping me. So if you have severe dry skin I don't think its worth the money.

I like it, but in conjunction with other lotions, not as the only one.

To me, it is like using serum on your face, except for your body... something you use after cleansing and before your moisturizer. I feel like it hydrates but needs another lotion to help keep it from evaporating or something.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Feb 11, 2022 9:05:40 GMT -5 omglol said:

Ooh I have a hot take that’ll get me run off of this board, lol.

Athleta! I love the look and style of their clothing, I love that they have inclusive sizing, but the clothes wash horribly and look terrible after a few washes. We are careful with laundry, delicate cycle, all the best practices. My other clothes are all fine. Athleta stuff is pilly and limp looking. I thought it was isolated bc I do love the wrap and bc it’s so highly rated I thought maybe it was bad luck, so I got another item on clearance - a sweatshirt of the same material. Did the same thing.

ETA: upon further reflection, lol, I amend this to be the pranayama wrap specifically, and anything else that is made with that same fabric. Other items are fine/good/great!

Interesting...I've had a few things from athleta wash horribly and pill and look terrible after 1 wash.  One was a sweatshirt that pilled under the arms, and half the leggings pill where my thighs rub (I have several pairs, many in the same style/size, and some pill but others don't).  But I have 2 pranayama wraps, and I wear them both often and wash them often, and they both still look new!  Maybe their quality is just really hit or miss.  I definitely don't think a lot of their stuff is worth their price unfortunately.

[elefun]

Feb 11, 2022 10:34:18 GMT -5 TBM said:

Feb 11, 2022 9:01:14 GMT -5 elefun said:

I tried the Neutrogena hydro boost water gel people have recommended to me and don't find it's helping me. So if you have severe dry skin I don't think its worth the money.

I like it, but in conjunction with other lotions, not as the only one.

To me, it is like using serum on your face, except for your body... something you use after cleansing and before your moisturizer. I feel like it hydrates but needs another lotion to help keep it from evaporating or something.

I have yet to find a moisturizer that helps my flaky face. So many people recommended the hydro boost for moisturizing and I have not had luck unfortunately.

[fivechickens]

Cureology -it messed up my face and they were less than helpful.

Cetaphil cleanser -like others have said it makes my face greasy feeling after and I have dry skin.

Lemi Shine Wipes lemon scent -the scent smells like piss.

Glisten & Glow top coat -it’s a good top coat but not the amazing top coat I have heard people describe it as. I have tried other top coats that are just as good.

[isabel]

I am wearing one of my two pranayama wraps right now. I guess it is a little pilly looking at it, but the extreme comfort outweighs any negative qualities. You can pry these wraps out of my cold, dead hands. I love them so.

[gummybear]

Feb 11, 2022 10:36:56 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

Feb 11, 2022 9:05:40 GMT -5 omglol said:

Ooh I have a hot take that’ll get me run off of this board, lol.

Athleta! I love the look and style of their clothing, I love that they have inclusive sizing, but the clothes wash horribly and look terrible after a few washes. We are careful with laundry, delicate cycle, all the best practices. My other clothes are all fine. Athleta stuff is pilly and limp looking. I thought it was isolated bc I do love the wrap and bc it’s so highly rated I thought maybe it was bad luck, so I got another item on clearance - a sweatshirt of the same material. Did the same thing.

ETA: upon further reflection, lol, I amend this to be the pranayama wrap specifically, and anything else that is made with that same fabric. Other items are fine/good/great!

  I definitely don't think a lot of their stuff is worth their price unfortunately.

I agree it IS expensive. I think it's expensive even with my very generous discount. It's weird bc every drop things will come in where I side-eye thinking, are you serious? But there are also things that I am shocked at how affordable they are. There are also things I would pay full price for and then some, because I think they are so awesome. Sometimes you can get stuff on markdown where it's cheaper than Old Navy, for a steal.

There's a very loyal customer base. It's not a cult-like following like LLL but there's a ton of people who shop very frequently and spent a lot of money. At least where I work we know lots of people by name. People spend hours with us. It's kind of an old-school shopping experience where (if you want it) you're going to get a lot of help and recommendations. This is very appealing to a lot of people.  Also, we are given a VERY long leash on how far we can go to make a customer happy or right a wrong. That plus the B Corp stuff, it adds up.

I am being 100% honest when I saw they really are sincere in trying to be inclusive. They don't want that snobby skinny yoga mom as the main demographic.  All in all I feel like it's a great brand, from the inside out. 

[eb777888]

This is like someone compiled a list of my favorite things, lol- Dyson, Athleta, Cetaphil, Lululemon.

[foundmylazybum]

Feb 11, 2022 10:00:38 GMT -5 ans1999 said:

The SuperGoop Glow Screen- it burned my eyes and made me look like an oil slick. So many awesome reviews of it online but I thought it was horrible. 

Omg I second everything about this. Thus shit BURNED my eyeballs. I used it before running and the second I started sweating.. no. Just no.

[proximacentauri]

Feb 11, 2022 8:42:45 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

My dyson vacuum isn’t all that amazing. Based on the constant raves about the brand, I expected more.

I’ve got both a days on vaccine and air wrap and have disappointed in both. Overpriced for what you get.

At this point, I’ll just wait a year or so for Shark to come out with something similar at half the cost.

[cville]

She uemura eyelash curler. It's mediocre.

Tweezerman tweezers. They're not worth the markup.

Febreeze. Just makes clothes smell like whatever they smelled like before plus scented water.

Bath and bodyworks candles. They're cloying.

Mrs Meyers kitchen cleaning spray. It leaves streaks everywhere.

Both the Neutrogena AND Supergoop sunscreens for the face burned my eyes and made me break out.

[cville]

Oh. The shark wet mop. Waste of money. My floors were no cleaner and it broke quickly. I don't remember which one I had.