Wednesday, February 27, 2008

If I could turn back time I wouldn't buy this- TimeBalm Concealer by TheBalm


It's very rare nowadays that I get caught up in a Sephora hype over a brand, buy it and then desperately try to make it work, until finally giving up and just tossing it out. Seriously, this is a humbling experience, because I should know better, right? I have good beauty instincts that normally save me from the god-awful. Just not this time.

I bought a TheBalm concealer in Medium, based on the promises it would do away with my dark circles, cover imperfections, sleek the unsmooth and clean the litterbox. I never got to test the last one, because the concealer caked, refused to blend into either a foundation or my skin and the worst part was when it came to that under-eye issue. It set into the skin texture in an ashy color that showed what a future without botox would look like.

I tried everything: a brush, my finger and makeup sponges, including the one that came in the tin. It didn't imrove any. This concealer was the most disappointing beauty product I've tried in a very long time.

11 comments:

  1. Ha! It's funny you should say this -- I bought it in Light/Medium, hoping it would work for me, and tried it with a concealer brush (which I bought expressly for using with this). Nope. Tried it with my fingers and wasn't very pleased with it; I even turned and asked my mom, "Is it totally obvious that I'm wearing concealer under my eyes?" She said no, but it looked strange to me. (Maybe it's because I don't use concealer very often?)

    So I'm glad it's not just me. I really wanted it to work, but I'm finding it really lacking. I guess it's back to my DuWop concealer stick for me.

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  2. I don;t like the packaging either. Call me crazy, but I care about the packaging. If the product is fabulous it doesn't matter, but in this case it looks like they could have made the package more refined since the product isn't.

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  3. Yes, funny you should say this. It's easy to trash an obscure brand no one cares about, thus showing how "objective" you are, while you can still gush and froth at the mouth about MAC.

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  4. dear anonymous - sounds to me as though she wanted it to work - she bought it. you don't usually spend money in the hopes that you will be wasting it.

    and, it is her blog, which means she can gush over and trash anything she wants. most of us are able to sort others' opinions from our own. for instance, i much prefer nars to mac, but if someone's gung-ho for mac, that's okay with me. i can choose to read or skip the gushing. or the trashing.

    i appreciate hearing from other consumers how products work or don't work - so i'll file this away in my brain for the next time i think i need a concealer.

    finally, there is no "objective" in opining. that's the point. it's an opinion, which we all have. - minette

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  5. Jeanne- concealer is never supposed to look strange. It needs to cover and blend seamlessly with your skin and any other makeup you're wearing. If it doesn't- move on.

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  6. Kelly- I agree. The packaging looks cheap and dated.

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  7. Anon- I'm guessing you're new to my blog and haven't actually read much of it. Otherwise you'd notice I don't have any posts gushing about MAC.
    I blog about products and other things that interest me, which includes small, independent companies. If I have an agenda other than looking good and smelling fabulous, it is to support niche brands. When they deserve it, that is.

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  8. Minette- thank you for the support and wise words.
    You're right, of course. I blog about what I see, smell and think. It's not objective. My skin isn't objective. Neither is my nose. I can only write about my experience, nothing more.

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  9. I totally agree with you on this! I really wanted to like this concealer and thought it made everything on my face look worse. I had to wash it off and just go natural!

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  10. I don't remember you having dark circles...

    I think someone commenting must have stock in TheBalm!

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  11. Both my best friend and I use this concealer every day, and we like how it goes on. I do agree that maybe the packaging isn't the best. Luckily if it's from Sephora you don't have to just throw it away, you can take it back and try something different!

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