Anti-Haul (aka, "What I'm Not Going To Buy"), Sixth Edition

I can't believe I'm already posting another anti-haul, but here we are, listing off products and ranting about why they aren't worth the money! In all fairness, I understand the appeal of each of the products I'm about to mention. I'm even waffling on one of them despite my better judgment. But at the end of the day, I can't, in good conscience, recommend that you buy these products, and I'm gonna tell you why.

As always, these posts are not meant to make you feel bad for liking a product or spending your money; I'm just trying to think carefully about my own consumerism and maybe encourage you to think carefully about yours. Once again, mad props to Kimberly Clark for popularizing and promoting the Anti-Haul movement!

1.Urban Decay Basquiat Collection, $17-39 each -- Oh, man. Okay. This is one of those rare instances where I could go off the deep end talking about freaking makeup. As it stands, I'll point you to several "Talk Me Out Of It" threads that popped up on Reddit's Makeup Rehab sub (1, 2, 3) and explain my feelings as professionally as possible. For starters, this collection goes against everything Basquiat stood for as an artist. A lot of his artwork protested rampant consumerism and capitalist greed, so slapping it on an eyeshadow palette feels outright disrespectful. Yeah, art makes for pretty makeup packaging...so why not work with a living artist who is not so anti-capitalism instead? Another prominent theme in Basquiat's art was black identity, yet Urban Decay used a white model (Ruby Rose) in their advertisements. Lastly, the names of the shades are so unfeeling, they actually left me gobsmacked. Just look at the eyeshadow palette in the header image for some examples. They not only used a piece of art with the words "PER CAPITA" written all over it, they also had the gall to make a shade called "Not For Sale." There's a shade called "Influence," and while some may argue that this refers to "artistic influences," we know Urban Decay loves drug culture names. Basquiat died from a heroin overdose. I could go on and on, but suffice to say that I think this entire collection was in poor taste and should not be purchased by anyone.

2. Murad Supplements, $50-57 each -- I understand that some people are way more in to supplementation that I am, and I get it. But I can't get behind designer supplements like this. I think part of the reason why the Murad supplements stuck out to so much is because, by coincidence, I'd been browsing the vitamin aisles at Target before I stumbled on these"beauty nutrient" bottles at Sephora. Hence, I immediately recognized that the Murad supplements aren't worth the inflated cost. Seriously, several lines of vitamins at Target were focused entirely on "beautifying ingredients" and were $15 a bottle or less, a fraction of Murad's prices. Bottles of glucosamine and hyaluronic acid pills marketed at joint pain sufferers are far cheaper than this Hydro-Glow Supplement. Honestly, even if you take a regular multi-vitamin, you'll be getting most of what the Youth Builder provides. Yes, the amounts are smaller, but I think the average person with a healthy diet will do just as well with 100% DV versus 200%. Don't believe me? Compare Murad's Youth Builder with One-a-Day Women's.

3. Glossier Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen SPF35, $34 -- This is the product I'm still waffling on, despite the fact that Glossier was kind enough to send me the ingredients list almost 2 full weeks before the launch and I've had plenty of time to yell "NO!" in my head. The ingredient that immediately caught my eye was the orange essential oil, included to give the sunscreen a "pleasant scent." Now, citrus oil doesn't seem to automatically eat my face the way lavender oil usually does, but it can be sensitizing. Some people have also wondered whether this is a phototoxic oil that will impact the sunscreen's effectiveness. (Any chemists in the house who can weigh in?) Furthermore, I'm 95% sure I should skip this because they chose avobenzone as their sunscreen filter; this filter is notorious for being unstable and sensitizing. And while this product may have a lovely texture--the one thing that's still tempting me to try it, since I've had an awful time finding a face sunscreen that works for me--there's nothing about it that's particularly unique. I know the US is woefully behind other nations when it comes to sunscreen technology, but as some wiser people on skincare forums have pointed out, there are certainly newer, more stable filters they could've chosen. If you can tolerate alcohol denat and you still want great sun protection with a lightweight, serum-y texture, consider browsing the many offerings coming out of Japan and Korea; Ratzilla is a great source for reviews and ingredients lists.

4. Sephora Lash Stash to Go, $28 -- Some of my dissatisfaction with Sephora's Lash Stash series is entirely personal: I'm at the point where I've tried most of the mascaras they include. The only one I haven't tried in this current set, for instance, is the Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara. However, there's a bigger issue, which is that the voucher they include for a free full-size tube of your favorite is a pain in the ass. This current Lash Stash, for example, says that you cannot use your voucher online or at a Sephora in JC Penny's; you have to go a full, free-standing to Sephora to use it. Other kits include vouchers that only work at SiJCP, which is what I have from a stash I bought last year. Why haven't I turned in my voucher and gotten a full tube, you may ask? Well, it turns out the mascara has to be in the store for them to redeem the voucher--they can't order it online for you. Because the only mascara I loved out of that Lash Stash was the Milk Makeup Ubame mascara, and none of my local Sephoras stock it, I'm left with a voucher I can't use. I recommend getting samples when they're available as 100 point perks or coupon code products instead.