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The Truth According to TotalBeauty.com Reviewers:
"Great Lash is horrible. Makes me look like I have 3 eyelashes all glopped together. Why does this crappy mascara get such rave reviews?" is what one reader wants to know. Another says, "it gave me stubby lashes and at the end of the day I just couldn't get it off." Still more contribute that "it's like tar," "it did nothing special to my eyelashes, just made them clumpy and stubby looking," and "I never understood the fuss over Great Lash, it gives me raccoon eyes."

The Bottom Line: Just because something's been around for ever doesn't mean it's necessarily great.

Next: What real women have to say about Jessica Simpson and Julianne Hough's favorite acne-fighting products.

The Hype: This infomercial darling was developed by Stanford-trained dermatologists Kathy Fields and Katie Rodan and has recently added Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne to its stable of celebrity endorsees.

Next: See what our readers have to say

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The Truth According to TotalBeauty.com Reviewers:
The glowing assessments from TV stop short with our real women. "It cleared up some zits, but it dried out my face so badly that it looked like I had burns!" says one reader. A mom chimed in to say "I bought it for my daughters and we ended up going to the dermatologist to get help with the reaction they had to it!" And another review says "I used it as directed, and it just kept breaking me out more, turning my skin red, dry, itchy, and raw. I kept using it while trying to tell myself 'It's just bringing the toxins out of my skin, it will clear up.' But, no." Still, others say that it was effective in the beginning. "At first using this product made my skin slightly dry, but it really reduced my acne. However the more I used it, the less it worked and when I stopped using this cleanser, the acne immediately came back," says one reviewer.

The Bottom Line: Whether or not the product works seems to depend on skin type. Maybe you'll get red, itchy skin, maybe you won't. Either way, you'll still have to contend with another aspect that some reviewers found troubling: having to order it and wait for it to arrive.

Next: Will "Photo Finish," the critical darling from Smashbox, get the green light from our reviewers?

The Hype: Smashbox makeup artists "use this product to create a perfect canvas for foundation application. The silky blend of vitamins and antioxidants does double-duty as a primer and a mattifier, while the unique formula helps to inhibit the destruction of collagen, and fills in fine lines."

Next: See what our readers have to say

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The Truth According to TotalBeauty.com Reviewers:
It may be a heavy hitter in Hollywood but does it play as well to regular folk? "I found that if I used the slightest bit too much it globs up on my face. It has a yucky feel." Another says, "no matter how little I use, it feels tacky and gross and makeup does not go on over it smoothly." Others liked it at first � "it felt so silky and smooth going on, that I thought I was instantly hooked. That is, until later in the day when it seemed like my pores got huge," says one reader. And a similar situation happened to another, "it does feel great going on, provides a nice matte finish, diminishes the look of pores and it did help my foundation adhere. But if you are like me, anything with a "-cone" in the ingredients (simethicone, silicone, dimethicone) which this has, will cause pimples." Still, others love it. "Absolutely adore this product. I use it every time I put on makeup! It makes my skin smooth and even, perfect for adding a little concealer," thrills one reviewer and another, a makeup artist adds, "I have tried numerous primers and this is the only one that I can truly say I cannot live with out. Whether it is under foundation or tinted moisturizer, it provides an incredible layer of shine-free silk, prepping the skin and allowing a totally smooth canvas for makeup to adhere to."

The Bottom Line: As the saying goes, "you can't please all of the people all of the time." This primer clearly has a loyal following, but has its detractors too. Which team will you be on?

Every self-respecting beauty junkie knows the feeling. You hear or read about the latest "must-have" beauty product and suddenly you're making excuses to leave the office, the house, the bar exam to hightail it to the nearest CVS or Sephora. It's an addiction people! But hey, at least it's legal.

The bummer, as with all addictions, is the come down. And, sadly, for every Frizz Ease hair care product that hits the market there are 2,000 Body on Taps ("Body on What?" My point exactly.) So, as a result, we hard-core beauty product consumers have hit rock beauty bottom far too many times.

Which beauty products irk us most? Which products contradict their marketing materials? Which beauty products make us cry foul? To find out, we went straight to the source. TotalBeauty.com readers clued us in to which supposed beauty product "stars" really leave them jonesing for something better.
BY AUDREY FINE | SHARES
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