Updated on October 25th, 2023
To follow up on my Best of 2019 Beauty + Books post, I wanted to share my worst of 2019 including my least favorite beauty products I tried and books, movies, and tv series I did not enjoy.
Worst of 2019 Beauty
Makeup
Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Eyeshadow Palette: This palette is not the worst one I have ever bought, but it was a bit disappointing. I love the cool-toned shades, but the shimmer shades are problematic and need to be built up to have good pigment. Also, I despise the velvet packaging because it gets dirty so easily
Skincare
The Body Shop Camomile Gentle Eye Makeup Remover: This makeup remover was effective at removing my eyeshadow and mascara, but it burned my eyes. I had to use a tiny amount at a time otherwise my eyes would burn
JiinJu Lemon Crush Hand Cream: I fell for the adorable animal container, but the container hardly had any hand cream in it. I also had to constantly layer on more hand cream because it did not make my hands feel soft and moisturized like regular hand creams
Lush Fairy Trumpets Bath Bomb: When I was visiting my parents, I purchased 5 bath bombs from Lush, and 3 made my 2019 favorites. However, this one was by far my least favorite because it fizzed very quickly, and the pink floral pattern stained the bathtub pink (review)
Lush Mercury in Retrograde Bath Bomb: This bath bomb was a bit better than the previous one, but it was not that exciting to watch especially for being part of the Halloween collection. The bath bomb did have a nice fruity and spicy scent, and it did not leave any residue in the tub (review)
Masque Me Up Bubbeling Sheet Mask: This bubbling sheet mask made my face feel nice and clean, but I am not really a fan of bubbling masks because the sensation is so weird and I cannot get used to it
Masque Me Up Foot Mask Socks: This foot mask did make my feet feel soft, but the results were not long-lasting, and it would be more affordable to use a foot lotion that has the same results
The Ritual of Sakura Caring Shower Oil: I do not care for the sakura scent, and I also found the oil difficult to use because it is so runny compared to a regular shower gel
The Ritual of Sakura Soothing Hand Balm: Again I do not like the cherry blossom scent of this hand balm, and even though the balm made my hands feel soft, the balm was so thick and made my hands feel greasy
TonyMoly Red Cheeks Girl’s Patch: I bought these cheek patches from Sephora, and they were completely worthless. The patches constantly slid down my face, and they did not reduce any redness
Hair Care
Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo: The dry shampoo has a very strong floral scent, which I did not like. Even though it was effective at making my hair less oily, the price is so expensive compared to Batiste
Miqura Hair Steam Mask: I enjoyed the experience of using a hair mask, but the mask had the same results as using a regular conditioner. My hair just felt soft from using this mask
Worst of 2019 Entertainment
Books
The Girls by Emma Cline: This book is inspired by the Manson Family and the murder of Sharon Tate because it is set in the 1960s and followed 14-year-old Evie as she spends her summer with a group of girls who live at a ranch and are devoted to a man named Russell. I did not like this book because it was overly written, Evie constantly went on tangents, and I felt like nothing actually happened in the story (review)
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware: This is Ruth Ware’s first novel and it follows Nora after she was invited to a former best friend’s hen do who she has not spoken to in 10 years. At first, everything seems fine in the remote glass house, but they soon realize they are not alone in the woods. I enjoyed the creepy setting of the glass house in the woods, but the plot itself was a let down compared to her other books (review)
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli: I loved Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and this book is the official sequel that was told from Leah’s perspective. The story follows Leah and her friends through their senior year of high school, but I do not like Leah as a character because she is so negative, which was the only downfall (but a big one) of this book (review)
Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs: This book is the third novel in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series, and it follows Jacob and Emma as they rescue their peculiar companions from a guarded fortress. I loved the first two books of the series, but to me this one was slow-paced, and I felt like I had to force myself to finish it because I wanted to know how the story arc ended (review)
This Book Loves You by Pewdiepie: I remember when Pewdiepie first released this book, but his book just contains demotivational quotes and images. I did not care for the demotivational quotes because they revolved around not being good enough. The book only took 15 minutes to read through, and I would never look through it again (review)
Movies
The Emoji Movie (2017): This movie is about a multi-expression emoji that is sent to be deleted after he messes up a message. I knew this movie was going to be bad, but I was curious to see why it was so bad. This movie was not funny at all and it literally was just an advertisement for all the apps you can get on a smartphone.
The Last Summer (2019): The movie follows high school graduates during their final summer together before heading to college. I mainly watched this movie because of KJ Apa, but I seriously do not remember anything that happened in it, which tells you something.
The Kissing Booth (2018): A high school student comes face-to-face with her crush when she signs up for a kissing booth at a spring carnival. I like Joey King and the acting was good, but this movie was so predictable and cliche and not in a good way.
The Perfect Date (2019): The movie is about a high school student who creates an app to offer his services as a fake date to make money for college, but he develops feelings for someone. The movie had likable actors including Noah Centineo and Camila Mendes, but Noah plays the exact same role as in To All The Boys I Loved Before (2018) and Sierra Burgess is a Loser (2018), which made this movie very predictable.
Polar (2019): A retiring assassin is marked for a hit by his own employer seeking to cash in on the pensions of aging employees. The movies had great actors including Mads Mikkelson and Vanessa Hudgens, but it had over the top violence, which made me not enjoy it.
Unicorn Store (2017): After failing out of art school, a painter receives an invitation to fulfill her lifelong dream of adopting a unicorn. After watching this movie, my first reaction was what? The only positive of this movie is the cast including Samuel L. Jackson and Joan Cusack. Other than that the movie is so weird, and I do not know what the point of it was.
TV Shows
13 Reasons Why Season 3: Unlike the first 2 seasons which focused on Hannah Baker, the focus of this season is on Bryce Walker’s disappearance. I enjoyed the first 2 seasons of 13 Reasons Why, but I felt like it should have ended there because this season is so boring and takes forever to get through. I stopped on episode 8 months ago, and I have not picked up this series since.
Black Mirror Season 5: I love Black Mirror, but season 5 only had 3 episodes compared to the previous seasons that had up to 6. Out of the 3 episodes, I only liked the episode Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too with Miley Cyrus. The other two episodes just felt meh, and they did not live up to what I expected of Black Mirror.
Once Upon a Time Season 6: Another series I used to love was Once Upon a Time because I loved how the fairy tale characters were brought to the modern world, but by season 5, I was getting bored. It literally took me six months to watch season 6, because it was no longer exciting, and I know I will not be continuing season 7 to watch the reboot.
Be sure to check out my previous Worst of Beauty + Books posts!
CristinaR says
Loved reading this! Honestly, I always find these kinds of posts of things that were not enjoyable more entertaining than all positive ones. I agree with Once upon a time and The perfect date!
Karalee says
Thank you! & same! Like yes it’s nice knowing what people like, but it’s more interesting seeing what they didn’t like & why!
I agree with what you said about The Body Shop make up remover – I tried it a while back and it stung my eyes like no business! I was so disappointed as I’d heard loads of good things. I’ve yet to watch the new season of Thirteen Reasons Why but I’m not holding out much hope after reading the reviews! X
I don’t know how they can say the makeup remover is gentle when it stings people’s eyes!
Yea you’re not missing much by not watching the 3rd season!
The only episode I liked of Black Mirror was the one with Miley Cyrus too! I personally really liked Season 3 of 13RW, but it was very different than the first 2 seasons and did get kind of boring at times. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on all of these products/shows/books! I loved reading this! 🙂
melissakacar.blogspot.com
Thank you!
Yay we liked the same episode! I’m glad to hear you liked season 3 of 13RW, but I do agree it is boring at times.
These posts are what I live for! 😍 😂
Haha same!
I totally get what you mean about books being overly written. I feel some authors just shove in words because they think it makes them sound intelligent!
Exactly! & this is one example from the book “I ate in the blunt way I had as a child—a glut of spaghetti, mossed with cheese. The nothing jump of soda in my throat.” Then think of every page being written like that…
While I really love Anastasia’s palettes, I didn’t expect this pallet to show up as cool toned as it did on my eyes. While I enjoy the palette, I don’t reach for it as much as I thought I would. Great post! xxx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Thank you & yes I agree! At first I was reaching for it a lot, but now I don’t even remember the last time I used it.
I enjoyed Library of Souls, but I did like the first two better. Then, just recently, when I discovered there is a FOURTH book, I felt that irritation that the author could not let the story glide to a halt, so I have not read his next book. Now I am not sure it is the last one and I do not know if I want to keep going with it.
That said, I need a new show to watch and will be looking into the ones you mention. 🙂
I’m glad to hear you still liked Library of Souls, but I do agree the first 2 were better! I actually read the 4th book b/c I was curious what the new story arc would be about & I liked it. The 5th book was just released this month so it’s not the last. As far as I know there will be a 6th too. https://talesofbelle.com/2019/07/11/a-map-of-days-book-review/
That is encouraging!
This is a great post! I feel like most review posts want to only focus on the positive, so it’s nice to see some honest reviews. I’m a big reader with a long “to-read,” list, so I’m glad I can keep these books off my list. I did enjoy season 5 of Black Mirror, but I’m such a fan of the show as a concept, that it doesn’t have to do much for me to like it (I know, I’m easy). Thanks again for the honest reviews! And sorry about the bath bomb that stained the bathtub pink (yikes!).
Thank you! That’s why I have two posts – best of 2019 & worst of 2019 b/c for me at least I want to know what people didn’t like so I can avoid those things.
I’m glad you enjoyed season 5 of Black Mirror! I do like the concept, but I also want the stories to be engaging & have that wow factor.
I felt like I was scrubbing for days to get the pink off the bath tub! It wasn’t fun
I honestly didn’t bother to watch either season 2 or 3 of 13 Reasons Why. I’m okay with just season one. Thanks for the list 😊
I agree I would’ve been fine if they ended w/ season 1, but I was curious if the school would be held responsible in the court case so I watched the 2nd & I liked it, but season 3 is definitely not worth watching.
I love this post! it’s so important to give an honest review of things and sharing things we found to be disappointing in so useful to others. I haven’t seen any of these films or TV shows, so thank you for guiding me in what to avoid xxx
Thank you so much! I like it when people are honest too & talk about the things they don’t like so I know what things to avoid & that’s why I have the best of 2019 & worst of 2019 posts.
I thought In a Dark, Dark Wood was meh too. These domestic thrillers are all becoming the same. I absolutely loathe 13 Reasons Why, book and series.
Rachel
I’m glad to hear you’re in the same boat as me about In a Dark, Dark Wood!
I liked the book 13 Reasons Why, but I know it’s not for everyone.
Dodged that Anastasia bullet, thanks to you Karalee! Velvet packaging is indeed lush but not for the girl on the go. Also: zero time to build up pigment. It has to be done in one dip for me.
Exactly! I keep the palette in a drawer & only take it out when using it & during that time it gets so dirty. It would definitely not be good on the good & same! I love shimmer shades but I don’t want to have to layer them on!
Thanks for sharing, which of these was your least favorite?
Well for beauty it was the TonyMoly Red Cheeks Girl’s Patch b/c I rated them a 0 in my intial review. For books it was The Girls b/c I rated it a 2 & out of the movies/series probably The Last Summer b/c I seriously don’t remember a single thing that happened whereas the others I sort of remember the plot/scenes.