Anti Haul – What’s this new trend?

I have been wanting to write this article for the longest time – since November/December 2016, but I keep getting waylaid 😛 For people who haven’t heard of the term “Anti-Haul”… It is a fairly new phenomenon the YouTube started by a Beauty Influencer, so I thought why not translate that to our own part of the blogosphere. The reason it took me so long to put this together was because I kept worrying how it will be perceived. See, when you are seeing a Youtube video – it almost sounds like a conversation, but when you read something – the emotion can get lost or be mis-interpreted. Still, I am giving this a shot.

What is an “Anti-Haul” video/post?
We constantly share reviews with you of all the great products and some not-so-great ones. A couple of years back, I had done a two-part series on how to purchase high-end makeup. Since the last few months – especially with all the madness which comes around during the holiday season, then the whole summer and spring releases, flash sales, special offers, free gifts, etc, etc…we get to caught up and are constantly on the lookout for new things to buy – irrespective of whether we need it or not. This madness takes over our life – from shoes to bags, to clothes, to makeup and just about everything. I am not here to be condescending, I would be the last person to do that considering all the clothes I bought in the last couple of months are still lying in bags because i don’t have space in my wardrobe!! So, I reached a point where I started to talk to myself – No! I’m not crazy! I started scouring the blogosphere for reasons NOT to buy a product, rather than reasons to validate my choice of buying one. So, i thought it might be helpful (or just plain fun) for you too to read through the thought process and and it might just help you too, to reign in the madness. So, instead of sharing a haul post, I would be going ahead and sharing an anti-haul post – what I don’t intend to buy! In this post, I will like to keep it more general, product category based, rather than actual products! Let’s see how it goes! I thought it might help you also to rationalise and be able to say no!!

Disclaimer:
1. These are my personal views and IMBB isn’t accountable for them!
2. The products I talk about may well be your most-loved products, and that is okay. Different strokes for different folks, right?
3. I hold no bias towards the brand offering the product.

It is a fun post! Trust you will read it in the same vein and enjoy it! So, let’s get on with my “Anti-Haul” rant. The first thing I am not going to buy:

1. Contour palette:  This is the first product that I want to discuss. A BIG “NO” for me! Why? Ok, hear me out… I am not a makeup artist. I use makeup for myself, not for anyone else. Most of the contour kits do have 3 highlighters and 3 contour shades in them – creams, powders, etc. Why do I need to have a contour palette with three shades of highlight and three shades of contouring powder in it? There is only 1 shade of me. Chances are that when you do buy such a palette, you will probably use only 2, max 4 (this is a stretch) shades from it. Why would you want to spend money on a palette and not get to use all the products in it. Would it not make sense to just buy a separate highlighter and separate contour shade or a duo? If you are a make up artist, I get it. You need to work with people who have different skin tones and may need the variety, but if it is just for personal use, why? Am I saying that the product is crap, no it isn’t. I’m sure these palettes put up by Kat Von D, Anastasia Beverly Hills are fantastic quality, but I don’t need them, pass!

2. Highlighter Palettes:  Well, the principle on this one is kind of similar to that of the contour palette, but there is more. So, while the palette with 4 to 6 highlighters in it sounds like a great deal and pretty much is with each good quality highlighter costing about $10-12 each, the point is, are all those shades usable? More often than not, a couple of shades are either too light or too dark for you. In some cases, a couple of shades actually look pretty much similar in the pan. Then does it make sense to buy it? Just because everyone on Instagram has it? No! Another thing to remember here, the way a highlighter should actually be applied is lightly – giving a light lift to the cheekbones and accentuating them. The highlighter isn’t supposed to be a block of shimmer on your cheeks visible from the moon – irrespective of what Instagram/YouTube might tell you. Keeping this in mind, when the highlighter is actually applied in a sheered out state, the difference in shades are fairly nuanced and you really will not be able to identify one from the other distinctly – unless the 2 shades of highlighter were distinctly apart in the pan itself. So, does it not make sense to buy a couple of highlighters from different Companies and get to try different shades in different texture and packaging! Just a thought! In short, I’m gonna pass on this one!

3. Multi-Coloured Highlighter Palettes: Ok, what is with this? Am I the only one missing the point here? What in heaven’s name am I going to do with a palette which has purple / blue / orange highlight?? Seriously, what? Okay, I may want to do a creative look one day, but seriously, how often do you think you and me do those looks to warrant a palette full of coloured highlighters? And the big surprise – you can use these on your eyes too! Really? You think that thought never occurred to me? MUAs have been doing that and the other way round (eyeshadow as highlighter) since decades. I am not going to buy the huge pans of coloured highlighters to use on my eyes! Thats what all the duo chrome / metallic / shimmery eyeshadows are for!! Okay, I am guilty of buying Kat Von D Alchemist palette but atleast in its case, it isn’t a highlighter palette. The Alchemist palette has wells the size of eyeshadows and can be used all over – eyes, lips and face. Yes, your favourite You Tuber was just raving how amazing the palette is and it swatches so well. Trust me, you don’t need it! Pass!

3. Neutral Palettes: No more neutral palettes!!! Neutral palettes didn’t really start with Urban Decay’s N*ked Palettes. There were neutral palettes way before that, but the trend which gained momentum with the Urban Decay N*ked palettes and got fanned further by the Kat Von D’s Shade and Light one seems to have been done to death! Really, how many more neutral palettes can one have?? If you are newbie at makeup looking for a neutral palette – lucky you! Coz you have a variety of brands, sizes, qualities to chose from. However, if you are like me (or the target audience for this article) – someone who has been into makeup for some time and has a plethora of Neutral palettes – pls don’t do this. Do not buy the newest, sleekest, largest, creamiest, etc, etc, etc neutral palette which has just launched in the market. You DO NOT NEED IT!

I used to wonder why every other Company keeps coming up with yet another neutral palette? I realised that the answer was fairly simple. Every Company – especially the new ones – would want to have at least one neutral palette offering for their clientele. So, if someone doesn’t have a gazillion neutral palettes already, and are looking for one, each Company would want a fair chance to have option available. Fair enough! That makes sense. What does not make sense is you going and buying each new neutral eyeshadow palette! No! Don’t do it! Pass!

4. Relaunches of the “amazing’ highlighters from the bygone era!! If this elludes you, I’m talking about re-release of certain highlighters which were released a few years back as Limited Edition. Example – MAC Whisper of Gilt, Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Heat Wave Highlighter, DiorSkin Air Luminizer Highlighters, etc! These are some golden highlighters released years back by the Companies and were limited edition. They were such resounding success that they got sold out fairly quickly and created quite a rave in the market. Okay, I know the last sentence did not make much of an impact on you. So, let me break it down for the YouTube/Insta generation:

It may seem weird to you why something getting sold out was a big deal. I am talking about the pre- Youtube and insta boom. Unlike today, where every new release is “sold-out” to ensure hype of a product, this was a time, when social media wasn’t as strong and Company’s didn’t create a sold-out theme with every new launch (apart from MAC of course). A sold-out product was not “remanufactured” and restocked the next week “especially for all the customers who wanted it and sent emails and DMs for it to come back.” (Throwing shade? You bet!!) More often than not, it wasn’t re-released at all – till now. (Why is “remanufactured” in quotes? Because intend to discuss it at a later date through another article of mine).
This was a time where highlighters weren’t a norm. Everybody wanted the JLo’s sun kissed body, but everyone didn’t have a highlighter (or 10) in their stash. They were fairly unique product! And were definitely not sold in palettes – meaning palettes only of highlighters!!

So, when the product was so good that it got sold-out with people wanting it but not being able to get their hands on it. Why am i saying i don’t NEED to buy them when they re-release? Simply because, the product was good quality and UNIQUE at that time. It isn’t unique anymore!! Today, with everyone going bonkers with the highlighter trend, pretty much every shade of highlighter exists in the market – at different price points and gorgeous packaging! You probably already have a dupe of the same in your stash. Or can buy a dupe from a more accessible brand in the market. You don’t need to sweat it out trying to locate the one elusive piece of THE re-released highlighter!! I’m gonna PASS!

I hope you had fun reading this first Anti-Haul article! Do let me know if you would like more of these and if you would like me to cover any particular item, any new-release or any brand in particular. In the interim, hold on tight to those purse strings! You don’t need this!

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