Beauty Pet Peeves 2

[veronika23]

The other thread was getting too long and difficult to load! 

So what are your beauty pet peeves? What grinds your gears? Share your stories!!!

[GG84]

*Walks into M.A.C., wow I like that Liquid Lipstick ON THE GIANT FLOATING LIPS OF THE POSTER ADVERTISING the Matte Liquid Lipstick, I wonder which one it is, i’ll Just go ask* 

—> Oh that’s not a liquid lipstick shade we carry, or even a lipstick shade we carry. 

* I’m staring at her like she’s speaking a foreign language 

—> It’s like computer generated, not real. 

*Pardon? 

—-> Yeah it’s not a colour we sell. It’s computer generated, for the ad. 

* It’s computer generated for the LIQUID LIPSTICK AD? 

[kelllllyyyyy]

This exact thing happened to me.

[Luvstravel]

@GG84, I'm 🤣 while reading this. The makeup world wants so much of our 💰 and we want to spend it on an item we can physically 👀 and to find out that it's not even real!!!!!! 😡

[MlleCC]

*head-desk*  MAC is known for offering a large variety of shades for all of their cosmetic products.  Which marketing exec thought it would be a great idea to use a computer-generated color instead of a real shade in production?  

You should have taken a photo of the poster and posted it here -- we would have had fun trying to dupe it.  😉

[l8totheparty]

That's the perfect gif for this situation!  Whyyyyy would they not use one of their own colours??? At least use an existing colour. @GG84 

[WinglessOne]

@GG84  The humorously worst part of this: lipstick is the product MAC was originally best known for. Lipstick put them on the map. They continue to have many lines/finishes/shades of lipsticks. If ANYone can create a shade of tangible lipstick instead of tease folks with an imaginary digital shade, it’s MAC. So... 🤯 

[gonerogue]

@GG84  That makes NO sense whatsoever! Advertising a lip shade that doesn't exist in a makeup store....okay? Oh the bright side, I learned something new today so thanks for sharing 🙂

[sprocketta]

omg @GG84 Why would they taunt you with a lipstick that doesn't exist in their advertisement!?

[GG84]

@sprocketta Right?!? I just kept staring at her. And she kept repeating the computer generated bit like it was the most obvious answer. At the very least suggest something similar!!! I left and went to Sephora. 

[BrideSona]

I hate it when you've ordered online and waited to get your package but it never arrives but it's marked as delivered. I hate ontrac and have had this same issue previously with other orders. They marked a package as delivered but it never got to me. Wait 2 days for them to try to find it and deliver it. Then calling them to find out what happened all I get from them is a "sorry, we don't know what happened to it, call sephora for a refund." Ugh! I had a freaking rouge promo that's out of stock now, and now have to wait even longer for the re-order to arrive. Sephora can you please not use Ontrac? They may be cheap but they are unreliable on so many levels. *already been issued a refund on the order but truth be told I'd rather have my package*

[Malicequinn]

Ontrac is absolutely horrible. I always go with the USPS option even though it takes a couple days longer, since I actually receive my orders that way.

[sprocketta]

In-store shoppers seem to get the sh*t end of the stick. I prefer to shop in person so I can swatch and see in real life. My stores never have samples. All the good promos for Sephora and Ulta are online and you get samples with your online order. And then there is cash back for shopping online. Ebates sometimes offers cash back on at Sephora in-store, but VERY rarely and the in-store is less than the % online. I don't want to shop at the store and have to walk out and order online later. How can you be sure your eyeshadow palette won't arrive broken?  It just seems SO unfair.

[MelD31]

Download the DOSH app. It’s like Ebates but has more in store rebates. Right now it has 5% back in store at Sephora up to $10/day. I got $10 back yesterday on my rouge sale purchase in store! I use both DOSH and Sephora. For some stores they both have in store so it really adds up if you have both.

[sprocketta]

Thanks for the recommendation @MelD31 I'll have to give it a shot. Do you have a referral code so you can get some credit for it? Or is the app not like that?

[MelD31]

---

@sprocketta that is so sweet of you to think of that. They do give referral codes, mine is https://link.dosh.cash/MELISSD189

[Ispend2much6]

@sprocketta   I understand your frustration.  You're trying to be a responsible shopper, and you don't get the goodies while doing it.  I kind of figured the online shoppers get better perks because the companies are making sales without having to pay the expenses of having a brick and mortar store in those cases.  I'm quite certain the workers at the stores don't like that either; they have quotas to make in a situation that is inferior to online shopping (except for seeing products in real life.)

[WinglessOne]

@sprocketta  Ulta has online order pickup now. I haven’t used it yet but you just reminded me to try it, mostly to make sure my Ebates cash back will apply correctly as an online order. 

I’m half surprised Sephora hasn’t started order pickup yet. I assume the pickup store location could pull in-store stock together for my order (unless I order something they don’t carry and must order themselves), just like Nordstrom does. I hope that’s what Ulta does. 

None of if this makes the in-store cash back situation better. But it might be a way to kinda count an in-store purchase as an online order. 

[sprocketta]

@WinglessOne I can appreciate that this might help others but not me. I don't want to pay until I try it in the store. If I do an in-store pickup, I'm then paying in advance of trying and if I don't like it when i try it in the store before picking up, I could find I hate it. And that's a return on the order I already paid for. And Ulta and Sephora have banned people who do too many returns so I don't want to go that route. So I'm in the same situation. I feel like the lack of incentive for in-store purchasing is really a sign of the times. Companies are losing in-store shoppers to online shopping and trying to woo the internet shoppers as that is where the growth is. I'm being whiny, I know, but it really frustrates me.

[WinglessOne]

@sprocketta  Nah, you’re not being whiny. You have perfectly valid complaints. 

I don’t mind playing with a tester in-store and then ordering the product online—often while I’m still in the store 😂—but I realize I’m more patient (and possibly more cost driven) than many folks about that kind of thing. The only time it bugs me is with certain brands’ eyeshadow palettes, since I’ve received 3 broken ones from Sephora warehouses. From now on, if I can’t find those palettes in a physical Sephora store, I’ll buy them direct from the brands or from other retailers with better return policies/practices. 

About trends: many large companies have been trending toward online pickup over the last 5 years. It’s a clever way to lure internet shoppers into brick and mortar stores, where they may be tempted to browse more products. It’s also a nice middle ground for transitional shoppers—folks who prefer to shop in-store but are slowly accepting online shopping. And many customers see it as an additional level of convenience and customer service, which of course helps companies’ NPS (net promoter score). But yeah, with many companies there will probably always be a higher incentive to shop online than in-store. 

But then there are companies doing the opposite: driving in-store sales and discouraging online shopping. Starbucks is a great example. They closed their online store a couple years ago, which greatly annoyed me and (I assume) many other online shoppers. Now I have to visit a physical Starbucks store to buy bags of beans not sold in grocery stores, and only certain Starbucks locations carry more than their base level offerings. Starbucks has also been closing several locations (gee, who didn’t see that coming 10 years ago), making it even more difficult to find and buy certain things. 😡 I guess (I hope) my problems will be solved once the new roastery opens on Michigan Ave, but still. 

Now I wonder what the latest industry market research is on this general topic. I used to have very easy and frequent access to that kind of info through my former employer. Noting to self to check into this later. 🙂 

[l8totheparty]

@sprocketta @WinglessOne 

Instore pickup would work if a package was packed and shipped to the store for pickup.  My store is too small to carry all the stock and has no 'pick two samples' or 'spend $25/$35 and get a gwp' so I try not to buy in-store.  But then I would have to pay for parking 👎🏻

[silliluci]

Totally agree, I really don't get why the promos are mostly online, I would much rather shop in store but the offers and cashback online don't make it worth my while