Sunday Riley Fake Reviews

[ArmyChick84]

This was posted by a former Sunday Riley employee on Reddit.....

What do you think? I find this so unethical. 

[tinazhang718]

this is horrible. I loved Sunday Reily but will not buy anything from them again. 

[bunnymasseuse]

As posted in another thread I found before this one.. Saw it, would like to see all reviews purged for all SR products here and let people submit new reviews. Legitimate reviews of customers who didn’t praise the product were downvoted by employees and customers alike, but how can we or Sephora tell the difference? Some of these reviews were removed under this false behavior. Just because other companies may behave this way does not justify doing it because you have yet to get caught. If another brand I may like or favor was to be exposed for operating this way I would cease support of the company going forward and reconsider over time if the response and public message leveraged a transparent improvement plan. “Because everyone else does it and doesn’t get caught” does not legitimize the act or avoid repercussions.

[bjd1964]

If this is true, it's totally unethical!

[CheerMomma]

So Sunday Riley ‘fessed up... Their statement and Sephora’s response is here...

[HoneyBL]

Wait—where is the statement made by Sephora? I haven’t seen them even acknowledge this issue. Very disappointing considering the reviews were posted on Sephora.com and payments were made by customers directly to Sephora. Definitely won’t be shopping at Sephora until this is resolved.

[suzyo]

@HoneyBL  Here's the thread where they acknowledge it

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Trending-Now/Brands-on-Ratings-amp-Reviews/m-p/4252605

[GG84]

@CheerMomma I dont see Sephoras response. I certainly cant see them making a statement on Instagram...

[CheerMomma]

Hi @GG84 @Samtian

i can’t copy the link into the thread but you can see the website I refer to in the picture it has a full article and is a reputable source, (The Insider) You can also go see Sunday Riley’s Instagram and google for their response and Sephora’s. Sadly this is real and they admitted it. 

[Samtian]

@CheerMomma Thank you!

[CheerMomma]

Here is another source, Allure magazine, again reputable and highly unlikely to run a fake news story about two big advertisers. 

[GG84]

Thanks! 

[Samtian]

@CheerMomma Where is Sephora's response?

[pocketvenus]

Thanks for sharing this @ArmyChick84. I'm guessing most brands do this. SR just got called out. I think the law needs to catch up to online advertising. There are legal consequences when a company makes outrageous claims in traditional ads although there are still definitely grey areas that are exploited. But online, it's like anything goes, no repercussions.

All the fake reviews and influencer promotions have rendered the resources I used to rely on like online reviews, blogs, YouTube, and so on completely useless to me. It is back to word of mouth from people I actually know and on rare occasion, places like BIC. The irony is "social" media has turned the social and information sharing aspect of the internet, which used to be based in discussion forums and newsgroups, into a giant playground for advertising and self promotion. The internet didn't have to turn out this way, there is nothing inevitable about what it looks like now.

[treestar86]

yep.  it's all about looks, money, power and status.  just like life. 😞

[neema]

This shows that SR is VERY unethical & the brand should Not be trusted. If they are this sneaky, greedy & conniving about reviews, I wouldn't put it past them on things such as skimping on active ingredients, lying about ingredients & over pricing the value of products. They obviously are hurting for sales & this should make others weary, I know I am. 

I don't have acne problems but the way they try to string those along that do, telling employees to make their reviews sound relatable sounds so SAD!

They're just taking advantage & messing with their customer basis. Disgusting.

I just started using SR products but im not supporting a brand with such weak moral fiber. 

Sunday Riley didn't even apologize for what they did, they just went on the defense.

So disgusting. I am disgusted with Sunday Riley. Yikes.

[treestar86]

yes, I don't either, but it seems like a lot of work to create all these fake accounts, and then have to leave other fake reviews so you seem "legitimate".  seems like it would be easier, if they believe in their product(s), which it doesn't seem like obviously, to just send them to people to review, or have one of those study group things where everyone tries it and then rates it, so they can say "x% of people found..."

[gwenpool]

it’s definitely unethical. skincare is a fickle thing to lie about, some people could have horrible reactions and may have purchased only for the good reviews. i like to investigate products before skincare purchases but not everyone wants to or has the time. i think it’s definitely unfair and in their response to the reddit post, they didn’t even seem to apologize. super icky. i tried their foundation and hated it. i’m super apprehensive to try anything else now

[darlyndar]

I think this happens with every brand, for every launch. Though I don’t agree with it, It doesn’t upset me or make me want to boycott the brand. I have found trusted people on YouTube like Caroline Hirons, Gothamista and Stephanie Nicole. I watch them and trust their reviews. I love Sunday Riley and have been using Good Genes and Luna for years and will continue to do so. I also use a lot of Drunk Elephant and some May Lindstrom. I wouldn’t be surprised if they asked their employees to do the same. This industry is cutthroat. Every business wants to be the best. Is it right? No. Do I understand? Completely. Will I make my purchases based on my personal likes? Absolutely. 

[bakeamuffin]

I know you’re right @darlyndar, I just don’t want to believe it. It’s like trying to believe Santa is real when your classmates have told you the truth 😂 

I don’t envy brands trying to stay on top in such a competitive market. I imagine the stress would be very high when you’ve invested everything into it, it really just sucks that so often morals are put on the line in industries like this, in order to succeed. 

[darlyndar]

I understand everyone’s opinion, @bakeamuffin. If we (as consumers) knew all the tactics that these big brands used to gain the public’s trust, we would all be disappointed and disgusted. I don’t hate on Sunday Riley because of this. Drunk Elephant has been tacky when accusing their customers, stating that they use something with the “suspicious six” to be the reason why their products didn’t work for them. I still use their products because they actually work for me. I still used The Ordinary when all that drama was going on because the products worked for me as well. Everyone is acting so surprised when deep down, they knew this was going on and has been forever. The hype is real and we all want that hype. We all want the “latest and greatest”. It’s a lot for these brands to live up to. Is it ethical? No. But I guarantee if it was any one of our companies on the line, we would have done the same thing. Every woman on here is smart and knowledgeable enough to make their own unbiased decisions without the help of reviews. But in the end, they are all smart and knowledgeable enough to make the decision not to support Sunday Riley and I completely understand that as well also. I’m just going to keep purchasing Luna and Good Genes for myself in the meantime. 

Sorry for for the rant. Lol. I wish I had the talent to build a brand like Sunday Riley has. I hate to see her company take a beating like this.