life review: customer service

I've been having some great luck with customer service lately and just wanted to share my experiences. It seems like we never forget to post about our negative customer service experiences and share them with friends and family, but rarely do we rave about the great experiences so here I am sharing mine.

Company: Metro (in-store)
Product: Selection White Cake Box Mix
Issue: did not perform as expected even though directions were perfectly followed. I emailed Metro about the issue and didn't really expect anything in return but I received an email from their customer service with a specification that someone would follow up with me via mail. A few days later I received a letter in the mail from Metro stating that they were sorry I had a negative experience with their store-brand product, told that all their Selection and Irresistibles items come with a full money back guarantee and given a $5 gift card for my trouble and as a sign of good faith.
Resolution: I was extremely pleased. I didn't expect to get a $5 gift card in return for telling them about a poorly performing product and the gift card always didn't sway me to shop at Metro more in the future (I already do most of my grocery shopping at Metro or Loblaws) but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless.


Company: Topbox (online)
Product: Topbox July box
Issue: I received a Neostrata package, which would've been awesome, except that I have no use for anti-aging products (yet). I ended up posting my Neostrata package to Instagram and someone alerted me to the fact that there was a shipping error with July's boxes. Topbox confirmed the error on IG and told me to email them with the correct package that I had selected.

Resolution: Topbox sent me a brand new package, the one that I had selected, and the entire issue was dealt with in a weeks' time (including a weekend for postage). The best part is that Topbox didn't request that I send the Neostrata package back so I gifted it to a friend's mother who loves Neostrata anti-aging products!

Company: Julep (online)
Product: Nail Polish in Misti
Issue: Nail polish arrived dry and half full. It was completely unusable.
Resolution: I emailed customer service and notified them about the issue, asking for a replacement or credit to my account. I received an automatic reply saying that their CS was busy and that a reply would arrive in 4-5 days, longer than the usual (which I think it 1-2). I received a reply six days later saying that they would send me a new polish and asked if I could send them photos of the polish in question. Don't be worried about the photo request as I was the one who offered to take and send them. I received an email notification that a replacement polish was sent and an estimated arrival date. Since Julep's shipping takes a long time (about two weeks), it took almost a month to resolve my issue. Personally I feel like that's a bit of a long time, especially the extra day or two delay for someone from customer service to get back to me. I've heard a lot of negative things about Julep's CS but this experience resulting in a positive for me, albeit a little bit slow.

So there you have it...all within a month, I had three company issues but all were very friendly and helpful in their responses. 

pretty review: topbox july 2014

I literally just lost my entire entry for this post because my new laptop is driving me crazy. If you're thinking of purchasing a new laptop and are thinking of Lenovo, think again. This IdeaPad has been driving me crazy ever since it was gifted to me and the only reason I keep using it is because my older laptop (Dell, I love you!) only has 3GB of space left on it.

So here we go again and hopefully I can make this post more concise than the first time around.

My package for Topbox arrived on the 16th of July and when I opened the bubble mailer, this is what I received;

Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure Neostrata products are awesome but aren't I a little bit young to be receiving anti-aging products? I know I'm not quite a young'un anymore but I thought I had a few good years ahead of me before having to worry about wrinkles and fine lines and aging spots.

I ended up posting on Instagram about my displeasure with the products I received and a comment was left that there was a mix-up with the shipping of packages by Topbox this month and was instructed to email them so I could receive the proper package. A rep from Topbox confirmed the error and later that night I emailed Topbox. A couple days later I heard back from Topbox and was told that the proper package was being sent to me and the next business day I received this:

The Benefit Cosmetics-specific products for this month's Topbox. I was beyond thrilled about having received the proper package but even more thrilled about the excellent customer service. Hats off to Topbox for correcting their error. I hope that any of Topbox-ers out there who received the incorrect package are able to receive the proper one as well. Now let's move on with a quick review of the mini samples.

It's upside down...oops.

Gel formula at very top

They're Real! Push-Up Liner: I was very excited about receiving this liner...it's basically the only reason I chose the Benefit Cosmetics option. It claims to be a gel formula with an innovative applicator that allows precision lining of the eye. What I liked about the eye liner is umm...uhh...nothing? Here's the deal: I was looking for a one step eyeliner. Currently I use a MAC 263 brush and the Blacktrack Fluidline (gel liner) to line my eye. It's precise and amazing. I can line my eye with a thick or thin line and control exactly how it goes on. I can create a winged look or none at all. The only downside is that it's a two product process. As soon as I saw this liner I thought, "awesome, it combines the applicator of an angled brush and formula of a gel liner in one!" I was excited, like super excited. Then reality sunk in. You have to squeeze the tube below the applicator for the formula to appear but if you squeeze too slowly nothing happens and if you squeeze too quickly a whole glob of gel liner comes out and makes a big mess on your eyelid. So that's what happened to me...a big, thick line of eyeliner on my eyelid and what's worse is that at the end of the day, my eyes looked like an even bigger mess. The liner definitely smudged despite using eyelid primer and despite its claims of being waterproof and budge-proof. This was definitely a letdown.

They're Real! Mascara: Short and sweeet, this mascara did nothing for me. According to Sephora this mascara "lengthens, curls, volumizes, lifts, and separates lashes for a spectacular 'out-to-here' look." I find the formula too "wet" to keep the curl in my lashes after I use Shu Uemura's eyelash curler and that's the main thing I look for in a waterproof mascara. Simply disappointing. I had received this sample twice before with a couple Sephora orders so I knew this was going to be gifted to someone who can take advantage of this. It does have rave reviews on the Sephora website so if your lashes are already curly, I'm sure this would work wonders for you. Unfortunately, my sparse and straight Asian lashes have a mind of their own.

They're Real! Remover: This creamy gel formula claims to remove waterproof makeup without yanking at your eyelid or eyelashes, a fault of many makeup removers. I'm currently using a gel makeup remover that I like but don't love. It doesn't remove all traces of my eye makeup but it is gentle enough for my ridiculously sensitive eyeballs. Here's a couple swatches of the product itself:

Rubbing the product onto the back of my hand (top right) really made the creamy gel formula noticeable. It's super creamy and a bit on the thick side. The application process was a bit tricky. The tube instructs you to saturate a cotton pad and gently remove all traces of eye makeup. Well, the formula is so thick that you don't saturate so much as...I don't know...slap and smudge it on like a thick paste? That's a terrible description but it really is thick. To "saturate" a cotton pad you would have to use the majority of the sample sent. Next came actually removing my makeup. It did a good job removing my primer and eyeshadow but the mascara was a whole other story. The makeup remover didn't live up to its claim of removing waterproof mascara easily. With how thick this product is and how much one would have to use to completely saturate a cotton pad, I'll stick with my current waterproof makeup remover. *Added: I thought about using this with the same method as a cleansing oil and guess what, it worked! Just squirt some of the makeup remover on the pads of your fingers and rub your fingers together to spread the product out. Then apply to your eyelids in a circular motion being careful of your eyelashes and making sure you don't get any product in your eye. Rinse off and wipe gently with a towel and you're done! The makeup remover did a way better job removing my mascara this way so I think I'll continue to use it as a "cleansing oil." I don't think it'll replace my current makeup remover but I'm glad I found a method of using this makeup remover that actually works for me.*

Just a tad too dark

Came with sponge applicator

Stay Don't Stray in Medium/Deep: This concealer and eyeshadow primer promises to make your products stay put. The Medium/Deep shade was a bit too dark for me so I only applied it on my eyelid since I didn't want to give myself a weird dark circle around both my eyes. While I'm used to Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion (in Eden, great match for my skintone), the Stay Don't Stray did a decent job at keeping my eyeshadows in place. I did a test run with shadows from the UD Naked 3 palette. At the end of the day the shadows were pretty much in the same place but I noticed that the pigmentation of the shadows was more pronounced with UD's Eden eyeshadow primer. So the Stay Don't Stray won't be a brand changer for me but I will use it up until it's gone...just won't be purchasing a full size in the future.

So that's it for July's Topbox. While I didn't find anything that wowed me, I was pleased with the customer service I received and will continue with my Topbox subscription. I figure I'll give it another go before I decide whether I should "stay or stray." (Hahaha *groan*)