Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Talk it Out Tuesday: Beyond the Pretty Colors

Does how a brand/store functions (their customer service, social media interaction, marketing, and etc.) outside of the colors/products they make impact your purchasing decisions or general opinion of a brand?


The answer to this for me is a a definite yes!

The Good....

I have always been very impressed with a-england and Cult Nails. I think they are prime examples of brands that absolutely genuinely care about their customers. Adina, the founder of a-england does an amazing job of being very interactive with her fans and customers. Also, many times I've ordered from her I have received a kind note of thanks from her. Cult Nails succeeds in similar ways. Maria is very engaging with Cult Nails fans. She really listens to the needs of her customers, and tries to accommodate them. She also really using social media very well. I see her presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These are two brands are definitely on the top of my list for not only their great colors, but for making me feel valued as a customer. They also have some of the more expensive polish, but I will gladly give them my money when I can because of the experience they provide.

Bloom.com and birchbox are companies I had issues with as far as mix up with orders, but how these companies handled it made me love them more than before the mishap. These companies were very attentive, apologetic, and handled the mistake quickly and efficiently. The way they fixed a problem, their professionalism, and kindness stood out to me, and have made me a long-term customer.

OPI I think does a good job marketing their brand. I'm always in the know about OPI nail polish collections pretty far in advance, thanks to the press releases and product samples they send to bloggers. They also do a good job of maintaining their Facebook page. I always see daily posts with tips and updates from them. I may not always be interested in all of their content, but I know it is relevant to others. I may not get any personal attention from OPI, but I don't expect to either. They're huge! I do know based on how they present themselves online that they care about their customers

I'm very much on the fence with Zoya. I absolutely love how Zoya is always having promotions, and they have done an amazing job  of creating a massive customer base. I remember when they were fairly unknown as a nail polish brand. It is incredible what they have done with social media to allow themselves to grow tremendously. That being said, I feel like they may have grown too much before they were necessarily prepared. I know there can be frustrations with back-ordered polishes and shipping delays. This does not bother me as much, as few comments I've seen from Zoya fairies on their Facebook page. Majority of the time it is all great, but there has been rare occasion or two I've seen snarky comments from Zoya on their Facebook page. This always causes a rightful stir, and the posts are deleted a few hours later that caused the turmoil without any acknowledgement or apology for the mistake. This puts a bad taste in my mouth. I will always remember the snarky comments whether they were deleted or not. It has not stopped me from shopping Zoya, but as brand that used to be my ultimate favorite it did really disappoint me.


The Bad....


China Glaze has been on my bad radar for probably two years now. China Glaze is great at creating wonderful colors. That I do not have a problem with. I have a problem with how they market themselves or lack their of. I feel like they release a preview of their yearly collections, and then go silent until the last minute before the collection comes out. I'll see their next year's Christmas colors before this year's Christmas is over, but I won't hear a peep about them again until almost the next Christmas. I've been waiting for months now to hear more about their Summer Neons. It isn't until this week an official press release has been made and it's already the beginning of May. I have not seen any swatches done by any major blogger either. Summer collections from other brands have been a buzz for over a month now. I also see on their page they're promoting Prismatics which have been out for well over month. They seem to have some serious delay, and it really hurts them. I like to get excited about colors prior to their release. I like to read about them, see swatches, and talk about them. This creates a buzz. I do not feel like there is an opportunity for this with China Glaze because of how inconsistent they are and how slow they are with their collection updates. They really need to fix this because other major brands are miles and miles ahead of them. You're fading in the background China Glaze.


The Ugly....


*Be aware these are outright non-censored personal opinions!


Julep and Llarowe. The way Julep started with their Maven program the problems that arose, and how poorly they handled damage control is absolutely unforgivable to me. I see they are now having issues again with their polishes going bad, brushes being bad, and they're not doing a good job at responding to customers concerns. I do not care if they have $0.01 boxes of polish. They will never see a penny from me. I think they're also absolutely pompous too, which is unattractive to me. Llarowe, the way the Lynnderella fiasco was handled and how it was publicly discussed on their Facebook page was insane to me. That situation was only instigated more by all the chatter that was produced by the Llawrowe page themselves. I do not feel these were responsible business decisions to perpetuate more drama around a situation publicly. It's one thing if you're an individual or even blogger with an opinion, but not if you're running a business and taking people's money. This situation turned me off from ever wanting to shop from this seller.

Phew! That took longer than I thought!

What are your thoughts on this? What brands are wins and loses for you based on these factors? 


Happy Tuesday!

34 comments:

  1. I agree with you about Zoya.  They used to have one solid social media voice.  Now they seem to be all over the place.  It's like they left a computer open and just let anyone who walks by post to their fb page.  I hope they get it together because I love their product.  I also love Cult Nails.  They have a great online presence and awesome customer service.  I don't even have words for Llarowe.  Her whole business practice disgusts me.  I refuse to order from her.  I do like Ninja Polish a lot though.  They fill a hole for me where Llarowe is concerned.

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  2. Hmm.. I don't know, but maybe because I don't have access to all of these brands because I live in Europe, I don't have the same problem. I mean, I can get my hands on most brands, but I prefer buying from European sites because of customs issues in the EU. This also means that I can't get some specific polishes such as Lynnderella and some other indie brands (or even some non-indie brands). That in itself is poor marketing too me - When that happens I don't get lemmings, I just get indifferent towards the brand, it's a childish thought really, but if a company doesn't want me as a customer then I'm sure not going to support it by busting my butt to buy the products

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  3. I definitely agree about A England and Cult Nails. Both of those women are complete wonders and even if I didn't absolutely adore their creations (which I do) I would still be compelled to purchase from them, simply because they provide outstanding customer service.

    I've not had issues with any customer service reps for any of the other companies listed. I know there was a huge drama with Julep, but whenever I did have a CS issue, they immediately responded and rectified the situation. To me, that is excellent. As far as Llarowe goes, no one should be that informative to their customers. Diarrhea of the mouth/Facebook does not make me want to buy from you. 

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  4. I missed most of the Lynderella drama so I don't really know Llarowe's part in it, but judging from what you said, they made a boo boo.

    The company I really can't get behind is Rescue Beauty Lounge. I don't kniw how she started, but all I see ow are overpriced polishes. The moment that made me decide this was, with the whole IKB:2012 drama about it not having a great formula, she just posted on her facebook a snarky comment about the formula, instead of an outright explanation. To me, there is no reason a $20 polish would have a less than stellar appljcation.

    Also, Deborah Lippmann. No experience about customer service or anything like that, but I just can't understand why her polish is $18. maybe if I did, I would be more willing to spend that money. As it is, her usng the term 'holographic' when all it was were flakies turned me off even more.

    Typing on an ipad is not easy! Sorry for any typos.

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  5. Great post!  I agree with most of what you said!  You know that I still am a Julep fan, but it is mostly because I did have problems with them in the beginning and I actually was pleased with how they handled my issues....I know others were not as lucky.   Llarowe...I have a really crappy impression of them based on the Lynnderella ridiculousness and they way they interact on FB....WAY to much info and as someone else posted diarrhea of the mouth for sure!  I even went as far as to request information on how to use their lottery or whatever it is that they use for ordering, and I found it all so annoying I said forget it.  Not worth the effort especially when the company comes across as so unprofessional.  Cult Nails is top notch in my book (I haven't ordered from A england yet, but they seem to be great as well).  Love the way Maria 'handles' herself online and that she is so attentive.  
    Seriously...what is up with China Glaze??? hahahaha

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  6. I feel the same way about Julep, though I haven't had any issues with them personally, I know of many people who have. I feel like their polish REALLY isn't worth $14, and whats up with that weird bottle? But I think Julep has over-saturated the market with all of their boxes and promos, I have absolutely no interest in their product.

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  7. I agree with everything you said here! Edina at A England is the best, I love ordering from her. I haven't ordered anything from Cult but I always hear very good things about Maria. I 100% agree on Llarowe! I won't go into that any further. China Glaze needs to hire a professional PR person, because the person they have right now sucks! 

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  8. Maria of Cult is great. I made lots of errors with my order and she was so patient with me! The polishes are beautifully packaged too.

    I haven't had any trouble with Llarowe.

    I actually LIKE the way CG goes quiet between collections as I HATE carpet-bombing with mass previews.

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  9. I totally agree that excellent customer service is important.  I've never used Julep or Llarowe, so I have no comments there.  I love Adina!! She's amazing.  And her amazingness makes me spend more than $10 on her polish, lol.  I also have great experiences with Harlow & Co. and The Hungry Asian (from etsy).

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  10. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had problems with Julep! I got their 1 cent box and decided never to use them again. But the brand I'm really disappointed in is Orly. I know lots of people love Orly and how wonderful they are, but I recently had an issue where something didn't work as it was intended. It was supposed to be one of those instant dry drops, but it made my nails more gummy and soft than anything else. And they wouldn't dry. At all. Two days later, and there were chips and dings and scrapes. I sent them an email asking them why it did that, and they didn't respond. No "We're sorry," nothing. Just silence. Like I hadn't said anything. So now. I refuse to buy Orly polishes. I'll find dupes in other brands or just suck it up and live without because they should know better than to treat their customers like that. /rant

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  11. I really love China Glaze products as well, but I think their PR is strange. I have been in contact with a PR person for several months. They send out the Press Releases and then say "request for samples," but whenever I (or other bloggers I have talked to) request those samples they are always told there aren't any. I know that I am low on the blogging totem pole and am fine with that, but it is frustrating to be told that I should request a sample and then always be denied. Just take out that little request line, and everyone will be happy. 

    On a beauty related note, I have had fantastic luck with CoverGirl customer service. I purchased a lipstick from them that turned very quickly. I emailed them about the problem and got a response back within 12 hours! They then immediately sent a replacement product which arrived within 2 business days. How amazing is that!  On a non-beauty related note, I had a recent poor encounter at a clothing store where another customer started screaming at me after she cut in line and I asked her to go to the back of the line. The manager was standing 3 feet away and said nothing. I will not be shopping at that store again and informed the company of such.

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  12. Orly is one of those brands that either wears fabulously on me or chips within 2 hours. It comes down to body chemistry. 

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  13. I've shopped at Llarowe many times and she's been very accommodating to me!  Plus, her shipping prices to Canada are definitely one of the cheapest.  I haven't had any experience with a England, but I have a few on their way to me (from Llarowe)!
    I personally dislike being bombarded with seasonal polish previews, so it really doesn't bother me that China Glaze fails in that respect.  
    I find a lot of the indie polish makers are very accommodating - Pretty and Polished, Candeo, Lacquistry, etc.  And the fact that their advertising is done by word of mouth - that's pretty awesome for them as it's free publicity!

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  14. Maria from Cult Nails definitely gets an A++ for her interactions with her customers and being the face of her brand. She's engaging and straightforward and I think she is doing a great job walking the line between being a business owner and engaging her fans in the process. Plus, there's no drama!! Adina from a england is also great, though I have had less interaction with her. These are both companies where I will any polish they produce, hands down, no questions asked.

    I know people had a lot of problems with Julep, and I completely understand why a lot of people were turned off by it. Personally, I never had any issues with them and continue to be (mostly) satisfied with them. I do think their polishes are too expensive for what you get, which is why I like being part of their Maven program (for discount and monthly box), but I do agree that they come off as a little pompous.

    Llarowe and RBL... oh dear! Personally, the only reason I shop at Llarowe is because of the harder to find brands of polish, and even then I don't shop there all that regularly. The drama on Facebook over the Lynnderella situation and the indecision was intensely aggravating as a customer. However, I did participate in the whole wishlist thing and for me it worked out fine-- I will be receiving my polishes this week, after about two months of waiting. I just wish that a decision was reached and stuck to consistently, and that every time someone voiced a complaint there wasn't a lot of hand-wringing and woe!as!me! going on. As for RBL, I think Ji is almost too invested in her line. I mean, it's her business so of course she's invested but I feel like if a customer says something negative about a polish (and we all react to polishes in different ways, let's be honest) she seems to take it as an attack on herself, when it's not. I like her colors and her collections, and at $20, her price point is pretty much on par with Lippman. I mean, people spend $23 on Dior and $25+ on Chanel, so it's not like there aren't more expensive polishes out there. But I feel like, again, there can be a lot of drama involved at times. However, I myself have never had any personal problems with either brand.

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  15. great post, steph! also, a note in regards to julep: i've found [through swatches] that quite a few of their polishes are EXACT dupes to Pure Ice polishes... isn't that insane?! especially considering the price difference!

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  16. The ugly I feel as if I don't even want to ever try to get a  Lynnderella product at all. Not worth it to me to go through all that mess. Yes, some of the shades are great - but a creative person who has access to the supplies can Franken their own. Also many of these now cool looking polishes will look HORRIBLE in a yr. They are not things that have staying power other than a very few. Trends are changing FAST. I never wanted to get involved with Julep  - I hate those pyramid things...and once I started to see bloggers show what they 'got for all their points' well it's just not fair for those who don't have a blog - not my model for way to do a business. I am very upset to see Zoya doing that same 'link through me and get points' system now. I used to really love Zoya - great CS - fast ship. I don't like that I don't know what is going on now despite I am on their email list and I SHOULD know - but they have chosen to do a ton of promos ONLY though Facebook and I am not one who takes time to keep up with anyone's FB. I don't have time for Twitter or FB. I feel like Zoya needs to even up their field and let their email list of customers know about 'deals' and not just their FB followers. It's leaving a horrible taste in my mind about their marketing now. OPI I am fine with. I know what's coming - I can sort of set my $ aside knowing what I am probably going to like and what I won't. China Glaze is really frustrating to me because the ONLY way I have to get it is through Sally's or mail order...and our 3 Sally's don't get much of the special collections - and what they get then they cannot usually get more if it's a special collection. It's in and it's gone. I live in a rural area and lucky to even now have 3 Sally's within a 60 mile direction in 3 ways of my home. Price point is good for me esp if I get CG on my Sally's card discount. I just today finally saw on line my first swatches of the neons...some OK - some sure are not neons but have enough of the neon pigment that they all dry matte. I am really tired of all the heavy glitters and crackles - enough. CG can chill in those depts yesterday for me. Thinner glitters that don't leave a rough finish would be nice - lighter ones - and jellies too would be nice.

    Cult Nails is great service. Only thing I can say is not enough of what they know will be HOT, HOT sellers. Then my other issue with Cult is a large # of so so shades. I was assured no pre-sale purchase was necessary for the release of Clairvoyant -- there would be plenty - so I did not do a pre-sale (hate them anyway)...and what happened? Gone on pre-sales and a few hrs on line post release.

    The Frenzy created by some colors is not needed. Have to say Cult handled it really well when there was no more Clairvoyant period. You know ahead of time if they run out and it's LTD ed - which all their polishes are - that's it. I am not made to feel left out or bad (I could have done a pre-sale and I would have received it). But Zoya catering to those who have time to hover over their FB pages  - well as said above - just not wise - they are offending a large part of their market that was loyal to them.

    Thanks for the Tues topics to vent on.

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  17. Haha, funny you should post this today! Perfect timing, considering Ji's latest blog post about the next RBL Fan Collection. I will not ever buy from that woman. There's an indie brand, Whimsical Ideas by Pam, that I also refuse to buy from. I'll spare you the story, but suffice it to say that my interactions with her have been very unpleasant, and I know a few others who have had the same experience.

    You've got a good point with China Glaze though. I always forget about their collections, but I really like the ones that I have so I do find them eventually. They should make themselves less forgettable though!

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  18. TOTALLY agree on Julep and LLarowe. I mean, I won't buy any brand Llarowe sells--won't buy them anywhere. Like, you do business with them, I'm not interested in your products. I just cannot deal with all that in-girl BS. It's just polish, and it's supposed to be a business. Play like a grown-up.

    Disagree, though, on China Glaze. When I see a collection reviewed and blogged months before it hits the stores, I tend to get bored of it by the time I'd be able to buy. It feels old to me when it hits the market because I've been seeing it (first on the big first-showing blogs, then on the second tier, then maybe in print, etc) already for months. And it's already being knocked off if it's some new formulation (flakies, mattes, crackles, etc). I do see where you're coming from, though.

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  19. I love Talk it Out Tuesday! I hope you never run out of topics :)

    I love China Glaze and it has a dominate place in my collection but their PR Sucks! I was contacted by them for press releases and to get samples. I got one set and now for every single press release when I contact them for samples -there aren't any. Once I emailed her back within twenty minutes and they were all out. Why contact me then?

    I love love love Cult & A England. Both are awesome with customer service AND polishes. I absolutely agree with you about Zoya & Llarowe. I am a Julep Maven subscriber though. I haven't had any issues with them and I like their polish. I don't put my link all around the polish community though so I can't speak about the pyramid aspect. Its irritating to see that everywhere. I don't participate in the new "share the love" program from Zoya either. 

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  20. well, thanks to you (on Twitter), now I know the story of Rescue Beauty Lounge..  I admit, I was lemming after Aqua Lily and Cuprum, but I'm not anymore!  In my opinion, in this economy customer service is EVERYTHING!!  There are so many dupes and look-alikes out there that one is bound to find one from another brand!
    I read Ji's contest blog post and yes, she's full of herself...  which in itself could be potentially ok, except that she just bashed her fans who brought her so much money from purchases!  If I were the Aqua Lily creator I would be deeply offended.  I'm sure Ji didn't mean any harm by it, but she certainly needs to choose her words more wisely, especially since her income depends on those "fans"...  Having said that I will not be buying from RBL!  

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  21. My beef with Cult Nails is that they only use PayPal, which I choose not to use myself. I wish they had other methods of payment, but maybe in the future. As for snarky Zoya comments, we don't see what goes on behind the scenes, the people who posted it could have very well been fired or reprimanded for their actions. I think Zoya is my favorite company as far as customer service, they've been very helpful whenever I needed assistance. I used Bloom.com for the first time the other day and their customer service was very good too! Julep also makes me mad because they steal bloggers pictures and take out watermarks >:( that boils my blood. Great blog post!

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  22. Very interesting post - I enjoy your thought provoking topics.

    I've got a current order pending from Llarowe so the jury is still out there. I've got to say as a small country in the South Pacific we pretty much take what we can get as far as brands go. Most brands in NZ are way overpriced from department stores. We'll normally pay well over $25 for OPI.

    I've thoroughly enjoyed buying online at A England - I love, love LOVE that she has free shipping and I'll keep on buying from there as I love the polishes and I feel valued as a customer. The same goes for Cult Nails - reasonable internationally shipping is a big drawcard for me. I'm a bit miffed that smaller companies such as Cult Nails and A England can offer international shipping - but Zoya.com can't . . . what's up with that?

    As far as press releases go - I certainly appreciate know about a collection and having some excitement build up - but again, the downside of living here is that the polishes are seldom available until well after the release anyway.

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  23. Rescue Beauty Lounge is on my Bad List after that blog post announcing the Fan Collection 2.0. Ji just comes off ridiculously full of herself and super pretentious, and it's a real turn-off. I understand that she feels protective of her brand because she's built it from the ground up and she has complete control of the process. But that blog post makes me feel like I'm not worthy of her polishes because I don't spend every waking second kissing her a**. Also, I bought the Fan Collection as my first-ever RBLs, and they are soooooo *NOT* worth 20 bucks each.

    I agree about China Glaze needing to step up their marketing. I've seen the promo shots for the duochrome collection that's coming out in July, but CG has NO info out about it. They should be promoting the hell out of that collection, but there's been nary a peep. It sucks because I really love CG polishes; they're one of the best-wearing brands on me.

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  24. Great topic for discussion....my thoughts
    1. i was very put off of Zoya when they had the whole "you should have kept up with facebook" fiasco and sent out emails about the promotion after it was over. What they did was RUDE and a company should never be rude to customers for any reason.
    2. although the Lynnderella situation was unfourtunate, I have had wonderful shopping experiences with Llarowe. And after the wishlist system was finally implemented it seemed to work very well considering the sheer volume of people wanting to buy the polishes. I MUCH prefer the wishlist system to the mad rampage and usual disappointment of trying to buy the most in demand, limited in supply, indie polishes....which brings me to....
    3. I must have had a VERY different experience with indie sellers than some of the other commenters....because I have definitely NOT found them to be accomodating AT ALL....I have had a great deal of difficulty in making purchases during regular sales and only ONE seller out of several that I have asked was willing to allow me to make a special order even though I offered to pay extra fees or order significantly more than I would normally just to be able to get a certain color. I think some of the popular indie sellers have gotten a case of the big head due to the high demand for their polishes. I also think they play favorites as to who they will allow to make special orders or custom sales...it seems that some of them will make sure a blogger (no offense Steph) can get whatever colors they want but refuse to make the same arrangements for paying customers...after a few months of "oh I cant do any special orders...try again at my next sale!!" I am going to be done with you and your "business"....if I could buy it at you regular sales I would not be begging you and offering you extra $ to sell it to me in a special order.
    4. I feel like China Glaze is putting out the same collections over and over...
    5. Its not a nail polish brand....but I think the customer service of Sallys where many people buy their polish is among the very worst service I have ever encountered...

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  25. I have a love/hate with Sally Beauty. The CS I've received through Twitter has been top notch. However, I have issues with the SA staff in stores. I've not met any that are rude or hostile, I've had issues with how little they know. In as far as when a certain collection will be in store. I blame Sally for that. They need to make sure their staff gets that information as soon as possible. 
    I had another issue with one SA who told me that she couldn't call other stores to see if a color was in stock because they don't do holds. I didn't ask for a hold, I just wanted to not have to schlep all over town to find what I wanted. So I called the other two locations while in the store and got my info.She wasn't rude, she was just apathetic. That's half-assed customer service.

    I won't sign up for Julep and all of the other sub services because I think it's a waste of money especially when you wind up with items you don't want or need. 

    I'm meh about China Glaze and their marketing. They'll always have my business because I like their product. 

    I wish Orly would step up their marketing game. They've done some interesting things like the holiday Twitter party. I did not like their Pinterest contest though but that was because I wasn't into their spring collection.

     

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  26. As always, a thought provoking Talk it out Tuesday! Thank you for sharing this, Stephanie. I especially agree with you on China Glaze, and how they need to start generating buzz earlier. I want to see early swatches, talk about the colours, and get excited before the release date! 

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  27. I would like to share my opinion, I am kind of glad that someone like Adina can come through with her polish creations by making them available for a great price for the size of her business. I will decinitely be ordering more of her polishes again. I ordered from Llarowe, no problems there...although I do have a problem with how they handled the Lynderella fiasco...because seriously...it was unprofessional. Also, those people really annoyed me that were defending Lynderella's sudden action of making her blog private...without so much a a freaking apology (correct me if I am wrong there), but that is bad customer service. I am really sick and tired of the endless waiting and waiting for these awesome indie polishes....fine...if you really want it I can understand....but some of them are just too pricey...sorry. I don't even know how their polish is going to hold up after a year or three. Today, a very popular blogger posted a million swatches from an Indie brand...and they are all but sold out. I think popular bloggers should be more responsible in their postings...a few at a time maybe?

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  28. IMO: Sally's employees are uneducated in the products.
    China Glaze is awesome because they don't overkill before the item is released...I do however believe they should make the info available on their website.
    Social networking!! Aaaahhhhh! So sick of the #horing and ordering us to do things, example, Check this on FB, Follow on Twitter, Like Us on FB...blah blah blah...why is it so much darn work to get polish?!?! Since when do we have to do the work! It is their job to advertise. Customers are saving them a ton of money by "following" them. Fine if that is your cup of tea. Personally I hate it when sellers say they are going to announce it on FB...what about the rest of us that are not glued to FB or Twitter!! They should at least let you sign up for a notification.
    OMG Stephan, I am sorry for all the venting...I needed to let that out, thanks.

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  29. - I've facebooked, tweeted, and emailed Zoya many times.. never got a response ever, because I am a Canadian and they do not ship to Canada. I ask questions about availability, etc... nothing. I WANT to buy their product and I get no answer?! That isn't cool. I do follow their FB page and am kind of turned off by the way they update their feed.. it seems.. immature. Its nail polish, but its still business.

    -I won't buy from Julep simply because I'm not paying that much for such a tiny bottle, ever. Same with RBL. Just because you keep telling me you're special.. doesn't make it so. Yes brands need to promote their products, but they're supposed to create excitement.. not be condescending. 

    -China Glaze.. I just think they are a bit behind on the times. They do have a twitter and will retweet etc but I think they need to get a more outgoing face to their social media. Same with Orly... I didn't even know about Dark Shadows until I saw it at Sallys!! I would have been ALL OVER THAT. Which brings me to the next brand..

    -OPI HAVE stepped it up. They're a big brand, but are consistently updating and engaging and keeping up with customers on social media which I find impressive. 

    -a-England: Impressed. For a smaller company I have had excellent customer service, every single time I order. Fast international free shipping? Kind face to the brand? Listens to customers about products AND concerns? Im sold. I cant say enough good things.

    -I have had wonderful experiences with Harlow and Co. MAJORLY fast replies to my random questions with specific and helpful answers.. i'll wait for a product to be available from them to purchase it (ex- layla holos) because of how helpful they were to me.

    -The Lynnderella situation is insane no matter which way you slice it. It confuses me more than anything. However the wishlist system worked out for me, so maybe I'm being really hypocritical. Either way.. when I have ordered other polishes from llarowe (hits, lundurana) ..the prices of shipping and speed of shipping were top notch to say the least. At my door in Canada in a week, which rarely happens. I like that.

    -Most of the Etsy sellers I've bought from are handling themselves well for being one person. 

    -My local Sallys does have some people who aren't up to date with the products\collections .. but there is one girl I just have to mention because she is so impressive. I've gotten to know her and she is ALWAYS up to date on all brands collections (not just polish but everything), and will let me know her favourites, when new things will be in, why she likes it.. She is a nail tech and she is personable, and just so knowledgable.. I wish they would hire more people like her!

    -Never bought from cult nails, but after seeing all these pleasant comments, I think I will.


    WHOA, Talk it out tuesday got me talking for once.. Im usually just a lurker. I guess I do find customer service to be really important hahahaha.

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  30. Sometimes it's nice to do a spam post and show all of the polishes within a brand instead of splitting it up into a million posts. Personal preferences I guess! Not to mention most of the sellers tell you when their polishes will be back in stock so I think it's nice for people to know which ones they want and what they look like ahead of time, that way they'll be ready to buy once the stores open back up again. Trying to "hold" a post for polishes to be back in stock for every single polish creator seems a little silly to me. ^_^

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  31. I like to buy polishes in person and from a store that allows me to return them.  That way I can see what it looks like on my hands and see what the polish is like and if it's not right for me I like to return it.  And I am not at home during the day to accept deliveries so ordering stuff doesn't work well at all.   There's one excellent Sally's and a great Walgreen's near me that meets my criteria.  The ladies at Sally's near where I live always show me new stuff in the back that they're not yet allowed to put out front until a certain date.  They pay attention to polish trends and even have shown me the catalog from which they order in case I would like them to order anything special.  I am really impressed with them.   There's one really good lady at Walgreen's who is willing to paint pieces of paper for me so I can see what the polish looks like and she pays attention to what coupons can be used, and they do have ones behind the counter she'll pull out and use for me. 

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  32. i thought of this post today when zoya posted about ashley madison--what was that about? was it supposed to be funny? because i thought it was just really, really weird.

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  33. Good topic Steph!!! 

    I start backwards:  

    Julep...I am a Maven but outside of that, I wouldn't purchase their polishes for that amount of money.  The one problem that I did have was with the Mystery Box for Christmas.  It came 3 weeks after Christmas not to mention I ordered 2 and only got one. But they did give me a credit for the other box.  I have heard the horror stories, but I stay clear of the Mystery Box thing.  But I have noticed that they have over saturated the market to the point that it's hard to get rid of the colors people don't like.

    Llarowe: The Lynnderella Drama was DRAMA.  I think the blame should be equally shared between LLarowe and the Polish Folks.  I did like the wish list system although I waited about 4 mos to get my polishes.  I think that system really worked well.  Outside of the Lynn's...I never have any problems with other stuff I have ordered from her.

    China Glaze:  I too rarely hear about their Special Collections.  I only heard about the Hunger Games collection because I follow alot of blogs.  But I do remember there was talk that the Hunger Game collection had been pulled.  I like their colors, but find the selections that I have seen at my local Sally's & Ulta to not be that much.  Sally's...I can't say much but what I can say...their staff not trained in the products at all.

    OPI:  We have a Love/Hate relationship right now it is LOVE.  

    Zoya:  I really do like their polish but I find it hard to match their 4 free with other top coats & base coats that will allow my mani to last more than 2 days.

    Cult Nails & a-england:  I don't have either brands but from what I read on the blogs and polish groups that I am a part of...I hear nothing but wonderful things.

    This was good. 

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  34. I was blown away by Cirque's friendliness. I live in NY but wasn't able to go buy polishes in person before going off to school, so I ordered some and I'm glad I did! My package came with candy and a handwritten thank-you on my invoice! It's probably because it's such a relatively small brand that Annie has time for such personal touches, but it definitely gave the me warm-and-fuzzies to stay loyal to that brand, even though the gorgeous colors woulda kept me happy, too.
    And I agree, Adina is so sweet and accommodating.

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