I'm normally not so quick to write a review of a product, however, this particular time it didn't take long to form an opinion. This month, I selected the Modern Beauty box from Julep. Inside, it came with their new DD Creme & the matching DD Concealer. I was very excited to try these out because BB cremes have become all the rage. Also, they really hyped these products up. I really expected something phenomenal from them.
Initially, everything seemed fine. The cardboard box seemed to be made of quality material. The lettering was sleek. And, I was still holding that hope for an amazing, out of this world product.
The same went for the concealer. As you can see, I selected both in the shade "light". They only had 3 colors to choose from. Since I am very fair, I selected their lightest option. I knew I was taking a risk here because it is difficult to match very fair skin. The video they had put out on their facebook, though, showed a woman who seemed to be a similar color to myself. The foundation and concealer blended on her like a dream! All indications that this could end well, right? WRONG!
I'll start with the concealer. This seemed to be an area most people had problems with. You look at the bottle, and while small, seems like you should still have enough inside for multiple uses. I mean, this isn't supposed to be a sample size. This baby retails on their page for $32.00 and Mavens get the exclusive pricing of $25.60. Even if you selected one of their boxes this month, you paid $19.99 or used Julep points (aka: Jules) equaling 2,000 points. A concealer that is that much should be amazing, right? Well, I wish I could let you know. Unfortunately, there was only enough inside my tube for one use. I had to fight with my tube to even get that small amount out. I struggled to get just barely enough to apply under my eyes.
Squishing and squeezing the bottle did little good for me.
This tube is mostly filled with air.
Another point that worried me.... Neither of my tubes had the sanitary foil seal over the opening. Some girls said theirs did. The fact that some did, and some didn't, is even MORE concerning. That tells me it should have been there, but that mine did not has me worried.
You can see, nothing more is going to come out of this tube unless I cut into it and scrape whatever might be stuck to the inside walls. And I don't feel I should have to fight that hard for a brand-spankin'-new product. This is worse than trying to force the last pearl of toothpaste out of a tube!
Some girls said their DD Creme was filled similarly....mostly air and not enough product. Well, I can't tell for certain, but I imagine mine was filled properly. It seemed to have an okay amount of product inside. However, my problem was the consistency of it. It was so extremely oily! When I initially squirted some out, it was half pigment and half oil substance. I thought "okay, I just need to shake this one up." So, that's what I did. Upon initial application, it seemed fine. However, within 20 minutes, it was breaking down on my face. I have never seen a foundation-like product break down this quickly. I
might expect a bit of breakdown after wearing it all day, in the heat, on an oily face that is sweating. But, a fresh application shouldn't start breaking down like this.
Let's not even start on the fact that the "light" is far too dark and orange for someone who is fair. I have even gotten a bit of sun and, still, it is too dark. I would have to do some serious sunless tanning to get this to work. That's just not my thing.
Here, I have included a close up shot of the breaking down of the DD Creme. Come on now! This is ridiculous!
Monday morning, shortly after they opened, I called in. I spoke to a woman and explained the problem. Initially, I felt that I was getting brushed off. Kind of a "Thanks for letting us know. This helps us in product development." But, I didn't feel like my concerns were being remedied. I have 2 products that I cannot use. I didn't feel it was fair to just walk away and no solution be had. I voiced this and let her know that I'm not trying to be difficult. However, I feel cheated and would like to return, exchange, or be refunded these products.
As of posting this, I am still in the middle of working with customer service to find a solution. The last contact I had was offering to send me another bottle of the concealer but they wouldn't be able to do the same for the DD Creme because they are sold out of the "light" shade, but would be happy to send me a "medium." This doesn't feel like a solution to me. So many girls are having problems with their concealer, so another bottle isn't going to fix it. That just gives me 1 more application. It would seem that most everyone is receiving empty concealer tubes. I don't want another empty tube. As for the DD Creme, I don't want a medium because I will never be of a coloring that would be able to wear "medium" foundation. Also, until there is some certainty that the manufacturing has changed and there aren't so many duds, I'm not comfortable chancing another oily tube. So, I am still out 2 products.
I have my fingers crossed that this will all come to a happy conclusion. I think, typically, Julep has good customer service and work to find positive solutions. So, once this is all said and done, I will be sure to update what finally ended up happening with this dilemma.
Oh, also! When I spoke to customer service, I was asked to send in pictures of the problematic products. These are the same photos I sent in to them.
Also, please don't mind my chipped polish. I have been putting off repainting them until closer to an event I am going to. I assure you, they are freshly painted now though! :-)
UPDATE: As of Thursday, the 6th my issue has been resolved. We had a couple of back and forth emails until a satisfactory resolution was found. In the end, I did get the equal amount for the box back in Julep Jules. So, I'm pleased. I would have loved to have two products that I could actually use, but with one empty and the other separating, it just isn't possible. :-( I'd like to think they will be going back to the lab and figuring out why the products ended up having these problems and improve upon them. Everyone was very excited to try a new face product for this summer, but many were left disappointed. Better luck next time? Let's hope.
