I joined a Cult (Beauty)
So every quarter, Cult Beauty has an amazing special where you purchase for £150 (approximately £132 if you don’t stay in the UK. That’s approximately R2300), and you receive free shipping AND an epic goody bag worth more than £300.
The ‘Creators Goody Bag’ is filled with various full size products, as well as many sample products. But before I get into that, let me talk about my purchases.
During March 2018, the moment Cult Beauty announced this epic deal, I immediately jumped on to the bandwagon and sealed the deal. My sister in law had been telling me for ages about their awesome deals but for some reason I just didn’t get around to purchasing from them before.
I was extremely concerned about delivery though. Since it was free delivery, I expected to receive my order through the post office. But after I heard that they use a third part courier, I found myself asking, “what could go wrong?” A lot, actually. But more about that later.
I ordered a bunch of skincare products and makeup items. I haven’t tested any of these products before but I heard a lot of good things about it.
Products purchased
Pixi Glow Mist
Pixi Glow Tonic
Pixi Glow Peel Pads
Iconic London Illuminator - Original
Jouer Highlighter - Citrine
Becca First Light Priming Filter
Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Concealer
Unfortunately, my Jouer highlighter was completely shattered so the moment I opened it, the highlighter made a complete mess. Also, as I repaired it, I could feel that it was super duper soft.
Anyway, my total order came to approximately R2300 including the goody bag and free shipping.
Goody Bag
Huda Beauty 3D Highlight Palette (Golden Sands) - full size
Iconic London Silk Lashes - 1 pair
Too Faced Mascara - mini
Dr Levy Switzerland - 3 Deep Cleanser - full size
Apa Beauty - Apa Tooth Gloss -full size
Jouer Highlighter (Rose Gold) - mini
By Terry lip balm - mini
Ouai Rose hair and body oil - mini
DNA Renewal - DNA Eye Balm - full size
Goldfaden MD - Skin Balancing Mask - mini
Late Somerville Exfoliating Treatment - mini
Briogeo Hair Treatment Mask - 1 treatment
Sarah Chapman - Overnight Facial - sample size
Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm and Cloth - mini
Lime Crime Diamond Crushers (Choke) - full size
Phillip Kingsley Elasticizer - mini
Dr Dennis Gross Peel Pads - 5 treatments
Cult Beauty Tote Bag
All of the above came in a cute Cult Beauty bag.
Shipping, customs and delivery
So although the deal was so amazing and the fact that Cult Beauty would ship with Aramex was promising, the whole shipping process was terrible!
Here’s a brief breakdown on the dates I ordered, received etc:
2 March 2018: Order placed
4 March 2018: Order shipped
8 March 2018: Order received in SA
20 April 2018: Order finally delivered
Although my order was shipped within 4 days to South Africa, I had to wait over a month to actually receive my order. And I only received it because I complained.
I had sent numerous emails to Aramex to check the status of my order and I was always told that it was still in the customs department.
Eventually, they sent me a mail stating that Cult Beauty had requested a return. I sent them a few emails stating that on my Cult Beauty account, the item was still being shipped and there was no request for a return logged by them. Thereafter, Aramex sent me an invoice for R1390 and I paid it immediately. After I sent through the proof of payment, I received another email from another individual stating that I shouldn’t pay the customs because my order needed to be returned.
After this, I literally had to beg them to respond to my numerous emails demanding an explanation. There was no inter-company communication because whilst one individual was telling me that they were trying to sort out the issue, another individual was telling me to provide my banking details because they needed to refund my payment.
Then they asked me to contact Cult Beauty because they couldn’t get hold of them. At this point I was annoyed and frustrated because as a customer, all I need to do is pay and receive my order. It is not my responsibility to sort out an issue between the courier and the supplier.
After sending numerous more emails and sending them screenshots of my Cult Beauty Account order status, I still did not receive my parcel.
Finally, without any further correspondence from them, I received my order.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time I’ve had such a terrible experience with Aramex or Aramex Global Shopper. However, because the post office is so unreliable, we have to resort to third party courier services, even if their customer service is not satisfactory.
Will I purchase from Cult Beauty again? Probably!
Will I send them an email to tell them to use another courier service? I already did.
Customer service ranks very high in my books and when customer service is bad, my faith in the company diminishes.
After I received my order, I sent Aramex an email asking them to send me a complete breakdown of the customs and duties calculation so that I could ensure that I was being billed fairly. I did a calculation for myself and a calculation for my sister and there were inconsistencies in the amounts. I’m still waiting for Aramex to explain the reason for this (if they ever get back to me). As a global company, I do expect better customer service from Aramex and I know that there are countless people out there who have the same issues.
Anyway, my sister in law mentioned that she usually chooses standard post and not express post. Although the parcel comes through the post office, you don’t have to wait long and customs aren’t exorbitant. I’ll probably try that next time.
In total, I paid R3690 for everything. Although customs was a killer, I do think that I scored a great deal, especially after taking everything I received into consideration.
It’s such an epic haul. I love the honesty about customs issues (as I’m currently in the same boat as you know) . Would love your opinion on the Briogio mask and the Huda Beauty highlighter ♥️♥️♥️
ReplyDeleteIt’s really frustrating when your package is stuck in customs for months on end and you don’t receive any communication regarding it. So I actually already have the Huda Beauty Rose gold palette and it’s quite nice. Because it’s so pigmented and blinding, it will definitely accentuate any texture/wrinkles. If you’re more into that subtle glow, I don’t think the highlight palette would be ideal. But it is beautiful! I can’t say it’s the best highlighter I’ve ever seen but I do think the 3D concept is interesting and fun to play with♥️
DeleteWow that goodie bag got me. Such amazing products especially that Huda Beauty 3D Highlight Palette . Please do a review on the Pixi goodies :) Customs and Aramex is so frustrating. My sister has her Boxycharm sitting with them. And its only $21
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing! The Huda Beauty highlight palette is expensive so getting it for free is awesome!
DeleteI’ll definitely do a review on the Pixi products once I try all of them. But for now, I can almost guarantee that the Pixi Glow Tonic is AMAZING. It literally works as an eraser for those annoying pores😍
Aramex and Aramex Global Shopper are equally frustrating. They do not communicate effectively with their customers.
Die Rooibos-Creme ist mein täglicher Begleiter für intensive Hautpflege.
ReplyDelete