My packages arrived, so here is a long lenghty post about the order and my first impressions of the items. I have only swatched, not actually worn anything! You should know that I was in LOVE with her EL collab, especially the first go around. The second one still left some bad taste in my mouth (especially the stupid lipliner nobody seemed to acknowledge on the internet anywhere), but I still thought it was amazing overall. The eyeliners worked amazing for me.
First off: ordering process - this will be a long rant
I posted my thoughts as I was going through the ordering process above, but here I go again though. I ordered on the first day. Some people had problems with the site but it worked fine for me. A bit slow but I think that's partly due to my internet connection. It went up later than they said AND they put it on a new website instead of her official one (without a mention there at first, was a bit annoying)
I ordered two eyeliners (black and Bordeaux), 3 of the Lid Lustres (Blonde, Onyx, Mink) and one Smokey eye brick in Signature. My total for the items came to 214$. I was actually planning on ordering the third eyeliner and another of the eye bricks but the shipping costs held me off. When I went to pay I noticed that all orders outside of the UK shipped from America, which means I have to pay shipping, import and taxes. I never expected this, since her brand is vested in the UK and her other stuff from her site ships from the UK as well. Plus the expensive shipping (to Belgium) was 81 dollars and I think the cheaper ones were 76 dollars.. Yikes. So in total I paid 295 and one cent which turns out to around 266 euros for me.
After first seeing the shipping costs, I was actually a bit furious and decided to not order. An hour later I caved and ordered anyways, because
a) I had been waiting so long since the announcement in the beginning of the year + their hyped posts on Instagram
b) I first thought incorrectly that the $81 was just the shipping and that I would have to pay import and all that on top of it - but then I finally figured out it was all included so I went for it. I have no self control.
Shipping itself was with Fedex. I picked the fastest option to get to me (US to Belgium 2-4 business days) because it didn't cost that much more. Nothing bad about Fedex. The items shipped the first night and were quoted to get to me Tuesday by 12 noon. It arrived Tuesday around 2pm. I had it delivered to my mom's house because sometimes we have to pay extra at the door here to receive packages from non EU countries (most of my US items I pay €30 extra at the door), thankfully this wasn't the case here! Nothing bad about Fedex. For the price I paid I feel they owed me that at least lol.
The shipping really struck a nerve with me, so I mailed her CS at her official website. Nearly a week later and no response to my questions and concerns.
I noticed around Tuesday on the Instagram that they were responding to people who didn't order because of the high shipping that there was a glitch with their shipping prices on the first day and that it was fixed now. I checked the site and gave in the same order, Shipping was about $28-30 dollars less than the price I payed. Still $50+ but better than I paid... I am not going to contact them about it because I never even got a reply to my first e-mail. I think they should have sent out an e-mail to everyone who overpaid and at least apologized and give a coupon for a next order or something, but nothing. So I'm not really impressed with their CS at all!
The actual order and products
I picked up the items from my mom's house this evening, so this is a heated first impression lol.
As you might have noticed I am NOT pleased with the shipping thing. I know it is my choice in the end but it left a negative taste in my mouth and I think it might have an impact on how I view the items in general.
So - they gave me two Fedex codes but I thought it was a mistake. Turns out NOPE, they actually sent out my order in TWO boxes. This is a company that cares about packaging for the environment btw. One box contained a single Lid Lustre. One single item... In a giant box. I made the order in one go so this leaves me baffled, and even though I got it on time (and I hope I paid for shipping one box and not two!) it makes me displeased because they put such an emphasis on having recycled tiny packaging for the products itself.
In general my first thoughts and the ones that remain are "so much money for THIS?"
The eyeliners: Was expecting a lot from these! The eyeliners both had a broken tip and one was smushed in the cap which annoyed me. I know they probably can't help it since they're so soft but it was the first thing I opened so bleh. However, just like the VB X EL collection eyeliners, these swatch beautiful! Have not used them but I think they may be the same formula or near the same, which I loved so thumbs up for me. If anyone wants I can actually check, I still have a backup of the EL one. The colors are very saturated, it's a black black. The actual cap is hard to get off, I like the smudger on the other end. When you order you actually have the option to get it with a free sharpener or not. (I picked both with sharpener since I was paying so much, but it is nice because not everybody wants the waste if they have no use for it)
The Lid Lustres: I was thinking they would be a cream formula like the second release of those liquid pot eyeshadows from the VBxEL line (I think one was called Anais, don't know the other). They're actually more like these L'oreal inflatables or Hourglass & Marc Jacobs cream shadows. They come with a little stopper on top. The blond one especially was a bit crumbly and almost looked like it had already been swatched. The others looked pristine. Texture wise they are nothing like her EL release, color wise at first glance the gold and black seemed similar so that's why I got them. I don't have them to compare but I think they are a bit different. These are packed full with glitters (apparently they're Chrystals). My hand is still covered in them from swatching. I haven't tried them on the eye yet but I fear for fallout. They're ok but not something I gravitate towards so I don't know how much I will wear these tbh.
The eye brick: I knew it would be a small palette but this is actually even smaller than I expected. It fits in the palm of my hand, like the actual palm, not including fingers. It's weighty but I think it's overpriced for what it is. I ordered the Signature color one. Do not rely on the colors of the official images for this one. It's not as warm as it looks, which was a bit disappointing for me. I didn't pick up Tuxedo because it didn't look gray enough but from Instagram images I've seen it's a lot cooler so that one is deceiving too. I will use it but I wish I would have picked up Tweed instead, as that has the warmer browns I was looking for. I haven't tried the eyeshadow yet but I think 75% will get this for the packaging, that's what I did. Combining the tiny size and the way the shadows are laid out next to each other, I don't think this is worth the price. If you do like to freshen up your eyeshadow or you want to touch up during the day and need a mirror, this will look cool in your bag.
So all in all I am left a bit lackluster by the products. I think I am feeling a bit more negative due to the whole shipping thing and the fact it was never mentioned beforehand plus with the cost error they made for launch day peeps.
I hope they clean up their act when they release the lip stuff and the face stuff.
Would I order again? If this shipped from Europe I would not hesitate to buy extra eyeliners as needed. Now, I need to plan my purchases and make them as big as possible to get my money's worth.
I am curious for the next releases though. They still need to release lips and skin (I think they're working on skincare but I hope she has some powders as well)
I was a huge fan of her bronzers with EL but I hated the translucent face powder they did. Curious to see if she will release her own bronzers/powder/maybe powder blush? I always love her lipstick choices so I am excited about that too, but all in all this didn't leave me as impressed as I thought I would be.
I think if her whole brand had been released at once I would have made smarter choices instead of buying things that I know I won't use that much (Lid Lustres). But (as people who might follow the Low Buy thread know) I am an impulse shopper and easily influenced and hyped up, so I'm sure I'll end up going with something else. The big draw for me is that I love her color stories and this chique air she has about her. That's what drew me in for the EL collar as well, the colors were right up my alley : nude but sultry and smokey.
All in all if you're a casual or smart make-up buyer I wouldn't invest in this, if you love her style or luxe make-up packaging, then this will probably make you happy! It's not that you will be deceived by the quality because they're quality products, it's just that you would have probably expected more for the price, especially the teeny tiny eyeshadow palette.
All in all: I'm so sorry for this long ass post, this probably belongs on a blog and not on this forum but oh well. TLDR my general take-away is this: Shipping costs outside of US & UK BAD, Eyeliners good, rest of my choices nice but lackluster.
I am now watching some video's on youtube and I think this girl has it spot on btw!
www.victoriabeckhambeauty.com
