UPDATE: Grin, Then Wear It: Benefit Cosmetics Responds To Consumerist

Brianna has never been much for high-end makeup, but she bought a bottle of Benefit’s Benetint blush/lip tint at Sephora and brought it with her on a business trip. The cap broke, and she had to dispose of the entire bottle. Benefit’s response, paraphrased: “That sucks. We hope you buy more of our products!”

At $28, Benetint isn’t cheap, and Briana had to throw the whole thing away. Disappointed, she e-mailed the company:

I’ve never been much a makeup girl. If I bought makeup, it was from the drugstore. On sale.

Last Christmas, while buying something from Sephora for my sister, I decided to try some Benetint as I’d always heard good things about it. I love the product. It looks natural and really makes me look more energized. I became a girl who puts on makeup (even if it’s just blush) every morning.

I have been severely disappointed by the packaging, however. Within days, all of the lettering rubbed off of the bottle, which I thought was kind of ugly. Then recently, while screwing on the lid, it cracked. I could no longer seal the bottle completely. I travel regularly for business, and as this happened on one of my trips, I had to throw the bottle away. Not being able to take it while traveling means the product is much less useful for me. I’m disappointed and will have to consider this when I think about whether or not it’s worth investing in more expensive makeup if the packaging isn’t durable.

Thanks
Brianna

Benefit responded, and the e-mail made it quite clear that the customer service rep didn’t even read past the first paragraph of Brianna’s e-mail. It contained instructions for returning defective products purchased on Benefit’s own Web site. Not only did Brianna not purchase the product from their Web site, she no longer had the bottle in hand to return it.

She wrote back to express her disappointment in Benefit’s response.

Thanks for your prompt reply to my previous inquiry (copied below). Given the contents of your note, I fail to believe that you even read what I wrote. After packaging from one of your products failed, I was forced to dispose of my Benetint. Hence, I cannot return it to you. Given the service I have received from your company, I plan to go elsewhere for my cosmetic needs.

Best,
Brianna

This got Benefit’s attention. Sort of. They e-mailed her back, but weren’t able to actually, you know, help her.

Hello Brianna,

Thank you for writing to us at Benefit Cosmetics.

You have our sincere apologies for the previous response you received from us. The problem with the benetint cap breaking is known to us, and we are sorry it happened to you. We have forwarded your comments to the appropriate department for consideration.

One of our aims at Benefit Cosmetics is to provide convenient and efficient service; in this case, we have not met that standard.

We’re sorry that we weren’t able to fulfill these expectations of this level of service. We hope that you will give us another opportunity to prove the quality of our service to you.

Laughter is the best cosmetic, so grin and wear it.

Angelica G.
Benefit Cosmetics Customer Service

So they know about the problem, will perhaps consider changing the packaging someday, and hope that she will give them another chance. Um, no.

I would suggest contacting Sephora, the retailer where Brianna bought the original bottle. As a company trying to sell high-end cosmetics in a recession, they would probably be delighted to know that one of their vendors is selling a defective product and is in no hurry to change the packaging.