If it’s more of a superficial reason, like the packaging isn’t my cup of tea, it’s definitely possible. If it’s because their products haven’t worked for me (generally and historically), it’s possible but unlikely. If it’s for a deeper reason, like treating customers badly, it’s extremely unlikely–the problem is that time is often the only way to show change, so it’s possible but may take many years to prove changes.
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Like Christine, it depends on the reason I dislike the brand. If their products haven’t worked for me in the past, I might still be open to trying a new formula. But if it’s because of something about the company that offends my sensibilities, that’s another story.
That said, I now feel like a hypocrite for not using only cruelty-free products. This is something I must change starting right now. Thank you for this question, Christine. It has really made me think about what’s important to me when it comes to buying beauty products. 🙂
Seraphine, I hope you don’t mind if I recommend Phyrra Nyx, My Beauty Bunny, Logical Harmony, and Leaping Bunny as resources for CF beauty. (PETA’s list is outdated and not even always correct.)
Thank you, Rachel R. That’s helpful!
Exactly what I was thinking and more! And thank you for the Phyrra Nyx tip, Rachel–they’re a source I hadn’t heard much about, but I trust this community, so I will definitely be adding them to my growing list of cruelty free resources.
Phyrra (Courtney) has become a friend to me, and she is very thorough when questioning a company. She also frequently touches base with My Beauty Bunny and another CF blogger (I can’t remember which right now) to compare notes. They’re very diligent and ethical people who do a great job.
I’m not completely CF, but I’m trying to do better. Every little bit helps!
Thanks from me too!
It’s hard to stop using some brands, but I do really try to go cruelty free. I guess it’s also often a habit, just using what I’m used to.
Will have to do better!
We all do the best we can. I make an exception for MAC because of Viva Glam and Back to MAC (good for the environment), but I need to be better about resisting NARS now that they’re no longer CF. Not everyone can do everything CF due to income, availability, allergies, etc. But every little bit helps, IMHO.
I can indeed have my mind changed (for good or ill) by the products themselves. But if the company’s owner’s treatment of their own staff, scorn for customers or some of their personal philosophies (extreme right wing/white supremacist leanings, anti LGBTQ sentiments, etc.) become known and are those I object to strongly, I will kiss the brand good-bye.
So how do you find out if a cosmetic company has white supremicist, anti LGBTQ, etc. sentiments? This would be really good to know.
Well, I’m hardly the most au courant person when it comes to drama and scuttlebutt in the makeup community but when I hear things in the beauty community or via my daughter (who is much more up with the times), that will affect my buying. I remember there was a lot of talk about Jeffree Starr and how poorly he treats people – stuff like that. There are so many brands to choose from that I’ll generally avoid brands where there’s a bit of a “taint” in that way.
Mariella,
Like you, my daughter is the one that keeps me up on these things. She majored in Women’s Gender and Sexuality and is always current on what is happening. She is also very pro LGBTQ and maintains a current roster of places she won’t support with her business, ie Hobby Lobby, Salvation Army, etc. She won’t even go inside a Hobby Lobby! She is bi-racial so anything and anybody who is racist better watch out when she starts a conversation with them. For those reasons, she will not support Jeffree Star, Kat Von D, etc.
I will have to ask her if she knows of a place that keeps tabs on that sort of thing.
If you follow Trendmood on instagram people are always talking in the comments on posts. That’s how I typically hear about brand/brand owner issues and then I google to see if I can find out more concrete information.
Thank you, Brian! I’ll check them out.
I go back and forth about this a lot. You mentioned in your answer that there are different reasons for disliking a brand, including superficial reasons like packaging. That made me think of ‘coolness factor.’ It’s undeniably superficial- almost zero products can be recognized once they’re on the face. And yet… I think I can forgive other things more easily. Greasy formulas and collaborations with terrible people can be fixed. We’ve seen with The Ordinary, Jeffrey Starr, Lime Crime, and Tarte that brands can make serious business mistakes, learn from them, and then fix the issue going forward.
But can any brand regain coolness? And considering that one can find excellent product at any price point, doesn’t one’s personal perception of coolness then become even more of a deciding factor?
So at least for me, once a brand stops being cool and enters what I like to call “Grandma Territory” I don’t want the stuff on my vanity anymore.
Nope. Once I’m done with a brand, I’m done. I’ve learned that the hard way by giving second and third chances, but no more. In particular, if it’s a high end brand and I’m disappointed with a product, they’ve lost my business on the first try. I’m looking at you Charlotte Tilbury, Tom Ford and By Terry. C’est la fin!
Totally agree with this, giving 2nd and 3rd chances to super high end brands that charges an arm and a leg for under-performing products is a no-no. For me, it’s the equivalent of going to an expensive restaurant and getting disappointed by the food and service, I’m hard pressed to spend money there again.
It’s possible, but not probable – if it’s for superficial reasons, sure I can get over it, but if it’s something that really goes against my ethics, then no. Typically when I’m done with something, i.e brand, tv show, person, I’m done with it. Sunday Riley will always be dead to me after finding out about that whole fake review situation. And I know they aren’t the only brand who has or will do this, but having actual knowledge of it makes everything different. I’ll never purchase from a Kardashian/Jenner for personal reasons and I will never purchase anything with Jaclyn Hills’ name attached to it for obvious reasons. But Too Faced, I could possibly see myself purchasing from again even after that Rich Lives Matter debacle, but they are treading a very thin line with me. Also, there are so many brands out there, that once you write one off, there’s another one to replace it easily.
Once someone has shown who they are, it’s impossible for a consumer with a moral compass to go back. I’m talking racism, misogyny, bigotry in any form.
What I put on my face is not as important as having ethics, no matter the formula, price point or pretty packaging.
Personally I tend not to have such `strong` feelings towards brands, so I can’t say I actually dislike one. I’m not that opinionated on what brands supports or represents (and I know I’m a minority on that and I often get tons of pushback from others because `I don’t care that much`). My personal focus is on products, I either like or dislike a product for myself. So usually if I think that a product would be good for me, I don’t take into consideration the brand, because every brand has some hits or misses.
I do have maybe have a general opinion of the brand. Like Christine mentioned, there are some brands that historically haven’t worked for me, but I don’t dislike them; I might be more careful to document a purchase before jumping the wagon, but I’m open to explore. I can change my mind definitely, but it takes time. For example, after trying many poor quality eyeliners from Maybelline, I might need to try more than 1-2 liners before jumping semi-blindly on a purchase; and since Estee Lauder/MAC/Becca complexion products usually work amazing for me, it would take more than 1-2 fails to start being more careful with their product.
Well, that would all depend on why I dislike the brand in question. If it’s because of unsavory, questionable business ethics, poor treatment of customers, overt racist behavior or anything else of this nature, it is doubtful that my mind can be changed towards them, barring a miraculous turnaround! Even then, it will take time, probably plenty of it, for me to fully trust them or want to buy their products.
On the other hand, if it’s just up to my own personal taste, I can still appreciate quality and such, even if the brand aesthetics aren’t tugging at me.
If it’s about poor quality… again, it may be a very long while before I trust any changes for the positive that the brand has truly committed to a permanent change for the better.
Worst of all, though, is when a brand insists on using questionable ingredients and formulas, ie; Too Faced use of sodium saccharine in their eyeshadows, ColourPop now including straight up GLITTER that is labeled as non-eyesafe in freaking eyeshadow palettes! This is the sort of thing that sets off the bees in my bonnet! This is one way to insure that I will now look at the brand askance.
Glitter of any kind in any eye product confuses me, even micro glitter. Colourpop is definitely the most brazen with it, for sure–especially when you look at how many have been produced recently. And then there are their selection of pressed pigments that are “not recommended for use in the eye area.” I still love them as a brand, but I question some of their product decisions.
In really thinking about this question I have come to realize that once my faith in something or someone is shaken, it is difficult for me to move past that. Clearly an area I need to work on. I recognize this in my daughter but didn’t think it was an issue for me but it really is and I will need to be better about it. I haven’t purchased anything from Tarte since the foundation launch fiasco. I haven’t purchased anything from Nars since they gave away their cruelty free status. I haven’t purchased anything from Violet Voss since the Holy Grail palette launch debacle. I haven’t purchased anything from ABH since the Subculture palette problems. I am surprised at myself that I am that unforgiving and in some cases the reasons are pretty petty. Some of it is likely due to the fact that those brands just haven’t launched anything that I was interested in actually purchasing. Definitely appreciate this question. I think if I was asked I would say that it isn’t a problem and honestly, I hadn’t realized that I hadn’t purchased from Nars since that time.
From a purely intellectual stand point, I would say that if the company has responded inappropriately to customers I would likely not purchase from them again. If it was a product or packaging issue I don’t think that would bother me at all. I would assume it is down to personal preference where the packaging is concerned but I would give the brand another chance with a product that reviewed well and would meet my needs.
It is possible. But if a brand uses in their products harmful ingredients (alcohol, artificial fragrance, triclosan, SLS/SLES, phthalates like DBP, DEHP, DEP, some PEGS, DEA, just to name a few), I stay away from that brand from the beginning. If they remove them, I am ready to reconsider their products. In this case, it is not so much a question that I dislike the brand, but that I choose not to gamble with my skin by putting on my face & body, daily, these bad ingredients.
It happens that I don’t buy from some brands because I don’t like the values put forward by the company, or the values/personality of the owner. A brand that promotes misleading advertising, or that does not disclose the list of ingredients but mentions only the “active” ones (i.e. lipstick infused with a, b, c oils/extracts, which may be at the bottom of a list of 20 fillers, parabens and silicones, so of no real benefit), is not my cup of tea.
We are in 2019 and I think it’s high time the beauty brands stopped using only 20-something models with airbrushed features, and started using real people, of all ages, who actually have dark circles, dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, eye bags etc.
I can and have welcomed back brands once I’ve disliked them. But usually the reasons I dislike those brands are superficial when compared to other brands. There are two brands that come to mind immediately – Jeffree Star and Too Faced – that I will not use ever again due to the behaviors of the founders. They’re bullies and I will not be lining the pockets of cruel individuals.
I should also add Kat Von D, that brand was cancelled from my vanity and rightfully so because I cannot support the founder as well.
So…I guess the lesson is if a founder behaves badly, I won’t give them a second chance. If the formulation of a product improves, or a brand becomes cruelty-free, I’ll give them another chance.
Like many have said, it depends on the reason. At this point in time the only brand I absolutely refuse to buy is Kat von D, based solely on her anti-vax position. I will not knowingly ever support someone who in my opinion lacks an ounce of common sense. I’m not easily offended by any means, but that is something I feel very strongly about, in real life have cut off a friendship based on the person refusing to vaccinate their child.
I think celebrities/company figureheads need to be very careful when taking these kind of stances publicly, it can be very damaging. Better to just say nothing at all.
Most of the brands that have had standout ethical concerns, I never bought from to begin with. But money wasted on poor quality eyeshadow formulas from Dior and By Terry, (the latter’s earlier single formula was excellent), translate into my ignoring their es releases. Does that mean that I would never buy a BT product? No, I have many of their shadow sticks and love their mascara. With Dior, those five pan quads and their perfume-y lipstick formula have kind of turned me off to the overall brand. Or if a brand is constantly recycling the same warm colors over and over, I just assume that they are not for me. There are a lot of brands whose offerings I don’t really follow much. Season after season and I just tune them out unless you or other influencers draw my attention to them.
I hear you, but don’t turn yourself off from Dior Foundations. By far their winning products.
Thanks for the tip, but I rarely wear foundation. I just found a healthy brand that has a cc-cream with non-nano PDF, so to me that’s a foundation.
It’s possible, but it’s pretty unlikely that I’ll change my mind once I’ve decided not to buy from a brand. There are just so many brands out there, so a brand that was on my bad side would have to not only clean up their act, but release something so totally unique and amazing that I couldn’t get it elsewhere for a similar price and somehow couldn’t live without it in my makeup collection.
I really do feel similarly to Amy X. It’s just like restaurants. I live somewhere with a lot of options to eat out — if I have a bad experience or read bad reviews of a place, there’s no real reason for me to go eat there even if I hear they’ve turned things around.
It’s really not that serious to me so takes a lot for me to dislike a brand. I have a vague dislike for UD just bc I’ve never used anything I like that much and dislike the sexual names. They just keep beating a dead horse. But I’d be open to so
Ethi g spectacular.
Kay von d —not a fan never tried any of her stuff not into tats and goth and from what I’ve read she seems a bit unlikable never wi tryKardashisn stuff.
Guess it depends on my level of dislike. I will most likely not try celebrity makeup.
Depends, I’ll give a brand another try if it’s a quality issue and reports are all over that they’re rocking it now.
Other stuff? Not so much. KvD, done. Lime Crime? Done, the offender is still on the Board so she’s benefiting from the company, there’s other companies out there to give my money to. Nudestix? They were my favorite brand but they’re on my no-buy list until I find out and explanation for a certain infamous IG photo beyond their mother saying “they’re Canadian.” J.Hill has never been on my radar and never will be, when you spend so much effort publicly lying and then backpedaling in order to sell makeup I don’t have time for that.
So I guess I’m saying there’s enough brands out there that I don’t have time for brands who act like the Specialist Special that ever Specialed. I try to get information before I make a decision but in the case of Nudestix where they’re just hiding behind their mother I figure that’s my cue that they don’t want to act like business owners so I don’t need to pretend to be a customer.
I can stand many things but NOT sh***ty customer service.
Looking at you, Zoya…
It also depends on why I dislike them. Packaging: If it’s changed to something better, I’m down with changing my mind. If I don’t like the products/they don’t work on me: I’ll keep tabs on reviews. If I notice big formula revamps with good reviews, I may try the brand again. Not everything works on everyone, and I wouldn’t hold that against a brand.
Bad customer service: If I hear the brand has really improved theirs, and I like their products, I’d be fine with giving them another chance.
Treating customers like crap/making fun of people/undesirable owners: Damn near impossible. I’d have to see sweeping changes, firings, and sincere apologies for treating customers terribly, harassing reviewers, or ridiculing anyone. As for crappy owners, they’d have to be pretty much have to do a believable, long-term 180 in attitude or sell the company for me to consider buying. Yes, I know a lot of companies have terrible people in charge, and I don’t know who they all are, but I can vote with my dollars based on the information I do have.
“or sell the company for me to consider buying.” That should say buying their products again! LMAO I’m afraid I’m not in the position to by their companies.
*buy, not by…Can you all tell I got 4 hours of sleep last night. Dear me!
But if you do buy a company I’ll certainly start buying the products (again)! 🙂
Aw, thank you!
If it’s an issue of a brand having hit and miss products as far as quality and performance I’m much more likely to give the brand another shot if they have a low price point. I’m a lot less likely if it’s a luxury brand, I don’t think there is any excuse for brands that charge those prices to have subpar products. When it comes to problematic behavior of a brand owner it depends on the changes made over time. I was a Limecrime customer until the data breach, I was lucky in that as soon as my bank was alerted the thousands of dollars I lost was restored and I didn’t have any issues with paying bills or having money to eat but a lot of people weren’t that lucky. Their response to the situation was reprehensible in my opinion, deleting comments trying to let other people know what was going on and refusing to address it themselves until it was far too late. That’s also when I found out more about Doe Deere and what kind of person she was. So I stopped buying from Limecrime. When I found out she sold the company and the leadership had changed I felt comfortable buying again and now I understand she’s not on the board anymore so I don’t even need to feel conflicted about that.
Yes, though it will take some time. It’s nice if brands can take the criticism and improve.
I’d like to think so but I’m fickle, so realistically . . . no. I’ve realized that when I buy makeup, I’m really buying an image of myself that I aspire to and I’m buying the way I feel when I put the products on my face. If a brand ruins that image of what and subsequently why I’m buying, I take that personal and feel betrayed (dramatic, I know) and will look elsewhere.
Also the less I know about the owner(s) behind the brand, the better. Give me all the product information, sparkly pictures, ingredient lists, etc. but I don’t need to see excessive personal day-in-the-life pictures and hear “rants” about xxx or know your romantic situation. It ruins the illusion for me and I will never want to buy from that drama or wear anything you sell after that.
Of all the reasons I like and buy from a brand, the owner being dramatic and needy and over present on social media is not one of them. Brand accounts need to be brand accounts; keep it about products and launches and release dates and ingredients etc. I have a much better time forgiving a brand poor performance than I do forgiving a brand owner for being someone I don’t like.
I made a fairly coherent answer, then a dog squiffed the iPad and lost it. Heartily agree about the ingredients featured being at the bottom of the list, and the hypocrisy of many ‘natural’ brands. Certain brands have product categories ruled out, due to allergies, shade match, etc. But, if I ruled out all their stuff, I would have no product. Brands that have been wrought by scandal, whether it is poor response/service to customers, or influencer feuds, uh, no. If the line is a non fit, most TF and all CT, no more. KVD, well, anyone who is willing to endanger the public for a personal opinion that goes against scientific fact does not get my support, and I patronized her heavily. No Ks, no J*, no LC (even though I read here they are reformed.): sometimes you know in advance not to go there. The 90s/old style girl brands (Trish, Bobbi, Laura) are in the rearview mirror. As are tf and most Tarte. Puerile. Targeting the younger customer base….which is when I realized that AGEISM is a factor for me. Having been a victim of ageism on the job, I realized on some level, that unconsciously, I reject or drop brands that foster ageism. I like commitment to inclusivity, despite the fact that my skeptical/cynical side says it’s a $ grab and marketing. But, I am not fully true to my general principals. I do not kiss non CF brands goodbye, despite being the person who live traps mice and releases them, shoos insects out the door, and for years volunteered primarily with birds at the local wildlife center. We are all full of contradictions.
Same for superficial reasons.
But for poor customer service experiences? I’ve had bitchy responses from concerns about orders from a few indie places and never shopped with them again, fifteen years past in one case.
If a place never sat well with me before making a purchase I’ll probably never make one. Like Lime Crime and Jeffrey Star. Or if a company has publicized their views of discrimination (chick-fil-a, boy scouts, etc) or opinions that create public health dangers (kat von d), then I’m out for life. There isn’t any coming back for me.
I *do* try and support companies that are actively trying to change their image by going cruelty free, charities, lessening their environmental impact – even if they aren’t necessarily my cup of tea. If we don’t support efforts, how can we expect anything to change?
Once I’ve decided I’m done with a brand I’m done, kind of like I’ve been with my exes. My turn offs are: multiple products released that have subpar quality, blatant money grab product release, poor customer service and last but not least brand owners whose views behaviors I cannot support.
Last time I was Sephora the MUA recommended KVD and my immediate response was “not interested”. As much as I lusted over the Lolita palette I refused to buy it, I cannot support the racist anti-vaccer whose husband disowned his teenage daughter for sleeping with his band mates vs. being mad at the grown men who slept with an underage girl.
Besides, the UD Aphrodisiac palette was almost the same thing.
But I get what you’re saying.
Years back, I fell in love with Bare minerals. In the winter in So FLa. well, summer came and something with heat and minor sweat burned my skin. I discovered Everyday Minerals. I loved it. I also loved the forum, the community and just the feel of the brand. I met women all over the world and it was great. Then the owner changed her formula, someone had a reaction and got treated horribly. The forum reacted, the owner and her staff got nasty and in days, with no announcement, took it offline. I was sad. Age and moving to a dry climate helped me move from mineral makeup after that. Thankfully too, as the one indie brand that was amazing and made me a custom blend, retired.
I am now drawn to brands for quality. I find amazing ideas from this site as well as the commenters. 🙃
I share your thought process Christine.
Not really. There is just too much to choose from in beauty nowadays.
Examples of brands I will not buy from:
Anything Kardashian- Sorry, do not like anything this family represents.
Too Faced- Cheesy packaging and products loaded with fragrance & other unnecessary crap ingredients like sodium saccharine.
Sisley- Ridiculously overpriced and overly fragranced products
MAC -Eight of the nine times I have ventured into a MAC store the SAs have been rude and obnoxious or completely unhelpful.
No way… In my country, major brands like Bobbi Brown, Clinique and Mac are imported and distributed by a single company with extremely poor customer relations. I’ve had disappointing experiences with all these brands in the past. Also, I prefer cruelty-free brands.
It IS possible, but a little tough. Generally, I dislike a brand because either the products have failed repeatedly or they just don’t appeal to me aesthetically. Obviously, a brand makeover can fix the aesthetic issues. For products I just don’t like, that’s a little tougher. Honestly, since I subscribe to a few beauty subs (used to be many more), including a new product in an Ipsy or a Boxycharm is a great way to possibly bring me back to a brand I won’t shop on my own.
The other point you mentioned, the reputation of the brand (or owner) isn’t usually as big a deal for me, unless I experience the issue personally. I understand not wanting to give my money to someone who is at odds with my personal beliefs, and there are times I would go by that. But unless I am personally really offended, I buy products I like. Perfect example: J*. I love the products but have mixed feelings on him as a person. But…I love his work and feel the prices are reasonable so I buy. Having experienced extremely slow shipping from his site, however, whenever possible I prefer to purchase his products from Morphe.
I knew he would be the more frequently mentioned owner of a beauty brand here. I’ve been conflicted about placing another order. Blue Blood has been on my mind a lot! Ah, there are far worse things out there, or so I believe, like MAC.
Like you Christine, it depends upon what the problem was to begin with. If it were a matter of a few dud palettes and then the brand brings out some good ones, then yes, I will purchase from them
But if the brand owner becomes embroiled in all kinds of social media storms, then I think if this is the way that person behaves in public, what are they like in private? So no, I don’t purchase from them either.
If a brand uses offensive names for their products – like NARS, I am pretty well turned off the brand.
When a brand decides to sell in China – sorry, but no. I purchased a few of my non cruelty free brand products before I knew about the issue and now I just use them up and do not re-purchase from that brand.