As we’ve entered the Internet Age in the last two decades, the process of buying all things beauty has changed forever. You can shop for your favorite lipstick online, sign up for your favorite beauty subscription, and even get your certification as a bonafide makeup artist.
But with all the good comes a little bad, and while there are tons of reputable beauty-driven sites out there, there are a few bad apples. We hate beauty scams, and that’s why we wanted to give you a few tips to teach you how not to get scammed and stay safe, smart, and totally glam when shopping for beauty products online. Read on for more!
1. Shop On Reliable Sites
If you’re wondering how not to get scammed when buying your favorite beauty products online, the first step is: shop on reliable websites! It might be incredibly tempting to buy that suspiciously cheap Chanel lipstick from a website you’ve never heard of, but this is the easiest way to fall prey to a makeup scam. If you can, avoid shopping from third party sellers at all and only shop at Sephora, Ulta, and the website of the makeup manufacturer.
If you do find a really sweet deal on Amazon though, just make sure to check the reviews and see if the seller has a legitimate service history. While it’s best to avoid third party sellers, even ones that are usually reliable, it’s good to know that Amazon will offer a return policy on pretty much everything! They will make sure you’re protected in case you do end up in the hands of a beauty scammer.
2. Read Tons Of Reviews
Another easy way to avoid a makeup scam, certification scams, or even a fake beauty subscription, is to read tons of reviews before you buy. If you’re shopping products from a new company or one that you haven’t heard of before, you can check The Better Business Bureau. You can read reviews from other customers and see if the company is a legitimate service. If you don’t want to go through all of that headache or are buying an individual product from a reseller online, read all of the reviews you can find!
Look for testimonials that comment on the quality of the product and the reliability of the seller. You should also try to look for in-house reviews from the beauty company’s main website. Find a company that is open and honest with their customers.
3. Double Check With The Manufacturer
If you’ve read reviews and are shopping on a reliable site but still have a few concerns about how not to get scammed, the best thing to do is to double check with the manufacturer. For example, if you’re buying a shade of Bobbi Brown’s Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in the shade sapphire shimmer ink, head to Bobbi Brown’s website and make sure they actually sell a shade called sapphire shimmer ink. (incase you’re wondering, they do, and it’s gorgeous!)
You can always call or email the manufacturing beauty company as well, and most of the time, customer service will be happy to help you verify the validity of a purchase. Or, if you’re trying to avoid makeup artist certification scams, call the company offering the certification! After all, they don’t want scammers preying on customers with their brand name on the line!
4. Look Out For Obvious Flaws
If you really want to avoid a makeup scam, try training your beauty detective eye to pick up on noticeable flaws. If you are buying beauty products online, start looking for defects or strange markings on the main packaging. Is the “n” in eyeliner missing from the product title? Does the product container look cheap and reused? Did you get the product in a package addressed from a personal address instead of a company? For makeup artist courses, does the certification company have a legitimate phone number or address on their website?
All of these could be signs that you, unfortunately, were victim to makeup or certification scams. If you’ve reached this stage, we recommend first doing everything you can to return the product and get your money back. Then, head to reputable online review sites (namely, The Better Business Bureau) and make sure you tell your story for other customers to be wary.
5. Use Secure Payment Systems
The biggest tip we have on how not to get scammed is make sure your are using secure payment systems when checking out! If you go to order a product or beauty subscription online and find yourself having to enter your bank account info for a direct transfer payment to the company – run! Make it a rule to only use secure methods like PayPal to check out.
Doing this will help you avoid an unnecessary makeup scam by making sure none of your personal, valuable information is shared with scammers. If you religiously use credit cards to shop online, try calling your credit card company and have them set a trigger on your card for suspicious activity. For example, ask them to call you to verify if you have a beauty purchase on the card that exceeds $50. Some credit card companies might make you go through a bit of a headache to set up these triggers, but in the end, it’ll be worth it incase someone jacks your card number!
How Not to Get Scammed – We Hate Scammers, And So Should You!
As a beauty company that prides itself on selling quality products and beauty subscription services our customers love, we absolutely hate online beauty scams. Beauty companies, especially ones just getting started, pour in hours of hard work to build their brand and their community, and all of that can be wiped out in one quick go from dishonest scammers. We hope these tips will help you stay clear of these unfortunate fiends, and in the spirit of complete disclosure, we hope you’ll check out LiveGlam reviews online to see what we’re really all about! If you’ve experienced a bad beauty scam, please share your story in the comments down below so other beauty lovers can avoid the trap! Happy (and safe!) shopping, everyone!
Preeti Sareen