Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Bad Experience :( Polish+Plus aka Polish+AssKicking aka Wicked Tips aka Nail Candy Plus

Alright, I know that some of you ladies are friends with or like this person, and I am sorry that I have to make this post but I feel that it has become necessary.  Unfortunately some people think that creating and selling quality Indie polish is an easy thing to do.  Well they are sadly mistaken and obviously did not do enough research or testing of their own products.  You unfortunately can not just through some glitter in a base, add some pigment, and sell.  You do need to let your product sit for at least a month, if you are using larger glitters you need to let it sit longer, before you sell to people, because problems can arise with glitters and bases and pigments over time.  Which will be shown here.

I currently have 4 polishes in my possession created by Tina of what is now called Polish+Asskicking, because apparently she now considers herself up there with Lynnderella.  After the whole debacle with Lynnderella, Tina made some posts herself ranting like a 5 year old about people talking bad about her and her polishes.  I will tell you right now that it was me, and I was talking to a very good friend of mine about them and only her.  I felt comfortable doing this, because she too had a bad experience with Tina.  We were not back stabbing her or anything like that, what I said to Jen I had already said to Tina. But there were some childish posts made on facebook and some things said that made Tina jump to the conclusion that people were talking behind her back.  Sorry Tina, you're not that important, we were just discussing how we both got screwed by you with your less than standard polish. (I am sorry everyone I may at times revert to 5 year old behavior myself, but I am just fed up)

Jen of Jen's Nail Files was the first to purchase one of Tina's creations, Rainbow Bright, which at the time was a "one of kind" "never to be made again".  Then when Tina realized that others like it, she decided to heck with what she had told Jen and she created large amounts and sold it to more people.  So she ultimately lied to Jen when she said she wouldn't create it again, which yes is her right but is pretty shady business practice in my opinion.  Least to say Jen was not impressed with this polish, because she found it impossible to work with.  It is very thick and very goopy (I know not a word, but hey it's the best description I can come up with right now).  It also has very long dry times, I let one coat dry on a false nail for 20 minutes and it still smeared. Here are the pictures of it:


This is what the brush looks like taken right out of the bottle. No dripping of any kind.



This shows one coat which was difficult to get to lay evenly.  When it does it's a fairly nice looking polish but has horrible dry time.






After 20 minutes it was still wet to the touch. I tested it to see if it was dry and it came off on my finger.



Jen sent this to me, so that I could attempt to thin it out a little bit and make it workable. I have not tried yet.



So while this was on it's way to me, Tina released some polishes that really did look lovely in the pictures she posted for $4 for a mini.  Now I did think this was a little bit steep since she is just starting out, but I figured what do I know.  Well I should have listened to that little voice in my head saying don't do it!! Because I have had nothing but problems since I ordered this polish from her.

First she charged me over $5 for shipping costs and materials.  Seriously people since when does it cost $3 for a bubble mailer and some bubble wrap??  But whatever.  I paid $1.95 for shipping, $1.49 for a 5.75X8.75 inch bubble mailer from the U.S. Postal service. I guess the rest was for bubble wrap. So very inflated shipping costs, just so you know. But I went ahead and figured I would give her the benefit of the doubt even though Jen kindly warned me against it.

So I ordered Tina's Call to Arms, which appears to be a black jellyish base with semi large khaki green hex glitters, smaller holo hex glitters, and even smaller black and holo glitters.  It looked wonderful in the picture she posted and it looked nice when I got it.  Until the next day, when I looked at it and all the larger hex glitters had started to curl.


This is the first day I noticed the curling.






This is now. It's even dull looking. And as you can see the hex glitters have curled worse.












ICKY!!!




GROSS.


The polish is now dried and goopy.  Hardly any comes out on the brush what so ever.







Now this could have all been avoided had she tested her glitters in her base before she sold them.  All she would have had to do was let it sit for at least a month to make sure there were no issues.  Obviously she didn't.  So I emailed her and told her about the problem.  And she responded fairly quickly saying she was sorry and that she had let it sit there for a while.  Her while is less than a week, I went back and looked on her page when she posted that she got her glitter and then when she got her base and then when she posted the polishes.  Not enough time to test out the glitters.  But my fault, because I should have done this research before I purchased from her. So she asked if she could send me something else.  To which I said that would work, but I would prefer smaller glitters this time around.  Along with a list of 4 polishes letting her know that they were in order of liked most to least.  And I sent her the bottle shot, so that she could see I wasn't making it up. She said that she would send me the first one from my list the next day. At this point I was understanding even though I was pretty upset that the color I purchased was junk. But she was willing to replace it right away and with my next pick out of her polishes. So I figured that was the next best thing to getting a refund, which seemed pointless after all the shipping expenses. So then the next day comes and I am grocery shopping with my 3 kids and get a message on facebook from her saying that someone decided they wanted to purchase the polish that was first on my list so she was going to sell it to that person and send me 2 off my list instead. At this point I'm mad. Because that seems very rude and not very businesslike to me. I already paid for a polish it is not my fault that they polish I purchased was crappy.  So she then asks for my shipping info, this is on the 13th, and say she is shipping that day. So I wait and wait and wait and wait some more. Until I finally message her on the 20th and ask if she shipped the polish or what the heck was going on. To which she tells me no, she didn't, because she didn't have the money.  Really!?! someone supposedly just purchased the polish that should have been mine, and you don't have money to ship mine?!? I don't respond to her though, and the next day she messages me and says she shipped that day.  I say Thank you.

In the midst of this is the Lynnderella drama.  And Tina jumps on that band wagon apparently thinking that she can now do and say whatever she wants and makes a comment on Facebook about closing her page and blah blah blah.  Then the next day she's not closing, but she is selling her shoddy polish to some poor unassuming Salon near her. I am thinking oh my gosh those poor people. Somewhere in there she apparently closed her page or it was when she changed the name, I'm not sure, but someone asked where she went and Jen commented saying "Her personal page still exists. Perhaps she didn't take to the feedback regarding her polishes? I know there were a couple people less than pleased with her product." To which she answered "Eh they can kiss it. People opinions dont hit me that strongly. Besides Noone told ME they must have just complained to others." Now I'm sure Jen was referring to me and I'm assuming herself.  If there are others I don't know. But then she started posting 5 year old rants and that was just icing on the cake of me already not being happy with her customer service skills.

So today I get a package from her with 2 mini polishes in it.  One I find out after much research is one that I had asked for, which I wouldn't have done if the picture looked anything like the polish in real life. Here they are:

Now I'm sorry, but these are colors that I could go to Walmart and buy for 99 cents. These are not lovely Indie creations. She sent me one that I didn't ask for at all and never would have (the pink) and the one that I liked a little bit but least out of the ones that I did like. Really come on.

These are also, very thick and not easy to work with.







These are not as thick as the others, but then they don't have any real glitter in them so why would they be. 


They are however still a pain to work with.














This is 3 thick coats to get a semi even look.  This went on very streaky and has horrible coverage.



Between the two angles you can see the "bare" spots.



This has so many flakies in it that it dries lumpy but most of the time you can't even see the flakies. This is again 3 thick coats. 



This color was also, very streaky and left bare spots.






So I messaged her and told her "Received the replacement polishes today. Not entirely happy with them. They are pretty yes, but not really something that I would have paid $4. Not to mention the $5 that you charged me for shipping and then when I got the package the first time the sticker said $1.95 for shipping or something close to that." To which she responded
  • I'm sorry I dunno what to do though. I dont have money to send anything else and one of them you actually asked for.
  • And yes it may have said whatever price to ship however the packaging is not free and not always cheap.

    At this point I am really very offended by her previous statements and comments, and just plain fed up with her. So I respond back " Yes one of them I did ask for, it was the last one on the list of 4 that I liked, which means that I liked it the least, and it doesn't look anything at all like the picture that I looked at, so I didn't even realize until I went through the album that I had asked for it. And the one that I would have wanted the most CeCe you sold to someone else, after I had told you that that was the one I would have wanted the most in place of the one that I obviously liked the most since I paid such a redundant amount of money for it, coming from someone who obviously did not properly test out her products. So I apologize for obviously wasting your time since you can not be bothered to have decent customer service skills. And I do understand that shipping materials are not free, I am not a fucking idiot thank you. But I am 100% sure that there are bubble mailers cheaper than $1.49. I promise, I've seen them. So obviously this is all completely my fault for giving you the benefit of the doubt even though I had previously heard bad things about your polish mixing skills or lack there of."

    Now I know that my response was a little harsh, but seriously? How do expect to replace a glitter polish with 2 shimmery polishes?? And I'm not trying to be rude or mean but these are colors that I can purchase at the drug store. Give me a break these are not quality products.


    I will now apologize for anyone who may have been offended by this post: I'm sorry, but after all the stuff that's been said and been happening this is how I feel and I had to share it.


    I hope everyone comes back again soon.  Have a wonderful day and don't forget to smile, you never know whose looking :)


    SIDE NOTE!! SHE HAS APPARENTLY CLOSED HER FACEBOOK PAGE, BUT BEFORE DOING SO SHE DID START A NEW BLOG CALLED WICKED TIPS, WHICH IS WHAT SHE WAS NAMING HER BRAND. SO BEWARE IF YOU SEE WICKED TIPS POP UP, IT'S HER, I was super tired when I made this post and completely forgot to add that to it.

45 comments:

  1. I'm sorry this happened to you. I hate that she goes around defending her flaws like it's perfectly acceptable and dandy that her products are not of quality. Just because she's "not a businesswoman" doesn't giver her the right to sell you gloopy bottles of glue! Honestly, looking at the mess of polish she gave you, I'd feel really scammed too.

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  2. Okay so, I'm completely not offended by this because for one, I don't know her and two, I love the honesty of calling her out on this. People who run shoddy businesses should step up and improve. If they don't then they should fail. I seriously <3 you for this post!

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  3. WOW!! JUST WOW!!! Thanks for teaching me that when buying indies, do some research! Just because they look pretty doesn't mean anything! but then again, there always has to be a "first" buyer! I like the way she "helped" you back.. I don't know, she should be ashamed of herself. You know, I mean we are a community of people who have a hobby. It can cost a lot but, we work hard for our money. SO for people to do this to others. its just sad. I am sorry this happened to you and I know it doesn't help much but believe in KARMA!! I do. It may take a bit of time but she will get hers and your post helps! If just for me to not buy any, it helps! I will be posting this article on my blog if you give me permission. I don't have many followers but if I can prevent on person, then I feel I did something right! I also, know Jen. She is awesome! I did my first ever swap with her. So anyhow, let me know if you don't mind me sharing this because I do feel people need to know!! and again I am sorry this happened to you !

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    1. Anyone that wants to share this most is more than welcome and even encouraged to share it! Thank you :)

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  4. I didn't know her, but the polishes she sent you are just horrible!!

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  5. I'm sorry but I saw this all this coming from her a long time ago. Tina is a horrible, horrible person! From her attacking and making deplorable comments to people in the "nail polish world", asking bloggers "How can I get companies to send me free sh#t!?", her disgusting racist comments on her personal page then basking people by asking "Who the fuck would pay that much for polish?" (then ironically charge the same prices for her crap!) I had never imagined that she would be a good, smart businesswoman and indie polish maker.

    Thank you for educating people on how she is, I hope people will stop buying from her.

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    1. I didn't know about the really any of that, Lisa so thank you for shedding even more light on the situation.

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    2. I just want to add she was asking every indie maker where and how to make polish. As we all can see she didn't do any research. I've been making polish for months and I am nowhere near an expert. I'm still learning new things all the time. I know for a fact she was asking people where to find supplies then a day or two later already had things for sale. She went to a craft store and bought cheap glitter and just mixed it into crappy polish she already had at home.

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    3. Oh lordy, Lisa and Amber are very right. She bashed creators, bashed indie prices, bashed shipping prices- and then turns around and does the same thing, the difference being her stuff was (is) crap. Nothing but drama, and not a nice person. She's made a lot of... well, not enemies, but not-friends from all her crap. I cringed when I saw a blogger I follow highlighting her polishes, but I said nothing.

      Put it this way- a close friend and I privately cheered when she was removed from a private Facebook group we're in. Cheered. It was a happy day. And I get along with almost anyone!

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  6. I thank you for your honesty!! Personally, I was already planning on not buying her stuff. Her childish rants alone turned me off from giving her my business.

    I think it's hilarious she thinks she's so awesome because some tiny salon down the street from her was duped into buying her polish. Heck, I could mix a few polishes together and probably find a small salon or two nearby to sucker into buying my "one of a kind creation." But Im not a shady person and I would never do that.

    It's people like this that give indie sellers a bad name!!

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  7. Thank you for this post. Another one to add to my list of "no freaking thank you".

    I think people like this take away from the good sellers out there and it makes me rage. sigh. I think the indie bubble is bursting and people aren't going to put up with shoddy product anymore!

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  8. Good lord. Let me start off by saying that I was the one she was referring to when she was trash talking indie polish prices. And while it was kind of awesome to see half of the polish world go after her for it, she clearly did not learn a lesson. I cannot believe the poor quality of these "polishes". I have never seen anything this ridiculous. I, also, have never heard of such poor customer service. So, in keeping with the theme of acting like five year olds ... come shop at Elixir Lacquers. I totally won't screw you over!!! LOL!!! So sorry for your terrible experience.

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    1. LOL!!!! But yes go shop at Elixir Lacquers I have bought polish from Nicole and I love it!!!

      Wow to it being you that she was trash talking prices on, just wow.

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    2. Thank you ladies!!!!!! I was pretty floored over the whole thing to be honest.

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  9. Thanks for posting this and being so honest!

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  10. Thank you for this post. She always rubbed me the wrong way. I remember a while back she was trying to sell drug store polishes on her page to try and make them more accessable to people or something like that... weird. And she was charging like $3 plus shipping for Sinful Colors which I can find at my local drug store for much less. I just though that was so odd and I stopped interacting with her. I am glad that I never got involved with her and her polishes, but I am so sorry that you had such a horrible experience with her. Also I believe her page isn't on Facebook any more after this morning.

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    1. Thank you Fiona, and I saw her post that but I never really asked about the shipping or looked to hard at it, because it was all stuff that i could get myself. Then all the other junk happened and yeah, her facebook is probably gone for now, but she still has her personal page and her Wicked Tips blog and I wouldn't be surprised to see her come back on facebook under Wicked Tips.

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  11. This is just another reason why I haven't bought from any indie polish companies :/ I'm kinda glad now especially with the whole Lynnderella drama. lol Thanks for the post. I think there aren't enough of these types of posts out there. Everyone writes about all the good stuff, but no one wants to talk about the bad stuff. I think people worry too much about hurting someones feelings of offending them. I prefer to hear the hurt and be offended then get lied to. You Go Girl!!!

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    1. I feel the same Raeven, I just didn't want her to start bad mouthing my page and my blog, because I've worked to get the readers and followers that I have and didn't want to lose them because of her.

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  12. Eeeek, I'm VERY sorry to see you had to go through all of this :-(. One of my favorite parts of being part of this community is the love that goes around, and when people with poor business practices ruin it and create drama, it has to be very frustrating. But I'm very thankful you gave us the warning and the info, so those of us (like me!) unfamiliar thus far with indie brands know what to look for :-)

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  13. Wow, just wow. 1) not a product you expect to recieve from ANY indie maker and 2) horrid customer service. If you don't have money to run your business and the consequences that come with it, you shouldn't be in business period.

    I'm sorry you had to go through this, NO ONE should! I am, however, happy to see that you posted this. I remember seeing her polish swatches posted on FB and was kinda like "ew... they look bumpy, lumpy and thick"... guess my eyes didn't deceive me. It's good you put this out in the open so that OTHER potential buyers don't get screwed in the a**, too!

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  14. I don't even know what to say, without writing a freaking essay, so I will just say this: Thank you for the warning.

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  15. That is sooo unbelievably shady, I can't believe anyone could think just to "make" polishes and sell it like that without testings!! The customer service is disgusting and she pretty much screwed herself over.

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  16. Thank you for the post. I've seen the immature rants on her Polish+ page. This person has done nothing but spam me & spam my page & her email sent me phishing links. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I hope you got your money back. It worries me that she's assuming different names. The person in question has been banned from my Facebook page.

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    1. No I didn't get my money back, I just put it off as a lesson in bad judgement on my own part. I did get a Wet n Wild polish with the first one so we will call it a very expensive Wet n Wild Chrome LOL :)

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  17. WOW just WOW! i am FLOORED! i don't understand how people can willing treat others like that! seriously, don't they have a guilty conscious?! Thank you for the heads up!

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  18. Whaaaat a nightmare. This is a perfect example of someone who doesn't know what she's doing - but thinks she does - cutting corners because she can't invest in her product and then getting all upset when people point out to her that it's sub-par. It's a part of any business - it takes money to make money. If you can't invest in your product, it's going to be sub-par and people will complain and then ultimately tell other people about their experience.

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  19. THIS is exactly why I have my polish line sitting on a shelf in my polish cabinet for the past 3 months. Because I want to make sure they work, and not just today. I want you to be able to open my polish in a year and aside from maybe some crusting around the rim, are perfectly fine and work beautifully. Maybe it's years of art school or all my ceramic glazing chemistry knowledge, but it's pretty easy to figure out that you have to find a formula that works. Unless of course you just want to make some money now. ME?? I want to make some money when my line is ready...and continue to make money because I'm producing a quality product. This is also why I'm waiting to open my Etsy store until all the crappy polish "makers" fade away. SOOO irritating!

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    1. Well if you want someone to "test" your products give me holler, I'd love to do it :) And I agree with what you said, I too have polishes I have made "marinating" just to make sure they don't get all wonky after a while :)

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  20. Thanks for the warning!! I haven't bought a lot of indies but it is nice to have a heads up. Lisa

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  21. Wow, with the Indie market being so huge right now you have to have good customer service skills and polish making skills to make it. I am so grateful for this post, I don't want to give my money to anyone like her, or Lynnderella. I have found a select few indies that are simply amazing quality, original and have supreme customer service skills. That's where my money will go. Psshhhh, $5 for shipping a mini???? OUTRAGEOUS! What a bitch... Thank you for this post!

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  22. I am still kind of new to the indie polish world and even more to the nail blogging world (nailsbybrittanymoody.blogspot.com) but what you have written is amazing. When ever I buy an indie polish I look for reviews and info from people like you. I like buying indie in order to support some people's amazing work such as Dollish Pollish and Whimsical Ideas. But when people start taking advantage of the hype just to push some bullshit on people is wrong. Even more so because she had such terrible customer service. Thanks for taking the time to write this and honestly tell us your experience with this seller. And you didnt just 'talk shit' but gave actually reasons why she was running a terrible operation. Thanks again. :)

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  23. wow. that's just horrible. D:<
    btw.. found this site: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/photos/79557/1/PHOTOS-Robert-Pattinson-And-Ryan-Gosling-Are-Hard-As-Nails :) i find it a bit funny ;)

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  24. I own the "2nd" bottle of rainbow bright, and not one to bad mouth anything which is the reason I hadn't said anything before (also being new to nail polish) In the pictures, rainbow bright looked bright and shiny, but when I put it on...it was a matte (which I don't wear at all) and looks nothing like the pictures. I noticed later on (after I showed her pics and told her that it took 4 coats to get good coverage) that she had told another blog writer to layer it over white. I haven't taken the bottle out of cool storage for about a month (just did) and when I tried to shake it to mix, it didn't mix very well at all. A lot thicker than it was originally and also took between 18-20 seconds to drip off the brush. Those who do own it or others, beware it will get thicker. I have had it for about 2 months now. I was also going to buy one of her polishes that she was blog selling until I did the math with shipping it would have cost a lot more than buying it at the store.

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    1. Yeah the original I have isn't shakeable at all, and it doesn't drip period LOL. I didn't believe Jen when she said it was this thick. Trust me she didn't lie to me it's horrible. I can't understand why anyone would think they could get away with this in our community.

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  25. Just goes to show how much she cares for her customers or the nail polish making business, this is a post from her personal page tonight "I love that people have nothing better to do then cry about nail Polish. If that's seriously your biggest problem in life consider yourself lucky....or unlucky in which case you need to go get a life! Use that energy toward something that will actually make a difference. Help shelter homeless animals, feed a hungry kid...cuz bitching about THIS isn't making a difference. Its sad to see hhow much time is spent on it."

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    1. Wow she is a self centered piece of work! and she blocked me on Facebook so even if I wanted to comment that you know, this isn't my biggest problem either, but the fact that she ripped me and others off really ticks me off and she should think about that and give us our freaking money back so that we can feed the hungry children and shelter the homeless, I can't.

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    2. It always comes back to 'its just nail polish!' doesn't it?

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  26. I want to say THANK YOU for making this post and telling/warning us about such bad polish & the "maker's" bad customer service.
    All I can say is KARMA.
    I don't blame you for being so upset, I would be too.

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    1. Hi, I'm doing a post on 'Does and Don't of Indie Polishes' and was wondering if I could borrow your pictures and quote you. I think Indies are skyrocketing, but people really have to be careful, I know friend who have bought nail polishes and ending up with nail polishes that had glitters melt and bleed before they had even arrived. Thanks in advance and great blog post!

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    2. Stephanie, you are more than welcome to use the pictures from this post and quote me as long as you also, link it back to either this specific post or my blog. If you use it please email me a link to your blog at enchantingcosmetics@yahoo.com :)

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