If you purchased your product as Sephora bringing it back within a reasonable time frame and having a receipt will get you a product replacement without any hassle.

I'm not sure how long you've had the product for before the cap broke - but it never hurts to try to go back to the store and raise your concerns.

I've returned a faulty product there once as I couldn't use it after shelling out $23 bucks myself.. (packaging was defective preventing access to the product) and the lady at the counter gave me no attitude just scanned my bill, labeled the defective product with a sticker and gave me a new one.

With the price we pay for cosmetics at that store - good service is a must otherwise there would be mobs of us angry women picketing outside ^_^

@nybiker: Actually, if she was tightening it with a torque wrench, it would less likely to crack, assuming she knows the proper closure torque.

I see where you're coming from, but I've worked during the holidays in retail and it's just so busy you can't possibly help EVERYONE and be nice to EVERYONE when you've been on your feet dealing with nasty customers for 8 hours (not saying you're nasty).

Normally, I'd recommend that the customer take the item directly back to the retailer, not contact the manufacturer. It just seems like common consumer logic. But, if you're buying from Sephora and travelling, it is not a good situation. So many places don't have Sephoras or even Sephora @ JCPenney's. Nordstrom and its kin are not going to take a product they didn't sell, so she's basically stuck with contacting Benefit directly.

It's really easy to just say, "I'm sorry about what happened to you, but we do not have coupons and cannot authorize refunds without proof of purchase/damage from benefitcosmetics.com. Please contact the retailer if possible."

I'm not sure why the OP should spend even more money to buy a travel bottle when she had already spent $28 on a defective one. That's unacceptable.

@Ben Edwards: Just because you found a few cheaply made brands of lotions doesn't mean my company made them or that all private label brands of lotions are of poor quality.

I have been in the cosmetic and OTC drug manufacturing business for over 16 years. It is very common for the manufacturers of "name brand" products to make very similar products as an "off brand".

Sure, some discount stores and dollar stores sell some cheaply-made lotions that are mostly water and thickeners, but there are also some very good private label brands out there that are as good as the top brands.

My comments are based on over 16 years of industry experience in Manufacturing and Quality Assurance.

eSATA kind of sucks anyway, even though it's hot pluggable in theory, on most motherboards and chipsets and OS distros so far, you have to reboot to get it to pick up the drive.

The lack of true customer service from Benetint is horrible and certainly makes me think twice about buying any more of their products.

Actually, I like Mac makeup for the very fact that if you have a problem with their makeup, they work to resolve it.

I bought blush and powder brushes at Mac which set me back about $30 each. I began to notice the hairs were falling out. I asked a makeup artist about this and she said that should never happen. I went into Mac, told them what the makeup artist had said. We talked about how I cleaned them (shampoo) and how I stored them to determine why this was happening. Not only did they suggest how I could resolve this by changing the cleaner I was using, they said "Bring em back and we'll replace them!".

Now that's customer service!

I can't understand why companies pay people to respond like Benetint did. yuck!

I read her years and years ago, and thought then that she should just make her own stuff so we could know it was good. I was so happy to find out that she started to do so. I use some of her products now.

I love my Nars 3-in-1 stick. I'm putting on makeup to go out to dinner and had to stop short (about to apply said stick - the "Maldives" one) in order to comment here!

Those things are expensive, but I've had mine since 2005 and it's still going strong. Yeah, I'm sure Cosmopolitan would NOT approve of the fact I'm still tinting my cheeks with such bacteria-infested products, but... well, it works just as well as the day I bought it.

Benetint sucks...it spilled everywhere for me too. Last time I ever bought it. Not only that but I dont think its made for anyone with any kind of pigmentation to their skin.

1. Ziplock bag

2. Sephora

3. Write a letter about product

4. Follow up

I had a similar email problem with Kodak a few weeks ago. I ordered some prints but when I received the package, 100 prints were missing. I emailed them to resend my pictures and I got an email on how to RETURN my order. I emailed them back in all caps letting them know I needed my prints. That got a response, and I got a credit to re-order them.

Also, try Pocket Pal, it's Benetint and clear gloss in one package, it's designed a little bit better since it's meant for travel.

And the quote that you are all in a tizzy about is their company motto. It does read like a little jab at the customer, so their rep probably should have put it in italics or quotes.

@Vanilla5:

Print rubbing off the bottle "within a few days" is NOT normal. I've traveled had products and traveled/moved w/ them and they've only had slight scratching. I think that is defective, but not enough for a refund as it doesn't hinder the use of this product in this instance.

I think the grin and bear it comment...is more like 'get over it' and I would be offended!

Good folks, liberal return policy. I've brought in a used eyeshadow wand back, saying, this looked fine in your store's lights when I tried it on but when I put it on at home it looked awful. Refund, no questions asked.

I also tend to ignore that "expiration" stuff, depending on what the product is. Since I use clear brow/lash gel instead of mascara, I will usually get rid of that quicker b/c I can see it getting cloudy after so many months.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Particularly we tend to be brand-loyal with what we wear most frequently. Unlike you, I wear makeup almost every day, and I've been crawling back to Cover Girl for my pressed powder since I was in high school. You'll pry Creamy Natural from my cold, dead hands!

That's just what I was thinking. I've noticed with cosmetics and other items that I use regularly but that last for a while that when I go to replace them, if the packaging is different, it is inferior. I'd hope that high-end cosmetics would be immune to that trend, but it seems like luxury / designer items tend to get just as shoddy. It makes me very cynical about spending more for so-called quality products. I'd buy it if they'd make it.

This is why I am a MAC girl all the way.

@kbrook: Depends on company policy. Some places have mandated signatures that they have to use on any external email that may be read by non-employees (thought it's ussually a disclaimer or something).

The more likely explanation is that you've been very fortunate.

When it comes to failure rates, the percentages are generally a low percentage, which means that there are plenty of stories like yours. At the same time, your positive experience does not negate a negative experience.

Their lipsticks are $27 but I love them. :) Dang my sister for sending me samples!

Yeah, read this: "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me." It has reviews of every product out there and tells you all about the lies the companies are telling so you'll buy their product. I have an older edition.

Here's a link
[www.paulaschoice.com]

@bobert: Yea that closing line might be a generic e-mail signature but definitely not going to help with the whole "professionalism" thing

I don't even WEAR make-up except for special occasions and I'll spring the $37 for a NARS 3-in-1 face stick because that thing is THE BOMB even though I never get through one before it "expires." (Before that magical cut-off date when your make-up is officially gross from bacteria according to women's magazines.) Which means I'll spring the $30 for NARS eyeshadow because I like their face stick so much. And I'm wearing this, what, six times a year? Even I'm brand-loyal.

@corkdork: That's weird--I think it must have been an off day, because my husband is always relieved when he goes to Sephora and one of the reps comes over to walk him through the store. In my experience, they love male shoppers and are very helpful to them, even if only because they're gift-giving and likely to drop a lot of coin.

Translation: You don't need to buy our products because they're clearly inferior to a chortle! (And a belly laugh is five times more effective!)

Thanks for letting me know, Benefit!

A few years ago, I worked as a Manager in the Quality Assurance Department of a manufacturer of creams, lotions and shampoos. We manufactured everything from OTC drugs to little bottles of shampoo and lotions for hotels.

There is an enormous mark-up on cosmetic products. For example, the cost to buy all of the raw materials and manufacture/package an 8 oz bottle of body lotion for a high-end specialty store in the mall was less than 25 cents. It was common to see these bottles selling for $9 during the holidays.

What was funny was that the same lotion base was being used to make products for discount stores and hotels right in the same facility. That means that you could buy the same "luxurious" lotion at a high-end specialty store in the mall for $9 or down the street at a discount store for around $1 to $2. The only difference was the color and fragrance. Still, no matter what you paid for it, it costs less than 25 cents to make.

Although cosmetics range in price and quality, it would probably have cost almost nothing for that company to replace that defective bottle of make-up and keep a loyal customer.

The OP should try contacting them as well.

Anyhow, good luck to the OP -- I hope she gets better satisfaction out of Sephora than I did.

@ayaka: It fell from eye level btw. My dresser was a shelf in my closet. Benetint everywhere - do not recommend, since it stains like nothing in a couple of seconds flat.

Not to undermine the bad response emails from Benefit but how does one rub off all the lettering on the bottle? I've gone through about 3-4 of these and not once have they done that.

Ditto with cap breaking. I've had it tip over and fall onto the floor, spilling half of its precious+expensive contents but the bottle and cap were solid.

Also instead of just throwing the whole thing away just because of the cap, the OP could have gone to CVS and gotten a mini travel bottle to save and continue using it. It's just liquid.

I'm not an uber Benefit fan but I do like Benetint & Posietint, as well as their boxed powders like Dandelion. Other things underperform and are far too overpriced but from everything I've tried their packaging is solid.

If they offer a replacement in lieu of a refund, which would be understandable given the lack of anything being returned, just take it and your receipt to another Sephora, get your money back, and direct it towards a company who doesn't have its head up its ass when it comes to customer service.

And as a side note: I wish cosmetic products would realize that packaging is nearly as important as the product itself. Covergirl and Mark are the worst offenders when it comes to defective packaging and just about all the drugstore brands have annoying design flaws.

At least I know of one brand to stay away from now. I'll buy high dollar cosmetics, but I have a very small makeup kit (I only buy what I need, and use it till it runs out).

I have purchased a variety of Benefit products over the years, but given their extremely rude response, I don't know that I'll be buying them anymore. There are plenty of other cosmetic retailers I can purchase personal beauty products and Christmas gifts from.

The only product of theirs that I kept was the Lipscription lip exfoliant + balm. That helped out when I had sunburned lips.

If she doesn't, I would take that email into Sephora (with the original receipt although you probably don't need it) and tell them, "Hey - these caps have a problem and Benefit knows about it. I'd like a replacement."

Also - she shouldn't worry about letters rubbing off of a bottle of blush. That's what happens when a bottle gets jostled around in purses and bags. It also happens to eyeliner the more you use it. That part's not defective packaging.

WTF? That's how Benefit responds to an unhappy customer? Brianna is supposed to yuk it up about $28 in the trash can?

Amazing. Simply amazing.

I'm guessing that the OP wasn't trying to tighten the cap with a torque wrench, so I suspect that's some weak lid.