In the wake of Copenhagen leaving us a little wanting, we decided to do our part and look for some green beauty companies again, the last one being the fantastic Arcona. Since the governments of the world are having so much trouble setting emissions standards, we at Beauty Undercover were moved to take stock and set a few standards for another group in constant competition…cosmetic lines.
Standard number 1: Never charge for beauty samples.
We say this after a visit to The Organic Pharmacy in Beverly Hills. It was at once fascinating yet at the same time a little frustrating. Even though the store was beautiful and the green products looked very promising - there was something not so organic about the way they did business. Maybe it’s because they charge for samples. Annoying! In fact, for some products they’re charging $20 for samples which last, um, a week…
We know they aren’t as big as Estee Lauder but the UK-based company has a number of stores in Europe. Not to mention, the Beverly Hills pharmacy is located on prime real estate. Maybe they shouldn’t offer up samples at all?
Look, it’s a tradition for beauty companies to giveaway free samples as a way to introduce you to their product. Just go to Sephora and it’s happening all over the store. Many department stores have different samples available as well.
Bottom line: We know a lot of thought and good intention goes into greening cosmetics. Let’s not waste all that effort by turning customers off by not following the golden rule: giving away free samples. We’re also fine if they don’t do samples at all. It’s the buying of samples that seems all wrong.
Like Copenhagen, Beauty Undercover will decide later when to set our other standards!
I am incredulous that they would charge for samples! In fact, I wanted to try some of their products and walked out with a $40+ bill! The next day I became so angry that I returned them. Shame on you, Organic Pharmacy!
Arbonne offers high quality products sans mineral oils, animal by products, and animal testing. (They are considered vegan.) All packaging is recyclable. Great for your skin and good for the environment.
To find a representative, simply log onto Arbonne.com. Free samples are one of the many benefits of Arbonne’s offering.
I could not agree with you more. Bravo for bringing this to our attention.
The Organic Pharmacy has never given out free samples either in the UK or here in the US for two key reasons: 1. We are a premium product line with very high manufacturing costs because we use only the very highest quality ingredients. Some of our ingredients cost as much as $9000/kg. We also hand mix our products in small batches to retain optimal freshness. It is simply too costly for us to give samples away. 2. In a “standard” sample there is usually not enough for even a single application to get a true sense of what benefits the product has to offer or the potential for any allergic reaction. This is why The Organic Pharmacy created a starter kit that contains a cross section of our line based on nine products within a white carrying case that is available for $ 108.00 plus tax. Because some individuals may wish to focus in on a specific portion of our product line, we began a trial size program with some of our most popular products not within our starter kit. Within the trial size offerings, there is a full week’s worth of product..in some cases perhaps even more that allows an individual to make an educated decision on whether or not the product is right for them. These trial sizes range in price from $ 7.00 to $32.00. The full sizes of the same items cost from $ 59.95 to $205.00. We also have testers of every product within the shop that the client is welcome to come in and try at the store. We hope that our clients continue to enjoy the unparalleled quality of our products.
Awesome post
There is nothing better than getting your favourite perfume and wearing it for a night out.
I’m looking for some info about free shampoo samples and I’ve just come across this blog! An interesting read which I enjoyed and found to be of value. I will return to allow myself the opportunity to read more.
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Great blog you have here. Keep up the great work.