14 May “I saved up for my favourite lipstick and all I got was a trip to the hospital”
14th May – How did multiple customers end up with allergic reactions after purchasing beauty products from Beauty Bay cosmetics?
Customers take to social media to complain about their dangerous purchases. Allergic reactions, hospital visits and yet no refunds issued. Two victims speak out about their experience with the Manchester based online retailer. “I asked for a replacement item and they told me they’d have to charge me for the difference. It was a joke.”
The UK’s online equivalent to Sephora, Beauty Bay has reportedly gone under fire for selling moldy, expired make up and beauty products. They have recently been involved in a big scandal about the quality of their products. After a big black Friday success, more and more customers have come to social media to show the products they received. Mostly liquid lipsticks from Youtuber and Beauty Empire CEO Jeffree Star reached their buyers moldy, pre-opened and expired. How is that possible and how do Beauty Bay and Jeffree Star Cosmetics justify the quality of their products? Not only is it unethical to sell expired products, it is also a serious health hazard.
Luckily, most of the victims did not have a reaction to the mould or identified the issue before use. Sara a loyal Beauty Bay customer from London did not realise how harming her new lipstick would turn out to be. At first, she did not think much about the gap between the liquid and the applicator, a few shakes and the gap was gone. However, after two uses the 24 year old started to feel unwell. Her lips where itchy, swollen and red. After a visit the hospital the diagnosis was: Sara suffered from a mould allergy. For weeks, she had to take antihistamines, which made her drowsy and affected her performance at university. “Those allergies can last for more than two weeks in severe cases. Especially if the victim suffers from a weak immune system, mould can be seriously dangerous”, declares Charlotte Johnson, an allergy therapist at Aneugene Health Centre in Battersea. Above all, she rated the application of mould to the lips as a high risk. According to Mrs. Johnson the bacteria enters the human system a lot faster through the mouth, as victims are likely to lick their lips during the day and the bacteria reaches lungs and blood stream easily.
In a statement Thomas Bird, chief customer officer of Beauty Bay, made it clear that its facilities and operations meet the highest standards of excellence. “Investigations are still ongoing with Jeffree Star, but we are confident that it has not been caused in any part by our operations. We can assure you that customer satisfaction is of utmost importance, and we would not knowingly send sub-standard products to customers. All products are tested and comply with EU Regulations. Returned products are returned to manufacturer; they are not sent out to customers, make up products are kept in a temperature controlled warehouse, and expired make-up is not sold.” The EU product liability and safety law states that by law, products sold to consumers have to be safe. The main responsibility falls on producers, manufacturers and importers to guarantee that products are safe. This can be done by monitoring the safety of products and taking action if a safety problem is detected. An active approach to preventing safety problems has to be taken or else companies can be sued, fined or even imprisoned. Stockists that do not manufacture the products they sell will still have safety responsibilities. They must not sell any product, which they know, or should know, is unsafe. After these regulations, Beauty Bay cannot blame Jeffree Star Cosmetics for the incident. As official retailer, they share the same responsibilities as the manufacturer.
Doe Deree, head of International distribution responded to Beauty Bay’s statement with the following words: “Jeffree Star cosmetics would like to distance themselves from the claims made by Beauty Bay. Our products are manufactured in a safe warehouse environment in Los Angeles and any expired or unsafe products automatically go out of circulation. Never have we, as a company, sent out products that could harm our customers. As an indie business customer satisfaction is our main concern and we trust our official retailers to follow the same principles.”
Even though both companies like to distance themselves from the scandal in their statements, their representatives have not managed to come to a satisfactory agreement with their customers. Hayley, another London based customer, purchased a face cream during the big sale and has experienced bad rashes all over her face. “After the first use my face was covered in little red bumps almost immediately.”
© Hayley Garner
Later that day she contacted Beauty Bay on Twitter and reported the issue with her face cream. Unfortunately, their response was not what she expected. “They told me they can refund me but only the amount I paid in the sale. Therefore, if I wanted a replacement I would have to pay extra. Nowhere did they ask me about the malfunction of the face cream. Just to be decent they could have asked me how I am doing. But all I got was attitude.” Hayley was left with no refund and no replacement item. Not necessarily the treatment expected from a supposedly customer satisfaction orientated company.
Ultimately, the 20 year old had to seek help, as her rash had not gone after more than a week. She went to the London allergy and immunology centre in Marylebone to sort her condition out. After being prescribed a cortisone rich salve and antibiotics the rash faded over the course of two weeks. Nevertheless, her usage of the expired cream did not only have an effect on Hayley’s skin, she also felt humiliated and insecure during that time. “It was really embarrassing going to work covered in white splotches of cream and no makeup. I felt like everyone was watching me.”
Dr. Michael Rudenko explains why it is so dangerous to use expired products: “When Hayley came to me, it was very clear why her skin reacted the way it did. As you apply face cream to your skin, any substances in it can be directly absorbed into the body through the pores, causing deep-seated health problems. The specific dangers of using expired face creams include leaving you open to allergic reactions, acne, skin infections, extremely dry skin and even skin discolouration.” Even though Hayley only used the cream once, she had a bad break out, so it is only left to the imagination what continued use would do to the skin. Using expired products is especially harmful to the body because the facial tissue is the thinnest and most sensitive part of the human body. It is extremely important that the exposure to it potential contaminates is avoided, as bacteria can be particularly harmful as it not only affects the surface of the skin but can also open the entire body to infection.
The reason Hayley had purchased the cream in the first place was to reduce the appearance of pores and make her skin better, to find out that it made her skin worse instead was a real bummer. “I don’t think will trust online retailers again any time soon.”
By now, both victims to the scandal have recovered successfully but their involvement in the incident still follows them. “Every time I buy a new lipstick I am seriously nervous to use it for the first time”, explains Sara. Hayley on the other hand stopped using facial creams in total. “I go to a dermatologist now, because it makes me feel anxious to buy creams and toners.”
In the end, it seems as if Beauty Bay is to blame, as a warehouse worker revealed, “Products are stored correctly and sold after the EU regulations but during a big sale everything that has been in the facilities for a long time is reduced in price and sold. Even though products have been tested when they arrived, storing conditions can change formulas. If that really causes mould, is unsure but it is not unlikely.”
The least Beauty Bay could do is issue an apology and refund those who have been affected. Sadly, neither has happened yet and most moldy or expired products have landed in the bins all over the country. Overall, beauty products should always be inspected carefully before applied to the skin to avoid any issues.
