Hey Guys and Dolls!

I normally don’t make posts to comment on what’s happening in the beauty community- mostly because I’m busy and don’t have time to post, or because I’m busy and I’m not really sure what’s going on, and don’t want to jump the gun on a little blip. Admittedly I’m not an expert on Luuux.com and their polices or products, but I don’t think you have to be an expert to see something fishy going on. Also I really hate to see people taken advantage of, and through my blog I have a “bigger voice” to help start discussions.

There is a review and shopping website called Luuux.com. From what I understand-this site is set up so that members can post reviews and such, and they earn points either by people “liking” or commenting on posts- I’m not really sure as I don’t use the site. As luuux members save up their points they can “spend” them on items, everything from Tech Gear like cameras, computers, etc, to Beauty Products, Shoes, etc…

Anyway, the website seems like kind of a cool idea:  Post reviews etc. and if people find them helpful, you get points that you can use to get some loot. I think it’s fairly obvious how this system could be abused, but in theory it’s a really neat idea.

This is the impression I get of the way things work, though admittedly I really don’t know that much about the website other than there was some controversy over some reviews and photos being stolen -I know a website cannot control when users steal content,  and they do have a little disclaimer saying:

“Please respect copyright rules when adding content”

However while poking around the site I found makeup by abrilliantbrunette on a this “beauty tip” post.  Jacqueline’s makeup had very little to do with this post. I don’t know everything- maybe Jacqueline gave this person permission to use her work. I hate to speak out of turn- but I doubt that she did. I guess the better your post is the more Luuux points you earn, so sadly it seems people are stealing images/reviews rather than creating their own content. I also don’t think Luuux really seems to care -in the offending post, it has a disclaimer where it says :

“If you feel this post is incorrect or infringing on the rights of another person or organization, please click the “Report” link”

However I could not for the life of me find this “report link”.  Stealing makeup artists’ work is nothing new, but I feel this site is a breeding ground for it.

Edit: Apparently the report link just doesn’t come up for me. Here’s a screen cap of where the report link SHOULD be:

SO that’s offense number one. What do you guys (and dolls) think?

Moving on. I did sign up for the site months ago after my dear friend -who shall remain nameless-told me it was really cool and to check it out. I totally forgot about it (again just one more thing to do/check).  Today I got an email from them saying they have some Limited Edition Brush set on sale for Luuux members for only $195. Wait, what? “only” $195?! Regular Price $349. From some brand I’ve never heard of. These brushes are OBVIOUS MAC rip-offs, yet are at the “regular” price MORE money than MAC brushes? With out the brush roll, all the MAC versions would be $334; with the brush roll MAC is $379, but what’s $30 more dollars when you’re spending 300+ to have top of the line, tried and true???)  Yes I realize that they are selling  this set for $195 not the $349 “regular price” -and don’t even get me started about the “regular price”, it’s obviously a manipulation to make naive people think they are getting a deal. I sincerely doubt the brushes are worth either price. If you want top-of-the-line quality and are willing (and able) to pay for it, I would suggest MAC brushes. Let’s be honest, the appeal of these is that they resemble MAC brushes. Granted it’s not like I have the Luuux brushes to compare, but I highly doubt they match MAC quality, and if I had $195 to drop on brushes I’d spend it on a few MAC brushes that I know will last for years and years with heavy use, not some unknown brand.

Here’s a link to the Luuux Brush set: http://www.luuux.com/shop/LUUUX-Brush-Set-Limited-Edition

Some of you may now be confused   “But Cora, you use Sigma Brushes all the time? Aren’t those MAC rip-offs?” Yes I do, and yeah they are kinda MAC wannabes. I enjoy my Sigma Brushes and I think they make a few brushes exceptionally well;  others have seriously areas of opportunity. Over-all, I do not think they are MAC’s equal. Sigma has expanded it’s line, and changed it’s numbering system in an effort to stand on it’s own, and many of the new brushes don’t have MAC equivilents.  HOWEVER -It is important to note, that they also sell their brushes at a lower price point, so to me it’s ok that they are not as good, and I don’t expect them to be. Sigma sends me brushes to review,  and some I rarely use, but I’ve also bought a few brushes from them.  This isn’t to say Sigma Brushes are bad by any means, however this isn’t a Sigma review so I’m going to leave it at that for now, I brought it up because I knew I’d get questions, since this last bit pertains to Sigma.

OK back to the Luuux Issue- after a little poking around the site I discovered the issue was deeper- apparently around the time they launched this ludicrous set, they pulled the Sigma Brush Set from the items you could “buy” with your luuux points, and people were (understandably) not happy about it. Also their brushes cannot be purchased with luuux point, but with “real” money…..

This seems SHADY to me, what do you think?

Oh and for fun, I think I’ll post this on the Luuux site

Thanks for reading, I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts.

-Cora aka Vintageortacky

Edit: When I went to add this post to luuux I discovered it is required to upload a photo or video when creating a post- Say what? Nno wonder images are being stolen.