Crownless Princesses

scam

A few days ago, a sharp-eyed distributor picked up the rather startling similarity between the latest SeneGence flyer advertising their new glittery shimmer eyeliner, and a brochure she picked up from another cosmetic brand, Mahya 🤔

Mahya SG

On further digging, we discovered that the photo in question was indeed a stock photo from Shutterstock.

SS_eyeliner

Now, there’s nothing wrong with using stock photos in many circumstances. Beautiful models with flawless skin can advertise many things. It’s an economical and convenient way to get professional photography. But there are definite ethical issues.

For starters, we’re not happy when these photos are representing a product actually in use, or on the model’s face. The clear intimation in this flyer is that THAT is the brush from the EyeSense, and that is their gold eyeliner. It isn’t.

Your eyeliner style, Capricorn. Some Italian glitter. And Indonesian ...

And the best LOL of them all? Look what they did to the image after their ‘Shutterstockiness’ got out there 😂😂😂. (Your Crown is Plastic helped spread the word, thanks girls.)

Shimmers_take2

A dodgy job of duplicating the gold line (and a bit of the brush LOL, geez guys, get someone with some actual Photoshop training &/or skills).

Two_lines_copy

So — rather than admitting, yes, we use stock photos, and here’s why — they alter the image instead to make it look a tiny bit different, more ridiculous, and worse? Seriously, guys?!

We started to dig further, and goodness gracious me. Look what we found …

Mask SS_Mask (This one complete cracks me up for some reason.)

Blush_Sense SS_Blush_Sense

Dark_Blush SS_Dark_Blush (Photoshop blush — get whatever colour you like with the click of a mouse!)

Lash_Extend SS_Lash_Extend (Note the Shutterstock caption — this model is wearing false lashes!)

Shadow_Sense SS_Shadow_Sense (Just adjust the color balance a bit in Photoshop and you've got a new colour palette!)

Even their videos ... Did you know you can buy video clips from Shutterstock? Yep, you can

This is just the tip of the iceberg, too.

So far as we can see, ALL of SeneGence’s promotional material uses stock photos. Apart from the new distributor-designed colours, like First Love (pictured below), which have photos of the distributors who have designed these colours, presumably provided by them.

First_Love

Stock photos are generally the lazy, cheap or amateur designer’s solution to needing particular photos. A global cosmetics company, that purports to be bringing in ‘billions’, could surely afford to pay a professional photographer to take photos of models actually wearing SeneGence products.

Is that too much to ask? (Apparently it is.)

And even if they are using stock photos, why not pay for exclusive rights so that no-one else can use those images? It is rather disconcerting to see the same images in all sorts of other places.

There are a whole bunch of ethical issues that are raised by this behavior. What is reality? What is advertising? Where do you draw the line?:

“While it is easy to find and purchase high-quality photos, you might alienate readers who think your images are fake or irrelevant if you choose those images poorly.”

YA THINK? Even if the photos have been chosen well, the revelation that they are 'fake' — and NOT any sort of representation of SeneGence products ACTUALLY IN USE — is eroding trust in the company.

Here's some more tips for you SeneGence 'designers':

Don't try to pass stock photography off as real content. All the filters in the world won't mask that overexposed stock photo feeling.

Don't over photoshop stock imagery. The more photoshopping, the less engagement. If the image is a simple set up, purchase the products and take the image yourself.

Do understand your brand's position. If your client sells food, clothing, or something product-based [LIKE COSMETICS] real content is much more successful.

Customers and distributors alike are seriously pissed off by this. We have been lied to (YET AGAIN) — those photos are NOT of women wearing or using SeneGence products.

We'd be happy to hear SeneGence's explanation for this.

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of distributors and ex-distributors, based on our own experiences. Your experience of SeneGence may be different.

*Punked: To get punked is to have a joke played on you, often in a public setting. Ref

#SeneGence #LipSense #stockphotos #advertisingfail #scam #MLM #antiMLM #lossoftrust #trustissues

SeneGence does love to just give us percentages, instead of round numbers of distributors. And you know, it's really very easy to come up with numbers, given the total number of distributors, and the percentages they provide (2,000 is 1% of 200,000, after all).

So, here's our version of the 'American distributors map' (as of October 2017), with round numbers of distributors, instead of percentages.

maps_us_states_SG_dist_08_17 Percentages converted to numbers of distributors

SG_dist_Oct_17 This is SeneGence's percentages map.

maps_us_states_SG_dist_08_17_colour And as a 'heat map' ...

The general New England region seems to be a bit more immune to SeneGence than other areas, which is intriguing. 🤔

Other numbers, for the record: Australia has just tipped over to 6,000 distributors.

What we would really love to know, however, is what's the churn rate? How many distributors are leaving, as well as the number who are joining, and totals? I doubt we will ever know.

#SeneGence #scam #cult #distributors #USA #LipSense #MLM #Australia

I just wanted to offer up my story of fighting the evil empire and winning... sort of.

I had about $600 in SeneBucks credited to me during the out of stock (OOS) dramas. I was already seeing through the company and was never going to order again. My sponsor is a friend of mine since birth and I tried to be very quiet about my distain, so I just stopped ordering around the middle of summer.

About a month ago, I began selling off my stock though the Buy/Sell/ Trade groups on Facebook, to be done.

dollars Photo: Gerd Altmann, ISO Republic

Then Hurricane Harvey hit, and I’m a Texas Native. So I put a post out to distributors, saying that if you were affected, let me know and I would help (by selling to them at wholesale cost price) — and I did. These women, who had lost everything in the hurricane, including all their SeneGence stock, had been told 'too bad' by SeneGence.

Shortly after, I got nasty emails from the SeneGence Compliance department, as I was selling for a greater than 15% discount (which is all the company allows). I blasted them back, asking just exactly what it was that they had done to help the distributors who had lost everything, aside from having Crown Princesses tell them that September is the perfect time to “start fresh” with Jump Start with a 300pv order. Are you effing kidding me!?

So. I told them I wanted my $600 in SeneBucks returned in REAL MONEY.

I heard crickets.

I emailed again and again.

I heard crickets.

Then I got serious, and involved my state’s Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission.

Two days later my Quick Pay account was credited for $300.00.

Seems as if you know “what” to say, they listen.

Oh, as I’m sure you could probably tell, along with my refund, I was also booted from the company.

—Erin Williams

#senegence #senebucks #scam #hurricaneharvey #lipsense #debt

During the final days of the month of August 2017, I apparently made a mistake and screwed-up manufacturing of the LipSense colors Nutmeg and Plumeria. At least, it must be my fault, as I am the one left carrying all the baggage that comes with making the mistake of leaving the color-mixing balls OUT of the tubes of color that were made on a certain date or days.

On August 24, 2017, I placed an order for 4 tubes of Plumeria as I thought the color was pretty (a good color for the end of the summer/early fall and perhaps even upcoming holidays), I had already reached my 50% discount for the rest of the month, and, basically, I just felt like it. Seeing as I had never had any issues with colors received from them (except for the colors that I received that were horribly ugly or nothing like the photos or dye lots I had seen before), I saw nothing wrong with my actions. But, I made a mistake this time. I trusted SeneGence with fulfilling their business of providing me with a product I could sell without looking like a total jackass.

I received the package on the morning of September 1, 2017, but hadn't yet opened it when an email arrived that evening from SeneGence International. I found the following in my SG only inbox:

Balls_letter

I was ASTONISHED!! How could a corporation like SeneGence, a company that charges a small fortune for a tube of lip color have literally “dropped the ball” so badly. But, sadly, the worst was yet to come...

First and foremost, I did NOT get $10 retail in $eneBucks credited to my account. Instead, I got only $8. The month had changed, my discount level had changed back from 50% to 20%, therefore for some unknown reason $10 of credit turned into only $8. I've never quite understood this and I do NOT intend to call or email customer service for an explanation because I already know what I am going to get: A RUNAROUND. This is exactly why I decided NOT to return my 4 “Ball-Less” Plumeria colors to SG: because I already know that I will NOT get $100 in $eneBucks. No matter what, I am losing money for something that is not my fault (well, at least it feels like it because I trusted them with delivering to me a quality, sale-worthy product). Instead, I decided to wait for the infamous balls. It's not like my business is booming and the kind of people I sell to trust me and wouldn't care about dropping a little ball into their color.

So, I waited, and I waited. While waiting, I checked all other Nutmeg and Plumeria tubes I already had on hand to make sure they weren't being overlooked. Luckily, the problem seemed to be isolated to just those 4 Plumeria tubes that I ordered on August 24th. Finally, September 11, 2017 arrived and I checked my post to find a shoddy, ripped, and basically demolished paper envelope from my “good friends” at SeneGence. The damage to the letter was so shocking that I took pictures:

Balls_1 Balls_2 Balls_3

First and foremost, the rips and tears of the envelope itself allowed one of the mixing balls to escape, so sadly I have only 3 balls, not the 4 that I require. Secondly, the little zip-top bags that the balls were put in were of such poor quality that every single one of them had holes in them so none of the balls are sterile, let alone clean. And thirdly, it seems that the price I paid for those stupid little balls were much higher than that of SeneGence since their postage for the mailing of these balls was only $.46. I paid $50, plus shipping, handling, and sales tax for those 4 Plumeria tubes and SeneGence shelled-out less than $.50 to fix their end of the mistake. Therefore, I hold myself responsible for the whole debacle. I should've never ordered from them in the first place. And they will be lucky to get an order out of me again if this is how they treat the sales representatives that make the Royalty of the company rich (and bitchy, but time enough for that later). I guess this time SeneGence got me by the balls, but next time, I intend the reverse to happen.

#senegence #lipsense #mixingballs #shoddy #debunked #scam #amateurs

The public discussion about SeneGence seems to be hotting up. Here is a list of useful blogs, articles and videos, to get the other side of the story ...

We recommend you do your research before you sign up. And if you're a struggling distributor, these resources might help you clarify your position. Be reassured. You're not alone!

reading_glasses_book

Things about SeneGence in particular

SeneGence on review sites

Other information about MLMs in general

Last updated 10 August 2021

#senegence #lipsense #debunked #scam #resources #MLM #cults #truth

Pissed off Aussie distributor here. I’ve done the calculations, and most of the SeneGence prices translate kind of accurately between the American prices to the Australian prices. For example, LipSense is US $25, and AU $34 ($31 + ~$3 GST (10% Goods and Services Tax).

Shadow_Sense_USD Shadow_Sense_AUD

But, ShadowSense — what the hell guys? In America, it sells for US $22. No wonder we can’t shift the stuff here, it’s $10 more expensive than it should be! It should be AU $27 + $2.70 GST (so roughly $30), not $40! Talk about gouging 😡.

Conversion

So, yes, I sell it at more than 15% off, and make a loss. And I will not be ordering any more. Ever.

Get your bloody maths right 🙄.

#senegence #shadowsense #pricing #scam #debunked #australia