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

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.)

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).

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 …

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

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

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

(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.

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

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

Percentages converted to numbers of distributors

This is SeneGence's percentages map.

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 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.

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

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:

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:

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

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!

Things about SeneGence in particular

• About that lipstick all your Facebook friends are selling — article by Gaby Del Valle for The Outline (Dec 6, 2017)

• Can you make money with LipSense? — Review by The Finance Guy

• A treacherous path with SeneGence — interview with long-term distributor, Madison

• Sheer NonSense — post on the Timeless Vie blog

• Why I regret being a SeneGence Distributor — Diana's blog

• Why I started (and quickly stopped) being a SeneGence distributor — Stephanie Kilbourn, Free the Bunnies

• Jennifer's Love, Hate & LipSense — Jennifer's story on the Anti-MLM Coalition website

• Get Rich Quick — investigative report by The Feed VICELAND, SBS (Australia)

• AntiMLM | My SeneGence (LipSense) Story: Part 1 — video by Mallory May, and she has many more about SeneGence on her AntiMLM playlist

• Life After MLM: Episode 28: Megan Williams, Part 1

• Life After MLM: Episode 29: Megan Williams, Part 2

• I Quit SeneGence — video by Lexi Liljenquist

• SeneScam — a series of videos by Megan ZonaLife

• The LipSense Lie: SeneGence » Multi Level Mondays — video by illuminaughtii

• The Lipstick all your Facebook Friends are Selling has Major Ties to Trump — Refinery29 article (Sept 14, 2017)

• This Lipstick People Are Selling on Facebook Reportedly has Ties to Trump — Romper article (Sept 19, 2017)

• Why I QUIT SeneGence — video by Stefanie Green

• Why I quit SeneGence — video by Alex A

• Why I left SeneGence – video by My Christian Life As A Mom

SeneGence on review sites

• Better Business Bureau

• SiteJabber reviews

• Complaints Board

• Glassdoor

Other information about MLMs in general

• Multilevel Marketing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — John Oliver's wonderful and funny video about MLMs

• Multi-Level Marketing: Opportunity Knocking — video by The Checkout (Australia)

• Investigating links between Mormonism and MLM — a cut down version of the BBC Documentary, Secrets of the Multi-Level Millionaires

• The Anti-MLM Coalition — an international group of activists

• The Anti-MLM Coalition on Facebook

• Bot Watch — excellent blog with lots of info about MLMs, including SeneGence

• Timeless Vie — great UK blog about MLMs and feminism

• Pink Truth — Mary Kay is incredibly similar to SeneGence. Just substitute royal blue for the pink ... this is a fabulous site

• Elle Beau — great blog about Younique and MLMs in general, by Elle Beau the Anti-Blogger

• A (MLM) Skeptic — a valuable resource

• Network Marketing — A Cult for Mums — article by Kate Dyson on The Motherload

• The 10 Big Lies of Multi-Level Marketing — article by Robert L. FitzPatrick, False Profits

• Multi-Level Marketing Groups Defraud Consumers! — article by Steve Hassan, Freedom of Mind Resource Center

• These Shopping-Oriented Pyramid Schemes Lure in Ladies, Then Steal Their Friends, Cash, and Confidence — article by Katie J. M. Baker on Jezebel

• If you choose to sell Arbonne, you must be prepared to burn friendships — article by Mitchell Toy, Herald Sun newspaper

• How to help someone in an MLM — BotWatchBlog

• Cult Spotting 101: Breaking Down Multi-Level Marketing Schemes — guest post on the SometimesMagical blog

• The 5 Fatal Flaws of Multi Level Network Marketing (MLM) — Tough Nickel article

Last updated 10 August 2021

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

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 😡.

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