Emergency Mystery Box Theatre!: BURNNNNN! AHHHHH!

Ok, I admit, not the most mature sounding title I've come up with, but this is an unboxing I had to share. And Lovelies, I've been burned by a sub. :( This is the first time its happened to me and I want to share this with you so that others will not be burned. This may not be new to some of you and I will probably come off sounding gullable. I just hope this does not happen to any one of my Lovelies! 

I discovered this subscription service on Facebook called Red Carpet Box. For $40 USD, (this included the cost of shipping to Canada) it promised to send full-sized cosmetics and accessories. There was even pictures of the products posted as previews. All seemed to go well. The founder was very amicable and friendly and passionate in all her communications. All good qualities to have when you are starting up a business. They took only 50 subscribers for this first month. The items promised were a pair of Betsy Johnson or Big Buddha glasses, a pair of QVC earrings, Borghese Nail lacquer, Stila products, and other surprises. I had been in contact with the owner and explained I was very interested in the box but I have a nickel allergy so the earrings had no value for me. She was kind enough to replace it with another Stila product and sympathized with me about my sensitive skin problems. I was happy to hear it.
As the boxes began arriving on door steps, the first reviews were warm. In this first box, some people did not like the earrings, others the glasses just weren't their style. Then somehow, it started to all go wrong. Very wrong. 
Digging a little deeper, other bloggers found that the Stila products they were sent were not only discontinued  but several years old in fact. I received 2 foundation powders and a mascara that are discountinued and by the looks of it, a few years old. I will not be putting these anywhere near my face as I have stressed that I have sensitive skin. I received an Avon eyeliner, which is about 4 years old. I did not get a nail lacquer, but a top coat (also expired). The authenticity of the glasses is questionable. So really, this, well, sucked. 
The feel of the fb website is also getting very shady. Some customers who have complained are getting blocked, getting personal messages that should not be sent, threats of legal action,  and any negative feedback is getting wiped off the page. The feeling of intimidation and being stand-offish is all over the fb website now. The founder's posts are getting increasingly defensive. This whole debacle is just turning me off completely as a customer. Frankly, any company who treats customers this way, will lose customers quite fast. I for one am already gone. How do you run a business by treating your customers like this? I mean really?! Really! I cannot get a refund according to the service's policy, only an exchange. The problem is, I don't want replacement makeup or really anything from Red Carpet Box anymore. I really don't want to waste my energy on it either. I don't even think the unboxing photos I took will be posted because, well, it is just as bad as I describe here. 

I feel silly for having fallen for this, I just genuinely wanted to support a startup business and get some new stuff in the mail. I did not expect discontinued, wholesale fodder. I'm sure the founder's intentions were good, but the business plan, technique, and execution are all wrong. I've learned my lesson. Please be careful Lovelies! This is actually one of the reasons why I started my blog: to help other Canadian customers navigate the subscription box waters. Look out for this iceberg: Red Carpet Box.

*UPDATE*: I have since been refunded the cost of the box. I still won't be resubbing.