Shoe Dazzle Review

Have you ever had such an amazing customer service experience that it completely changed your mood for the rest of the day?

I work in retail, and one of the many departments I'm thrown into daily is Customer Service. I'm the type of person who aim's to please, and I always try to go out of my way to do whatever I can for an unhappy customer. I also see daily that not everyone is on the same page, or has the same attitude that I do. That's why I'm completely delighted when I see a whole company that does the same. The WHOLE COMPANY, guys!


Let me fill you in on all the details:
Shoedazzle is a monthly shoe club that puts out new shoes on the first of the month and gives you a customized showroom based on a quick survey you fill out when you join. Each pair is $39.99 and they also offer purses and jewelry sets for the same price. Every Tuesday and Thursday they have a special item for about 36 hours called a 'Dazzle Deal' (also $39.99) that can range from clothing, luggage, jewelry boxes - you name it! Now that we're in December, they also offer the Holiday Shop with plenty of goodies to pick from to treat yourself or those special people in your life. Shipping is free in the U.S., as are returns.

Before you start raising your eyebrow in disbelief, let me assure you that this is definitely not a scam. I had the same assumptions before signing up. Fortunately, you do not have to enter your card information as soon as you sign up, so you can browse around and get a feel for what items you like most. I stalked the site for months before placing an order! Once you make your first purchase, your card info IS stored, but you have the option to skip the month before the 5th so that you don't get charged. (A great tip from the ladies of the Shoe Dazzle facebook page - set a reminder on your cell phone so you don't forget!) If you do forget to skip, you get charged and receive a credit that is good for any one item on the site. It's a win-win situation, and you're not losing out on your hard-earned cash either way.

The showroom is posted every first of the month at 12am PST. So for us east coast ladies, that is approximately 3am. It includes shoe, jewelry and purse selections hand-picked for you based on the survey you fill out when you sign up. Don't see anything you like? No worries! There's options above each category to request alternates for the month. All you have to do is fill out a few questions about what kind of shoes you're looking for, and voila! New showroom in 24 hours. Or, if you'd like, you can head on over to the Shoedazzle facebook page and request certain types of shoes or specific shoes that you'd like to see. The Dazzlers (SD's customer service) are on the page during the day to help you out with any issues you may have. They are seriously an amazing group of people, and I'll get into that in a second.

The shoes range in heel height and style, and there's always something for everyone. The sizes range from 5.5 to 11, and I find that going up a half size always works for me. (I normally wear and 8.5 - I go up to a 9 in SD and I'm good to go!) I agree that it's scary at first ordering shoes online - what if they don't fit? However, included in your box is a label - just in case - which enables you to return the shoes free of charge. You can call Shoedazzle directly about your return, and if the style you want is still in stock, they will be able to ship them out to you. If not, you'll receive a credit for another great pair of shoes. If a shoe is sold out on the website, you can add yourself to the waitlist to be notified when it comes back into stock. Although if you really, realllllly need the specific shoe, the Dazzlers encourage you to call them so that they can check the real time inventory for you. How great is that?

If you're low on cash but want to save the page for a specific shoe to buy at a later time, Shoedazzle offers a 'Favorites' option - just click the little heart next to the name of the shoe and it will be automatically added into your favorites so you can go back and browse them later. If your friends also have SD accounts, you can link your account to facebook which will enable you to browse their showrooms as well.

For every item you purchase, you receive 100 'Style Points'. Once you get 1000 of these points, you get a credit - which basically means a free pair of shoes, bag, or jewelry set of your choice. I think this is an awesome incentive and a nice reward for the loyal customers. Being able to pick your own "prize" makes it so much better. The shipping is fast and a tracking number is provided as soon as the item ships - you can check the status of your order at all times under the My Account - My Orders tab. For me, in New Jersey, shipping takes anywhere from 5-6 days, but I've heard that the lucky ladies in California get extremely fast shipping - a perk of living near the warehouse! Each pair of shoes comes in a bright pink box - Shoedazzle's signature color. I love the packaging and have to admit, this is the first time that I've actually held on to my shoe boxes! Most pairs also include a pink dust bag to protect your heels. On your order reciept, Shoedazzle also prints little 'business cards' for you, with your link and name in case you want to hand them out to someone who's interested in signing up. I love attention to detail, and this is just too cute and fun.

One of the things I enjoy most about being a part of SD is their very active facebook page. Members often post pictures of their shoes when they get them - so you can see them on someone before you buy. Everyone is very helpful as well - you can post a question there, and if the Dazzlers aren't on, you bet one of the helpful women on the page will probably be able to answer for you. There's also fun contests on the facebook page to win

So far, I've purchased ten pairs of shoes and one of the Dazzle Deals - a large leopard luggage bag. I've been extremely pleased with all of my purchases. Most of my orders are heels (I'm a fiend for tall, sexy shoes) but I've also ordered two pairs of thigh-high boots (YES, for $39.99 compared to the outrageous prices I've seen in stores) and one pair of sneakers. So far they've all held up well, just as good as any other shoe I've purchased which really pleases me. The sneakers went running and on a trip to NYC in the same night and held up well in comfort and make.

(the Worldly Weekender in Silver Leopard)

So, here's my customer service story. It involves that beauty that you see above. The package arrived at my door and after opening it once inside, I realized it was not what you see above and instead a (very nice, if I must say) studded red purse. I went on to the SD Facebook page and posted a picture of what I had received along with my customer ID. Within five minutes, literally, one of the dazzlers gave me a call to sort it out. She was super sweet and apologetic about the whole issue and explained how I would go about returning it. She ordered me another right then and there. I brought the wrong bag to FedEx, in the same box, and they taped it up and sent me on my way with a tracking number. A few days later, the right item was at my doorstep. I was so blown away with how easy they made it, how great they were (I've had companies act like it's my fault before) and how fast it was made right. It was one of those experiences that made me all bubbly for the rest of the day - I really love dealing with great people. It's nice to know that you're in good hands if something does go wrong. Let's face it, everyone makes mistakes, even huge companies, and it's settling to know it'll be fixed immediately instead of sitting on the phone for hours or being unable to return the item. Big shout-out to all of the Dazzle Crew (especially Jane) for doing such a great job! You guys seriously rock!

(This is Ezra. She makes me feel like such a bad ass with the spikes, and I'm loving the tan color.)

(This is Marryl. She might just be my favorite Shoedazzle shoe yet. You can't see it from the image, but her toes are pointed a bit - giving them the exact look of the nude Louboutins that all the celebs are rockin' right now.)

(This is Mel B - and if you're thinking that sounds familiar, it's because she was created by Scary Spice.. how freakin awesome is that? Also, 100% of all profits benefit Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Great shoes, great cause.)

(This is Vogue - Kim K wore her in her shoot for lucky magazine on KUWTK. I had to lighten the picture so it's hard to tell, but she's entirely done out in a reflective silver and has Shoedazzle's signature pink sole.)

If I could rate Shoedazzle out of five stars, I'd probably be upset that I couldn't give them six. That's how much I've grown to love this company. If you're thinking about signing up, go for it! There's nothing to lose, and many gorgeous pairs of shoes to gain. If you use my link (http://www.shoedazzle.com/invite/1f23ysql1t) you will get 20% off your first pair. What are you waiting for? Start Dazzling!

All images are either taken from the Shoedazzle website or taken myself. I was not compensated to write this review and all items were purchased by me. As always, this review is purely my own opinion.

Rant: Luuux.

I'm home sick today, so of course I caught up on some blog reading. Two posts I stumbled upon really irked me, enough to write about it here.

A few weeks back on one of my days off I noticed a link to 'Luuux' on twitter. I was curious, and of course went to check it out. I made an account to see what it was all about - I still can't say I completely grasp it though. I logged off as soon as I saw the list of instructions of things to do just to update your profile. I haven't been back on since, nor am I planning on it. It's basically a site where you comment/report/post things to earn luuux currency, which you then can spend on high end items. Seeing all the prizes, it seemed incredibly sketchy.

Anyway, the posts in question come from misschievous and vampyvarnish. You can check them out for yourself here:

http://www.misschievous.tv/2010/10/luuux-place-where-thieves-get-ahead.html

http://www.vampyvarnish.com/2010/10/12/luuux-thief-kelly-brennan/


I find it disgusting that this site allows it's members to completely rip off beauty bloggers hard work. It doesn't matter if it's linked or copied with no credit - it's still stealing. There's hundreds of bloggers that put hours into their posts, taking and editing dozens of photos, trying new products to keep their followers informed - and now someone who didn't do any work can copy and paste your post and earn money off of it. Most bloggers don't blog for cash - they do it out of their love for cosmetics. It's horrible that people would even think to do this in the first place, which of course, leads me into my next subject...

I've noticed that a common theme has been popping up in the beauty community slowly over the past few months - Greed. I'm mainly speaking about youtube with this one. I feel as though I can't trust half the reviews I watch because everyone just wants the money. The other day I was reading Grey's post and saw the comment about how a youtuber signed up with a company for free product, never made a video, then signed up again under another youtubers name. It's upsetting to see that some people only care about the money, fame, and free things blogging/vlogging can offer. Of course, this is how it is in the real world.. people will do whatever to get ahead. So why is it ok to launch a site that basically feeds off the greed of people desperate to own high end items? With the many blog posts popping up about how bloggers content is getting stolen, it's already apparent that there are some people who will do whatever to get their hands on what they want. Copyright laws or not. This site takes the fun out of blogging and replaces it with an agenda.


My advice to anyone that desperate to own CL shoes, or a MacBook Pro: save. If you want it that badly, save your money. Don't have a job? get one. Even if you put fifty dollars aside out of each paycheck, you'll still be getting that item faster than you would with this crappy site.
Willpower is much more respectable than ripping others off.


I have to say, I agree wholeheartedly with misshievous' statement: 'real bloggers don't blog on luuux.'

What's your opinion on the whole Luuux trend?

Tag: Tali's Tag (taken from Joeybunny)

Since I haven't posted in quite some time, I figured this would be fun to do!

Would You Rather..

Never use mascara again or bronzer again?

Bronzer, fer sure. I'm all kinds of pale to begin with, so unless it's summer and I've really been on top of my tanning game, it makes me look gross and muddy. Mascara on the other hand, I can't live without. It just looks weird to have your eyes all done up with no mascara.

Only be able to buy high end make-up or drugstore make-up again?

Well, I really really love Revlon and Wet'n'Wild lately, so this is kind of hard. I'd probably have to go with high end though, just because of all the different color choices.

Be In Love or Be Loved?
Be loved. Being in love is too much work, and this question doesn't specify if the person I'm in love with loves me back. :p

Go out with chipped nail varnish or unshaven legs?
Chipped polish. No matter what brand/formula/top coat I use it always chips by the end of the work day anyway. Retail + nice nails = disaster.

Go out with messy hair or no make-up?

I'm very guilty of both, honestly. :p
I guess no makeup, because I rarely wear it to work (where I am 70% of the time) and I'm comfortable without it. I get pretty self-conscious about my hair though.

Leave the house with an orange tan or peroxide-gone-wrong ginger hair?

Orange tan. I'm from New Jersey, so this is completely acceptable. The hair would spark gossip, the tan would initiate me into the land of the guidettes.

It were Winter forever or Summer forever?

Both aren't ideal for me :X I guess winter, because it still gets warm sometimes.. I wouldn't be able to deal with the crazy heat of summer.

Leave the house with dried toothpaste drool or crusty yellow sleep eyes?

Er, I guess drool. I don't think either would make it past my frequent mirror checks before I leave the house, but anythings possible. ;D

Give up all MAC or Illamasqua products?

Illamasqua. As much as I hate MAC's 'omgggzz new collectionzz get it!!!111' crap, I still like their products. They have a huge range of things. I guess I'm biased, because I've also never tried Illamasqua.



I hopefully will have a new post up sometime (aiming for early October).. possibly some swatches/reviews. Sorry for the hiatus, I'm finally working and I'm tired all the time. I did somehow manage to lose about ten pounds (although best friend claims it's twenty.. I don't believe it), which is a plus. Anyway, hope all of you are having a good September (what's left of it!)

x

Question: Depotting MAC Shadows

This is kind of random, I know. :)

To keep it short and simple,

What is your opinion on Back 2 Mac?
How do you feel about depotting shadows with LE packaging?

I ask because I'm about to sit down and depot tomorrow. I know I tweeted earlier in the week that I was going to depot, but I got sidetracked. I have a lot to do, about 14 shadows - not even sure if there's enough space in my two palettes. I did do a test-run on Carbon, and it was actually easy to do! I don't know if I should post a step-by-step guide to depotting as there are tons out there, but let me know if you'd like to see it!

As for depotting LE shadows.. I'm not sure yet! Yes, they mean more B2M's, but they're so pretty D:
I might give it some time. I know I've expressed my dislike of palettes on here before but for some strange reason I've been all about organizing and having my stash all together. It sounds more appealing to have them in one place. As you can see, I'm torn. :p

Hope you're all having a great week so far, although it's only Wednesday!

DIY: Brush Holder.

So a week or two ago I read on Phyrra's blog about how she made a unique brush holder out of a glass container & colored sand. I thought this was a brilliant idea, not only because I'm in love with organizing, but because it looks so clean and flawless. (I'm big on perfecting things, although you wouldn't be able to tell from looking at my disaster of a room ;)
Basically I've been bugging my mum left and right to take me to the craft store. She'd been busy all week, and then my birthday came around so it felt nearly impossible. In between the two I had stopped at Walmart and looked around their small craft section, but nothing really caught my eye. I finally had the chance to go this morning when I got home. I wound up picking out two glass containers, a long oval one for my larger/longer brushes and a small square one for my smaller/shorter brushes. I was so happy when I got to the isle with the sand in it because they had the exact three colors to match my room & sheets. (White, green and turquoise. There's also brown in my sheets but I didn't want brown sand, I really don't like that color. haha.)

I layered each of the colors, and surprisingly they stayed put after sticking the brushes in. I'm extremely satisfied with how they look - I actually can't stop looking at them at all! :) Here's some pictures of the finished product:

(I found that huge faux-gemstone at Michael's Crafts as well. It was only $2!)

If I remember correctly, the glass jars ranged from $1-15 depending on what size you want. This is a huge bargain compared to prices you'd pay for a regular brush holder. I think my small jar was around $2 and my larger jar was $8. The bags of sand were $3 each.

If you have a huge selection of brushes a larger container would work just fine. I have about twenty brushes in mine right now, and as you can see from the pictures, the smaller one is barely filled. The only setback is that a bit of sand will sometimes stick to the brush handle, but it's easy to just brush it off over the container. If you'd like, you can even get marbles or tiny colored stones to place in the bottom.. the possibilities are endless! This idea is great for someone that enjoys being able to see all their brushes. It's a huge time-saver when you're in a rush and have no time to dig around for one brush.

Many thanks to Phyrra for this awesome storage idea! Make sure you click on the link up there and check hers out as well, she used my favorite color sand - purple!

Company Review: Shiro Cosmetics

I really love finding new MMU companies. I mean really love it, like get all giddy and excited about trying their products. If I was still five, shopping for MMU would be comparable to a great Toy's R Us trip. Shiro Cosmetics caters to my nineteen year old self, and my inner child. Why, you may ask? Because their current collection, Super Effective, is Pokemon themed. :)

Website:

Shiro's website is easy on the eyes, which is a big plus for me. The text is clear and the website is easy to navigate. Everything is perfectly organized, another huge plus.

"Shiro Cosmetics is independently owned and operated by me, Caitlin. I'm kind of a nerd.
I've always been strongly interested in art, and over the past 5 years or so, I've found myself drawn especially to makeup artistry. Creating my own cosmetics, much like mixing paints, is a way to ensure I'm using precisely what I want in order to create a masterpiece. I'm nothing if not a perfectionist, and I take pride in each and every item I produce and ship. Since I personally handle everything related to this brand, from web maintenance and networking to formulation and production, I can guarantee consistent quality and customer service every step of the way!"

(taken from Shiro's 'About' page. Read more + FAQ here)

Eyeshadows:

There are lots of options to order eye shadows - sample sizes, 'mini' sized (3g jar) and regular (5g jar.) Full sized shadows are $5, the minis are $3 and samples are $1. I went all out and placed an order for the complete set, regular sized. (It was a sad day when I realized I was getting too old for Pokemon.. haha. I love being able to have Pikachu in my 'collection' again, despite that collection now being eye shadows!) The full set was only $60, a whopping 20% off compared to what you'd pay if you ordered them individually. Here's a look at the colors:


They apply very smoothly, and show up great without a primer - two things that I adore with mineral shadows. Caitlin states that she does not repackage on her website, and this is something I can verify 100%. The colors are very unique - my favorite being Pikachu, a bright yellow with red glitter. The Super Effective collection also offers a great selection of bright colors and neutral colors, something you don't always see with a themed collection.

With every order you get free samples. I wasn't expecting any, as it is stated that no samples come with full collections because you're getting every color. It was a great surprise to find three very generous samples of new colors included in my package - thanks Caitlin!
Here are the three colors I received:

Shipping:

Caitlin offers free shipping on all orders over $35. I received an email the day I purchased, with a tracking number and everything. :) That is great service in my opinion.

Customer Service:

As I stated above, the email and tracking number in the same day completely blew me away.
My shadows came in a red organza bag with a personal note attached. I can't stress enough how much I love when companies take the time to write a nice note, or even a thank-you.
I was very impressed with the shadows the day I received them, and tweeted Caitlin to let her know I loved them. While it might not be a huge deal to some, I appreciate that she took the time to reply. Some company owners aren't as involved with their customers as they should be, and I love that Shiro is a company that is.

Overall Rating: 5/5

I'm confident in giving this company a top-rating, and recommending it to anyone that has wanted to try some shades out. Shiro is very impressive for a new MMU company (they just launched in April of this year!) and I cannot wait to see what Caitlin comes up with next!

Top Ten: Reasons I Love Summer!

Despite the rainy-ness in New Jersey right now, I've been so thankful for summer.
While driving this morning, I was thinking about why summer & I have such a serious love affair going on. Summer isn't rich, not too handsome, nor very charming. (Hellloooo, ninety degree weather + my hair.) No, I came to the conclusion that I love summer for all it's little perks and how it makes me feel... the base of any good relationship. ;)I decided to count down the reasons on here, to start up this blog again and to write a mushy love-letter to my favorite season, summer.

Reason #1 I can finally get a natural tan!
I'll proudly admit that I hate tanning beds. For one, I'm claustrophobic. Two, I've seen Final Destination - enough said. I hate climbing out of the tanning bed, being sweaty, and having to put on my clean clothes. Oh, and the fact that I have to pay for artificial sunlight. That too. Somehow I end up ten times darker from a day in the sun than a week in and out of the bed.


Reason #2 It stays light outside for much, much longer. This might not seem like a huge deal to anyone else, but I love it when it's just getting dark out at 9pm.

Reason #3
My makeup routine is cut in half.
Call me lazy all you want, there's something very satisfying about being able to rub in some tinted moisturizer, dust on some bronzer, add a little eyeliner & gloss and go.

Reason #4
Spontaneous Beach Trips!
I love waking up to texts asking if I want to go down the shore, or even waking up and getting ready. The whole atmosphere is right up my alley.. plus NJ has some great beaches. (Not Sleaze-side.. I find Snookie adorable, but no 'Jersey Shore' recreations, plz.)

Reason #5
Random Barbecues. Not even halfway into spring my S.O. broke out the grill and began his summer steak-eating. While I'm not crazy about steak that much, I do enjoy grilled veggies more than anything. :) It's an added bonus to be able to chill on the deck with a glass of wine after dinner.

Reason #6 Cuter Clothes!Is it just me, or is summer fashion much lighter and more delicate looking? I love being able to toss on a flowy shirt and shorts, and finally being able to wear flip-flops again! Staying comfortable and looking cute is a plus on my list.

Reason #7
Night-time games of man-hunt, and being able to act like a kid in general!
I won't deny it, my best friend & I are still kids at heart. We already have plans to camp out in a field, make s'mores and draw everywhere we can with chalk this summer. Despite job-hunting at the moment, everything just feels more laid back.

Reason #8
Not-so-dry looking skin :)
I have dry skin, which is amplified in the winter. I sometimes carry moisturizer in my bag just in case. Now that it's summer, I can put on a moisturizer with sunscreen and it -gasp- actually keeps my face looking fresh all day.

Reason #9
Summer Scents!
Whether it be perfume, or air freshener, or lotion I feel that a ton of great scents come out in summer. I'm into light, sweet, sometimes fruity scents so this is the perfect time of year to stock up on LE's. I've already retired my go to winter air-freshener (fall harvest) for a new Hawaiian scented one. :)

Reason #10
Summer makeup collections & looks!
C'mon, obviously this was gonna be one of my reasons. I hit my local MAC at 9am when To The Beach came out, no joke. Bronzers and teal liners and shadows have been some of my favorites so far this year. I'm also loving UD's Sin Primer Potion paired with a bit of darker bronze shadow for a smokey bronze look. Plus I can wear all the nude and pink colored lipstick I want without looking dead. ;D

So, now that I've told you alllll the things I love about Summer, tell me
What's your number one favorite thing about Summer?


disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any images featured in this post. All images were taken off google. ;D