Adventures in Eyeliner - GoodGoth to the Rescue!

This post actually started out as a rant.  However, it turned into something different, thanks to good communication and lots of determination.

It all started out when I ran out of liquid eyeliner in May.  I was using Hot Topic's Blackheart line, and I really liked it, so I wanted to get more.  However, I couldn't get to the mall right away, so I grabbed the tube of Milani eyeliner I'd bought but only used once; it was awful!  Seemed to take about six minutes to dry, so unless I kept my eyes scrunched almost shut while it dried, it smeared all over the top of my eye shadow.  I used it as lightly as possible during the week, then threw it out on Sunday before I went to the mall... two malls, as it turned out.

But guess what?  Hot Topic has discontinued their Blackheart makeup line, and there was no liquid eyeliner to be had there!  So I headed back to Sephora, where I had just purchased an eye shadow palette (more on that in another post).  However, they didn't have anything much in liquid liner, so I went downstairs to M.A.C.  They're pricey, but have a good reputation.  They had two types of liquid liner, one for thin lines, and the Penultimate Eye Liner, a pen-style liner which was supposed to be SO much more versatile than a brush applicator, with options for both thin and thicker lines; I picked that one, and walked out with a $20 (+ tax) liner instead of the $3 one I came for.  Problem solved?  Not even...

The Penultimate Eye Liner turned out to be the Penultimate Disaster.  It would only make very thin lines, it did not have any staying power and was gone under my eyes before the end of the day, and worst of all...  IT. WOULD. NOT. DRY.  Acckkk!!  After a week, I took it back to the store for a refund.  I decided to use just pencil until I could find something acceptable.  It didn't look right and didn't stay on particularly well, but at least I didn't look like I had two smeary black raccoon eyes!

Then I got an e-mail from GoodGoth.com advertising their "13% Off for Friday the 13th" sale.  I had found a liquid liner there that I liked awhile back, but they stopped carrying it when I tried to get more.  On the off chance that they had something else, I checked... and there it was again, Kleancolor's Hardcore Black Metallic Liquid Liner!!  For the same $20 (no tax, shipping included) that I had used to purchase a single liner from M.A.C., I got FIVE of these.  :-)

Nine days later... I finally received my order.  (They take anywhere from 2-9 business days to actually ship an order; I guess it depends on if they have it in stock or have to order it, but that's a bit long, if you ask me.)  I opened the box and happily put my liners away.  Next morning, I opened one and used it -- or tried to.  After several minutes of shaking and scraping inside the tube, I barely had anything on the brush.  It was either almost completely dried out or almost empty!  I tried all five tubes, and two of them were bad.  Arrrgghhh!!  At least I had three good ones, so I wasn't stranded again, but I was not a happy bat.

I checked GoodGoth's return/exchange policy, only to find that they don't allow returns OR exchanges on cosmetics "for health reasons".  In a total snit, I sent off an e-mail telling them that I was furious because I got defective items and couldn't exchange them, and that I was never going to buy from them again BUT I would be sure to tell all my friends about it.  After the weekend, I got a very nice e-mail from them saying that their policy is worded that way so people don't order makeup and then return it just because they don't like the color, or whatever.  But because I had received "defective" goods, they would be glad to exchange or refund, my choice.  Sweet!  I told them I'd love an exchange, and did I need to return the bad ones?  They replied that I did NOT have to return them (they took my word for it), and my replacements were already on their way!  Two days later, I had my package... and they didn't just send two replacements, they replaced my ENTIRE order!!  I now have EIGHT tubes of eye liner, which will probably last me for at least the rest of the year!  (And even if some of them turn out to be bad, I won't complain.)

So, true to my promise, I have now told my friends all about how GoodGoth.com came through for me when I totally did NOT expect it.  I guess the moral of the story is:  Don't give up, but do speak up!  If you never ask, the answer is always No.  If you DO ask, sometimes you get even more than you asked for!  :-)