I’ve just come back from The Clothes Show London at Excel, where who should I find lurking on the outer stands? Victoria Jackson. Unlike Benefit and Sleek, amongst others, who were doing fabulous make overs and getting really stuck in with their largely teenage visitors, the VJ peeps were doing the tired old ‘goodie-bag-you-pay-for’ routine. The SA’s were holding out the bags as though to give them away, but just as customers stuck out their hands, they were reeled back and the sales pitch began. It’s one up from a fold away table outside WH Smith, I’ll admit, but still, I don’t like it.
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All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
31 comments
Hmm, sounds like a brand to miss. Not impressed with their sales pitch from what you’ve told us.
I’ve seen these guys hanging about in WhSmith. They do my head in. I scowl at them a lot and ignore them. lol A bit mean but I refuse to be ripped off. lol 🙂 xxx
They really annoy me! I have seen them about 4 times outside Selfridges in London and got sucked in the first time and stood there listening to the pitch for 10minutes, at the begining the woman said it was a free gift and then I found out it was £25 so I gave it back!!
A woman ended up at my boyf’s workplace in NY and knowing how obsessed I am with MU – he bought me me an e/s and l/g palette and bought them over to me along when visiting in March along with a load of other pressies.
Anyway, I’d heard of the brand before and was pleasantly surpised. The lipgloses are “alright” but the e/s pigment is crap. Maybe that can be improved with a primer, I dunno.
Ok, so I haven’t used either of them yet properly but that’s cos I’m still working through purchases from Summer 08!
Not impressed with the hard sales pitch you speak of – not a good look.
The VJ crowd are always up to their old tricks! You might be interested in this post I wrote about them a few weeks ago http://littlemissbeautyjunkie.blogspot.com/2009/05/victoria-jackson-warning.html 🙂
There are many stalls set up by CSK Marketing in Various shopping centres and WH Smith stores across Glasgow, Falkirk, East Kilbride, Livingston, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, London and other places throughout the UK selling gift bags of Victoria Jackson brand make-up. Do not buy as it is a scam! The sales reps are trained to lie to you and trick you into buying the products.
They tell you that Victoria Jackson is the make-up artist for TV shows such as Sex & the City and Desperate Housewives. She isn’t.
You can check the Sex & the City make-up artist credits here;
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000774/fullcredits
And Desperate Housewives here;
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410975/combined
They also say she will soon be launching a line of cosmetics in the UK within stores such as Debenhams. She isn’t. There are absolutely no plans for this to happen. It is not a pre-launch promotion.
The make-up itself really has very little to do with Victoria Jackson. CSK Marketing design and make all the products themselves and pay her a fee to use her name on the box. So what does a marketing company know about making high quality cosmetics? Nothing, which is why they are very poor products.
They also tell you that each product currently retails for some ridiculous price and that the full set is worth £250. Where? The products they sell aren’t even available to buy anywhere else. Victoria Jackson does have an online shop in the USA with different products which she endorses and are much more reasonably priced.
You can check it out here;
http://www.vmakeup.com
They tell you that the special offer they have today (and every other day for the last 2 years!) is that when you buy one item for £29.99 they will throw in the full £250 set for nothing. CSK Marketing currently sell 7000 sets per week in the UK so the manufacturing cost of each set is less than £5! Not so much of a bargain now!
I know all this as I have recently worked for them and was disgusted to be told by the management team that these lies have been designed to increase sales!
DON’T BE FOOLED BY THESE SCAMMERS!
I was approched today in Burger King in Stratford East London whilst having a quick lunch with a colleague, [we are both Male] these reps have no shame!
anonymous i hope it is ok if i repost ur information on my blog. i would ask for permission first but i dont know who u r (anonymous)
simpleelegance x
Thank you so much for your comment on VJ makeup I want to praise you.
I was in East Kilbride doing my xmas shop and as I walked past the VJ stall one of the SA’s offered me some makeup and I said no thank you and went to walk on when the girl that was trying to get a sale said “don’t you like makeup? because I think you need it!!” how nasty, I was really taken aback and very upset. I just had a baby recently and have been very self conscious of my looks so for this girl to say that really hurt. I will never buy from this company and I am going to put a complaint into the head office.
x
Does anyone know their rep. office in london, my friend bought one of their products but sent it back to them becos she didn’t want them but hasn’t received her refund as promised and i have lost their telephone number .
I work for CSK Glasgow, it’s not a scam in the slightest. We aren’t trained to lie, we don’t do a pitch from a script, we do the research and we say what we feel is appropriate. If somebody says something that is incorrect then that’s that one person, not the entire team. The goods are genuine, look on the bottom of the packaging, it will tell you there. If it were a scam do you not think that the company would have been shut down a long time ago? People walking by assume too much by thinking you get it for free, it is good make up. Not to everybody’s taste but most of the people I know that use it love it! We also get returning customers who want to buy more because they think its fantastic!
SO for all you who think its a scam, think again. KNOW A BARGAIN WHEN YOU SEE ONE! We are honest about the survival kit, it really is worth 59.99, but we only do it for 29.99. AND your getting loads of genuine freebies with that promotion. SO tell me how that makes CSK a company that scams people?
LMAO anonymous… If i was you i would be too ashamed for working for that company to even post on this informative article. Shame on you.
never seen anyone say “Not to everybody’s taste but most of the people I know that use it love it!” about mac.
If you haven’t been trained, it’s interesting how we consumers have heard exactly the same lies and sales pitch from different reps around the country, isn’t it?
They use thhe same sales pitches in the US too. I worked for Sam’s Club where they sell it sometimes and had to listen to it all day. I bought the product because I thought the kit was nifty. I regret it. Very poor quality. And some of the sales people were rude and one even tried to get me to steal from my department for him. That really insulted me.
Personally, i love this make up. It has a variety of colours that blend very well and they stay put throughout the whole day. And at £30 for lots of products, it’s a bargain. I recently posted a review on ‘BeautyJudge’ and i stand by it. It’s amazing make up and for everyone saying that it is a scam.. try the make up for yourself. Because I definitely havent been scammed.
My mum bought me a load of this stuff for Christmas, and I love it. Every brand has it’s highs and lows, I love Mac, I love Clinique, but not every product. I do think they should probably try selling it elsewhere, of they’ll get a rep like a double glazing salesman at this rate!
This is a scam – even for the “employees”, who are not actually “employees”. They have to sign a contract stating that they are self-employed so that the company can get out of paying them. They are not paid anything per hour they only make commission. My friend worked for them for several days – earning nothing – before I googled it and found out that it was a scam. The company name she’d been given wasn’t even registered with Companies House!
I would just like to state I work for this company and am making about £300 a week in my first few weeks and have signed no ‘contract’ so this is all false. Also victoria jackson make up is on sale in selected boots stores if you look properly. I think you’re all being typical sceptical moody customers and need to open up to things!
i worked for company in leeds called fosters selling victoria jackson make-up.so before people start defending these companyss like i did,beware it is a scam,i was there a year ,and told was gonna get my own company like u will have been told,its bull,and this so called promotion of victoria jackson went on for the year i was there,i made 300-500 a week sometimes too,but u wont make that every week,u will see,the make-up is cheap tat,comes into ur company building in boxes which are not stored correctly,and its fake,victoria jackson is made in use,look unerneath the products it will say made in china,it costs about 4 quid to build up a 30 quid set up,thats a fact cos i saw the order form on computer,thats what made me leave amonst other things,am a bloke and granted just sold myself not the product and dont know anything about make-up,i actually sold these to my friends in local pub and everything not knowing it was a con.so to employers beware its a con these training program what ur on,and customers its fake trust me.
I bought this on a whim for my wife a year ago, I was ‘sold to’ for sure, but I’m not a mug, I didn’t buy into the sales pitch, I thought of the _real_ price £30 for a kit, looked at the goods closely, which looked fine for the price, so bought it.
My wife really likes it, especially the bronzer brush, because she gets great comments from people about how good she looks. We’ve bought twice since and been happy every time with the product.
I agree it sounds like they need to be a bit more careful picking some of their representatives, but the product itself is good for the money. I’ve seen a lot of people saying they’ve bought it for £3 in china and marked it up heavily – but Hello! so is _everything_! Welcome to reality people!
Ray Barber, London.
Had some guy drag me over in my local town centre saying ” oh I usually only approach the ugly birds”, then proceeded to tell me about their shitty makeup whilst shoving tons in my hands so I couldn’t walk away and all the while making extremly innaproprate comments about my looks and body, and asking very intimate questions, he made me extremly uncomfortable and constantly tried to get my phone number and place of work out of me because he “wanted to visit me” , It was all very uncomfortable and I couldn’t leave!… These sales people are dogs!
I was almost snared today wearing mineral make up:
SA – Hello Madam, do you like make up
ME – No
SA – Do you wear make up (needs eye test)
ME – NO
SA – He then rambled on with Sales Pitch completly oblivious to the fact that my daughter was stood next to me laughing at my responses and his complete ignorance to them.
ME – What is the talc content of these products?
SA – He continued to ramble
ME – What is the talc content of these products?
SA – Not much
ME – Let me see
SA – handed me a product to read ingredients
ME – Ah yes, full of talc
SA – but is hypo allergenic
How unprofessional and I have to say, a little dull.
Just had 2 girls come to my door with this… Im a guy and I know my girlfriend loves makeup but as I was just awake I decided to say no and maybe buy another day.. then I decided to Google this stuff and I’m glad a did!
I think they said the 3 items they were giving me were worth about £150 and I ONLY had to pay £30.. I just thought that if that was real then someone is getting REALLY ripped off every other day of the week!
I’m not very good with make up, in fact, I rarely wear it. But I have a wedding to go to soon and working nights before hand, so will be particularly tired looking. I was looking around Boots etc for some natural coloured stuff, but it was like, £10+ a tray. My sister is going too and is like me, owns none. I happened to notice these people in WHSmiths, so I decided to take a look. The sales girl had this really miniature compact, which she put in my hands to have a look and them promptly forgot about. Well, I walked off with it when she’d finished talking. Used some of it. I find it ok for me, for someone that has no real interest in make up. The pitch was terrible, I have to say. I would not believe this stuff was sold for £120, and I’m not up with all the brands but I notice a lot around me and never recall seeing it before. I could tell that it was a rehearsed thing.
It’s cheap and cheerful, it’s nothing special, but it suited for what I wanted it for for a few hours. I bought some simply because my sister and I needed some and didn’t want to pay a lot. It sits in my drawer now for the rare occasion that I want it.
If I was into make up, I wouldn’t buy this. I’d save my money and get something decent. But seeing as I’m not, I saw no point in buying expensive stuff.
As for scam? Meh, more like a white lie here and there. A scam is where they’d take your money and give you nothing, or charge you stupidly high prices for a product not with it.
I recently bought some of this when they had a stand in the Trafford Centre, Manchester. I purchased a smallish kit and got some lip glosses and a little mini purse set for free. I can’t remember what I paid, but it was less than £30, which I thought was an OK amount to try out lots of different items. They did try to upsell me, but I said no thanks &that was no problem to them. As with all make up brands, some of the items (lip glosses in particular) I liked, others I wasn’t so keen on – but that was the point of my only paying £30 – I could try them out. I would happily buy the lipglosses again, they weren’t sticky, moisturised my lips and came in a variety of lovely colours. I normally use brands such as Clinique, Lancome and Esther Lauder and I really liked the glosses!
I don’t think this is an actual scam,it’s more that they offer a bit of everything for you to try. I think they’ve got their sales pitch & strategy completely wrong, which is why they are getting such bad press. And as for the cost price of the cosmetics, there is ALWAYS a big mark up on any cosmetic product, at the end of the day its a business, just as any other cosmetic retailer. So all in all, I was happy with my purchase and think the pitch strategy is all wrong and getting them a bad reputation!
I just purchased a pack for £30 in a shopping centre in England UK. The girl was not pushy or demanding, she appeared professional & genuine. I was also given a receipt. I love the cosmetics holdall & the make up sets and think its a real bargain. I will definitely buy it again x
i currently work for a marketing company in the north east of england doing promotions for victoria jackson. i had previously purchased the products and am more than happy with my sales pitch. i researched the products before accepting the job as i could not approach people and con them into buying something i dont believe in. i have sold a large number of the sets to my family and close friends. i definately couldn’t lie to them.
I would like to buy some individual square shaped eye shadows and/or blushers to replace the lip glossers in my set, which I do not use. Any chance anywherea?
A young gentleman came into my place of work in Liverpool and asked permission from our manager to sell his VJ and Makeover Essentials kit. He had the VJ makeup survival kit, the three lip plumpers/glosses in a purse and a shimmer brush. He offered us the three for £20. Going by the packaging it looked pretty nice, the survival kit particular look great, but I wasn’t sure – I usually wear MAC, Urban Decay or Clinique, so I like to invest in my makeup. I would pay that much for a single piece of good quality makeup so I was suspect of the three of them. Nevertheless, my colleague, who always looks great on a night out, said she had bought from before and they were really good so I thought meh, he used the shimmer brush on my hand and it was lovely, and going by my friends past experience I thought why not take a chance.
It was £20 pretty much wasted. I will keep the shimmer brush as the glitter suits my colouring, but it will require a primer for any kind of longevity. I’ve just chucked the survival kit. Everything was very poorly pigmented, the lipstick in particular was almost completely sheer, and I tried every shade out. The only redeeming things were the eye pencil and lip pencil, however I am dubious about their longevity. The colours inside the lipstick and eyeshadow pallettes were nothing like those shown on the packaging. The applicators were a joke, with the ridiculously long, soft, unmanagable bristles on the brushes falling out, and the eyeshadow applicator being hard and scratchy. As for the lipgloss in the purse, I shall keep the purse but the lipglosses are errible – sticky, heavy, no pigmentation. The lip plumper solution does nothing. I later asked my colleague what she had purchased from them that had been so good – it was a set of brushes, apparently. I wish I’d asked her that before! But more fool me for not checking it out more before handing over my cash.
I bought some of these products a couple of years ago from WH Smith in the Trafford Centre. The pitch wasnt brilliant and the lad was perhaps a tad ‘pushy’ but as a sales professional myself, who in sales can afford not to be a bit ‘pushy’. Some of the pitches written about here sound over the top and perhaps thats down to training etc but i think the products are actually ok. I love the colours in the Sunset kit, especially the pale pink base colour, i find it lasts all day and sits really well under other shades as a base and even as a colour on its own. the othe 2 colours i find are lovely too. The highlighter in this kit is a nice shimmer and the blusher is fine. I dont spend a lot on makeup – am currently loving the MUA range in Superdrug for about £1 each! but i didnt begrudge spending the £30 to get the lot. the big brush i got for free is good and the compact with eyeliners that you apply with a brush has been invaluable along with the colours in that set too as base colours.
(I like a simple base colour with something intense in the corners of my eyes, i have small eyes and like to try to widen them as much as possible!)
overall i dont think its a bad set or overly priced. I found this site purely because i was looking to see if i could purchase the pink eyeshadow on its own online – i dont thin you can which i am quite disappointed with but never mind, maybe MUA do something similar! 🙂
I got ambushed by a Victoria Jackson sales person at the Clothes Show a couple years back, and it was actually really embarrassing to have to stand there while she chattered away and pushed product after product into my hands – just for her to snatch them back away when I had to admit I wasn’t at all interested in purchasing anything. And I really wasn’t – expensive though it may be, I hear it’s absolutely crap quality makeup.
I ended up buying their ‘goody bag’ last year- by a sales person who told me briefly about the products and then went on to say that her boss was very near and this was her last bag and if she does not sell it she be penalised and that i would do her a favour by buying it and I can return the product the next day.. etc etc etc….. I had seen their stands a few years earlier (in 2006) at different stations but not being one for make up and that which I do wear i research beforehand I had not been interested to even look at them.
I did buy these though as the sales person appeared desperate and although I could not vouch for the truthfullness of the situation it was terrible that I was asked to buy it as act of charity basically! I did buy them thinking that it is a sum of money wasted! As of course I could not be bothered returning the product etc!
I later discovered that a friend of mine who does wear make up and only good quality- has had the same experience of being asked to buy the stuff as an act of charity!
We have both used it and even though I do not usually wear make up (and do not have much expereince inthe stuff) I found the quality a bit naf! No longivity etc…the colours look nice in the pot and no pigment on! (I suppose this is what they mean by ‘natural’ look) I am assuming it is the same products that are sold online at the VJ website…but not sure!
I would not recommend the products and to be honest they more like samples than actual kits- no surprise that the real price is £4!!!!
Roba