Be a Bombshell quality discussion

Advertise with us
Jeffreestar cosmetics
Current body
Shop deals on ebay
Makeuptalk.com forums

Help Support Makeuptalk.com forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
liilak said:
One month I got a BaB product and a Hikari lipstick and I remember there was discussion that the two companies use the same private label manufacturer based on similar looking products on their site.  I looked at the packaging carefully and both companies are based in the same small town which is rather suspicious.  I don't know where Ipsy gets these companies, I don't think they properly vet them.  
Click to expand...
I also find it suspicious that two makeup companies are based in a town that small.  A couple of months back, I did a google map search of the mailing address of BaB and it was a house in what appears to be a residential area.  Now, I've lived in places where businesses (restaurants, law firms, etc) purchased homes in residential areas, but I get the feeling that BaB is a home-based business.  I'm not opposed to home based businesses, but that's what ultimately convinced me that BaB just slaps their obnoxious label on random wholesale cosmetics.

 
liilak said:
One month I got a BaB product and a Hikari lipstick and I remember there was discussion that the two companies use the same private label manufacturer based on similar looking products on their site.  I looked at the packaging carefully and both companies are based in the same small town which is rather suspicious.  I don't know where Ipsy gets these companies, I don't think they properly vet them.
Click to expand...
Possibly. I did check their domain info and found that they are not owned by the same person but it doesn't really rule out that the companies are not related since the business are less than a mile apart. Addresses and info from their website's contact us page so it's public info however since BaB's address is residence and Hikari's address is a business front I'm not going to post the addresses. I think if the companies are not owned by the person or family then it's possible that the businesses were started by friends. (Or boyfriend-girlfriend since Hikari's owner is male and BaB is female.)

splash79 said:
I also find it suspicious that two makeup companies are based in a town that small. A couple of months back, I did a google map search of the mailing address of BaB and it was a house in what appears to be a residential area. Now, I've lived in places where businesses (restaurants, law firms, etc) purchased homes in residential areas, but I get the feeling that BaB is a home-based business. I'm not opposed to home based businesses, but that's what ultimately convinced me that BaB just slaps their obnoxious label on random wholesale cosmetics.
Click to expand...
Ipsy began out of Marcelo's home. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I know I live in a town where there is practically no commercial fronts so businesses are operated out of homes. It's so weird because we have to run our business from home as well.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I guess my main issue with BaB has been the quality.  I received the One Stick, a lip chubby stick, and the shadow quad and the only one I was pleased with was the shadow quad.  The One Stick had the texture of a failed at home experiment and the lip product barely lasted through my 30 minute commute, so my opinion of the brand is that they sell cheap products at high prices.  So the fact that I have the idea in my head that the owner has boxes of product sitting in a bedroom in her home, makes me even less likely to bother exploring the brand further.

 
I live in Jonesboro and they are located downtown. They own the whole block of Union. They are currently in one building and are expanding into the next building from what I understand. They have been located there a long time. They design and produce their own cosmetics. The girls are really nice and helpful and it is very professional. I love to shop there.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Be A Bombshell. I have not seen any Hikari products in there. My friend is a designer for them and travels all over the world for "inspiration" so I know they design their own products, components, name colors, etc. She has worked for them for a long time and loves it there. I do not think they are a private label company since they design everything.

 
So Hikari and BaB are owned by the same people then. You're saying BaB owns the whole block and that block is listed on Hikari's site as their store front. Or are you saying they're different companies? I don't see what the big deal for a company to disclose if they're associated with or owned by the same people/group. We all know that Pixi Beauty is owned by the same company that own POP Beauty and it's not a complete secret but BaB and Hikari seem to hide it.

 
Noel S. said:
It seemed like every month there was some drama about things smelling rancid, exploding or just not working properly. After November I quit ipsy and got a second birchbox. While I might not love getting itty bitty lorde and berry eye liner pencils, I never worried about getting an eye infection from a Birchbox product. 
Click to expand...
Funnily enough, I got my Lord & Berry pencil from Ipsy! lol. 

 
Here's something else that's funny. Now that I reported that BaB's address is residential someone updated their address on their site because now it's showing as the business address for Hikari. Since it's a business front now sharing the address is no longer restricted.

Be A Bombshell Cosmetics

C/O Customer Service

240 Union St

Jonesboro, AR 72401

Hikari Cosmetics

240 Union St.

Jonesboro, AR 72401

http://beabombshellcosmetics.com/contact/ (a cached page shows the old address)

http://www.hikaricosmetics.com/contact/

According to the domain info, Hikari's domain address is the same address as Be A Bombshell's residential address. So since BaB shares the same business address as Hikari and the domain registration for Hikari is the same as BaB residential it's obvious they're the same company.

We also know for a fact that the products are made in China. We all think it's made by a Chinese PLM.

TreatChoself said:
I love researching stuff like this - definitely same company and same product. Read to the bottom of this: http://portexaminer.com/trade-data/fujian-ishine-cosmetics-co-ltd-bombshell-cosmetics-llc/exdo62r0102369/
Click to expand...
So their PLM is Fujian Ishine Cosmetics Co Ltd then?

"Fujian Ishine Cosmetics Co.,ltd is a manufacturer in China. Their recent shipment to Publishers Clearing House in the USA contained 614KG of Lipstick"

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I imagine they are hiding that they are same company because, say, Ipsy would be less likely to buy a lipstick from Hikari and finishing powder from BaB and put them in the same month's bag (which they did a few months ago). Ipsy may or may not know they are the same company, no idea about that, but I think if it were common knowledge amongst their subscribers they know that people would be annoyed to be getting 2 out 5 or so items in the same bag from essentially the same no-name company, neither of whose lines have a fantastic reputation.

I have no problem with PLM - my understanding is that they often adjust formulas, ingredients etc. per their customer's orders, so just because one PLM makes a lipstick in a particular container it doesn't necessarily mean that all lipsticks that are in that container are the same. And they will cost different amounts to manufacture based on the ingredients, how much adjusting they have to do to stock colors etc.  

But I do find it hard to believe that the products are different when two companies in the same location are getting shipments from the same manufacturer of the same product in the same delivery.   And I'm starting to think I may stop some of my subscriptions that include a lot of product from BaB and Hikari, because I think either the factory or the formulation or the ingredients they are using (no idea which one or if it's a combo) are subpar.

While I was reading a little on this, I found these blogs from the person who runs So Susan cosmetics about getting products formulated etc. that look really interesting:

http://cosmeticsentrepreneur.com/

http://sosusan.com/blog/

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Interesting reading. Definitely in my bookmarks now.

I think we all can agree on that there is nothing wrong with a company using a PLM because let's face it, how many companies have the ability to make their products in-house like Estee Lauder or similar big companies? I think what angers people or at the very least causes them to rethink if they want to do business with a company is if the company is honest. If Hikari and BaB are honest and say, "Yup, we're sister companies" then it's not a big deal. Morphe Brushes and Crown Brushes are sister companies and they have never hidden that from people.

We also all know that Cailyn Cosmetics parent company - Smile Cosmetics if I recall correctly - also makes the products for other companies including MicaBeauty (formerly MicaBella) but of course MB has denied that despite the fact that there were (are) products on both sites are are identical right down to the color and names of the products. It's the same with Starlooks - everyone knows they use Modern Basics as one of their manufacturer. Honestly, it's not a big deal if companies are sister companies or owned by the same group of people or companies OR if they use a private label manufacturer. Look at Pixi Beauty and POP Beauty - both owned by the same company. Not a big deal so I don't get why Hikari and BaB don't just come out and state they're sister companies since the domain registration info (which is cached by Wayback Machine and Google) plus the contact info all show they share the same address.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
FWIW, this particular bill of lading shows Bombshell as the consignee for a shipment only containing Hikari branded pencils, so yeah, hard to argue otherwise at this point. http://portexaminer.com/trade-data/fujian-ishine-cosmetics-co-ltd-bombshell-cosmetics-llc/exdo62r0113092/

I feel like we could have a really boring detective show!

ETA: [PURE SPECULATION] Was thinking a little more about how their latest shipment appears to only be Hikari branded items. I imagine after the mascara incident and the numerous complaints about receiving too many BaB products from sub boxes and their low quality that subscription box companies are becoming less interested in buying from them. So it would make sense to switch your brand's name. And not admit they are the same company.  [/END PURE SPECULATION]

 
Last edited by a moderator:
LOL The folks here on MUT are known to be pretty good detectives. ;) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Welcome to the MUT Detective Agency! LOL

Honestly, not a big deal that the two companies are owned by the same husband and wife team with their business partner(s) BUT for those that HATE Be A Bombshell you'll hate Hikari just as much since they get their products from the same place and are essentially the same company.  BUT for those that DO like BaB then you'll like Hikari as well and Hikari looks to be just slightly less expensive.

(Just don't deny or hide the fact it's the same company or owned by the same people. People don't like dishonesty and it's not hard to cross-reference information to find out the fact.)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
TreatChoself said:
ETA: [PURE SPECULATION] Was thinking a little more about how their latest shipment appears to only be Hikari branded items. I imagine after the mascara incident and the numerous complaints about receiving too many BaB products from sub boxes and their low quality that subscription box companies are becoming less interested in buying from them. So it would make sense to switch your brand's name. And not admit they are the same company.  [/END PURE SPECULATION]
Click to expand...
Well, that would make sense.  Rebranding is a pretty common practice to try to recover from a negative public image. . . and I like this detective show.  I feel like every post needs an "aha!" at the beginning of it, though :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
May want to grab screenshots of what you find.. just for posterity.  Though I love the wayback machine.

For a company that's been there a while, there's not much visual footprint of them on google streetview.  I'm not sure where they would be manufacturing unless it's out of an unmarked building, their storefront is not overly large.  Maybe they bought the 2 adjacent units that show as 'sold'?

With them bringing both contact addresses up to date and publically the same, I would imagine they're not going to be denying a link for long

Storefront: https://goo.gl/maps/Zf0wf

 
Has anyone happened to ask them? I just talked to my friend that works there and it is no secret that Hikari and Bombshell are sister companies. They have received several e-mails to customer service and they tell everyone that they are sister companies. She said the addresses are the exact same on all the products. So I looked and they are. She said Hikari was created with a more sophisticated pallet. It has very little shimmer or crazy names like Bombshell. They were actually asked to create this brand. My roommate said the owner also stated this recently - I will try to find it if it is online. (She may just be acting like she knows everything.)

 
They did buy the 2 parking garages beside them and are expanding. I do know that as a fact. They do not produce the products there. All the packaging says it is made in China. I am going to go by there after work. She also told me that under FAQ the addresses have always been the same. Under returns and exchanges. She told her co-worker about the other address being wrong.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Latest posts

Back
Top