UPDATE, NOVEMBER 21, 2014:
I discovered that one lipsticks I purchased and that is shared in this series, MAC Cosmo, had gone bad after detecting a foul crayon-like smell. I checked with Glambot to see if they check the batch numbers of products they put up for sale to ensure they aren’t selling extraordinarily old products…they don’t, the lipstick I received was over seven years old.
Disclaimer: The following post was sponsored by Glambot (www.glambot.com). I was not paid to write, but let it be known that I did receive discounted product for consideration. My content, thoughts, and words are my own. I would not have accepted a discount if I wouldn’t have written about my experience with them anyway. You can visit my Legal page for more detail.
Welcome back to Part Three of my Glambot Experience series! Check out:
Part One
Part Two
On Wednesday, I left off having removed the shadows and pigment from their packaging. Next up is blush. I had been wanting Fleur Power for a while after seeing a Redditor on /r/MakeupAddiction use it, so I was really excited. Up close:
MAC Fleur Power, opened. There is a small foam round protecting the product with another vellum Glambot paper on top. They come right out.
It is difficult to tell here, but the product is scarcely used. Swatched-only to three uses at absolute most. The outer packaging, though it was also hard to tell, looks as if it sat amongst a well-used makeup collection (though it is by no means in bad shape – but you know how you sit a shiny plastic thing around things you use and grab often? The plastic will lose its luster. No big deal, no bothers given by me). 
Lipsticks! I’m not sure if the, “GB,” logo on the stickers is heat sensitive, but they looked a bit more vibrant before I grabbed them. No big deal though, you can still (sort of) see them.
MAC Syrup annnnd…
MAC Cosmo! They both definitely have the right weight for MAC lipsticks.
Caps off. These products were sterilized before being shipped, but you can do it again yourself if you’re concerned. As you can see, Syrup has only a little left, but Cosmo is almost full (YAY!) – just for giggles, I took my existing MAC lipstick (Brave, purchased from a MAC counter) and compared the packaging, logos, bottom sticker, etc – they’re legit!
So that’s it for the haul from Glambot.com and my overall verdict is that they’re worth a shot, especially with promos like 10% off (click here to get that discount!). Understandably, they aren’t for everyone (not everyone is comfortable with pre-owned, sterilized cosmetics – not unreasonable), but they’re definitely a great way to try something out without paying full price for it and possibly not liking it. There are certain things that I would not, under any circumstances, buy pre-owned – false lashes, lipgloss whose applicator goes inside the product, mascara (and I do not believe they sell any of these in used condition) – as I am not convinced that these can be sterilized effectively, and I lack the equipment to verify otherwise.
The rest of my thoughts:
- The Glambot.com site is reasonably responsive, but not without improvement opportunities.
- Personally, I would really love if they had an option to display more than twelve items per page; I am not a fan of having to go through, for example 145 pages of product. If they introduced a 48-items-per-page option, for example, that would knock that 145 pages of MAC products down to 37 – this would make browsing and shopping more efficient, and would be even better with 60/72/96-items-per-page options.
- I also wish unavailable items did not show up in searches or category listings.
- Additionally, although you can filter by brand once you’re in a specific category, but it would be fantastic if there were a straightforward way to shop by brand. You can search for a brand and find items that way, it would be nice if the top bar had a, “Brand,” subsection that you could mouse over and click, “Tarte,” “Urban Decay,” etc.
- Taking this a step further, the brand filters on the left side of the site once you’re in a product category (eyes, face, etc) has a couple duplicates; NARS and MAC appear twice each and have different products. This is because their filter is case sensitive so, “MAC,” and, “MAc,” return different things, as do, “NARS,” and, “nars.”
- Another thing worth noting is that Glambot uses URLs for their discounts rather than promo codes you enter at the end – you can get 10% off at Glambot.com by clicking here.
- Glambot has an FAQ, as well as a section of pages detailing what can be sold, how to estimate your earnings, and how to package your potential items-for-sale to them. I do not have anything I am interested in selling at this time, so I have not experienced this process. This route is nice if you aren’t sure how to sterilize or don’t want to/cannot take the time to do so. Based on their earnings chart, you may make more money selling that only-swatched lipstick that doesn’t flatter you to a friend – but that does not mean Glambot is trying to cheap out on you. Remember that it is providing a service – they pay for the shipping from you-to-them (yes!), they verifiy its authenticity, and they sterilize the product. When you take those things into account, it isn’t a bad deal.
- Standard shipping was quick, but I did not receive a shipment/tracking notice – I’m not sure if that was just my case or if that is the norm, but keep that in mind. Standard shipping, at this time, is USPS Priority.
- They package their items really well. The time they take and materials they invest in to do so speak to their commitment to delivering quality products. I think so, anwyay.
- The contents of my order were accurately described, I am satisfied with what I received. I don’t need to wax poetic on this, it is pretty much what the bulk of the series and photos discussed.
In all, I would do business with them again. I can’t say they will always be the first place I hit when I am looking for a product because my preference is for new items. That said, if the new version of that product is more than I want to spend OR I cannot find that product (sold out, limited edition, discontinued, etc) I will make a beeline for Glambot.com. If I want a MAC blush or eyeshadow refill pan, though, I’m checking to see if Glambot has it first.