Edit: Sigma Beauty sent me 2 brushes by mistake, the F05 & the F55, which were the brushes from my original order. When I contacted them to ask why they sent them, they said they didn’t know why they’d resent those brushes but they want me to send the brushes back to them, and they’ll reimburse me for the shipping costs.
I feel it is highly unprofessional and inappropriate of them to ask me to spend my time and money to return brushes to them that they sent to me by their own mistake. While I am sending the brushes back to them, and hopefully will get reimbursed for my troubles, I have removed their affiliate links from my blog and will not purchase from them again. They have lost me as a customer.
Edit: I was just contacted again by Sigma & told that I no longer need to return the brushes. Apparently Sigma has now changed their policies on no longer requiring customers to return products sent to them by mistake and they will be looking into changing how they ship out their brushes.
I first ordered from SigmaBeauty on December 28, 2010. I picked up a Small Contour F05 and a Small Duo Fibre F55. Both are face brushes. Shipping was $5.25 This package arrived on December 31, 2010. I was surprised that the brushes arrived in a yellow bubble wrap envelope, as it didn’t seem like it would be safe to send brushes that way, but they were safe inside the packaging.
The Face Brushes:
F05 is a small contour brush. (compare to the MAC 109)
F55 is a small duo fibre brush. (compare to the MAC 188)
These are $14 each.
I loved these face brushes! The F05 is exactly like the one I had used on me at the MAC store, so it’s perfect for contouring the cheek. The F55 is a tiny highlighter, which I really like.
The F05 small contour really does fit well into the hollow of my cheeks to define. I’ve been using it by making small circles going from my ears downward to the hollows of my cheeks and then back up. The F55 small duo fibre works perfectly to highlight on my cheekbones without using too much product.
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark used to contour.
I liked my first two brushes so much that I decided to place a second order. I next ordered on January 10, 2011. I picked up a Medium Angled Shading E70, Pencil E30, Short Shader E20 and a Tapered Blending E35. Shipping was $5.45. I received my second order on January 14. Again they arrived inside a yellow bubble wrap mailer.
I was disappointed because 2 of my brushes arrived damaged, the E70 and the E35.
You can see how several of the bristles are bent at a funny angle.
I immediately took pictures of the brushes and contacted Sigma via email and twitter, but received no response. At this point I assumed they’d gone home for the weekend since it was Friday and that I’d get a response on Monday morning.
Monday January 17 comes and I got no response that morning. So I sent another email and another tweet on twitter and got no response. I did get some responses on twitter that I should post on their Facebook page as that gets immediate results. I shrugged and figured why not, I might as well give that a try. Predictably, I got help immediately from contacting on Facebook and received a response to one of the emails I sent.
Sigma sent replacement brushes out the same day, Jan. 17 and they arrived on Jan. 19.
The E25 blending brush was a free gift with purchase.
The Eye Brushes:
E35 is a tapered blending brush. (similar to the MAC 222)
This is the E35, with the E25, the MAC224 and the Urban Decay Blending Brush.
E70 is a medium angled shading brush. (similar to the MAC 275, the Too Faced Angled Shadow, the ecoTools angled crease)
The ecoTools angled brushes, the E70, the Too Faced and the taklon angled sculptor.
E30 is a tiny pencil brush. (similar to the MAC 219)
The E30 next to my fiber optic pointed crease brush.
E20 is a short shader brush. (similar to the MAC 214)
E25 is a blending brush. (similar to the MAC 217)
The eye brushes were $9 each.
What I don’t like about the Sigma Brushes:
First, they’re not vegan or cruelty free. Second, the handles are longer than I’m used to using for the eye brushes. Third, I don’t really care for the packaging that the brushes are mailed in, as I don’t think they provide enough protection.
What I like about the Sigma Brushes:
The brushes seem to be a good quality for the price. $9 to $14 for the brushes that I purchased is quite reasonable. They don’t smell. I’ve not experienced shedding with them. They seem to be the right density for application. The customer service, in my experience, is good. I was impressed with how quickly Sigma, once they read my comment on Facebook, replied to my email and sent replacement brushes out the same day. Also, it seems that Sigma Beauty is an Indie company, so I like that too.
Would I purchase again?
No. I really dislike that the brushes are not vegan. While I do like the eye shadow brushes, I still find myself reaching more for my synthetic brushes. The face brushes, however, I use almost every day and I adore them. I haven’t found a synthetic match to the F05 and none of my other brushes that I currently own compare to it for how well it works to contour.
Additionally, it has come to my attention that Sigma states that their brushes are made in the USA, when in fact they are not.
Finally, I think they are unprofessional in their actions.
Products purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
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Hello Cotton
Hi Phyrra.
I also like Sigma brushes. This is a very detailed review of the CS. Thanks. =)
I would recommend the Sigmax kabuki brushes to anyone since those are still my favorite brushes up to date. You should give those a try sometime.
Etude House also has a brush that’s really good and is quite cheap. It’s the duo fiber brush. I use it from foundation to contouring to blush on and it does a good job. I think its quite similar to F55 except the handle is shorter. There are many reviews on the net that say that it’s comparable to MAC’s 188.
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Have you tried the ecoTools kabuki brushes, out of curiousity? I <3 them.
Is the Etude House synthetic?
yes. i also have the eco tools kabuki.
i think etude house’s brush is a mixture of synthetic and goat hair…? >o<" i'm not sure. wait i'll ask them in their FB page and will get back to you when i get a reply. 
sugar sugar recently shared..REVIEW- Fasio Gradation in I-2- Blog Award & Update
Thank you!
I’m going to comment here since this allows me to type more than twitter does.
I’m disappointed in how they handled your case. So much for good customer service. It felt like the reply was cut and paste. Tsk, tsk… :/
I will post the answer of Etude House later since it’s 3:55AM here in the Phils.
sugar sugar recently shared..REVIEW- Fasio Gradation in I-2- Blog Award & Update
I feel like the reply was rude, so I agree.
Do you think they’re worth it, in terms of price, compared to, say, ecoTools? I really like my ecoTools brushes but there are a few types I’d like that they don’t seem to have, so I’m looking around at different options.
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I really love my ecoTools brushes, and I think for the brush styles that ecoTools does not make, they are definitely worth it. EcoTools doesn’t make a pencil style brush, the F05 (which is what I need to use to contour, it works better than anything else I own), or the F55.
I alo have a few brushes from Sigma . I have a pencilbrush , a large shaderbrush and a small one , a pointed blending brush and a tapered blending brush . I do like them , you have a good quality for the price . I was also surprised when they arrived to me in a bubble wrap envelope , surprisingly enough they were completely intact ! But i love the brushes , they are cheaper than the MAC ones , the MAC ones are maybe a bit better in quality , in my opinion. But they work well for me.
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I’ve had my set of MAC brushes for forever, and they’ve lasted well, so I definitely think they’re high quality. It does seem like the Sigma brushes are pretty well made, but I haven’t had them nearly as long.
I like how F05 looks like and I definitely think I’ll purchase it soon. I really need a good brush for contouring.
And I must say again – love your hair style and love how you look on the photo above! <3
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The F05 is the best brush I’ve tried for contouring, and I’ve tried a bunch of different brushes to try and get it right. That one really works well for me.
Thanks!
Oh boo for some reason i thought they were synthetic :/
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From my understanding, most of their brushes (if not all) are natural hair.
I have few brushes from Sigma and I like them but honestly, quality-wise I don’t see a difference between my Sigma brushes and my Crown brushes. My E25 and E60 had some bent bristles when they arrived too but it disappered after I washed them. I was about to get F55 but it gets very mixed reviews. I’m happy you got a good one Phyrra!
The only thing I really don’t appreciate with Sigma is the big “USA” on the brushes when they’re in fact made in the PRC. I felt a little deceived when I saw the almost invisible “Made in PRC” on the handle.
I’d read a few reviews that stated they were higher quality than crown brushes, but I don’t have any crown brushes to compare them to. I think it’s wrong for a company to send you bent brushes
I feel like if you’re buying something brand new, it should arrive in brand new condition. The F55 works well for highlighting. However, my favorite of all the ones I purchased is the F05. I haven’t found anything else like it.
Eek! I had no idea that Sigma promoted themselves as being all big USA but then makes their brushes in PRC.
I know, I was disappointed in the condition too. That’s another reason I stopped buying from them. I took pics of the bent brushes too but decided to wash them first and see what happens. Probably should’ve contacted Sigma but I’m not on Facebook so it would’ve been impossible for me to reach Sigma’s CS
I remember you talking about/posting a picture of the damaged brushes on Twitter. Glad to see that they replaced them.
Also, love the pose you’re doing in that photo.
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Yeah, I’m very glad too. I was upset to receive damaged brushes. I feel like if I’m buying something brand new, it should arrive in brand new condition. And if it doesn’t, the company should replace it and look into why it arrived damaged.
Thanks!
I like most of my sigma brushes though i have had to get the duo fiber brush replaced and one of my eye blending brushing is now shedding like crazy, but i haven’t contacted them to replace. I like their prices, but i think i will just try ecotools and i like my elf brushes a lot too.
Oh that sucks! I haven’t experienced any shedding, but I’ve only washed my brushes a few times. I wash them in Dr. Bronner’s pure castile soap and water.
This has nothing to do with the brushes, but I wanted to say that you look so hot in that picture! Your haircut, your eyebrows, your makeup, everything is perfection!
Aww thank you!
I have been debating on these brushes for a long time. The mixed reviews have me wondering if it’s worthwhile or not. Sadly, the shipping to Canada is quite high.
It seems peculiar to send brushes that way, maybe the wrap is less expensive than boxes? I’m glad you were able to get a resolution to the damaged brushes though, I too would have been upset.
I’m glad to know I’m not alone about being upset over damaged brushes. And I would think that a flat rate box would be a better way to ship, too, like Sugarpill does.
Wow.. for such an up and coming brand their not cruelty free… not being vegan I can understand a little. This totally changed my wanting to buy their duo fibre brushes…
What’s a good vegan brand? Only brushes I use are MAC, Sephora, and Bare Escentuals.
Thanks for the post!
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My MAC brushes are natural hair.
EcoTools, Too Faced, Urban Decay and BftE Cosmetics are all cruelty free. So are Medusa’s Makeup brushes.
They STILL demanded them back after you offered to host a giveaway instead?
What fucking ASSES. I hope you read this, Sigma reps, I’ll never purchase or recommend you to my readers based on your shitty attitude here.
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They didn’t even acknowledge that I’d offered to do a giveaway. The response was:
You may purchase the brushes if you would like. If not, please send them back, and we will be happy to refund the shipping cost. Please let me know what you prefer.
–
I guess they feel like my blog is too small to warrant a giveaway, even when they sent me the brushes by mistake.
Mistakes happen, but this doesn’t seem to be the way to handle it. If they really need their brushes back, they ought to contact UPS and have a “call tag” issued, so you can pack up the item and have it sent back postage paid.
I agree, I don’t think they should have handled it this way, it felt very unprofessional and sketchy to me.
How ridiculous that they demand you either purchase the brushes or send them back- after you showed the decency and honesty to admit they’d sent you items you weren’t charged for! I would have told them to send you a prepaid UPS label if they’d like them returned, and maybe even asked for a credit to compensate for the time, hassle and gas involved in returning them!
I’ve never been very attracted to Sigma- I really don’t think they’re well priced enough considering they’re all unoriginal MAC knock-offs. I can get genuine MAC brushes for around the same price w/ my pro discount, so….
I have heard good things about Crown, in fact, I kind of assumed Sigma got their brushes from there. I personally have never heard anyone say Crown is inferior, and their selection is much more varied- including a wide range of synthetics (though I actually prefer natural for most uses.) The only thing keeping me from ordering Crown is that they’re supposed to be introducing a Pro discount- I know w/ my luck, that’ll come out the day after I plae an order!
Yeah, I feel like I did the right thing by contacting them to ask why I’d been sent products I hadn’t ordered. I feel like they’re treating me like I stole from them, when they’re the ones who made the mistake.
I specifically went and bought the F05 after trying the MAC equivalent and liking it and looking for a brush just like it.
I would love to find a synthetic version of the F05/MAC 109.
I don’t think I’ve tried Crown but I know some people love them and some really hate them.
Oh! You get your pro discount on brushes!
!
<.<
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You should totally write the bbb about this I can almost promise you will be happy with the result.
I’m not really sure what I’d say to them other than what I posted here.
I saw this post earlier, and although the brushes I can’t afford to drop that kind of money on brushes right now. That is very lame, and I cannot believe they would request that you return the brushes they accidently sent you! I agree it was not your mistake. It would’ve been in their best interest to admit a “oops” was made, keep your brushes to be a returning customer and recommend others on your blog to purchase from them. What a dumb move on their part! I hope they at least compensate you for returning them! It also seems a little weird, because ,what if you used them? Even if you’ve just been handling them or did swatches on them, I’m assuming they want you to return them so they can re-sell them…
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I didn’t remove the plastic covering from the brushes. I was just like ….why did they resend these brushes? and immediately emailed the company. And yeah, I think they should have as well.
A few years ago, Sephora sent me more of a product than what I originally ordered. When I called them, they just sent me the call tag so I wasn’t out of any money. I can’t believe Sigma expects you to pay for their initial mistake. I am glad I have never ordered from them.
Sephora has fantastic customer service. I can’t believe Sigma expects me to, either.
I’ve not heard enough good from Sigma to warrant purchasing from them. I removed my affililate link a bit ago based on the same feelings of not wanting to promote them. I’ve not used Crown. I do like ELF, willt ry EcoTools and stand by MAC. I’ve had mine for over 10 years and they still hold up. Worth the investment to me. Yep the ProCard gets you 40% brushes.
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My MAC brushes I’ve had for almost 10 years and they’re still in good shape. I LOVE ecoTools and wholeheartedly recommend them. I also can recommend the Too Faced brushes now. I’ll be reviewing the BftE vegan brushes. Let me know if you know of any brush similar to the MAC 109. That’s the reason I tried Sigma, for their F05, which is equivalent to the MAC 109.
*40% off brushes, whoops.
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Ooh nice!
I really hate companies that make you contact them on Facebook or Twitter to get any sort of customer service. I find it unprofessional.
I think I’ll stick with Coastal Scents for brushes.
It’s definitely odd, to me.
Wow…. It’s kind of… ridiculous that they asked you to send the brush back. O_o. First, it’s like you are being punish for being honest, since now you have to spend your time to send them back when it was their mistake. Most compagnies would just have told you to kept them.
What are they gonna do with them anyway? Ethically speaking, they cannot sell them to someone else. While It’s certain you didn’t use they, they technicaly don’t have any proof of that so they simply cannot sell them to someone else. It’s just not logical at all to ask you to return them. What a waste of time (for you) and money (for them, and lets hope not for you as they are supposed to give you the money back for the shipping)
I have the 12 brush set and was thinking about buying the professional 15 one.. Look like you are making me save 150$ because I’m not going to buy from them anymore!
I feel like I’m being treated like a thief, like I did something wrong to them, when they’re the ones who made the mistake.
And yes, I have to spend my time and money to ship it back to them. They told me they’ll be happy to pay me up front for the shipping costs if I tell them how much, but I won’t know until I go to the post office and purchase the stuff to ship them in and the shipping.
I’m guessing they will resell them. I didn’t use them. I didn’t remove the plastic wrapping.
I offered to do a giveaway with them, but I’m guessing my blog just isn’t big enough for their tastes, or the just don’t like me
Whatever their problem is, they lost me as a customer because I don’t feel like it’s good customer service to blame a mistake your company makes on a customer.
I have to say, I’m so happy those jerks are going to lose at least one $150 sales because of their RIDICULOUS ATTITUDE OVER TWO FRIGGIN’ BRUSHES.
Sigma. The suckiness. Is just. Beyond words.
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No kidding. Really not impressed.
I am pretty sure it’s illegal for them to require you to send something back that you didn’t even order anyway, if my understanding is correct.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/39/3009.shtml
(b) Any merchandise mailed in violation of subsection (a) of this section, or within the exceptions contained therein, may be treated as a gift by the recipient, who shall have the right to retain, use, discard, or dispose of it in any manner he sees fit without any obligation whatsoever to the sender. All such merchandise shall have attached to it a clear and conspicuous statement informing the recipient that he may treat the merchandise as a gift to him and has the right to retain, use, discard, or dispose of it in any manner he sees fit without any obligation whatsoever to the sender.
Also see:
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/investigations/MailFraud/fraudschemes/othertypes/UnsolicitedFraud.aspx
In other words, massive friggin fail, Sigma. Massive.
I should follow that up with IANAL, but that’s my understanding of it. Even if my interpretation of the law is incorrect, it’s still way dodgy of Sigma to deal with it this way.
Wow, so they really are being jerks.
The same thing happened to me with sedona lace, they sent the wrong brush and expected me to pay to return it, it was the right type but the wrong colour so I kept it and they gave me $5 back. Very dissapointing.
Most of my brushes are eco tools I love them!
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That’s awful!
Phyrra
I would like to thank you for this post and thank all those that have posted their comments. We will take immediate action to improve our customer service and return policy. We will also evaluate alternative ways to provide safe shipping. I will work with our packaging department to identify potential sources of mistakes. At Sigma, it is my goal to provide you with the best product and service. The comments above are extremely valuable to me. This is a great opportunity for improvement. I also would like to let you know that we will soon launch a vegan line. Thank you again for your post and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions or comments.
Simone (owner, Sigma Beauty)
Simone,
I haven’t received any additional emails from your company. I feel like your company has treated me like a thief for your company’s mistakes. So this feels a bit like an empty promise.
Thank you again for your comments. My goal is to correct this mistake and there is a major meeting scheduled this morning to discuss the issues you brought up. Solving issues such as the ones you mentioned are in our company best interest. Again, this is how a company grows and improve. You and any other customers are the basis for what we do, and we want to make sure you are happy with what you can offer. One of the decisions that came out of your comments is to transition to a different packaging method. We will design shipping boxes today. We now (starting this week) have increased the number of staff in customer service, and I expect that e-mails will now be answered quickly. We will also train our customer service staff to generate and send pre-paid return labels to our clients. At Sigma, the client is always right. And I will personally make sure that that is enforced.
Thank you again for your feedback. It is a great opportunity for improvement.
Simone (owner, Sigma Beauty)
I’m still waiting for a reply from your company.
I haven’t been given an address to ship the brushes to.
Hello Phyrra,
You will not have to send back the brushes. Our policy has changed. Any mistakes we make will be at our expenses. We will no longer request that clients return items we shipped incorrectly. You will hear from our customer service today. Let me know if they don’t get back to you.
Thanks again for bringing this issue to my attention.
Simone (Owner, Sigma Beauty)
Simone,
I did hear from your customer service. Thank you.
I’m glad that you don’t have to return the brushes anymore, but that’s still some scummy customer service
I’ve been wary of Sigma since they send free products to nearly every guru on Youtube, and this has definitely cemented my opinion. I won’t be shopping there anytime soon.
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Yeah, and after researching other reviews, this is not the first, second, third or even fourth time that Sigma has given this sort of service.
We learn from our mistakes, take action, and move on. Sigma is a young company. And is making daily improvements based on your feedback. I want to thank you again for making us aware of your concerns. Significant changes have already been made based on your suggestions. Again, thank you for your feedback.
Sad to hear that they have awful costumer service ): I’ve been putting off trying some brushes because reviews are so mixed either they are OMG AWESOME or awful. After hearing they’ve paid reviewers or going to place an order and finding out it was a hidden referral link and all the horrible stories about the customer service, I’ve been slightly off put. Even if the products are amazing, I will never support a company who treats there customers like they treated you.
I love that eye look on you!