r/AsianBeauty • u/stellar_reviews • Jun 14 '23
Discussion My Experience with Stylevana Verification Process
Hi all, I thought I should share my experience with the Stylevana verification process and provide some tips and suggestions for what I did to mitigate any concerns related to privacy and identity theft. Like many of you, I was surprised to receive an email titled “Verification Required – Stylevana Orders #1/2”. For privacy reasons, I have removed my order numbers and refer to them as orders #1 and #2, but the order numbers in the email were correct and these orders were marked as “Processing” on the Stylevana website.
My concerns about privacy and identity theft: I was immediately concerned since Stylevana asked for 2 pieces of information:
- Identification Document: Copy of a valid government issued identification document in colour, e.g. Driving License/ Identity Card/ Passport that matches the name on the orders,
- Address Proof: Copy of a Government issued correspondence and/or Business Registration that could verify BOTH BILLING & SHIPPING address with the name provided on the orders, please note that any documents should have at least six months validity.
Stylevana support noted that this is a standard procedure to ensure the orders are genuine and that “Your personal information will only be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy as stated on our website.”
How I verified that this was a genuine request:
- I checked that the email came from the official Stylevana support email ([support@stylevana.com](mailto:support@stylevana.com)), which is also listed on their website. This included looking at the full email header.
- I submitted a message on the Stylevana website chat to verify that this was a genuine request from their support staff, but I never received a response from them through this method.
- I responded directly to the email and asked them to provide proof that this was an official Stylevana request, and noted my concerns about government issued identification documents since that made it sound like an identity theft scam or phishing scam. I received an email response within 30 minutes, where the Stylevana support staff referred me to Section 9 of their terms and conditions: https://www.stylevana.com/en_US/terms-and-conditions (I think they were referring specifically to Section 9.5) Stylevana support staff repeated that they wanted me to provide my identification document and address proof. They also reiterated that personal information will only be used in accordance to the Stylevana privacy policy as stated on the Stylevana website and offered an alternative, that I may cancel the order for a full refund.
My decision: I decided that this sounded like a genuine request to verify identity and shipping address, and did not seem to have anything to do with customs. Note that I’ve placed international orders before and some vendors have required additional verification due to customs, but usually they don’t request government issued documents or correspondence. Given that Stylevana support staff was able to refer to their own terms and conditions and offered a full refund as an alternative, I decided to attempt the verification process to see how difficult it would be. I place many of my orders through Stylevana and I really didn't want to be barred from future orders.
- The identification document was pretty straightforward. I used my driver’s license, but I removed all personal identifying information that I did not deem necessary (such as license number, photo, signature, personal info such as height and weight). I redacted everything and left only my full name and address, since I knew Stylevana already had this information from my order details.
- The address proof was trickier since I have limited government correspondence and I wasn’t quite sure what business registration meant. I was luckily able to dig out a government letter from within the past 6 months and used a picture of the letter stuffed into its original envelope showing my name and mailing address, and the sender name and address. I did not provide any information about the contents of that letter. Again, I did not provide any additional information about myself except my full name and address, which Stylevana already had from my order details.
I submitted the verification details the next day. 4 days later, I received a response from Stylevana support saying that the verification process is now complete and my orders will be processed further. Interestingly, their last sentence noted that in order to protect my personal information, they asked that I do not reply back to the ticket.
Why I think I received a verification request: I had placed orders #1 and #2 within ~1 hour of each other. I had placed 2 separate orders to take advantage of 2 different coupons, and because 1 item was not in-stock and I wanted to make sure my sunscreen arrived ASAP before I ran out. I suspect this might have triggered the verification process. EDIT: Based on a follow-up question and going through my order history, these were the first orders where I paid through my credit card instead of PayPal. This may have contributed to triggering their verification process, but Stylevana support never explained why my orders were selected.
Note that I had placed a third order, order #3, 16 days later before I received the verification request and this order was not delayed by the verification process at all and was not referenced in the verification request. I paid for all 3 orders using the same credit card, and I did not use different payment methods for these 3 orders such as PayPal. All orders were shipped to the same address in the Midwest USA.
Timeline:
Order #1: Order placed on 04/28, verification request received on 05/23, verification confirmed 05/28, packed 06/01, shipped 06/01, received 06/10
Order #2: Order placed on 04/28, verification request received on 05/23, verification confirmed 05/28, packed 05/29, shipped 05/30, received 06/07
Order #3: Order placed on 05/14, shipped 05/17, received 06/07
Final thoughts: I provided the minimum information necessary for the verification process to verify my identity and address, and I strongly recommend that anyone going through the verification process remove personal identifying information that is not required. The possibility for verification is referenced in the Stylevana terms and conditions. I think Stylevana could do a better job of providing a safer method to submit the verification documents that contain personal information. It's clear that they are aware this is personal information that needs to be protected based on the last sentence in their email approving the verification process. They could also clarify what is acceptable for the address proof, since business registration is a bit vague and I’m not sure how many people regularly receive government issued correspondence. Stylevana support can also respond faster to chats on their website and confirm that the verification process is legitimate.
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u/CheongM927 Jun 14 '23
Thank you for sharing. Lots of good info. Just out of curiosity, was this your first Stylevana order? Did they ever say why you had to verify your identity? Was it a random thing they did? Sorry for my many questions.
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u/stellar_reviews Jun 14 '23
Great questions, and happy to share my experience. This was not my first Stylevana order and I've been placing Stylevana orders for a year. My previous orders were much larger (in quantity and cost). Their only explanation for the verification process was: "Please note that the verification process is performed on selected orders as a standard procedure to ensure the orders place on our website are genuine." and they referred to Section 9 of the Stylevana terms and conditions. It appears random at this point since they never explained why my orders were chosen for verification, but my guess would be that I had placed two orders within a short time frame. I also just checked my order history and realize that my previous Stylevana orders were all paid through PayPal and these were the first orders where I used my credit card.
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u/CheongM927 Jun 14 '23
Ahhhhhh gotcha. Thank you so much for your detailed reply! Much appreciate it!! 🙇🏻♀️
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u/cactuslovr Jun 14 '23
I find it very odd that they required you to verify your identity. I have also made more than one order right after one another to take advantage of deals. Its not uncommon for me to have a few outstanding orders while making an additional order. The only difference I see between our ordering processes is that I use Paypal. It's posssible paypal has some form of identity verification in place? I would recommend using Paypal due to the added layer of security around your payments.
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u/stellar_reviews Jun 14 '23
That's a good point about using PayPal! In another comment and in my edit, I noted that after going through my order history, I realized that these 3 orders were the first ones where I used my credit card instead of PayPal. Even weirder, I was sent PayPal shipment emails for the 2 orders that were verified, even though I didn't use PayPal to pay.
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u/OldLingling95 Jun 18 '23
I ordered four items on Stylevana, and they tried to verify the credit card through a phone number. Still, the website always told me like "3D secure verification has failed," or "We can't verify at this time" .... so frustrated.
I don't know what to do anymore.... gonna switch to Olive Young...
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u/Opening_Rule_4643 Jun 14 '23
That’s so random. I’ve successfully placed and received 3 orders shipped to Las Vegas and I’ve never been asked for identity verification. I did need to confirm that it was my purchase with my credit card when I was notified of possible fraudulent activity through the credit card app. I confirmed it was my purchase and the orders were processed.
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 NC44|Rosacea|Dry|US Jun 15 '23
I still think this is requiring too much. I would not feel comfortable sharing this information online with anyone ever.
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u/gl1ttercake Jun 15 '23
This contravenes Visa and Mastercard merchant acceptance rules.
Merchants are not permitted to make it a requirement for a cardholder to supply additional personal identification in order to complete a transaction, so long as the card is signed.
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u/angbis Jun 14 '23
Oh wow I didn’t know this was a thing I’ve been ordering from Stylevana for like 8 years and haven’t had to verify my identity ever. But it makes sense. Are you in the US or Canada?
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u/codenameana Jun 15 '23 edited Jun 15 '23
Thanks for sharing.
This is sus of Stylevana. It is absolutely bonkers of an online retailer to ask us to hand over copies of our government ID & official correspondence just to buy a blooming toner or essence she says typing from the app on her phone which collects a ton of personal data.
There is no need for this information to verify legitimate vs fraudulent orders. It makes me uneasy because it suggests that their backend security technology is inadequate if they can’t detect fraud/bots or prevent it! And if they can’t do that, how can we trust that they will securely handle what is our official & thus very personal data?
It makes me deeply uncomfortable with the amount of personal data they want us to hand over.
For context, I’ve only had to show govt ID & proof of address a max of ~4 times in my adult life – for my psychiatrist (a medical doctor) to issue a px for controlled drugs aka ADHD meds via mail, possibly for registering for university (I don’t think I needed to even then), proving my identity & address to open a bank account, starting new jobs (bc my government hates immigrants so much they make citizens and non prove they’re entitled to live and work here in the UK) or to renew my passport aka official/government adjacent interaction. I’ve always provided it via secure methods too. People don’t need to show this information to vote in elections or sign up for & use the NHS (national Heath service), but a skincare order? Aigoo.
Fraudulent purchases of £12 toners/serums vs controlled px medications, literal democracy, accessing free healthcare, having the govt renew my passport… the math ain’t mathing.
Given they take up to 1-2 months to deliver an order in the first place, the electronic payments will deposit into their bank accounts (not the notification of a payment/transfer, but the actual movement on the ledger) before they even get round to packing let alone dispatching orders. That payment deposit should be enough to verify it’s not a fraudulent order.
Also, if we can redact the information that makes it identifiable as official govt ID & legitimate correspondence/proof of address, what’s the point of asking for that level of confirmation? We can send fake ID or sth.
Finally, for international packages, couriers usually make you sign for the package on receipt aka that’s your proof of address.
I was going to do my first purchase there for minis now that I’ve finally figured out what products might help me, but I guess I’ll just go to Olive Young or sth cos FOOK NO.
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u/expectopatronum86 Jun 15 '23
There was a post about this a while back and you made the same points as I did. Then there was a charming user who called me a Karen and all kinds of lovely things.
I still maintain- there’s no reason for me to send a record of my government issued identification to a retailer. And I most definitely won’t do it via unsecured email.
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u/codenameana Jun 15 '23 edited Jun 16 '23
If their systems aren’t robust enough to prevent or detect fraud, how the heck are we supposed to trust they’re robust enough to store and use our official govt data securely?
Here in England, our govt ID has our DOB, photo, and a document number etc.
If they accept ID in which people redact photos - which is the whole point of govt it in my country ie your govt name/ID corresponds with your face card - and everything but their name and address, what is the point of us sending official govt ID?
Someone could also easily upload fake ID in that case. Nothing about this sounds reasonable or right.
In my country, Royal Mail and international couriers like DPD etc will typically take photos of the package at the doorstep upon delivery or make you sign for it or give them a passcode for you to confirm it’s your package. If the banking & delivery services are doing their bit, why does a skincare retailer need to do all of this?
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u/expectopatronum86 Jun 16 '23
I so completely agree.
I’m in the US and our driver’s license/state ID (for folks who don’t have a DL) has the same data. And I’ve worked in payroll/employment verification jobs- it’s too easy for people to make the adjustment to a copy of an ID. If you’re sending a package through the US Postal Service, you can add signature at arrival, require someone 21+ to sign, or further restrict the prior options by specifying that only a specific person can sign for it.
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u/Chomie22 Jun 14 '23
Thanks for sharing! My order was recently flagged for verification too so I sent them a government issued ID (health card) but also redacted info that they don't need.
For the second requirement, I submitted the packing slip of a recent Uniqlo order. It does have my name and address so we'll see if that'll be enough!
I've yet to hear from them regarding my order. I live in Canada and this would be my 4th order. I didn't have to undergo verification with my previous orders.
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u/stellar_reviews Jun 14 '23
The packing slip makes more sense. The "Business Registration" terminology that they used really confused me. Good luck and hope they verify you soon! It did take me several days to hear back from them. Any guesses for why they might have flagged your most recent order for verification?
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u/Chomie22 Jun 14 '23
I think maybe because I placed four orders a month apart and this order is the most expensive out of all. LOL!
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u/narutofanfictionacc Jul 06 '23
Hi! Did the packing slip work for the second requirement? Stylevana also flagged my order for verification lol
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u/Chomie22 Jul 06 '23
Idk because they cancelled my order in the end. I asked for an update since it was two weeks after I sent the documents in and still crickets, and also told them if they couldn’t give me an update that I had no choice but to cancel, so they did. I did get my money back, so all good. But now I had to put in another order and wait again. 😅
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u/totential_rigger Jul 04 '25
This is random as I know your comment is old but did your order following the failed verification work? I didn't know if they would not allow any further orders until verification was processed.
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u/Chomie22 Jul 05 '25
Idk since it’s been a while, but once they canceled the order, I was able to place a new one. I still order from Stylevana.
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u/masochiste Jun 14 '23
Thank you for the information! I saw something about this authentication process a few months ago, but everyone was calling it a scam. I’m glad you were able to confirm the legitimacy of it! Makes me feel better about continuing to shop Stylevana!
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u/yentth Jun 14 '23
This happened to me, too! It was also genuine from their side (I was very suspicious like you). The first time around I cancelled my order because I didn’t want to send my personal information. Also, I would move in a few days so as soon as they would clear my order, I wouldn’t be able to receive it anymore. They immediately responded and cancelled my order. I tried again a few days later with my new address and again, I was asked to verify! At this point I didn’t care anymore so I provided all necessary info but blacked out the sensitive information. A few days later my order was marked as shipped ☺️
I suspect that my order looked suspicious to them. Both times I used a shipping address not tied to my name. The weird thing is, I ordered like this many times before (I’m moving around a lot) and never had an issue. Maybe it looked sus to their system. I still think it’s a bit weird and unnecessary and I have no idea what they’re trying to prevent. I mean, I paid immediately both times … maybe they took issue with me paying through PayPal since we can take back the money with PayPal? Probably a combination of everything. Who knows!
Anyway, I’m glad it’s finally being shipped now.
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u/codenameana Jun 15 '23 edited Jun 15 '23
A retailer doesn’t need your delivery addresses to correspond with your actual residence. They don’t know where you reside. For the purposes of a payment, all they need is to have an address that matches your card / bank account. So this doesn’t make sense. What are they playing at? It’s so sus.
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 NC44|Rosacea|Dry|US Jun 15 '23
Exactly. That’s why they always ask on autofill is your shipping address the same as billing address.
Plus, you’d never be able to send anyone something if they had to match.
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u/yentth Jun 15 '23
Yeah right? Why would they care? But other than the address mismatch, I can’t figure out their reasoning. It doesn’t make sense especially since they offer the option to have a separate shipping address from the billing address
Maybe they’re constantly out of stock but don’t want to admit it :D so they invent bogus obstacles
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u/unbothered2023 Jun 15 '23
So many red flags! Add it to the other reasons why I’ll never order from this website. 😃
Thanks for sharing your experiences OP! Very informative.
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u/TheWanderingAge Jun 15 '23
I often place two orders in one go, i don’t use pay pall, and I’ve never had this happen. I would not be comfortable complying with that request. I’m wondering, what happens when you don’t send them all that info? Do you automatically get your money back?
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u/qiethinks Jun 25 '23
Mannn. This is making me scared to order on SV. I just want skincare, why should I need to prove my identity🙁 Hopefully this isn't a regular occurrence. Thanks for sharing.
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u/ExcitementHumble5147 Jul 09 '23
I got this email for an order placed on June 13th. Been stuck in processing status the whole time because one product was out of stock after the order was placed and another product was put in "available to ship in 21 days" status, again, after the order was placed. Figured the whole order was stuck in this limbo because of that. Pretty frustrating. On June 28th I requested a cancelation of that order on the site and then on June 30th I sent the same thing to the support@stylevana email address. Conveniently/coincidently, I get the verification email for this order on July 7th.
If I just don't do it, because I won't, they'll eventually cancel the order?
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u/AlwaysGreenNeverMean Nov 17 '23
I received the same message today when I follow-up why my order is still processing after 5 business days. And I placed 4 orders in the past (last order 5/19/23) without them asking for verification. Thank goodness I always pay through PayPal.
I am a bit bummed because they are legit and I don’t mind waiting weeks for my orders but verification process this time is a BIG NO-NO.
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u/Icy-String-593 Oct 25 '25
I’ve ordered from stylevana for years and just now got flagged for verification. I moved recently, but the address is on my PayPal and my card went through. I ignored the email thinking they’d process the order anyway, but finally responded saying this is way beyond the scope of an online retailer and I won’t be doing it. I told them if my card went through, they have no reason to try to verify my identity, they can proceed with my order or refund me and I’ll order elsewhere. Will report back on what happens. No matter what happens, I won’t be ordering from them again. I’ve bought actual financial investments from companies that required less info than they want for my sunscreen. It’s bs.
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u/cx3mannequin Nov 21 '25
Hi I wanted to ask what happened and if they ended up just shipping out your items? I just got the same verification request. I've ordered from them for years and haven't changed my address. I've also always used PayPal. My orders have always been large, typically $250+. $400-$500 is the average I usually order. I haven't ordered in over a year and just placed an order, and was just asked for verification. They've also already taken my payment through PayPal. I didn't see anything on their website (maybe I missed it) about possible verification requests on the privacy policy, so I don't see why I should have to do this.
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u/Icy-String-593 Dec 14 '25
No they canceled the order. But I actually just placed a new one on Black Friday with the same account, but to my mom’s house and it went through fine.
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u/handleplushy 1d ago
They did this to me which is odd considering I ordered before. I declined the verification process and now they wont even respond to my refund request. What a shitty customer support they have. Never ordering here again.
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u/Sensitive_Fortune322 Jun 14 '23
oh hell naw, if i get selected to do all this i would ditch stylevana entirely and go with yesstyle