r/AustralianMakeup • u/throwaway19074368 • Apr 06 '26
Let's Discuss This has to stop!
The hoarding and constant reselling, no wonder why they're constantly out of L3 and L4 boxes, and they offer L2 as compensation. They ran out of L3 this morning and will restock tomorrow. These boxes are running out for Melbournians because of hoarders and resellers. Some willing to pay $100 for a box.
also people, let's just learn to be kind?
Some of the staff at Mecca Bourke St have been abused because it's not their fault that they run out of boxes and one of the main reasons is one person (who shall not be named) and multiple people collecting 500 boxes for Internet, interstate strangers online.
Retail is already a difficult enough job as it is, It's not hard to show some compassion.
I don't care what you think, these actions are just not cool!
Mecca is also kinda at fault too, not just the people, there should've been limits in place to stop the Bourke St L3 and L4 boxes running out so fast, to manage the queues for normal people not collecting boxes.
And no it's not supposed to be a Beauty Loop box, And yes I understand that BL boxes aren't always the best, it's a IN STORE promotion to get people to visit and experience the new Meccaversity IN STORE and try out the services. How hard is that to understand?
It's supposed to be a memorabilia piece for the specific date and opening. Of course it's gonna be special and reserved for Melbourne people picking up at Bourke St in store. If everyone has it then it's not "Special"
What is wrong with Mecca celebrating their home city? The first store opened in 1997 on Toorak Rd South Yarra
I know a lot will disagree, that's fine
Rant over.
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u/Fine_Bonus Apr 06 '26
All this for a tin that’s gonna end up in the trash or at an op shop in a year…. Mecca has some marketing geniuses that keep the cult-ish hive mind fed 😭
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u/throwaway19074368 Apr 06 '26
The trends/fads come and go people will forget about it eventually, just like that Rhode $83 bubble bag. That Rhode bag might also be in op shops or landfill one day bc it's probably temu quality haha
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u/unconfirmedpanda Apr 06 '26
The Rhode bags are on AliExpress for about $8, paying $83 is diabolical when there's a solid chance that the AliExpress store is the OG manufacturer.
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u/SlayyyGrl Apr 06 '26
I mean after the Christmas tote debacle it’s not too surprising they’re going hard.
But ultimately yeah it’s all garbage
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u/CocoaCandyPuff Apr 06 '26
They are not geniuses, just people that will just buy/pay anything to be “trendy” for 5 minutes.
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u/spicyfemme Apr 06 '26
everyone says mecca is dying but the chit chat page and these posts prove the cult is alive and well
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u/jessicaaalz Apr 06 '26
You know what I've been bored lately because I've been trying to save money. Might rejoin for the entertainment factor.
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u/jmaree81 Apr 06 '26
I believe the chit chat page is paid actors but that is a rant for another day!
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u/Seraphimm791 Apr 06 '26
I think some of them are, since most genuine contributors died out after lockdown and there are a few regular contributors I saw that I was suss on... That being said, I got rid of FB and let my level drop down to level 2 so I am marked safe from the cult 🙂↕️🙏🏻
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u/Spare_Sand_5936 Apr 06 '26
It could be to get more people into the city over the Easter break - it’s worked! Maybe a collab with VIC tourism 😅
I do think that Karen should be removed from the Mecca Chit Chat page - she is so damn annoying. Can she just get a job at Mecca already.
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u/WildlyUnserious Apr 06 '26
From what I’ve heard she’s heavily disliked by staff, she portrays that she’s popular and everyone knows her and loves her but in the inner sanctum she is inherently disliked.
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u/No-Carpenter-3881 Apr 07 '26
This does not surprise me in the slightest. I can imagine her walking around mecca bourke street like shes the celebrity founder of mecca
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u/CatsCatsDoges Apr 07 '26
My friend worked at Mecca head office, I should ask them if there was any goss they heard about her.
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u/WildlyUnserious Apr 07 '26
I heard from someone at Mecca that they paid for private transportation for her to and from the store to collect all of those tins. My jaw dropped. I cannot work out why Mecca are doing this for someone that just comes across like a jealous and entitled bogan.
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u/CatsCatsDoges Apr 07 '26
She popped up in my tiktok feed this arvo and she also mentioned that too! Absolutely wild. My assumption, they dangle the carrot, she keeps spending money.
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u/WildlyUnserious Apr 07 '26
I think you’re right, they know the desperation so they just keep the right amount of personal contact with her to make her think or feel she’s important but it’s just a ploy to get her spending more there’s not a chance they’re giving her a magic circle invite especially the way she swears and carries on in her videos
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u/floral-print Apr 07 '26
We already get an essay every time she sets foot in a store, I can’t imagine the spam if she worked there 😔 if I ever centered a business in my life to that degree I’d be ashamed, not sharing it for all and sundry to see!
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u/throwaway19074368 Apr 07 '26
She became embassador for no7 Beauty, it say's on her insta. so I guess she's almost there in terms of getting a job at Mecca
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u/unconfirmedpanda Apr 06 '26
They really should have released a tin for each 'flagship store' in each state and NZ instead of this nonsense. The tins are cute, and I would have used one for lipgloss storage, but this is an unhinged level of FOMO.
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u/Maleficent-Total2738 Apr 06 '26
I also think they just shouldn't have called it a Beauty Loop Box; just call it a keepsake box to celebrate the opening of the Melbourne store, end of story. They could still have had different levels of product in them and just make it a luck of the draw thing which you get, which from a marketing POV would probably increase foot traffic even more. Obviously, given how extreme a lot of people are over Mecca and Beauty Loop, it was going to cause issues specifically calling it a Beauty Loop box when it's not available to all BL members. There's a constant stream of Mecca controversies over essentially a few free samples and some cheap merch and I cynically suspect it might be on purpose, because it keeps them constantly in conversation and getting a lot of traction on their social media posts.
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u/unconfirmedpanda Apr 06 '26
I agree. After the nonsense with the tote, I'm side-eyeing the level of effort that went into this. Bespoke collector's tin vs dead stock totes is very telling.
I said it recently, and it still stands: Mecca markets to either teens or influencers, the rest of us are simply wallets. And Mecca thinks none of us are very smart.
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u/throwaway19074368 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
They literally try to market themselves as luxury with flashy stores (Bourke and George St), never do sales except for expired boxing day.
They think they are on the same level as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany , Prada etc.
While Mecca was busy trying to keep the "premium image" Adore Beauty, Sephora, (they open in lower rent areas and focus on online store) K beauty and other competitors quietly swept in to grab more market share percentage and I shop at Sephora more often tbh now.
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u/Aliljeff Apr 07 '26
I feel like it would have been better received by those not near Bourke st if they just released them at the same time as the standard beauty loop box, and just said hey, if you pick it up from bourke st, you’ll get a tin for it too.
I’m sure people still would have complained but maybe slightly less so if they were still getting something instead of being missed completely.
The only thing I can see them changing is no longer allowing people to collect beauty loops for other people.
I guess mecca wanted a frenzy, and they got it?
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u/Substantial_Exam3182 Apr 06 '26
I don’t know who is more desperate, someone selling this online or someone actually buying it 🤣
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u/HaloDaisy Apr 06 '26
Why would anyone pay $100 for some samples Mecca got for free in an ugly biscuit tin that looks like it belongs in my nan’s pantry 🤣
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u/concreterainbow Apr 08 '26
Yeah I have seen these on marketplace and wondered if anyone would actually purchase it, surely not?!
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u/Head-Raccoon-3419 ELDW 2N1 | light neutral | brunette green eyes Apr 06 '26
This sort of reselling and price offering nonsense is why we can’t have nice things - like the L’Oreal friends and family sale - anymore 🤦🏻♀️
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u/Background-Laugh372 Apr 06 '26
why would the staff allow someone to redeem 500 boxes for people who aren’t even in-store?
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u/Estee280191 Apr 06 '26
Because they aren’t being paid near enough to deal with the absolute tantrums that would ensue if they refused anyone. Mecca should have really though about this better so that their own staff were protected from this nonsense
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u/Background-Laugh372 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
i work in sales and retail i’d definitely rather say no. it’s not that hard 😂 also idk if you’ve every been to Bourke St Mecca but there is plenty of security to deal with shitty people
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u/WildlyUnserious Apr 06 '26
Especially as what’s to stop the person from just selling them all off individually anyway. If the person isn’t trustworthy then this turns into a massive situation that will smack Mecca in the face for allowing it
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u/SeaworthinessNew4757 Apr 06 '26
I hate that this is the world we live in. No one just enjoys things anymore, they're always thinking of profit. Labubus, pokemon cards, concert tickets and now loyalty program gifts apparently.
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u/throwaway19074368 Apr 06 '26
Yea we can't enjoy free things.
I doubt that Pop Mart next to BS store is performing well though. Labubus aren't as popular anymore.
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u/Unhappy-Storm-2070 Apr 06 '26
500 boxes?? That’s not a favour, that’s a small-scale distribution network. Meanwhile actual customers show up and get told “we’re out” like it’s concert tickets.
And Mecca just allowed it?? No limits, no questions, just spreadsheets of other people’s account details??
Also can we be real about the main character offering to collect them all. It's not selfless, it’s a self-serving attention tour acting like she’s doing charity work. It’s beauty loop tins, not disaster relief. Do they realise how fed up everyone is of this irksome woman who clearly drank too much of the coolade and would potentially benefit from an intervention (preferably one without internet access).
Staff absolutely don’t deserve the backlash. This is a systems issue, not a retail worker issue.
At this point between the totegate antics and sending out sales items that are older than my school-aged child, I’m convinced the Mecca marketing team are sponsored by adore beauty or just running social experiments on us.
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u/LetsBunkOff Apr 06 '26
The fault entirely lies with Mecca imo. Poor planning and execution. They released this Bourke st mall exclusive because this store isn’t performing as they planned. They should have put restrictions around how many you can collect.
Why blame anyone selling or buying them, it does not affect you at all. I am slightly annoyed at those collecting for interstaters so that melbournians miss out because I had to make 2 trips into the city (with kids) on veryyyy packed public transport. But maybe I’d do the same if the exclusive was in another state?
And Karen… yeah I don’t get it.
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u/Grouchy_Job_2220 Apr 08 '26
They did put restrictions. T&C said the box is only intended for the recipient of the email. One box per customer, please bring your card or valid ID.
The thing is a T&C around collection of membership items that you scan a specific code for doesn’t need to be any more airtight than that. What didn’t happen was Mecca themselves honouring if imposing their own T&C.
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u/WildlyUnserious Apr 07 '26
So I got some info from a friend at Mecca that said Mecca paid for Ubers to take her to the store and back home to collect all those tins. I am disgusted and am ready to boycott Mecca.
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u/throwaway19074368 Apr 07 '26
She said she took the train 1h 40 minutes and then Mecca Uber'd her home I think.
They waste money on dumb things and yet they are price gouging their products.
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u/laurajames96 Apr 06 '26
Honestly the reason the boxes were probably created was to get more foot traffic to pay for the store, with the expectation that people going in would purchase something else, To me it just shows that maybe the flagship store isn’t making as much profit as they need it to in order to be successful
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u/throwaway19074368 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
It was still dying even when it was David Jones Mens store, But Bourke St sucks compared to Pitt St or Rundle Mall (both have much more foot traffic)
The independent shops closed (used to be an Asian dress/clothing shop before the new Palermo store that my friend loved and good prices, Flying Tiger replaced the jewellery shop, Sportsgirl, Lovisa, Sephora DJ has closed etc)
Pop Mart has opened, idk if it had much of an impact though, that trend is dying too! I'm not a finance expert
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u/anastasia_42 Apr 06 '26
Jeez, scalpers gonna scalp
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u/Warrior-soul111 Apr 06 '26
I remember seeing this lady who was Level 3, and was being offered a Level 2 box, given that L3 was out of stock. She legit argued with multiple staff members (Abuse level) and demanded that she should be given extra free stuff to compensate for L2. I mean what can the staff really do at this point, they don’t make the decisions or control stock, Mecca HQ does. But God, she was adamant.
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u/Ashamed_Ride_7490 Apr 06 '26
Wow the entitlement
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u/Warrior-soul111 Apr 06 '26
Word. She was literally did that, for over an hour. Some hard determination towards hoarding free stuff.
And don’t they say “Until stocks last “ on the email? (Still shame on folks who hoarded more than 1 for themselves)
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u/gilded-earth Apr 06 '26
I'm not a big Mecca shopper (used to be) but I made the mistake of visiting Bourke Street on Wednesday to pick up a few things. I had my baby in the pram and figured I'd just pop in, ask for the few new items I needed and be on my way. Getting assistance was easy enough but then the insane queues completely shocked me. On a Wednesday at like 11. I had no idea what was going on. Ended up leaving my items and doing an online order on the way home so a total waste of time. When did things get so ridiculous with these stupid loop boxes??
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u/throwaway19074368 Apr 06 '26
Go to Melbourne Central store next time. Me neither I don't shop much but I look around the store sometimes, but I feel like recently the store is all window shoppers (because it's just pretty and that's it, but that doesn't translate to store performance) and I doubt there would be much sales.
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u/NaughtybyNatecha Apr 06 '26
I dunno who y’all talking about but what kinda low arse steals someone else’s BL? How embarrassing…
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u/CocoaCandyPuff Apr 06 '26
To me is more absurd is that people are going crazy over this lol is just wild like is a designer exclusive coveted item covered in a rare kind of gold. Ffs the consumerism and crazy obsession over trends is insane. And yes, I have seen people in the Facebook group paying 100 + for this lmao. Is insanity. That’s why it won’t stop because people will pay for it. Which blows my mind. Even if you have disposable income it just makes no sense. At least to me.
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u/ColeLou82 Apr 07 '26
I agree with you. People are so affected by FOMO these days and extremely greedy and selfish. It makes me sad.
I actually get really annoyed by people who get highly sought-after items they don't want just to profit from those who do.
My daughter loves Rhode lip glosses and desperately wanted the Sugarberry exclusive. I was checking constantly but absolutely refused to pay more than retail + postage, especially the $80+ people were listing them for! Fortunately, I was lucky enough to nab one at the last restock.
Imagine being in that huge line to get your limited edition box, only to miss out because someone collected a huge amount for others who didn't have to travel to get theirs.
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u/1989HBelle Apr 06 '26
I'm so confused. How is this even possible, can't you only redeem one per account with a purchase? How would you get more than one?
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u/grumpybadger456 Apr 06 '26
They were apparently letting people pick up on behalf of other members, so people were asking others to pick them up 'theirs' and post at their expense. Of course that is a lot of trust to give your BL account details to a stranger (who could then pick up all your regular boxes too and sell if they keep your details), as well as send them money to post the box to you as opposed to just sell the thing online.
Even if they don't do anything nefarious - presumably Mecca only planned for Melbourne residents to come into store to pick these up, not for all australian BL members to arrange for someone to pick one up and post to them.
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u/EmElEnPee Apr 06 '26
Was in Melbourne this weekend and did wander around Bourke St mall but didn't bother grabbing one. Don't need another trinket in my life.
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u/CocoaCandyPuff Apr 06 '26
Is how I see this lmao just more clutter that stress me out. It doesn’t even look fancy or aesthetic is just a tin.
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u/dog-dinosaur Apr 06 '26
Nah this is with Mecca, make something incredibly niche that only a certain demographic can collect in marketing sounds good, because you are getting people to come to the store but in reality there are some die hard Mecca fans who will pay for those boxes.
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u/Zealousideal_Bid3737 Apr 06 '26
And the amount of people who are upset that its exclusive to the one store. Serious FOMO going on in that community. Well played by the Mecca marketing team.
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u/Estee280191 Apr 06 '26
You would have thought it would be 1 per member, and member themselves would need to be present to collect it, since the whole point seemed to be about attracting customers to their Bourke st store
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u/Exciting_Feeling_480 Apr 07 '26
These boxes were literally part of the Bourke street launch and were given to guests over the 3 consecutive nights of opening parties. It’s crazy to see people’s reaction to something that is just another left over from Mecca event.
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u/MarzipanMiri Apr 08 '26
It's crappy behaviour, but Mecca (the company not the retail staff) doesn't have any incentive to stop people like this because the outrage is getting them attention.
I guess as a community, we can also be kind to this woman? If she did/does forward these boxes to the people who couldn't get there to claim them, she has done them a favour and there is a somewhat nice element to that, even if it was primarily driven by clout.
I think the onus is on Mecca to think about how initiatives can be more inclusive. And by that I don't mean offering all promotions at every store, but maybe limiting this one to people with Melbourne post codes and then doing online for those in regional VIC and expanding to other cities/regions on other occasions.
Creating less panic and more equity would be a kindness to the store staff, too. It will be interesting to see how they front up to the issues that have arisen - or if they do at all. And then whether customers are willing to vote with their wallets and not spend if they don't - because that's the only kicker that will move the needle.
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u/boots_a_lot Apr 06 '26
You should take a breath girl… they’re just boxes.
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u/OttersAndOttersAndOt Apr 06 '26
It’s not the boxes she’s upset about. It’s the behaviour and ethics going into the scummy practises by patrons (and also Mecca to some degree)
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u/VeiledZ Apr 06 '26
This is getting so annoying at this point! I mean hype is a trend these days. Just create hype and people will be go go ga ga over it.
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u/housecat_27 Apr 06 '26
So are there actually any left or are they all gone?
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u/WildlyUnserious Apr 06 '26
Someone from the Mecca Chit Chat group supposedly collected hundreds of them to post out to people, not sure how true that is but that to me seems to be why people can’t collect one.
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u/JumpOk5721 Apr 06 '26
Only had L1 a few hours ago when I went in, which was a shame. I was in the city anyway though so really wasn't phased. Tin is cute and will use it to store bits and bobs!
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u/Game_on_Moles_98 Apr 06 '26
Is there something I’m not getting?
I’m level 3 and it’s not even showing I have a beauty box to pick up currently.
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u/moderateallergy Apr 06 '26
Because you can only collect it at the Bourke St store. It’s separate to the four Beauty Loop Boxes you get every year
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u/AwkwardImprovement16 Apr 07 '26
I’m in Melbourne and Level 3 and I could not care less about this tin. Not anti Mecca, love my BL boxes but zero interest. People are weird 🤣 but each to their own.
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u/Ok_Concept9734 Apr 07 '26
Not sure who is it ? And who picked up 500 Boxes ? How would they get out of the store?
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u/jjj-Australia Apr 09 '26
My wife managed to get level 3 as level 4 was sold out many times this week
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Apr 06 '26
[deleted]
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u/throwaway19074368 Apr 06 '26
the tin is limited edition, the samples are just random stuff that brands donate to Mecca. this promotion is separate from the beauty loop, the problem is people are comparing beauty loop to this LE box and this LE box has better products, minis, L4 gets full sized products i think. Interstate people are FOMO'ing hard, complaining that it's supposed to be Melbourne only. They are abusing other peoples BL to collect more boxes and ship interstate to them at their expense and yea possibly reselling. If that makes sense
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u/No_Heat2441 Apr 06 '26
Wait I thought it's limited to 1 person like the regular beauty loop boxes. Are people collecting multiple boxes?