Furiously Bri

Disclaimer: Today’s post contains strictly opinions and observations regarding Leaked Labs and their marketing and product, with the intent to articulate why I do not plan to purchase from them.

In the past month, I’ve seen Leaked Labs market their Amplify Flexi Powder, and I must say I’m unimpressed for several reasons.

First, let’s review what I look for when purchasing from a makeup brand.

1. Core Values: Do you include shade ranges for all skin tones? Do you support minority communities? Do you partner with those who also stand with minority communities?
2. Price: Does the price properly reflect the quality of the product, quantity (if applicable), and packaging?
3. Quality: Is the quality good, or is it a gimmick/trend?
4. Marketing: Do you communicate with the public appropriately and accept constructive criticism? Do you present your product confidently?

The brand totes itself on the idea of innovation, but it’s been expressed across the web that the concept of this powder has been attempted before and failed to appeal to the public. How innovative can a product be if nobody is interested?

Furthermore, the idea of a water-activated shimmer is not new. I just purchased water-activated liners that are stunning, and a quad was $26.40 + shipping, versus $34 + shipping.

They also make a claim that the product solves an issue, such as dropping and breaking your powders. I believe I dropped maybe 2 powder products in the 16 years I’ve done my makeup. I don’t believe it’s as frequent of a problem as they make it out to be.

I saw a comment saying it could be useful for people with dexterity issues, and I don’t believe it would be helpful with that either, because you would have to bend the product and not have it slip out of your hands when applying to your eyelid directly.

Metallic and shimmery products have overpopulated the market as far back as 2016 and probably beyond. I don’t see anything significant about the product itself.

As for the packaging, I find it fairly lazy. 4 water-activated products in one tin? And it’s a tin? I’ve seen people show the rose gold on the silver, and some silver in the gold. Product cross-contamination doesn’t, feel like good storage if it’s showing up like that.

It seems to have potential to be messy as a water-activated product, especially if you decide to wet it and apply directly to your eye. What if you drop it while it’s wet and you happen to have carpet?

An adjacent question I have is, why does PR get to receive the product for free and receive a palette with their package? Why is the palette not included in the launch for all? $34 + shipping is steep if you don’t get the whole experience, and it really puts all the weight on the consumer to pay that much when you could have had a select list of “beta testers” to provide product to for proper reviews (which leads into my beef with marketing).

To my understanding, they have made the statement that the product is finished and that they want to test it with the public to see if it would make it to the shelves or if there are improvements to be made. If you want to implement improvements on the product by approaching people for feedback (that they have to pay to provide instead of being paid, then, to me, we, the daily consumers, are paying for an unfinished product.

It feels like a gimmicky product that is here for a good time, not a long time.

Side note: I also have not seen whether they are cruelty-free, which is always a deal-breaker for me.

I have seen them be defensive and, at times, a bit snarky in the comments when people question them, their intentions, and the quality of the product. They also held a “State of the Union Address” (now deleted) shortly after Trump gave his, and it felt extremely out of touch with what is happening in the world and incredibly unserious to do a press release in this format.

I just don’t vibe with condescension being part of your marketing team when you specifically ask for feedback from the public on a product that people are blatantly telling you are not interested in.

Based on everything I have shared, I have no intention to purchase from Leaked Labs at any point.

If your company launch has this much drama within a month, I really have no reason to be involved with your products or provide a review. I also have no interest to pay for a seemingly unfinished product to review it. I will only be paid to do that work for you. Companies take advantage of the daily consumer enough as it is, I’m not paying anyone to stick it to me on top of it.

I hope this was an interesting post! If there are any products you’d like to see me review, leave a comment below!