Hello ladies!
I had to update this post after information was brought to my attention about the Mirina Collections ambassador program. Initially I was approached to be apart of their brand ambassador program. Of course I was excited and accepted the offer because as a blogger it’s flattering when brands reach out to you. It’s like a validation or stamp of approval of your social media influence and they see that in you. On their website they state that they are a fashion jewelry house based in New York, where each design is made to order. Seems legit and harmless right, well that’s what I thought. Don’t get me wrong they do have some great necklaces with a wide range of affordable styles to choose from. It’s just that their ambassador program is a bit sketchy and is using bloggers to bring traffic to their website and drive sales without actually following through with the set-up of the compensation side of things (as mentioned in their program). In their initial email to you they state that you have to first purchase a necklace and you recieve a discount by using the coupon code they provided. That didn’t raise a red flag for me because I get it, not all brands can afford to ship out free products to dozens of bloggers. Once I placed my order I received a confirmation email including my very own coupon code. Sweet right! Just to see your very own personal code to give to your followers, it felt good. They also made sure to include in a separate welcome email explaining that due to design and production times shipment will take approx 3-4 weeks. Still in my mind I was thinking cool, i’m in no rush to receive this necklace anyways. It actually took over 6 weeks for me to receive my necklace and only after I followed up twice, once on December 29, 2015 and then again on December 31, 2015. I recieved a response the same day of my second follow-up and my item was shipped on January 4, 2016 and I saw it in my mailbox on Janauary 4, 2016. When I received the necklace it was packaged nicely, but it wasn’t the highest of quality. Then again I wasn’t really expecting Tiffany quality, I liked it for what it was. Something that did not register to me at all was the legitimacy of my personal coupon code. It was only brought to my attention today by someone on Instagram when I posted about the necklace. I then tested it for myself by creating an order on their website and what do you know, the coupon code was invalid. I immediately removed this information from both my Instagram post and this blog post. I absolutely do not want to promote anything that was not true to my followers or anyone on social media. I brought my concerns up to the Mirina team and instead of trying to resolve the issue they continued to respond in a bullying and agressive manner referring me to their ‘policy’. This immediately made it official that I was dealing with an individual who is operating under unethical business practices. Not to mention that they are reselling cheap jewelry for more than triple the actual retail price, and then promoting it as being hand made by their team. I would ask for my money back but I think they need it most.
I hope I’ve brought some attention to this issue with some Instagram boutiques who are operating using bad business practices and potentially not being honest with bloggers. Ladies be careful out there and if something seems off about a brand or you get a bad vibe from the get go, run! Better yet, do not respond to them at all. In all cases they will contact you first via email or direct message. The last thing you want to do is promote false information to your followers and readers. You also don’t want to be used to promote a brand when you will not be compensated for it. Comment below if you’ve experienced something like this before and what happened.
On the brighter side of things, I did get some really good shots in with this necklace and I still want to share this look with you below.
Photography by Jamelle Lindo
Love the packaging the necklace comes in.
It only made sense that I store my necklace on my half body painted manequin.
You can shop this look below!
Missguided Turtleneck Bodysuit
Jacket is Forever 21, similar Zara Leather Biker Jacket
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Forever 21 Zippered Skinny Pants
Booties are Call it Spring, similar Chunky Heel Platform Ankle Boots
Forever 21 Quilted Faux Leather Crossbody
Mac Lipstick in Ruby Woo
hionfashion 