Why Are People Complaining About Refy’s Blur Liner?

Few beauty products earn viral status before launching but Refy’s Blur Liner, £16, was an exception. Its ability to chisel and plump lips with a flick of the wrist — as modelled expertly by creative director and cofounder, Jess Hunt — propelled the product onto the wish lists of beauty enthusiasts and novices alike. It’s little wonder that when Blur Liner finally became available, people bought the product in their droves. The Plum Lip Collection even sold out. But now that people have received their orders, it seems there’s a common problem: Many fans of the brand have reported that their Blur Liners are faulty.

Content creator Sarah O’Grady is one such customer. She recently amassed thousands of views on a TikTok video in which she unboxed two lip liners in Opal and Mauve, only to discover that both crayons were broken and stuck inside the lid. “They both just fell out,” O’Grady told the camera. “I’m not going to use either of them.” O’Grady’s comments section proves that this isn’t an isolated incident. One TikToker observed, “So everyone had the same problem?” while another wrote, “That’s exactly what happened to my lip liner; constantly snapped off and wouldn’t wind down. Waste of money.”

It isn’t just TikTok. Over on Instagram, the brand's Blur Liner posts and ads are gaining tens of similar complaints in the comments. Refinery29 reached out to Margarita, who bought three liners in Opal, Mauve and Umber. “I’m always looking for lip liners that won’t add a lot of texture to the lips and feel more natural — then the ad for Refy popped up on my TikTok FYP with the launch of these liners,” Margarita told R29. “I’d heard of the brand before but I wasn’t keen on anything specific, so it passed me by until this launch.” 

Disappointingly, all three of Margarita’s Blur Liners were faulty. She didn’t hesitate to let the brand know on Instagram and to contact their customer service team. “I provided photo proof and I can’t fault [their customer service] because they sent a replacement right away — but the replacements arrived damaged as well,” said Margarita. She decided to give the brand another chance and placed a separate order two weeks after her initial purchase. “Those arrived broken, too,” Margarita told R29. “I contacted customer service again and they were happy to replace this order, but again everything arrived broken — at which point, the brand said it was looking into the issue.” While Margarita said that Refy was helpful and responsive, she questioned why the liners were still being sold. “Why not stop the sale and correct the product?” she asked. As a result, Margarita says that she won’t be shopping at Refy any time soon. 

In a follow-up TikTok video, O’Grady revealed that her Refy Blur Liner replacements were also broken. Alicia, too, received broken lip liners — and was convinced that it was her fault. “I opened the liner and essentially the whole liner stick popped out with the lid,” she said. “I honestly thought I was being too rough with it, but literally all I did was take the lid off.” For that reason, Alicia didn’t reach out to the brand for a replacement; instead, she had the idea of melting the stick back into the tube with a lighter. “It works fine if you keep it twisted down and use it gently,” said Alicia, “but it is a faff to not be able to screw it up any higher for fear of it falling out.” Like many others, Alicia had put her faulty lip liner down to a fluke and didn't see it as an indicator of the brand having any major issues. But if social media is anything to go by, lots of people are frustrated with Refy. The cost of makeup is only increasing and when products fall short of our expectations, it can be highly disappointing — and leave us out of pocket. So what happened here? 

Refinery29 contacted Refy for a statement. The brand responded: “We have seen the comments and content and have been speaking to customers directly about the issues they’ve faced to understand the situation better. Taking on the feedback we’ve been working with our suppliers, retailers and warehouse teams and have identified the issue is occurring during transportation for some customers. We have been working to update both the unit and shipping box to avoid this moving forward to mitigate this!” 

Refy added: “Although there are definitely comments, we have been tracking the data and those experiencing damages are within a normal range so these are definitely the exception. Community is so important to us and we take their feedback really seriously and we’ve been sending new products in the new packaging to those affected to check performance in new packaging and this does seem to be resolving any issues experienced and we’re confident everyone will continue to receive the best Refy experience.”

Under the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, consumers are usually entitled to a refund, repair or replacement of faulty goods and services, but for hygiene reasons, cosmetics are trickier to navigate. Refy’s website currently states that it can only accept returned makeup items if they are unopened and unused. This would exclude most faulty Blur Liners. Instead, the brand encourages those who have received a faulty item to contact its support team via this form, and asks that you include your order details and a photo of the fault. After Refinery29 published this article, Refy told us: “In relation to our return and refund process regarding Blur Liner, our customer service team have been working around the clock to ensure every customer affected by this courier issue has been issued with a replacement and/or a refund.”

While Refy corrects the packing and shipping issue, there are a handful of lip pencils which lend similar blurring effects. Rare Beauty’s Kind Words Matte Lip Liner, £15, is just as pigmented, creamy and comfortable. Though pricier, NARS Powermatte High-Intensity Lip Pencil, £24, boasts a chunky nib to make light work of lining and filling in lips. Lastly, try Glossier Lip Line, £18, which blends easily but doesn’t budge once it settles thanks to a water-resistant formula.