Artemis
New Member
After reading the "Bootleg BSS" thread, I vowed to not patronize this one particular asian BSS b/c I was thinking my Mizani mild was suspect. But b/c I need my relaxer later this month and refuse to go to a salon, I went looking for another place...
So today I went to another asian BSS today and they had everything! Dudley, Nairobi, Keracare, Mizani, PM, Rusk, etc.
I took a chance and bought the 30 oz tub of Mizani Regular, but before I did I noticed that they had some Design Essentials conditoner (in the new packaging), so I asked the lady if she was going to order more DE, and she said they ordered it on request since they had just sold out. I also asked if I could order the relaxer from her, and she asked if I was a stylist. I said no, but she said that she guessed I could still order it, and that it would take 2-3 weeks to arrive.
So after I left, I called Mizani's customer service line and spoke to a really nice lady who promptly told me that there was no way she could verify if the Mizani I bought was legit or not. No barcode or serial tracking numbers or anything
. She said that if the store was only selling products that say "For professional use only" then it was a good chance that they were a licensed distibutor. But if they sold the same stuff that you could by at Wal-mart or Eckerd (her product example was "Head and Shoulders" products), then the best case scenario was the store was ordering their products from a licensed distributor and reselling them 
. I'm still not sure which is the case, as I saw products that I never see in a BSS. Full lines of Phyto Organics. Rows of Keracare and Dudley...
Oh, I later described the appearance of the products to the Mizani rep, and told her that some of the products had like sealing tape on the tops of the packaging, and I asked the lady in the store why they looked like that and she said that they came that way, and if someone opened the product they could tell by the tape being broken on the package. She also said that some customers will open after purchasing and bring them back, so this was to monitor that (I guess?? Her accent was pretty dang thick, lol!)...Needless to say I guess she could tell she didn't convince me, cuz I continued to ask questions, and that's when she said, "They come like that from the company".
When I told the Mizani rep this, she said, "Oh, my! Well, good luck for real!!" 
Now, also, I walked around the store and saw a new product from Motions I had never seen before. They have a pre-relaxer base/protectant with shea butter in it...
So basically, do you think this place is legit? Their return policy is pretty good considering it's an asian BSS (and I think this store has more than one location in Atl...), but still
Oh, and one more thing: Does anyone else's Mizani relaxer have a slight fragrance to it? This one does...
So today I went to another asian BSS today and they had everything! Dudley, Nairobi, Keracare, Mizani, PM, Rusk, etc.
I took a chance and bought the 30 oz tub of Mizani Regular, but before I did I noticed that they had some Design Essentials conditoner (in the new packaging), so I asked the lady if she was going to order more DE, and she said they ordered it on request since they had just sold out. I also asked if I could order the relaxer from her, and she asked if I was a stylist. I said no, but she said that she guessed I could still order it, and that it would take 2-3 weeks to arrive.
So after I left, I called Mizani's customer service line and spoke to a really nice lady who promptly told me that there was no way she could verify if the Mizani I bought was legit or not. No barcode or serial tracking numbers or anything
. She said that if the store was only selling products that say "For professional use only" then it was a good chance that they were a licensed distibutor. But if they sold the same stuff that you could by at Wal-mart or Eckerd (her product example was "Head and Shoulders" products), then the best case scenario was the store was ordering their products from a licensed distributor and reselling them . I'm still not sure which is the case, as I saw products that I never see in a BSS. Full lines of Phyto Organics. Rows of Keracare and Dudley...Oh, I later described the appearance of the products to the Mizani rep, and told her that some of the products had like sealing tape on the tops of the packaging, and I asked the lady in the store why they looked like that and she said that they came that way, and if someone opened the product they could tell by the tape being broken on the package. She also said that some customers will open after purchasing and bring them back, so this was to monitor that (I guess?? Her accent was pretty dang thick, lol!)...Needless to say I guess she could tell she didn't convince me, cuz I continued to ask questions, and that's when she said, "They come like that from the company".
When I told the Mizani rep this, she said, "Oh, my! Well, good luck for real!!" Now, also, I walked around the store and saw a new product from Motions I had never seen before. They have a pre-relaxer base/protectant with shea butter in it...
So basically, do you think this place is legit? Their return policy is pretty good considering it's an asian BSS (and I think this store has more than one location in Atl...), but still
Oh, and one more thing: Does anyone else's Mizani relaxer have a slight fragrance to it?
This one does...
She even asked if I already had enough neutralizing 'poo and not to forget to use it if I did. Also, she asked if there was anything in her store that she didn't have that I used, b/c she would order it for me!! 
I promptly purchased a tub from her and then went back to the first BSS to return that other crap. The asian lady's response: "We just got this shipment last week". Me: "Well you better send it all back, cuz it smells like conditioner and perfume. Nothing like how a relaxer is s'posed smell. That mess gave me a headache". I'm glad I didn't have to get too loud w/her to get my refund, b/c I was prepared to do so. 
