Kokie cosmetics have taken over the Flower section at my Walmart store, adios Drew Barrymore!



First let's look at the packaging: black and white stripes... similar to Sephora's store theme... or inspired by prison jumpsuits?!
The president of Kokie Cosmetics is a convicted felon named Chris Chon; he was previously CEO of Mirage Cosmetics, where he founded Sinful Colors nail polish and Freshminerals. Revlon bought-out Mirage in 2011 but Chris Chon continued working there (until he went to prison...)
The Kokie brand was created in 2015 and based out of Maryland, USA. But products are made in China.
Want to know if Kokie cosmetics is at a WalMart near you? Here's a map: https://www.kokiecosmetics.com/pages/retailers



READY FOR THE SCANDALS?? 


#1 scamming the government: Mirage cosmetics owner Bae Soo "Chris" Chon from Beltsville, Maryland- plead guilty in Feb.2013 to income tax evasion of over $522,000. He sentenced to a year in prison, followed by a year of probation, and multiple fines. Chon's tax evasion scheme started in 2008 and involved hiding over $1.8million of Mirage's revenue in international bank accounts.
#2 scamming bloggers: In 2012 Sinful Colors nail polish stole photos from bloggers ( The Swatchaholic and Swatch and Learn ) and used those pics for pamphlets at Walgreens stores. Sinful Colors actually removed the bloggers' watermarks on the photos! The bloggers were never asked for permission nor were they offered compensation. Blatant copyright infringement. The pamphlets also included completely fabricated tutorials about the nail art, like telling users to use a toothpick when actually the blogger used a stencil to get the design. And perhaps worst of all: THE BLOGGERS DIDN'T EVEN USE SINFUL COLORS NAIL POLISH IN THE PICS! Disgusting. After social media hounded Revlon (SinfulColor's owner) they made a half-assed apology on Facebook and the whole thing got swept under the rug. The victim bloggers each had angry posts about the scandal on their blogs but were removed once Revlon posted on Facebook, so I'd assume Revlon threw some money at them with a gag-order. Silence is compliance.
*Sidenote- I was equally horrified at how many women weren't outraged by Revlon's unethical actions here.
I read comments like:
"It was probably just some intern with no idea of what copyright is""Yeah that's terrible but I won't boycott a whole company for the actions of a few terrible workers!"
"If you put it on the internet, it will be stolen. However, this should be taken as a compliment rather than a scandal. If someone steals your images, it means that someone likes it enough to do so." --Are you serious?! How can you be such a twat-waffle?!

So basically, can we trust Kokie cosmetics?
What other scammy stuff did Chris Chon get away with at Mirage and Sinful Colors???
Should we worry about bad chemicals in the Kokie makeup and nail polish?
I was the National Sales Manager for Mirage Cosmetics and was instrumental in
ReplyDeleteMaking it a brand worthy of the Revlon purchase. Chris sold the company for 39 million
And gave me $50 period.
Not a nice guy
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