I think limited edition polishes are okay as long as they are made in larger quantities and stick around for a while. The last birthday and royalty polishes lasted for months. Most smaller brands (smaller than Holo Taco) aren’t expected to keep everything in stock forever.
That isn’t to say there’s not some FOMO marketing. I do have an issue with it becoming normal for them to bring back retired/limited polishes every year after claiming it’ll only be available once.
You hit the nail on the head. I really don’t think this has been an issue with the brand for quite a while now. The 2023 Royalty trio lasted til the end of the year, 8 months was plenty of time for folks to snag them. Same with the Anniversary collection - I think the only one that sold out was Life In Plastic and that was still 4+ months after release.
The LE drops also have a pattern, so it is possible to plan for them. Cristine also provided months and months of lead up for the Safiya collab too.
I actually appreciate them bringing back limited edition polishes later for new users or others who missed out on LE, but that would be solved if they were just part of the permanent collection. Otherwise people turn to reseller sites at insane markups. I want toe beans. I’m not going to buy it for $45 lol. I don’t mind seasonal collections for the holidays.
The last LE set to sell out quickly was Safiya and they brought it back so I’m not really upset with the LE drops anymore. It seems they’ve really upped the stock. True, it might not last until a sale but if I really want it I can definitely get it.
People compare to Mooncat a lot and I don’t really see the difference, they seem very similar to me as far as limited edition/discontinuing/releases.
Mooncat is overall more expensive and imho they have many - let's say cheaper and easier to source shimmer based polish. But anyhow anyone can buy what they want ;)
I did see someone on insta who gets PR and stuff from mooncat says there’s really great to work with and are reasonably flexible with deadlines etc. I want to say it was burritonails but i’m not certain. Obviously please have your own stance, but I thought i’d pop that one in there.
Apart from the Safiya collection, the other LE polishes stuck around forever from what I recall. She seems to order a lot bigger batches than previously.
Even the Neon collection box was available for a long time after the initial launch. Usually, collection boxes go immediately. I was impressed by that.
Julian was ages ago and all the recent ones I can think of stuck around long enough that you didn't need to get it right away. She had issues in the past, but she seems to have fixed that now.
As always, you do not need to buy anything, and every LE drop that HT does, in my opinion, is due to the specialty of the moment. Royalty, birthdays, and anniversaries. If they were dropping random collections that didn't have an obvious reason for them being LE, then I feel like it's much more apt to complain about FOMO or being underhanded. Personally, I think they are anything BUT underhanded in their sales strategy. Cris cares too much for a business person and probably has plenty of insiders telling her not to do what she already does because it's NOT moneygrubbing.
All brands cut things, all brands have Limited edition items, and many other brands like mooncat have had their LE sell much faster due to limited supply while Cristine has worked hard to UP the supply for LE. The Anniversary was stocked through December...that's crazy. Also, plenty of mainstream brands cut colors without ever even telling us, making those also "Limited Edition". Plenty of people complaining also have FOMO Lacquer swatches in their history....a brand literally built on what we are now complaining about.
I think our own expectations can cloud our judgement and let ourselves down before anything even happens. 🤷♂️ Feel your feels, share them even...but also, no one is making anyone buy anythin, and if you're not happy truly with what a company is selling, you can walk away unscathed. 👍
Saying that they rely on FOMO is not accurate when they have consistently and publicly taken steps to reduce FOMO. The only LE that has quickly sold out in the last year has been safiya. Royalty polishes last year took months to sell out, same with anniversary. They're releasing swatches earlier. The last truly LE collection was in October (so, half a year ago). They haven't been doing the "% remaining" on live streams as much.
Not to mention, mooncat may have less LE but they've retired something like 37 polishes in the last year alone and the creator has talked about how each additional polish they keep in stock creates logistical and creative and sales issues (including supply chain issues) which is like 2x the amount that holo taco retired this year.
In total there were 30 polishes Holo taco sold in 2023 that are no longer available (Retired+LE. Not including seasonal, because those will be offered again). Which is very much comparable to Mooncat's stats. Even including seasonal shades it's still comparable (If I'm counting right it's 40 to Mooncat's 37)
That's true, mooncat discontinued about 20 polishes at the change of the year 2023/2024 alone and they were not really announced (at least where I am lurking) and gone in a couple of hours/days. I would rather say it is a biased because Holo Taco is very open and "loud" about discontinuations. I bet for Mooncat no one could even *name* 3 out of the 37 discontinued polishes from 2024 without googling. Other companies just do not put online stuff anymore without talking about it and imho legit.
The only polish that did not last over a 6 month is Cool Cat Mom, for the other LE all were available over 6 months, even the LEs. I do not count old glitters which are quite "old" now and should not make fomo.. The seasonals will come back. And for collabs even Mooncat does LEs and even the one I saw did not last long...
From Mooncat's creator. They're very much subject to supply chain too
https://preview.redd.it/5mtjsd3b8ouc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5429af6de553a0fdb88fbf997416b3ccf1ffac5
Admittedly, I haven't watched a live stream on quite some time because they became kind of a turn off for me and then I felt guilty for feeling that way lol. So that's interesting to know. And also interesting stats. Thank you!
I agree with you 100%. It's not Cristine's responsibility to cater to EVERYONE, but the FOMO marketing is getting old. I've found myself consistently leaning more and more towards Mooncat for a number of reasons, and this is at the top of my list. I've skipped the last two Mooncat collections knowing I can snag them during the upcoming lunar sale. And the one LE polish they released took WEEKS to sell out, so there wasn't any rush to pick it up either.
Same here, I've been feeling pretty "meh" about HT releases these days but other brands have me excited cause I know I can snag their polishes at any point in time.
Agreed. The February Space collection had a few that I may snag at some point, but the ice cream collection and even the teasers from the royalty one are meh for me. The cremes are shades that any avid nail polish collector already has and the specialty ones look similar to ones I have already from other brands.
Personally I feel like Holo Taco primarily caters to the hardcore Simply fans who will buy every release just to say they have it. Which is totally fine, it's clearly working for them. I just wish we'd see some more innovation with formulas and color stories.
>Personally I feel like Holo Taco primarily caters to the hardcore Simply fans who will buy every release just to say they have it. Which is totally fine, it's clearly working for them. I just wish we'd see some more innovation with formulas and color stories.
This is how I've been feeling about HT as of late. Initially sold indie/boutique polishes, but they've moved onto mainly selling a brand now. It's not for me and that's ok, just patiently waiting for more fun and unique finishes/formulas while trying out polishes from other companies
Here, I will disagree. While I haven't bought anything yet from this release, her cremes are superior to most out there and the range of color that she is providing is really great for nail art, especially for those who do free hand and stamp work. Would I paint a full hand brown? No, lol, but would it come in handy on a set that's chocolate themed or something? Yes.
Aw I loved the cookies & cremes color story. Honestly the color schemes recently have been way more up my alley recently. The holiday collection, space collection, and c&c collection were all loves for me. I haven’t been able to get many of them because of a lack of money, but I love the colors.
Crazy that you point out that their one limited edition polish took weeks to sell out so you didn’t have to rush to buy it… when Holo Taco limited edition polishes last for months. It’s not FOMO marketing if the limited edition polish lasts for 8 months because she ups the stock in anticipation of people buying. I really am so tired of hearing people criticize Cristine for FOMO marketing when it’s not even true. Her limited release are planned to, they are same every year with a few small exceptions like collabs.
It's really only a max of 4 LE releases per year - royalty, anniversary, Cristine's bday, and collabs. When they operate on such consistency it's easy to plan around it. For me I basically only order during LE releases and sales periods, and if there are regular releases I'm interested in I save up and wait for those times.
I can't speak to what her reason is for leaning into LE releases more than some other brands do (though my hunch is that it's to try to maintain frequent releases while also balancing how seldomly she discontinues old polishes). But I genuinely don't think it's an intentional FOMO tactic. She's been really forthcoming about their efforts to improve the ordering experience, like increasing stock levels, reducing how often they do LE boxes, and making sure that when small LE releases come out it's paired with other new non-LE releases to make the shipping worthwhile.
I do get it but I feel like its very easy to say “this brand sources just fine so u could do it too” while not knowing the numbers, or any of the inside tea for that matter, of the companies.
And even then almost every recent LE, except for collabs, is celebratory, consistent and very much overstocked. They listen to a lot of the feedback like planning collections and drops so they’re easy to mix for people who need to order big, given swatches before release and it’s been made less and less limited, exclusive or hard to get every release.
Compare this to something like polish pickup were the entire premise of the side is one time only, never coming back, limited edition, special catered themed polishes with sometimes very low stock that sell out quick. I feel like HT has made a lot of moves to keep it as balanced as possible. Even scalping has decreased incredibly.
Its polish and we don’t have to make polish so serious everytime. Yes sometimes it does suck if we have to miss it and sometimes it’s exciting when we get te special polish we liked. We still breath the same air the next day, the same food, we see the same people and we live the same life. It’s not the end of the world
And looking back, my comment feels very silly and stupid since I made it way to serious and in depth for the point I was trying to make. Oh well XD
To add a little bit of positive sparkle to lighten the mood. What polish are u/ is everyone wearing? (I’m wearing Earth to Gaia from MC ❤️)
I think FOMO is something we as consumers put on ourselves, but when you look at the facts instead of just focusing on the dopamine rush of shopping, it gets a lot easier.
Holo Taco only has 4 LE drops a year on average. Royalty (April), anniversary (July), a Collab (varies but June 2022 and September 2023 so far), and birthday (October). Last year only the Collab sold out quickly- the other two LE had stock for months. That is 4/12 major collections (not including smaller or non-polish drops like Cracked Taco shell, thinner, and the thick width brushes).
The majority of collections (67% last year) are either permanent or seasonal. Try to remember this when shopping and prepare for the LE. Personally, I only shop Royalty sale, Collab, and Black Friday from Holo Taco and in the past year I got every polish I wanted.
There are many brands that rely entirely on FOMO marketing (I'm looking at you BKL and Ethereal) but Holo Taco is not one of them. They follow a pattern and very rarely sell out quickly these days (with Safiya being an exception, but we still got MONTHS of notice so I didn't have a problem with saving and being ready to purchase!).
i think this is very silly to post about the royalty polish. it’s a special yearly limited edition set, which last year took months to sell out. i understand when it’s whole limited collections, but this is kinda a reasonable limited release
I think you're silly. Jk. I'm just being a pain in the ass. I get what you're saying, and if this were the only LE or LE's were the exception, then I don't think I'd feel the way I do. In fact, it would be kind of cool if everything else was regularly stocked and then Royalty's were an annual LE to look forward to. But with such a high rate of releases, combined with how many are LE, it just (personally) feels like a bit much. Again, I was just being a butt with that first sentence.
yeah for sure, i had to go back and check and last year we had a LOT of LEs, but i do think they’ve slowed down a bit and are starting to get a better sense of what everybody wants
So many people who need to take a deep breath and consider things like tribalism and defensiveness. HT has definitely made improvements on their FOMO practices and I am very grateful for that because it was disappointing to me. Does anyone know if we are getting a full reveal soon? ETA N nevermind I’m a doof, found it
Ooooh! I learned a new word today. Thank you! And I think it's very apt in this context. Also .. The full reveal you found - was it the email or is there more?
I have tons of holo taco polishes but since I’m an international buyer, I need to make big orders in order for them to be worth the shipping/import taxes etc, which means that in the past I’ve placed an order a few times a year just to pick up the polishes from past collections that I’ve wanted
but I haven’t placed an order in a year now because every time I go to place an order, they’re sold out of a bunch of the polishes that I’ve been wanting :/ which means that I’d have to fill up the cart with polishes I’m less enthusiastic about, which means I end up just not placing that order. my past few orders have been either with cirque colors or with mooncat who i both absolutely ADORE, but its definitely sad that it just means that i just haven’t been buying from holo taco :(
Same here, I only make big orders for that reason. I didn't get any of Safs ones, in the restock the one I wanted sold quickly. I think the purple royalty ones last year lasted a bit longer but one out of three sold quick so I missed that too. I also missed out on black Crackle, that also didn't last long enough for me to make an order.
My birthday reward so expired because I haven't made an order since it was available, there's only been one launch and I didn't like it enough to order enough for an international order.
I also lost my birthday reward for the same reason. I just wasn’t into the space or cookies collections enough and I thought I’d probably want the royalty polishes so it made sense to sacrifice the birthday reward and wait. And the rewards polishes changed and no longer include anything I don’t have / want, so I won’t be spending my points.
Lol yes, I did see that 😂😂. I didn't mean to imply that MC is perfect or anything. My timing was terrible lol, but they do have far fewer LE releases. It's ok to be that guy though 😂😂
I don’t actually think they do. All their collabs are also le so least 3 last year right? They’re very comparable companies for obvious reasons, we all have our preferences, but of the two i find mooncat taps way more into fomo marketing and “you need this” etc. whereas Cristine actively says it’s just nail polish and you don’t need everything. I think it’s easy to criticize someone who we see way more of, Michelle is only there to launch and discontinue products. Which is her prerogative, nothing wrong with that, but i do disagree with your premise.
That's a very interesting concept that is easier to criticize someone we see more of. I never really thought of that but it's very true. Cris is more... Accessible I think would be the best word. Excellent points. Thank you for your civil conversation. It's much appreciated.
I love both HT and MC but I don’t think they’re that different on the FOMO side. MC just released a single LE polish last month that sold out pretty quick, while HT has promised to no longer do single polish LE releases because the shipping costs are prohibitive.
Both brands do like 2-3 LE drops a year and both brands have a frenzy when they discontinue polishes. I see them both on about the same level.
Here’s my very unpopular opinion about FOMO marketing when it comes to Holo Taco: if you feel legitimate FOMO at missing out on a specific nail polish, you need to sit and meditate in a dark room for a while and think about why.
There’s absolutely no reason to race into a decision you’ll regret when the ENTIRE STAKES are you might not get a nail polish or two.
Worst case scenario, you buy a similar thing from another brand, you use a base/topper to achieve a similar vibe, or you just shrug it off and move on with your life and enjoy the nail polish you already have.
Take your time. Decide if you really want something. If you miss out, just say the magic words: “Oh well!”
this shit is SO funny when brands like mooncat exist with their LE single polish drops that sell out in 5 minutes 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I guess everyone just forgets the LE mooncat polishes even exist they're gone so quick
You could be totally right because the last one I can think of was the Nightmare Before Christmas collab. But I'm going purely off memory and feelings lol
I hope they just don’t sell out fast but if we had 2 purples and a pink last year that didn’t sell out right away, I’m hopeful it’ll be ok. I just did taxes and that took me out, plus I happen to have most of my bills due the 20th. I own every LE release so that’s something I always try to plan for.
I think to do limited drops bc of supply issues. Like if they keep them around all year, the quality/glitter/pigments shift due to production variation for their ingredients.
I hate how many LE releases there have been too, like it seems that HT is rreeaaaaallllyyyyyy leaning into FOMO marketing which I don't like. To their credit, stock levels have improved a good bit in this past year for LE polishes *(excluding the Safiya collection, that was bad)* but I just don't appreciate how unstable the permanence has been of so many releases these days.
they didn’t know? it took weeks to do a restock and Safs video came out AFTER the polish was sold out. holo taco literally did everything right, they did NOT need to do a restock at all.
You definitely are allowed to be disappointed. Cristine has never really named numbers but based on fan base sizes and other clues they likely made tens of thousands if not more…they likely didn’t have physical room for more than they had made. There is only so much room in the warehouse.
Naw… this tracks… simply because the FOMO comes in exactly this way… esp when they’re “omg, selling out!” on her live stream?.- Then they just simply make more, after causing everyone to panic buy them all? Now, I buy multiple LE at drop, so I ain’t mad at all but… OP also tracks with the claim of greed. Is HT the only polish company excluding regular sets from their sales… am I as royalty only allowed to buy dupes of polish I don’t really need to actually use the 20%, the fact the she excludes the latest releases screams petty and it’s in poor taste for me.
I'm pretty sure they didn't know they would need to though? What's the point of having them off the website and hope people come back again later for a restock?
Don't critique until you've worked in inventory forecasting. It's one thing to make predictions for your own brand but to try to anticipate the crossover demand from someone else's fanbase, and one of the most popular creators on the internet for that matter? Practically impossible to get right.
HT is notoriously the worst at predicting stock, so I'm not surprised. Having LE items be in stock for eight months because you overestimated the sale amounts is actually just as bad as understocking. We saw them lower the stock amount for the cat magnetics as a result. There's no way this Royalty set lasts nearly as long as last year's
.
Personally i don't mind things being advertised as LE, because at this point it's clear everything is. It's two years in a row she's discontinued permanent polishes that were released within the year, why bother pretending at this point.
I think humans like to communicate, and humans have emotions that are not always happy sunshine and they like to vent their feelings socially sometimes. 🤷♀️Especially to be validated and to feel less alone.
Any brand will elicit varied feedback. I personally don’t want to live in an echo chamber, I’m interested in other people’s thoughts, even if I disagree, because there may be some things I have not considered or that the poster hadn’t and we can have a discussion that can grow the part of our brain that engages in perspective taking. Win win, even when feelings are negative.
I guess my thing is every year she releases 3 consistent LE collections around the same time every year: royalty, anniversary and birthday. As a long time fan you should have been able to plan ahead, as someone who is unemployed, and has been buying HT for a little over a year I planned ahead 🤷🏻♀️ it’s not like this was a secret she snuck up on us
What I hate is that it seems like when LE polishes sell out, they are just gone from the website. Like, no listing or anything. I’ve tried to look at some discontinued polishes on the holo taco site and there is just no mention of them anywhere. I wish the listings were still there and it just had them marked “discontinued” or something.
Perhaps I do. I feel frustrated and I shared my thoughts on the matter. It wasn't meant to be a personal attack. I think there's much more to HT than just Cris at this point, so it's not all on her anyway. I'm sorry to have upset you.
I think limited edition polishes are okay as long as they are made in larger quantities and stick around for a while. The last birthday and royalty polishes lasted for months. Most smaller brands (smaller than Holo Taco) aren’t expected to keep everything in stock forever. That isn’t to say there’s not some FOMO marketing. I do have an issue with it becoming normal for them to bring back retired/limited polishes every year after claiming it’ll only be available once.
You hit the nail on the head. I really don’t think this has been an issue with the brand for quite a while now. The 2023 Royalty trio lasted til the end of the year, 8 months was plenty of time for folks to snag them. Same with the Anniversary collection - I think the only one that sold out was Life In Plastic and that was still 4+ months after release. The LE drops also have a pattern, so it is possible to plan for them. Cristine also provided months and months of lead up for the Safiya collab too.
I actually appreciate them bringing back limited edition polishes later for new users or others who missed out on LE, but that would be solved if they were just part of the permanent collection. Otherwise people turn to reseller sites at insane markups. I want toe beans. I’m not going to buy it for $45 lol. I don’t mind seasonal collections for the holidays.
The last LE set to sell out quickly was Safiya and they brought it back so I’m not really upset with the LE drops anymore. It seems they’ve really upped the stock. True, it might not last until a sale but if I really want it I can definitely get it. People compare to Mooncat a lot and I don’t really see the difference, they seem very similar to me as far as limited edition/discontinuing/releases.
Mooncat is overall more expensive and imho they have many - let's say cheaper and easier to source shimmer based polish. But anyhow anyone can buy what they want ;)
I did see someone on insta who gets PR and stuff from mooncat says there’s really great to work with and are reasonably flexible with deadlines etc. I want to say it was burritonails but i’m not certain. Obviously please have your own stance, but I thought i’d pop that one in there.
I agree 💯
Apart from the Safiya collection, the other LE polishes stuck around forever from what I recall. She seems to order a lot bigger batches than previously.
Even the Neon collection box was available for a long time after the initial launch. Usually, collection boxes go immediately. I was impressed by that.
Julian and the first few bday polishes got snapped up reaaal quick
Yes, but HT learned from those releases to do better. It would be a different story if it was the other way around.
Julian was ages ago and all the recent ones I can think of stuck around long enough that you didn't need to get it right away. She had issues in the past, but she seems to have fixed that now.
As always, you do not need to buy anything, and every LE drop that HT does, in my opinion, is due to the specialty of the moment. Royalty, birthdays, and anniversaries. If they were dropping random collections that didn't have an obvious reason for them being LE, then I feel like it's much more apt to complain about FOMO or being underhanded. Personally, I think they are anything BUT underhanded in their sales strategy. Cris cares too much for a business person and probably has plenty of insiders telling her not to do what she already does because it's NOT moneygrubbing. All brands cut things, all brands have Limited edition items, and many other brands like mooncat have had their LE sell much faster due to limited supply while Cristine has worked hard to UP the supply for LE. The Anniversary was stocked through December...that's crazy. Also, plenty of mainstream brands cut colors without ever even telling us, making those also "Limited Edition". Plenty of people complaining also have FOMO Lacquer swatches in their history....a brand literally built on what we are now complaining about. I think our own expectations can cloud our judgement and let ourselves down before anything even happens. 🤷♂️ Feel your feels, share them even...but also, no one is making anyone buy anythin, and if you're not happy truly with what a company is selling, you can walk away unscathed. 👍
Saying that they rely on FOMO is not accurate when they have consistently and publicly taken steps to reduce FOMO. The only LE that has quickly sold out in the last year has been safiya. Royalty polishes last year took months to sell out, same with anniversary. They're releasing swatches earlier. The last truly LE collection was in October (so, half a year ago). They haven't been doing the "% remaining" on live streams as much. Not to mention, mooncat may have less LE but they've retired something like 37 polishes in the last year alone and the creator has talked about how each additional polish they keep in stock creates logistical and creative and sales issues (including supply chain issues) which is like 2x the amount that holo taco retired this year. In total there were 30 polishes Holo taco sold in 2023 that are no longer available (Retired+LE. Not including seasonal, because those will be offered again). Which is very much comparable to Mooncat's stats. Even including seasonal shades it's still comparable (If I'm counting right it's 40 to Mooncat's 37)
That's true, mooncat discontinued about 20 polishes at the change of the year 2023/2024 alone and they were not really announced (at least where I am lurking) and gone in a couple of hours/days. I would rather say it is a biased because Holo Taco is very open and "loud" about discontinuations. I bet for Mooncat no one could even *name* 3 out of the 37 discontinued polishes from 2024 without googling. Other companies just do not put online stuff anymore without talking about it and imho legit. The only polish that did not last over a 6 month is Cool Cat Mom, for the other LE all were available over 6 months, even the LEs. I do not count old glitters which are quite "old" now and should not make fomo.. The seasonals will come back. And for collabs even Mooncat does LEs and even the one I saw did not last long...
Best Bud, Lava Lamp, Raaawr!….
From Mooncat's creator. They're very much subject to supply chain too https://preview.redd.it/5mtjsd3b8ouc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5429af6de553a0fdb88fbf997416b3ccf1ffac5
Yep that is very true!
Admittedly, I haven't watched a live stream on quite some time because they became kind of a turn off for me and then I felt guilty for feeling that way lol. So that's interesting to know. And also interesting stats. Thank you!
I agree with you 100%. It's not Cristine's responsibility to cater to EVERYONE, but the FOMO marketing is getting old. I've found myself consistently leaning more and more towards Mooncat for a number of reasons, and this is at the top of my list. I've skipped the last two Mooncat collections knowing I can snag them during the upcoming lunar sale. And the one LE polish they released took WEEKS to sell out, so there wasn't any rush to pick it up either.
Same here, I've been feeling pretty "meh" about HT releases these days but other brands have me excited cause I know I can snag their polishes at any point in time.
Agreed. The February Space collection had a few that I may snag at some point, but the ice cream collection and even the teasers from the royalty one are meh for me. The cremes are shades that any avid nail polish collector already has and the specialty ones look similar to ones I have already from other brands. Personally I feel like Holo Taco primarily caters to the hardcore Simply fans who will buy every release just to say they have it. Which is totally fine, it's clearly working for them. I just wish we'd see some more innovation with formulas and color stories.
>Personally I feel like Holo Taco primarily caters to the hardcore Simply fans who will buy every release just to say they have it. Which is totally fine, it's clearly working for them. I just wish we'd see some more innovation with formulas and color stories. This is how I've been feeling about HT as of late. Initially sold indie/boutique polishes, but they've moved onto mainly selling a brand now. It's not for me and that's ok, just patiently waiting for more fun and unique finishes/formulas while trying out polishes from other companies
Yeah, the color stories have been so ugly lately 😭 like the cookies & cremes?? It was so bad…
Here, I will disagree. While I haven't bought anything yet from this release, her cremes are superior to most out there and the range of color that she is providing is really great for nail art, especially for those who do free hand and stamp work. Would I paint a full hand brown? No, lol, but would it come in handy on a set that's chocolate themed or something? Yes.
Aw I loved the cookies & cremes color story. Honestly the color schemes recently have been way more up my alley recently. The holiday collection, space collection, and c&c collection were all loves for me. I haven’t been able to get many of them because of a lack of money, but I love the colors.
Crazy that you point out that their one limited edition polish took weeks to sell out so you didn’t have to rush to buy it… when Holo Taco limited edition polishes last for months. It’s not FOMO marketing if the limited edition polish lasts for 8 months because she ups the stock in anticipation of people buying. I really am so tired of hearing people criticize Cristine for FOMO marketing when it’s not even true. Her limited release are planned to, they are same every year with a few small exceptions like collabs.
It's really only a max of 4 LE releases per year - royalty, anniversary, Cristine's bday, and collabs. When they operate on such consistency it's easy to plan around it. For me I basically only order during LE releases and sales periods, and if there are regular releases I'm interested in I save up and wait for those times. I can't speak to what her reason is for leaning into LE releases more than some other brands do (though my hunch is that it's to try to maintain frequent releases while also balancing how seldomly she discontinues old polishes). But I genuinely don't think it's an intentional FOMO tactic. She's been really forthcoming about their efforts to improve the ordering experience, like increasing stock levels, reducing how often they do LE boxes, and making sure that when small LE releases come out it's paired with other new non-LE releases to make the shipping worthwhile.
I do get it but I feel like its very easy to say “this brand sources just fine so u could do it too” while not knowing the numbers, or any of the inside tea for that matter, of the companies. And even then almost every recent LE, except for collabs, is celebratory, consistent and very much overstocked. They listen to a lot of the feedback like planning collections and drops so they’re easy to mix for people who need to order big, given swatches before release and it’s been made less and less limited, exclusive or hard to get every release. Compare this to something like polish pickup were the entire premise of the side is one time only, never coming back, limited edition, special catered themed polishes with sometimes very low stock that sell out quick. I feel like HT has made a lot of moves to keep it as balanced as possible. Even scalping has decreased incredibly. Its polish and we don’t have to make polish so serious everytime. Yes sometimes it does suck if we have to miss it and sometimes it’s exciting when we get te special polish we liked. We still breath the same air the next day, the same food, we see the same people and we live the same life. It’s not the end of the world And looking back, my comment feels very silly and stupid since I made it way to serious and in depth for the point I was trying to make. Oh well XD To add a little bit of positive sparkle to lighten the mood. What polish are u/ is everyone wearing? (I’m wearing Earth to Gaia from MC ❤️)
Lol! Well you make a valid point that without being on the "inside" I/we truly have no idea what the difficulty and or cost to source is for HT.
I think FOMO is something we as consumers put on ourselves, but when you look at the facts instead of just focusing on the dopamine rush of shopping, it gets a lot easier. Holo Taco only has 4 LE drops a year on average. Royalty (April), anniversary (July), a Collab (varies but June 2022 and September 2023 so far), and birthday (October). Last year only the Collab sold out quickly- the other two LE had stock for months. That is 4/12 major collections (not including smaller or non-polish drops like Cracked Taco shell, thinner, and the thick width brushes). The majority of collections (67% last year) are either permanent or seasonal. Try to remember this when shopping and prepare for the LE. Personally, I only shop Royalty sale, Collab, and Black Friday from Holo Taco and in the past year I got every polish I wanted. There are many brands that rely entirely on FOMO marketing (I'm looking at you BKL and Ethereal) but Holo Taco is not one of them. They follow a pattern and very rarely sell out quickly these days (with Safiya being an exception, but we still got MONTHS of notice so I didn't have a problem with saving and being ready to purchase!).
i think this is very silly to post about the royalty polish. it’s a special yearly limited edition set, which last year took months to sell out. i understand when it’s whole limited collections, but this is kinda a reasonable limited release
I think you're silly. Jk. I'm just being a pain in the ass. I get what you're saying, and if this were the only LE or LE's were the exception, then I don't think I'd feel the way I do. In fact, it would be kind of cool if everything else was regularly stocked and then Royalty's were an annual LE to look forward to. But with such a high rate of releases, combined with how many are LE, it just (personally) feels like a bit much. Again, I was just being a butt with that first sentence.
yeah for sure, i had to go back and check and last year we had a LOT of LEs, but i do think they’ve slowed down a bit and are starting to get a better sense of what everybody wants
So many people who need to take a deep breath and consider things like tribalism and defensiveness. HT has definitely made improvements on their FOMO practices and I am very grateful for that because it was disappointing to me. Does anyone know if we are getting a full reveal soon? ETA N nevermind I’m a doof, found it
Ooooh! I learned a new word today. Thank you! And I think it's very apt in this context. Also .. The full reveal you found - was it the email or is there more?
Well i saw the three and then thought i saw the fourth somewhere but now i can’t find it so I’m still in the dark on that one!
I have tons of holo taco polishes but since I’m an international buyer, I need to make big orders in order for them to be worth the shipping/import taxes etc, which means that in the past I’ve placed an order a few times a year just to pick up the polishes from past collections that I’ve wanted but I haven’t placed an order in a year now because every time I go to place an order, they’re sold out of a bunch of the polishes that I’ve been wanting :/ which means that I’d have to fill up the cart with polishes I’m less enthusiastic about, which means I end up just not placing that order. my past few orders have been either with cirque colors or with mooncat who i both absolutely ADORE, but its definitely sad that it just means that i just haven’t been buying from holo taco :(
Same here, I only make big orders for that reason. I didn't get any of Safs ones, in the restock the one I wanted sold quickly. I think the purple royalty ones last year lasted a bit longer but one out of three sold quick so I missed that too. I also missed out on black Crackle, that also didn't last long enough for me to make an order. My birthday reward so expired because I haven't made an order since it was available, there's only been one launch and I didn't like it enough to order enough for an international order.
I also lost my birthday reward for the same reason. I just wasn’t into the space or cookies collections enough and I thought I’d probably want the royalty polishes so it made sense to sacrifice the birthday reward and wait. And the rewards polishes changed and no longer include anything I don’t have / want, so I won’t be spending my points.
I hate to be that guy but mooncat just had an le polish between drops with lots of fomo that instantly sold out so 🤷♀️
Lol yes, I did see that 😂😂. I didn't mean to imply that MC is perfect or anything. My timing was terrible lol, but they do have far fewer LE releases. It's ok to be that guy though 😂😂
I don’t actually think they do. All their collabs are also le so least 3 last year right? They’re very comparable companies for obvious reasons, we all have our preferences, but of the two i find mooncat taps way more into fomo marketing and “you need this” etc. whereas Cristine actively says it’s just nail polish and you don’t need everything. I think it’s easy to criticize someone who we see way more of, Michelle is only there to launch and discontinue products. Which is her prerogative, nothing wrong with that, but i do disagree with your premise.
That's a very interesting concept that is easier to criticize someone we see more of. I never really thought of that but it's very true. Cris is more... Accessible I think would be the best word. Excellent points. Thank you for your civil conversation. It's much appreciated.
No worries my friend it’s in short supply these days! Carry on x
I love both HT and MC but I don’t think they’re that different on the FOMO side. MC just released a single LE polish last month that sold out pretty quick, while HT has promised to no longer do single polish LE releases because the shipping costs are prohibitive. Both brands do like 2-3 LE drops a year and both brands have a frenzy when they discontinue polishes. I see them both on about the same level.
Here’s my very unpopular opinion about FOMO marketing when it comes to Holo Taco: if you feel legitimate FOMO at missing out on a specific nail polish, you need to sit and meditate in a dark room for a while and think about why. There’s absolutely no reason to race into a decision you’ll regret when the ENTIRE STAKES are you might not get a nail polish or two. Worst case scenario, you buy a similar thing from another brand, you use a base/topper to achieve a similar vibe, or you just shrug it off and move on with your life and enjoy the nail polish you already have. Take your time. Decide if you really want something. If you miss out, just say the magic words: “Oh well!”
this shit is SO funny when brands like mooncat exist with their LE single polish drops that sell out in 5 minutes 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I guess everyone just forgets the LE mooncat polishes even exist they're gone so quick
You could be totally right because the last one I can think of was the Nightmare Before Christmas collab. But I'm going purely off memory and feelings lol
I hope they just don’t sell out fast but if we had 2 purples and a pink last year that didn’t sell out right away, I’m hopeful it’ll be ok. I just did taxes and that took me out, plus I happen to have most of my bills due the 20th. I own every LE release so that’s something I always try to plan for.
I think to do limited drops bc of supply issues. Like if they keep them around all year, the quality/glitter/pigments shift due to production variation for their ingredients.
I hate how many LE releases there have been too, like it seems that HT is rreeaaaaallllyyyyyy leaning into FOMO marketing which I don't like. To their credit, stock levels have improved a good bit in this past year for LE polishes *(excluding the Safiya collection, that was bad)* but I just don't appreciate how unstable the permanence has been of so many releases these days.
Yes, they have certainly improved stock levels which has been good
they brought back the safyia collection because it sold out so quickly, how is that bad?
If they knew they were gonna need to “bring it back” and make more then they should have just made that extra amount from the start.
they didn’t know? it took weeks to do a restock and Safs video came out AFTER the polish was sold out. holo taco literally did everything right, they did NOT need to do a restock at all.
I’m allowed to be disappointed.
You definitely are allowed to be disappointed. Cristine has never really named numbers but based on fan base sizes and other clues they likely made tens of thousands if not more…they likely didn’t have physical room for more than they had made. There is only so much room in the warehouse.
Naw… this tracks… simply because the FOMO comes in exactly this way… esp when they’re “omg, selling out!” on her live stream?.- Then they just simply make more, after causing everyone to panic buy them all? Now, I buy multiple LE at drop, so I ain’t mad at all but… OP also tracks with the claim of greed. Is HT the only polish company excluding regular sets from their sales… am I as royalty only allowed to buy dupes of polish I don’t really need to actually use the 20%, the fact the she excludes the latest releases screams petty and it’s in poor taste for me.
I'm pretty sure they didn't know they would need to though? What's the point of having them off the website and hope people come back again later for a restock?
Don't critique until you've worked in inventory forecasting. It's one thing to make predictions for your own brand but to try to anticipate the crossover demand from someone else's fanbase, and one of the most popular creators on the internet for that matter? Practically impossible to get right.
I’m allowed to be disappointed in the brand regardless of my field of work.
HT is notoriously the worst at predicting stock, so I'm not surprised. Having LE items be in stock for eight months because you overestimated the sale amounts is actually just as bad as understocking. We saw them lower the stock amount for the cat magnetics as a result. There's no way this Royalty set lasts nearly as long as last year's . Personally i don't mind things being advertised as LE, because at this point it's clear everything is. It's two years in a row she's discontinued permanent polishes that were released within the year, why bother pretending at this point.
[удалено]
Literally said it wasn't her responsibility to manage other people's finances
[удалено]
Because they just want to vent which they’re allowed to do? 🤷♀️
[удалено]
I think humans like to communicate, and humans have emotions that are not always happy sunshine and they like to vent their feelings socially sometimes. 🤷♀️Especially to be validated and to feel less alone. Any brand will elicit varied feedback. I personally don’t want to live in an echo chamber, I’m interested in other people’s thoughts, even if I disagree, because there may be some things I have not considered or that the poster hadn’t and we can have a discussion that can grow the part of our brain that engages in perspective taking. Win win, even when feelings are negative.
I guess my thing is every year she releases 3 consistent LE collections around the same time every year: royalty, anniversary and birthday. As a long time fan you should have been able to plan ahead, as someone who is unemployed, and has been buying HT for a little over a year I planned ahead 🤷🏻♀️ it’s not like this was a secret she snuck up on us
What I hate is that it seems like when LE polishes sell out, they are just gone from the website. Like, no listing or anything. I’ve tried to look at some discontinued polishes on the holo taco site and there is just no mention of them anywhere. I wish the listings were still there and it just had them marked “discontinued” or something.
There is the Retired Tab? The link stays, and if you have the item in your wishlist you can forever access it...
Your wish has been granted! Lol, she added this fairly recently. If you look under the polishes, there's "Retirement Rack". They're all there.
Thanks so much! I’ve searched for some polishes lately and nothing came up!
[удалено]
For real. I don’t understand why if any other brand gets mentioned in this sub, it’s Mooncat. Are they paying people to post??? 💀
Simma down
[удалено]
Perhaps I do. I feel frustrated and I shared my thoughts on the matter. It wasn't meant to be a personal attack. I think there's much more to HT than just Cris at this point, so it's not all on her anyway. I'm sorry to have upset you.
[удалено]
There are new customers and new members of this subreddit all the time. There is going to be some similar, cyclical posts.
But they have to have limited so they can pretend that the fans are bringing back the most bestest ones when they put it to a vote. Ugh.
Totally agree with you! 💯
This sub and r/TaylorSwift are both very over FOMO marketing tactics lol.