Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio 1204 City Avenue North, Ripley, MS 38663

"Overall I was disappointed. I would like to say they have a very large variety of dresses, but there is no way of knowing because customers aren’t actually able to look through the dresses or pick them out. When you enter for your appointment you must sign a contract stating you will only be in the store for an hour. As someone who doesn’t know what kind of dress looks good on them, that is simply not enough time. The seating area for the mom/guest is less than ideal. Parents/guest must sit there while the customer walks out on the “stage” to show their family/friend the dress they are trying on. With that being said, the parent has no idea how much a dress cost until after the person has already tried it on. As stated before, only employees are allowed to look at the dress options and pull them for customers. With this policy, I wasn’t given anything that I liked. I tried on around 8-9 dresses and hated every one of them. The staff is also extremely pushy about encouraging you to buy a dress even if you say you don’t like it and even if it looks hideous on you. Also, you are not allowed to take pictures of any dress you try on unless you are for sure buying it. This can be pretty annoying for multiple reasons. As I said, you are only allowed around an hour for an appointment. After I had been there close to an hour without finding a dress I even came close to liking, I felt that I was rudely rushed out. I would not recommend this store to anyone."

"Repeat customer of the Lasting Foundation. It is my favorite makeup. However, I did feel rushed while visiting the store, so now that I know the color I actually need, I will most likely buy online instead."

"Best formal shop we’ve ever been to. They took their time and was so kind and helpful. We will definitely be back in the future."

"Recently I rented a dress for Little MS Hospitality. I want to first say the young ladies in the store were extremely friendly and helpful so I certainly don’t want to give them a bad rap. During this pageant, it was a total of 41 young ladies in the little Mrs. and they range from a 6 to probably 10 or so of course it was a little stressful and my seven year olds dress got stepped on down on the hem and ripped. I assumed I would have to pay something to get it fixed maybe $50 or $60 or that maybe I would have to pay nothing since it was an accident and I had already paid them over $300. I was told when I returned it after I immediately show them what it happened that it cost in approximately $200 to get this fixed and that I could pay the $200 or I could pay $300 and it would be my dress. I opted to buy the dress for the $300 and immediately started contacting other Rental people I knew to see if they knew someone to fix it. I had three offers one said $60 to fix it. 1 said she could fix it for about $20 and a friend said although she’s not a seamstress she felt she could fix it for free. I realize the dress was torn but I don’t believe they should’ve charged me $200 when they could’ve easily gotten it fixed for less. I rented a dress from them I purchased earrings from them. I purchased shoes from them and I purchased a blouse for myself so I don’t think they were exactly gonna lose money on me and I think they would’ve gotten lots more positive feedback if they had chose to eat $60."

"I highly recommend Merle Norman Ripley! The staff are all so friendly and Natalie helped us find the perfect dress! I will most definitely use them for all future formal needs!"