Review #3: Glittersniffer Cosmetics!

I've thought over and over how I need to write this review. When you read below, you'll see why this one was a toughie. On one hand I am trying to stay professional and detach myself from the current situation with the company. On the other, I am angry because of what has went down with it and how it has been for me. I guess the best strategy is to simply, tell the truth right?

Company Info: Glittersniffer Cosmetics! is run by Lela R. Warren. She hails from Detroit, MI and is a mom and wife. She started making pigments back in 2006 and sold on Etsy.com. Glittersniffer Cosmetics! produces loose eye pigments, bath products and face fixers (primer, rice powder i.e)

I was first introduced to GSC at the end of 2009 when Lela was still on her etsy site. What I fond blew my eyes. There were so many wonderful and bright colors. I had never used loose pigments before but was intrigued. So I ordered two colors (as it was a 2 for 10 special). They were Mobster and Ingrid.

For my first order, shipping was fast. I believe I got it withing a week. They came in little 5g jars with sifters and sifter stickers. There was a lable on the outside that had the company name and name of the pigment. It was all very neat and clean. I fell in love when I put on those colors. Before I knew it - I was buying pigments left and right. It became an addiction. During that time, I joined the facebook page and met many women who shared my addiction. I made and still have some great friends from the fan page. For a while it was rainbows and lollipops with the company....then when the Lela (the owner) decided to expand in Sept 2010, it all suddenly became like a bad dream.

I remember everyone being pumped about the new line of colors/collections coming. According to a personal statement (which I will include at the end)...she soon became overwhelmed, selling product before she had it in hands, ignoring customer emails and shipping because horrible. I had many packages that either a) didn't come b) came with the wrong colors or c) wasn't what I ordered. Now when you spend $6.50 for a 5g jar, this gets old. It just got to be so much that I completely stopped ordering.

A couple weeks ago, many long time customers left the page (actually they had left beforehand quietly but many told their friends/family why they left). When this went down...a lot of things came to light. You see, it appeared that many many other customers were going through the same things as I was with their orders. I believe one of the most important things that came out of this, was learning that many (if not all) of Glittersniffer Cosmetics! pinks/neons were not FDA approved for eye as we were led to believe. According to Lela via email, she did not find out that one of her micas was not eye approved until 12/21/2010. Now you can decided whether you believe her or not. I am here to post facts as I know them. There is a current list (which I will post) of the non approved colors. It is a rather long list which is in my personal opinion crazy.

Right now GSC is closed due to this maelstrom of new information. I know that GSC has been reported to the FDA. They are in so many disputes with former customers/paypal (yours truly included). So with that said, here is what I have to say:

1. Would you recommend this company/product: No I personally would not. There is so much drama surrounding this company. While Lela says most of her pigments are safe, there is a lot not safe and I just wouldn't risk it. Remember, this is just my opinion, so if you want to check it out...good luck.

Important information:

A list of recalled products from Lela (owner) from the GSC fan site:

**
Glittersniffer Cosmetics! As requested, we are providing a list of all the pigments that are not eye safe which have been made between the years of 2006 and 2010. These are all included in our recall unless otherwise indicated. We are refunding at the price of $6.50 per pot with proof of purchase, and asking that these be sent back to GS Cosmetics. We are also offering free replacement of any of the below pigments when we re-open if you are not choosing to be refunded. We are going to be re-doing our entire stock with 100% safe pigments along with ingredients listed.

The following pigments are not FDA approved for use around the eyes, however are cosmetically approved for lips, cheeks, nailpolish, ect.

* · ADD
* · All Star Pink
* · Aurora
* · Breast Cancer Collection
* · Brenda
* · Brenda’s Lemonade
* · Candy Collection Pink
* · Cotton Candy
* · Cupcake
* · Finger Food
* · Flight Club
* · Fran
* · GLADD Collection Light Pink/Salmon
* · Gold Digger
* · Glenda
* · House of Horrors
* · Jack
* · Jenn
* · Jennifer Nazi
* · Kimberly
* · Kiss This
* · Little Girls Collection
* · Mad Hatter
* · Mallory
* · Mattes Collection Light Pink
* · Mattes Collection Dark Pink
* · Michigan Avenue
* · Oyster Shell
* · Pink Pistol
* · Poodle Skirt
* · Profanity
* · Roxie
* · Sarah
* · Seuss Pink
* · Shannon
* · Tattoo Collection Pink
* · Tragic Glamour
* · True Blood Pink
* · Yalena Collection Pinks
* · Any other Pink that was made in any collection since 2006 is being recalled. While many of them are likely eye approved, we are recalling all of them to ensure certainty.

**Pigments that contain soap dyes and/or are not FDA approved for use around the eyes:

* · 80’s Red
* · 80’s Pink
* · 80’s Orange
* · 80’s Yellow
* · 80’s Green
* · 80’s Blue
* · 80’s Purple
* · Altered States
* · GLADD Collection Orange
* · GLADD Collection Pink
* · Glow in the Dark Collection (Not being accepted in the re-call, as these were advertised as not eye approved)
* · Mo Love
* · Oh Kristine!
* · Oompa Loompa
* · Scream-O

**Email in which Lela tells me she did not know about her mice being unapproved (again - you be the judge).

"To answer your question, regardless of the testimony of the large group of former customers, I did not know about the pinks until today when I contacted my supplier while compiling a list of ingredients I have used, and they informed me one of my prior micas was no longer eye approved. It is very unlikely that more than one or two pinks are not eye approved, but we are simply trying to cover all of our bases and recalling all of the pinks for refund or exchange.

Let me know if you have any questions."

XOXO Lela

**And last but not least, the official statement from Lela Warren, owner of Glittersniffer Cosmetics:

GS Customers Past and Present,
I am coming forth to you with a heavy heart and an explanation you have all been looking for. Let me start at the beginning. My career making pigments began as a hobby in 2006 when my makeup addiction began to affect my pocket book. I wanted more than anything to develop a product that was affordable and could be used interchangeably to form the various cosmetics I spent all of my money on. I was working at a hotel chain and every paycheck went toward my makeup addiction; this is when Glittersniffer Cosmetics was born.

I started a shop on Etsy to sell the pigments I mastered, and I did so strictly as a hobby. I had no business experience, and I was lacking in knowledge when it came to cosmetic guidelines. I did some research and learned that many pinks and bright colors were made with ingredients that were either not FDA approved, or that were cosmetically approved but not eye approved. I made many pink colors with the idea in mind that these pigments could be turned into other cosmetic items such as blush, lipstick, or nail polish. I researched other cosmetic companies and learned that they used neon colors even though they were not FDA approved for use around the eyes, and I took a chance and made some for myself. The neon colors contain soap dyes, which is why they are not eye approved. I began posting pictures of these neon looks and people were insisting that they be given the opportunity to try them. I in fact did warn my customers about the 80’s collection and why it was not eye approved, but every time I took it out of my stock I received multiple e-mails demanding its return. I then made a poor decision and made other colors out of soap dyes, and not all of these colors were advertised as they should have been.
I began to realize that Glittersniffer Cosmetics was too big for the site that we were selling off of, and the fee’s surrounding my sales were really hindering my profit, so I hired a Vice President, ditched my old sales route, and opened a big new website. I was not ready for any of that. I failed to realize during this expansion, that the standard my loyal customers had previously held me to was increasing, and that I needed to re-evaluate my business practices. I believed that I could continue treating a business that had over five thousand customers, as a hobby to make extra money. GS was growing, but I was not. My mind continued to stay focused on my personal issues, and I let my business fall behind. I put e-mails off, I allowed orders to pile up, and then I found myself in a situation I saw no way out of. Most small businesses start out with some sort of small business loan, grant, or other monetary infusion, but because I had never considered a need for such a thing for something I considered to be a hobby; I didn’t have the funds to pay a staff to assist me with the ordering, packaging, and shipping process. Here is where my down hill slide began.
I have long advertised my company as an all vegan company, and I became so caught up in offering every customer something that they would love for a fair price, that I began losing sight of why I implemented my company values in the first place. It started with making reds that included carmine. I tried to always include a note letting the buyer know that the pigment was non-vegan, but when a consumer is buying from an all vegan company, they shouldn’t have to look for notes indicating otherwise. I then noticed a fan commenting that they wanted really nice brushes for a relatively reasonable price, and I found some badger fur brushes and placed them for sale. Selling those brushes was one of the worst moves I could have made as a company, and I put the feelings of my loyal, vegan customers aside to make money. For that, I will forever be sorry.
I have heard the voices of my customers, past and present, and I would like to come to you and tell you what I am changing to bring this company back to what it was meant to be. From this point forward, we will only be selling merchandise through our official Glittersniffer Cosmetics website. Selling from multiple places became too confusing. GS Cosmetics will be pre-making a set number of collections and products, and we will only be selling until we run out of them. At the point in which the stock is depleted, we will not be offering it ever again. There will be no re-making of collections or trying to duplicate collection colors. We are discarding all of our old stock and re-doing each and every pigment to be 100% vegan, FDA, and eye approved with recipes for the colors that we will always keep in stock. Never again will we sell a pigment or a collection that does not fit the above categories. Any staff member of GS Cosmetics who will be touching any merchandise will wear gloves. All ingredients that could be found in any of our products will be listed on the GS website. We have hired a new, more efficient staff, including a new vice president who will assist in all business related decisions, an accountant, a bookkeeper, and we have applied for a business license in the state of Michigan.
I want to personally, and publically apologize to my customers both new and old for my actions over the last six months. I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about what has happened and realizing that there are some things I won’t be able to fix. I have not only lost customers and nearly lost my company, but I have lost friendships with the women who helped create my company, and that is what hurts the most. With every beat of my heart…I am so sorry I have let you down.

XOXO
Lela Warren
President of Glittersniffer Cosmetics

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Here are some other bloggers who have had similiar experiences with GSC:

http://phyrra.net/2009/11/glitter-sniffer-review.html

http://aijuswhanakno.com/2010/06/glittersniffer-a-retraction.html

http://nikhedonia.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/behind-the-glitter/

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Final say: I know this blog was long but it has been on my mind for a while and remember, these are just MY views and thoughts on the current situation with the company. If you choose to check them out, just be careful. Be careful with your health (watch out for the eyes) and be careful with your money! Right now there are a lot of paypal disputes against the company, so keep that in mind. Do you have a personal experience with this company? Please comment or email me! I feel the more information out there, the more people can make an informed decision about buying from GSC.