GlitterSniffer Complaints

Lela Warren Announces GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Imminent Closure

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Sat, 12 May 2012 01:47:00 +0000

Lela Warren has announced her intention to close GlitterSniffer Cosmetics.

I've been very MIA lately & I'm sure many of you have noticed. I've made a very huge decision in my life about my cosmetics manufacturing career & where I'd like to take it. I'm making some huge decisions & possible sacrifices to get to another level in my career that will keep me doing what I love- full time. For this reason, Glittersniffer Cosmetics! will be soon shut down, possibly indefinitely. I will be leaving the fan page & website open until I've cleared out all remaining stock I have, which is quite a bit. I will most likely be putting together big boxes of product & selling them at cost price until everything is gone. This is a bittersweet moment for me, however- as I'm closing the doors to my GS baby of nearly 7 years, another is opening. Owning & operating GS has been one of the best things I've ever done for myself, while causing a LOT of pain & self discovery at the same time. I've realized many things about myself, life, people, & many other things that I wouldn't have ever otherwise learned. This isn't good-bye, it's see ya later...because if you know me, then you know I've already got something even better up my sleeve & ready to unleash on the world. If you'd like to be notified when "going out of business" boxes go up for sale (at cost price), leave a comment & I'll message you when they're ready. I will post more later about this still sensitive subject as soon as my thoughts & feelings are a bit more clear to me

♥

There has been no date yet announced for the closure. Meanwhile, former customers still await their refunds.

FDA Freedom of Information Act Request Reports-Overview

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:27:00 +0000

Last week I received via email a response to my Freedom of Information Act Request to FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services. Contained in the email are several pages of documents regarding FDAs investigation into GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and the recall.

It has been a bit of a struggle in determining how to post this information as the sheer volume of it is a bit overwhelming. In an effort to make this a bit easier to parse I will be separating the posts into the three different reports, divided by section. There will then be a final, separate post with scans of the reports in their entirety, save for what FDA has redacted and one minor redaction I myself made in order to ensure that a former associate of GS is protected as per their request.

A quick note about my FOIA Request: I have been informed I may still receive other documents from other government agencies in addition to what I have already received, which currently stands at 13 documents. There is generally a fee involved in receiving an FOIA request, based on a sliding scale starting at $23.00 for the first hour of research, with copies of the reports priced individually per sheet. I requested a fee waiver from FDA and HHS for this FOIA request on the grounds that this information was in the public interest and readily identified myself as the author of this blog. I was not charged for the research time or copies sent to me for this portion of the request. I publish them now just as I informed FDA and HHS I would, in the public interest.

Post One: Establishment Inspection Report dated 1/10/11 and 2/7/11

Post Two: Memorandum from the Department of Health and Human Services dated 2/8/11

Post Three: Memorandum from the Department of Health and Human Services dated 7/20/11

Post Four: Scanned copies of the records

Fair warning, if you thought the Michigan Attorney General post was long then you’re in for more of the same with these upcoming posts, which I will be working on in the coming days. I appreciate your patience and will have them up as quickly as possible.

GlitterSniffer Complaints: One Year Later

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:47:00 +0000

As of yesterday it has been one year since I first posted to this blog. In that time I have posted about all thing GlitterSniffer Cosmetics, as well as other issues surrounding safety in indie cosmetics. I thought for a long time about what this post should say. I could go on ad naseum, but instead I give you this:

Today I received a response from my Freedom of Information Act Request from FDA and The Department of Health and Human Services. I will be receiving the documents on the GS investigation soon, though I currently have no ETA.

I want to thank you all for your patience as I know this will be another long post once these documents have been received. Until then, I am working on several other posts.

One year later and the grand total of refunds issued by GlitterSniffer Cosmetics for the recall (mine was not recall related) still stands at $0.00.

Michigan Attorney General-Scanned Copy

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:59:00 +0000

This is the scanned copy of the email response from GlitterSniffer Cosmetics to the Michigan Attorney General. It has been edited only to remove personally identifying information (my old address, case numbers, a medical diagnosis for one of Lela Warren's family members) and includes the cover letter that was sent along with the letter. The reddish marks are a nail polish mishap.

My case was closed as I received a refund so I will not be following up with the AG for matters as they relate to my refund.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Closing?

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:15:00 +0000

A couple of hours ago GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Proprietor Lela Warren posted to her personal Facebook page that as of the first of the year GS would be closing its doors. There has not been an official announcement as yet and absolutely no reference to refunds.

It remains to be seen if Lela Warren will actually move forward with this plan or not. To be sure, there has never been an intimation of this sort from GS, even when the business disappeared for months.

As for refunds Lela has made it quite clear in the past that they were contingent upon the successful relaunch of GS. I know that she herself is unsure at this point how much money is even in the refund account as she has not checked it in some time.

Whatever comes of this latest development it is still my fervent hope that everyone due a refund will receive one as promised.

More information as it becomes available.

Michigan Attorney General- GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Responds

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:46:00 +0000

This e-mail was sent to the Attorney General on Monday August 29^,2011 at 2:54 PM. It is a response to some, though not all, of the complaints filed with Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. Included in it is Lela Warren’s summary of the events leading up to the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics recall and its attending fallout. The email is quite lengthy, running a little over three pages. As I stated earlier I will be removing PII of Lela’s family including a medical diagnosis for a family member, as well as the case numbers for the individual cases, but the rest will remain intact. I will address any salient points paragraph by paragraph and a scanned copy will be posted in a separate post.

Every effort was made to retain the integrity of the email so as much as possible all unique spelling and punctuation is as it appeared in the original email. For clarity the text of the letter will be italicized.

___________________________________________________________________________

My name is Lela Warren, owner of Glittersniffer Cosmetics and I am replying to several case numbers, I will respond to them individually after I explain the situation.

In fall of 2006 I began making my own mineral cosmetics. I ended up starting a small company of my cosmetics and named it Glittersniffer Cosmetics. There were several company's out already that made the same thing I was doing. In an attempt to offer something different, I decided to use mineral colorants to make a product called “pigments”.

**Glittersniffer joined Etsy on February 27, 2007. However, it not as a cosmetics purveyor. It was as a sort of catch all craft company, offering coasters, dread beads, and earrings. The cosmetics did not show up in Etsy until mid-2008, and then it was just perfumes. There have been numerous discrepancies in the GS timeline, the most recent of which was in a product listing on their current site which states the company started almost 7 years ago, putting the opening in roughly 2005.

Additionally, there is the pigment question. My receipt, from December 2008, clearly states that I purchased eye shadow, not pigment. More on the curious case of the pigment in a moment**

There's a large difference between pigments and eyeshadows, although they contain some of the same ingredients. A mineral eyeshadow is a product that involves taking mica the colorant and adding different ingredients. By adding other ingredients the color becomes lighter. I wanted my colors brighter so I don't add other ingredients. I mix mica's together to make what is called a “pigment” (just like what MAC cosmetics does for example). An eyeshadow is used for strictly eyes, if you tried to add it anywhere else on the face/nails/body, it would be bumpy and very light in color. However, a pigment can be used on nails (mixed into nail polish) lips (mixed into gloss/lipstick) body (body sparkle etc) as well as on the face (bronzer, blush).

**I actually spoke with FDA regarding the use of the term “pigment” and they support Lela’s assertion that pigment is simply another word for color. Pigments are essentially multiuse mica so Lela’s definition is correct, but her comparison to MAC Pigment is in error as a quick glance at the ingredients show that they do add ingredients other than colorants, though they are marketed as multiuse powders. The MAC name for "Pigment" is simply the product name, specific to MAC Cosmetics, and is not intended as a descriptor for the product use (Description of Pigment from the MAC site: Pigment is a highly concentrated loose colour powder that contains ingredients to help it adhere to the skin.)

This begs the question then, is what GS is selling “pigment” as Lela has defined it to the Attorney General? If pigment is color (or colorant) in its pure form without additives, why then does GS list Magnesium Stearate (a base additive, not a colorant), Hydrogenated Polyisobutane (an emolient/skin conditioner/viscosity controller, not a colorant), and Calcium Aluminium Borosilicate (a bulking agent, not a colorant) on their ingredients? Per the FDA approved colorants list NONE of these ingredients are colorants. They are actually base additives and/or bulking agents.

There are two possible reasons as far as I can surmise with the available information: Either the GS ingredients list is incorrect (because these are indeed 'pigments' and GS hasn't added any bases/bulking agents) or GS is adding other ingredients to their colorants to make their finished product, which in turn means the term pigment (by Lela’s own definition) is incorrect. If the product is being sold as one thing but is instead another the issue of proper labeling once again rears its head as by adding bases/bulking agents theproduct is no longer simply pigment, but becomes a finished cosmetic and subject to all FDA guidelines.

You may be wondering if it can get any curiouser. Read on.**

I have never marketed my products as being eyeshadows and intended for eye use. I have always marketed them as pigments. When making my pigments most of my colorants were FDA approved for all cosmetic use, including eyes- except one which was neon pink named Cosmetic Fluorescent Strong Pink that WAS FDA approved for cosmetic use minus on the eyes. I used this pink colorant in small amounts to make my pinks and some purples, brighter for several years with no issues or complaints from any of my customers.

**Suddenly, the heavens break, a choir of angels sings, and it all becomes clear. We, as consumers, are at fault for not understanding that the cosmetics we were being sold were NOT intended for eye use BECAUSE GS NEVER SOLD IT AS SUCH. Aside from my receipt above which clearly lists what I bought as eye shadow (which I’m certain, now that Lela has clarified, was the one and only time it was ever mistakenly listed that way) this was all a huge misunderstanding on the buyers’ part. After all, we should have been savvy enough to know that these were not meant for eyes, what with all the pictures of the product being used on eyes

the suggesteduses as eyeliner

or specifically as eye shadow

or for a brow highlight or in the corner of the eyes (as seen in the WhiteoutRainbow Collection currently for sale on the GS site)

I can almost feel the enormous sense of relief washing over us all that this was a whoopsie on the consumers’ part. Our curiosity about the pigments now sated I guess it’s time to let bygones be bygones because Lela has rationally explained it all.

I apologize for my disdain, but this is ludicrous, as evidenced by the recall itself. If the product was never intended for eye use and was never marketed that way why was a recall due to the use of Cosmetic Fluorescent Strong Pink not being eye approved initiated by GlitterSniffer Cosmetics? The answer is simple, and comes from Lela herself in her Bellasugar interview. The recall was initiated because "We wanted to make sure all non eye-approved products were no longer in use." Lela goes on to say "The recall has definitely affected the way we create our products...Again, we are completely committed to using only eye-approved and vegan ingredients."

That’s not a commitment you make if it was never intended for eye use. Just for completions sake here is a link to GS' new red, which is not vegan.

High five though for finally disclosing the ingredient in the pinks and purples (and some oranges), information that we’ve been waiting for with bated breath for eleven months. But the recall wasn’t simply initiated due to this one ingredient. There were also the soap dyes, used in the Super 80s Collection, a fact conveniently left out of this email. I have been made aware that one of the customers who purchased this collection filed a complaint with the AG. Her complaint is not addressed in this email. And just so it’s clear, Lela admitted in the statement from December that she had, in fact, used soap dyes, which are NOT cosmetically approved. It seems the timeline of GS grand opening isn’t the only thing Lela has forgotten**

Proper adverstising was probably not the main issue with the sale of soap dyes as cosmetics.

My company began getting very popular and large, we were no longer a small company. We had lots of business, were shipping worldwide, and decided to take GS to the next level. Upon making this decision, we decided not to offer the products that had the neon pink colorants in them, as we did not want the clients to put them on their eyes. We issued a voluntary recall and followed all the proper steps including e-mailing all clients, putting the recall info on our website and all other online areas where we were active such as Facebook. Everyone was instructed to send in their pinks for a refund or new product. The FDA was involved and made sure we were doing things as we should.

**There is no debate that GS was indeed growing. By all accounts they were hugely popular. Whether or not it was wanting a clean slate that brought about the recall is something only Lela knows for certain. I am still not in possession of the FDA report from my FOIA request, but FDA was involved at some point, though it was not GS that informed them as they were required to do during a voluntary recall. Lela admits FDA was contacted about GS, not by GS.

Much like the physical letters that were supposedly sent out in February as per FDA Enforcement Report about the GS recall to date I have not heard of a single customer that received the mass email about the recall. I know I didn’t get one. If I am in error and scores of GS customers did in fact receive this email I’ll be more than happy to correct the oversight.

The recall was posted on glittersniffercosmetics.com, but it was only posted a good deal of time later, after a Q&A session facilitated by the Complaints blog and page. The Facebook announcement was posted, and then deleted, and then reposted, and has since been deleted again in the housekeeping GS did prior to their relaunch a few months ago. This is all borne out in the first months worth of posts to this blog. So, while the bare bones of recall protocol was followed by GS it was only done when they were left with no other option because a consumer called FDA. (Not I. My call was later)**

They came to my home on several occasions, conducted their investigation and found no reason to issue us a violation. I am e-mailing them one more piece of information and they are closing the case. When my clients found out about this recall, many of them decided to use their pigments like always and then some of them, were very angry. They felt as they had lied to them. Because my business was very small at one time, I was very personal with my clients, many of my clients and I talked regularly via facebook, chat messages on the phone etc, the majority of us were very good friends so they took it very personal when they felt like I betrayed them and sold the pink products to them as they were not eye approved even though I never marketed them as an eyeshadow.

**It does appear that the case is now closed as per FDA and GS is now in compliance. I’ve touched on the nature of the personal relationships previously. It is very involved and, quite frankly, would take a volume such as War and Peace to properly explain. Suffice to say there was a lot of anger. It would be moot at this point to speak to the eyeshadow claim again (see my receipt above), so I’ll leave it at this. When trust is broken, whether it be business or friendship, there is a certain amount of anger that is to be expected. To negate what the GS customers went through or were feeling in all this by washing the company’s hands of it on the back of an outright lie (see my receipt above) is beyond the pale, yet, sadly, par for the course.**

As stated earlier, none of my clients ever reported any issues about problems when using the pigments that had the pink ingredient in them. There were no complaints about irritation, pink eye medical trips etc. It wasn't until I started the recall that suddenly all these people had different issues when using them. To this day there is no medical documentation from any client even though they asked to present them when they claimed that they were having medical issues and had to go to a doctor.

**Again, we’ll have to take Lela’s word that there were no complaints prior to the recall (though it is odd that pink eye is mentioned since the products weren’t supposed to be used on the eyes). It should be noted, however, that the GS Community was very close, with many strong personalities, and very much had a culture of silence, where stepping out of line was met with derision and banning and the threat of the loss of that sense of community. That’s very powerful psychologically when you are as deeply involved as so many were. I will state that I have not seen a medical bill either, though I have read every story, both published and unpublished, and I’ve seen the pictures. I actually see them every day in my mind and probably will for a long time. .**

Prior to this recall we had made three different collections of pigments that were for sale to benefit three different charities which are: TWLOHA, GLADD and ASPCA. 50% of the money that was collected was to go directly to these charities. All monies were kept in our business bank account, they were transferred to that bank account via Paypal. When we issued the recall and told clients to please send in their recall items, make a money request via Paypal or they take new products. A large group of harassing women (explained in the next paragraph) learned that if they filed a claim with Paypal vs making a request they were able to get their money back and keep their product. This group of women did just this for every single transaction/purchase they had ever made with GS including items that were not on the recall list. There was so many different women doing this, on so many different transactions dating back months and months that Paypal ended up freezing our account. We called Paypal MANY times to try and get the issue resolved so that we were able to continue our recall and refund process, however they were not cooperative. I could not access any funds that were in my Paypal account, nor, more importantly, I could not take my bank account information off the account.

**I cannot speak to this from a personal experience perspective as I had not yet entered the picture. This version of events (minus calling anyone harassing) was confirmed to me by a third party who was very close to the GS organization. Paypal did freeze the accounts due to the number of claims. What is not mentioned in the email is that at least a portion of these claims going back months and months were not due strictly to recalls, but for product that was simply never received. One might say the Detroit Post Office vendetta against GS worked double-time to help freeze the account. But we also know from the December statement that despite the numerous times the PO was blamed for missing packages the packages had in fact not been shipped as Lela allowed orders to pile up and then couldn't afford a staff to help her ship them. It was actually the recall, unshipped packages, and claims due to sanitation concerns that coalesced to freeze the PayPal account, not harassment**

The end result was that more people found out about this loophole to keep product and get money so it just kept going and I had no control over it, and Paypal allowed it. Eventually funds started coming out of my bank account (which had the charity money in it) and that charity money was given out unrightfully to many people, because Paypal just kept approving these claims. I have contacted all three charities and explained the situation. Two of them were very understanding, welcomed me with their support to try again in the future minus ASPCA which I never got a response from, I sent three separate e-mails which I still have proof of. I also called several times and couldn't speak with a supervisor on any of the occasions.

**This is basically true. Once Paypal froze the account they started paying out claims at their discretion. What has not been mentioned is that when the recall started GS denied claims left and right. If you click on the ‘Your Story’ tag to the right you can scroll back and see where legitimate claims were denied repeatedly. As a matter of fact, to date, I am the only person who was issued a refund by GS (out of order and not per the terms of the recall). I asked the third party why this was and was told mine was issued first at Lela’s insistence because she knew I would post about it. The third party is actually the one who issued the refund. It was for $21.50**

A quite large group of women began harassing me, ruining my reputation as well as doing within their power to make my life miserable. One even went so far as to call CPS of Michigan on Christmas Day telling CPS that I had “dangerous chemicals” in my home and that I was a “drug addict”. I have been called every name in the book and been bullied online to the extent of me finally going to a psychiatrist for anxiety medication because of all the chaos going on. This group of women made up many lies about me and spread them to anyone and everyone who would listen. Not only did they ruin my personal reputation as a person they also ruined my business image. They have told public radio stations, newspaper blogs etc many untrue things about myself and my family. Among some of them are that my child is a “retard” (redacted) that I'm a heroin addict etc. One of the most hurtful things was the fact that I told one of these women about my husband's year long affair with another woman, this story was released to the public and although very still recent and painful for me, they laughed about it and found it humorous even though it was extremely painful for me and had just happened at the time.

**Again, I cannot speak to the Child Protective Services (CPS) claim as at that point I had just sent emails to GS requesting a refund due to my concerns about sanitation and informing them of the complaints I planned on filing if I had to pursue it. I was never part of the GS community, and except for one nice convo from Lela when my order shipped back in 2008 I had had no contact. I didn’t even know she had a child. CPS files are closed, for good reason. If CPS was called I can tell you I didn’t do it. Regardless it is my understanding that the child is still in the home.

In terms of name-calling I can again only speak to my personal experience in saying I’ve not called anyone anything other than their given name and under no circumstances would I ever speak ill of a child with a word like that. I have seen Lela called many names in many screenshots but I absolutely have not seen that word in reference to her child. To be fair I am not The Great and Powerful Oz and I have upwards of 3,000 files in my GS folder so it’s possible I may have missed it. I just hope it didn’t happen because no one, regardless of the situation, deserves to be called a derogatory name based upon a real or perceived medical issue.

I did in fact contact anyone and everyone I could regarding the GS recall and file every complaint imaginable (as was my right as a consumer), all of which I documented on this blog. When it comes down to it you have to look at intent. My intent initially was to get a refund, which, after a time, came to include informing people of the recall because at that point GS had not done so. Yes, there was the post to the Facebook page, but it was a mea culpa, which did not include a full recall list. Had I not happened across it on a blog I wouldn’t have any clue there was a recall. The GS website itself simply had a placeholder saying they’d be reopening soon, with no mention of the recall.

Since I was not involved in the GS community I honestly had no idea about all the issues: the charities, the missing packages, the voicemail, the soap dyes. When I was informed about all the different venues GS had sold at (Makerfaire, Spotted Box, Etsy, Artfire, the list goes on...) and that there was no attempt at all except a Facebook post by the company to inform people that what they bought may be unapproved I set about contacting the sales platforms so they could make sure their customers were informed. These are steps GS could have easily taken themselves if their intent was to ensure their customers safety, but they did not. Consumers have a right to know. They have a right to be able to make a safe, informed decision. It had nothing to do with wanting to ruin anything or anyone. It had everything to do with a Little Girls Kit made with unapproved ingredients that was sold to someone for their 4 year old. There never was and isn’t now anything malicious in what I have done. The same cannot be said for Lela Warren, the business owner who knowingly sold unapproved products for years and then did everything in her power to sweep it under the rug and pass off blame to PayPal, to her customers, to her own medical conditions and then went so far as to attempt to blackmail me by threatening the release of my living relatives information so she could have a successful whitewash. Had GS as a business done everything in its power to inform people and issue refunds instead of deny them the blog and the page wouldn’t exist. More to the point, had GS cared from the beginning and never used unapproved ingredients at all none of this would have happened. No amount of threats to me is going to make that any less true.

The issue of the affair leading to the voicemail has been covered previously. The customer who received the voicemail did reference on Facebook that Lela had discussed personal issues but at no time were details released. Lela herself released the information about the affair after the Michigan Radio NPR story and the Bellasugar article. **

My husband had never been unfaithful to me, we'd been together for almost ten years so this experience was extremely painful for me to even think about. They made a facebook page called Glittersniffer Complaints which is still up to this day, minus my numerous attempts to facebook to take it down. On this page they talk about every single thing I say, post, or write anywhere on the internet. I've lost many jobs because this group of women found out where I was working, e-mailing my employer(s) told them numerous lies and speculations. I tried doing a free makeup class for the troubled youth in Redford Michigan at the YWCA. They contacted them, told them numerous lies and I was no longer welcome to join. If I made a new website to sell on, they would contact the owner of the website company and tell them rumors, resulting in me getting shut down.

I even tried to make a new Paypal account so we could continue on with our refund process, it was under my husband's name – they called Paypal and Paypal shut it down. I have tried numerous times to make the situation right with many of these women, they constantly harass me for a refund but every time I attempt to make a new website, they get it shut down. The goal in this whole fiasco has been lost. It is no longer about makeup and money. It has become a witch hunt and a goal of making my personal and business quality of life, a daily struggle.

**Point by point:

1. While any sort of broken trust is painful, the affair did not have to be played out publicly. Lela released that information herself. If you don’t want the world to know, keep it to your confidants.

2. There was no ‘they’ in creating GlitterSniffer Complaints. There was only me. I created the page and I created and write the blog, which actually came prior to the Facebook page. There was no conspiracy, no one was out to get GS, there was just a girl that wanted a refund and then realized she had bought the ticket so she had to take the ride.

3. I’d very much like to see these emails to the employers. If indeed there was harassment at this level as is being claimed I’d be more than willing to share that side of the story, much like I did with the new refund process.

4. The YMCA Class was not free. It was $35.00.

5. Glittersniffercosmetics.com was allowed to lapse after several months of non use for reasons unknown. I did contact the host at one point early on to inform them that a recall for products sold on the site was in motion as it had not yet been posted and as the host they had a right to know and do everything in their power to shield themselves from liability. I contacted both Etsy (which was not a current sales venue) and Artfire to inform them of the recall as no announcement had been posted in the GS Artfire studio. My thought process was simply that Etsy and Artfire could use their messaging systems to contact customers to make them aware. I never contacted Highwire, and as a matter of fact, GS left Highwire due to issues with the choice of payment processors. I’ve not contacted, nor do I have plans to contact the current host as the recall notice has now been made sufficiently public.

6. There were numerous ways refunds could have been issued without utilizing a TOS violating second Paypal account. Western Union, company check via certified mail, wire transfer, money order via certified mail. Paypal was not the only option. To use an analogy, if the state takes away your driver license you don’t grab someone elses birth certificate and get another one. You take a cab. You take the bus. You walk. You accept the situation you are in and don’t look for ways to skirt the rules and then use it as an excuse to not follow through on your commitments when you get caught breaking those rules. Polite society operates on these core values, that people will respect rules, laws, and regulations. It’s a great lesson to learn and one that would serve GS well in the future.

7. GS states they have done everything in their power to make everything right. Currently they are operating a webstore and are having a MASSIVE STOREWIDE SALE. I’ve not heard from GS for several months, despite the promise that I would receive weekly updates, including the percentages put back towards refunds and confirming when a refund was issued. Since they have not fulfilled their commitments yet again it seems like there is a lot more in their power they could do to make it right, starting with issuing the refunds.

8. My goal is still refunds for everyone deserving of one. If the goal has been lost it was lost by GS.**

The quality of my life has effected negatively in many ways. My business reputation has been ruined, resulting in a massive hit to my family's funds. We now struggle to keep our bills paid and have to ask our parents for help. I visited a local food bank for the first time in my life last month. It has caused numerous issues between my husband and I. We fight constantly about everything due to all the attention and because his affair is brought up all the time, also causing fights and conflict. We fight about money as well because it is so hard for me to continue business. My mental health has been extremely effected by all of these things. I am now on depression and anxiety medication, just to get through a normal day. My website was still open during all of the above commotion. Our quality of work began to go down as so many things were always going wrong. Either our payment processor would get shut down and we wouldn't have access to mailing address, or the people who worked for me were exhausted of being attacked for supporting me so, they quit. I eventually just shut it down which is when I took several months “off”, to get things together with my family my husband, my son.

**In terms of quality of life it should be noted that on Angel List Lela Warren claims that GS made $100,000 the first year of business (Puts the refund debacle into perspective, doesn’t it?). I’m not going to speculate as to where that money went but I will say there is a difference between quality of life and standard of living, and it sounds like a distinction that is apt in this situation.

Life does not always go as planned. We live with the circumstances we are given. There is no way the only marketable skill Lela Warren has is making “pigments” given that she has held other paying jobs outside that sector. As a matter of fact she recently left a job that was not GS related. While I understand and empathize with how hard this must be for both her and her family anyone who leaves a sure thing job to rebuild a business has to know that it’s not going to be all sunshine and roses and $100,000 earnings right off the bat and has to be ready to accept the consequences of that choice. That’s what this is all about really, living with the consequences of our decisions. GS chose to use unapproved ingredients and now must deal with whatever consequences come from that choice. **

I made many new policies and procedures for my company, in an effort for it to run smoothly. I found a new website that wouldn't allow lies and rumours to get me shut down. I made a new payment processor account with a company that was on a much larger scale and also wouldn't shut me down due to rumors. I've been doing business again for a couple months now. Everything has been going well. All orders are received and clients are happy. I still am trying to get my personal life together and catch up on my very late bills and getting clients their refunds. We allowed everyone who was due a refund (including the women behind all this) to send in their information and get a cash refund. 15% of all GS sales go toward the refund pile until we have enough to pay everyone out. In conclusion many things are said about myself my family and my business that are just not true. There is so much speculation posted all over the internet and because I do not get involved, it just grows stronger and any new clients I try to take on don't know what to believe so they also choose not to get involved and don't buy from my company so I work other places to keep us afloat. The newest job I got, was contacted by these women and sent me an e-mail, obviously upset. I am actually waiting for him to call me so we can discuss it, at this very moment.

**The policies were made, that is true. But the commitment to make sure the process was vetted to ensure it was going smoothly was not followed through on GS part. At this point, no one outside of GS to my knowledge knows how much, if any, has been put back for refunds. I can’t speak to the email to the employer as I didn’t send one.**

So, as you can see, it has been a bumpy road, all caused by makeup and the anger of women. There are many ways I could have handled it differently and even more things I wish I had done differently. However, all I can do now is keep doing the best I can to support my family as well as build up the refund money that is owed to people in an attempt to make things right.

**And there you have it. This entire mess was caused not by GS decision to use unapproved ingredients and deny refunds, but because a bunch of angry and vengeful women had the audacity to not only purchase GS products (AND USE THEM ON THEIR EYES WHEN THEY WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO), but to expect them to actually arrive and be safe to use.**

That is actually a short version of it but I think it covers most bases. I will now respond to each case individually.

**I will be publishing these but only commenting on the cases I have knowledge of and permission to address.**

Case 1

This client has been contacted and we came to a resolution. She took store credit and was mailed a package. The tracking number for the package shows it has been delivered and there has been no contact since. She was one of the women who filed a Paypal claim, got her money and kept the product. I still honored her request for store credit.

Case 2

This client also took store credit over a cash refund after being contacted. We came to a resolution and she was sent a package. She has since received her package, proven via the package tracking number, and there has since been no further contact.

Case 3

This client filed many different Paypal claims and got her money back, even for items not recalled. She was still contacted via e-mail on July 16^th 2011 to confirm she was not owed any funds. We have not received a reply to this date.

Case 4

This client was contacted and we came to a resolution. She is in our refund database to receive a cash refund. She also requested some of our products, for free, for all the troubles. We honored this request, and she has received her package of all the items she requited plus more. We do have a tracking number to prove this.

**This case is about the money raised for Christie Brooks’ family. The resolution was a compromise on the amount owed where the difference was split and an average accepted. She will not be receiving all the funds that were raised in her family’s name. The products were not requested, but were offered by Lela in an attempt to make things right. She did receive them, though there were numerous issues, including a double mailing label that had another customers full name and mailing address on it. She has not heard from GS since agreeing to the reduced refund**

Case 5

This client was contacted and she chose store credit. We sent her all items of her choice which have since been delivered. Her and I are actually friends on facebook again, we talk frequently, she shops at our new website, and even does some of our graphic artist work.

Case 6

This client was contacted July 13^th of 2011 we offered her store credit or a cash refund. She has not responded to this date.

Case 7

This client was contacted on several occasions via e-mail and phone. She was offered store credit, cash refund or both. She is currently in our refund database to get monies when refunds are being distributed.

Case 8

This client chose store credit. She chose her items and received her items some time ago.

Case 9

This client was one of the “ringleaders” of the women who constantly harassed me. Even before the recall this client was constantly bothersome as a customer. She would very frequently get into arguments with other customers, she would make rude comments when others posted their makeup looks to the fan page, and she always seemed to somehow be involved whenever there was an issue or “drama”.

She has publicly stated that her husband is a doctor and she had my pigments tested and found them to be harmful. When asked to retract her statement or provide proof she blocked me from contacting her or seeing anything she posted. She also stated that she kept having issues of irritation after the recall even though she bought from my company over and over again, on a near weekly basis.

I did ask her why she kept buying our products if she was experiencing irritation to which she would not reply. She has gotten many funds back via Paypal however I still tried contacting her, even after her abusive behaviour towards me. She wanted to speak on the phone and I agreed. I tried calling/texting her several times so we could work things out. Our last conversation (my fourth attempt) was on January 23^rd 2011 via a chat which I do still have record of.

Case 10

This client has never even purchased from me. She helps run the facebook page that has caused my family and I a lot of suffering. Last year, due to the economy, my company publicly stated that anyone who could not afford Christmas gifts could contact us and we would help them out. This client did contact me. She does not have a lot of money at all, so when she contacted me October 11^th 2010 about how she probably wasn't going to get anything for Christmas I actually sent her a large surprise package, completely free. As you can see, her morals are not what I would consider “good”.

**This case is about one of the Complaints Page Admins. I appointed Admins several months in when it became clear that the issues ran far deeper than I initially thought. There was no intent on anyone’s part other than to ensure productive communication on the page, which was a Herculean task due to the emotional nature of the situation. She actually was a GS customer of sorts. She placed a small order that she never received and a friend of hers bought her a present that she also never received. She did receive a Christmas package. Her morals are outstanding. **

Case 11

This client started the facebook page called Glittersniffer Complaints that to this day, has caused all the above commotion and is still active and running. She also runs a blog that contains many false things stated as factual. The flase comments and rumors that are posted on this blog are not monitored. I have asked her MANY times to PLEASE take down the facebook page to which she will not. She has only purchased from my company once, and we refunded upon request from Paypal. She has been contacted many times, been begged to please reconsider and she will not comply. As stated she only purchased from me ONCE and was not an active member of the GS community. I am still unsure as to why she has allowed all these painful events and even been active in them. This woman has literally, ruined my life and business. My last contact to her was August 1^st 2011, where I asked her again, to please take the facebook page and blog down to which again, she refused to comply. At one point, I really wanted to get a lawyer to make her stop but I now cannot afford it. If there is any way the Attorney General of Michigan can help me put her actions to a stop, I beg of you to help me, please.

**First of all let me say that the bold letters are not a fancy way for me to point out my own case. This is actually the way my case response appeared in the email.

I did start both the page and the blog. Both are active and running and will remain so. I beg to differ that the posts to the blog are not monitored. The blog just passed 105,000 hits yesterday, so I’d say it’s being monitored very well.

I have actually never been asked to take the Facebook Page down. I was asked if I planned to ever take it down (along with the suggestion that Lela would send “her girls” over to post on the page if it was left up) in an unwanted mail to my then corporate email. I actually have an email from January where I was told GS supports freedom of the press and all they asked was that I would listen to both sides of the story. Then a few months later I was asked for my address in order to be served with a Cease and Desist and Defamation Suit. I responded with the federal laws that covered both the blog and the page as per the attorney that I engaged and also provided evidence of Lela inciting one of her relatives to come to the page and act in an unproductive manner. I asked at that time if she still needed my address. She never responded. I was asked to pull a single post from the blog in early August, but when I asked for a reason why I did not receive a response. On September 7 Lela released my full name, address and telephone number on her Facebook page and said she had 5 other addresses as well as the names of my living relatives and would continue releasing information until her demands for blog and page removal were met. So, you see, despite her assertions I’ve never been outright asked and/or begged to take the page down. I’ve simply been inundated with threats both veiled and real in an effort to get them removed. Someone needs to learn to use their nice words.

I did only purchase once. I’ve always been upfront about that. It really has no bearing on the situation. I was a customer and I should be afforded the same consumer rights and protections whether it was my first or twenty first purchase. There was a perceived product issue and I asked for a refund. I was not given one. I was told I had threatened legal action, which I had not, and then GS ceased communication. I pursued varied avenues to obtain a refund, including filing complaints and creating the page and the blog. Had my initial Paypal request been honored as Lela claims the blog and page wouldn’t exist because I wouldn't have been pursuing a refund.

At this point I’d like to invite Lela Warren or another GS representative to actually read this blog. I have taken great care to vet every post here as thoroughly as possible. I have been called a liar who spreads untruths for many months now and this blatant attempt to discredit my name with malicious intent ends now. I have not resorted to name-calling and I have been hands off any family situation up until now, two respects that have not been afforded me. I even posted information regarding the new refund process at GS’ behest. I can prove that everything I have researched and posted here is to the best of my knowledge factual and I encourage Lela to read it. As I stated in my very first post I’ll be happy to amend any post provided I am given supporting and corroborating evidence of the validity of the claims that there are errors. That offer is still on the table, GS simply refuses to use it, instead resorting to bullying tactics to cuff me back into place. Protip: That doesn’t work with me.

I’ve been threatened with Cease and Desists, a Defamation Suit, unwanted email to my place of employment, unwanted messages on Facebook from one of Lela’s family members, an unwanted friend request from Lela herself after my explicit request that I not be contacted anywhere other than the blog email, and had my personally identifyinginformation misused to not only threaten me but also my family members. I do not expect that these tactics will end anytime soon as they seem to be a pattern of behavior.

Most of this has not been public knowledge and I only reference it now to show the absolute absurdity of harassment claims by a woman who would pay to gather 5 of my addresses while claiming poverty and then state she wanted to visit relatives in my home state. I don’t want pity. I want the brass tracks truth to be out there. That truth is that Lela Warren may feel like she is the victim in this situation, but the true victims are those whose trust, communal identity and money ware ripped away from them by a woman who they thought was their friend and who will stop at nothing to make sure she is relieved of all responsibility. The upshot is no one should get to behave in this manner and then play the victim card. It’s insincere, it’s disingenuous, and above all it is disrespectful to the people who have actually been hurt in this situation. They didn’t ask to be sold unapproved products, or to have their money taken, or to be dragged through all this. The fallout that is being seen here is not a concerted orchestrated effort to destroy GS but there are a series of individuals who have simply had enough of being lied to, bullied, and treated horribly reclaiming their right to basic human respect. They have a voice that was silenced for far too long and what is now being seen are the repercussions of that.

The only person who has “allowed” this to happen is Lela herself through her poor business decisions and conduct. It’s this fundamental flaw that is continually overlooked and unless addressed may lead to more issues. But that’s up to GS, and proprietor Lela Warren, to recognize and address. Another blogger wrote a sentence that I believe best sums up the situation: Don’t do dumb shit and people won’t write about it."

As for me I just want to be able to post about refunds.**

I have many e-mails to serve as proof for much of what has been said. I can provide these e-mails at any time. I can give you links to the pages I mentioned. I also have tracking numbers for all packages mentioned. Please let me know if you need any further information from me.

As you can see I did make bad business decisions. However, I don't feel it is deserved for me to have to wake up to a living hell, every day of my life. I can't even get a job any more because every time I do, someone searches it and calls my employer. I am literally in tears as I finish this. Again, is there any way ANYONE in Michigan can help me.

I no longer have very much money but the harassment has effected the quality of my daily life and I need help and don't know where to turn for it.

Sincerely,

Lela Warren

313-303-4780

**And that is the letter to the Michigan Attorney General. There’s not much more to say that hasn’t been said ad naseum so I’ll just say this. Thank you for slogging all the way through this. I hope you feel it was worth your time.

See you soon. We can meet at my place (Offer not valid for Lela Warren, her employees, family or associates). I get the feeling you’ll all probably have the address soon enough.**

11/13/11 ETA: Redacted the last 4 digits of the telephone number provided at the end of the AG letter. While the provided number is only one digit off from previously released and public telephone numbers I have erred on the side of caution that it was not a typo and have redacted it to protect Lela's privacy.

Second Edit: The phone number was transcribed incorrectly and has now been updated to show the correct number. I apologize for the oversight.

Break

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 11:10:00 +0000

Long time, no update. I apologize for the impromptu break. Life, as it does, happened. Though it may seem that Lela Warren's public release of my Personally Identifying Information and threats of further retaliation against me and my living family members had something to do with it I can tell you unequivocally it did not. It was coincidental timing as I was busy with other matters, some pertaining to GS. You can read more about the PII situation over at Lipsticks & Lightsabers. There was also a followup status update where Lela Warren stated she would like to visit family in my home state of Oklahoma, which can be seen below.

Lela demanded this blog and its Facebook page be taken down. That has not happened and will not happen. Even if everyone due a refund receives one it will remain. What Lela fails to see is that the main purpose of the blog and page is to chronicle GlitterSniffer Cosmetics business practices, and as long as GS is in business it is relevant information for consumers to know in order to make an informed decision. One would think a proprietor who had asked for assistance in getting the new refund process out to as many people as possible by way of a post here would understand that the blog goes out of its way to post as much information as possible and that the tenor of the posts rest directly on GS behavior as a company. There have been other posts relevant to indie cosmetics safety unrelated to GS as well and I believe that it would be a disservice to consumers to take them down as in some cases the information is not available anywhere else. So it will stay, regardless of any threats that may arise.

And what of those threats? Well, I cannot comment on the actions I am taking at this point, except to say that there are things that have been and are being set in motion to ensure mine and my family's well being.

In terms of GS there is the matter of the AG letter that was received by many a couple of months ago. Expect a post on that shortly, as well as other GS and non GS related posts. I have had the AG post in the works for some time, though it has been slow going as I only had the text and not a scanned copy. In the letter Lela reveals many private family details by way of reasons/excuses for the recall, as has been her custom. I have always been hands off most of the private issues as they had nothing to do with GS business. My stance on that has not changed, however the private family information is being used to explain GS' issues past and present and could be considered relevant. I will be removing PII and a medical diagnosis for Lela's son but otherwise the letter will remain intact. It should be noted I am not altogether comfortable with everything that will be published but in the interests of full disclosure I feel that all aspects should be posted, especially as it serves as Lela's statement about how this all came to be.

I am still awaiting word on the FOIA request I filed for the outcome of FDAs GS investigation. It does appear there were no sanctions, which means GS has been brought into compliance. This is an interesting development, as if GS is to continue in business as they state they intend on doing everything needs to be compliant with all rules and regulations. It should be noted, however, that GS announced they had been FDA approved. FDA does not approve companies, nor finished cosmetics. They approve and regulate ingredients. It's a minor, but important distinction, and one GS should be well aware of as they have been working with FDA for months. Making an FDA approval claim on labeling or in advertisements is considered false and misleading and could result in further FDA notice of GS. As this following statement was made on the GS Facebook Fan page, which is the company's main resource for advertising, it is easy to see how the statement might be construed as an advertisement.

Emphasis mine

Is it permitted to label cosmetics "FDA Approved"?
No. As part of the prohibition against false or misleading information, no cosmetic may be labeled or advertised with statements suggesting that FDA has approved the product. This applies even if the establishment is registered or the product is on file with FDA's Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program⁶ (VCRP) (see 21 CFR 710.8 and 720.9, which prohibit the use of participation in the VCRP to suggest official approval). False or misleading statements on labeling make a cosmetic misbranded [FD&C Act, sec. 602; 21 U.S.C. 362].

As for me I am now happily ensconced at a new job. The majority of my last few months was taken up in that transition. I was also one of the co founders of The Team Pink Eye Project along with Rebecca Storevik, which I am humbled to report raised $1,459.95 for Susan G Komen Passionately Pink for the Cure for breast cancer awareness. We had some wonderful bloggers and indie shops participate and not only met, but exceeded our goal. It was an absolutely wonderful experience and I am happy to report that 100% of the donations went directly to Komen, an outcome I wish I could post for the other charities I've previously blogged about here. There are still more donations coming in and a possible company match from my new company so if you're of a mind check out the TPE blog. Also, take a few moments monthly to do your self exams please.

Be well.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Exciting New Release!!!

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:44:00 +0000

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics President Lela Warren had an exciting new release today. Posted to her personal Facebook page (and quickly deleted) was my name, address, and phone number.

As far as I can determine this all began on August 25, 2011. At that time Lela posted about contacting people to get the "fukkin monkey's (sic)" off her back.

I was contacted a few hours ago and given the following screenshots. The screenshots in their unedited form show my name, address and telephone number, as well as Lela's intention to release where I work and the identities of my living family members. From the screenshots (as near as I can surmise from them as Lela has not bothered to contact me, even to keep me abreast of the refund situation as she promised upon reopening) she would like the blog and page to be taken down or she will continue to release information about me and my family.

This was her status update immediately after deleting the post of my personal information:

I spoke with the Dearborn Heights Police Department regarding the issue and was referred back to my local municipality. Any investigation will need to be started locally and then extended to the DHPD. I have an appointrment with a detective tomorrow to discuss my options.

I have for some time had the services of an attorney as well. Some months ago Lela Warren asked for the names and addresses of myself and the Complaints Admins in order to send Cease and Desist Orders as well as file Defamation Suits. After informing Lela Warren of statutes which cover the blog and the page (as well as her own culpability in the matter for giving me permission to publish in an email from January) I freely offered her my information in order to pursue it. She never responded. I will be contacting my attorney tomorrow to research my civil options.

It should be noted that I asked Lela Warren months ago to comply with my request not to be contacted at any place other than the Complaints email after she used my personally identifying information to email me at my job. After this request was made Lela sent a friend request to my personal Facebook. I had not, up to this point, pursued that issue though I was well within my rights to do so. That is now back on the table, and coupled with this new development, will be pursued as vigorously as possible.

The blog and the page will remain as is. I will continue to publish about GlitterSniffer Cosmetics business practices (as well as those of other companies i.e. The Conservatorie, Coastal Scents, and Pure Luxe) and the now seemingly futile quest for refunds. I apologize, but there will be no posts regarding Lela's bathroom activities unless they directly affect GS as a business.

And make no mistake, this post, while having to do with a personal issue for me, very much pertains to GS as a business entity. Despite the assertion in an email from January that the company is "all for free speech" the company is now actively trying to quash that same freedom they have claimed to support. This blog has always published all aspects of the situation, including the new refund information (published at the request of the company itself). It exists because there is a need for it to exist. Remove the cause, remove the effect. If GS wants the blog and the page to be removed then the proper steps (issuing refunds, paying the charities) need to be taken. That responsibility lies with the company itself, and no amount of personal information or veiled threats will change that.

It is still my fervent hope that one day I can post that all that are due refunds have them, and that the charities have been paid back the thousands of dollars owed them. Until that day I will continue to keep posting about the situation, as well as other matters as they pertain to safety in indie cosmetics, in hopes that it comes to a swift and fair resolution for everyone involved.

Artfire Privacy Breach

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:18:00 +0000

**Not GlitterSniffer Cosmetics related.**
If you have shopped on Artfire you may want to read this.

On Friday night there was a glitch on Artfire that prepopulated the wrong information at checkout. The information that populated was name, address and email address, but the information was not for the customer chacking out. Instead it was for an entirely different customer. The blog linked above tells of one Artfire users experience and Artfire and Artfire Artisans reactions to the breach.

Artfire has stated that no financial information was released, that the issue appears to be resolved, and that they will be contacting affected customers via email in the coming days. The rough estimate of affected customers sits at 100 at this time. Artfire may be contacted via email.

I am working on a follow up post regarding the situation, including other affected customers/shops, complaints filed with the FTC, and further information regarding privacy, which I hope to have vetted and posted on Monday.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Throws Stones From Glass Houses

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:36:00 +0000

Recently it was announced that GlitterSniffer Csometics President Lela Warren had been chosen to write for a 'quite popular' magazine.

Though no formal announcement was made as to the magazine name a post later on the same day featured a 'two page spread' from Glam Rock Magazine for GS. This 'spread' was actually a paid advertisement run in the Fall of 20101 as can be seen here (Issue with the two models on the cover entitled "Official Hot Mess"). As far as can be determined the only other mention of GS in the issue is a set of pigments hidden in a 'Can You Spot It' photo. It should also be noted that this magazine is published by Chelsea Tavis of Tragic Glamour, GS' web designer and current model. The position is unpaid.

Lela Warren has also taken to commenting regarding the use of her ideas by other formulators. Though I will not speculate as to who she is speaking of it has been posted previously on this blog that Issanna, former VP of GS, is using the names she herself had branded during her unpaid time at GS for her own company. It has been shown in the past that Lela does not have a compunction against doing this herself, from soap to names to collections thought up by fans, GS clearly has a history of co opting ideas.

Recently GlitterSniffer Cosmetics has been asking for collaborators for all manner of merchandise, including 3-D Artificial Nail Art.

On June 12, 2011 a user named 'PigmentGirl' joined Etsy. PigmentGirl appeared around the same time as the PigmentChick profiles began appearing around the web. Among PigmentGirl's favorites are several soap sellers and LynnsBoutique, which specializes in 3-D Artificial Nail Art.

I had initially held off posting about PigmentGirl as there was no way to confirm that the account was tied to GS. That confirmation came last week. Several convos were sent from PigmentGirl's seemingly TOS violating Etsy account to MMU sellers offering a write up in Glam Rock magazine. The convos clearly identified the person sending them as Lela of GlitterSniffer Cosmetics.

Etsy TOS are very clear on this point. A user who has been suspended either temporarily or indefinitely may not make use of the service. Though this is not a seller account it is still possible that it is not within TOS. Lela Warren, by her own admission in an email to the GS Complaints blog, was 'kicked off Etsy' and therefore, per Etsy TOS, may not have another account unless given permission by Etsy.

Since the email asking for a retraction in which I was castigated for posting I have not heard from GlitterSniffer Cosmetics or Lela Warren, despite asking for supporting evidence that a retraction was needed and the company's promise to keep up to date regarding the refund process. My last email, on July 31, went unanswered. I'll be happy to acquiesce that it is quite possible that Etsy allowed Lela Warren to open yet another Etsy after, in her own words, 'numerous complaints'. Should verifiable information of that sort become available I'd be more than happy to post it.

The point here is not just the possibly TOS violating second Etsy account, but the assertion, once again, that GS 'original' ideas are being used while Lela scours Etsy for unique creations from other Artisans to sell as GS products. It's pronouncements like these that are disingenuous at best, hypocritical at worst and speak to the 'do as I say, not as I do' mentality that got GlitterSniffer Cosmetics into the situation they are currently trying to recover from.

These new developments, from the release of customer information to the casting aspersions on other formulators, only serve to show that the sea change once hoped for from GS may be becoming a slippery slope instead.

You've Got Glittermail...And Another Customers Address

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:32:00 +0000

I posted recently about the store credit packages for GlitterSniffer Cosmetics. There have been some new developments with the glittermail that has been received.

In at least three cases those that received store credit packages got packages that had postage due. One of the customers who received one of these packages noticed that there appeared to be two labels on her package, one on top of the other. After removing the top label she found another label with a different customer name and address. Two other packages also had the same issue, though one was peeled back to reveal the customers own address on the second label.

The double labels could explain the postage due as it appears the label was paid and printed out for one customer, but then covered with another name and address and shipped. It is speculation at this point as to why this occurred, but it does, once again, put customer information into hands in which it does not belong. Below are pictures of two of the double labels, edited to remove personally identifying information. I am leaving in a portion of the zip code or the first letter of the city name so that it is clear these are indeed two different customer addresses.

For the first package the only issue was the postage due. The products arrived as discussed.

The second package was posted in the initial post about the store credit packages and had numerous issues aside from the double labels, including a melted soap and two of the same pigment that had striking variances in color.

You'll recall that less than a month ago GS posted pictures with customers names and addresses clearly visible on their Facebook Fan Page for a period of approximately 12 hours, an issue the company has refused to acknowledge, other than to remove the photo after a post to this blog. I previously contacted the FTC regarding other privacy issues as well. The company has now shown repeatedly that they release customer information without thought or care of repercussion or even alerting their customers that their personally identifying information has been released. While this latest privacy issue may have been a simple oversight or a case of bad judgment it gives pause to the notion that GS is doing everything in their power to do things correctly.

You've Got Glittermail!

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:06:00 +0000

I posted the other day that the store credit packages from GlitterSniffer Cosmetics had been given Delivery Confirmation numbers. Those packages began arriving yesterday. In all I have almost 150 pictures of packages. It would be overwhelming to post them all so I'll post a select few here.
All of the packages that I have seen arrived well packaged with only one leak. They were bagged together according to product type: Pigment or Soap. Included in each was a sheet which listed ingredients for all products. This sheet also had a manufacturers/distributor statement, but no listing of net weight or uses. There were individual labels on some, but not all, the products. Most pigments came unlabeled individually, with no indication of the names.

It is important to note that since the products were all packaged in plastic bags together by product type that the sheet included appears to meet FDA requirements for labeling, as long as everything that needs to be on a label is present. The missing net weight information and, especially, the uses are troubling as these items are required for labels. Since GS uses ingredients such as Ferric Ferrocyanide and Chromium Oxide Green in some of their pigments it is important that it be noted these shades are not approved for lip use in the US. This was not indicated on the sheet, in the packages, nor is this information available on the site.

The store credit packages were given for those that either asked for the credit in lieu of a refund, were only eligible for store credit, or, in one case, as a gesture of good faith. Those with store credit sent their requests, with color families and preferred products, though as far as can be determined no one was able to make specific requests.

What follows are photos of the packages. They will be separated according to package and, when the information is available to me, how much the store credit was for. In all I have been sent photos of four packages and I am publishing photos from each.

Package 1, around $50.00 in store credit. There were no issues with this package. None of the colors were named.

Package 2, $40.00 in store credit. The package came with $.85 postage due, there is what appears to be hair embedded in one of the soaps, an unidentified 'toothpicklike' foreign object packaged in another, unidentified black spots on another. This customer had requested no soap be included in her package.

Something resembling a hair embedded in the soap

'Toothpicklike' object in the packaging

Black spots

Postage Due

Package 3, around $30.00 in store credit. There were no names on any of the pigments, something had leaked in the bag containing the perfume items, the massage bar arrived melted, and the solid perfume had no discernible scent except wax.

A Leak

Melted Massage Bar

Solid Perfume with No Scent

Package 4. This package arrived with $3.28 postage due, a melted massage bar with a brown lump in it, a half full glitter vial, and both a fullsize and sample of the pigment Rings of Saturn. Rings of Saturn was swatched for comparison purposes. After opening and swatching the pigment the customers eyes became irritated and puffy. Previous to this the customer had never had a reaction to any GS pigments.

Melted Massage Bar

Unidentified Brown 'Lump" in the Melted Massage Bar

This Collection was originally released in February

Rings of Saturn. Swatched dry on bare skin, 2 swipes each. Left swatch is the sample, right is the fullsize.

I want to thank everyone for sharing.

**8/5/11 ETA** Moved a photo from Package 1 to Package 3 as it uploaded incorrectly.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and Amazon Payments- A Quick Update

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:16:00 +0000

As of right now it is impossible to make a purchase from the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics site using Amazon Payments. Amazon Payments is currently the only payment option listed but an error message appears when you attempt to place the order.

Perhaps GS is currently switching over to their new payment processor, or there are errors with integration. It wouldn't be the first time. We will see in the coming hours or days what comes to pass with Amazon Payments.

As an aside, confirmation emails have begun arriving in the inboxes of those that either chose or were told they only qualified for store credit by GlitterSniffer Cosmetics. Entitled "Your pretty's are on the way!" it contains a DC number and an expected ship date of 8/3/11. If the ship date is correct then people should be reciving the first products shipped out by the company in months within 1-3 days.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and Amazon Payments

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:13:00 +0000

I received two emails regarding the Amazon Payments post from July 30, 2011.

The first was from GlitterSniffer Cosmetics President Lela Warren asking for a retraction or correction of the post. She stated that the information contained in the post was false. She also asked that I remind people that should anyone email Amazon and get the GS account shut down refunds would not be able to commence. She is also very disappointed in me.

I emailed her in response and asked for supporting documentation that anything posted was incorrect and committed to correcting or retracting anything that was in error, as has always been my policy. I have received no response.

The other email I received was from a seller who uses Amazon Payments. This seller informed me that they have never had to confirm shipment prior to receiving funds.

A commenter on the Complaints Facebook page, however, had a different experience, and was required to confirm shipment.

The Amazon Payments issue appears to still be up in the air as to what expectations Amazon has in terms of using them as a payment processor. I contacted Amazon Payments with questions about their policies (without mentioning GS, but as an interested potential client), but have yet to hear back from them. Should the post need to be amended I will do so willingly and as quickly as possible, though from the looks of it Amazons terms may be a moot point, as GS is planning on moving to their third payment processor in less than a week.

It should also be noted that Lela Warren visited the Complaints Facebook page and posted a comment that left no doubt as to her intentions.

A couple of things in regard to this comment: The post about Amazon Payments, as written, serves as an examination of GS' business practices, showing that despite the commitment to taking things slow and doing them correctly the company jumped back in without having a complete understanding of what they agreed to or how to implement it. At no point was it intimated that I had contacted Amazon about shutting down the account, nor did I incite anyone to to do any such thing. This is one of the aspects of this situation that puzzles me, the thought that anyone has the power over others to compel them to do anything. If that were the case I'd have used my incredible Svengali-like mind powers to make Lela give people refunds months ago. Brass tacks, people will do what they want to do; it's a matter of free will and I don't think that's something that Lela quite understands.

The other piece of this is the fact that Lela was able to comment at all. Lela Warren was banned from the Complaints Page for repeated violations of the posting guidelines. As a matter of fact, during the discussions about the refund process she asked for her posting rights to be restored. I declined and considered the matter settled. So how was she able to comment despite the ban on her account? Simple. She has two accounts.

I have posted previously regarding Lela Warren's Facebook account. She opened her current Lela GlitterSniffer Warren account after having her original Facebook account deactivated by Facebook for advertising. Not only did the original account violate Facebook terms for advertising, but the second account violates the terms in its very existence. Once Facebook shuts down your account you do not simply open another. The terms of use are very clear on this. Also very clear is the policy on having more than one account.

You will not create more than one personal profile.

The plain fact of the matter is this: When the owner of a company commits to doing things the right way they must follow through on that commitment at every turn, up to and including the use of a social networking site. It stands to reason that people would still have questions about intent when even the simplest of rules are not being followed.

It's a very simple process. If you don't want people to question what it is you are doing make every effort to do it correctly, or when there is an issue be upfront, honest, take ownership, and fix it. The existence of the dual Facebook accounts is just an example of the behavior that got GS where it is today. Another is the release of customer information, including names and addresses, posted to the company Facebook page for a period of 12 hours. Though the photo was removed there was absolutely no acknowledgement of the issue by the company, nor was at least one of the affected customers contacted to make them aware of the issue. Things do not simply go away or not happen because they are ignored. There is a basic truth to all of this. If you do not wish for these things to be posted about don't engage in any behaviors that would warrant the posts.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if all I had to post about was people receiving refunds nothing would make me happier. But I made a commitment when I started this blog and it was to post things as factually as possible. Issues cannot be overlooked simply because there is a refund carrot being dangled at the end of a stick. To do so would be unethical and negate the very purpose of the blog, which was to examine these business decisions so that people could make safe, informed decisions. To expect that it would change course because Lela wants it to is ludicrous.

And so I will continue to post about all aspects of GS business. The outcome of that business does not rest on me but on the decisions and actions of the company. Accepting that and fixing the issues instead of deflecting culpability onto others is the first, and most needed, step for the company to remain viable. It's a step the company will have to take itself.

Others Experiences-Issanna Followup

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:17:00 +0000

I received an email today from former GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Vice President Issanna. This post is a followup to her initial story and where she stands now in terms of GS. I am posting it as I received it, unedited and in full.

I can’t begin writing this without first thanking everyone who was so supportive of my last post on here. I can’t tell you how terrifying it was to retell the story of what happened to me while I worked for Glittersniffer Cosmetics. I am a very private person and it was opening myself up in a way I am not use to doing. I received many emails from people offering their support, I also received many from people who also had negative experiences with Lela, but who were too scared to share them and come forward. I never realized how many people would take the time to read what I wrote, let alone care as much as they have. To affect to many people and help along the way of their own personal healing processes from this ordeal made me know I did the right thing in posting my story. So, again I sincerely thank each of you, even those you simply made comments on the blog, or who just read it and said nothing.

I have been asked many times what has happened since I posted on this blog. Well, I can tell you I did start my own company and it has been the most amazing experience of my life. Basically, for me, my life right now is a dream come true. As painful as everything that happened with Lela was, the fact that I can today state that I have my own company, is something I still have to pinch myself some mornings to remind myself it is all real. I do not do much else besides work these days and I wouldn’t change that for the world- my company and my clients are my number 1 priority.

However, sadly, Lela still has not had to face a single repercussion from her mistreatment of me. What I have learned about our government and their laws is that you can do almost anything to someone as long as they live in a different state from you, except for murder, and almost all but get away with it. Nothing will happen to Lela, unless she for some reason she comes to the state of California, where she will then be arrested and have a court proceeding for the crimes she has committed. The only way to force her to California is to have the FBI literally go and pick her up and for as much damage she has caused in my life and others, and as many laws she has broken, something like that would cost the government more money than they could wish to spend. at least for now. With Glittersniffer Cosmetics in the midst of trying to reopen my detective has referred to it as a “waiting game” for Lela to simply slip up once, badly enough, and it could be that extra little bit to make things move forward.

It hurts me, I won’t lie, to basically have her walk all over me and feel so defenseless. I am not the type of person who can go and do something in retaliation. At the end of the day I am not Lela, I do not conduct myself in the same ways she does and I still feel it is wrong to do things like this to another person.

What is more important to me than receiving the money I am owed, are two things. The most important would be that no one else is hurt by Lela. I support the complaints blog and their decisions as I just want there to be a continued supportive forum for those who want to seek the truthful information about her and her products. The second thing, I would love is to have my emails back. I know it will probably never happen, but so many sentimental and important things were taken from me that I can never replace. All I can do is be honest as it has left a chip in heart.

It is important to know that Lela has tried to contact me, and recently. It was all very inappropriate, but I will touch on that in a moment.

When I heard Lela was trying to reopen Glittersniffer Cosmetics I felt sick to my stomach. At some point you have to say enough is enough and know when to quit. Lela was closed for approximately 2 months… and from the looks of it did nothing except bide her time before trying to reopen. It felt wrong when I was told she was only planning on refunding people once she had orders coming in. I was in that place of having no money, when she didn’t pay me. So to open my own company I worked about 8 months at a crappy job where I only made around minimum wage and I worked as much as I could to put funds aside every week in order to have the money I needed to open. I do not understand why Lela has chosen the route she has other than she just doesn’t care to put the effort into working hard somewhere to really fix the problems she has created. I feel as though this whole time she could have saved money so that she could have paid everyone back up front and then buy her supplies and have money to ship her first sets of orders on time. Again, these are my opinions and they prout from my deepest dear which is having to hear she is hurting more people.

Here are some facts I can write about, that I feel are important to share.
I did thank the complaints page as they were successful in having my image removed off of the Glittersniffer Cosmetics facebook page. I had asked for a long time for it to be removed and it was still in the profile pictures folder with a caption of me being “vice president.” It is now deleted thank goodness, however there are now pictures of other models who have asked to have their images removed because they do not want their face associated with Glittersniffer. Their requests are still being ignored. These are models who were in the Rocker Chic photo shoot I art directed and I hope that their requests are looked upon soon as neither myself nor them ever signed a model release form, therefore giving us the complete decision over whether or not our images would or would not be used and for what purposes. Lela not adhering to such requests is against the law and can receive Cease and Desist orders for.
After this informative conversation, I received an email from one of the admins on my own companies Facebook page. Lela had “liked” the Facebook page and was commenting on the wall for me to get a hold of her. I found this to be completely inappropriate and had it immediately deleted. She is the only person “banned” from my company’s facebook page. I was told she had emailed me so I looked into my personal and my company email accounts. She is blocked on both accounts which means that if she emails me it goes right into the trash folder can so I never have to see it. Now bare with me in telling you what I found because it was literal insanity. I still can barely wrap my head around the craziness of it.
(Please note all emails between Lela and myself were forwarded in there entirety to both the detective assigned to the criminal side of my legal case and to the Glittersniffer Complaints blog to serve as documentation on the matter and to support the entry I am posting.)

In my companies email account there was 1 email from Lela dated a week before I found it. The email was short, rude and about 4 sentences long. The email asked me flat out why I was using the same pigment names as her company and that she was looking into legal action because of it.
Anyone who has read my first blog post on here, in its entirety knows how crushed I was in reading that. In fact, you would also know why I did use the same names, as I am sure Lela herself fully is aware of by now.
As a recap, I wasn’t paid in full. I wasn’t paid thousands of dollars and in branding my own line of cosmetics I decided to use names for my makeup and ideas for the line as long as they were originally my own ideas. For example, I can list five colors I have named (though some are not yet released in my store even though they are already physically ready,) Lower East Side, Tear Drop, Misshapes, Deliciously Haunted and Omnidimensionals. Respectively these names were chosen because I use to live in Lower East Side Manhatten on Clinton and Rivington St, my favorite band Portishead had a song entitled “Tear Drops,” I use to party at a club in New York called Misshapes and danced with Madonna there, Deliciously Haunted is from my favorite episode of Jem during season 3 and she is dressed like a witch, and Omnidimenstionals is the name my best friend of almost 10 years as her email address so it is basically a tribute to her. Everything I am using or will be using that I originally used for Glittersniffer there is a meaning behind, something that has significant value to me as an individual. I branded that whole long from a personal place, which is why it was so painful when everything went down the way it did. It was taking a part of what makes me… well me, and using it to make money without ever properly compensating me for it as we had agreed upon. The email from Lela, it is unforgivable in my eyes. Those are the first words she has tried to communicate with me in almost a year. Legally I have every right to use these names and will continue to use them for as long as I am alive and my company is operational.
It gets worse.
I did not respond to this email, but then looked at the trash folder in my personal email account. There were two emails from Lela and they were from the very same day. It was a true shed of light to her unstable life and how she conducts herself. Both emails begged me, literally begged me to call her. Still no apologies, but she called me “Izzy” and sent me pictures of the two of us together while she was in California. She said she wanted me to hear the sincerity in her voice and to call her right away and she missed me…
So what happened in 1 weeks time to make Lela go from threatening my company to begging me to call and forgive her? I can only speculate that it was because in her attempts to reopen she has been asked about her intentions with fixing things with me and realized she could not sweep it under the rug.

I wrote Lela back and was very short and direct in stating to her as I have done on here, as to why I was using some of the same makeup names and it would have been thoughtful of her to realize that and perhaps brand her own line of cosmetics without someone else doing all the work for her. I told her I would not call her, at all. I told her we have nothing to ever talk about. What she has done to everyone is very, very morally wrong, in my opinion. What she did to me, was in fact, a federal and civil crime. She and I will never speak on the phone. It can never be fixed to be like “old times” as the only times I remember was her making me feel, everyday, that I was not good enough at my job. That is something I never wish to revisit. I told her that sending me an image of us together only reminds me of how hurt I was when she put me through all that she has.
I ended the email stating that unless she was going to email me to tell me she was sending me the money she owes me or to give me back my emails than there is just nothing to say. Though I did redirect her to speak to my detective and said how he would be happy to assist her in this situation. After I emailed her I went back to work. I barely have time to take a break long enough to watch a movie for fun let alone check my emails for personal reasons these days.
While I was working Lela wrote me back asking to again call her. She claimed she would not “yell” at me. When I did not respond she wrote me a second time saying to forget the whole thing. She wrote that her family all of a sudden discovered she was trying to speak with me and they were upset with her so as much as she wanted things fixed she could not keep trying.
In other words I refused to speak to her and she did not want a paper trail of our conversation and since I would not play by her rules, she gave up.
I wrote her a final email telling her I do not have time for playing games and any further communication could be done through my detective of the Complaints Blog. I re-blocked her and moved on. I refuse to let this person affect another day of my life the way that she has. She completely broke me as a person,. I was not physically okay, a part of me really was broken and I couldn’t physically talk to anyone and had no money or really anything and I have worked so very hard to put myself back together and make a better life for myself.
I will add that at the end of Lela’s emails there is an automatic attachment at the end saying everything is confidential and not to be shared with anyone because she is the president of the company, etc, etc.
That would be like me stating at the end of this blog post that I am queen of cupcake land which can be found at the end of a rainbow and have a ranch of pink ponies in my backyard so I commend all who read this never to drive a car again. Lela does not have a business license, she is not a legit business. She sells too many items to be considered a “hobbyist.” Even if Lela had made Glittersniffer Cosmetics a Sole Proprietorship, she still wouldn’t be President, that is a title reserved for heads of LLC’s and Corporations. She would simply be the “owner,” that is how a lawyer or a court would view her as, at least here in California. Again, however she is not a legally run business and as such I feel no need to keep what she has said to me a secret. I will not be her doormat anymore.
That sadly is not where this update ends either.
I received a phone call from one of the admins of the Glittersniffer Complaints Facebook page, she called me to be a good friend and tell me that Lela made a comment on her personal page. It was made about my company and another girls company. Well you have all seen it as the comment was posted here on the Complaints Blog. She did name my company in this and I was dumbfounded. Just days after all the emails I just wrote about and then this? I will take this opportunity now to state that the only thing that ever happened with my company is before I was open or had a DBA or a seller’s permit- I was at home formulating and creating my cosmetic line. I found out that one of my four suppliers sent me two micas that were labeled wrong. They told me that they were vegan (literally on the phone, I always call to double check something is vegan before I purchase it for the first time,) the micas had been labeled on the website as vegan and a sticker label on the bags of mica stated they did not have any non-vegan products in them. However, it turns out that they both had carmine in them- a crushed up bug and so I did not continue using those 2 micas. I had only created 4 loose eye shadow colors using them and so I reformulated them before launching. How she would know anything about that I do not know, but I was very lucky to find out about this before I opened so that I could fix the issue. Nothing was ever, not eye safe or unapproved. Here’s the thing, there are indie companies who were already opened and I commend each and every one of them, including the other company named by Lela, for doing a proper recall on the products. It is not a formulators fault if they are told by suppliers the wrong ingredients for a product. It is only their responsibility to be honest and tell their clients and recall the products, reformulate them if they need to switch the ingredients used in the issue of something being not safe, and just well… be honest and fix it. Stuff like that happens, it’s what we do to fix it that is important. These other companies did not purposefully use anything that was unsafe and the moment they found out, they were not embarrassed, they were compassionate. For all the bad things Lela has done, it is equally as important to acknowledge those who do things the right way.
And here we are again friends. Currently up to date and me feeling very exposed in sharing my story. I wanted to continue in sharing with you as I know many of you have felt frustrated in Lela’s attempts to reopen. All I can say is to stay strong; voice’s are louder when there are more of them. Continue to appropriately share your stories so that hopefully those who have never heard about her can make the well thought out decision over whether or not they wish to purchase items from her. And they still might in fact buy from her even with all that is out there, but at least you know you used your voice and you offered them the truth instead of them walking in blind.

Lela does not have much else going on- she has the internet and the interactions it brings her. She uses this, in my opinion, as an outlet in an unhealthy way. When people have asked me advice on how to handle their personal issues with her, I have asked them to simply remember at the end of their day they have so much more than she does and to just “unlike” her company online, delete her or whatever you need to do to cut that tie and move on knowing that you tried to help others. She thrives on the drama it creates for her, giving her more reasons to probe further and push buttons. I know of so many people who still “like” her company page, only for the purpose of seeing the train wreck ensue, but I advocate to like the Complaints page instead, giving them the support as they are very on top of sharing with us what is going on without onlookers aiding in her making any more money.

There are so many, literally soooo many amazing indie makeup companies out there. I feel lucky to have talked to most of the owners who all work so hard to offer people safe and quality products. Lela has made it very difficult to own an indie cosmetics company; she has made it hard not to cringe at glitter and to have hope in the United States legal system. I do not know if everyone will receive their refunds, I hope so, but in my heart of hearts I know that even those getting them are not receiving the full amount they should be and they will always be left with a bitter taste in their mouths.
I can tell you that I am being very active in having there be a way to let those who care know, which indie companies follow FDA guidelines. Please look for another post about that very soon.
Thank you again for taking the time to read what I have to say and I hope this post can help those of you to heal who still have not been able to.

**8/2/11 ETA**
For those using Blogger you'll note that there have been posting issues for a few weeks. For some reason the second paragraph and the end I wrote did not publish. I am adding them here now.

I can confirm I do have in my possession the email exchanges between Issanna and Lela, that Issanna's company was one being referenced by Lela in regards to using unapproved ingredients, and that the shade reformulation prior to launch due to a supplier issue did happen and was posted about at the time the issue occured, though I did not name Issanna's company specifically in the post.

I'd like to thank Issanna for taking the time to share her story and her thoughts, as well as for her continued support.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics- TOSing Amazon Payments Out The Window

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 19:54:00 +0000

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics re-relaunched today with Amazon Payments as their payment processor. The company announced that shipments would not commence for two weeks due to a hold on funds from their new payment processor.

In terms of the refund process, for those that chose to pursue it, this would seem to be a heartening development. However, it appears the company once again did not read the not so fine print.

From Amazon Payments:

Note: To be paid by Amazon Payments, you must confirm shipment of your orders.

And what is 'confirming shipment' for Amazon Payments?

Confirm Shipment
Confirming shipment means that you tell us when you hand over the order to the shipping carrier. A shipping confirmation includes the date (and even time) the order was dropped off, as well as the shipping carrier used for delivery. Most domestic carrier services provide a way to check the status of a delivery while it's in transit, from the moment they receive the package until the time it's delivered to the customer. Your customers will love the extra convenience and peace-of-mind this offers as they can anticipate getting your items. See Confirming My Shipments for information on confirming shipping.

And:

After you ship your order, you confirm shipment. Confirming shipment is required —you simply tell us that you've sent the order, including the date sent, the carrier used, and any tracking information about the package. As soon as you confirm shipment, we'll charge the customer. If you do not confirm shipment, then you are not be paid for the order. After 30 calendar days have elapsed since an order was placed, we'll automatically cancel it. See the User Agreement for more information.

In order for GlitterSniffer Cosmetics to confirm shipment they must actually ship the item. For GS to be paid the order must be confirmed. So, if a+b then c. According to their payment processor GS must ship out the product (and confirm that shipment with carrier info, date, and tracking number) prior to the customer being charged, negating GS' assertion that they cannot ship for two weeks due to waiting on funds from their payment processor. Either they plan to ship prior to confirming shipment and charge to the customer as per the terms set forth by their payment processor or they are planning to confirm shipments without actually sending the items, a probable violation of the terms of their new payment processor. From the announcement on the main screen of their new website it appears to be the latter.

Another interesting thing to note is that Amazon Payments has a very specific set of requirements for their sellers, as per their User Agreement (TOS). One in particular is their standards for Privacy Policies:

(g) if you use the Service for business purposes, you will accurately describe your use of Personal Information and your use of our Services in your Privacy Policy

Amazon Payment requires a posted Privacy Policy in order to use their service. This is what is currently posted on the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics site in regards to their terms:

There is no Privacy Policy listed on the Terms of Use page for the new GS site. In fact there is no Privacy Policy listed ANYWHERE on the site.

Lela Warren posted on the GS Cosmetics Fan Page on 7/11/11 that

I am taking my time to make sure everything is done properly as well efficiently.

One cancelled payment processor and two seeming TOS violations on the new payment processor an hour into relaunch does not seem proper or efficient.

I'd like to make absolutely clear that my goal, as it has always been, has been refunds for all those affected by GS' past business practices. It was Lela Warren's own terms that it must be done by a successful relaunch of GlitterSniffer Cosmetics. While I'd like nothing more than to post about said refunds and bring this matter to rest 'successful relaunch' does not just mean reopening and selling. It means abiding by every rule, regulation, law,and TOS that GS agreed to when they opened for business. Until GS can not only commit to doing that but show in their actions and business practices that it is being done every single minute that they are in business the launch will continue to see issues. And that responsibility lies with GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and GlitterSniffer Cosmetics alone.

**ADDENDUM**
During the writing and editing of this post GlitterSniffer Cosmetics sold out of at least one listing, The Control Freak 3 Stack.

There is still no Privacy Policy listed on the site. By initiating these sales without listing this policy GlitterSniffer Cosmetics has now, without question, violated Amazon Payments User Agreement.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics: Driven to Distraction

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:14:00 +0000

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics relaunched today with the new website and the new payment processor, Propay.

Lela Warren has gone out of her way to show how much hard work she has put into this relaunch. With that amount of dedication to her own business it's hard to understand how she has time to be focusing on what other companies may or may not be doing.

As has always been my practice I have edited out the identity of the commenter who actually named the companies, though I will state that this is a close family member whose interest in cosmetics lies only with the fact that there is a family connection with Lela and it would be very beneficial for them if GS was able to recover financially.

I have also redacted the names of the two companies. I spoke with one of the formulators and an Complaints Page Admin has been in touch with the other and they are readying a response to these allegations. It should be noted, however, that the two companies in question have had previous, very close ties with GlitterSniffer Cosmetics, though neither of them are in any way associated with them now.

Lela was informed on this thread that others have been posted about regarding these issues and was encouraged to bring any concerns to me. Though Lela stated she had direct contact with me I have received absolutely no communication from her regarding these accusations, nor been provided with any proof. In fact, aside from the refund information posted almost two weeks ago, I've not heard from her at all.

I did check the current listings for ingredients for both of these companies and had my research vetted by another seasoned formulator. There is nothing listed that we were able to find that is not approved for eye use.

While it is nice to see Lela admitting her guilt in using unapproved ingredients in the past, perhaps her time would be better spent elsewhere, like informing the two customers whose names and addresses were posted on the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Facebook Page that their personally identifying informaion was released on the worlds largest social network for a period of about 12 hours. The photo was removed after the post to this blog, but no announcement or acknowledgement of the issue was forthcoming from GS. I was able to contact at least one of the affected parties, and had it not been for me doing so, she would have no idea that her information was publicly released. I have no way of informing the other affected person except for sending a physical letter, as I do have their address.

And what about ingredients? GlitterSniffer Cosmetics has posted an entire page listing everything by INCI in all of their products.

Overlooking the obvious typo in Yellow 5 Lake, it all seems in good order, though it's curious that there is no mention of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or glitter as it is more commonly known), especially for shades being sold as "glittery".

An oversight, perhaps. Or it's possible the sparkle seen in the lower left shade was added when the photo was 'brightened'.

Photo editing would certainly explain the lack of PET or similar in the ingredients and also explain the disclaimer that the shades may vary due to the handcrafted nature of the product, a disclaimer unique to GS a disclaimer unique to GS in its wording.

With GlitterSniffer Cosmetics now back in swing we will see what, if anything, the company plans to do to focus on these concerns. As for the other two companies a response should be forthcoming soon.

**Addendum**

During the writing and editing of this post it was announced that Propay would no longer be the payment processor for GlitterSniffer Cosmetics.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics: Readying Packages and Releasing Customer Information

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:29:00 +0000

I apologize that I have been out of pocket. I have much to post and am going to condense it all into one post to streamline, outlining the happenings of the past week or so. I appreciate your understanding.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics is working double time in order to gear up to open and begin sales.

Posted yesterday was a link to the new website as well as a Shop tab added to the Facebook Page.

On 7/22/11 GlitterSniffer Cosmetics posted a variety of pictures showing packages ready to be shipped out for those that requested store credit in lieu of a refund. There are no discernible ingredients labels in any of the photos. This is not to say they aren't being included elsewhere in the package to meet regulations, however. Once the packages begin going out will we know for certain.

What is troubling is that in at least one of these photos customer information, including name and address, is clearly visible for anyone to see. When conversing via email with Lela regarding FTC regulations on customer privacy during the exchange of refund information (for which I directed her to the FTC themselves) she stated in no uncertain terms she would be calling them to ensure she was meeting their guidelines. Though I don't claim to be an expert regarding FTC regulations it is doubtful that posting customers name and address on the internet meets those guidelines. (Picture has been edited to remove personally identifying information though I have the original intact).

Inadvertent though this may be it still constitutes an major issue for GS, namely that the focus on following all guidelines is not what it needs to be at this point.

Also this week on the GS Fan Page (which is *still* moderating comments) a post went up regarding Scentsy, with a link to purchase to help fund GS reopening. Lela stated she would not be receiving the funds but that supplies would be being purchased for GS, presumably with the profits the Scentsy seller is making from the purchases. Currently there is only one person who publicly announced a purchase, an (as of July 18, 2011) "associate" of GS who has been assisting in getting the company up and running.

It is not clear how being an "associate" of GlitterSniffer Cosmetics works, if it is a paid postion or not, but she was welcomed to the team, though currently there are only two employees publicly listed for GS besides Lela Warren, Brandy Cameron and Katherine Huhl-Herndon.

A new Private GS group was created ostensibly for the fans to post without being "harassed via messages". While there were instances in the past of others contacting fans via PM on Facebook in an effort to educate them on the past issues it should be noted that I have never done so myself. I was, however, contacted on July 18, 2011 on my own private Facebook profile via PM by a GS associate regarding matters related to GS, despite the email address for all things GlitterSniffer Cosmetics related being publicly available on the Complaints Facebook Page. I have yet to respond to the message but encourage the person to contact me via email to discuss the matter. I will again reiterate publicly that any owner, employees, affiliates, associates, or family members of GlitterSniffer Cosmetics or Lela Warren should contact me via that email address only.

It has been my policy in the past not to post any information I received from the previous GS Private Group. The group as it was was run by fans for fans and although Lela was an Admin and a member it felt very invasive to me to post from that group. As it now stands the new Private Group was created by Lela herself and she is the sole Admin (even encouraging people to add her personal profile to be added to the group and despite her assertion she would not be running it). Therefore I have changed my stance on posting anything as it pertains to the Private Group as this is yet another extension of the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics business. Posting of information from the new GS Private Group is in line with GS' new policy of openness with any information regarding their business practices.

And what of those business practices that brought GS to this point? As posted previously Lela has had issues separating business from personal, and actually lost her original Facebook account due to advertising (the second and third Facebook accounts are TOS violations). She admitted that keeping up with so many different forms of communication caused issues and repeatedly asked people not to contact her regarding GS on her personal profile (after telling them to add her to do so). Why then is Lela encouraging people to add or message her through her personal Facebook?

It also seems premature to be entertaining the idea of offering store credit/discounts as prizes, offering possible discounts to those inquiring about ordering, or sponsoring contests, especially when that cuts into the profit margin that is to be going to refunds, no matter how miniscule that cut may be.

As a quick update to the Refund information posted on July 11, 2011, I have not been contacted regarding the refund amount due nor with any information regarding the charities (TWLOHA, GLAAD, ASPCA) that Lela said she would be contacting to discuss the $3000.00 owed to them. Lela updated here stating she had contacted two of them, but there was no information given as to which they were or what the outcome was. She states that as soon as the third charity responds she will release that information. The note also states she provided FDA with her labels and ingredient information. She also states that FDA has been informed of the intent not to wear gloves while placing sifters in pots (or other tasks where this may "cause more harm than good"). GS is back to manufacturing again but has not, as yet, posted videos of this process as stated they would in this note. The refund form was posted to the GS Fan Page and a deadline of August 15, 2011 was enacted. When questioned Lela stated it will be GS policy not to accept returns or exchanges and she did not want new customers to be confused by the current refund process. It was also announced that refunds would be for $2.00 per jar, far less than the original amount offered. I have also been informed that 15% of the profits (minus shipping costs) will go towards refunds.

While it is still my sincere hope that everyone affected by GlitterSniffer Cosmetics past business practices gets the refunds due to them the lingering issues do seem pervasive, especially the release of customer information, the amount being offered for refund (when customers provided proof of what they actually paid), and the dependance upon personally befriending Lela Warren for business purposes. This is in addition to the quality control concerns posted last week. One would hope that prior to proceeding these issues would have been recognized and a plan in place to prevent the same issues from recurring but sadly, it seems they have not.

7/3/11 ETA: Removed a piece of PII. I regret the oversight.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics: Quality Control Concerns

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:53:00 +0000

With the attempted reopening of GlitterSniffer Cosmetics there are still many issues and concerns that need to be addressed. The first of those, refunds, were addressed the other day. Another issue facing GS is the issue of quality control.

I've previously posted photos showing the packing and formulating processes of GS. The photo below has not yet been published to the blog and I include it here as a gentle reminder that the concerns in the past with packaging without the use of gloves appear to be valid. It shows an ungloved hand, covered in pigment, holding a stacker.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Proprietor Lela Warren has both in the past and within the last few days committed to doing things the right way in attempting to reopen GS.

Last week Lela asked on her personal page for assistance with many aspects of the GS relaunch. One of the tasks she asked for help with was preparing samples. Whoever took advantage of this offer was to keep half for themselves and package the remaining portion. There were several affirmative responses to this offer.

While it is understandable that in attempting a relaunch GS may need help with certain tasks there are some that should, as a matter of safety and manufacture compliance, fall absolutely under their purview. There is no way, even with a list of rules, that GS can 100% confirm that these samples are to be made in a clean, sterile, and safe environment. In entrusting packaging to internet friends from a social networking site the company is going down the same path it has already been down previously. These business decisions show a lack of forethought in terms of all the implications in making them, however inadvertent those implications may be and are a cause for concern in terms of the relaunch.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Refund Information

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 02:53:00 +0000

I was contacted via email yesterday by GlitterSniffer Cosmetics proprietor Lela Warren. Lela asked for my assistance in obtaining information to address the refund issues. The following is the plan currently in place to address any monies owed by GlitterSniffer Cosmetics for recalled product, unreceived product, consignments, and fundraisers/charities.

If you purchased recalled products, did not receive product for which you paid, worked with GS on a consignment basis, or had a fundraiser in your name GS asks that you email them using the form provided below. They ask that this format be used so it will be easier for tracking purposes. You will receive an automated response to your email which will serve as your confirmation that your information has been received and has been put into queue for refund. For those affected by the recall the information provided in the email should be sufficient to find your original purchase receipt in GS' records. If the receipt is unable to be located GS will then contact you and ask for either a forwarded email receipt or a screenshot of the Paypal purchase. No products will need to be shipped back to the company to qualify for a refund as your receipt will serve as your proof of purchase. Any information provided to GS will be used for the purposes of refund only.

There is no set timeline at this point for when GS will begin selling again or for how long the refund process will take. A percentage as yet to be determined of GS weekly sales will be earmarked specifically for refunds. GS will provide to me on a weekly basis totals and proof of refunds. I will track the progress to ensure that refunds are being remitted in a timely manner and I will post the weekly totals until such time as all refunds have been paid in full. Lela has stated that she is committed to making this right and has welcomed my continued monitoring of the situation to ensure that the process goes smoothly. If for any reason your refund is denied I ask that you please let me know. While I am not actively involved in the refund process except to post as I always have I do believe that any denials are very germane into shedding light on GS commitment to the refund process.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics does plan to use funds made from the sale of cosmetics to issue these refunds. Lela has stated that she intends to be fully FDA compliant in the manufacture and sale of these products. FDA has a visit scheduled this week for GS and Lela will be working with them to ensure compliance.

This will be a slow process. Since sales are not expected to be what they once were it may take some time but Lela has committed to refunding everyone who is entitled. This is contingent upon GS being able to operate as a business without interference as currently it is beyond Lela's means to issue refunds with her current work situation .

Lela will be contacting TWLOHA, GLAAD, and ASPCA to work out the issue of the charity funds. Ideas at this point include volunteer work, item donation,or a percentage of the weekly refund money to be specifically earmarked for the charities. There will be further information regarding the charities once they have been contacted.

The refunds will be processed in the order in which they are received, save for Vanessa Barfield and Christie Brooks. At my suggestion GS will be remitting the funds due to them first as their particular situations predated the recall. Lela is still deciding at this point how much the refunds will be per pot and will make that information available as soon as a determination is made.

At this point the GS Facebook Fan Page is once again active and several public posts have been made by Lela. Comments are being moderated so if you choose to post to the page it may not appear immediately. Lela does not have posting privileges to the Complaints Page and there are no plans for her access to be restored.

Here is the form GS requests that anyone wanting a refund send via email to glittersniffercosmetics@gmail.com. They ask that the form be filled out as completely as possible in this format to make the process of finding receipts easier and to speed the process along. Please use the subject line 'Refund Request' to make the email easier to catagorize.

Customer Name- (Name used to place order)
Customer Email- (Email used to place order)
Order Date-
Order Amount-
Transaction ID's- Not required, send only if available
Did you order through Paypal or by other means?
What did you order?
In the event that we cannot find your receipt for this order, do you have access to it?
Any other information you might feel help us help you?

Lela has stated that she is open to any suggestions or feedback that anyone may have regarding GlitterSniffer Cosmetics or the refund process. She is well aware that not everyone will agree with this course of action and states she is fully prepared for whatever reaction may come from her decision to reopen. She maintains that she is committed to her business and will be posting a journal that will be readily accessible to all via the GS Fan Page in order to keep people informed and solicit feedback. She intends to do everything she can to make GS a success.

Though I have had in depth conversations regarding this decision on the part of GlitterSniffer Cosmetics in terms of the refund process the final decision to move forward rests with GS and, ultimately, Lela, as do the consequences and repercussions of that decision and the commitments being made. I will continue to post about the situation to ensure that refunds are being remitted and all guidelines are being followed and will not hesitate to publish whatever the outcome may be.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics-Duly Noted

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:12:00 +0000

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics proprietor Lela Warren has posted several Facebook notes in the past 24 hours addressing what exactly is going on with her company.

The first can be seen here.

She loves me, she loves me not...
by Lela Glittersniffer Warren on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 11:14am
The last 6 months of my life have been a hellish whirl wind of a roller coaster. I have done wrong & been wronged. I have pushed on & been pushed. I have had it all & lost it all. It is now time to move on with what I have left & do things the way they should be done. For those of you who are still here & never left my side, you're a piece of me forever. For my enemies, there is nothing I can say or do but thank you for tearing me down so I can build myself back up, the right way. What's done is done & there is no way to go back & do things differently, no matter how badly I wish with all my heart, that I could. With that being said, I have a new chapter of life to begin & I pray that you'll be a part of it. Love, Lela aka glittersniffer

In the comments on this post another note is mentioned, asking for feedback. The following is the text and the screenshots of that note.

Thank you for joining me in this conversation! I hope to gain some wisdom by listening to others and getting some input to help me get my company up and running again. I will ask general questions along the way and would love to hear what you think. Thanks again!

First of all, many of you now about the falling of my company, 'Glittersniffer Cosmetics'. If you don't, please feel free to Google it and read away. You will find a lot of dirt, some of it is true, most of it is false, and some of it is so far fetched, my friends and I read it just to laugh. I will not sweep things under the rug or pretend I am a great business woman, because I am not. Now that we agree that I suck at some things, let's move on.

I have been thinking a lot about ways that GS went wrong and examining why exactly. I won't list every single reason but I will touch base on the more important ones.

Again, please give me your input, ask ideas, correct me where I am wrong, etc...This is not a debate. This is not a Q & A. This is not a chance for you to tell me I suck. If you're not interested in making GS better, mind your own bidness.

There are many kinks and details to work out, and I will update this note when I have new developments or proposals. As of now, the VERY "general" idea is to make GS a "club" of sorts. GS will offer different sets/kits/collections, etc that will be pre-made before they are offered for sale. There will be no substitutions to this UNLESS I truly feel that I have the time to dedicate myself to custom orders. One of my biggest problems I feel I had, was that I offered way too many different products for being such a small company. I couldn't keep track of it all, I couldn't keep it all stocked, I had too many deals/discounts going on at once, etc...All in all, I was in way over my head. Having so many different items wouldn't have been such an issue if I didn't have SO many orders come in on a daily basis, with my fellow helpers not knowing what was going on, what we had, where to start, etc...So, I am not saying this is a permanent thing or that I will never offer sales or discounts, I am just saying that for now, it's the best way to offer many people several different items at once, that are pre-stocked and ready to go before they're offered. Input on above said topic?

We will have a new payment processor. You will have 2 options. To use our online credit card terminal to enter your card info OR you may call it in to the new GS phone number which will be released when we open back up. Accepting payments this way will allow me to control the flow of orders coming in and this will help tremendously.

A huge issue I had was keeping up with emails. I would get TONS a day ranging from order info, promotional offers, YouTubers/bloggers, general questions, and te list goes on. I will be putting together a huge Q & A, if you send me/us an email asking about information that can be found in the Q & A section, you will most likely receive an automated response with a link to the proper answer UNLESS I have a few extra moments to personally answer it. Another option is to have someone who's only job would be emails. Input? Volunteers? J/K :D

Not really an issue but a topic I am going to touch base on is being a vegan company. I will most likely not remain a completely vegan company as I cannot offer many color shades as I would like to, and I am very limited to the number of products I can make. I will most likely make note on every item that is/is not vegan so it makes shopping easy. Input?

I have a few options on where to sell. I can re-open the Artfire shop, sell off of the fan page, or via email/phone/personal contact. The final answer will depend on which one will work best with our new payment platform, it is very important to me that shopping and paying are easy, quick, and give me the information I need to correctly process orders. What appeals to you the most?

The fan page. The fan page can be my best friend and at times, my biggest headache. I will most likely find people who would like to help me run the fan page so that I do not have to devote so much time to it (volunteers? :D ) . There will be posted rules for the fan page and those who do not comply, will not be welcome to post. Most posts will have to be approved before they will show up.

Shipping. As always, we will use USPS. I would like to strictly use Priority Mail shipping however not everyone likes this of the cost, especially if shipping costs more than the actual item purchased so I am considering offering First Class or Priority, depending on the order total. All orders will come with a tracking number. I will not be able to determine shipping days or frequency of shipping until I get closer to opening up again. Would you prefer Priority shipping or First Class?

Company mission/rules. I have written these before and I used to put them in action for awhile, and they would slowly slip away. While writing up company statements, I will be asking for your input and ideas. Tell me, what morals/missions/ideals do you like best about your favorite company?

Although I feel like I have covered a lot of important topics, I am sure I'm missing something so please feel free to remind me.

I don't have an expected date of when I will be selling again as I have a long To-Do list and I am not sure as to how much help I will have in completing it.

I will update this note as new information comes in and ideas are finalized. If you feel you have something to offer to myself or GS as a company, please email me or send me a message, my door is wide open :)

Alright ladies! Let's hear it!

I was going to cover this point by point but there is not much more that can be said that hasn't been said before. GlitterSniffer Cosmetics was always good in the past with the mea culpa, at least in terms of having them, if not in terms of actually following through on the promises made during them. The vegan question is moot because GS was NEVER 100% vegan. It's like GlitterSniffer Cosmetics version of Groundhog Day.

Lela Warren asks for ways to make GS better. Quite honestly, I don't know if that can be done. It will take an absolute sea change in the business practices and a complete revamp of the company as a whole. The fact that the charities and the recall refunds were not addressed at all aside from a flippant "what's done is done" is very concerning. While you cannot undo the past you can certainly make it right. Given the fact that within the past 2 weeks at least one refund request was denied by GS it appears this "shaking the dirt off" includes "shaking off" their previous customers. Not the most comforting of bellwethers for change.

We shall see over the coming weeks and months how this plays out. It is, as always, my sincere hope that GlitterSniffer Cosmetics does what is right and what they promised going as far back as October of 2010, and treat their customers, both past and present, as they themselves would like to be treated; that they will move forward with a commitment and proper plans in place to follow every rule, regulation, guideline, law, and TOS that they agreed to the minute they opened their doors as a business. Mostly I continue to hope that one day very soon I can post that all monies owed to both charities and customers has been remitted.

Buyer Beware- Coastal Scents Followup

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:21:00 +0000

I posted on June 22, 2011 regarding Coastal Scents and the issue of the safe usage of Cellini Red. Since that post there have been several new developments.

Coastal Scents (CS) has now posted the MSDS for Cellini Red (CR) and all the Cellini colors. This information was not previously available at the time of the initial post.

At least one of the formulators who had to recall shades that contacted Coastal Scents was issued a refund. The company admits that at one point in time it was listed as safe for eye use, but again gives no timeline for when the usage change occurred. The message also states the issue was corrected immediately, though as shown in the original post CS states they changed it on February 23, 2011, but were still shipping jars out marked eye safe as late as May 2011. The formulator was refunded for two full size jars and a sample.

To date there has been no indication the CS has contacted customers that purchased the Cellini Red to advise them of the change. There has been no announcement posted on their website nor communication sent via their newsletter. The last newsletter I received from Coastal Scents was on June 24, 2011, two days after the post (and one day after the MSDS sheets for the Cellinis were finally posted) and it contained info about their sales, nothing more.

At this point a sixth indie MMU company has issued a recall and another has had to push back their launch date to reformulate shades made with Cellini Red. Coastal Scents has ceased contact with the original formulator and refuses to answer her email.

Mistakes happen. When it comes down to it it is the handling of those mistakes that makes the difference. As I previously noted the formulators affected by the Cellini Red usage change have handled this beautifully, being forthcoming and correcting the issue, despite the inherent pitfalls of having to issue a recall. They all responded quickly, pulling the affected shades, notifying customers, and making the situation right.

I wish I could say that the Cellini Red issue was an isolated one. Though CS has issued at least one refund for this issue this is not the first time an issue like this has happened with Coastal Scents.

Late last year these micas were offered for sale on the Coastal Scents site, advertised as for use on eyes, lips, nails, and face.

Here are the individual listings for Perfect Mint and Mermaid Tail shown in the home screen above, advertised as safe for eye use.

Both of these micas contain Pigment Green 7 which is not approved for eye use. Upon being contacted about the issue by an alert formulator CS immediately pulled them from sale, but again, there was no communication to customers that may have purchased the micas that they were not safe to be used as they were advertised and sold.

This now makes two instances where CS has mismarked ingredients sold on their site. Though in each case corrections were made going forward (though as we saw with CR not in as timely a manner as CS would have us believe) the past issues were apparently not corrected. It is unknown at this point how many people were affected by these mismarked micas, or if there are any other issues with any other ingredients listed now or previously on the CS site.

The plain fact of the matter is that it is incumbent upon anyone who sells ingredients that they are aware will be used for formulating products to be as transparent as possible regarding any changes or issues that may occur. As illustrated by the fact that CS can send out a newsletter advertising their sales it is well within their means to make these changes abundantly clear to their customers. That they have yet to do so, and have seemingly not done so in the past, is a business practice that perhaps Coastal Scents should take a good hard look at.

**I would like to make it unequivocally clear that I have no knowledge that GlitterSniffer Cosmetics ever purchased Cellini Red from Coastal Scents. This post is about an ingredient supplier and it's effect on several MMU companies and is being posted for informational purposes as Coastal Scents has not made the information public. If you are a formulator or a person who purchased Cellini Red for personal use please take a moment to check the approved uses. Though the company is not publicly acknowledging a usage change there is a chance that what you have been sold may not be used for what you intended.**

Is GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Looking for a Clean Slate?

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 10:38:00 +0000

There were recent rumblings that the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics FaceBook Fan Page might be brought back. While that has not yet come to pass it does seem proprietor Lela Warren is attempting to get as clean a slate as possible to start fresh.

Although there was talk of bringing the FB page back it appears the GS Cosmetics MySpace is still active, though private.

Lela herself has gone to great lengths to distance herself from the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics brand, popping up online with a new persona 'pigmentchick'.

This photostream on Flickr was posted to the Complaints Facebook page on Friday, June 24, 2011. Once filled with all manner of handcrafted soaps the captions asked that if anyone wanted to try a slice to message 'pigmentchick'. The photos have since either been removed or made private. Though the profile does not give any identifying information the soaps matched the products posted to Lela Warren's personal Facebook profile (which you can view here) and the Flickr profile photo is the same as that used during GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Etsy days (of the cosmetic dipped q-tips, the pink and green of which are not eye approved).

In the event there is still any doubt that this is Lela Warren and her new online identity there is also this, a profile on Swap Style clearly showing that 'pigmentchick' and Lela Warren are one and the same.

This listing was recently posted on the Detroit area Craigslist, asking to sell or trade handmade mineral cosmetics, soaps, and wedding/party favors for craft items, with a focus on soap making.

No mention is made in any of these advertisements of the past issues with GlitterSniffer Cosmetics: Not the hundreds waiting for refunds, the ongoing FDA investigation, the charities waiting for money raised in their name, nor the TWO payment processors that refuse to do business with GS. In fact, every effort has been made not to identify these items with GS and Lela has made it a practice not to publicly announce her previous sale on June 18, 2011, or where her current products are being consigned. This does not bode well for the transparency all new customers need to make an informed decision and once again illustrates that despite the seeming move over to a concentration on soap, the slate that Lela Warren so desperately wants to make clean is not going to be washed away any time soon.

Buyer Beware- Coastal Scents Cellini Red

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 06:44:00 +0000

**I would like to make it unequivocally clear that I have no knowledge that GlitterSniffer Cosmetics ever purchased Cellini Red from Coastal Scents. This post is about an ingredient supplier and it's effect on several MMU companies and is being posted for informational purposes as Coastal Scents has not made the information public. If you are a formulator or a person who purchased Cellini Red for personal use please take a moment to check the approved uses. Though the company is not publicly acknowledging a usage change there is a chance that what you have been sold may not be used for what you intended.**

Coastal Scents Cellini Red listing has changed on their site. Once listed as safe for eye use, it is now only listed as approved for lips, face, and nails.There has been no effort on the part of CS to notify customers of this change and the issue was only brought to light by the diligence of a formulator. In the last five days five indie companies have had to issue recalls due to the use of Cellini Red in eye products. These companies were not contacted by CS themselves, but instead discovered the issue themselves, were notifed by me, or shared the information with each other. As of this post the only usage change that was found was with Cellini Red.

I emailed Coastal Scents last week to find out if Cellini Red had been reformulated and when the safe usage had changed. Here was their response:

Dear Frances

Thank you for your inquiry. As stated on our website the Cellini Red Mica (MP-024) is only approved for use on lips, face, and nails. We have not reformulated this product and it is not safe for use on the eyes due to Pigment Red 57. We trust this information was helpful and any further questions please advise.

Best regards
Coastal Scents
www.coastalscents.com

As you can see while the question of reformulation was answered, the timeframe for when the safe usage changes occurred was not.

The formulator who originally contacted CS about Cellini Red did so back in February 2011. She was concerned as she had placed an order for a full jar of Cellini Red and the ingredients on the jar did not match the sample she had previously been sent. The jar listed Red 7 Lake, which is not approved for eye use. The label on the jar clearly states that the Cellini Red she was sent not only contains Red 7 Lake, but is approved for eye use:

Prior to contacting CS she looked for a Material Data Safety Sheet but there was not one available. As of this post there is still no MSDS sheet on the Coastal Scents site for Cellini Red (or any of the Cellini's for that matter).

The formulator then contacted Coastal Scents for the information. Their correspondence is as follows (edited only to remove personally identifying information:

According to this correspondence and the MSDS sheet that Coastal Scents sent (which can be viewed here) Cellini Red did not contain Red 7 Lake and it was a labeling issue that was corrected as of February 23, 2011. Cellini Red actually contains Pigment Red 57, a derivative of Red 7. Pigment Red 57 is also not approved for eye use. What appeared to be a swift response and a correction from Coastal Scents was not all that is was cracked up to be.

The formulator ordered another jar of Cellini Red on February 25, 2011 to check the revised labeling.

The labels had been updated to change the ingredient list to include Pigment Red 57 instead of Red 7 Lake, but still indicated that it was approved for eyes, lips, face, and nails. Here is a photo of both jars together.

Even after the issue was brought to CS attention in February the labels were still incorrect, listing CR as safe for eyes when it wasn't. The site, however, still listed it as safe for eye use. The formulator at that point shelved Cellini Red until she could determine what exactly the safe uses were.

The formulator contacted CS again last week after reviewing her recipes and was assured on July 20, 2011 that the labeling and usage issue had been corrected as of February 23, 2011. Cellini Red was not approved for eye use. The information at that point had also been updated on the CS site.

Here is a jar purchased by another formulator in early May 2011.

The label clearly states it contains Pigment Red 57 but also states it is approved for eye use.

Unfortunately I was unable to locate the previous listings for Cellini Red using Google cache, but in checking out CS reviews for CR I found that initially it was not sold as eye safe, a fact that changed around March 5, 2010.

It is unknown at this point when, exactly, the approved uses were actually updated on the CS site. We know that Pigment Red 57 was changed from Red 7 Lake on the label as of late February (as evidenced by the photos), but the label still lists it as approved for eyes. This continued until at least May 2011, as per the photo from the other formulator. The issue of the safe usage of Cellini Red was brought to CS attention almost 4 months ago, but no customers who actually purchased CR were alerted as to any changes in those uses by the company, and when questioned about it this week by myself the company simply stated it wasn't eye approved, glossing over the fact that it was (and continued to be as of May 2011) sold as such. If the change was made on the CS site as of February 23, 2011, why do the labels still say approved for eye use? Why didn't CS alert any of their customers who purchased Cellini Red that the usage had changed? Why is there no MSDS sheet for CR on the Coastal Scents site even now?

It is extremely important to note that this issue stems from Coastal Scents handling of the approved usage changes, and not any formulator or Indie MMU company. Had it not been for the original formulators diligence in checking and double checking uses and ingredients the issue would never have been brought to light. In an attempt to give Coastal Scents the chance to inform customers themselves (though they've already had 4 months to do so) I held off on this post. I did reach out to as many formulators as I knew to let them know of the change. Each and every one of them immediately pulled their affected shades, contacted customers, and issued a recall. With the climate being what it is today in Indie MMU I feel it is imperative that people know not only about the Cellini Red issue, but about the professional, swift, and safe way these formulators handled the situation.

At this point it is unknown how, or even if, Coastal Scents will address the Cellini Red issue. When I contacted them they did not offer to make any sort of correction for the CR previously being sold as eye safe, though I told them it had been used to formulate eye products. The original formulator was not offered any sort of corrective measures either. A third formulator is still awaiting a response. Their Return Policy only covers products purchased within 30 days, and even then the product must be returned to CS for refund, an impossibility when it has already been distributed. Here is the disclaimer Coastal Scents currently has posted on the MSDS page. Whether or not this disclaimer will hold true for Cellini Red, which is not listed in the MSDS page, remains to be seen.

GlitterSniffer Cosmetics: Back in Business?

noreply@blogger.com (GlitterSniffer Complaints) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:21:00 +0000

There have been new developments in the past few hours with GlitterSniffer Cosmetics proprietor Lela Warren.

Though the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and GlitterSniffer Bath Artfires are still empty it seems that proprietor Lela Warren is back to distributing her wares.

It appears however, that though sales via Artfire have stopped, distribution has not. From Lela Warren's personal Facebook Page, now reopened to comments:

A thank you for support for sales made yesterday, a plea for more oils to possibly produce more product, and, once again, in probable violation of Facebook TOS (on a profile that apparently violates Facebook TOS by simply existing), sales for soap.

One could take this as a matter of the company attempting to move forward with only personal care items and not cosmetics. Except there is this.

Listia is an online marketplace where people can list things for free and buy things with credits earned for signing up and 'selling' their own listings. Apart from shipping, it appears that no money will be changing hands for this transaction. There is no word yet on how the shipping will be paid as last reported GS and Lela Warren had no payment processor.

When the listing was found there were people who voiced their concerns. I am including the screeenshots of these comments, though you will not be able to see most of them. They have been hidden from view, and those that posted have been blocked from bidding. There are some comments that are now hidden that were able to be screenshotted prior to their being hidden.

The practice of hiding comments that don't agree with the listing is akin to the deletions that ran rampant on the GS Fan Page. And Lela Warren's response to the FDA question?

I will be following up as new information develops. I still have my interview with FDA to coordinate, as well as a followup with TWLOHA on July 9, 2011 to see if the six month timeline for remittance of the charity funds has been met, and a spot check on July 29, 2011 to see if anyone has begun receiving refunds yet. That date is the day after the Paypal funds are supposed to be released.

Thank you to everyone who provided screenshots and information, and a huge debt of thanks to KimmieKarma for the Listia link.

7:29 PM CST ETA:

Listia has removed the listing.

6/20/11 ETA: Correct spelling of Lela Warren's last name in first paragraph.