Note to Glittersniffer fans: If you want to attack me, go ahead. Keep drinking the crazy Kool-aid but don't expect me to respond to you.
Part 1 of Adventures in Makeup Land was a trip into the world of repackaging, mutiny and lime criminals. This time we're going to visit a different company but it's going to be much of the same crap- with the exception of cosmetic safety which was only briefly touched last time. It's really important to be able to trust that the company you're buying from to not toss your personal safety aside for profit...
Once upon a time not very long ago there was a little indie MMU company on Etsy.com called Glittersniffer Cosmetics. In the beginning this company got plenty of favorable reviews and generated a lot of buzz! There were videos all over YouTube showing how amazing this brand was.
However, some more educated customers were less than pleased with what they had received. If you don't know what repacking is, please read Part 1. A few people were claiming some of Glittersniffer's pigments were direct repackages from TKB Trading. Here you can see some swatch comparisons. It's pretty obvious that Sammy Jo is TKB's Grape Pop.
Still, many people still loved Glittersniffer (to the point of complete insanity) and would defend Lela, the owner no matter what. The now deleted (it's baaaaack) Facebook fan page is where most of the drama played out. The GS fans would literally attack anyone who dared to question Lela. Lela herself would also delete any negative comments regarding the GS brand. Now, just to clarify- I do not have a Facebook account and did not ever visit the fan page nor did I personally purchase or use anything from Glittersniffer. All of this is based on evidence I have seen on other blogs and websites. There are screen shots to prove the nuttiness of the GS fans right over here.
The deeper you venture behind the glitter the uglier it gets. Customers weren't just having an issue with repackaging. Some were complaining about quality control because Lela "eyeballed" her recipes instead of using weights and measures. This customer shows the lack of quality control. Worse yet, others were having adverse reactions to her products. The use of non-cosmetic glitter caused corneal abrasions for this customer. Using craft glitter isn't the only issue, the big explosion surrounding glitter sniffer was the use of soap dyes. Soap dyes are not FDA approved for use on the face, and the TKB site where GS ordered them from states that.
The original listing for the infamous 80s collection of soap dyes does not state anything about having to use them "at your own risk". Glittersniffer is intentionally leading people to believe that these heinously marked-up soap dyes are safe to use as eyeshadow and liner. If you know anything about eyeliner you know that many people put it on their waterlines, a part of the lid that TOUCHES your eye! That level of irresponsibility is absolutely egregious. It does not matter if Lela updated the listing to include a disclaimer, "These pigments are FDA approved for General Cosmetic use only. This means that the FDA has not yet approved them for use on the eyes. However many major cosmetic companies such as MAC, Urban Decay, Mehron, Hot Topic, along with myself included, have been using pigments like this and have had no problems with it. But you are still using this pigment at your own risk." Here is the listing for the neon blue pigment being used, it CLEARLY states that it is not approved for ANY cosmetic use. Again, this is absolutely incredible and shows what a horrible company this is. I don't care if it may be proven safe in the future, all that matters is that it is not approved (and not allowed to be used) for use on my eyes!
GS also made claims of being a vegan company. Vegan means you do not use animal products or animal testing. However, Glittersniffer sold animal hair brushes and repackaged TKB mica that included carmine (a product from insects). Many vegans do not want to purchase from a company that sells anything non-vegan, although some are not so strict. Regardless, misrepresenting products and the company itself as vegan is yet another spoonful of awful from this company. This again shows GS does not care about customers. The company claimed to be cruelty free and vegan friendly just to make sales.
Any way, apparently at one point Glittersniffer was banned from Etsy due to not sending packages and other complaints. Yes, that's right GS was taking in money and never sending our products. Lela would pull all the typical scammer cards like personal problems, money issues, health issues, death of friends or family, etc. when confronted. She would claim to ship packages but really did nothing more than print the label.
Since GS was kicked off etsy Lela opened her own website, Glittersniffer.com. The main page states the company is on hiatus... but if you know the color names you can edit the URL and peek inside. The site itself is well designed and easy to use. You won't find the soap dye colors or any of the supposed repacks on the site.... or will you ninja . "A rose by any other name..." Remind anyone of Lime Crime?
Issues continued with the opening of the website, as you probably guessed if you were reading those blogs I linked to... Glittersniffer is a Fraud Paypal Community shows numerous other unhappy customers. Aside from lack of sanitation, non-cosmetic ingredients, failure to deliver products and attacking unsatisfied customers and bloggers GS has also had other issues... I don't have much detail but apparently GS sold collections with the promise that money would be donated to charity but kept the money instead. GS also released a collection on their Artfire shop called the "Crayola Collection", do you think they got Crayola's permission to use their name and image (Artfire shop is closed and collection is now gone... but you can see a mention of it on the Facebook page).
☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁
Cosmetic Safety is Important! D:<
So, if GS is dead why do I have to care about soap dyes and what not again? Well, because zombies do exist, my dear. (Those products and listings are pretty much identical right down to word choice and formatting to Glittersniffer's old Etsy listings)
If you ever come across super-neon or glow in the dark cosmetics listed as being safe for use on the face be suspicious and ask lots of questions before purchasing. None of those are FDA approved for use in the USA, other countries will have different regulations. If your eye makeup has visibly large glitter pieces like you would see in nail polish or glitter with pointy edges don't use it. Ask companies about where they get their supplies. Ask them if they use a mask and gloves, ask them if they have specific recipes. Even small companies should use basic hygiene and quality control! If you ever have doubts about a listing or product, don't buy it! Familiarize yourself with ingredients for sale on wholesale supply sites like TKB and Coastal Scents. Read about ingredients! Don't just fall for the "omg mineral makeup is like so amazing and can never hurt you because its totally natural and good for your skin and won't cause acne and can cure cancer and it gives you wings" crap a lot of business say.
Once again, the indie makeup industry takes a huge blow to its credibility. This is so unfortunate because the scammers, fly-by-night repackagers and crap shillers are the minority.
☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁
IMPORTANT SAFETY AND RECALL INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE IN POSSESSION OF GLITTERSNIFFER PRODUCTS
UPDATE Glittersniffer has made an official statement. If you can't read it on Facebook for some reason click here and here (or here). Basically it's a big fat apology for all of the above and a statement saying everything will be reformulated to be safe and vegan. This company has a SERIOUSLY tarnished reputation, but there are still plenty of rabid fans left so maybe it has a chance. Either way I will not be purchasing anything from Glittersniffer.
CURRENT LIST OF UNSAFE GLITTERSNIFFER COSMETICS*: (12/25/10)
THESE PIGMENTS ARE NOW RECALLED- CONTACT GLITTERSNIFFER TO GO ABOUT GETTING REFUNDED----
· ADD
· All Star Pink
· Aurora
· Breast Cancer Collection
· Brenda
· Brenda’s Lemonade
· Candy Collection Pink
· Cotton Candy
· Cupcake
· Finger Food
· Flight Club
· Fran
· GLADD Collection Light Pink/Salmon
· Gold Digger
· Glenda
· House of Horrors
· Jack
· Jenn
· Jennifer Nazi
· Kimberly
· Kiss This
· Little Girls Collection
· Mad Hatter
· Mallory
· Mattes Collection Light Pink
· Mattes Collection Dark Pink
· Michigan Avenue
· Oyster Shell
· Pink Pistol
· Poodle Skirt
· Profanity
· Roxie
· Sarah
· Seuss Pink
· Shannon
· Tattoo Collection Pink
· Tragic Glamour
· True Blood Pink
· Yalena Collection Pinks
· Any other Pink that was made in any collection since 2006 is being recalled. While many of them are likely eye approved, we are recalling all of them to ensure certainty.
Pigments that contain soap dyes and/or are not FDA approved for use around the eyes:
· 80’s Red
· 80’s Pink
· 80’s Orange
· 80’s Yellow
· 80’s Green
· 80’s Blue
· 80’s Purple
· Altered States
· GLADD Collection Orange
· GLADD Collection Pink
· Glow in the Dark Collection (Not being accepted in the re-call, as these were advertised as not eye approved)
· Mo Love
· Oh Kristine!
· Oompa Loompa
· Scream-O
* I do not know if this list is just non- FDA approved dyes or if it includes anything that used non-cosmetic glitter. Either way, if you own these please do not use them on your face!
UPDATE(12/26/10) COLOR ISSUES CHART-- list includes unsafe colors and non-vegan colors. Only colors listed in the above recall list are recalled by Glittersniffer. All colors may not be safe due to GS cosmetics being made with out the use of gloves or masks.
Glittersniffer Cosmetics! says:
"To answer some of the questions - Panties is okay. No worries there. If you are concerned about individual pigments you can also e-mail me because I'm more likely to see it there.
If you have pinks, you can either put in for a refund, or they can be replaced with 100% safe pinks when we re-do our colors."
The number of people on the GS fan page stating they still want to buy the soap dye "eyeshadow" is both scary and stupid. Do these people not realize 1) THAT'S NOT SAFE and 2) you can buy your stupid soap dyes for way, way, way less money at TKB? Don't put your health at risk over pretty colors just because you're drunk on your undying love for an unethical businesswoman. Perhaps in the future these will be approved for cosmetic use on the face, but until then nobody should foolishly sell them as such. It is LYING and putting people at risk.
Glittersniffer is now offering the option of refund or replacement with a "safe" pigment. Personally I would recommend demanding a refund. GS does not have a good track record for fulfilling orders. If you really love this company buy the new "safe" colors with your refunded money if and when they come out. There is rumor of a class action lawsuit from people that have had adverse reactions to the unsafe pigments.
---
The following blogs are tracking scam reports from Glittersniffer and affiliated companies:
GS Cosmetics Scam Reports
Glittersniffer Complaints
☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁
My Personal Recommendations
I haven't tried all of these but I have heard good things about them:
Fyrinnae, always wonderful! Great customer service and complex, gorgeous colors you won't find any where else. Be sure to grab at least a sample of the Pixie Epoxy. ALWAYS VEGAN!
Hi-fi Cosmetics, great for super bright (safe) cosmetics.
Medusa's Makeup, while some is Lady Burd wholesale they're worth checking out. The eye dust formula is really great and the jars are packed full of product.
Sugarpill hasn't been around long but was a long time in the making. I have heard nothing but good! It may seem pricey but the products are huge (pressed shadows are even bigger than MAC's).
Shiro Cosmetics is a geeky company getting a lot of buzz. Not everything is super complex but I have been hearing tons of praise for the formula.
Geek Chic Cosmetics is another geeky makeup company. The swatches on the site do not do the products justice though. They look so bland and dull on the site which is not what I have seen posted on the blogs!
Community Member