Thursday 3 March 2011

Glittersniffer AKA The most disgusting excuse for a makeup brand (or indeed any business) I've ever heard of

Oh God, I've not been posting about this hideous trainwreck of a makeup brand much (I did one post  here) because there is just so so much horrible stuff coming out every day that it's been practically impossible to write it all down! I'm not going into full detail about everything because again there's just too much and it's just too depressing for me to write, but here are some links if you want to know more:
http://www.lipsticksandlightsabers.com/2011/02/please-go-directly-to-jail-part-1.html
http://glittersniffercomplaints.blogspot.com/
http://pa1nt3d-pr1nc3ss.blogspot.com/2010/12/glittersniffer-links-of-awesome.html
http://kirafayescorner.blogspot.com/2010/12/glitter-sniffer-closing-for-good.html
http://phyrra.net/2010/12/glittersniffer-gone.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/GlitterSniffer-Complaints/170925616276956
http://news.michiganradio.org/post/health-and-safety-concerns-surround-glittersniffer-cosmetics
And here's a list of pigments and the various problems with them:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/lv?key=0AmHQNrWJXwC8dDlYTW1fclNGaldNbjdVWkV2aGZJa0E&hl=en&authkey=CN6HltkD

Here's a list of all the crazy awful hideous stuff that this company did:
  • Repackaging pigments and selling them as hand blended colours
  • Selling non-vegan products while claiming to be an all vegan company
  • Taking months to ship orders
  • Numerous orders arriving with the wrong items/faulty items/spillages/colours being completely different from batch to batch.
  • Not replying to emails, and admitting that they often just deleted them without reading
  • Admitting to deleting anything not positive from the fan page
  • Using money raised for charity to pay their own expenses (also saying they wouldn't be donating what they said because the girl the money was being raised for said some negative things on a private facebook page)
  • Packing and handling products in unsanitary conditions (without gloves, cutting soap on a table with a kitchen knife)
  • Selling items that are not safe for cosmetic use and not disclosing it.
  • Refusing to allow certain people to use their giftcards
  • Refusing to refund certain people
  • Leaving a phone message to a customer (who voiced anger at glittersniffer) stating 'I have your motherfucking address you cunt'
  • The companies paypal account has been frozen due to so many refunds being requested. Paypal have stated that Glittersniffer could still put money into the account in order to pay the refunds. Glittersniffer have said they were told nothing could be done for 180 days, so very few/no refunds are being given out.
  • Glittersniffer stated that all old stock would be thrown out, instead it was sold.
  • Glittersniffer stated that all recalled pigments sent back to them would be destroyed, instead a vast number of them were given to a friend.
  • Claiming that there is no proof that eye injuries sustained after using the products are due to the products, despite admitting that some items used in the products were not safe for cosmetic use.
  • Threatening to leak anonymous peoples names
  • Contacting the owner of the Glittersniffer Complaints blog at her work email (which was not disclosed anywhere, so must have been searched for)
  • Losing track of how much money she owed to charity.
  • Sending threatening and harassing text messages
  • Employing people only known through her fan page to go through emails recording addresses and other personal 
  • Selling items without ingredients or other FDA labelling requirements
Am I missing anything? Depressingly it's quite possible that I've missed a lot of stuff.


One thing that really, really angers me is that Lela has claimed that all these horrible things she did were done because she has an anxiety disorder.
 There's still a huge stigma surrounding mental illness, people often think that people with any sort of mental problem might cause them harm, and blaming all the hideous things she's done on some anxiety disorder just reinforces these ideas. I have an anxiety disorder and of course it affects me, but it doesn't turn me into someone who would knowingly cause harm, ignore peoples feelings and problems, threaten, steal or cheat people. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe mental illness is a contributing factor, but if you are so ill that you end up treating people as badly as she has then you should not be in business until you've sorted yourself out.

This is genuinely the most disgusting brand I have ever heard about. They've written the book for what NOT to do in a business. Not only is their customer service absolutely shocking (and illegal in some cases such as using charity to fund refunds and refusing to refund recalled products) but they have actually made people ill. Of course there is very little anyone can do to prove that eye injuries were caused by the products but no matter what Lela or her glittermob can say it's pretty damn obvious! If one person claimed the products caused injury you could easily dismiss it. If 2 or 3 people claimed it you could still think it was a coincidence. But so so many people are coming out saying that they've had eye problems since using the products and even more who have just said that the products burn on contact with the skin. And when that's combined with the proof that Glittersniffer packaged without gloves and the admission that they sold soap dyes that aren't even approved for cosmetic use at all as eye products surely makes the thought that people would be hurt by using the products not even plausible but probable?

The owner of the Glittersniffer Complaints blog has stated that all she wants is for Glittersniffer to learn from their mistakes, move on and treat people better but I completely disagree. To me there is no question that this company should be shut down, but in my opinion they deserve to be taken to court! They need to face the consequences for these actions. People make mistakes of course, but this is mistake after mistake after mistake which have been illegal and actually caused people harm. The company are thieves and liars and have shown absolutely no signs of changing their behaviour seeing as they continue to refuse refunds, ignore emails, go back on their word, threaten and harass people etc etc


I have never ever said this about any makeup company before but please, please do not buy from this company. Even if you don't care that your money would be supporting them, even if you don't care about what they've done in the past just think about your eyesight. If I knew there was even the tiniest iota of a chance that it could remotely harm my eyes I wouldn't trust it and with this company there is a HUGE chance of it happening. If you have old Glittersniffer cosmetics and are unhappy to use them anymore (which is very sensible) there is someone on the Glittersniffer Complaints facebook page who will take them off your hands to use as art supplies.

Stay tuned for a similar post about Orglamix. Ohh the misery.

22 comments:

  1. the fb complaints page could seriously make a novel with all the incriminating screenshots. worst company ever. I wonder why people buy from her when there are obviously good indie brands around, like sugarpill?

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  2. I suppose there must be some people who are blinded enough by loyalty -- or reluctance to admit its mistakenness -- that they would continue supporting Glittersniffer.

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  3. People keep buying, because I believe a lot of them don't know of other brands. Plus, Lela seems to be damn good at manipulating people :/

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  4. Thats fucking retarded. How could someone be a loyal supporter after the girl sitting next to them got an eye infection from the brand?

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  5. She also...
    - organized a christmas gift exchange but did not send everyone a gift back
    - listed "vegan beeswax" as an ingredient for solid perfume
    - does not apparently even know her own ingredients as the listings for her new collections vary based on where they are posted (artfire vs the GS website, etc)
    - made up etsy listings about products "inspired" by other etsy shops for cross publicity then lied about it and claimed other shops try to use her name to gain fame
    - sold on multiple sites despite claims that after the debacle GS would only sell from the official website, "had" to switch to artfire after the paypal accounts (yes she used multiple ones) were frozen. she then switched to google checkout which has less buyer protection.
    - claimed to not know the safety of her ingredients even though her supplier (as required BY LAW state what they are safe to be used for)
    - often replaced an ordered product with a different one with out asking the customer first
    - sent out "random" pigments with no labeling at all or ingredient lists
    - according to a former employee she did not wash her hands after using the bathroom and then went back to packing pigments

    And I'm still probably missing some of the shit she's done.

    Bitch, that's not an anxiety disorder that's antisocial personality disorder. As someone that suffers from an anxiety disorder I find this HIGHLY OFFENSIVE. Lacking empathy for others, persistent lying, stealing, threatening others, disregard for safety and irresponsible work behavior are symptoms of antisocial personality disorder and match Ms. Warren to a T. She is absolutely vile.

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  6. Wow, when you list it like that it really puts it all into perspective. Seriously, all this crap is just mind boggling...

    @Spooki: "listed "vegan beeswax" as an ingredient for solid perfume"
    PFFFFFT!! This cracks me up. In a sad way..

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  7. I've never heard anything but bad things about Glittersniffer. Reading all of that makes me want to sdfklhasjfd. That was me banging my head on the keyboard.

    -Vijaya
    Fierce Nerditude

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  8. I haven't been writing about it either...It's sad, because way before she got huge, I thought her and her product was amazing. I stopped using her stuff thankfully before all of this garbage went down...but I still have blog posts up about how much I loved it. I wrestle with taking them down, because I don't want to pretend I never wrote them...but I definitely don't want to promote her any more. Especially when I have a good friend that is busting her butt making pigments that are WAY more awesome, and actually takes the time to make SURE they are Vegan.

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  9. It just got worse and worse the more I read!! I am utterly speechless at the catalogue of dumb ass mistakes she made. I've got friends who suffer with anxiety disorders but that doesn't stop them having an iota of common sense or understanding the word 'vegan'!!! I could sum up my opinion of her in one sentence but it would offend delicate ears and contain far too many swear words!
    x

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  10. Selling non-vegan products while claiming to be an all vegan company. That really scares me as a vegan. There's also no excuse to sell repackaged stuff.

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  11. Oh my god do I ever love your ranty posts. Your blog is heaven, it has fashion, lip swatches, and rants. It's all I ever wanted in a blog!

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  12. D: x 918381904481010. Thanks for outlining everything she's done so clearly x

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  13. Hi Lillian, I love your blog and was just wondering what you thought about TKB discontinuing their POP! collection. Whatever are Lime Crime and the like going to do?

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  14. I was sadly deeply involved with GS cosmetics for over a year, supported her and ignortantly listened to her and trusted her word. Even assured many that the neons were safe because she convinced me so.
    It saddens me deeply that so many (even after I left, which was a huge deal. I got countless angry texts and phone calls from Lela saying "how could you do this?!")are STILL supporting her. STILL buying from her. When will it end? When will she go down? Does someone literally have to lose their sight?

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  15. DarqueDesign:
    I know, it baffles me that people don't believe it when there are screenshots and photos everywhere that prove that Lela is not the wunderkind they seem to think she is :/

    Sapiens:
    I really don't understand that sort of loyalty. I mean there are various indie brands I like and owners I'm friendly with, but if there was proof everywhere of them doing something so bad I can't see myself ignoring it and continuing support regardless.

    Melly:
    Yeah :/ I just don't get it.

    Y:
    They just don't believe the makeup caused the infections... which is pretty silly :/

    Spooki:
    Ugh I know, it's just awful! And people are going on about how brave she is to have admitted poisoning them. She must be laughing at her fans undying support.

    Lemon Bunny/Mandy:
    I know! It's just insane, I keep thinking that some of it can't be true just because i can't understand how anyone would do some of those things! But I believe them because there is PROOF! Vegan Beeswax is made by robot bees in mechanical hives.

    VijiiS:
    I actually nearly ordered from them once after reading a good review! Thank God I'm too poor to get too much!

    Concertina:
    I understand your feelings, why don't you put a disclaimer on your old reviews explaining the situation and retracting your support but saying you don't want to delete them? Seems a good compromise :)

    Ms. Wedgie:
    Well said! I'm pretty sure deception isn't a sympton of any anxiety disorder. And like I said, if you are ill and it's affecting your work then you need to get help or stop working!

    Maggie L:
    Agreed. I'm a vegetarian so i can understand the fear. But it gets worse in that in one story someone was allergic to carmine, because they were assured all the products were vegan they bought some and then of course had a reaction and had to go to the hospital. It's just despicable!

    Vulcan_Butterfly:
    Ha ha thank you so much! I actually hate writing rant posts, it's cathartic to get it all out but i just prefer writing positive stuff. Glad you like them though!

    Robyn:
    you're welcome!

    LiberVix:
    Oh goodness i could write a post all about that! I actually think it's terrible. For one thing it's not going to stop repackers, they'll just repack something else (TKB suggests their 'true' micas are a good replacement for the pops so maybe those) and either just pretend nothings changed or claim they reformulated. For instance Lime Crime swears to this day they never sold repackaged micas despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary and then reformulated their shades so now they actually aren't repackaged (though to me they do just look like the old colours with a base added but that's just my opinion). But the discontinuation of the pops is going to be crap for real indie brands who actually will have to reformulate a lot of shades. And finally it sucks for me! I make my own shadows from time to time and even though I still haven't run out of my samples yet (a tablespoon is a LOT of mica!) but i'm sad that if i ever wanted more I couldn't get any :(

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  16. MoonMiistBabii:
    I'm so so sorry. I've never even bought from GS and I'm livid, I can't even imagine how sad and betrayed you must feel. Personally I really think she should be shut down and am deeply saddened that people continue to support her but I guess at least she's not using soap dyes anymore and she's proved she owns gloves we don't know if she's not actually using them...I pray noone else gets hurt. And I'm sorry you got so many angry texts and calls, that must be very stressful! The voicemail she left on the girls phone was not only so so vile but if it had been me I would have been scared, she sounded mental!

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  17. Oh, you should write a post about it! I'm fairly new to indie makeup brands and have only bought from BFTE and Fyrinnae, but have had great experiences with both. Have luckily never dealt with Glittersniffer or Lime Crime, but have read up on all the drama because it's just so full of epic fail. And Glittersniffer is a train wreck. I asked about the TKB issue on BFTE's FB page and Crystal says they won't be affected, so perhaps they have another source. It is a shame though for those using the pigments in legitimate and honest ways.

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  18. gross! I got a jar of GlitterSniffer from Meg's Makeup but I surely will not put it on my face now.

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  19. I saw a comment you left on Phyrra's blog and this post came up and I have to say, you're dead on about everything. Thank you for being willing to shed some light on this situation! You are my hero of the day! ^_^

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  20. LiberVix:
    Oh yeah BFTE and Fyrinnae are both great! I have a lot of respect for BFTE because they used to repackage (not sure if they still do) as well as mixing their own colours. When people complained they said they didn't realise it was a problem, apologised and clearly marked all the repackaged products. There are a tonne of great indie brands though, it's a shame brands like this bring them down. It's good BFTE don't need to reformulate but odd because TKB says the reason they're stopping selling it that they whole line is being discontinued. Maybe BFTE just don't use them any more.

    wendy:
    I'm sorry, at least you got it for free I guess. Still it sucks that you can't use your prize! You could make nail polish with it.

    Dez:
    Aww thank you so much! Others have written much better posts about it though, I just thought I'd lay out some bullet points :)

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  21. What a vile person. As someone who also suffers,abliet minor compared to your own, anxiety disorder, to read someone using it as an excuse for them being a total dickhead is downright disgusting.

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  22. I don't like the continual search for a diagnoses for her. Yes, it's offensive that she is blaming her shitty actions on a mental disorder - it's probably to make herself seem not as liable when she's (eventually) in court. Having a mental disorder does not make you disregard morals. They are very much still there, and after the 'freak outs,' they at least apologize and try to right their wrongs. This comes from something much bigger than just an anxiety disorder. She either has a big-named disorder, or she truly just is a terrible business person with no morals whatsoever.

    I personally had never heard of this brand before, but thank you for letting me know not to use it. I'm an avid makeup user and I value my eyes like nothing else, being aware about something that could destroy them is nice.

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