Others Experiences-Further Information

This post will shed further light on the post containing the pictures of the swollen eye. It gives details, and will hopefully address some questions about what, exactly, happened. The emailer wishes to remain anonymous.

I am a hairdresser and make up artist by career. I spent several years working for MAC Cosmetics before I decided to go to cosmetology school.  Because of that, the only pigments/other products I have ever used are MAC.  In the last 14 years, I have used MAC exclusively both personally, on my clients, and at various trade shows around the country.  Clients often bring me gifts, and that is how I discovered GlitterSniffer Cosmetics. One of my clients came in one day for an up-do and brought in her "Glittermail" that she had picked up on the way to her appointment.  She asked me if I could do her make up as well, and I agreed.  

As I did her make up, I was commenting that the colors were beautiful.  I asked her several questions, and she finally just handed me an UNOPENED jar of pigment and said, "Try it for yourself; I'm sure you'll love it."  I accepted a jar of Medium Rare and House of Horrors.  Again, these jars were unopened and unused.  She said that she had the same colors at home, and that these were just repeats.

That night after my shower, I decided to play in the make up and test it out.  If it wore well, I had planned to use it at an upcoming show that I was doing.  The first color I tried was House of Horrors.  Immediately, my eye started to burn and water.  Before this, I had never had any type of reaction to make up, and I've been wearing it for a long time.  Anyway, I decided to wash my hands and try my other eye, thinking that maybe it was my contact or something.  I applied my primer, and again put on the pigment.  Again, my eye began to water and burn.  I removed the make up, and put it away.  I contacted my client about it, and she said that she hadn't had a reaction.  

I went to bed that night, and when I woke up... My eye was swollen shut (see photos).  I took photos and went to my physician.  It was determined that the ingredients in the House of Horrors "pigment" had damaged the soft tissue around my eye and caused a reaction.  They asked me for specifics about the ingredients of the product, and it occurred to me that there weren't ingredients listed.  I was immediately advised against using the product, and referred to the CDC/FDA to report the cosmetics.  

This injury wound up costing me several thousand dollars in medical bills after testing, appointments, ointments, drops, and other specialists.  In addition, I had to miss a huge national event that I was scheduled to attend because my eye was literally swollen shut, and I was unable to represent myself in a professional way.  Lucky for me, my reputation was not damaged, and the injury helped me spread the word to other professionals in my field about the danger of this company.

I would again like to thank anonymous for sharing.

Corporate Email

I returned to work today after a short period off. I was reviewing my email when I came across a correspondance from GlitterSniffer Cosmetics. The email was sent to my corporate email address on Sunday.

As has been my policy I will not post the entire email, but in sum Lela Warren asked at what point I was going to take down the page. She also asked my opinion on whether she should send "her girls" to post to the page as people were posting to the GS page.

I will not respond via email to these questions as I have no wish to be contacted via that method. The company has 2 emails with which to contact me at and could have easily done so. My corporate email was never released to them and they did not have permission to contact me via that channel. Though I am now making it clear that the company may not contact me in that way, I have also taken the additional steps of blocking the email address and contacting corporate security.

As I never released my corporate email to the company to use it is possible that my personally identifying information was used to obtain it. That information was never intended to be used in that manner.

I will be contacting the FTC tomorrow. I have also been in contact with an attorney who will be advising as to my rights in pursuing this matter through all available channels.

Others Experiences

I received an email today from a person who wishes to remain anonymous. They shared photos of an eye injury incurred while using GlitterSniffer Cosmetics. Here is their story.

I have declined to say anything about my own situation until exploring all of my possible options and deciding on a resolution.  At this time, I would like to share my own "GlitterSniffer" injuries.  I have explored several options, and finally feel comfortable sharing my photos, but only behind the alias here.  The "safe" company that Lela Warren represents caused me great pain, loaded me up with medical expenses, and of course damaged my trust for "indie" companies in general. The use of her cosmetics resulted in a very serious tissue infection.  Luckily, it was only one eye, and I have completely healed at this point.  These photos cannot remain a secret, and I feel that the time is right to share them.

I would like to thank the anonymous emailer, and so many others, for sharing. Hopefully this information can assist in people making a safe, informed decision.

It should be noted that although GlitterSniffer Cosmetics is an "indie" company they do not represent "indie" as a whole. It's an important distinction. These stories are about one company's actions and their incredibly damaging results. People have a right to know this information, and it is a rough situation for all "indie" makeup sellers that they may have to overcome the fallout from this when they are following the rules and guidelines. Be safe. Be informed. GS is not all "indie". That their actions may have caused irreparable damage to those that follow the rules is but one more unfortunate consequence of their business decisions.

Others Experiences-Fundraiser Followup/Request For Information

If you previously donated to GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Fundraiser for Christie Brooks' father please take a moment and email Christie with the amount you donated.

This post is a followup to the story originally told here. The fundraiser was held late last year after Christie's father suffered a devastating fire and lost everything he owned. There was a sale in addition to personal donations. GlitterSniffer Cosmetics itself pledged $100.00.

After some time had passed with the money not arriving despite numerous assurances it would be sent and items purchased by the donators also failing to arrive Christie discussed her concerns in a makeup group on Facebook. This resulted in GlitterSniffer Cosmetics rescinding its offer of $100.00 and a promise that the other donations would be sent. As of today, almost 2 months later, Christie Brooks has still not received the donation.

Lela Warren was questioned about this last night on the GS Complaints Facebook page but failed to provide an answer, despite being asked multiple times.

Christie Brooks received this email today:

While it is refreshing to see that GlitterSniffer Cosmetics appears to be making an effort to rectify the situation, Christie has no idea what the total amount due to her father is. The donations were all sent via Paypal to GS and no accounting was ever given to her. This is being posted now in an effort to determine exactly how much is due and to hopefully aid in its recovery.

Though it can be said that perhaps GlitterSniffer Cosmetics should have kept a better accounting of the donations it is hoped that the information can be gathered in other ways and a resolution to this matter can finally be reached.

Others Experiences

New information is emerging daily with the recent exodus of admins and long time GlitterSniffer Cosmetics supporters. This is a followup to this story, posted yesterday.

A bit of back story. A Facebook profile calling itself GlitterSniffer Truths joined the Complaints page yesterday and offered to answer questions.

Given the history of backlash that comes with speaking out against GlitterSniffer Cosmetics it is not odd to see anonymous profiles on the page. Indeed, the majority of the stories I present are anonymous for just that very reason.

The following is a text message conversation sent to Ex Admin Carolyn from the phone of GlitterSniffer Cosmetics proprietor Lela Warren regarding the anonymous profile. Please be advised it is NSFW.

 

There is much back and forth, some name calling, and Lela's texts lamenting that Carolyn is obsessed with her. Lela's texts even state that she has booked a flight to Carolyn's state of residence and asks if she can drop by.

One of the overarching themes in this situation is the sense of family that GlitterSniffer Cosmetics inspired in many of its customers. That was due in no small part to the accessibility of Lela Warren. These texts show a different side of that relationship, one that no consumer could reasonably expect simply by purchasing a product.

3/14/11 ETA: Changed the title from Your Story to Others Experiences.

Recalled Product- Not Destroyed

There has been much speculation about what happened to all the recalled product sent back to GlitterSniffer Cosmetics for refund. According to the company's own recall/refund policy any recalled pigment returned for refund would be verified for authenticity and then discarded.

Within the last month now Ex GS Admin Carolyn visited GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and its proprietor, Lela Warren. She came home with roughly 600 hundred of the recalled pigments.

There are 261 pink pigments alone.

It is unknown at this time if this represents all the recalled product sent back to GlitterSniffer Cosmetics, or what, exactly, the company did with any other recalled product it may have had in its possession. The only thing that is clear is that the products were not destroyed as the company committed to do, and were in fact willingly dispensed, despite their recall status.

For Every Action There Is An Equal But Opposite Reaction

I beg your indulgence as I pause briefly in presenting information on GlitterSniffer Cosmetics business practices.

Lela Warren visited the GlitterSniffer Complaints Facebook page this evening. It went as expected. Lela has been asked numerous times by the admins to preschedule her visits so that a productive discussion can be ensured. She again refused to comply with this request. That it degenerated fairly quickly is putting it mildly, to say the least.

There were valid questions that were being asked, but they were lost in the flurry of emotion. Not all responses from both sides are what one would have hoped they would be. That is unfortunate, as this is the first time in a long while that people have had unfettered access to Lela, and the possibility of some answers.

Here is the thread in its entirety should you wish to review it. I will not rehash it. There is one specific portion that I would like to address, however.

This exchange came shortly after Lela requested I get my "group" under control. It is edited only to remove a single persons personally identifying information.

I would like to take a moment to state what will hopefully be my only personal comment on this matter.

My name is Frances Danger and I write the GlitterSniffer Complaints blog.

We live with the circumstances we are given. My personal circumstance necessitated my starting this anonymously. That circumstance has not changed, but others have. To put it bluntly, I will not be bullied or have the veiled threat of the release of my personal information held over my head. Knowledge is power, and I refuse to let a woman who would knowingly sell unsafe cosmetics to trusting consumers, refuse refunds to those that so rightly deserve them, and outright use funds that were raised in good faith for various charities for her own personal use have any power over me.

I was never a GlitterSniffer fan and I will not be mistreated as so many others have.

That the page and blog exist is a direct consequence of the choices and decisions made by GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and its proprietor, Lela Warren. As I have stated previously had GS Cosmetics simply followed every rule and guideline when they started business, from using FDA approved ingredients, FDA approved labeling, shipping the exact products that were ordered, shipping in a timely manner, followed safe and sanitary formulating and packaging procedures, respecting all TOS of any site they utilized, donated all money raised for charity in a timely manner, and met all commitments to their consumers in good faith NONE of this would have happened.

There is a monster that was created, but the onus of that does not lay at my feet. I am nothing more than a girl who purchased a product in good faith that wanted a refund when it became clear that product was unusable. It was simply circumstance that after seeing all the information and the complete lack of responsibility on the part of this company I felt I could not walk away, no matter how much I was refunded. That the company and its proprietor are once again deflecting any kind of responsibility clearly illustrates how this situation came to be, and lends credence to the thought that it will not be over any time soon.

This changes nothing, save for putting a name to the posts. I will continue to research, to post, and to do everything in my power to ensure that every consumer has enough information to make a safe, informed decision as GlitterSniffer Cosmetics has not seen fit to do it themselves. These issues have gone on far too long and affected too many people to let it go.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to continuing the blog in the hopes that everyone is fully informed and that every deserving customer gets the refund they are owed.

Dammit Pigment

There was a discussion on the GS Complaints page recently about some products that GlitterSniffer Cosmetics has sold in the past. One of the discussions surrounded the sale of what were referred to as "Tabletop" or "Table Cloth" pigments. These were leftovers that were sold from pigment that had dropped onto the table and were then potted and sold for a flat fee.

It appears that this is a product that was sold by the company at least once.

There were at least three people who took advantage of this offer.

It is unknown at this time how these were labeled, or if any of the Dammit Pigments had ingredients for consumers to review. Given the previous pictures of possible unsafe formulation and packaging there may be a contamination concern in regards to the Dammit Pigments.

I present this information in hopes that anyone who may have purchased the Dammit Pigments can review it and make a safe, informed decision.

Others Experiences

In the past few days there have been several people who have retracted their support of GlitterSniffer Cosmetics, including Admins who were very close to the situation. Here is one of their stories. The person in question recently visited the company for a stay and has now left because of what she observed.

I left because of highly unsanitary conditions that I observed while at the rescidence of Lela Warren. She does NOT wear gloves. She told me upon entering her basement "office" that she did not wear gloves but I was not to say anything about it. And on top of this, for someone so close to the products you wear on your eyes, I would not be so trusting. She will use the restroom and smoke a cigarette but not wash her hands and go right back to work. This is disgusting.

I want to thank the woman for sharing. I hope this information is valuable to those that are still using the products and that they are able to use it to make a safe, informed decision.