>This Way, That Way… Which Way? What’s going on with Orglamix?
>
As some of you beauty bloggers have noticed, in the past couple of days there has been an absolute explosion and exposure of information regarding Orglamix Cosmetics. I am neither attacking nor defending this company at this time- simply putting facts, questions, and answers here. Please keep in mind that I am not personally biased in writing this. Many of you know I do prefer to use this makeup in many of my looks, and I am not being compensated in any way, shape or form for composing this article.
The first and foremost damming issue at hand is the fact that Cheri sold re-packaged, unsafe makeup. Colorlicious stickers were printed out and slapped the on her jars with Cheri's company name, logo, and reputation now stuck onto the jars for all the world to see.
Until, that is, a sticker is peeled off.
And upon closer inspection… What do we find….
I've copied and put screenshots below so you can see how responses are answered or dodged, depending on your views at this point. Don't get me wrong- I'm just as upset as the rest of the 'Glamix Girls in this discovery, but I feel it necessary to go for the core information and facts first before totally damming Cheri as a liar and someone who intentionally wants to hurt her customers. If you've been on Orglamix's Facebook Page, you can see these posts. I've blocked out names for privacy reasons in comments Cheri has responded to, and only left first names for a comment I also decided to post.
The products caught up in this hot debate are the Colorlicious Candy Glam colors sold as a promo in October 2010. (Or somewhere around that time frame… If I'm wrong, please someone comment and let me know below)
This is a copy of one customer's invoice of the text from her Etsy receipt of sale, copied and pasted to FB:
While I'm glad and grateful this information has been revealed as to the safety and dangers of the product sold, I personally feel it should have come from Orglamix and Cheri herself. I think if she had disclosed this information herself before one of us had discovered it, a lot of disappointed and once loyal customers would have a much better feeling about this entire ordeal in general, instead of leaving us with a bitter taste in our mouths. This is her initial response to this blog post from (Not) Making It Up:
Note: While it's been stated the unsafe pigments were only in some of her her Candy Glam Line of cosmetics, how is it we can completely trust that the Orglamix line also isn't compromised? Read on. Again, if you want to see these in chronological order, simply stop on by the Orglamix Facebook Page to read the comments, questions, and responses from customers and responses from Cheri herself:
The Snarky Princess 
>I completely agree with al of your comments Amanda and I've also stayed out of the whole FB commenting spree and discussion.I also did not buy any of the candy glam products and noticed a few of the double labels as well, but I am not going to stop buying at this point.We'll have to see where it goes from here, but everyone makes mistakes and is entitled to a second chance.~ Lindsay Winter
>Thanks for writing this Amanda! I think you gathered all the facts and presented them the way they should have been in the first place!
>I'd check out this page as well:http://honestly-beautiful.blogspot.com/2009/10/contradictions-in-claims-and-reality.html
>many of these are similar as well, particularly this one:http://www.cosmeticsprivatelabel.com/shimmer-eye-shadows/shimmer-powders/l-sp149-fog.html
>@Lindsey & Michelle & Amanda: Thank you@Zillah: Thank you for the additional links. I'm seeing a lot of colors which are similar, some match the ID's and some don't. I appreciate you leaving the links to the site(s)!I suppose we get to sit back and see how the rest of this is handled, and what other information is disclosed to us.
>Hi Snarky, I appreciate your objective post on the matter. I have made my opinions pretty clear (and I will repeat, they are my opinions only) on Shelby and Phyrra's blogs, which I'm sure you've seen, so I won't repeat it all here. But I would like to add a few additional comments about my experience.I was pretty vocal in the facebook thread, but the reason I kept "grilling" her for answers was because I did not feel like she was giving me direct answers to many of my questions. For example I specifically linked to a photo of MY blush jars, and asked a direct question about them, but her answer (which she actually didn't provide at first, though when I asked a 2nd time, she claimed she'd already answered – if someone can point out where she answered it the first time I would love to know because I sure don't see it) was a glossy blanket statement about relabeling, but not a direct answer to my question. Other people asked direct questions in that thread that also went unanswered. While I appreciate that Cheri did not just ignore the post and did spend time commenting, her answers were really not very complete in a lot of instances.However, despite this, I respected her request to stop commenting in the thread and took her up on her offer to email her with any questions and concerns. I never got an answer back to my email nor an answer to the most important question in my mind – which was "Cheri, are these products – Cayenne, Coriander, Nutmeg – actually your own hand made product?"I have also seen direct – and polite – questions about her ingredients and product claims appear on her facebook wall, and then be deleted without answering. I have personally spoken to someone who was just banned for asking such a question.I have to ask – if Cheri has nothing to hide, why is she ignoring and deleting honest, polite questions? Sorry, but that just doesn't sit well with me.
>@Trellisaze: I don't disagree with you one bit- and I also don't blame you for "grilling" her the way you did. You were straight forward, blunt- and quite frankly it needed to be said. And repeated. I've also asked a few more questions by email, and while that was just sent a little while ago… I don't know whether or not this one will be answered. I hope it will be.I share a lot of your same concerns- and I've actually done more digging and have composed another post which I think is going to shock a lot of people. I want to give Cheri a chance to answer my questions before I publish it, to be fair.I suppose I'm trying to play Devil's Advocate here in trying to stay on both sides of the fence- because as a customer myself, I'm quite upset and feeling betrayed. Also as a customer, I like her product very much. If it's simply a matter of re-packaging materials- say so! If they're all natural, and they're being sold under a private label… Tell me so! I'd much rather know that beforehand, than find out I've been lied to when someone else uncovers it. Instead of being shown as truthful and admitting a possible mistake, it makes us think shady business is being conducted- and as a result ultimately losing customers.Would you mind shooting me your pictures and giving me permission to use them, should I find any link as I have some other things? trinnity218@gmail.comI'm also quite saddened to hear that comments are being deleted so she doesn't have to answer them. I'm not sure if it would be her, or one of her "assistants"… But the more questions are evaded or ignored, the worse off this mess is going to get.Thank you!~*SP
>Hey! I read this yesterday, and just now have a chance to comment (darn real life getting in the way!) I totally appreciate you attempting to stay neutral, and to be quite honest – I didn't think my blog post would quite blow up the way it did. I just wanted to reiterate that it was only those pigments that I was truly worried about being unsafe and/or repackaged. With that discovery, it made me uneasy about the Orglamix line. No, I do not know for a fact whether or not any of the Orglamix line is repackaged and/or unsafe. I will admit, that there is a LOT of digging being done by myself ( and by a few others), most of it out of sheer curiosity and quite a bit because I feel that I have to. I started this whole thing, and should see it to its end. If I find that everything is handmade, then I will say so. If I find that it is not (beyond a doubt), I will say so, as well.I guess, in closing, that what I wrote was not out of malice, it was out genuine shock and concern.Anyways, thank you very much for writing this, and if you like, I can send you a picture of my Teak eyeshadow, as well.
>Hint: http://www.facebook.com/beautyofasite?sk=info there are many, many faces to Ms Tracy, and how she can run all these businesses and hand-mix her colors at the same time is the question …
>@SP, Thanks for your reply! I will def. send over my photo to you and you have my permission to use it. I'm looking forward to anything new you have uncovered and for anything else you learn from Cheri as well. I think you have done a great job with this post by presenting the information you have in the most neutral way possible which isn't always so easy in these situations (I know many of my comments on the situation have been very emotionally-fueled). I totally agree with you too, I don't care if it's repacked or resold (except she shouldn't be using Etsy as a venue if that's the case), just be honest! Tell me! Tell me upfront who creates your line and what's in it! There is nothing wrong with taking private label products and reselling them under your own name, I mean that's why private label products are out there. But there IS something wrong with not being truthful about it, and THAT'S what I have issue with, if it is indeed what's happening (again, I don't have definitive proof yet, so this is merely my opinion). @Shelby, I'm pretty sure nobody thinks you wrote your blog post out of malice! It's pretty clear that you were only pointing out the obvious with the Candy Glam products and at that time, there was no reason to suspect much when it came to the Orglamix line. I for one – as a consumer and fellow indie cosmetics lover – really appreciate you opening up my eyes and being brave enough to say something that needed to be said. We have taken that info and run with it, and in the process discovered other potential issues, but ultimately I think that's a really good thing.@zillah, thanks by the way for those links! I definitely found some interesting comparisons with that private label site and some of the uncovered product labels floating around out there, including many listed above in SP's list in this very blog.
>@erin, interesting… do you know for sure that's Cheri? I went to their website and see this under the Contact link:BeautyOfASite.com1712 Hamilton Rd. Unit DBloomington, IL 61704. Which is much further south in the state than where I thought Cheri lived…
>@Shelby: I share your concerns completely! I didn't mean for it to sound like I accused you of "blasting" with this, but it certainly stirred up a hornets next unintentionally. In a good way, since it will hopefully reveal the regular Orglamix line is completely out of this picture of being potentially dangerous. I will be relieved if it is the case, because I want to continue to buy this makeup! I applaud you for speaking what you feel and think- the same way many others of us do… Including me! I'm still in shock though. And yes… Feel free to shoot me your pic!@Erin: Really?! Seriously?! I can't find *any* information on that site… Even on the blog, it says "meet the staff" and it's "a group of women". Really? That comforts me
I'll keep my eyes on it.. I checked the BBB too, and no names there either. How'd you find it, and why do you think it's CT's?@Trellisaze: You're welcome… And yes, I've found some interesting things. But I want to wait for a reply first. If I have none, I'll show my hand of cards.
>There was a comment today on her fan page that relates to an interesting article and the other company Erin mentioned. However, guess what? The comment has been deleted without Cheri answering the poster's questions.I took a screen shot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trellisaze/5495509913/Link to the article: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DTI/is_9_31/ai_107524452/?tag=content%3Bcol1
>Oh, I didn't mean you took it that way! it seems a lot of people think that I attacked the whole Orglamix line! Ijust feel that I need to do a lot more researching before I can even think about buying anymore from there =(
>The comment I mentioned in my last comment is back but with different wording, so I just want to add that it is entirely possible the original poster deleted it the first time, and just posted it again, and NOT that Cheri deleted it – I should not have jumped to that conclusion. I'll keep my eye on it for Cheri's response.
>LOL, it's been a confusing couple of days.That article… W.O.W.@Shelby: I'm with you there!@Trelli: I do get what you mean… And I hope the user took it down, and not Cheri. But meh… At least she's not trying to hide from this whole thing and giving BS answers…. Though, they could be a little more clear and thorough…Does anyone else feel like this whole thing is peeling back the layers of an onion?!
>definitely oniony… but man, these layers are really crazy thin and hard to get up!and the original poster didn't delete the post, fyi =(
>That's a relief 🙂
>I have since been blocked from commenting on Orglamix's Facebook page and for that, and for the reasons outlined in the above article by the Snarky Princess, I am recanting my earlier comment. As of today, I am no longer using Orglamix's products. I simply can't trust Cheri any longer. Being a Christian, I forgive her, but that doesn't mean I need to give her anymore of my money.
>On the Google ads of your blog there is/was an ad for a company called Grafton Cosmetics that does plain labeling. I went to the site to have a look see, and found the compliance document to be extremely interesting. Apparently one must sign this to buy from them. Haven't looked around the other plain labeling sites to see if this is at all of them. The compliance document spells out what the FDA requires on a cosmetic label.
>@BarefootDG: Wow, I didn't even catch that! I'll go check it out! Interesting what'll show up here and there!! Thanks 🙂
>I've never bought the Candy Glam line, but I have bought her make up since about 2009- eye shadows, blushes, foundations- I have always been more than happy with her products and her prices. To be honest I will keep buying from her when she reopens even if the items are being purchased from someone else. Her service is great, the colors last all day, like no other eyeshadow I've bought.I have have no issues at all personally with the makeup, and since make up is personal, that is all I care about
>@Susan: I've been purchasing from her since October 2009. Shadows, foundations, bronzers, blushes… I have a lot.My issue is that Etsy is a handmade site. If something isn't handmade, unless it's supplies or vintage, it doesn't belong there no matter how great a product it is.Nowhere in my statements have I ever said her products were unsafe to use. In fact, I've said the opposite. I enjoy the products greatly, just not the premise it's sold under.If the product makes you happy- by all means- continue to purchase if that's your decision! I just wanted the information out there for you (plural) to make your own decision as to whether to continue to purchase from the company or not. It was never my intention to tell anyone to not buy. That's not what I meant at all.Since this has happened, I've found and purchased from numerous other companies which have much more complex shadow nuances than plain mica. I'm quite pleased with what I've found by expanding my horizons.Thank you for stopping by!