Update on Orglamix

ByCordelia

Several people emailed me in the past few hours with a link to this article about Orglamix. It’s very long and filled with a lot of information. Please check it out:

A Long Tale of Orglamix Organic Ending With Unexpected Big Bang

It’s my opinion that the key point in the post linked above is this screenshot by Cheri Rychlee (Cheri Tracy), which says:
I have a small cosmetics line in the us, which is currently all private label. I want to switchto semi-custom manufacturing, using stock shades and formulas, but adding certain ainti-aging ingredient. The problem, I can’t seem to find anyone who is willing to work with me on small quantities to begin (350-500 units per SKU).

Any advice? Recommendations?

 

 

Thanks you,
I appreciate it!

In my opinion, this screenshot ( if it is true) that The Eyes Have it All Blog found seems to indicate that what Orglamix was selling was private label (meaning it was not hand crafted).

Additionally, if you visit the Orglamix Facebook Page, you see lots of angry entries from fans who are upset over Orglamix having said that the adverts with models on them were wearing her makeup, when they are stock photos from places like istockphotos.com. (These have apparently been deleted by Orglamix.)

In my opinion, the key issues that I see people are upset over:
1. Orglamix allegedly repackaged some private label shadows in which some shades were not eye safe, others were not lip safe, but Orglamix repackaged them all as being eye and lip safe, regardless of color. (Some were safe for both, some were safe for one but not the other) This could have happened due to how Orglamix  allegedly slapped her labels on top of the originals. This was the Candy Glam line, though it was sold under the name Orglamix.

2. Orglamix allegedly repackaged her stock colors, possibly from smile jar (according to (Not) Making It Up and Color Me Obsessed), and put Orglamix labels on top of the original labels. This is how people found out about the possible repackaging, because they peeled off the Orglamix label and found the original label. (And if the alleged jars came from Smile Jar, there is also allegedly a possible sanitation issue, which would not be Orglamix’s fault.)

3. Orglamix allegedly claimed that in Orglamix advert photos, the women in them were wearing Orglamix makeup, but they came from stock photo sites, according to the Orglamix Facebook page. (These have since been deleted by Orglamix.)

4. Orglamix claimed a specific SPF 15 with foundation products on Etsy but you can’t legally do that unless you pay for expensive testing. This is why not every single foundation that you see for sale has SPF rating. You have to test each color individually to get a rating. MAC and Too Faced don’t do that with every foundation, nor does Cover Girl, so it’s not likely for an indie company to have paid for that sort of testing. (This has since been removed from Orglamix’s listings on Etsy.)

Orglamix posted this message on Facebook:

There are very interesting comments (almost 200) on this post, too.

Additionally, Grey started a great post, asking people to weigh in on their thoughts, and asking for company owners to comment, too.

Edit: And here’s an update http://color-me-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/03/follow-up-to-orglamix.html

Edit: Shatteredshards screencapped all the deleted comments/posts from Orglamix Facebook & removed personal identifiable information from the screenshots.

Edit: Another person has shared their experience with Orglamix here.

Edit: Adding a comment left on another Oglamix post on my blog from Mar. 7, 2011. Posted by L.
We could also try to track down the source of her cosmetics through muddminerals on ebay.  I wrote to her and got a bit of a response back.
I posted this question to a page advertising LillyPilly with the same photo:
Dear muddminerals,

Is this the same makeup that is sold under the name Orglamix on Etsy? If so I was wondering why there is a difference in price, whether the size will be the same, and if they are also hand mixed as sold here. Thank you for your anticipated response.

Here is the response:
Hi,

Cheri Tracy owns Orglamix & Urban Apothecary, as well. You can Google it.
I buy my micas from the same manufacture where she buys hers. They sell the pictures as well…

I hope this help.
Please, do not hesitate if you should have any other question.
Thank you.
Kindly,
Lily
– muddminerals

This is a screenshot of Orglamix speaking to a potential customer. I quoted 2 parts:
“I am aware of what a few bloggers are saying about Orglamix; as is my attorney. They are simply stating their OPINIONS. They are not making FACTUAL statements.”
“What do YOU want from me? Are you a customer? Is this your real name? You aren’t showing up as having purchased a single item. I deal with each CUSTOMER on an individual basis, even the unhappy ones.”

Edit: Here is Cheri Tracy’s official Orglamix statement.

Edit: Another blog post with screenshots: http://toxid-lotus.net/?p=2149

Edit: and another: http://color-me-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/03/before-i-bite-my-tongue.html?spref=tw

Edit: As of March 13, 2011 Orglamix has not answered this woman’s well-written concerns about eye shadow primer. Here’s a screenshot of what she wrote, in case the post ends up deleted like so many others Orglamix deleted.

Edit: There is now an Orglamix Fraud Facebook page.

I also want to remind you all about Don’t do Dumb Shit & People Won’t Write About It.

Please note, these are my personal opinions and observations on things, based on my research and my past experiences with Cheri Tracy & Orglamix and are not to be construed as definitive facts. It is up to you to draw your own conclusions on the subject of Orglamix.

Cordelia Frost is the creative force behind Phyrra, a treasure trove for cruelty-free indie and goth makeup enthusiasts. She's the author of the game-changing 'Hooded Eyes Makeup Manual' a must-read for hooded eyes makeup.

Cordelia's world is a kaleidoscope of alternative beauty, gothic fashion, and life-enhancing tips, making every visit to Phyrra a journey into a more colorful and inspired self.

92 Comments

  1. Ops, looks like Cheri has decided to shut down her shop in etsy for some weeks (probably until people stop asking questions?).

  2. Pingback: Through the looking glass. « It's French for staircase wit

  3. Just wondering, is anyone able to track down MuddMinerals anymore? They’re no longer coming up on FB and I can’t seem to search them through ebay. Their website is still linking them to etsy but their shop has now closed there. Was just curious to see the stuff again and do size comparisons. ??????/ Where’d they go???????? is it just me?

  4. (sorry if I sounded all political there – this Orglamix thing made me go from mildly amused, to vaguely put off, to downright disgusted.)

  5. Yes, the entire statement is exactly as I thought it would be- smiles and rainbows. She of course has done ‘nothing’ wrong (insert rollyeyes here).

    The one avenue for defense however is her conitnueing to claim that MuddMinerals is selling HER product?!?!??! I feel that MuddMinerals needs to know that she is spreading slander about her company. I want more answers from Lily- Just who owns those photos, Lily said in her last message that it was the company who sells the mica/ingredients. I can’t imagine that any of the buyers have any say whatsoever in those photos as Cheri claims it’s HER model and HER photos. I wonder if Lily could clear alot of this up for us.

    I also hate how the few lone souls on the FB page are getting hounded now. Someone even saying back “how is it that you’re the ONLY one who has a problem and voicing it?”-Um, well, because Cheri banished everyone else who WOULD have normally been here backing this girl up!

    Sigh….I just hope that now with all the negative’s going around about Orglamix, new customers that do some research begore purchasing will hopefully google and find some truth behind the veil of sunshine that Cheri works SO hard at creating.

    1. “I also hate how the few lone souls on the FB page are getting hounded now. Someone even saying back “how is it that you’re the ONLY one who has a problem and voicing it?”-Um, well, because Cheri banished everyone else who WOULD have normally been here backing this girl up!”

      I know – I noticed that as well – it’s disheartening that women are on the page and don’t care “what’s in it”, don’t care “whether or not it’s really organic”, don’t care “whether or not she made the product itself “(regardless of her presence on Etsy)….they don’t care.

      The entire downside of mainstream beauty business can be neatly encapsulated in what’s happened here.

      Make promises – make it shiny – make them feel pretty – and they won’t care about anything else. Integrity, mislabeling, misrepresentation, sidestepping – don’t care.

      In fact – their desire to cling to whatever illusions they need to hold about themselves or anything else is so strong that if you QUESTION them? Even in the name of their own health and common-sense business practices? Don’t care.

      Well – that proved one thing to me, the beauty industry is one well-versed in working over suckers when they find them. No wonder it’s a bazillion-dollar-a-year industry.

  6. I am just so shocked that she would try to say that she has never had any negative feedback for her product, when several of you have mentioned dislikes, and even on her etsy feedback there is some. It is unfortunate that you can not sort by neutral or negative feedback like on amazon, but it does exist.
    To me, her post didn’t really answer any questions, it was just a regurgitation of past posts ans was rife with typos- how could it have possibly taken her a whole week to write that. I also think it was unprofessional the way she was name calling and quoting her sales figures.
    On a side not the comment thread asking the woman if that was her real name and why she was asking questions reminds me of one that made its way to regretsy- the knock off bag one if anyone is looking to compare.
    I was also not going to post her response to me about the muddminerals questions, but as I feel she did not really address it in her statement and because her post was derogatory, here it is.

    Omg! Thank you so much. I know you probably did not consider this, but this is not my account. She is using my IMAGES and although I do use stock photos for certain things, these are not them. I own the COPYRIGHT. These are my images, product descriptions, names etc. She does NOT have my approval!! I was alerted to this on Saturday; and my attorney is investigating.

    Can you please do me a favor; and ask who her supplier is and who sold her the photos?

    I am going to address these concerns and others with an official statement today.

    Also why are there always superfluous caps in her statements?

    1. I most certainly gave her negative feedback, on etsy and in my blog review. I didn’t like her products. They seemed to lack a base to me. They didn’t work for me.

  7. Found her statement on her blog (comments not permitted, which did not surprise me).

    Regarding the claims of “organic” – which particularly bothered me – to be certified organic is indeed a very specific process, but the fact that she offers to do it at all was a point of contention for me – in part, because you cannot certify mineral cosmetics as organic. (which is why I had a problem with the use of the word in her listings – it’s bound to mislead some people.) You can’t, for instance, declare water as “organic”.

    While we use the word in the English language to describe compounds containing carbon molecules, (mica is a silicate), it’s become all too easy to use it to mean “anything not man-made”, which is simply misinformation and a disservice to a public already bombarded with daily lies about what they put on and in their bodies.

    The use of the word in the business sense should be strictly restricted to:

    1)ingredients within productsthat are certified organic only

    2)products that are certified organic only

    I have a low tolerance for companies that bend this rule because as it is, the organic industry has to fight for itself as it is – it’s not so cool to call something “organic” when it isn’t, because legitimately organic products have had to go through a pricey and lengthy process to prove their products as such – OR – source ingredients that have gone through this process. When I sold wax polishes with organic ingredients, they were NEVER sold as “organic polishes” – ingredients were clearly detailed and those which were proven organic in origin were specifically named. To do it any other way is disingenuous.

    Her Etsy headline says it all:
    “”Organic Mineral Makeup Color Your World Naturally by orglamix”

    “FAIR MOM Essentials Pure Organic Mineral Makeup by orglamix”

    – CHERI – YOUR SHADOWS ARE NOT ORGANIC. STOP CALLING THEM THAT. IT IS A LIE. PERIOD.

    Link to her post:
    http://www.hautebeautyblog.com/best-beauty-blog/2011/3/7/orglamix.html#entry10706568

    I encourage anyone curious on this topic to Google organic certification and understand JUST HOW MUCH is involved in this process.

    1. Yeah I saw her post.
      She really doesn’t answer a lot of questions.
      It’s lots of marketing speak and spin.

      1. Definitely – “spin” is the word I’d use. I keep checking her Facebook page and thinking of rejoining it just to refute this, because people are being taken advantage of!

        (I quietly left, rather than add to the comments – I don’t know if that was taking the high road, or the easy one. :P)

  8. Wow, I just re-read my post, sorry apparently I become dislexic past 9pm! That sentence was to read: So you buy the same mica’s or the same product from the same place? And THEIR, not they’re…..sigh, time for bed. The little one ran me ragged today….

  9. Hmmm, 9pm MST and still no ‘statement’. Argh, so anxious to see what she’s going to say.

    I really would like to hear more from Lily at MuddMinerals, too bad she didn’t voluntarily offer more info. So, you buy the same mica’s or the same product from place? They supply the pictures? Obviously they supply the same wording too as they’re sites are nearly identical in literature. I sure would like to know which place it’s from.

    A quick note to those who aren’t quite sure what to do with all the Orglamix shades- Nailpolish! I just started using my MMU for nailpolish and i love it. All I need is a great clear polish and all the colours I own are now multi-purpose. Just dip your brush in a tiny pile of powder- voila ;). That’s what I’m using all my BE bismuth laced shadows for! Takes a touch of practice to get used to doing it, but I love it now :).

    1. That’s awful. She specifically stated she would respond to polite and respectful requests.

  11. You can post this one as well, if you like. The full comment thread got deleted before I could screencap it, but as soon as I said something, I could feel internet drama coming on. I kept the comment e-mails, though!

    OP was 2/21/11 around 1AMEastern.

  12. It sucks that all this stuff is going on with Orglamix and Glittersniffer. People will start to think all indie companies are like them! Ugh.

    1. That’s what I’m afraid of, too. I have always tried to get the word out about awesome indie companies. I’ll be continuing to try and do that.

    2. That is a valid concern. I’ve got a friend who’s just starting to get into any kind of makeup at all, and she’s got several of us to give her pointers on what to try and what to look for when evaluating a new company…but if she didn’t have us as resources, she’d probably just stick with buying from department store counters…which is a valid way to buy makeup, but not the only way.

      1. I think I’m going to try and post about 1 company a day and what products I recommend, highlighting the companies I have listed on my creative companies page, so that people see different names pop up.

  13. I like how she’s airing dirty laundry (that has been discussed, and an agreement made) to other customers, then deleted and banned me from the page when I called her out on it:

    http://twitpic.com/46kw8p
    http://twitpic.com/46kwrt

    Those are the screenshots that I took or received. there are others floating around, one with someone asking why my post had been deleted. Her answer? “This is a matter between me, my lawyer and Shelby.”

    … and obviously anyone else that she decided to tell.

    1. Do you have a screenshot where she says the ‘this is a matter between me, my lawyer & Shelby.”?

  14. Lol, whats worse is the people defending her. One even said I don’t care what she puts in her make up I’ll still buy it… O.o Sorry the evidence seems pretty clear to me that even if what she sells is eye and lip safe, her shady practices will for one make me not buy. I’d rather miss out on a nice eyeshadow then get a sty or a pink eye or some other kind of eye infection. But even if someone admits to shady practices etc, some *refrains from saying the i word* will still defend them, its beyond me but oh well, they can enjoy their potentially harmful and/or shady dealers. It makes me sad because it’s like another mark against indie sellers. There are some amazing sellers out there, but the fear from people lying and being shady will keep some from buying indie and miss out on some safe AND wonderful products.

    1. As someone who has allergic reactions to things, I need to know what’s in the makeup I put on my eyes 🙁

    1. What are you looking under?

      If Orgalmix is a brand of an umbrella corporation, her business could indeed be registered, she could be paying taxes, but you won’t necessarily find anything under “Orgalmix”. I think the laws vary from state to state, about how sellers have to register their various brands and DBAs (and I think there are minor changes – again, state to state – with different legal forms of business: sole proprietor, S-corporation, Delaware corporation, LLC, et cetera.)

  16. I’m a newbie when it comes to indie make up but have been cautious and patient in deciding what to purchase. I found your site and orglamix’s at around the same time, read about the cease and desist debacle & went with my gut to not purchase anything from Orglamix, instead purchasing from other stores.

    I’ve noticed Orglamix is quite popular in the review blogging/mommy blogger/giveaway realm. While beauty bloggers may now know what’s what, it worries me that other people not so connected won’t have an idea of the pure sketchitude of the company—although many would be outraged by it if they knew.

    So on that note, is there some sort of concerted effort that could be done to bring attention to it outside the beauty blogging realm? It just really worries me, because because even if she burns bridges with beauty bloggers, there’s plenty of other ways to reel in new unsuspecting customers 🙁

    1. I found Orglamix only weeks after it launched and didn’t know anything about mineral makeup- now I wish that I had known about these blogs. I purchased from her because she was on etsy and I wanted to support hand made products and another stay at home mom. I liked the colors I chose right off, and not being versed in mineral makeup, or really any makeup, I figured creasing that happened was more due to my inability to apply it as no one else mentioned a problem. I never really followed blogs, and never would have thought of them for makeup. It is just sad that none of them made the front page so to speak, only the positive ones did. It saddens me to not be able to rust an etsy seller, because I had heard so much about the community and positive change the site stood for. I, and I am sure many others, don’t care that the items are repackaged, I just care that they are being sold on etsy and that I was led to believe in the homemade nature of the product. Part of my justification for spending the bits of money that I saved away on a college student budget was that my purchases were going to help an artist and a mother. I felt pride in all her accomplishments, believing theat some day my sister would see such exponential success in her clothing business and wanting others to support her as I was doing with Cherri. She let me down in that way, and the longer she goes without truth and reassurance, the more incriminating her actions appear.

      1. Don’t lose faith in handmade makeup! There are LOTS of companies out there that really do make their own eyeshadows and makeup.

        ShiroCosmetics, for example, is a mother and made all of her own stuff starting with 15 eyeshadows. She now makes blush and lipgloss too, and was able to make some people cinnamon-free red gloss- who could do that if they weren’t actually making it? I’ve ordered from her plenty and have always gotten what I wanted + freebies! She also posted photos of her warehouse as it’s being moved. Right now though, her TAT is like, 2 weeks because she has to train new employees.

        Fyrinnae is also awesome, and Morgan… who else… oh, lots of people. There’s one that Grey was talking about recently, a perfumier. <3 I can't wait to try them! I've also ordered soaps and lipgloss from BLSoaps and I'm pretty satisfied with everything I've gotten so far.

        It's easy to feel betrayed when someone like Cheri fucks up so royally- even I'm pissed off, being a former buyer. I even advertised for her a few times. Ugh! But that doesn't mean that all people are like that. When you feel like trying indie makeup again, read plenty of reviews- and not just from the shops' feedback! <3

        1. It appeared that Cheri could do these things too at one point. Someone posted on the fan page about wanting the eye primer, but was allergic to pomegranate, and Cheri said that she could make one for her without it- maybe it was never there to begin with and that is why, I can’t say, never bought it. To me putting silicone on my eyelids just didn’t seem like a good idea.

          Also though of something in all of this. Cheri was always claiming to release a lipstick line, and even polled her fan page for suggestions, but always seemed to have microwave mishaps and that was why she never released it. She also never released her perfume. I just assumed that she bit off more than she could chew and that the eyeshadow was keeping her too busy, but now it makes me wonder.

  17. I’ve never purchsed from Orglamix before, but this sort of drama is enough for me to not even bother looking at their site ever. I detest companies that lie to their customers, no matter what it’s about (they get caught anyway!). Even more so, I don’t understand why anyone would not want to make their cosmetics by hand – it would be so much more fun, creative and rewarding! I guess most people are out to get a quick buck by any method. Very dissapointing; and I feel for those who have been lied to by Orglamix and wasted their money and support on that sh*tty company.

  18. It saddens me that people are still in denial about this, with all the proof being given. I’d like to ask them, how do you think Cheri finds time to make enough product to have a 2-day TAT for all her hundreds of orders? How does she never run out of ingredients, or have them discontinued by the supplier? How does a company like Fyrinnae, with so many incoming orders they have to close every few weeks to process and create them all, with only two employees very well-known high quality, do LESS than Cheri does “all by herself” – while simultaneously having her fingers in all those other pies? It’s physically impossible. I know she’s offered to do walk-in tours of her “lab” in response to this, and I can’t wait to LOL at the results.

  19. Wow, the news keeps pouring out… meh. I’ve even culled some shadows recently but seeing those colour matches of stuff like Fog and Lilly Pilly….as someone said above, “I don’t feel beautiful wearing her product anymore”…..

    Even if I haven’t bought any Orglamix in ages (since I moved on to other lines that I thought were better anyway) – I don’t know what to do now. I have all these shadows…part of me wants to toss them in disgust, and part of me thinks that wasting them is somehow worse….I mean, I didn’t get into the neon stuff anyway, and never would….it’s just feeling duped which really irks me – I should have trusted my instincts about the photos and her social networking schmooze and walked away. 😛

    I tried to peel my labels off but at least so far, they all seem to be “first-round” stickers.

    Meh, with a capital “M”.

    1. I’m disgusted too. I moved on to better products, but I still kept the Orglamix ones. Maybe I’ll try pressing the shadows. At least I won’t be upset if I ruin them and I’ll have a palette of stuff to take with me if I ever need to grab a large amount of colors in a hurry.

      1. Well… Since they ARE all mineral shadows…

        Maybe us girls can make out own CUSTOM SHADES with the ones we have :p

        I didn’t think my post would explode like dynamite… But then again, I called it… Oh well.

        1. I’d definitely rather try to do something with them than let the dust collect. I have more than enough colors to make a palette. At least then I won’t have to try picking which jars I want to take with me and have them possibly spill in transit.

          Custom shades would be totally cool, too! I might add some eye safe glitter…

        2. Good point – I could perhaps tweak them into something slightly different – and I also like Reggie’s idea of “practising pressing” on them since I’ve not done that before and to be honest, I’d LOVE to press some of my shadows for travel.

          It’s an ethical battle – is it more ethical to throw away all this product (I think I have about 20 of her shadows, give or take) – or more ethical to find a way to use it? I’m not too worried about any shades I bought in terms of safety, so it’s purely down to principles as to what I do with it now.

          1. Yeah. That’s more or less why I wanted to try pressing with them. I spent enough money on them that I wouldn’t want to toss them, and if they’re private label then they’re safe. 🙂

  20. Maybe its going to take someone calling her out in Etsys forums to get them to do something , and to post every single of of these blog posts and pictures etc.

    1. Here’s hoping it happens. Reporting her shop to Etsy won’t be very effective, but calling out resellers in the forums almost ALWAYS gets them noticed and then eventually, shut down.

      Once Etsy is aware that she’s not selling handmade, they’re gonna demand pics and video of her making her product- and when she doesn’t deliver, they will shut her down. I’m sorry, I don’t care how good or awesome her private label cosmetics are, if they’re not handmade then they DON’T belong on Etsy.

      1. Etsy doesn’t seem to care- I didn’t use names, because they hate it when people do that in forum, so I tired to ask directly but discretely and this is the response I got.

        Discussion Thread
        Etsy’s Support Team (Adrian) 03/07/2011 10:51 AM
        Hello,

        Thank you for contacting us about this matter. I’m sorry to hear your experience shopping on Etsy did not meet your expectations. Etsy is a venue made of many individual sellers. Each seller on Etsy may have a different policy regarding refunds, exchanges and customer satisfaction.

        If you have not already, please contact the seller to work out a solution via Etsy Conversations. This page from our Help site provides information about using the Conversations feature on Etsy to contact another member: http://help.etsy.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/71/

        If you paid with PayPal you may submit a dispute for an item that is significantly not as described. To do so visit the PayPal Resolution Center.

        Use the Etsy Feedback system to review the product and service. Etsy may take action against sellers with overall low Feedback scores, which may result in the suspension of selling privileges and/or termination of an account. To learn more about Feedback, please read this page on our Help site: http://help.etsy.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/102/

        We hope you and the seller can work together to resolve this issue.

        Best,
        Adrian
        Etsy Support
        Etsy’s Support Team 03/04/2011 07:30 PM
        Thanks for using our Help site. Real people are working on your request.

        You 03/04/2011 07:30 PM
        It has recently been revealed that a shop that I have made several purchases through is not making handmade product and is merely repackaging by placing a new company logo over the older information. Also the ingredient claims do not seem to be accurate or consistent- possibly ingredients are unknown. I feel that all of my purchases were made under falsie pretenses and I would like to know if I would be able to return them for a full refund, or even a partial refund. I would also like to know if there is any accountability through Etsy for these types of purchases or any special channel to go through to process this request. The seller does not seem to be responding to conversations. At this stage I do not feel that the items I have purchased are harmful in the way that others the seller listed have found to be, but I would still like to return them because they are not what they were advertised to be. Thank you for any response you are able to give.

        1. Wow, that response is really dismissive and upsetting. I flagged the shop and a few listings, but didn’t write to them personally. UGH. SO FRUSTRATING.

          And even if people start leaving negative feedback now, it’s not even going to be a blip in her overall feedback rating.

  21. Wow. I’m really surprised at all the backlash on the facebook fan page. I keep checking back periodically and the claws have come out.

    I’d really like Cheri to post some kind of explanation rather than comment about the “blatant lies” and “crap” that has been posted.

  22. I took screen shots and will upload them shortly to my flickr and post the link here.

    WOW, not just MY comments, but everyone’s comments!

      1. I’m not surprised. I figure since she’s threatened me in the past with a Cease & Desist, she doesn’t like anything to do with me. Though with her contacting me last September (2010) and then in February (2011), trying to get me to ‘kiss & make up’ on Etsy, and then do a review/blog giveaway, it’s certainly given me mixed signals.

  23. Well… my comments were just deleted and I am now banned from posting/commenting on the facebook fan page.

      1. I think you have to look at it backwards. It’s like angry eyebrows and a yelling mouth.

  25. Funny that she never said she was going on vacation, she really went a long way for that drink her last post mentioned. It saddens me to feel such distrust for a person- it isn’t in my nature, plus I had good customer service from her in the past. But escaping and not meeting these accusations up front doesn’t reassure me. Sad to have wasted all my money, i don’t feel beautiful wearing her product anymore.

    1. I’m so sorry for you 🙁
      Unfortunately I’m betting a lot of customers are feeling similar to you.

  26. It is so sad that there are people out there who LOVE her company and have spent hundreds of dollars purchasing makeup that is definitely not what it seems. I wonder how many people will be put off by indie companies altogether after glittersniffer and now, this. What a messed up state of affairs.

    1. Yep, it really is.
      I know when I purchased from Orglamix in 2009 I was mad I’d wasted my money. Same with Glittersniffer.

  27. I followed your link to the FB page, & she just posted this denial about 15-20 minutes ago. @@ (If this were true, why would there be private labels under her labels?):

    Orglamix Cosmetics:
    I am currently in LA until Monday; and therefore have been not posting or on Facebook for the last few days. I want to state that I unequivocally personally make EVERY SINGLE Orglamix product. Anyone local is welcome to come visit my lab on Monday morning, please PM me. I will certainly respond to each & every post when I get home.

    1. I just took a screenshot of that and added it above.

      I too would love to know how she could make everything, yet there is a private label beneath hers.

      1. I have a feeling that if she actually lets anyone come to her lab, it’s going to either be a major set up, or she’s going to be VERY careful with who she choses.

    3. I bet she is not even in LA, if we consider the amount of time she is spending on deleting negative comments and banning the people making them on her fan page. She is seeing the shit hitting the fan big time and wants to save as much as she can. It will be fun though, when customers start giving her negative feedback on etsy for previous purchases (they have started already, I see). We’ll see how she copes with that.

    4. I actually live 30 minutes away from her. Should I PM her asking to visit her lab? I’m busy on Monday, though, do you think she’d turn me down on that basis alone? >_>

  28. Seriously hate it when people lie about making their products by themselves. I really don’t care if they resell private label if they SAY SO because tbh most of the world’s commerce runs by buying wholesale and reselling but really.. this sort of bs is just retarded.

    1. Yep, I’m fine with private label or repackaging as long as the seller is honest about it. A good chunk of them are honest about it, so it’s not a big deal.

  29. Well on the plus side… since her stuff was ALL private-label, at least there’s no worry about contamination from improper hygiene and stuff. Yay for silver linings on gigantic dark clouds 😀

    1. But there is the problem that she sold some products as being eye or lip safe when they were not, if that’s true.

      And she claimed, quite vehemently, that she created all her stuff by hand, when the evidence presented at the blogs linked above shows otherwise.

      1. True, true. Labeling non-eye safe stuff as eye-safe is a crappy thing to do for a couple bucks’ profit. I’d forgotten about that part- I was referencing the complaints I’ve seen about her changing diapers and then packing eyeshadows- I don’t think THAT’S a concern anymore, since she was just putting stickers on sealed jars 😉

        And re: Orglamix not being handmade products- I have reported her shop to Etsy, provided them links to all the facts, and am hoping enough others have done the same to make Etsy sit up and take notice and action. Non-handmade items don’t belong on that site, shame on her for lying about her products. She can set up her own website,and let the true handcrafters have their place. I just worry that Etsy will leave her alone, because she brings in a ton of money for them, fees-wise. Sadly, it might take a bunch of call-outs on the Etsy forums before they do anything about her, since they don’t tend to respond to private reports they can just sweep under the rug.

        *sigh* First GS and now this… makes you wonder who’s gonna be next 🙁

        1. Cheri just stated on Facebook that she does handmake everything in Orglamix.

          I’m curious how that’s possible considering that people have jars with stickers to other companies under Cheri’s stickers.

          1. Actually, if you look closely, and really read her various comments this past week, she has yet to use the phrase “handmake”. She says “I personally make the product” which is what she has continually said through this… “I make the shades” – “I made the product”

            She is a master manipulator using creative language which implies she is hand making everything, but does not actually say that. I have continually asked her directly if she HAND makes her products herself and mixes them BY HAND and she continues to ignore my question.

            Sorry for the all caps, I’m not trying to yell. 🙂 Just trying to point out how easy it is for us to read her words, and assume she is saying “hand make” when she does not. This is what she is so good at it!

            BTW I have a screen shot of her directly saying that one of her stock photo models was wearing her Pacific Paradise collection of eye minerals after a customer asked “what makeup is she wearing?”

            Also while it is clear her regular stock is private label and straight from the manufacturer, I am really confused about where her LE products are created. Recently (the last few months, not sure about earlier as I was not a customer then) the LE products have been arriving in a totally clear 10g jar with a rotating sifter. NOTHING is sealed in any way, no heat seal on the outside, no sticker covering the sifter hole (there is one large one). The exact same jars and sifters are on TKB’s site. In fact my LE jars have been often leaky in my packages.

            One has to wonder…. is she opening up old stock items to mix her LE shades by hand? Where on earth are they coming from? Does someone else produce it, send it to her, and she fills these jars? I am honestly concerned about the sanitation of these LE products.

            1. Yeah her language choice is interesting. Maybe she means she adds something to the stock eye shadow and puts it back in the jar?

              It would be interesting to see her answers to your questions.

      2. @Phyrra, when I followed your “smile jar” link & watched the video on the site, I saw (at 1:47) a smilejars.com employee putting sifters into jars of product without wearing gloves. If this is common practice for smilejars, & if Orglamix is actually using them, then she actually may have sanitation issues as well.

        1. Oh my goodness! That would be very very bad, and to me, if those were Orglamix’s jars, that wouldn’t even be her fault. IF Orglamix had purchased those shadows from Smile Jar (and I don’t know that she did, one of the other original posters I linked to above surmised that she might have), and Smile Jar wasn’t sanitary, it would be Smile Jar’s fault, not Orlgamix’s fault.

          1. I agree it wouldn’t be her fault directly, but if she uses them, she may have known, because I saw it in smilejars.com’s “How to Create New Cosmetic Company” video that is on their homepage & was uploaded to YouTube on January 28, 2009, & I believe Orglamix wasn’t introduced until July 2009. I could give her the benefit of doubt & assume that, if she does use smilejars, that she never saw that video, or if she did, that she missed the 6 seconds of it that shows the worker not wearing gloves while putting sifters in the jars. While her track record does make that more difficult to believe, it is of course very possible.
            The even scarier implication is that, if this is standard practice for smilejars, then even honest companies who [launched before the video was online, or somehow missed that part of the video] admit they use private label from smilejars for their cosmetics lines, could have sanitation risks & not even realize it. o_O

  30. I’m so glad someone finally wrote this. There have been posts on her FB page recently about all the stock photos, and her lies about celebrities and even now Dr. Oz using her products. I wonder how long it’ll take for her to come forward and honestly address these issues?

    1. I’ll add the information about stock photos above. I’m guessing these issues will be swept under the rug because it doesn’t seem like she is acknowledging them.

      1. Guess what? She BANNED me from her page. My comments weren’t rude, I asked her to come out about the stock photos and repackaging buiz. I recommended other makeup stores to fans who were concerned about purchasing repacked cosmetics. I don’t think silencing the knowledgable people is going to make it all go away. The fans seriously want anwers now… they’re not buying the “I hand make all my shades myself” anymore. Etsy has also been contacted by a variety of people because if her products are not handmade, she cant be selling them.

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