A Long Tale of Orglamix Organic Ending With Unexpected Big Bang

Update 03/06/2011

I've made a few changes to the wording in my blog here, as I realize some of it was much too harsh and left no room for interpretation. I wanted this post to be as objective as possible, and I think to a certain extent I succeeded. There were just a few things I needed to change.

Thanks for your support everyone.

~*Snarky P

Update 03/05/2011

This is not a smear campaign.
I am not doing this maliciously.

I've tried to contact Cheri in regards to some labeling questions I had, and during the time I've been waiting for her to respond... I've done some research. I had no idea she was in LA, all we knew is that she went from posting frequently... To not a peep. But there's a flurry today in response to what I've been able to compile.

I'm heartbroken and sad at the amount of information and what I have found- but if you do not believe me (which is your right) then you can do some simple google searches as well and can readily find the same information I did. It's not lies. The internet caches pages for a reason.

If there is an explanation as to why these things appear the way they do, and is indeed a huge coincidence- by all means.... Show me Cheri. Show me your workspace. Show me the bags or large containers your bulk purchased mineral foundations, colors, micas, and other organic material is delivered to you in. Show me your empty jars with no labels before the minerals are packaged. Show me you and your employees having a sticker fest and labeling the handmade colors. I will be glad to remove this post and apologize profusely once I've seen beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am wrong with information I have found.

As many of you know, I've been a die-hard fan of Orglamix for a LONG time. This has not been easy for me to write or share. Look at my tag cloud- how many Orglamix looks have I created? How many times have I used the product? Would I compose this if I didn't have serious doubts as to how this company is run? No.

Do I believe Cheri is selling us unsafe makeup?

No. I don't. The product itself is wonderful.

Do I believe the product is subject to a deeper peek due to some labeling issues which have come up?

Yes. That's all I did. And I've shared what I've been able to find.

As a response to those currently who are asking more questions on Orglamix's Facebook Page as to whether or not the business is legitimate... It's coming to light comments and questions are being removed, and those who dare ask or question are being banned from the page.

I mean... When you start reading my introduction below... It's positive, isn't it?!

Does that sound like someone who would invest hundreds of dollars into a company, promote and refer friends, family and strangers to support Cheri as well... Just so I can turn around and write "lies" and "be mean"?

Seriously?

Think about it.

~*Snarky P

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Post Composition Started 03/03/2011

This is a very long post. There is a lot of information I've found and compiled, and I feel is necessary to share. If you want to skip the top, that's fine... Just take a look at the bottom few pictures of the blog to get the jist of where I'm going with this tale.

You all know I've been a fan of Orglamix. I have been since October of 2009, which was when I first discovered mineral makeup. Looking at this particular shop, I was intrigued because of the fact that Cheri had no preservatives or extra "fluff and stuff" in her cosmetics. No fillers, nothing bad for my skin... So what the heck? I gave it a go. I loved the pictures, but really wondered if they would be true to color when I received them. I ordered a few, and I can tell you immediately I was in love with the pigments when they arrived, the way they applied, and the many ways I could mix-and-match to get different looks. As I researched, I found Cheri and her company was really starting to take off.

When I first started purchasing the colors, I picked up a Twilight Glampire Bella Collection for $19.99. It included 1g of product in a 3g jar. This set contained a foundation, blush, bronzer, and three eye shadow colors. It evens out to about $3.33 a jar plus shipping. They were clear jars, with sifters, and had the Orglamix logo printed on the lids. The stickers on the bottom had the company website, and the name of the color. They tended to wear off quickly, so I stored them upside down. There are conflicting reports that the jars may in fact have been 5g jars with 1g product. Either which way, the pricing and product couldn't go wrong.

Next purchase were gifts for Christmas, and colors I thought would compliment my Mom and Sister's skin well. Of course, I kept some as well! The shadows were increased to $3.99 a jar, and although the listing states that the product was 1g of product in a 3g jar, I received them all in an 8g jar at 1.5g of product. Considerably larger. I was happy. Especially with a few extra shades tucked into my package which I didn't order- score! The only "gripe" I had at the time is why not combine shipping? The makeup can clearly fit into priority mail boxes for a flat rate. Adding more and more makeup to my orders ended up increasing the shipping price so it had exceeded what it would have been for a small/medium/large priority box. Otherwise, shipping was fast and efficient. If it wasn't- I typically had contact from Cheri in regards to being a little behind with the orders and catching up- so that was fine. I didn't mind.

Continuing on, more orders of course. I couldn't get enough of this makeup. The price had now increased to $4.99 a jar, which I really didn't mind due to the fact that the 8g jars were considerably larger than the 3g ones. Officially an addict at this point, my purchases kept somehow depleting my savings. How could that happen?! Regardless... The jars were sometimes different. Now when they arrived, all had clear bottoms. But now I had some with shiny black caps, with stickers on the bottom with the color name. The other ones were some really pretty printed logo caps. And now some had clear caps with a black ring around the outside, so I could look right in and see the sifter and color I was picking up. I loved this. But I'm also very precise. I store all my colors upside down, so I can see all the labels.

Now skip to just before or after (I can't remember which, my apologies) Christmas of 2010, and the prices of the makeup all of a sudden goes up to $6.50 for single shades, and collections/XL containers increasing with this margin as well... No warning. This really isn't a "complaint" per-se, but... At the time I didn't know I had won the huge makeup contest, and was planning on purchasing a few more colors. An extra buck-fifty for me is a huge difference to me and my non-existent budget. (I'm unemployed, trying to get on disability for a back injury sustained from a horrible car accident in 2007... No worries about me, I'm slowly getting better...) Instead of maybe grabbing up 5 or 6 colors... It now limits me to maybe 3 when I'm able to squirrel away some extra dollars. However- it's loads more affordable than some other mineral makeup brands.

The verdict? I love Orglamix makeup. This is my own opinion, and in no way am I encouraging you to have to like it as well. It's helped clear up my skin, and I love the variety of colors I've been able to combine to create some pretty amazing looks. The makeup literally glides on effortlessly, and it's a dream to blend. Wearing multiple eye shadows together creates one of a kind colors. Wet them, and the color is that much more intense, or use it as eyeliner. The sheer amount of possibilities this makeup has is incredible bounds, far beyond what some regular shadows are capable of performing as. My personal opinion about this makeup is that it's one of my favorites.

Continuing on objectively with information I've found online:

Unfortunately, there's a bit of a "scandal" (if that's the word you want to use) coming about with the revelation that Cheri had another makeup line known as Candy Glam which she had sold. This past October, she ran a promo where extra of this stock was put up for sale as a limited edition collection- and being loyal customers, many of the girls jumped at the chance to get their hands on these colors. I wanted them. I really wanted a set, but I just didn't have the money to purchase them. If you want to read about the whole story, more information is posted here.

There are loads of articles and interviews done with Cheri, which praise her and her handmade, organic, cruelty-free mineral makeup line. You can check out a few here, here, here and definitely here which is where I think there's a great supply of information. There's plenty of other reviews to be found online as well. Some aren't so great, as this posting, but it's par for the course- sometimes makeup just doesn't work for certain people. We are all entitled to our own opinions. That's the beauty of it- our opinions are not fact. They're personal feelings- and if makeup impresses you, great! If not, move on! Don't linger and dwell on a negative if you love/hate a product and someone with an opposite opinion tries to engage you. Rise about it. Eventually, people will see what's going on and will draw their own conclusions. Cheri has built quite an online presence as her line grows, including professional networking, and The Indie Beauty Network- search the page for Haute Beauty Brands. I'd venture to say that up until now, and still continuing, she has a bit of a "cult following" for her products. (for the record, that is a compliment)

Since writing that article, I've been able to delve a little deeper. I've done some research  using Google and a few keywords, since one of my readers was kind enough to leave me a link which coincidentally matches a lot of those strange ID numbers some of us have found underneath an Orglamix sticker on the bottom of our shadows/blushes. I then remembered another site a fellow blogger had made reference to in a post comment somewhere in this mish-mash of information now coming out. (My apologies, if it was you... Please take credit below) Does this mean the product is re-packaged? No. It just makes us question where it's coming from. Why would you purchase empty jars that have stickers on the bottom, with names, ID's and ingredients? What company would send you jars with stickers like that? Or go even further... Why would someone print stickers that look like they match private label re-sellers online, slap them on their handmade shadows... And then put their corrected sticker over it? See... Questions only.

So I'll have you take a quick gander here at this site CPL: Cosmetics Private Label and Smile Jars.

They both look honest enough, right? It's mineral makeup. Eye Shadows, Foundations, Blushes, and even Brushes. All sorts of jars, other stock makeup products and accessories. Sounds like a great place to stock up on needed containers and micas, and the prices are even decent. Now, I did look at both these sites briefly at first, since I did notice the packaging was similar to what is used for Orglamix's line, but I didn't put two and two together... The ID's I was looking for was as they're shown below.on the sticker itself. It never occurred to me to hyphenate the identifying numbers. Even a partial search, for some reason, didn't turn anything up for me. Alright, that's good news... Right?

Remember, my collection of Orglamix colors now consists of about 150 eye shadow colors. 15 were "double-stickered". It's 10% of my hoarded treasure...Er, products. (joke ladies, laugh!) Out of my list of double-stickered colors which I pulled off my jars, I now am browsing casually through CPL & Smile Jars and comparing the two sites. It suddenly hits me. They both are identical in numbering and mineral shades. In fact, the only thing that seems different about the two sites are their names. Interesting. It doesn't mean the colors are re-packaged.

So I continue to look, pulling the ID's I have on my own jars and comparing them to what's listed on these sites to see if anything is close, matching, or absolutely off. I'm curious at this point... Nothing more.

The first line states the Orglamix color, and next to it the Color and ID number of  what I'm calling "The Rogue Sticker". This is what I found:

Ambre has a sticker which says Amber SP088 Pure Mineral Eye

Sites indicates L-SP088 Goldish ... Is it the same color?
To me, maybe. It looks a bit darker than Ambre.

Green Tea has a sticker that says Green Tea 78 Shimmer Powder

Sites indicates L-SP078 Autumn ... Do we have a match?
Maybe? It seems there's a lot more gold undertones.

Fog is Fog SPSP149 Pure Mineral Eye

Sites indicates L-SP149 Fog ... Look familiar?
Because I use this color often, to me it does.

Lilly Pilly is Lilly Pilly SP026 Pure Mineral Eye

Sites indicates L-SP026 Creme de Violet ... Not the Lilly Pilly I know.
LP in my stash is much pinker, and brighter.

Neroli is Neroli LSP-129 Shimmer Powder

Sites indicates L-SP129 SOUL ... Clearly not the same!
Neroli is similar to Lilly Pilly, a little more purple. This is blue!

Brimstone is Brimstone SP157 Pure Mineral Eye

Sites indicates L-SP157 is not in their color line.


 Sesame is Sesame SP043 Pure Mineral Eye

Sites indicates L-SP043 Silver ... Possible, but not probable.

This color is very dark. I don't think so.

Champagne Toast is SP003 The Bride Pure Mineral Color

Sites indicates L-SP003 Champaigne ... It might be?
I think there's too much pink to be CT.

Marshmallow is Marshmallow SP101 Pure Mineral Eye

Sites indicates L-SP101 CREAN ... Hard to tell.
This has a bluish tint, Orglamix's color is pure white.

Watermelon is Watermelon LSP-141

Sites indicates L-SP141 Pumpkin ... Too dark to be Watermelon!
The one I have is pink and shimmery- much lighter.

Pineapple is Pineapple SP125 Pure Mineral Eye

Sites indicates L-SP125 Desert Sun ... Clearly not Pineapple!
It's pretty though.

Citron is Citron 36 Shimmer Powder

Sites indicates L-SP036 Banana ... Looks like it could match.

Saffron is Saffron 133 Shimmer Powder

Sites indicates L-SP133 is TEMP ...Possibly the same color.
Very close, but not exact. I'm not sure.

Yes, some are very similar. Some look spot on. Some aren't even remotely close.... Since when is Pineapple blue?! Does it "prove" beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a simple repackaging of CPL's product renamed as Orglamix? Not necessarily. Also, these are just my personal "rogue stickers" in my collection. Other customers have colors that have been double-stickered that are different from mine.

But here's something interesting you might recognize:

This looks a lot like... Primer. On both CPL and SJ sites it is. Simply called "EP Eye Primer". Checking out the ingredients list... It's totally not organic. So... This appears to (my eye) be the same jar of "stay put primer". Appearances aren't everything... Keep that in mind. According to Cheri, her Magnetism Eye Primer formula is 100% organic. No synthetics. I'm not saying this is the primer is we purchase from Orglamix. I just find it a very strange coincidence it's housed in the same small jar, clear bottom and shiny black cap. They appear to look the same to me.

I'm unsure of what to say.

Additionally, these companies will custom label jars of stock ordered with your very own personal logo on it. So an MUA wants a cosmetic line, and potentially sell it to clients? Purchase stock. Submit a logo... And CPL/SJ will either slap on a sticker or heat transfer a logo to the top lid of your jar. It's great for anyone wanting to break into the business and have professional looking stock almost right off the bat.

The nagging at the back of my brain right now is sending me a flag saying "look closely at the jars..."

I'd venture to say these jars have a high probability of being the stock Cheri uses to house her cosmetics. The heat imprinting of the logo does make sense- her pretty flowery logo with her name on the lid. The pull tabs of the clear stickers over the sifters appear to my eye to be identical., as shown in the picture below. The jars even match (with the exception of the white lidded one) ones that I've personally received. Does it mean they've been purchased from either of these two sites? No. I don't know where she gets them. There's a number of suppliers who I'm sure will sell cosmetics jars... Probably thousands. But the fact stands that as I've illustrated above, comparing the stock ID number on the "rogue-labels", having some colors look awful similar and some that don't, and then seeing these jars as packaging options.... I'll let you draw your own conclusion.

Does this automatically damn her for purchasing jars? No! Not even close. She needs something to store the minerals in, right?! Right! We don't want to receive packages of powder now, do we?

The question I'm putting forth is simple... With the similarity of colors shown, with some possible matches, and the jars looking like they're exactly the same as the ones we receive our product in... What's the probability of purchasing x amount of color(s) from CPL/SJ, in a stamped jar, with Orglamix's logo on it?

What do you think?

At this time, I have not heard back from Cheri.



Updated and Discovered 03/04/2011

Now. I tried a few more google searches. Different keywords. These are all screenshots of public information I've found online. Nothing was purchased to "get information", no underhanded sneaky way of finding stuff.

Just.
A.
Simple.
Google.
Search.

Take a look here, and make up your own mind. Draw your own conclusions.
Click the pictures for better, bigger images.

How many different Companies does Cheri Rychlee Tracy actually run... Er, I mean... Supervise? Outsource? Help me out here. I don't think I'm finding the right words. I'm so upset, I can't find the right ones.

This one's hers too... Beauty of a Site, and even more interesting... Help wanted: net profits: want to hand a project to a freelancer but don't know where to start? The internet can help

How many hours in a day, and running what companies exactly? As a mom, we know she has to take care of her kids... And they're time consuming, even as a SAHM. How do you run a full blown beauty site, an Amazon account, create mineral makeup, package all cosmetics, print, pull and pack these hundreds of orders, have a TAT of about 2 days, keep up with new listings and re-listings on Etsy,  answer (most) email or convo inquiries within 24-48 hours, Twitter all day, and update and interact with Facebook Fans throughout each day... And still have time to do anything? I'd be completely frazzled. But that's just me. I guess one of my big questions is... When do you eat?! Is it one meal a day, or three? There is just so much going on- how much help do you need to do this? I don't know. I'm not a small business owner. How many employees are needed? I don't know.

Still Googling around... Wait a sec... Take a very close look... This one was found by accident.

 

 

Selling private label cosmetics already... And wants to semi-customize the line? No mention of Orglamix, but her name isn't exactly common like Jones or Smith. Someone pretending to be Cheri? I don't know. I just look at the information on the screen. Orglamix was launched in July 2009.

Personally, I'm shocked. Stunned. Betrayed. Hurt. Pissed off. Really, really pissed off. I've spent hundreds of dollars on what I believe are potentially re-packaged cosmetics and left positive feedback for Cheri. My Mom has spent a fair share on these for me. I've given her information to strangers on the street who have stopped me to compliment my eye makeup- look cha-ching! Another customer! You and me have helped this business grow exponentially... And now we find all this out...

Has it all been a lie??

I honestly don't know. I don't know.

And what is it about her leaving positive feedback on Etsy? Most of the time, when someone purchases from your shop it's a "Awesome customer, glad to do business. Thank you for coming by and supporting me, hope to see you back soon!"

Each and every one of her feedback "Thank You's" are plugs to "Go the Orglamix way", and "Stop by facebook for exclusive offers". It's a pet peeve of mine. Maybe we should start plugging our own products in feedback left for her?

You can reference other posts for more information if you'd like, in case I haven't presented enough:
Seriously Orglamix, Seriously?
Orglamix
OMG - More Orglamix 


My personal opinion at this time is this entire business is dishonest. Not one more dime, not a penny, nothing from my purse will ever go to this company ever again. Had this information been disclosed prior, it would be a different story and I would still support Cheri in this business venture of hers. I hope you ladies  will take the time to draw your own conclusions and come to your own decisions about whether or not you'll invest in helping this business grow any further. I'd like to say save your cents and use them on honest companies, but ultimately- that decision is yours.




No x0x0x0's this time gals, it makes me sad...

~*Snarky P



***All stock images are from CPL Cosmetics***