Neat things companies do: Meow Cosmetics

I was writing up Meow’s Xmas Rant collection, newly released this November (watch for a review and swatches later this week, from this and three other Meow holiday collections). I was speculating (as one does) on which colors might be a close match for things I already owned, which didn’t really work well for me, and which I wanted to get in fullsize. I started to write about how I liked having the option to buy fullsize this year, or wait until the collection makes a re-appearance next year…and the opinion grew. So it gets its own post now.

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Love and Hate and Disappointment: when people can’t grow up

So I’m sure everyone’s heard by now, Aromaleigh is closing. I wish the owner well, in a general wish-other-humans-well kind of way. I wasn’t a fan of the owner nearly as much as I was a fan of the products…and while I’d bought most of the eyeshadows from her that I wanted, for my sake I do mourn the loss of the blushes, the lip products, and the color correctors. I mourn the loss of the whole line on behalf of all the people who had only just discovered Aromaleigh, or who had put off ordering because it was going to “be around forever”. I never had problems with the products, the very few times I had problems with an order the issues were swiftly and smoothly corrected, and the one time I emailed about the sudden change to the customer rewards program I received a fairly gracious response. I was less a fan of some of the ways the owner conducted certain aspects of the business, the way a small percentage of her remarks seemed to be more something you’d share with your friends and compatriots (or possibly the audience of a “Real Housewives of…” series) than with the internet at large…especially when you’ve got a higher-than-average public profile. But even quite a few people who stopped buying from Aromaleigh because they didn’t care for the owner’s comportment, have said that Aromaleigh did have quality products. And so now everyone’s lost that particular resource. That is my primary cause of upset: knowing that not only will I have to resume the search for good color correctors, but that all those women who only started enjoying the products are now losing access to those products. Whether one loathed the owner’s behavior, didn’t really care about it (or didn’t pay attention to it), or were a diehard Aromaleigh evangelist, the loss of such a varied and good-quality product line is a very unhappy event. (I’ve been seeing the word “Aromabot” pop up around the web, used by some anti-AL people to refer to the most vocal defenders of the company/the owner. It makes me giggle, hear Nancy Sinatra, and envision an army of women wearing rich vivid eyeshadows and bullet-throwing bustiers. I want weaponized lingerie!! But anyhoo, on to the somewhat sane content.)

With this in mind, I’d like to offer some advice. Because a blog is also big ol’ soapbox, and if you can’t drive your Miata with the top down and the wind blowing through your hair, what’s the use of having a head?

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Review: Everyday Minerals

• Company name: Everyday Minerals
• Presence: online storefront only
• Products: eyeshadows, blush, face powders, foundation, brushes, lip colors
• High points: mini-jars of eyecolor are a decent value; I like the jars the use for their "big" size blushes and face powders
• Low points: limited color range; low pigmentation levels/most colors extremely sheer; new-formula products / formulations sent out with old-formula labels / ingredients list (details); significant price increases in fall 2010 along with the shift to rollerball packaging
• Manufactured in-house or resold: mixture (brushes resold; other products' source unknown/unconfirmed)
• Would I buy from them again: as of June 2010, no (customer service / communication issues; eyeshadow quality not all that great; prices increase but product quality remains the same)

Everyday Minerals sells foundation, blush, color correctors, face colors and glow powders, bronzers, eyeshadows, eyeliners, lip colors, and brushes. Their loose-powder shadows and blushes are about on par with Ulta's loose-powder mineral makeup, in terms of pigmentation and adhesion. They also, as of early 2010, have a distinct site design and visual branding which garners mixed reviews. Additionally, some folks have had severe reactions to Everyday Minerals' products (EDM-relevant details further down the page, beneath the blue "why is this 'may contain' business so important to me?" text, YouTube video from a makeup artist and former EDM 'ambassador'). I am fortunate enough to have no skin sensitivity problems nor immune system problems, so have not personally experienced much in the way of rashes, breakouts, or other skin irritations while using Everyday Minerals' products...though I have had some minor problems with a few things, including one rather memorable instance.

I started buying from Everyday Minerals back in early 2008. I bought about four eyeshadows, and got several samples of their blushes and foundations. I tried six foundations, but was not happy with the color matches, consistency, or coverage - so I kept looking, and eventually found my foundation from another vendor. Everyday Minerals had inexpensive shadows, though, as well as a very good try-me-free program and a customizable "super kit" that allowed one to purchase a large number of samples for a lowered price. I placed another order in late 2009 for their mint color corrector and several more eyeshadows, and eventually ordered more of the eyeshadows in their mini size - a 10-gram jar, holding approximately 2.5 grams of product. I experienced no skin irritation, and was unaware of the upheavals going on among the EDM fanbase (I hadn't really frequented the now-deleted EDM customer forum - some information about what happened to it - but shortly after I placed my November 2009 order, the customizable super-kit was discontinued, their try-me-free program was aggressively streamlined, and the forum was deleted). By this time, I had about 12 fullsize eyeshadows, three blushes, and had started using (and was pleased with) the mint color corrector. I had absolutely no reactions to any of my products; but again, I'm fortunate enough not to have extreme chemical sensitivities, skin irritation issues, or even allergies (except to bee stings), so I'm not entirely surprised. I placed some orders with Everyday Minerals this past month with the intention of making "one last stop", buying as many of their eyeshadows in the being-phased-out mini size as possible (because I really prefer all my jar sizes to be matchy-matchy [I know, I'm weird]) and buying a few more of their blushes - because they looked kind of pretty, and because if Everyday Minerals changed the formulas once before and kind of forgot to tell their customer base, they might do it again. At any rate, this was my final pass through Everyday Minerals. I like the products that I got, but will not be buying from them for several reasons. I would also urge anyone else thinking of buying from Everyday Minerals to carefully check EDM's current list of ingredients, especially if you have any known allergies or chemical sensitivities.

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Customer service is not rocket surgery

Customer service is like teaching: it’s a necessary job, it’s an underappreciated job, and it takes lots of patience, humor, and tact. When you work in customer service, you generally only get to deal with people when things go wrong. They’re mildly perturbed, or cranky, or annoyed, or vituperatively pissed. You will rarely deal with completely happy people when you work in customer service.

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Happy Monday, everyone

I’ve got lots of unrelated thoughts ricocheting around in my head, getting in my way when I attempt to write some longer posts (some reviews, a few rants, some policies for the site, a glossary-of-sorts). In an effort to clear the plotbunnies out of my brain so I can get some SrsWriting done, here’s a little cerebral download.

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Review: The SheSpace

• Company name: The SheSpace
• Presence: online storefront and one physical location (Naperville IL USA)
• Products: eyeshadows, blush, face powders, foundation, brushes, lip colors
• High points: wide range of colors; large permanent line and frequent limited-edition collections; "savvy shopper" discount program
• Low points: long order turnaround times; individual jars are not sealed / spillage hazards; products sold by jar size not by weight
• Manufactured in-house or resold: eye pigments, face powders, lip balms, and blushes manufactured in-house; brushes resold; previously-sold products (cream shadows, eye pencils, mascara) resold
• Would I buy from them again: as of June 2010, no

Yes, this review is more than a bit after-the-fact, since The SheSpace closed last month...but I still think it's important because Heather has opened two new online storefronts (some similarity in direction, but not exact duplicates.) If you're thinking of shopping with Eye Couture Cosmetics or Heatheresque, read for some good points, some not-so-good points, and some things to watch for and expect from these colors.

I was first attracted to The SheSpace in April 2008, when I read raves about the colors and prices. I headed over to the site, signed up for the customer forums in June 2008...and finally placed my first order shortly thereafter. At that time, the products came in 5-gram jars with no sifter, and were $4 a piece. There was a fairly wide selection of eye colors, as well as blushes and some face powders. I liked the colors I got: they weren't too expensive, they were vibrant and colorful (especially compared to Bare Escentuals, which was almost the only MMU I'd purchased before this point), and the colors adhered well. Average order turnaround took the better part of a month, but since she was open about the shipping times, and was dealing with a huge influx of new customers AND a rash of orders (and since Bare Escentuals' shipping took nearly three weeks, and they were a great big huge company), I decided not to let this delay bother me too much. At one point she was sending free pots of color with every order, as a "thank you" to her customers for patience. She definitely seemed to be trying to provide interesting quality products, and listening to her customers...big pluses.

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Cream shadows, holiday collections, and site news

The latest line of gel liners and cream shadows is in over at Morgana Cryptoria. Initially I’m liking Twilight, Eerie, Bubblegum, Dreamscape, Bathory, and Glowin’ - and there are six more shades that don’t yet have pics or descriptions. I don’t know whether or not they’re indelible, as neither the names nor descriptions say anything definitive. However, Melissa is going to be coming out with her own line of cream shadows and liners soon (hopefully those will be ‘indelible’!) She’s going to stop carrying the Lady Burd indelible cream shadows and gel liners soon, too - and she’s reduced prices on her remaining inventory. Get them while supplies last! (She has the best prices on these I’ve seen from any MMU vendor, hands down.)

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It’s been lovely, but I have to scream now

I love it when a product or service is better, or cooler, or neater, than I expected. A nail polish that has a hint of duochrome. An eye color that has subtle hints of iridescence or sparkle that aren’t readily apparent. A lip or cheek color that looks brighter and has more depth than the photos or text description lead me to believe.

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