After learning of some scandalous and legally questionable actions that the owner of Stardust has taken against another mineral makeup company, Aromaleigh, I can no longer recommend Stardust Cosmetics at all. I have thrown out my makeup from Stardust.
In my opinion, the actions, as shown by countless screen captures and online posts, are reprehensible. This leads me to feeling that supporting Stardust is like supporting those actions and the person(s) perpetrating them.
Please note, by request of Jenna Whitman, owner and founder of Stardust Cosmetics, I removed all images and direct references related to the protracted online argument between Stardust and Aromaleigh, as instigated by Stardust, in direct response to threats of reporting my blog to blogger, with erroneous accusations of libel and copyright infringements. In other words, Jenna threatened me to remove that information or she would falsely report me to Blogger to get my blog shut down.
In an effort to take the higher road, and simply be done with an ugly situation, I have complied. So I’m done talking about or responding to ugliness from anyone, in reference to the unfortunate situation between Aromaleigh and Stardust.
—
Jenna pretended to be Sheveritas to have conversations with herself on her blog, on other blogs, and on forums. The ip address for Jenna, the owner of Stardust, matches with the ip address of SheVeritas. This matches with the ip address I have from emails that were sent to me from Jenna. It also matches for comments that were left on my blog from Jenna. I have been lied to. I’m shocked, devastated and disappointed to learn this.
When I asked Jenna previously, she told me she respected Kristen and that Kristen inspired her to start Stardust. I thought this was wonderful. I NEVER thought anything was wrong with Jenna starting her own company. I supported Jenna in this. I tried her products. I liked them. I gave them favorable reviews. I don’t understand why Jenna saw the need to pretend to be someone else – SheVeritas – and have conversations with herself on her blog and other places.
No matter how you look at it, it was wrong of Jenna to lie and pretend to be SheVeritas to further her cause.
SheVeritas had been posting about Aromaleigh over at the MakeupTalk Forums. She then removed this information.
SheVeritas had posted at livejournal, but then deleted her account.
SheVeritas has also posted at the Rant4theUgly forums.
You can read the full time line of events at Noel’s Blog. To enlarge any of the very big/long images, just hit Ctrl+.
I’m extremely devastated, disappointed and disgusted by all of this.
Email from Sept. 17, 2009
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Interesting. Such a shame, that was going to be the next company I ordered from >.>
Kambria, I'm stunned. I thought Jenna was really sweet. Now I feel like she lied to me. I just cannot believe it. I don't understand WHY she would do this! There's plenty of room in the mineral makeup world for many companies to exist. I'm a customer at a lot of them. But doing something like this loses me as a customer.
I noticed you had removed Stardust from the places you shop and from your reviews. I was wondering what was going on. Thats too bad. I just placed my first order from her on the last Monday sale. I still haven't recieved my products yet, but I was kind of excited about trying them. These companies need to remember to focus on their products, branding, and image. Offering customers a good product and buying experience is more important to us than pointing out competitors flaws.
I'm really bothered by it as well, as I liked Stardust's products. I thought Jenna was nice, but it turns out my impression of her was all wrong. And yes, I just received an order from Stardust on Saturday, but I won't be blogging about it. I'm so devastated about this whole thing.
Wow. That is seriously shady. When will people learn that just because they use a fake name, people can still find out who they are? Nice detective work, P!
I'm confused… I tried to read it all but I can't understand everything… Is this whole non-approved-by-the-FDA dyes storie a lie made up by the Stardust owner? Why would she do that? I did read the Rant4theUgly post and I don't get it at all… I'm confused. Probably 'cause I'm tired and my english might be working badly 'cause of it… but I can't understand why the owner would need to do such thing….
Honestly, all I did was check the ip address in the header of an email. I'm just devastated by it.
In short, Jenna posted under a fake name, SheVeritas, and said things about Aromaleigh.
By the way… aren't the dyes on the “May Contain”? Isn't that the same issue some people had with Sugar Pill but was solved exactly 'cause of the “may contain” thing? Which means this dyes are probably not in the product but must be listed? I don't understand much of this…. but this is what I remember from when people said Sugar Pill had unsafe dyes for using around the eyes…. and, in the end, it was just a misunderstanding. Sorry about my bad english… I'm reaaaaaally tired today.
Ah, now I got the fake-name thing. I didn't get who the hell was SheVeritas and what Jenna had to do with her. Shameful thing… If she wanted to say bad things about AL she should have done it in a honest way, using her own name and taking the consequences. That's really wrong…
Wow, and I only just found out today about the whole Lime Crime nonsense. What is wrong with some people. Is this a wide spread case of crab in the barrel syndrome? I will never understand why people think this behavior is acceptable. Erline
Yes exactly! May Contain means that the dyes are probably not in the product but must be listed. And no worries, I understand you!
Me either:(
Wow, and I though the Lime Crime-deal was drama with a big D. It obviously was nothing compared to this. Well, if it truly was on the “May contain”-list (which was the first thing that jumped to mind), I will not be shopping with stardust, EVER. Actually, I won't be even if she's right, just means I'll lose Aromaliegh too, because posting something like that under a fake name and think you didn't get an answer because she's hiding something and not because she realized you used a fake name and YOU'RE trying to hide something… God, I'm confused.
When in doubt, email a company. That's what I did. I emailed Aromaleigh and asked why the ingredients changed. I got what I considered was a reasonable explanation.: http://frescophyrra.blogspot.com/2010/04/glowing-… When Aromaleigh first created the Rocks line, pre-mixed base colors were used with a 'may contain' list on them. It was the same for the lipsticks, too. Pre-mixed liquid color toners were used to create the shades, not powdered dye. Just like the lipsticks, all of the 'may contain' ingredients on the premixed tone colors had to be listed. When evaluating ways to improve Aromaleigh, the company realized that it was more cost-efficient to make the shadows from batch-certified dyes that did not have any 'may contain' ingredients. This is why the ingredients list changed. From my understanding of what Aromaleigh said, the 'may contain' stuff means that it could have trace amounts from being made with the same machinery/tools as stuff that does contain it. It's the same with a box of Organic Truffles that I have. It says it 'may contain' nuts, but it doesn't contain nuts. There can be trace amounts of nuts in the box. By buying batch certified dye colors where there is no 'contamination' aka trace amounts, Aromaleigh can say 'it only has these dyes.' This certainly reinforces that the ingredients that are being used match up to the approved dyes from the FDA List. — That said, using a fake name to post things about another company is not cool. It's hurtful.
Gaaawd, MissK just removed her flickr-pictures when I was about to browse them. I totally didn't need that. And yes, I know the may contain-list rules. The deal was someone said the may contain-list isn't removed, only the non-approved colors? I just wanted to compare that to the AL-website to further understand. Anyway, Stardust is off my buying-list.
I think the actions on the part of Stardust show a lack of good judgment. I certainly think less of a company that goes out of their way to bad-mouth another company and uses rather underhanded tactics to do so. Perhaps the main goal was safety, as has been stated in so many fora online, but if that's so, then it could have been handled in an above-board way. It was not, and that's very discouraging as a potential customer.
I no longer shop at aromaleigh thanks to some of the things that have happened recently (I know there was drama before I started shopping there but I never paid attention to it because I wanted to see for myself). I think ALL mineral make-up companies should be able to stand up to scrutiny without being catty about it. As for the fake name, well the woman says herself it was a bad idea. I'm sure she is not the only one who has made a mistake like that. If she is held up to this moral code why isn't the owner of aromaleigh held up to the same code? I mean she has posted some nasty stuff on other peoples blogs/e-mails so why is she the good guy? I don't mean to be dramatic about it but it just seems to me everyone is willing to jump on aromaleighs side without question no matter what she does. *Shrug* to each their own, I don't really care, I will continue to shop at places that make me feel good and aromaleigh is no longer one of them. For the record i've never shopped at stardust and have no plans to in the near future (not because of this incident) Make-up shouldn't have this much drama involved! Make-up is supposed to be happy
My problem Sarah is that I feel like I was lied to by Jenna. Additionally, Jenna used a fake name to write about Aromaleigh. Aromaleigh didn't use a fake name to write about Stardust.
Agreed.
I don't think MissK removed the flickr pictures? Also, when I emailed Aromaleigh to ask about the ingredients changed, they said they updated the ingredients list to reflect what the current ingredients were. So if the old ingredients were from a plant where the non-eye safe ingredients were manufactured, it has to list them in the may contain list. If the new plant doesn't have those non-eye safe ingredients, they won't be listed at all.
Just clarifying that “May Contain” can be used in a general ingredient listing. If you look at a listing for a palette of shadows, lip colors, etc. It will show “May Contain” preceding a list of various colorants. It doesn't mean every “May Contain” listed colorant is in each shade. It's just an easy way to label the ingredients. It is the same way if you have a line of products in various shades. Instead of individual ingredient listings for each shade, you can group them into a general listing using “May Contain”. Here is a snippet from the FDA site “color additives common to all shades must be listed before “May contain”, and only those not found in all shade formulations may be listed after “May contain.”
Ummmmm…….WOW! As a teeny tiny speck of an Indie makeup company this really freaks me out!!! I hope I never have to deal with such drama, but then I'm so lovable who could ever hate me.
) I think people on all sides should take a deep breath, step back and realize that drama is not worth the negative impact on our being. I can't state facts or experience about these companies because I have never used any products from either company. I can say that Kristen has been nothing but kind and helpful to me. I hope the drama ends quickly it's so unhealthy for all involved. Hugs to you my friend, try not to let it impact you!
After reading everything, I think Jenna's more sorry that she got caught and called out on it than she is for attempting to use a fake name and be so sneaky. She can make up excuses for using a fake name on forums, but the fact of the matter is she commented on her own company blog, pretending to be someone else. That is so beyond excusable, and is deliberately trying to cause drama, no matter what she claims. Stardust's offering has never impressed me, but this is so childish and definately earns them a place on my do not shop list.
This is upsetting to hear- I've really enjoyed the Stardust products I've purchased and Jenna seemed very nice. It's surprising to hear that she would do things like that.
Thanks for sharing this Melissa. I really appreciate it.
After finding out how Jenna started her company, I just could not bring myself to order from her. Practices like this just let me know I made the right decision. I am sorry that you've, in a way, been caught in the crossfire Phyrra ~hugs~
Thanks for the hugs. I just can't believe this has happened
I really am devastated 
I thought very highly of Jenna.
You know, the commenting back and forth between herself is really… odd. I saw people doing that at the Rant4theUgly site too. I don't like it when people do that. It's creepy.
I want to believe the best in people. I didn't realize there was anything questionable about how Jenna had started her company at first. I guess now I know differently
Shady and unethical. I don't beleive a word of her excuse that she was a 'concerned' person asking under a second name BECAUSE she only came out with it after she realized she was caught. She commented and replied TO HERSELF as BOTH NAMES on her blog and on message boards. That is classic liar liar pants on fire. It's almost as funny as the Rant4theUgly hag 'confessing' she started it when most of the MMU people (with half a brain, the mentally ill dont' count…. I'm looking at you Tally) knew that Dawn/SassyBago was also the mod of that pathetic site. But she was also posting things as Sassy and then replying as the mod patting herself on the back for a good post. There is also speculation she's also the Mermista or whatever it is. Plus, doesn't she comment here with about three different names? That's creepy and messed up and also vert deceptive. I wonder if people will wake up and realize they got used?
I'm going to be checking out all the links, but just WOW. I don't understand why poor Kristen seems to catch so much drama! Maybe because she's one of the few companies that have been in business for Y E A R S and other people envy that? I don't know…..I do know that I'm glad that I never really got into Stardust. I wasn't too impressed with the samples that I ordered from them, and just never ordered again. Guess I can just throw or give those away
Yeah it's confusing as to why Dawn/SassyBanjo is also 2 other people on the Rant4theUgly forums. I'm not sure why Jenna was doing this
It just makes me really sad and hurt.
I think because she's been in business for a very long time, she is a big target. I did like the Stardust products, but I feel like I can't use them or recommend them now
I just can't. I can't condone that sort of behavior.
As fate would have it, I decided NOT to order from her new collection even though I saw a couple of pretty colors in there. Seems that my woman's intuition was right.
Yeah, I think the problem here is that she emailed Aromaleigh to ASK if there were repackages and bad dyes which is fine, but then tries to manipulate people into abandoning the company when she gets a response. Which I think is what most people have a problem with. I mean, that's disgusting. Not that Aromaleigh hasn't said some bad things about other companies, which honestly I haven't seen her do without being provoked, Aromaleigh explained why those ingredients are in there, so why go crazy… you know?
This is a shame. I'm now very glad I never purchased anything from Stardust. Seems so shady and creepy to behave in that manner. So unprofessional. I love Miss K and I believe people are jealous of her success. You win customers over by being a good business. You don't win them over by doing crap like this.
I am one of the few people who is not surprised by these recent events. It doesn't SEEM to be a coincidence that Stardust/Jenna is going after Aromaleigh (regarding the pigments in the Rocks! colours) again. I say again because it appears to be a planned attack on Aromaleigh from the start of her contact with it. Here is a brief rundown of events, not an exact timeline, but approximate based on Jenna's appearance at the Aromaleigh Forum. 1. Winter 2007, Jenna joins Aromaleigh Forum, with login “moonsugar” 2. Jenna sends in many Aromaleigh Gallery pictures, receives $220 in product for pictures; She is wearing ROCKS! in some of them, and they are still online at Aromaleigh.com 3. Jenna remains a member of the AL forum for about a year, making friends, posting FOTD pictures often. 4.(Late 2008) At the end of the year, Jenna says she is going to be 'leaving to start a BUSINESS PROJECT'. 5. Jenna does not return to the AL forum, but instead opens Stardust Color in early 2009. All of us on the forum who were friends of hers on MySpace were informed of her company opening because she announced in via a MySpace Bulletin. That Bulletin even went out to Kristen… she was on Jenna's friend list also. 6. Fast forward a bit, Fall 2009, Jenna then comments on her own blog (Stardust) that she thinks Kristen of Aromaleigh might have questionable motives when starting the Mineral Makeup Mutiny…. that maybe the movement would be used to go after other companies. Does that seem ironic to you? 7. Now, this new tactic, Jenna is claiming that Aromaleigh uses ingredients that are not safe. And she says she is just getting the word out about this. OK, so why do we see her WEARING THE ROCKS she is concerned about? She doesn't seem worried in her pictures… the ones she got free product for. She is 'concerned' NOW THAT SHE HAS HER OWN COMPANY! If you follow the whole timeline of events, what do you really think? It sure looks like Jenna set out to: *Establish customer base… hanging around for a year to learn all about the different types of products, buy them, and earn friendship and trust of forum members *Expand her business (Stardust) by spreading rumours about Aromaleigh, whether it was the Mineral Makeup Mutiny comments or saying damaging things about the Rocks! shadows; grow your business by hurting the competition… Last year, back when Stardust went online, I felt I could not do business with them. The way that the company started felt like a big lie to me. This is the reason why some of us 'are jumping on the side of Aromaleigh'…. they were USED!
I agree, this is a shame
Ugh. Dude, I have mixed feelings about Aromaleigh overall, but this flat-out sucks for Kristen. I can't believe people can be so unethical.
I didn't know all of this before, but now I do
It makes me so sad.
Nod. I agree.
Geeze. Drama. *shakes head* The interactions I've had with Kristen have been really positive. My first order was a handful of samples, and I was thinking to myself “she can't honestly mean that she gives away 3 free eyeshadow samples if i just order 10 other samples, can she?” and put a note to that effect in the checkout. When I got the package, she wrote “Yes, you do!” and included them. I was (happily) floored.
I follow AL on twitter, and I was reading her tweets yesterday about “some person” who was attempting to sabotage her company, and I was kind of getting annoyed, because I felt like she was hyping up the drama. And then she revealed the mystery today, so I've been reading up on everything trying to understand it all. I'm really glad I came here and read all of the comments as well as the post about it, I feel like it helped clear things up for me. I've never ordered from Stardust and hadn't really intended to since she's in Canada and I'm here in the states – I didn't want to deal with any hassle with shipping. So while this doesn't affect me as a customer, I don't agree with what she did. Yet the whole point about the non-FDA approved ingredients made me wary as I was reading because I have ordered from AL – again, really glad I read these comments because I feel better about continuing to use AL shadows. However I do have to say from the snippets of comments I've come across the web from other women (and from her own tweets) I'm forming a mixed opinion of Kristen. I read your spotlight on her Phyrra, and she did sound nice in that interview.. I just don't know yet, I'll have to figure it out. (It does seem like there's a lot of drama when it comes to independent companies; I read all about limecrime and orglamix too! Sheesh.. =| )
Oh geeze. Was just reading the comments on your “blacklight reactive” post (I usually just skim or read your posts and skip the comments). Wow. *shakes head more*
Its just horrible. I really was hoping I could buy from stardust but now that I have re read everything, its too bad. Another thing I don't like about stardust is that pickup isn't availiable anywhere >.> I live in the same province and probably even near her too
Oh well. Im not particularly keen on the AL's tweets about possibly ruining a 7 year old's life… I don't think those comments were needed, but I do understand the distress and backstabbing she is feeling right now. Now I feel good about making an AL order ^.^ and it showed up today 
I saw you posting this and I posted about it too, linking to your blog because you're way better on the tech stuff and whatnot. My Magical Monday order arrived yesterday but I was so upset that I don't feel like opening it. Such a shame, she really had good products and she really didn't need to start slinging mud at anyone.
Wow, is this a way to start my morning or what! First I read about this in Robyn's Nest and I was so confused and out of words and now after reading you post and comments I'm starting to get angry. Man, I'm SO over mmu companies right now! Howcome it's so damn difficult to coexist?!? There's been so much drama already and I start to feel I don't know who to trust anymore and that's the biggest problem with all this drama: it hurts the whole business. You just start to think: “So, who's next..?” I might just go back to L'oreal, at least they're not trying to act nice and deny the fact they're just after money. All this makes you feel pretty stupid for supporting the small businesses
Well, i think people should be devastated by what is going on with the mega oil sleeck killing marine life, and not because a make up drama..and there are many BIG problems in world,affecting children and women to be sooo down regarding a make up drama. personally i love aromaleigh, i buy her products 'cause i just love them, she has any single thing i dreammed about before i knew the existence of mineral makeup or before i started wearing makeup! she's the first i bought mineral makeup from, and will keep on doing, Along with Aromaleigh there are other 2 companies i LOVE, and Stardust is not one of them, and never will just beacuse i'm not interested, as i said b4 AL, and the others 2 have everything i want. is ok to inform about things, i had no idea of this, just came here to check your great blog as always, but i'm not the kind of person who takes this serious stuff like make up.
Abby, I got the same feeling that you and Mahym got from Jenna/Stardust. The whole jump from AL fangirl to MMU company owner seemed a bit like “All About Eve” to me. Saw some things that I liked in her collection and I couldn't get myself to order. But I did get some Stardust samples from a friend that are quite nice and thought maybe I should reconsider and give Stardust a try. Well— not anymore. If there was a desire on her part for “cosmetic safety” there was no need for the anonymity or for the name calling. Then again— in her eyes (and words), I am just an “Aromalemming.” This whole situation is so sad.
This is just terrible. Poor Kristen. I mean it says “may contain” which to me MEANS it “MAY contain” not it DOES contain. I will most probably link to this post too if that's ok Phyrra….you explained things and gave evidence way better than I ever could. I'll claim to be an aromalemming for sure…..she has my support. I've never ordered from Stardust, but have considered it…..now I never will. Too bad for Jenna, because I'm addicted.
This all makes me very sad. I can understand being concerned about FDA-approval for ingredients in cosmetics, that's why so many people get into MM in the first place. However the methods that were used by Jenna are appalling and underhanded, pointing to things other than just 'concern'. I'm quite glad I never purchased anything from Stardust and I feel sorry for you, Phyrra, and those others who have previously supported her and her products. It's a generally horrible situation.
This is just…….bizarre =S I dont think I would be half as disturbed if she didnt talk to herself on her blog.
Wait, Orglamix? o_o
You can say that again! In general I think it's a good thing to have discussion about FDA's non-approved/approved ingredients in MMU but now all that was lost under the scandal and the bizarreness of this whole episode.
I think part of the reason why Kristen gets targeted so much is that she responds. It's no fun picking on someone if they don't respond… but on the other hand, it's really hard to ignore crap like this, and she doesn't ignore it, and then they draw her into these dramas. When I was younger this used to happen to me quite a bit. It took me a long time to learn the fine art of not giving a rip and blowing the idiots off. (And calling the cops on them if they just keep escalating in the absence of any response from me.) (continued)
If you have a good thing, ppl will be jealous. The Aromaleigh site is really well put together. Most other mineral sites are nowhere near as nice or user friendly to look at products and place orders. Also, the shipping is faster than anyone else's and the colors are a much better selection… it stands out. There are people who would rather tear others down than improve themselves. I did react to some Rocks colors. That was not the end of the world to me. I have also reacted to some MAC eyeshadows, some Ben Nye shadows, some Estee Lauder shadows…the list goes on. With makeup, this just happens from time to time. If I react to something, I just give it away to somebody else who's less sensitive. Why overreact and go OMG WHARRRGARBL I'VE BEEN POISONED ELEVENTY-ONE!!! I will continue to buy Aromaleigh products. After reformulation, I'll try Rocks again (samples first!)
Orglamix sent me a cease and desist because I left them a bad review. http://frescophyrra.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-dis… Quite frankly, I didn't like their eye shadows. They didn't seem to be finished products. They didn't seem to have a base to help them stick.
Unfortunately I received my Magical Monday order on Saturday and I cried
I just feel so betrayed.
I agree.
Yeah. Honestly, if I email a company and ask a question and get back a reasonable response, I'm going to believe the company. If I get back a response that seems like it's crazy, I won't believe. The response I got from Aromaleigh about the ingredients made sense and matched up with how the FDA uses 'May Contain,' so I felt like the response was good.
Kristen was very upset over this, and her son was upset as well. The Drama sucks
What did you order from AL?
I know exactly what you mean. I cried when I opened mine this weekend.
I don't think it's difficult to co-exist. Look at Meow or Fyrinnae. And Aromaleigh didn't start this drama. Unfortunately, Stardust did
Julie, the oil spill is horrific. There's also a nasty flood in Tennessee killing people, and the crazy laws that passed in Arizona, effectively turning it into a police state in my mind. Watching the news this weekend was depressing.
It is sad
That's fine Thia, you can link to me.
I know
I just feel so betrayed and hurt. I was lied to. I thought Jenna was really sweet. She told me how Kristen inspired her to start Stardust.
Yeah that is really weird.
I'm not sure if you read my post where people asked questions about it, but basically the ingredients were listed under 'May Contain' which does not mean 'DOES Contain'.
It sucks that people target Kristen.
I'm really looking forward to the Rocks reformulation
*hugs* At least there's other MM companies who have honest, genuine creators.
Yes, this is true!
Yes, I read that post and I think it's great that you cleared that up! By discussion I didn't mean that it's a good thing to throw accusations on any mmu company nor that it's good to have a discussion with yourself but that in general it's good to inform people which ingredients are/aren't approved by FDA and I think Jenna should've left it there instead of what she ended up doing.
Nod. While I never felt like I was in danger before from the eye shadow, I did want to know why the ingredients had changed. So to me, getting back the reasonable response from the company satisfied my curiosity. That said, I've never had a reaction to any of my Aromaleigh shadows. I have had a reaction to my Stila smudge pot, because some of the glitter got into my tear duct, causing irritation and swelling. I've had a reaction to Aveeno products. But all that means is that if the reaction is severe enough, I won't use a product again. Nod, I agreed with you.
I told you I was getting angry
You're right, it shouldn't be difficult to coexist and most of these mmu companies know how to do it too. I was just a bit frustrated this morning when I read all that had happened and then the mailman brought me a package from Stardust. I still haven't opened it and I don't know if I will. I can tell you I certainly will open my Aromaleigh package when it arrives. I'm not blaiming Aromaleigh for this particular episode but the truth is Kristen has also caused some drama for example by writing angry comments on a blog post. I'm not saying she's not allowed to get angry but she is still representing a company and that's not a good way to promote mmu. What I appreciated a lot was that she returned to that blog and apologized for her earlier comments and also she always comments with her name and not by any shady nickname. All the drama and scandals (not just this one, we all know there's been more) might make people suspicious and not so eager to try out new mmu companies since you never know who to trust and that's a shame.
Yeah, I'm trying to figure out what to do with my Stardust products. I think someone suggested donating them and that's probably what I'll do. It makes me sad because I really do like them. That's why this whole smear campaign bothers me! Stardust has good products, Aromaleigh had good products. Jenna had no reason to target Aromaleigh, especially after she got her start there! Yes, Kristen has reacted poorly on some occasions, but I can tell you from my own experience dealing with people attacking me, it can be difficult to not respond back. Probably my years of experience as the head of a customer service department, with people screaming obscenities at me is why I can now take some of the things people say. I also think it's very good for Kristen to have apologized to Jennifae. Kristen apologized to Tally in the past, too. Yep, unfortunately there's been a ton. I really feel like if this keeps happening people will just turn to MAC to keep from having to deal with the drama. Though people were up in arms over the MAC pigment changes.
I never knew about any of this….I will not take sides or get caught up in the drama…I have enough drama in my daily life that I am so sad that I have to read it in the blogs that I really enjoy…This thing has gotten so out of hand since this mutiny thing started. I actually have been buying more Mac and department store brands because I won't support the fighting…I use stardust daily and I use aromaleigh and tons more…..I will not let this take away from the fun I have been having….I hope this mess ends soon or I will not follow these blogs any more….
This whole thing has left me devastated Krista. I was lied to
I made this comment last night, it was buried under other comments though. Here it is again, so that some might understand the history between Jenna and Aromaleigh; please read on for a list of things that have happened over the last 3 years and these recent actions from Jenna/Stardust will not be that hard to understand. I am one of the few people who is not surprised by these recent events. It doesn't SEEM to be a coincidence that Stardust/Jenna is going after Aromaleigh (regarding the pigments in the Rocks! colours) again. I say again because it appears to be a planned attack on Aromaleigh from the start of her contact with it. Here is a brief rundown of events, not an exact timeline, but approximate based on Jenna's appearance at the Aromaleigh Forum. 1. Winter 2007, Jenna joins Aromaleigh Forum, with login “moonsugar” 2. Jenna sends in many Aromaleigh Gallery pictures, receives $220 in product for pictures; She is wearing ROCKS! in some of them, and they are still online at Aromaleigh.com 3. Jenna remains a member of the AL forum for about a year, making friends, posting FOTD pictures often. 4.(Late 2008) At the end of the year, Jenna says she is going to be 'leaving to start a BUSINESS PROJECT'. 5. Jenna does not return to the AL forum, but instead opens Stardust Color in early 2009. All of us on the forum who were friends of hers on MySpace were informed of her company opening because she announced in via a MySpace Bulletin. That Bulletin even went out to Kristen… she was on Jenna's friend list also. 6. Fast forward a bit, Fall 2009, Jenna then comments on her own blog (Stardust) that she thinks Kristen of Aromaleigh might have questionable motives when starting the Mineral Makeup Mutiny…. that maybe the movement would be used to go after other companies. Does that seem ironic to you? 7. Now, this new tactic, Jenna is claiming that Aromaleigh uses ingredients that are not safe. And she says she is just getting the word out about this. OK, so why do we see her WEARING THE ROCKS she is concerned about? She doesn't seem worried in her pictures… the ones she got free product for. She is 'concerned' NOW THAT SHE HAS HER OWN COMPANY! If you follow the whole timeline of events, what do you really think? It sure looks like Jenna set out to: *Establish customer base… hanging around for a year to learn all about the different types of products, buy them, and earn friendship and trust of forum members *Expand her business (Stardust) by spreading rumours about Aromaleigh, whether it was the Mineral Makeup Mutiny comments or saying damaging things about the Rocks! shadows; grow your business by hurting the competition… Last year, back when Stardust went online, I felt I could not do business with them. The way that the company started felt like a big lie to me. This is the reason why some of us 'are jumping on the side of Aromaleigh'…. they were USED!
How sad. I really did love some of the Stardust products. I guess I will be looking for a new concealer as my sample is almost empty, and I can't condone the underhanded way she dealt with this. Had she been direct in contacting Kristen/AL as herself with a genuine product concern this could have been such a non issue. I will be adding Stardust to my list of places I will not shop. And for the record, AL is also on my list of places I will not shop for entirely different reasons. I just wanted to mention this in case someone thinks I'm avoiding Stardust purely because I'm in the “yays AL!” club or something.
Thank you Phyrra…..
Actually I think that's more your loss than FrescoPhyrra's. I'm sorry to say, but seriously, this is actual information. The Mineral Makeup Mutiny is an idea I REALLY condone full out, because they give us an oppurtunity to CHOOSE if we want to buy from repackers, or from people who are in on the idea of keeping things true to the creativity they use to start these buisnesses. What I'm interested in seeing is if Stardust will have a place with the MMM after all this, if she IS creative and does her own stuff.
I've always wondered why K Bell gets a free pass to act the way she does while others are scrutinized. Yeah, she has some pretty makeup and a successful business, but that's no excuse for some of the things she's done. I had a technical issue with their website this week, and when I emailed for help I got a really rude 'It's not our problem' response. I'd only just started to repurchase from them after I saw her publicly apologize for a recent incident, and now I don't think I'll go back. I'm a customer, not a thorn in her side.
I am sorry this has hurt you…I don't want to know the things that go on personally between others because it isn't my business to know but when it is business I understand and you being a customer you want truths. I stepped back when people wouldn't let go of lime crime…I love cosmetics period. I buy from everyone…I am not dedicated to one brand. Could never do it. There are so many amazing companies out there indie and dept. store. I am friends with Jenna on a personal level but I don't only buy her stuff…I hate all this stuff. Everyone in the end is going to get hurt in one way or another so it really needs to get settled. People bashing no matter who it is or what company just shouldn't be tolerated. Both parties are guilty in some form or another. You know that I respect you and have followed you for a long time. I love to see your looks just not the arguing….
I do believe Stardust does her own stuff. I like it but I also like Aromaleigh too….I am a makeup junkie who just loves makeup and I guess I don't much care about who did what and who said what…I just want ideas on looks and application tips and etc. The info is great too but it doesn't matter to me because I use a lot of department store brands. Bottom line I am not taking sides just don't want to get caught in the fight.
Krista, I'm not asking anyone to take sides. All I am doing is explaining why I can't use Stardust anymore. I was lied to. I'm hurt, DEVASTATED, because I thought Jenna was a friend to me.
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks for posting all this, Phyrra! I don't read a whole lot of MU blogs, so I was only able to pick up random scraps through Twitter & such. You laid everything out succinctly and without bias. It sucks all around (T_T) but at least now I know why.
Unrelated P.S. Do you know what happened to Anastasia? I'm beginning to think her adorable, antique English town is like Brigadoon, and she's faded into an internetless past. I hope she's ok…
*ugh* It sickens me to see how this making everyone jump on Aromaleigh's nuts, like they're some kind of upstanding company on their own. Kristen has always been a drama queen and her customer service is spotty at best. I've read more bad reviews of Aromaleigh than good ones and my own experience with her was shit as well. Good for the folks who like her products and haven't had any issues with orders, but don't get carried away with the “poor Kristen” bullshit. She'll survive, she's made it this long even with the customer service missteps and sometimes questionable public behavior. I can see where Stardust is coming from with the fake name. Because if they had come straight out then it would have turned in to what it is now, a drama shit storm of people abandoning them and hopping on the Aromaleigh bandwagon. Granted, it looks shady as shit and obviously her (his?) motives probably aren't all about customer safety. But I saw a very good point brought up in some of those screen captures, Aromaleigh (like many other fledging companies) did used to repackage products as their own. I even purchased some in my very first (and last) order with her years ago. Stardust could've handled this whole thing better by not even bothering. Aromaleigh pisses me off too, but I don't go about sabotaging them (unless relaying truths and personal experience is “sabotage”? And not to be snarky but I've read accounts where Kristen did in fact consider honest customer opinions that weren't rabid praise to be attempts to bring her down or just “jealousy” ) and it would've helped Stardust in the long run to just sing their own praises. This drama won't scare me off of ordering from Stardust, but the truth is I've only purchased from five indie companies, one of which is no longer in business, two others that hold nothing for me worth coming back for, and one who burned me on bad service. And it's unlikely Stardust has anything that would wow me.
Zombiilove, my big complaint in this is that I was lied to. I feel betrayed. Jenna pretended to be SheVeritas, and then posted information about Aromaleigh and FDA ingredients that was questionable rather than contacting Aromaleigh directly to ask about the ingredients. When I contacted Aromaleigh about the ingredients I received a response as to why the ingredients list had changed and I posted that information on my blog. A company is not required to update on their website when ingredients change, just on the physical product label itself, as far as I'm aware. Jenna told me that she was inspired by Kristen, and that she started Stardust because of that. I believed Jenna. I tried her products and liked them. I blogged about them. So I feel very betrayed and hurt to find out that Jenna had lied and was using a fake name and carrying on conversations with herself in her own blog and other blogs. It just doesn't seem right to me.
I tried my best to lay everything out without any bias. However, I'm very hurt by all of this. It does suck.
Ana has some things going on in her life. Last time I spoke to her, she was ok. I'm worried for her and I hope to hear from her soon.
I hate to say it, but I've soured on most of these companies except Fyrinnae, whose owners seem to have good heads on their shoulders. We all know about Lime Crime, and then you have the other ones that also repackage, you've got this Jenna character resorting to shady tactics and then I saw the owner of Aromaleigh leave a pretty nasty series of comments in response to someone who made some minor critiques of AL. I was not impressed at all. It's not limited to just mineral makeup either. Indie bath companies such as Isle of Eden have been very unprofessional too. It makes me just want to stick with mainstream brands that know how to handle themselves. I realize indie companies can't hire teams of PR people and customer service reps, but sometimes you just need to remain quiet, forge ahead and ignore the criticism. People just feed off of it when you give them attention. I think this will be an unpopular opinion, but it's the way I feel right now…
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I don't know much about Isle of Eden, but I've heard on the BPAL forums that IoE is similar to Archetype. Mostly I'm upset because I was lied to. It sucks to find that out.
Yeah, there's no excuse for lying to someone. Were you friendly with her or just ordered from her? I don't know anything about Archetype. Did you write about them on your blog? I ordered from Isle of Eden once and what a disaster it was. It took forever for the order to arrive (yet conveniently my cc was charged right away!) and the owner was on her forum making all sorts of excuses. My opinion is if you start up your own company, do it well or don't bother. If you can't meet the demands, then stop accepting orders until things are caught up. I have no idea if it's any better now, but I sure won't be placing anymore orders to find out. BPAL is a nice little company. Great CS.
ugh, when will people realize that you can't hide behind the internet. If someone pulls shady crap like this, consumers will find out eventually. We are not stupid. I understand that Jenna was curious about the ingredients list changing, but she went about this in the worst possible manner. Talking to yourself on your own blog? say what? Its honestly too bad she turned out to be like that, because I live in the Province next to her and would love the quick in-country shipping. Oh well, I refuse to give my money to anyone who handles themselves so poorly. I will continue to use my Aromaleigh products because I love the colours, and I find Miss K's blog completely charming and it makes me feel good. Oh, the politics of the mineral makeup world….its almost kind of funny when you look at the big picture.
I just found your Archetype post and good grief, what a mess. Did you at least get your money back through the dispute? It all sounds very similar to IoE. Perhaps they have the same owner?
I thought Jenna and I were friends. That's part of why I'm so devastated. I supported Jenna starting her own company. I didn't think she had any nefarious plans. I just believed her when she said she was inspired by Kristen. I thought it was sweet.
I eventually got my order. I have never received a response to my emails or the letter I sent her via postal mail.
I truly believe if she'd just emailed Aromaleigh – as herself – and asked about the ingredients she would receive a straight answer. I received a straight answer. Additionally I spoke to other makeup company owners and they agreed with the original labeling that Aromaleigh used, and the labeling Aromaleigh switched to. They said it made sense.
There's always Detrivore…
I've liked the Detrivore products I've tried.
If you don't mind me asking, have you heard from her since March? That's when she went dark, as far as I can remember.
About 2-3 weeks ago.
Late to the party, but better late than never. I, myself, live in Hong Kong, which is incredibly inconvenient for all the companies that are based in America. However, when I have ordered from them, they have been polite (except for a few, but you cut your losses) and willing to work with me. I do agree that what Jenna has done is quite underhanded, and I believe that Aromaleigh has the right to be upset, but I do not understand how – with what Kristen has done to both Jennifae and Tally – do we still support her. Yes, I do agree that Aromaleigh has beautiful colors. And I see your point – Jenna posted under a false name, while Kristen posted under her own. That does not excuse the shoddy way she treated them, and though she apologized later, I don't believe that mitigates the fact that it happened, anyways.
Who talks to themself on their blog…that's just a really bizarre and stupid thing to do. I don't understand exactly what happened, but if she just made all this stuff up cause she was jealous of Aromaleigh or angry that she didn't respond in a timely matter…sounds like a really childish thing she did.
I definitely think what Jenna did was wrong. Talking to herself on her blog was very bizarre.
My point is that Jenna lied to me. Jenna posted under a false name. Jenna said things about Aromaleigh under that false name. To me, that is wrong. Jenna having conversations with herself in her blog to further her cause is wrong. Kristen may have made mistakes in the past, but I don't think that Kristen's mistakes, which she's apologized for (and turned the customer service over to someone else), means that she deserves to have someone pretend to be someone else and say things about Aromaleigh.
All this drama is clouding the real issue. THERE ARE NO BLACK LIGHT REACTIVE PIGMENTS APPROVED FOR USE AROUND THE EYES ACCORDING TO THE FDA: Fluorescent colors: Only the following fluorescent colors are approved for use in cosmetics, and there are limits on their intended uses: D&C Orange No. 5, No. 10, and No. 11; and D&C Red No. 21, No. 22, No. 27, and No. 28 [21 CFR 74.2254, 74.2260, 74.2261, 74.2321, 74.2322, 74.2327, and 74.2328]. (Flouorescent colors are black light colors) http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/ColorAdditives/Col… And if you check whether or not they are FDA approved for eye use, none of them are. http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceComplianceRe… *Off to go throw away any black light eye shadows* Or you could just ignore the FDA, a federal organization with legal and regulatory powers that conducts many tests, but I choose not to.
Tally, it's already been explained a million times that the only reason Kristen had to list those pigments is not because she was using them but because the company she bought pigments from manufactured them. She was following the law. As much time as you spend on this, I can't believe you don't actually know that. Everyone knows your agenda. It's getting old.
First of all, you have no idea what you're talking about. You don't understand the difference between FLUORESCENT and FLUORESCENCE. FLUORESCENT refers to a shade of colors, such as pastel, neutral, or jewel tones. In the case of the Rocks! shadow, most of the colors are fluorescent, meaning they are bright and well pigmented and contain NONE of the FDA chemicals you so conveniently cite so that we can reference them. Again, I'm not going to even go into the definition of MAY CONTAIN, because frankly I do believe you're too ignorant to comprehend it. FLUORESCENCE refers to a material's (in this case basically a rock, ie mica) ability to glow under different wavelengths of light. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescence Because apparently you CAN'T, I Googled it for you, so you can read the definitions and try to understand the theory. In the case of the Rocks! shadows they glow under blacklight not because they have a banned substance in them, but because their make up FLUORESCES. YOUR TEETH WILL GLOW UNDER BLACKLIGHT. YOUR TEETH FLUORESCE. Will you rip them out of your head now? Also, I'm going to mention this because you're spouting it all over the intent, not because you have any credence. Some of the colors you list in the list of 'FDA approved' colors you cite are LIP SAFE. This basically means you can use them on the lips because they are INDIGESTIBLE and NONTOXIC. So if you can EAT them, why can't you put them on your face? Because if you've have looked further into why the FDA prohibits the use of some materials in some cosmetics and not others you'd learn they don't RECOMMEND them for the eyes because they could stain, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE TOXIC. If they were toxic, the FDA wouldn't approve them for cosmetics use at ALL. Then again, the FDA approves drugs that KILL people, like Gardasil and blood pressure drugs they explode hearts and depression medicines that cause teens to commit suicide. So take it with a grain of salt they know what they're talking about in the first place.
After looking at both sides of this argument I realized that Miss K though hot tempered was just looking out for the good of her company. If I ran a company that I had built with my own two hands and some one who I had trusted before acted like a psycho I'd be pretty confused/hurt and angry. I think Jenna the woman who runs Stardust wanted to stir up some trouble. I personally don't buy much Aromaleigh but I do think she was in the right to be so angry. Phyrra I think you did the right thing by posting this. People may agree or disagree but this is your opinion and findings so they shouldn't be bitchy to you. You are awesome.
Tally you've posted this on every damn blog covering this issue. Can you please stfu about it. You can have your opinion just don't shove it down everyone's throats.
I've gotten into arguments with people who don't believe that the US FDA is all kinds of backwards. Why would they approve things that are bad for us, their job is to protect us, right? Did anyone see the commercials for Simponi? Did anyone pay attention long enough to hear that they outright say cancer is a possible side effect? Not just an increased risk of cancer, but cancer as a side effect. (Of course, if I have the drug wrong, please correct me, but I do remember seeing a commercial a month or two ago for something new that said cancer, and when I stumbled across a print ad, it listed liver cancer in the side effects.)
Yes, I'm all for people making their own decisions. That's why the screenshots are on my blog, so people can look at the evidence and draw their own conclusions. I don't name call in my blog. I didn't slander anyone in my blog. I did, however, talk about my feelings. I was lied to. I'm hurt. I don't feel like I can trust people. I feel betrayed. I came to my own conclusion after seeing all the evidence. Finding out that Jenna pretended to be SheVeritas… that was hard for me to accept until I looked up the IP address in my emails and saw it matched. It devastated me. I feel like it's wrong to pretend to be someone else online to talk about a competitor. Other people can agree or disagree with that statement. But nothing I said is slander or libel.
You know, I'd just decided to stay more or less neutral, because while yes, Jenna's actions are shady and underhanded and dishonest, I've heard some unpleasant things about Kristen, too. But then to see she threatened to sue you? What. the. fuck. Y'know, if you don't want people saying bad things about you, perhaps DON'T DO THINGS THAT MAKE THEM SAY THAT. Ugh. People using legal threats to shut people up is just ridiculous. The sad thing? By threatening you where all your readers can see, she's probably lost a lot of the fence-sitters like myself who were going to ride it out and keep ordering from her after the dust settled. Sigh. I hope the mattifying primer I ordered sucks, because it is going to break my heart if I've found a good mattifying powder that I can't order again…
To be clear, she threatened to report my blog to blogger to get it removed (I'm unclear if she meant just this entry or my entire blog), with erroneous accusations of libel and copyright infringements. However, any reasonable person would have drawn the conclusion that she is threatening me.
I agree, I would assume she intends to sue you, especially considering what she wrote on the R4TE site, which as you know is a public forum. http://i42.tinypic.com/axlobb.png
I cannot believe she threatened to sue you!
That makes me incredibly sad and Stardust is definitely on my blacklist now. You wrote this with an open mind and you should not have to take it down … ugh! So angry!
teeheee Jen's meh hero
:O Well my little neutral happy dance just went down the drain. Why must people threaten bloggers for speaking their mind. PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO SAY WHAT THEY ARE FEELING!!! I'm sorry there are jerkfaces out there
(*jerkface, my word, not Phyrra's so you can threaten me for that. My Prime Minister is a douche as well. Lookie me, livin on the edge!) Grrrrrr
I'm appalled at that.
When the evidence was presented to me, I didn't want to believe it. I felt so betrayed when I had the irrefutable evidence in front of me that Jenna was SheVeritas, but any reasonable person would have drawn the conclusion that Jenna was SheVeritas, especially after she admitted to it. I couldn't believe she threatened me either
I appreciate your honesty on your blogs, and I am glad that you presented this information. It definitely helps me make an informed decision by being able to read blogs of trusted sources. This is just bad all around. I have been a long time Aromaleigh customer. I love the products, and I enjoy Miss K's blog. But, I do purchase other brands and other products. The way this whole thing went down was just terrible, and I can understand how you would feel so betrayed. I used to see Jenna's looks on Aromaleigh's Forum, and she sure had some gorgeous combos. It's too bad that you are being threatened for being honest and forthright. And, I probably have a couple hundred Aromaleigh eyeshadows between samples and full sizes, and I have never had any eye irritation from the products. When I started using mineral makeup, a lot of people I encountered on the forum had sensitive skin and were interested in using all natural products. Many of the Rocks! products contain a mixture of mineral products and ingredients used in other cosmetics lines. I believe only a small number of people (at least from what I've seen online and on the forum) have had any kind of reaction to any of the Aromaleigh products, and many folks who were attracted to mineral makeup have sensitive skin. So the allegations seem pretty ridiculous to me. Well, keep your chin up, and I do appreciate your blog!
Wait, she *admitted* to it? Cause I follow(ed) her blog and she posted just a couple days ago, after this story broke, and said nothing about it. Also the threats really make her seem so much more two-faced than even the initial pseudonymity did. I've clicked around the Stardust forums, participated in the name-the-lippies game, saw you on there. And she was really sweet and friendly in that context. To go from that to threatening to try to get your blog taken down, WOW. Sounds like sweet and friendly was just the facade.
totally way late on all this but “OMG WHARRRGARBL I'VE BEEN POISONED ELEVENTY-ONE!!! ” made me lol like there's no tomorrow!
She admitted on the rant4theugly forums that she (Jenna) was SheVeritas. She also admitted it in an email to me. It's why I was so shocked and appalled. http://rant4theugly.freeforums.org/no-hate-here-j…
Thank you for the kind words, Tina.
A shadow Kristen made specifically for you, Phaedra contains, not “may contain” a non FDA approved D&C dye: Ingredients: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Ferric Oxide (CI 77491), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Tin Oxide (CI 77861), D&C blue 1, D&C red 22, Carmine, polyethylene terephthalate (polyester glitter) Since Jenna has closed her shop, this post is irrelevant. A certain someone at a certain site has a question they would like to ask you but can't since you have blocked their IP address. It is under the category “Stardust”.
Part 1- Jenna was wrong to accept $220 in product? Are you assuming that at the time Jenna wore the Rocks!, she knew they contained non-FDA approved dyes and wore them anyway? Since when is posting FOTDs “often” a crime? Perhaps she used the term BUSINESS PROJECT, to keep from receiving the type of accusations she's now being accused of Was Jenna supposed to delete Ms. Bell from her MySpace friends list or post an announcement to the AL forum, If she had, accusations would have been flying about it. You left out the part about Jenna sending an email to Sofia Crestan, who was posted as the creator of MMM and the part about her receiving a reply back from Ms. Bell…three days later. That was the moment Jenna rightfully questioned Ms. Bell’s motives with the blog. I suggest reading the R4TU forum to get the full story.
Part 2- Your statement is opinion, NOT fact. Jenna obviously read a particular beauty blog comment as most of us did, about the AL customer who had irritations with pigments, and researched the issue behind the non-approved dyes. I hung around the AL forums for five years, bought tons of product and made friends. Does that mean that if I decide to open my own business and sell cosmetics, as my husband suggested I do, years ago, that I will be accused of being on the AL forum to establish a customer base? Ms. Bell WAS hiding her identity on MMM until after she sent the reply email to Jenna and the email revealed to Jenna that Ms. Bell was hiding her identity. It’s the same thing Jenna has been demonized for on this blog. It's sad and confusing that you jumped on the side of Aromaleigh, when you didn’t HAVE to take any side. AL customers have been betrayed by the owner. Please don’t spend your time explaining someone else's motive you can’t prove. I hope no one ever does the same to you. Sincerely.
Probably to make it seem like more people are upset about something. When really its only a small handful of people griping.
I posted a comment last night but I suppose it didn’t go through? O.o
The comment got lost when I had to use the database back up to fix my blog. I’m still having database errors. I lost several comments, including yours
I found your original comment.
Author : Brittany
Comment: Drama, drama, drama….. this is like high school all over again. I’m 25 and I’m too old for this…. If people don’t like AL (or Kristen’s customer service) they can shop elsewhere. She apologized for her bitchiness and they should accept her apology and move the hell on. If she doesn’t like what people say on rant4theugly or epinions or wherever the hell else they want to post, then she should ignore it! Part of the reason people keep on with badgering her about her CS is because she feeds into it. If she ignored them they may not necessarily go away but at least she could be the adult in the situation. There’s enough good reviews of her products out there for people to give her a chance. And her products are beautiful and high quality and would keep people coming back. And as a customer, I don’t care what her latest drama is with who or what the screenshots of what email correspondences are, I just want to BUY HER PRODUCTS. And if she didn’t spend so much time devoted to defending herself to silly NONSENSE like this, maybe then she’d have the time to keep making her foundations! GRRRRRR……. sorry lol that’s just my 2 cents… this drama is all so much BS and it’s really irritating for customers who have to keep hearing about all of this when all they want to do is play with makeup and look at awesome FOTDs!