All that glitters is not approved for cosmetic use. :(

It's no secret that I love glitter. I think I got my first set of glitter makeup around 1984, from Senshu Eyes, for Halloween. I still have them, or what's left of them - it was a very chunky type of glitter, but I wore them as often as I could. I still gravitate towards glittery makeup, from eye liners and mascaras, to sparkly lip glosses, I love the added sparkle that glitter provides. One of the reasons i got into formulating was to create some of the most dazzling products possible. To this end, I use many different kinds of "glitter" in my formulations. Some of these products are derived from glass, others are synthetic mica, and still others are made of PET (plastic water bottles), and all act very differently in formulations.

So imagine my surprise a couple months ago when I found out that PET glitter, often referred to as "cosmetic glitter," is not an approved color additive for cosmetics. *insert Chris Griffin "Whuuuuuuuuuuttt?" here* I started doing some digging and poking around, trying to find out how it could be illegal to include glitter in cosmetics when so many companies (and most of them major cosmetics companies) were still releasing products containing glitter. Unfortunately, the FDA has chosen to be rather vague concerning their stance, citing that they are currently not enforcing a ban on glitter during this grace period. They don't say how long this grace period is in effect or when it began, only that the issue is "active." So then I got started digging into the ingredients that make up glitter and the manufacturing process of glitters to see what I could find. According to all the data available to me, I've come to the conclusion that there doesn't seem to be any reason for glitter to not be approved as a color additive for cosmetic formulations. That said, I think there needs to be some restrictions (specific usage, particle sizes, and ingredient safety) to keep everybody safe. Anyway, I'm rambling; I've created a petition on Change.org to ask the FDA to revisit their decision on glitter. I'm asking them to approve glitter as a cosmetic color additive and to set up standards for formulation. You can read all the details on the petition page by following the link below. Please sign if you love glitter makeup, and please pass along to any makeup loving friends and family members as well. Thanks!

Petition to approve glitter for cosmetic use

Halloween Collection, and a Breast Cancer Awareness Month Contest!

Is it October already?! o_O Wow, I guess this year got away from me a little bit. So I'm sure everyone's a little curious about the Halloween collection for this year (which I had totally planned to have released 2 days ago). The good news is that I'm almost done, but I still have 3 colors left to finish up and I have still got to upload videos and write listings. I'm hoping that I can have both collections listed this weekend. *crosses fingers* So yeah... 2 collections, how did that happen? Let me explain. No, that will take too long, let me sum up...

 Every year I have a Halloween party and it always has a theme. Last year's theme was Witchcraft and I decided to make an eye shadow collection for the shop in the colors I was using for the party, and so Invocation, Her Familiar, and Samhain were made. Then I decided I wanted a couple of contrasting colors to use myself for the party and added Grimoire and Moonless Night to the set. It all came together so beautifully and effortlessly that I thought, "I should just do this every year." So this year's party theme is a sort of dark carnivale. From the very beginning I've been struggling with 2 different color palettes for the party, and I have been totally unable to reconcile them for the collections, so I decided to make both. The first collection is inspired by the circus and all the seedy things that go along with a turn-of-the-century operation: circus stripes, boozy carnies, scary clowns, fly-by-night troupes, pickpockets, grinders, lion tamers, shiny coins, and the promise of the greatest show on earth. This collection is collectively called The Big Top Collection and is made up of the following colors:

130 - The Ringmaster

131 - For Amusement Only

132 - Under The Stars

133 - The Penny Arcade

There's also a multipurpose glitter blend that is part of this collection that I just realized I need to edit pictures of (doh! >_<), and it is #G04 Charivari and is a blend of gold micro and borosilicate glitters with pops of scarlet and crimson. It is VERY SPARKLY. *_* And then there's the other color palette, which was always inspired by the darkest part of those wonderful carnivales, the sideshow. The sideshow collection is the one I'm finishing up this week, so I only have pictures of one of the colors edited:

137 - Midnight Show

I wanted this collection to reflect the more basic emotions that the audience experiences at a good sideshow: horror, shock, awe, curiosity, fear, lust, and most of all, excitement. Sorry I don't have more pictures to show you, but I hope these will whet your appetites and give you an idea of the kind of work that goes into producing these colors. ^_^ I'll post the listings on facebook when they go live, and that brings me to the next bit of business...

I think it's time for another contest! ^_~ One of my customers made a gorgeous treasury on Etsy featuring my samples set of the Breast Cancer Charity Collection. You can see the treasury here: Fight Like A Girl And that got me thinking that I really want to ramp up my donations for October, especially since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. So here's how to enter:

1. Create a treasury on Etsy for Breast Cancer Awareness and include my breast cancer awareness charity samples set, full size breast cancer charity stacker, or any of the single breast cancer charity colors (97, 98, 99, G03). Please choose only 1 listing for your treasury and then fill up the spaces with other wonderful Breast Cancer Awareness items from other Etsy sellers. Post the treasury link on this blog entry in the comments section, or on my facebook fanpage. Good for 1 entry, regardless of the number of treasuries you create.

OR...

2. If you have a pinterest account, make a Breast Cancer Awareness Board and pin at least one of the Breast Cancer Charity items from my shop to your board. Your Breast Cancer Awareness pinboard must contain at least 10 different pins for this to qualify as an entry. Be creative with your pins and have fun! ^_^ When you have at least 10 pins, post a link to your pinboard in the comments here, or on the facebook fanpage. Good for 1 entry, regardless of the number of boards you create.

OR...

3. Make a wonderful Breast Cancer Awareness post on your personal blog or Youtube channel and post the link in the comments here or on the facebook fanpage. If you need ideas, you can post a look, a tutorial, swatch a bunch of pink makeup or nail polish, talk about your own experiences with Breast Cancer, or practically anything else that raises awareness. You do not have to use my products for this, but you do need to mention this contest and link my Etsy shop somewhere in the post/comments section of your video. And of course, provide a link here or on the facebook fanpage. Good for 1 entry for each method (ie: if you have a blog and a youtube account, you may earn up to 2 entries; one entry for your blog post, and one for your youtube video). 1 entry per method, per person.

There will be two prizes awarded by random drawing: Grand prize will be a full sized stacker set of the breast cancer charity collection colors (#97-99 +G03), retail value $20. Runner up will receive a set of the breast cancer charity collection samples (#97-99 +G03), retail value $4.50. I will be making a donation of $12.00 to Susan G. Komen for these 2 sets. ^_^

This contest will run through October 16th. I will draw winners on the 17th. Good luck! And of course, promote, promote, promote! I really want to top my donations from last year, let's work together to make a positive impact. Thank You!!! ^_^