The GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Private Facebook Group and Further FDA Followup

It was announced today that the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics Private Facebook Group will be shutting down permanently as of the end of this week.

The group was originally created as a place for like minded fans to gather that was "GS friendly". The free samples that began arriving in March where an incentive given to fans by GS for joining the group. There have been many Admins over time, some of whom stepped down in late February and shared their stories. Yesterday, after reading Issanna's story, the final three of these Admins stepped down. A link to the blog was posted for all GS private group members to review, GS proprietor Lela Warren was removed as an Admin, and another group was created for the fans to have a place to discuss their love of all things makeup.

In the last few weeks there has been lots of activity surrounding GS: the removal of the GS Fan page by Lela, loss of Google Checkout as a payment option, mass refunds by Google Checkout for unreceived or incorrect orders, the FDA home visits, and now the closure of the private group. Lela has maintained a steady silence through it all, ignoring GS questions on her personal Facebook and refusing to respond to emails and phone calls. Today several people were deleted from her personal Facebook and her wall was closed to comments.

Another GS customer was contacted by the FDA via a phone call on 5/9/11:

It was a fairly short phone call, he told me it was for the pinks and listed the size of the pots, I can't recall what size he said they were.  He asked if I received a letter in the mail, which I did not and he listed my home address to make sure they had it right and made a note that I only knew of the recall because of facebook.

That makes four known contacts of GS customers by the FDA across the country in less than a week. There is no specific timeline for how long an investigation like this lasts, though hopefully there should be a result soon. If a warning letter is sent to GS I plan on filing a Freedom of Information Act request in order to follow up. FDA does not comment on current investigations.

Where does that leave GlitterSniffer Cosmetics? To be perfectly honest I'm not quite sure. After the recall it seemed that GS would have to cease operations, but then a cash infusion from a private investor allowed them to continue. When Paypal closed their multiple accounts in January Google Checkout and Artfire were there to pick up the slack. GS has a history of rising from the ashes, but it is unknown at this time if this situation is recoverable. Lela is certainly not being forthcoming about it. With the lack of a formal closure announcement and the ongoing FDA investigation it seems prudent at this point to take a wait and see approach. There are still stories to tell and the matter of GlitterSniffer Bath has yet to be addressed. Look for a post on that soon.

I will update as more information becomes available.