Our first real issue. :-(

Hello Lovelies!

As the title suggests, we have had our first little customer complaint issue. However, it really isn't a complaint towards Tick:Tock. It's a complaint that should have originally been directed towards the customer's local post office. Here's what happened. 

Yesterday, at about 1pm, I received the following message from a customer. I'm not going to post the customer's name or information [for obvious reasons] but I AM going to post the conversations.

I made an order on May 12,2011. I have yet to receive my order. Can you please give me an update on my order? this is my tracking # [tracking number was provided here].
Thank you,[Customer's name]

After receiving this, I will be honest, I was a bit confused. I wasn't sure why the customer was asking me since she had a tracking number. I had obviously shipped the package. And after using the tracking number, which she could and should have ALSO used, I saw that it was marked as delivered on May 21. I was even more confused. I was not angry, but I did want to address the situation and try to get her pointed in the proper direction to get her some answers. A couple of possibilities went through my head. And I send her this reply.

Hey [Customer's name] 

Oh no! That's really strange. Here is the info I have on your package.
We shipped your package on May 17. We just looked up the information on the package and it says that it arrived on May 21. We have attached the screen shot so that you can see what we see. Here is the address you gave us that we used to ship your package. 

[Customer's Address] 

Please let us know if this is the correct address because this is where the package went and was received on May 21 at 10:03 am. You will definitely want to contact your local post office to see if perhaps it was not able to be delivered, but the status was not changed to reflect that. Please let us know what your post office says so that we can figure out a resolution to this issue. And again, we do apologize, we get tracking numbers for this very reason, but we also want to ensure that you happy with the outcome.

Thank for your patience with us, too. This is our first issue like this. And we definitely appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

Thanks again,Tiffany RusinTick:Tock Cosmetics

 I felt this was an excellent reply. She replied with this.

Tiffany,
 Hey Well it just so  happens that on the 21st of May, I met the mail lady at the mail box because we were having a wedding(my wedding) at our house and people were parked along our road and I was afraid she wouldn't be able to get to the mail box. And the mail lady did not hand me a package this day. The address below is the correct address. So I can not say where the package s, but I can say without a doubt, the mail lady didn't have a package from me this day. It would of been great if she would of.Which I guess she did, but I just didn't receive it.
[Customer's name]

I felt pretty bad for this woman, who seemed to be pretty upset with me over something that wasn't my fault. It was Memorial Day, so I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it at the time, but I wanted to reply regardless and ensure her that we did everything in our power at that point and that her best option was to just contact the post office since they were the ones who had messed up somewhere.

Hey [Customer's name],
Like I said, I would recommend calling your post office tomorrow. I apologize again for this issue, like I said we do everything in our power to ensure your package arrives safely to your door. I hope you are able to sort this out with your post office. 
Thanks again,
Tiffany Rusin
Tick:Tock Cosmetics

She didn't like this answer apparently. And I guess she thought I was coming across as accusing her of something, which I hadn't. I just was letting her know what information I had. But regardless, she sent me this reply.

And i am telling you that I met my mail person that day and she did not have a package for me. So if it did get delivered, you are telling me that because the post office could of delivered it to the wrong address, you are not making good my order? 

At this point, she was directly accusing ME of not making good on my order. But I did make good on my order. I sent her this.

Hey [Customer's name] 
I understand that you met your mail person, however, we DID "make good" on our order. You can see that is was shipped, it was processed, it was sent. because we shipped it with a tracking number. This is our part of the transaction. To figure out what has happened after that part of the transaction, you need to contact your post office because it is an issue with their process, not ours. I'm very sorry, but aside from this there is not much I can do. I apologize for the inconvenience this is causing you, however, we can not do much because it shows that it was accepted. Please let us know what your post office says tomorrow, and possibly a phone number for them as well so that we can call them also if you are still having an issue.
Thanks,
Tiffany Rusin
Tick:Tock Cosmetics

It went without a reply over night. However, I was extremely concerned by the issue. It seemed very peculiar to me. So I wanted to get some more information from the Post Office to see if there had been some kind of mistake. I wanted to try to help get this woman's stuff to her properly. Being a small business, I cannot afford to replace a $20 order, especially one that according to the United States Postal Service had be delivered. But it still made me upset that someone was mad at me...cuz I just care I guess. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt as best I could. I located her post office by entering her zip code into the "locate a post office" feature on the USPS website, and it lead me a phone number. I called the number (and was on hold for a little while). The lady was really nice, and she tried to help me get some information. After the phone call, I sent the Customer this message...

Good Morning, [Customer's name]
I just got off the phone with the Navarre Post Office. She asked for all the information I had on the package (Name, Address, Tracking Number) and told me that she was going to find the person who delivered the package. The woman who made the delivery was named Carry, and she said that she remembers putting a small package in your mailbox on May 21 at 10:03 am. This means that it was indeed MY package that arrived, since MY tracking number was used to deliver it. I'm very sorry you are having trouble finding your package, but I am afraid that I did everything within my power to get it to you, and according to the post office it DID get to you.
However, I made a promise when I started my business that my customer service would be the best I could possibly make it. Please let me know what it would take to make you happy with the outcome of this situation, and I will do my best to make it up to you, even though it was not my fault at all. I do hope you can understand how this situation looks from my perspective, and why I made the effort to resolve it as well by calling your post office myself instead of waiting for you to let me know what they told you. Most likely, they would have told you the same thing. But if we could possibly work out a solution in which we are both happy with the outcome, I would really appreciate it!
I look forward to hearing back from you! Have a great day!
Thanks,
Tiffany Rusin
Tick:Tock Cosmetics

It was at this point that I was talking about it to some friends of mine on a facebook group. They informed me that this customer was complaining on ANOTHER facebook page....and it was a page that I was ALSO a part of. Here are the screen shots....

Somewhere towards the end of all the convo here, I was feeling pretty hurt, so I sent this message via email....

I just wanted you to know that I am a part of the ____________ group and I never said that was the end of it. I understand you are disappointed. But I am not sure where you got the impression that we aren't doing anything to help you out. We called the Post Office because we wanted to try to help you out. 
However, I am hurt that you feel the need to go and say things that are not accurate. I called your post office because I wanted to know for myself what had happened to see if there was a way I could fix it and get the products that I shipped to you.
You are failing to understand that I am a person, just as you are, who is trying to make a living doing something I love.
If you could be understanding and patient with me, I would greatly appreciate it. I am trying to fix the situation for you, but you are being very hurtful and not being understanding. You have to understand how this looks from my perspective. I am also trying to be understanding by figuring out what happened as well. But posting things about it on facebook, and not posting the whole story, is not the way to do things. It is not the way to get someone to want to help you. I truly want to help you get your package. I understand that $20 is not much to you, but to me it is a lot.
I am trying very hard to figure out this situation and get a solution for you, but I am also not going to do it without first doing some investigating into it myself. I have also asked what you thought would be a fair resolution, to which you have not given me a reply.
Also, I understand you were not handed a package. Which matches the story. The women did not hand it to you personally, she put it in your mailbox.
If you would like to give me a call, my number is___________ I truly want to resolve this issue, but it also needs to be fair at this point.
Thanks,
Tiffany

To which I received this reply.

FYI 20.00 is alot to me not to mention I was oping for the package before my wedding day due to the purple  that was in it I wanted to wear.And I NEVER order make up ever since the whole GS bull crap thing.
Another FYI since you had the whole story when you call ed the post office.I  spoke with the post office and explained how this isnt not the first package to get lost, but luckly I got the first one back. And how the mail lady was met at the end of the drive that day and how I can see how she could get her days mixed up since I had about 5-6 different packages come to the house that were all little. So you keep the 20.00 and the make up since you oviously think i am lying. And there is NO way the post office would ever make a mistake and why would she say she did, if she knows it could be garnished out of her wages.

And so I sent this message...

I saw what you posted and you yourself said that $20 was not much. I don't think you are lying, but I also am not going to send you products based on the info you have given me. If you would like a refund, I will do it through the post office thing, but since this is not my fault, I am not sure why you are blaming me for it and taking your frustrations out on me. You need to be understanding of others, but you are not. I am sorry you have had an issue, but I am not going to be able to do any more at this point because of your attitude towards me the whole time. I have tried to find a solution. If you do not want to recieve replacements through the post office thing, then that is your decision.

I also asked her to please give me a call in another short message, which she did not do and has not done yet either. She then replied with this message.

To be honest with you, I have "liked" your page before you even got your product up and going. I apologize to you for my upseted ness. I just know that I didnt recieve my package. And it seemed like you didnt belive me. I have no reason to lie to you. Especially since there was a tracking number. The lady @ the post office was not the one I toalk to but the one who answered the phone when you called and I explained to her that we did meet the mail lady this one day.(due to all the cars) and that I there was no package. She said you can resend it and send them the invoice by fax ____________. But I am not sure of all the process. So it is really up to you if you want to have to deal with the post office about it. I will just have my orders sent to my office from now on..Because THERE is no telling what the mail lady will do now.. My husband and her have had thier share of run arounds.

So according to this customer...this is not the first time she has lost a package. And I am also sure that this is not the first time she has emailed a company asking for replacement products in this manner...perhaps people have sent her replacement products in the past, and if so I guess that is their prerogative. I'm someone who wants to make people happy, but not at the expense of possibly being taken advantage of. I accepted her apology. 

I understand, we all get upset at times. However, I just did not apreciate that you said I wasn't trying to help you, when I was trying VERY hard. I tried to call the post office yesterday, just to leave a message since it was Memorial day, but there wasn't a way to leave a message. It had just said that I needed to call back during regular business hours. So I called first thing this morning. But I would appriciate it also if you would correct what you had said on the facebook page about the company not doing anything about it. I will call the post office again to figure out how I can get the info to them without fax because I do not have a way to fax. I'll get back to you shortly about what they say. Thanks agian, please try to be patient with me. I really am trying to get this figured out for you..

I gave the post office another call, then replied with this.

I just called them again. She said that it would only refund the postage cost, not the product because the product was not insured. What she is going to try to find the package for you and let me know when she does. They are probably going to be slow, and it is also the day after a holiday so they are probably a bit backed up. I would give them a day to call you back, and if they don't call back today, I will be calling again tomorrow until the issue is resolved somehow. Let's try to figure this out together, okay? I really don't want you to be mad at me for something that isn't my fault. I had a similar issue happen just about a month ago. I ordered from ________ to get the supplies I needed for making the pigments. Well, THEY addressed my package incorrectly. However, I knew that they couldn't do anything from California, that it was an issue I needed to fix with the mailing company. So i called the company (several times) and finally was able to pick up my package. It took a little extra effort, but I never got upset because the second I started getting upset, they stopped helping me. So I definitely understand shipping issues. Which is why i'm trying so hard to help get this figured out before I go and ship $20 worth of stuff out of my own pocket. I just can't afford that right now with my business as small as it is. I hope you understand and I hope you are feeling a bit better about things. We are working together to get the situation resolved. And if you want to call me, please do not hesitate. I am more than willing to talk as well. Take care!

She seemed to become a bit more understanding at this point, which I truly appreciated. I think she had gotten over the irritation of "blargh, wherez mah stuff!?" and realized I really wasn't the enemy here. She sent me this.

 Well crap...... How do they think she is gonna find the package? I mean it would be GREAT if they did find it, but knowing my neighborhood....The druggies have proably tried to sniff it.

That eased the tension a bit. So I tried to ease it a bit more with a joke towards it as well. It was also mentioned in the fb convo part too.

Lol. I guess just keep an eye out for people with glittery noses. ;-) We'll get this sorted out. I know that when I had my issue, they said they tried to deliver it, but the address was incorrect and was also not a real address. So it was just in a storage area hanging out. At first they said they couldn't find it, but then they magically did and i was able to get it. Just give it some time...but I'd seriously keep an eye out for the glittery noses...just in case....:-)

I had hoped the post office would call me with information about finding the package and getting it back to her. But when I received the call, i still got the same information, only confirmed...

Hey _________,
I just spoke with the post office again, they called me back. They said that the mail lady remembers putting the package with that tracking number in your mailbox, but that there were some teenagers near the mail box waiting. I don't know if it has anything to do with it, but that is what she said. 
Since nothing about the situation is my fault, I do not feel that it is my job to send another order. However, what I WILL offer is that for every order you make in the future, I will personally pay the cost of adding signature confirmation and item insurance every time. I also want to give you a coupon code for 50% off your next order, I've attached it for you.
I'm sorry you have had these issues with your post office. I hope that it is somehow able to be resolved with them. I hope you can understand that as a small business owner, given all of the information I have been given, that I can not send replacements for free, but I can offer a compromise and offer more protection on your items in the future.
Thanks,
Tiffany Rusin

I feel that I personally have done more than some people might have to help this woman out. I feel also that this is a fair way to resolve the issue at this point. She may or may not be happy with it, but I am officially making this my final act towards resolution. But I thought I would place my side of the story in a place where anyone who wanted to know more about it could read it. Please be kind with your comments, [both towards me and towards the customer] and keep names out of it if you know who the customer was. I went through a lot of effort to hide everyone's name and info. 

It's terribly discouraging to have something negative like this happen, but it also teaches us a lesson. Something more that we needed to take into consideration. 

This past Sunday at church, we talked about dealing with trials...it's funny how this particular week had such a trial already. I guess my little nose needs to be reading up in James this week. I don't want to sound preachy, but it's something that goes deeper than just a customer service issue for me. It's something I need to be doing more, just to be a better person. There are lots of great lessons in the bible about simply treating others right. I think people of any religion can learn from lessons like that, regardless of whether or not they believe in Jesus. I hope I also haven't offended anyone with this little addition to the blog as well. It's just my personal feelings towards things. 

I guess that's all I have to update with for now. If the issue continues, I will let you all know. All like 5 people who will probably make it this far into the blog. Lol. This is super long. Sorry about that. I guess I just needed to vent, too. :-)

Have a great night, I love you all.

Hugs,

Tiffany

BINGO=ME WINNING! YEAH!

Hello Lovelies!!

So, I went to BINGO with my future mother-in-law tonight for fun and had such an awesome time! I paid $16 to play for the whole night, and I actually WON!!! I got $20 for winning (which if you do the math, I am at +$4, so that is pretty exciting) and also have a great time with Suzie (future m-i-l) in the process! We were having a good ol' girl's night!

In honor of my BINGO winnings, I'm offering a coupon code that you can use at checkout --- enter BINGOWINNING to get 20% off!! I'm thinking I will only leave it up until 10pm on SUNDAY, MAY 29th. So if you want to enjoy it, you gotta use it soon!

Here's a picture of my winning BINGO and my $20 prize money! This is me basking in the glory that is beating a room full of old people. :-) Gotta love it!

Well, that's all for now, everyone!! Have a great weekend and stay classy!

<3
Hugs,
Tiffany

Flash Sale THIS WEEKEND!!!

Hello Lovelies!

Who's ready for a FLASH SALE!!!

Starts: Friday May 27 at 4pm
Ends: Sunday May 29 at 10pm

This weekend's FLASH SALE is...
BUY 2 or more, GET ONE FREE!

Here's how it works:

• Order 2 or more pigments as you normally would.
• When checking out, specify your color choice for your free pigment in the notes section! [Depending on availability, you may be contacted to choose a different color so please make sure you use a reliable email address!)

And that's pretty much it! 

If you have ANY QUESTIONS, please EMAIL ME at

ticktock.cosmetics@gmail.com

and I will reply as soon as possible (which is usually within 5 or 10 minutes during the daytime). 

Hugs,

Tiffany

photo shoots, shipping crazies, VIPs, and info on the gold mystery bags!

Hello Lovelies!

It's been a while since I've updated everyone. Needless to say, it's been a bit crazy.

We had a very exciting photo shoot last Thursday that went just absolutely amazing! I just got to see some of the pictures from it in a preview, and I can not wait to share them with you all! Seriously...it's incredible! I'm hoping that by the end of June/beginning of July we will be able to post them to the Facebook! I can't tell you all yet what they are for,  but let me just stress how lucky we are to have the opportunity. :-)

Shipping got a little crazy in the last week as well. But things are back on track and I am setting up a weekly schedule for shipping. It will be every Monday OR Tuesday. Not both. I always have either one day or the other off of work, so I will be using those days to get all of the weeks shipping done. This is also only until school starts. When that begins, it will most likely be either ONLY Tuesdays in the mornings. And this is also only until I am done with college...I can't believe how much I am counting down the days until I don't have to worry about school and I can just focus on this...sigh.

I'm also looking into some package design stuff, logos for new top stickers, etc. We've got some cute necklaces that are going to be in the process soon too! Possibly for something we're working on called Tick:Tock VIP Membership. We're still figuring out details, but I will keep you guys posted.

Recently, we have also had the issue of finding out the ingredients for the colors in the gold mystery bags. I don't think I did a very good job explaining what these pigments are. So I guess, here is the quick run down:

When we first sat down to make our line of colors, we ordered a kit. This kit was made by the same company that we still buy our supplies from. But after we had made the colors for the line, we made a few just for fun colors. Shortly after, we got some bad news. Basically, the company was no longer offering the colors. (You can read what they had to say by following the link). But seeing what we had made, we decided we would offer the fun colors we had made in little gift bags, hence the gold bags. And we would still sell them. Unfortunately, we never named them, because originally we didn't think there was much we could do with them. But it would have been a huge waste to just have them sitting around. Today, I emailed the company only to find out that they will not be answering emails for a few days due to a death in the family, as well as Memorial day. So unfortunately, it seems like it is going to be an annoyingly slow process of getting a list of ingredients out to you guys. And I apologize for not getting this information to everyone sooner. It was just one of those things that completely slipped my mind. The question was also asked as to whether or not they are approved for use on lips. For now, my answer is no, and here is why. I believe that the blue mica used was not approved for use on lips, but I am going from memory. I am not 100% sure. To be safe, I am going to say that you should not use any of the blues or purples that come in the gold bags on your lips until I give you more information. I want you guys to be safe, and I want to get the information from the company first before I give the official "okay" to anything. I will add that ALL of our eye shadows are approved for use on eyes, and I would recommend not really using any of them on lips as that is not really their intended use. We want to see them on your eyes, or even cheeks if you want to. :-)

Hope this was an informative update. I'll keep everyone posted on more news as it comes in!

Hugs,
Tiffany

A night of mixing=4 new colors and another contest coming soon!

Hello Lovelies!

Last night, we got to make more of all of the colors, plus we created and potted 4 new colors! Pictures are coming soon! We will be posting them to the Facebook page as soon as they are ready!

While 3 of the gorgeous colors we created have names now, 1 little colors seemed to make us struggle for a perfect name that fit just right. So we will be having a contest! It's going to be a Name That Color Contest! More information will be coming onces we have pictures to share with everyone. But the contest will be ON THIS BLOG. But I just wanted to share that info with everyone, because I hadn't posted for a few days!!

<3

Have a great day!

Hugs,
Tiffany

Haircuts, More Swatches, Contest Info

Hello Lovelies!


Today's been a pretty exciting day! I got a hair cut! Lol. My hair had been growing out and it was at that "awkward" stage. And I gotta get my hair looking spiffy...I can't talk about why, but let's just say there is something very, very exciting going on at Tick:Tock Cosmetics next week that I need to look professional for. Lol. And my hair was not cutting it. So yeah. Get excited.


In Tick:Tock news that I can actually talk about, you may have noticed out new additional swatch pictures. We had a fan on Facebook comment on our Pigments photo album [you can read them here] that some of the colors appeared very different in the pot than on the eye lid photograph. We have already addressed the question via the Facebook page, but I wanted to explain on here as well. Here's what Elizabeth posted...

There was a question on our pigments album about the difference in color from the pot to the application. I wanted to sort of explain why the difference is there and what the best way to apply your pigments is so that you get the best color payoff and longest lasting color you can. This applies to all loose pigments, not just ours.

First off, you want to make sure you start out with a primer. I can't stress the importance of this enough. A primer keeps your pigments from creasing, even after 12 hours! Using a primer is super simple, just smear a little on your lid and lower lash line (if you plan on putting pigments there) and all the way up to your brows. An eyeshadow primer is the foundation for your whole look.

Secondly, you will want to use either a base, or a foiling medium. A base is different than a primer. Your base gives your pigments something to stick to. One of the most popular bases among the mineral makeup community is the NYX jumbo pencil. Most use the colors Milk (white) or Black Bean (black). Using a white base makes your colors truly pop, a black base will darken your pigment, a shimmery base will make your pigments look more sparkly. You can also use a base that is the same color as the pigment you plan on applying. Using a pink base with a pink pigment will intensify the pink, as will using a purple base with purple pigment and so on.

Foiling your pigments is different than using a base. You don't necessarily need to use a base when you use a foiling medium. Foiling gives your pigments a "wet" look because they often are wet. There are several different indie brands that offer foiling mediums and I haven't found one that I love. They are generally a mixture of glycerine and water and I find that my lids feel wet and cold the rest of the day. You can also use tap water or contact solution and just *slightly* dampen your pigments and apply them with a brush. My favorite foiling medium is called Pixie Epoxy and it is used in a completely different way. You don't mix you pigments with it, you instead apply PE to your lids and smooth it around, then you pat your pigments on top.

One last thing I feel every look needs: black liquid liner. (but that's just me). I hope this note is helpful to all of you and in turn helps clear up the difference in the appearance of the pigments from jar to application. Please don't hesitate to contact either Tiffany or myself with any questions or concerns you may have. We want you to see the truest possible picture of what you are buying so there is no disappointment. - Elizabeth

Tiffany can be reached via email at: ticktock.cosmetics@gmail.com
Elizabeth can be reached via email at: high.voltage.photography1@gmail.com 

Because of these questions, we have added more swatch pictures to our page so that you can see how the colors will look when used in different ways. It's important to know what you are getting, because we do NOT want you to be disappointed by our products. I want you guys to love them as much as I do.

ALSO: There will no longer be contests via the Facebook page. This is due to Facebook changing the contest rules. All of our future contests will be on here. It's kind of lame, I know. But until I get a chance to figure out the more complicated explanation of how we ARE allowed to do contests on there, this will just be easier. Lol. There is a lot to read, and some of it I didn't quite understand.

I guess that's all I've got going on right now, just wanted to make sure all the info was available in different areas.

Hugs,
Tiffany

WE FINALLY HAVE A SLOGAN!!!!!!!

Hello Lovelies!

After pretty much FOREVER of tying to come up with a little catch phrase for Tick:Tock, we finally came up with one. Are you ready for this?

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"Tick:Tock Cosmetics...for colors that are rockin' around the clock!"

It's now displayed proudly on our top banner for both the Storenvy Page and for this page! YAY!!

Lol. That was fun.

Anyways, in other news...today was shipping day this week.Whoot! The people in the post office are starting to recognize me, so that is exciting as well. I hope that one day I have to take a bag full of packages in, because that would be freaking AWESOME.

Well, that is all I can think of to write about right now. I also revamped the layout of both this page and the Storenvy Page. Whoot! Enjoy!

<3
Hugs,
Tiffany

We had our first contest!

Hello Lovelies!

We did, in fact, have our first official Tick:Tock Cosmetics contest recently!

We opened the contest after reaching our goal of 200 fans. Within 24 hours, we had reached our entry limit of 50 entries. So yesterday, we did our drawing!

Congratulations go to Elena Herrera, who was lucky number 13. She will be recieving the entire Tick:Tock Originals Collection full-size set in a lovely little silver bag! I'm super excited to do something awesome to start kicking off the company!

We are hoping to do "milestone" give aways, or at least do a give away a month. I figured for our first one, we would give away a really big prize. Each prize will be different, and will most likely be either a product, or a cool promotional item like a t-shirt or something fun like that. :-)

I'm excited to announce that Metronome and Digital will soon be available! We just ordered the supplies Sunday, so they should be in within the next couple of weeks. And you can bet that, like always, the package will only have been in the door for a couple hours before we attack it and turn it into wonderful goodies. Lol. It never fails, I almost immediately open it to look at everything, then get ahold of Elizabeth to see if she is up for a late-night mixing party. We just get way too excited. Lol.

That's all the update I have for now, ladies. Hoping to get some more shoots going in the next week or so.

<3

Hugs,
Tiffany

Busy Week...

Hello Lovelies,

Well, this week was finals week. I've managed to scrape by again somehow. Thank goodness! Also, tomorrow is the last day to use the promo code [ ALMOSTSUMMER ] on the Storenvy page. So if you haven't already, better hop to it! <3

Like I said, I had the last of my finals today, but I also have a terrible cold. So I won't be mixing anything up this week, and at least not until after Monday or Tuesday, when I get put on some antibiotics so I will know with confidence that I am no longer contagious. I can ship, no problem. So any orders that come in will be taken out of the stocks we already have made up. It's a simple matter of putting something in a package and taking it to the post office. But as far as actually mixing, I'm just far too sick and should not be messing with that stuff. I know I'd be wearing a mask and gloves and all that, but I just don't want to take any risks. I'd much rather be safe than sorry.

So now I have to come up with other ways to occupy my time! I'm very much looking forward to getting to do laundry, as silly as that sounds. I've gotten just ridiculously behind on my laundry. Lol.

I've already gotten some messages from ladies who have received their packages and are going to be doing some reviews! I'm super excited to hear what they have to say...I feel pretty good that I will hear lots of good things, but it still makes me nervous...what if they don't like the colors? What if they the packaging isn't professional? I'm probably getting nervous for no reason. But still. I also look forward to hearing good things. Elizabeth and I have put a lot of time and thought into all of the colors, making sure we mix lots of colors to create new colors...unique colors that aren't just straight repackaging. And I very much hope that it comes through in the reviews! <3

Well, I'm going to call this the end of the blog. I need to organize my laundry for the excitement that is going to be my week of doing laundry!

Hugs,
Tiffany

Venting about school, so if you want to hear about makeup, skip this blog.

Hello Lovelies!

As I get up this morning, I feel a bit overwhelmed. And I feel as though this is a safe place to share how I really feel about some things since no one really reads it anyways.

You know that feeling, when you have been searching your whole life to find that one thing that makes you happy...that makes you feel like this is the main reason you were created? It's getting a little deep here, ladies, so if you are not up for that sort of thing, feel free to leave. But this blog is a great deal for myself, and my own personal growth, and my growth as a business woman.

Well, I feel as though my whole life has led me to this point. Each step was important. I didn't go to college to find friends, I already have the best. I didn't go to college really knowing what I wanted to do. I always felt as if whenever someone asked me "What do you want to do when you grow up?" that I should have an answer. Not for myself, but to make my parents happy. My parents expected me to have an answer. However, I always went with what I thought was the easiest thing for me. I would always choose something that I felt confident in at the time. Something that seemed like a smart choice. Once, I had said "Doctor!" Another time I said "Professional Writer!" Yet another time I said, "Music Teacher!" Again, I said "Actress and Stage Manager!" And all these times, I said these things because I felt like I just needed an answer to give. I could easily see myself doing these things. They were all things I enjoyed.

But throughout the process, I never felt like doing them as work was truly enjoyable. Doing them as work turned them into work. It took the love I had for them away completely. Something was just never right.

Until I realized something.

Makeup. Getting paid to do makeup made it even MORE awesome.

Now, I know it may sound silly, but just hear me out. I never seriously considered going into the cosmetics industry. I never realized that was an option. It didn't seem like the highest level on the totem pole, I guess. It seemed like I could be doing something bigger, making more money, learning more useless things...

Let me explain...I live in America where your success is not measured in just the joy you receive from doing your job, doing it well, and enjoying it the whole time. In America, your success is measured in how much money you make, how many likes your facebook page has, how many followers your blog has, and how many nice things you can have for yourself because of all these things. And that makes me very sad for America as a whole.

Now, I have struggled for most of my college life trying to figure out what the heck I want to do, what the heck I actually CAN do, and what to do about it. I ended up at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College...I feel as though it was not a mistake, but that is was definitely important. But it made life extremely difficult. I feel as though learning at the school is almost impossible for me. There are so few students (about 4-18 students) in each class, it puts the atmosphere into one that is pretty much just like high school. There are clicks. Everyone has a name, and there are so few people there that it makes you feel like you HAVE to know their names, even if you don't want to. Like you have to make friends. It makes it really awkward sometimes. And I have issues with that sort of stuff...

When I start feeling awkward, it puts me into this weird mode where I can't get myself to do anything. Unless I feel like I have a place where I belong in a group somewhere, I am going to freak out internally the whole time. And I reach a freaking out point where I just avoid that environment altogether...which is not good.

However, when I am in a large group of 40-??? people whom I don't know, I am fine. I can sit among random strangers and never care. In those moments, I don't feel like I have to make friends, or be social. I am simply there to learn something. And I'm not good at meeting new people. It takes a while for me to be comfortable around someone. Which is leading me to feel as though a small college is not for me. I love the people whom I have grown close to, but when you are in classes where there are only 10 people, it's the end of the semester and you still don't know anyone's name because you're freaking out about it and can't seem to remember ever...ugh. Yeah. This is kind of how my brain works.

But the thing is, when you become so emotionally attached to teachers and professors, it makes it hard to leave...because it's so personal. You feel like you are betraying someone who's been a great friend and advisor. Someone you trusted. It's kind of like a break up, to be completely honest. It's always awkward to see that person afterwards.

Which is why this home-based business thing is for me. It's also why I think I would do well talking online courses. And it's also why I think I would even do well in a HUGE campus setting. Because I am most certainly NOT doing well academically at SMWC. I think for some people, the environment that I am in is great. I know it has helped me flourish as a person and it has brought me to where I am...but I also know that I am not really gaining anything from the education here. Which is sad. It also makes me feel like I have to participate in things. Which there is nothing wrong with. But I feel like sometimes, those things distract us. I need to focus, and at SMWC, there is just too much going on for me to focus. There is always some kind of drama...

Which leads me to the end of my venting. This is where I am. I have spent 6 semesters feeling like I have gained nothing from most of my classes. I was able to get through my first 4 semesters because I had friends. They encouraged me. They helped me scrap by. But I was not happy here. I have wanted to transfer numerous times. I have cried for hours over wanting to transfer. I have cried to my mom to let me. But she always says no. So I finally gave up. And when I gave up trying to get her to let me, I kind of also gave up trying to care...which is sad. And it is not who I am. But I am also not a person who can survive in an environment that doesn't work for me.

But the past years have been emotionally difficult, and I have been through more than I can stand sometimes. I've seen my lowest days, I know for sure. I think I am depressed. I sometimes wake up and am overcome by this incredible sadness, which has no reason really because all I did was wake up, and I end up not being able to get out of bed or do anything. I just lay there and try to calm down, or I fall back to sleep. So then I try to cheer myself up by going and doing something fun. And it helps. But then I feel behind and overwhelmed and I think that everyone else is going to think I'm weird, and I'm freaking out the whole time thinking I will run into someone from school or something... like I said, I think I am probably depressed.

Ugh. On that downer note, the semester is pretty much over. I have stuff to do tonight, and some stuff to do during the week, but the classes are over. We'll see how next year goes...

Thanks for reading..

Hugs,
Tiffany

JOSH CARR IS A BEAST

Hello Lovelies!

I wanted to share a super sweet blog that was written about me that simply made my day. If you haven't happened to run across Josh Carr yet, you most likely will if you frequent this page. I'm hoping to get to work with him a lot more, and get him some more models to help him expand his portfolio. He's a really great guy, with a really great wife, that takes really great...no...COMPLETELY AMAZING photographs. His lighting techniques were crazy and awesome, and the results were totally gorgeous. But that is not what makes him awesome.

What is awesome about Josh Carr is not that he just takes good pictures. A lot of people can take good pictures. However, to go with the stereotype I'm starting to get with all my favorite photographers, (they all seem to think they aren't as awesome as they really are...my lovely Elizabeth falls into this category too lol, she is AMAZING and she always thinks her cousin's pictures are way better...lol love ya Leeb) he is one of the most grateful, humble, down to earth people I know. For someone who is such a great person to say the nice things he has about me...well, it's completely humbling. I'm honored and thankful to have had him find me and ask me to be just the first part of his adventure into fashion photography. And I most certainly won't be the last. I intend to find him some locations and models for some fun ideas...I could definitely see him doing a zombie shoot. :-)

Here is the blog.  You can read for yourself, he definite gained more than just pictures for his portfolio. He gained confidence, courage to just go for it, and a friend. I so look forward to getting to work with him again. And if you are a model, feel free to hit this guy up! He's amazing!

And to explain the title...I couldn't think of anything really clever, so I went with random/funny. Hope you enjoyed it! Here is my FAVORITE picture from the shoot!

Have a great night, ladies!

Hugs,
Tiffany