overall, I am very impressed with the new lolita eye collection. I bought the whole sample set and CAN wear about 15 of the 18 colors. In all honesty, I probably WILL wear only 9 of those 15, but that's a personal preference, not anything to do with the actual colors. :-) The ones I really can't wear are because they are just too far on the cool side of things to look nice on me.

My point is, Miss K and AL always makes products for everyone. Don't be afraid to try out new colors or new collections, because you may surprise yourself with the discovery of a new color that is perfect for you. And, since AL sells samples, you don't have to buy a large quantity of something you're not sure you'll like. Plus, any samples you don't care for can be passed along to a friend for the purpose of recruiting another AL addict.

Definitely! Even those colors that don't necessarily suit your coloring can be worn in small doses, mixed in with your favorites.

Should I be kicking myself now for not ordering all the samples? I admit, I have to start working on my blue/green/yellow/peach shadow fears..... but baby steps, I did just overcome pink!

Thanks so much peacock-

I am sad to say that I think that, like the matte gothic lolita shadows that sold so badly last year- that the words "Gothic Lolita" are somehow scaring people off.

I sent out a newsletter on Monday announcing this collection and I can't say that I have sent out a newsletter in the last year that was more poorly received! It was bizarre, the stats- actually.

I thought that the success of the Gothic Lolita Rouges and Lip Cremes meant that somehow the term "Gothic Lolita" was somehow gotten past... and had become a household term, but I fear that it has not... and despite the lush beauty and gorgeous shades in this collection ( which are not even remotely frightening or over the top in any way) that this collection (which is selling very cool for a new collection) may just be one of my big bummers of 2008.

I even got an email from someone asking me to remove them from the mailing list because they were a Christian and "Gothic" was offensive, as was the fact that I said that the Coquille Lilas product was a "cult favorite".

So, Ah well... I must put my mind to work...

xo,
K

quote:

I even got an email from someone asking me to remove them from the mailing list because they were a Christian and "Gothic" was offensive, as was the fact that I said that the Coquille Lilas product was a "cult favorite".

That is so bizarre. My family are very conservative Christians (I am too though less politically conservative,) and they don't have a problem with any particular fashion trend or the phrase "cult favorite." I guess that person didn't know what cult favorite means, but I find that pretty odd too. You should tell that person to Google gothic cathedral or gothic cross and see if everything gothic = anti-christian.

*sigh* Is it too late to change the name of the collection? Maybe if you called it the "Japanese Garden" collection or something bland like that, it would start selling like hotcakes.

You can't win them all (referring to the odd lady who wanted to be removed from your list; I'm sure she wasn't a true customer or she'd never be able to do that). For me the name actual sparks my interest and makes me feel different about gothic style in general. I can't wait to get my samples so I can get some full sizes this week. Maybe everyone is just broke from paying taxes; I know that is why I put off buying samples (for a whole week . Hopefully the sale with pick things up for you.

Oh, some people...I tell ya'. I had some students last year do some simple yoga poses for stress-relief purposes and got nailed because yoga "is a religion", so I had to stop calling it yoga, but kept doing the stretches...

Well, I am disappointed for you that this collection is selling poorly, but am glad you made it because it has fabulous colors in it, whatever the heck they're called.

Wonder what kind of response you'd get if you called it the "Bedroom Eyes" Collection? LOL!

BTW, I can't say I'm in love with the complete idea of Gothic Lolita - the fashions are, um, interesting and beautiful, but really not my personal taste. Doesn't mean I can't love these e/s.

Here's one: "The Zen Collection"

I'm Christian and I don't have a problem with the word Gothic. There are bigger concerns in this world, I'm not going to fuss over the name of an eyeshadow collection. The colors are incredible, I like them and that's all that matters to me.

Now you know I can't NOT say something here. But I promise to keep it short and sweet.

To anyone not familiar with the gothic subculture, we're not satanists. Yeah, there are a few misguided kids who will try to convince you they are, but 99% of them are really just looking for attention. It's not all about Marilyn Manson, hanging out in cemeteries, and thinking of ways to die. Far from it. We're Christian, we're Catholic, we're Jewish, we're Buddists, we're other religions both widely accepted and not so widely known. But we're nothing to fear. We're everyday people dealing with the same things everyone else deals with. The group of friends I have are some of the most accepting, artistic, loving people you could ever want to meet - people that would do anything they could to help a friend, or even a stranger, in need.

Being openly goth, I sincerely hope that I do not offend anyone or turn anyone off to participating in these forums. I am quite used to being misunderstood. My own mother STILL doesn't understand me! If anyone does take issue, please, let's discuss it via PM.

A simple Internet search on gothic lolita will produce hours of fascinating reading. Don't just assume that something you don't understand is evil.

**steps off soapbox**

Meanwhile, don't get so hung up on a word. Go try the collection, it's fun, girly, whimsical, and will look fantastic on you. Kudos to Miss K, who has opened a whole new door to so many women.

What if you issue these as a "limited time collection", pull 'em in a month, and re-issue under a new name? Those of us that are die-hards would know they are the same shadows, but those scaredy-cat folks would think it's a new collection. LOL!

I know you would probably never consider this, because you are such a principled person (which I respect enormously), but it's a thought I had...

Too strange, Kristen. I love the looks of the collection. I'm on a personal no-buy for a few reasons - the house addition is a huge outlay of cash (we do things like that out of pocket), we just took our little trip to see my mom, and April sales in Bigfork are way down, in spite of mid-triple digit increases jan - march...

I'm actually, for the first time in my life, nervous about the economy. Going to Costco a few days ago and seeing beef about 1.50-$2 a lb higher than the last trip, and there being no rice, flour or beans on the shelves at all, was kind of scary. I'm so NOT a doom and gloom person, too - totally not a conspiracy theory sort, or an "end is near" type. Usually very happy go lucky and trusting of good. And as much as I want the entire new shadow collection, I can't even bring myself to press the go button on the sample set...although, I might just have to do that, anyway.

I guess what I'm saying is that there might be other more broad spread factors involved in a slowing of sales, not just a misunderstood name.

(Now I can't wait to get my collection!)

-b.

Now, there's a thought, Bridget. It's tax time, economy's a little slow, maybe it's just that. Wonder if Miss K has noticed a general downturn in sales, not just this collection...

I know that I may have to try to curb my own spending in the next few months - my husband is considering going back to school and making a career change, so that will cut into our monthly "play" money significantly. So, I am trying to get all my MU needs taken care of mefore then. ;-)

**sighing** I have to say first of all I think the GL collection is a stroke of genious. Really creative colors, can get some great combos, and love the textures of the colors. Having said that, I think that for people *ahem* over a *ahem* certain age, anything "goth" denotes "young" and they aren't all that open to it. There's a huge difference between what *ahem* "older" women are going to be interested in and what a 20-year old is interested in. It's hard to hit some middle ground that will attract a wide range of ages. If you put the name "Christian Dior" on your colors, they would sell like hotcakes to the over-40 crowd, for sure, because it's so middle-of-the road (not to mention the cachet of being so expensive). Gothic (makeup) is scary to *ahem* older women, unless you can get them to actually LOOK AT THE COLORS, because they really sell themselves. And I think the Gothic Lolita concept is really cute, but definitely aimed at the younger crowd. Would I EVER LOVE to wear some of those clothes!!! Oh, if I were only 40 years younger!!!! But I'm not the usual 60-year old. The best I could say is to create a "nude, dull, and boring" line..... for women over 45 (pick an age. no kidding! Can you create links on some of the older color collections that would link directly to the newer color collection (i.e, Gothic Lolita) with something like, "if you like this, it goes with this"..>????? Because they ARE interactive colors to the extent that we want to either a) be adventurous or b) think about it.

This is why I hate hanging out with women my age. They tend to get fuddy-duddy. Sigh!!!!

Pinky

Wow someone actually asked to be removed from the mailing list over the name of the product? How lame is that! It's just words. How someone can get caught up over the name/title of the products and totally miss the gorgeous colors is beyond me.

I ordered the sample collection last week and have tried several of the colors, all of them are wonderful. I ordered 4 full sized ones this morning, and will probably order 2-3 more before the week is out. Then I will probably have to wait til my birthday in June to order the others that I want from the collection, but I will have them all in full sizes eventually

Michelle

Ladies, you're all an inspiration to me. I'm going to stick with it because you know, I'm 37... I would love to be able to wear those fun gothic lolita dresses and all too! But instead, I look to certain fashion movements and use them as inspiration and kind of piece all sorts of different things together. But I love looking at the pictures and the street fashion shots, and the websites where they sell the clothes... I think "wow- how cool would it be to be able to wear that every day???!!!!" And it's a lot about daydreaming and fantasy for me... Fashion is so much about that...

So I'm going to stick with it. I'm going to maybe use it as a chance to show some of the colors combined with other AL shades (foxglove and longing are faves I love to combine with)... and some of my outfits that might have a little bit of gothic or lolita inspiration.

Maybe I'll do some hand swatches too, but darnit- I'll accomplish to get where we need to be with this collection. World Domination!!! (totally kidding there...)

xoxo

K

Oh please stick with it! I love that your makeup has unusual themes and associations-that's why I buy way more than I need! My daughter (a real gothic lolita) and I both love your new collection and telling people "I'm wearing Strawberry Despair today" is part of the fun!

I do think tax time might be part of the problem. I know it's making it hard for me to spend much right now.

I even got an email from someone asking me to remove them from the mailing list because they were a Christian and "Gothic" was offensive, as was the fact that I said that the Coquille Lilas product was a "cult favorite".

Yikes, somebody needs to type "Gothic" into Wikipedia and see the huge variety of stuff that pops up! There is architecture, the Goths (as in the ones that fought the Romans), art, you name it! It's kind of sad they limit a word to just one meaning they think is negative

And you defined your definition of what you were going for with this collection Kristen! I admit I wasn't thrilled about this new collection when it came out, at first I told myself "These are pretty but they just don't fit where I am with my makeup right now" but I have been gradually seduced by your wonderful descriptions. I got my samples this week and am already planning to buy some full sizes. I didn't even have to try to fall in love with some of these, it was easy to make them work (This is from a new mother with an infant who has been trying to simplify things.) I am a firm believer in not being so open minded your brains fall out but folks definitely need to give this a shot!

Ladies, I just posted my hand swatches in my blog so check them out!

Hey - just saw the hand swatches - are these wet or dry? They really do the colors justice!

Also, I really like Pinky's idea of linking "tamer" colors to the GL color collection. For that matter, wouldn't it be cool to have links to other collections in general? "If you like chloe, try ringoffire, peekaboo, suspectdevice rocks! and strawberry dispair gothic lolita".

Sounds like a LOT of work, though...maybe a future project when you have down time between developing new lines, blogging, updating your website, filling orders, having a life... LOL!

Well, I certainly wish I could afford everything I am attracted to in your products, Miss K. But I do have to budget and resist more than I can bear sometimes. I am holding back in all areas of spending because of our economy. Somethings got to give before we are in a true depression!! But they say, when the economy is sour ladies buy lipstick (and other makeup these days) because it makes them feel better. I can't go a day without my Al fix.
You have been putting out new things like crazy, Kristen!! I marvel at your constant creativity. I don't think you are going to have a problem with the GL collection. The colors are just too gorgeous! I personally wanted to see what the finish was on them before buying.
I have to admit it but I suppose I am one of those "older ladies". I am very attacted to the GL collection. I have several samples in my cart today but am considering full sizes after seeing swatch samples on arms and pretty eye modeling. I think these colors and finish will look great on "older" eyes. Kathy

oh, the hand swatches did the trick!! I was certain about 4 colors I wanted but after seeing Teddy Wisp, I have to have that one. too! Thanks Kristen Kathy