Showing posts with label Bare Escentuals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bare Escentuals. Show all posts
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Bare Escentuals' Be a Force of Beauty advertising campaign
The New York Times had a feature on Bare Escentuals' much ballyhooed "Be a Force of Beauty" advertising campaign: Beauty Might Not Be Blind, but the Casting Call Was.
According to the NYT:
To find models that represented the elusive notion of beauty, the company held a blind casting call for women ages 20 to 60. Representatives from Bare Escentuals did not see the women who applied until they were selected for the campaign. Instead, they asked more than 270 women to complete a questionnaire about who they were and what they were like.
“My agent wouldn’t even tell me who the company was,” said Keri Shahidi, 42, one of the women chosen for the campaign, because the agent did not want the knowledge to affect her answers. The list was then whittled to 78 women, who were chosen based on their answers to the survey and brought in for interviews with casting agents. That list was reduced to 26 women, and after an a additional round of interviews, five women made the final cut.
Not seeing the women before they were chosen, Ms. Blodgett said, was a bit nerve-racking. “Do you know what a huge risk that is? What if all five of them were blonde, blue-eyed and 30?”
The follow-up trailers suggest that the casting agents screened the women by answers to questionnaires and audio interviews alone - sight unseen. I have a hard time believing that these attractive women were selected through answers to questionnaires and audio interviews alone.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Just Desserts
Over the time I've maintained this blog, I've made sardonic comments about Leslie Blodgett's aggressive marketing of Bare Escentuals. Still, I'm fond of the limited edition collection Sweet Decadence from Bare Escentuals.
Sweet Decadence limited edition collection from Bare Escentuals
Each of the four shades have evocative names:
Dulce de Leche (pink beige glimpse)
Tiramisu (medium shimmering taupe glimpse)
Red Velvet Cake (medium polished ruby glimpse)
Chocolate Fondue (dark chocolate bark glimpse)
I love using Dulce de Leche as a highlighter, Chocolate Fondue as an eyeliner, and Tiramisu or Red Velvet Cake in the crease. Red Velvet Cake would make a pretty lip color when mixed with a waxy lip balm.
The eye colors do have some sparkle, which was particularly apparent in sunlight reflected in the rear view mirror.
To find the Sweet Decadence collection, I had to go from the Bare Escentuals boutique in Nordstrom to the Bare Escentuals stand-alone boutique to Sephora, which was the only store that had it in stock. Save yourself the effort and shop online at barescentuals.com or Sephora.com
.
Sweet Decadence limited edition collection from Bare Escentuals
Each of the four shades have evocative names:
Dulce de Leche (pink beige glimpse)
Tiramisu (medium shimmering taupe glimpse)
Red Velvet Cake (medium polished ruby glimpse)
Chocolate Fondue (dark chocolate bark glimpse)
I love using Dulce de Leche as a highlighter, Chocolate Fondue as an eyeliner, and Tiramisu or Red Velvet Cake in the crease. Red Velvet Cake would make a pretty lip color when mixed with a waxy lip balm.
The eye colors do have some sparkle, which was particularly apparent in sunlight reflected in the rear view mirror.
To find the Sweet Decadence collection, I had to go from the Bare Escentuals boutique in Nordstrom to the Bare Escentuals stand-alone boutique to Sephora, which was the only store that had it in stock. Save yourself the effort and shop online at barescentuals.com or Sephora.com
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Christopher Drummond Beauty
Makeup artist Christopher Drummond began his eponymous line with SAÚDE PELE Radiance Booster. SAÚDE PELE (which means "Healthy Skin" in Portuguese) is a soft gold loose powder which can be used to highlight the cheekbones, brighten the inner corners of the eyes (my favorite use), or as an all-over luminizer. Christopher is a purist when it comes to cosmetics, and he formulated SAÚDE PELE with only organic and vegan ingredients.
Christopher has brought that same ethos to his new products Veludo Velvet Foundation and Finale Finishing Powder. He has also introduced a cream concealer. Veludo Velvet Foundation is a loose powder makeup that comes in six skintone true shades, from Luz/Light (lightest) to Marron/Brown (deepest). It is infused with botanicals such as açai and green tea. Finale Finishing Powder comes in two shades: Neutro/Neutral and Amarelo/Yellow. Christopher recommends Neutro/Neutral for Caucasian skin and Amarelo/Yellow for ethnic skin tones, but I see no reason why Caucasian skin shouldn't use Amarelo/Yellow.
Before writing this review, I tested Veludo/Velvet Foundation in Justo/Fair and Finale Finishing Powder in Neutro/Neutral for a week. I used the kabuki brush from the Bare Escentuals Get Started kit to apply the Veludo Velvet Foundation and the powder brush from the same kit to apply Finale Finishing Powder. I cleaned the brushes thoroughly beforehand to make sure that the shades were true. Here are a few things I've learned to make loose powder makeup work:
- Prepped skin is a must! Apply a moisturizer or primer before applying loose powder.
- Powder makeup is usually not enough to cover redness, despite what you see in those fake before-and-afters from Bare Escentuals. I use liquid or cream makup to cover redness on the cheekbone.
- If you use cream or gel blush, apply these before you apply loose powder makeup. Flawless even toned bare skin is a must! Otherwise, apply a pressed or loose powder blush after you apply loose powder makeup. Given the redness in my skin, I use powder blush to take advantage of the light-diffusing characteristics of loose powder foundation.
SAÚDE PELE, Veludo Velvet Foundation, and Finale Finishing Powder are great for a sheer, soft-focused look. I also recommend these products to those who find ingredients such as parabens and bismuth oxychloride (which is used in Bare Escentuals) problematic and want organic and vegan ingredients. Christopher's products, as a rule, do not contain these ingredients.
Monday, March 10, 2008
More mineral madness
When I went to Target last week, I was surprised to see Bare Escentuals kits at the end of the aisle. I shouldn't have been surprised. Target always strives to be up-to-moment, with its tie-ups with various designers. As for Leslie Blodgett (as she's the CEO and face of Bare Escentuals, I'll target her), she never misses an opportunity to push her product, whether it's through TV ads, half hour informercials, QVC, Sephora, Ulta, or Bare Escentuals boutiques.
My previous article Mineral Madness struck a chord with readers. Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog commended me on the article. I was surprised, however, to receive messages from founders of startup beauty lines who were glad that someone had finally called out companies on claims about mineral cosmetics.
Ruthie Malloy of Illuminaré Cosmetics wrote, "Most women are judging mineral makeup brands by which is most “pure”, or which doesn’t have parabens or bismuth oxychloride and yet they totally are missing the most important feature and benefit that mineral makeup should provide," namely sunscreen. While Bare Escentuals' bareMinerals has obtained the seal of the Skin Cancer Foundation for being rated SPF 15 (another brilliant marketing ploy by Leslie Blodgett), it's hard to believe that a light dusting of its powder foundation will provide adequate sun protection.
Jennifer Bradley of Goddessy Rx wrote, "I am so happy to hear that someone is finally mentioning how the mineral makeup companies are using the terms 'mineral' and 'all natural' in such liberal terms. These companies are merely scamming the average consumer with this marketing ploy. Talc, of all things, is for one, an all natural occurring mineral. It is not even toxic, as many of these companies claim!" Indeed. Talc has been used in cosmetics safely for years.
Both Ruthie and Jennifer make excellent points. Be skeptical about the claims for mineral makeup, know your ingredients, and recognize that "mineral" is just another marketing construct.
My previous article Mineral Madness struck a chord with readers. Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog commended me on the article. I was surprised, however, to receive messages from founders of startup beauty lines who were glad that someone had finally called out companies on claims about mineral cosmetics.
Ruthie Malloy of Illuminaré Cosmetics wrote, "Most women are judging mineral makeup brands by which is most “pure”, or which doesn’t have parabens or bismuth oxychloride and yet they totally are missing the most important feature and benefit that mineral makeup should provide," namely sunscreen. While Bare Escentuals' bareMinerals has obtained the seal of the Skin Cancer Foundation for being rated SPF 15 (another brilliant marketing ploy by Leslie Blodgett), it's hard to believe that a light dusting of its powder foundation will provide adequate sun protection.
Jennifer Bradley of Goddessy Rx wrote, "I am so happy to hear that someone is finally mentioning how the mineral makeup companies are using the terms 'mineral' and 'all natural' in such liberal terms. These companies are merely scamming the average consumer with this marketing ploy. Talc, of all things, is for one, an all natural occurring mineral. It is not even toxic, as many of these companies claim!" Indeed. Talc has been used in cosmetics safely for years.
Both Ruthie and Jennifer make excellent points. Be skeptical about the claims for mineral makeup, know your ingredients, and recognize that "mineral" is just another marketing construct.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Mineral madness
I was shopping at the mall, when I discovered a kiosk for BellaPierre mineral cosmetics. A young man called out to women asking if they would like makeovers. Most shook their heads and walked on. As editor of The Style Page who's always on the lookout for a story, I chose to stop.
Promotional material from BellaPierre
scanned by The Style Page
The young man showed me stacks of mineral powders (Pure Colors and True Colors also sell these stacks) and how one could use them for eye shadow, eye liner, lip color, and even nail color, with the help of mixing products such as eye shadow base, lip gloss, and clear nail polish.
Bare Escentuals is the leader in loose mineral powder cosmetics. How could BellaPierre distinguish itself from Bare Escentuals? For one thing, Bellapierre's powder foundation doesn't contain bismuth oxychloride, which the young man described as irrtating. Is this true? Check out Paula Begoun's Special Report on Mineral Makeup, which states:
bismuth oxychloride can cause slight skin irritation (Source: www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Bismuth_oxychloride-9923103). Although talc has the same potential for slight irritation, bismuth oxychloride is more likely to cause an allergic contact dermatitis due to its pearlescent nature (Source: www.emedicine.com/derm/topic502.htm). This is more of a concern when bismuth oxychloride is the main ingredient in a cosmetic, as it is for many mineral makeups.
So maybe there's something to BellaPierre's claims, but it seems that its claims are overwrought. I noticed some irritation on my eyelid soon after using BellaPierre's shimmering mica powders, and wondered if it had to do with the mica particles, but the irritation went away in a day, after I had cleaned all my eyeshadow brushes and applied a little opthalmic ointment to my lid.
Bare Escentuals has associated "mineral" with "pure," and it's something that other cosmetics companies have picked up on to market their products. The term "mineral" had referred to loose powders, but now it's being associated with products such as lipstick, liquid foundation, and pressed powders that contain other ingredients in addition to minerals. Thus, all cosmetics can be considered mineral cosmetics! Be critical, and recognize that "mineral" is just another marketing construct.
I walked away from the BellaPierre kiosk with a stack of 9 shimmering powders - 3 pinky browns of different intensities (great for eye shadow), 1 dark brown, 1 coppery shade, 1 gold, 1 red (great for lip color), 1 white, and 1 black - and two itty-bitty cubes of lip gloss and eye shadow base. The young man claimed that I was getting an additional 5 for the cost of 4, but I attributed that to bogus discounting of already overpriced products. Sixty dollars for 4 tiny cubes of color would be obscene, but sixty dollars for nine at least makes it comparable to the price of $55 that True Colors and Pure Colors charge for a stack of eight. I'm having fun playing with the loose powders, which can be very soft.
Promotional material from BellaPierre
scanned by The Style Page
The young man showed me stacks of mineral powders (Pure Colors and True Colors also sell these stacks) and how one could use them for eye shadow, eye liner, lip color, and even nail color, with the help of mixing products such as eye shadow base, lip gloss, and clear nail polish.
Bare Escentuals is the leader in loose mineral powder cosmetics. How could BellaPierre distinguish itself from Bare Escentuals? For one thing, Bellapierre's powder foundation doesn't contain bismuth oxychloride, which the young man described as irrtating. Is this true? Check out Paula Begoun's Special Report on Mineral Makeup, which states:
bismuth oxychloride can cause slight skin irritation (Source: www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Bismuth_oxychloride-9923103). Although talc has the same potential for slight irritation, bismuth oxychloride is more likely to cause an allergic contact dermatitis due to its pearlescent nature (Source: www.emedicine.com/derm/topic502.htm). This is more of a concern when bismuth oxychloride is the main ingredient in a cosmetic, as it is for many mineral makeups.
So maybe there's something to BellaPierre's claims, but it seems that its claims are overwrought. I noticed some irritation on my eyelid soon after using BellaPierre's shimmering mica powders, and wondered if it had to do with the mica particles, but the irritation went away in a day, after I had cleaned all my eyeshadow brushes and applied a little opthalmic ointment to my lid.
Bare Escentuals has associated "mineral" with "pure," and it's something that other cosmetics companies have picked up on to market their products. The term "mineral" had referred to loose powders, but now it's being associated with products such as lipstick, liquid foundation, and pressed powders that contain other ingredients in addition to minerals. Thus, all cosmetics can be considered mineral cosmetics! Be critical, and recognize that "mineral" is just another marketing construct.
I walked away from the BellaPierre kiosk with a stack of 9 shimmering powders - 3 pinky browns of different intensities (great for eye shadow), 1 dark brown, 1 coppery shade, 1 gold, 1 red (great for lip color), 1 white, and 1 black - and two itty-bitty cubes of lip gloss and eye shadow base. The young man claimed that I was getting an additional 5 for the cost of 4, but I attributed that to bogus discounting of already overpriced products. Sixty dollars for 4 tiny cubes of color would be obscene, but sixty dollars for nine at least makes it comparable to the price of $55 that True Colors and Pure Colors charge for a stack of eight. I'm having fun playing with the loose powders, which can be very soft.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Demystifying eye makeup
Perhaps I was a bit critical of Stila's Smoky Eye Palette - I'm not adverse to pricey brands (particularly if they provide something I can't find in less pricier brands) and some folks seem to like the palette. Still, I think it was nervy to insert an audio commercial advertising other Stila products on a $40 item.
That said, eye makeup is the trickiest part of makeup application, and it's to a makeup company's advntage to provide guidance on applying makeup to sell product. Here's a rundown on products with accompanying guidance:
Bare Escentuals Get Started Eyes
Bare Escentuals Get Started Eyes and Bare Escentuals Tutorials - Lesson 1: Smoky Eye provide guidance with the set. I think that the lid and eyeliner shades on the model are great, but I'm not smitten with the pale pink highlighter, especially with deep-set eyes like mine (and the model's). I wish the Chocolate Raisin liner was sold individually - it sounds like the dark-dark brown-plum I love (see also Constant Color Gel Eyeliner)
Jemma Kid Eye Wardrobe Eye Shadow Quartet
Jemma Kidd is a London-based makeup artist. She's also the sister of model, champion polo player, and race car driver Jodie Kidd; great-granddaughter of press magnate Lord Beaverbrook; and wife of the grandson of the current Duke of Wellington - whew! Advice on application may be downloaded from Jemma Kidd's website, as well as her columns for The Mail on Sunday (UK).
Mally Beauty City Chick Smokey Eye Kit
Mally Beauty is a makeup line from celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal (she's the one who makes Beyoncé always look fabulous). Originally available through QVC, Mally Beauty is available at Amazon.com
. Mally Beauty City Chick Smokey Eye Kit comes in five different color themes: Brownstone (browns), Skyscraper (slate/gray), Central Park (greens), Nolita Navy (blues), and Plum Chelsea (guess). Each palette comes with eye shadow base and eye liner pencil.
Pop Beauty Eye Class - Smokey Eyes is the most diversified palette of the lot, and features these shades: jet black, smokey steel gray, sapphire blue, silver, deep plum, deep violet, burnished bronze, emerald green, olive gold, nude glow, opal gold, and sparkling white. Examples of application are provided with the palette.
That said, eye makeup is the trickiest part of makeup application, and it's to a makeup company's advntage to provide guidance on applying makeup to sell product. Here's a rundown on products with accompanying guidance:
Bare Escentuals Get Started Eyes
Bare Escentuals Get Started Eyes
and Bare Escentuals Tutorials - Lesson 1: Smoky Eye provide guidance with the set. I think that the lid and eyeliner shades on the model are great, but I'm not smitten with the pale pink highlighter, especially with deep-set eyes like mine (and the model's). I wish the Chocolate Raisin liner was sold individually - it sounds like the dark-dark brown-plum I love (see also Constant Color Gel Eyeliner)Jemma Kid Eye Wardrobe Eye Shadow Quartet
Jemma Kidd is a London-based makeup artist. She's also the sister of model, champion polo player, and race car driver Jodie Kidd; great-granddaughter of press magnate Lord Beaverbrook; and wife of the grandson of the current Duke of Wellington - whew! Advice on application may be downloaded from Jemma Kidd's website, as well as her columns for The Mail on Sunday (UK).
Mally Beauty City Chick Smokey Eye Kit
Mally Beauty is a makeup line from celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal (she's the one who makes Beyoncé always look fabulous). Originally available through QVC, Mally Beauty is available at Amazon.com
. Mally Beauty City Chick Smokey Eye Kit comes in five different color themes: Brownstone (browns), Skyscraper (slate/gray), Central Park (greens), Nolita Navy (blues), and Plum Chelsea (guess). Each palette comes with eye shadow base and eye liner pencil.Pop Beauty Eye Class - Smokey Eyes
is the most diversified palette of the lot, and features these shades: jet black, smokey steel gray, sapphire blue, silver, deep plum, deep violet, burnished bronze, emerald green, olive gold, nude glow, opal gold, and sparkling white. Examples of application are provided with the palette.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
The Style Page Joins The Mineral Makeup Revolution
I was running low on loose powder (Clinique translucent, which has been my standby), so this seemed to be a good time to try out mineral makeup. I succumbed to buying the starter kit from the most aggressively marketed of all mineral makeup brands - i.d. Bare Escentuals, which is hawked via informercials, 30-second TV ads, shows on QVC, and retail outlets including Sephora
, Ulta, and its own Bare Escentuals boutiques.
Bare Escentuals Get Started Kit
The starter kit I selected includes mineral foundation in Light and Fairly Light (which, as I discovered, didn’t mean “somewhat light” but in between Fair and Light), Mineral Veil finishing powder, Warmth all-over color, a face/blush brush, a fluffy kabuki brush, and a concealer brush. This kit also contains MD Formulations Facial Cleanser and a DVD showing makeup application, but as I have not used these products, I cannot comment on them.
I was skeptical about the claims, as the “before” and “after” pictures shown on TV looked fake – if anything, the “after” pictures showed how eye makeup can really brighten one’s appearance. But I found that the application helped tone down the ruddiness of my cheeks. The application of Swirl Tap Buff® (yes, it’s a registered trademark) is simpler than my routine of dotting on liquid foundation and blending, and then applying loose powder, and there is no obvious demarcation. The mineral makeup finish was matte, but not dry and flat. I used the Light mineral powder foundation as my base color and the Fairly Light mineral powder foundation as a concealer.
The foundations are formulated with titanium and zinc oxides (yes, the same stuff in the white ointment favored by lifeguards), occlusive agents that serve as physical barriers to sun exposure. While the products are rated as SPF 25, it’s unclear how much one should apply to get that level of sun protection.
As the mineral foundations give a nice matte finish, I don’t know if the Mineral Veil finishing powder really adds anything, although I do apply it. The principal ingredient in Mineral Veil is cornstarch, which does blot up oil; also, baby powder is often formulated with cornstarch, as it is soothing to the skin.
Cornstarch - the principal ingredient in Mineral Veil
The Warmth all-over color is the color of rust, which suggests that it contains iron oxides. I’d rather stick with my regular blush, which is Aveda’s Tesserae, which features 3 shades of different intensities that I can blend together.
Am I a convert to mineral makeup? I expect to continue to use liquid foundation, but I am pleased with the results of mineral makeup. Mineral powder foundation is a nice alternative to liquid foundation and great on those days I don’t want to fuss with blending liquid foundation into my skin (I’d rather spend the time on eye makeup application). As the weather gets warmer, I will probably be relying more and more on mineral makeup. All things considered, mineral makeup was a pleasant surprise to me.
Bare Escentuals Get Started Kit
The starter kit I selected includes mineral foundation in Light and Fairly Light (which, as I discovered, didn’t mean “somewhat light” but in between Fair and Light), Mineral Veil finishing powder, Warmth all-over color, a face/blush brush, a fluffy kabuki brush, and a concealer brush. This kit also contains MD Formulations Facial Cleanser and a DVD showing makeup application, but as I have not used these products, I cannot comment on them.
I was skeptical about the claims, as the “before” and “after” pictures shown on TV looked fake – if anything, the “after” pictures showed how eye makeup can really brighten one’s appearance. But I found that the application helped tone down the ruddiness of my cheeks. The application of Swirl Tap Buff® (yes, it’s a registered trademark) is simpler than my routine of dotting on liquid foundation and blending, and then applying loose powder, and there is no obvious demarcation. The mineral makeup finish was matte, but not dry and flat. I used the Light mineral powder foundation as my base color and the Fairly Light mineral powder foundation as a concealer.
The foundations are formulated with titanium and zinc oxides (yes, the same stuff in the white ointment favored by lifeguards), occlusive agents that serve as physical barriers to sun exposure. While the products are rated as SPF 25, it’s unclear how much one should apply to get that level of sun protection.
As the mineral foundations give a nice matte finish, I don’t know if the Mineral Veil finishing powder really adds anything, although I do apply it. The principal ingredient in Mineral Veil is cornstarch, which does blot up oil; also, baby powder is often formulated with cornstarch, as it is soothing to the skin.
Cornstarch - the principal ingredient in Mineral Veil
The Warmth all-over color is the color of rust, which suggests that it contains iron oxides. I’d rather stick with my regular blush, which is Aveda’s Tesserae, which features 3 shades of different intensities that I can blend together.
Am I a convert to mineral makeup? I expect to continue to use liquid foundation, but I am pleased with the results of mineral makeup. Mineral powder foundation is a nice alternative to liquid foundation and great on those days I don’t want to fuss with blending liquid foundation into my skin (I’d rather spend the time on eye makeup application). As the weather gets warmer, I will probably be relying more and more on mineral makeup. All things considered, mineral makeup was a pleasant surprise to me.
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