I really wanted to like Bare Escentuals: it's beautiful in pictures, it sounds like a minimalist approach to makeup (always a good thing), and so many women swear by it. Just tonight, I heard a radio ad with women talking about how this makeup had changed their lives and I'm thinking I really need to give it a try. I know, I know ... it was an ad paid for by Bare Escentuals. But still, if they feel confident enough to float claims about changing lives, you think there's got to be something there.
Let me tell you about my experience with Bare Escentuals. I popped into the Bare Escentuals store in the mall one day when day when I discovered that Bloomingdales was out of my usual makeup. It happened to be the Thursday before Labor Day and the store was packed with teenagers buying back to school makeup. Since I've used other brands of powder for some time, I had a pretty good sense of the color that worked for me. Still I was told I couldn't just quickly make a purchase. I had to wait in line for a consultation ... behind all the teenagers.
I left the store with a basic powder and a bronzer. And although I really do like the idea of a powder as opposed to a liquid makeup, I did not like the consistency of this powder. It was not light and airy like powder should be, but gooey, gluey and a little bit hard to work with. I found it impossible to apply it lightly. Later that weekend, my ten-year-old niece told me I looked pale. It was the makeup. And I don't think it was just the color: it just went on too thick. As for the bronzer, well there are about a hundred lifetimes of bronzer in that little container I purchased. It is so potent that I rarely apply it: one speck too much and I look like a clown and my bathroom sink is stained just by the fumes.



