<p>Interesting about the Bare Essentials!</p>
<p>Do they have a high-powered sunscreen that works well? (or sunscreen/moisturizer combo?). I’m always looking for something along that line that has good reports!</p>
<p>I’ve been using the Bare Minerals Warmth as a blush. I think it looks good.</p>
<p>I use various creams and lotions and elixors from Lancome and Estee Lauder, but LOVE Bare Essentials as “make-up”. However, when I need to buy more, I go to ebay…you have to read carefully about the amount of the product that is included in the listing. Bare Essentuals supposedly has suncreen in it, but I use more specific suncreen if I’m going to be outside. </p>
<p>For anyone not familiar with it, BE is finely powdered colored “minerals” that you use various brushes to apply. Feels SIGNIFICANTly lighter than any other kind of foundation I’ve ever used…and does have some pretty good cover-up abilities, without looking like you’ve got 3 inches of make-up caked on. I went to a mall that had a BE store, and had them make me pretty. Then I walked around and shopped a couple of hours to really see how it felt…then went back to the store and got started!!!</p>
<p>I’m very low maintenance. Nothing for skin, lipstick for blush (it works and then the tones really coordinate), a bit of very neutral eye shadow (browns), eyeliner and on a rare special occasion, mascara. I have tried the newfangled mascara, white first, then black or brown. It does make the lashes amazing, but it’s gooky on your lashes and needs to be removed – just too labor intensive.</p>
<p>My skin get … water. That’s it.</p>
<p>I’m low maintenance, too. (I’m also a college student, so I’m not worrying about “fine lines” yet .:)) I don’t wear makeup every day. Three years ago I only wore makeup a couple of times a year. Last year it was once every month or two. This year I wear makeup about twice a week for going out. I’ve only ever owned the makeup I currently wear, so I haven’t experimented. The colors were picked by people at the Clinique counter when I was probably about 15 or 16, and it’s still what I use. </p>
<p>I love my foundation. I flush very easily, so this is great at giving me a neutral starting skin tone. It blends very well. I could just use this on my face and be done with it for daily wear, but since I wear makeup while going out at night, I usually put on a bronzer on top. I also brush some bronzer on my next, collar-bone, and even my chest since it has a subtle shimmer to it. If I don’t use much of either, it looks very natural. I use Clinique eyeliner and usually purple or gold eye shadow, though I sometimes use a brown or pink if it’s during the day. I have a black mascara or a dark brown waterproof. I always need to curl my lashes first–the ladies in my family were not gifted with perfect eye lashes. Then I use some lip gloss. I have a couple great ones that aren’t too “wet” looking and are small enough to carry around easily. A lot of the time I’ll just wear lip gloss and skip makeup entirely, and I’ve still had people come up to me telling me my makeup looks great! I guess that’s the super natural look!</p>
<p>I don’t do much for facial care otherwise. Like Mythmom, I basically just use water… while in the shower already. I use the Clinique dramatically different lotion if my skin feels dry or to prepare it for the Chicago winds, but that’s it. I’ve never had a breakout in my life, and I get maybe a pimple every year, so I’ve never had to worry about it. My sister always struggled with acne and uses lots of different things on her face. I use makeup remover pads at the end of the night, and then rinse my face with water or use some soap if it feels greasy from the remover.</p>
<p>Don’t forget sunscreen for your lips! That’s an area many tend to overlook. It’s very important.</p>
<p>“I seem to recall somewhere that Retin A topical actually reduces “fine lines”. In fact, when my son stopped using his, I almost stole the tube.”</p>
<p>Good thing you did not! Retin A contains all-trans retinoic acid and should not be taken by anyone but the person who got the prescription. I would not recommend experimenting with that stuff! It has a long list of bad side effects. It is also an FDA category C prescription medicine, which means it may cause harm to an unborn baby (young ladies reading this, take note!). There is a prescription cream called Renova which contains the same active ingredient but is prescribed for facial discolorations/wrinkle treatment, and belongs to the same category C, if I’m correct. I’m not a doctor, but worked on analysis of retinoids long enough to read up on them.
A close “cousin” of this drug, 13-cis-retinoic acid, is the active ingredient in the infamous oral anti-acne pill Accutane. It gets converted into all-trans retionic acid in the body, which is believed to be the active form of the drug. Retinoids also have a tendency do get stored in body for a long time…</p>
<p>As far as the makeup goes, I rarely wear it. If one has to put on/take off lab goggles many times a day, make up just does not last, LOL! ;)</p>
<p>So ladies, where do you get the Bare Essentials? I NEVER wear foundation or powder, just blush, eyeshadow and lipstick. I was so upset by my 35th college reunion pictures (I also have a problem with my contacts lately due to dry eye, so I’m wearing glasses–ugh!)! The time has come…I use Clinique moisturizer, but I am leery of the ads I see for everything else. I had my face done by Prescriptives 24 years ago and felt like it wasn’t me!</p>
<p>You can buy Bare Escentuals (note the spelling – it’s not “Bare Essentials”) online or at Sephora or Alta. Their website is [Bare</a> Escentuals - Natural Cosmetics for the Body and Face](<a href=“http://www.bareescentuals.com/]Bare”>http://www.bareescentuals.com/). There are some cities fortunate to have a store – I remember seeing one at a mall in St. Louis. You can also purchase it through QVC.</p>
<p>Note that their foundation is called bareMinerals.</p>
<p>Kathy, the first thing you should do is go back to your eye doctor! There are contact lens brands or easy eye drops that you can try. You should also go to an eye center that has a professional who can help you choose glasses that you love (and can afford). I interned with an eye doctor in high school, and lots of people complained about dry eyes. You have a number of options. As for glasses, at the place I worked someone worked with you specifically to find glasses that fit your lifestyle, face shape, preferences, eye set, and everything else. The difference this made was really amazing.</p>
<p>Kathyc, if you can get to one of the mall places that have a BE store, that’s a good way to make sure you like it before you invest the $$. Otherwise, one of their starter kits isnt bad if you’re not sure…But, you pay for the convenience of having a “little” bit of all the basics. Again, I’ve had great luck on ebay, but this is after having bought originally at a BE store. Look for one of the QVC informercials for how easy the stuff is to use. (it really is)</p>
<p>I use Bobbi Brown and really like it. The foundation is light and deflects light. Makes middle age skin look radiant. The moisturizer has sunscreen in it and smells like lemon-y fluff…wonderful. On top of the foundation goes the blush stick. Just makes you look like you have GREAT skin with no makeup on. The lip glosses have the slightest bit of peppermint taste to them. I love Bobbi Brown!</p>
<p>I bought my set of Bare Escentuals at Ulta. A woman at the store determined the proper shade of foundation and blush for me. Since then, I have added to the set by buying from e-Bay. You can find it much less expensive that way, and also find smaller sizes of certain items to try them out before you shell out the big bucks. ;)</p>
<p>my skin is really pale. once, i was in a hurry and did not mix my powder well enough, and people told me that i had flour on my face. my skin is so pale that i cannot seem to find a foundation color that matches.</p>
<p>i have used clinique and loreal. i have also tried covergirl trublend, which is supposed to match 97% of skin tones, but i couldnt find one to match. they are all too orange-y.</p>
<p>can anyone suggest a good makeup for a fair-skinned person like me?</p>
<p>Bunsenburner – if I understood your post correctly – retin A is bad for you? I thought it was just a topical thing that is now in so many different over the counter products. I was going to start using it (got a bit too much sun this summer – despite spf 70! ) – and wanted to mitigate any damage.</p>
<p>Best to avoid it then…it sounds like?</p>
<p>dke–ditto on Bobbi…but I’m hearing such great things about Bare Escentuals that I’m thinking of trying some of their stuff!!</p>
<p>andreaaaaa, I’m also very fair, and the Bare Minerals works for me. No mixing or “flouring”. You can try the Light or the Fairly Light. It works very well.</p>
<p>I used Bare Minerals foundation powder for a few years but hated their eyeshadows and blushes because they were just too messy. I also felt Bare Minerals was a little too iridescent or shiny. </p>
<p>Now I use Serious Skin Care Bella Rose ProMinerals Foundation which has to be the bulkiest title ever! It’s from the Serious Skin Care line at HSN created by Jennifer Stallone, Sly’s wife. It’s $24.50 which is a better price than BE. I use Medium in the winter, Tan in the summer and mix them as my skin changes.</p>
<p>I like plain ole’ Maybelline blush and have a zillion eye liners/shadows from many companies.</p>
<p>I like Revlon’s Lash Fantasy mascara which has a white primer as well as regular mascara. It does not smudge.</p>
<p>My favorite lip glosses are from Clinique. I find soft lip glosses look younger than the dark lipstick I see many women my age wearing.</p>
<p>BunsenBurner–you are confusing retin-A ointment (topical) with Accutane, which is chemically related to retin-A but taken orally. Accutane is a wonder drug for kids with bad acne–the kind that makes you flinch–but does indeed cause birth defects so severe that young women must take BC pills before Accutane can be prescribed. Retin-A is relatively nontoxic. Both are vitamin A derivatives.</p>
<p>DMD, I’m not confusing the two. I used to analyze them by chromatography, they separate quite well 
Accutane (isotretinoin) and Retin-A (tretinoin) are different isomers or retinoic acid and their route of administration is different. However, the molecules can be interconverted, and one of the ways to achieve this is by shining light onto them (the energy of light is used to breake and remake the double bond at the 13th carbon atom). There are other things that happen with these molecules upon exposure to light, that’s why there is a strong recommendation to wear sunscreen while using tretinoin-containing creams.</p>
<p>Are there creams containing tretinoin cleared by the FDA for over-the counter sales? Retin A is still listed as “prescription” on the FDA website.</p>
<p>Here the link to the FDA drug information website:</p>
<p><a href=“Drugs@FDA: FDA-Approved Drugs”>Drugs@FDA: FDA-Approved Drugs;
(enter “tretinoin” to search for the information about medicines containing Retin A)</p>
<p>Here is the label for Retin-A Micro (newest formulation of the drug):</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2002/20475s8lbl.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2002/20475s8lbl.pdf</a></p>
<p>“Topical” also does not mean “safe”. Many substances get absorbed through the skin and can enter bloodstream. I believe there was a story on the news about a girl who died from pain relief medicine overdose when she used too much topical over the counter cream.</p>
<p>[PharmDaily.com</a> .:. Bengay Death Highlights OTC Dangers](<a href=“http://www.pharmdaily.com/Article/7747/Bengay_Death_Highlights_OTC_Dangers.html?Related=exclude]PharmDaily.com”>http://www.pharmdaily.com/Article/7747/Bengay_Death_Highlights_OTC_Dangers.html?Related=exclude)</p>
<p>Best facial moisturizer with sunscreen that I’ve tried (and I’ve tried over a dozen): Aveeno positively ageless (spf 30).</p>
<p>For cosmetic reviews - a good website is makeupalley.com</p>