You know mineral makeup’s hit the mainstream when…
2008 April 8
Mineral Makeup is the banner product at Sephora!
Ladies, your beloved MMU has finally met the real world… not just in the aisles of the drugstores and every 5 pages of every fashion magazine that’s been published every month for the last six months… but finally, Sephora (the authority on all things makeup) has put MMU front and center.
So there you have it. What do you think ladies?
I took a screen capture of it so that I could remember this few weeks in history, LOL!
xoxo
Aromaleigh
Your underground indie made in the USA mineral makeup choice! 
Exciting times right now in the mineral makeup realm! But with all the new choices, I still prefer Aromaleigh first and foremost.
Years ago I’d look at my beauty mags and buy the makeup choices I saw the models wearing. But since I’ve fell in love with Aromaleigh’s products, I now look for the equivalent color instead of buying the actual product/color advertised.
Loida, I do the same thing now, too! I was just looking through my Sephora catalog tonight actually… and wishing they’d get rid of those stinky perfume samples that bother my allergies
(Another nice thing about AL, no artificial fragrances!)
Well, at least now when I say I use MMU, people have actually HEARD of it. I’ve tried to like Sephora, but there’s something about the lighting and the colors that just rub me the wrong way. The prices don’t help me to feel the love, either…
Now that it’s all getting so commercialized, I find it cozier than ever to be on the flip side… I’ve seen some small companies go very “commercial” in the last year, with expansion, fancy custom packaging and such… and that’s SO unappealing to me. I just have no desire to become another homogenized mineral makeup company with neutral colored packaging and that generalized “clean/pure/natural/good” message. Of course it’s all that. It’s mineral makeup! You just lose that BIG je ne sais quoi when you go there, for me… at least.
I like that special something that small businesses have- I know it’s the thing that keeps me coming back for more to certain clothing, jewelry and accessories shops that are small companies or etsy stores. I love knowing the story behind the business, the faces behind the business. The more the merrier. I am naturally curious, but when I buy a handmade dress, I love to know who was sitting at the serger making that dress. It’s so much different than knowing that a dress was just mass manufactured. I like that special feeling. Call me crazy!
xoxo
K
I got an email from them announcing it. What surprised me (although I don’t know why) is that they have their own Sephora mineral make up and the foundation is pressed. I also thought it was paraben free but I can’t remember exactly. I still will support indie companies any day of the week over big companies!
A few points: I think it’s great that women get better choices in makeup. But what’s out there isn’t necessarily “better choices.” The reason that AL is the best choice is that there’s not a bunch of extraneous, unnecessary chemicals in the foundation!!! These other brands are prone to the “flavor of the mounth” and frankly, people with an interest in being “green” or allergies or quality will stick with AL……
I don’t WANT to give my money to the well-known brands. I CHOOSE to search out worthwhile, ethical indies…. like AL. I don’t want to be a sheep being guided around by (ahem) shall we say larger companies, etc.
So now can we contemplate the question: “are we so far out that we’re in now?”
We are happenin’
Pinky
I’ve been using AL mmu exclusively for about 4 years, I think. One of the most appealing things for me, besides the incredible quality and beauty of the products, is the access Kristen provides to HERSELF personally. When someone asks me about my mmu, I can say that I “know” the owner and have had personal communication with her. We can ask questions about products and the owner of the company answers them – promptly and publicly! And there’s a hand-written “Thank You” on every order. These are things that are really special that I won’t get from any of the big commercial companies, so this is where I choose to stay.
I would have responded last night, but I didn’t feel well and couldn’t express myself. I think Therese expressed it perfectly… I feel the same way and love the personalized service that Kristen and the Aromaleigh team provide! I only found this company in the Summer of last year, but I buy all my makeup here… because everything is great!
I think it’s good that ‘minerals’ are becoming popular now. I just hope that people realize that there are alternatives to the infomercial and *big* brands… don’t succomb to the hype that they are the only game in town! READ labels too.. ‘mineral based’ is not the same thing! Hopefully for the ladies who value products made in the U.S.A. their search for the best quality, value and service will lead them to Aromaleigh
There’s pros and cons….it’s great that women are looking for more natural products, and realizing that these products do work. But unfortunately there’s so many inferior mmu brands out there – everyone just wants to slap “mineral” on their product so women will buy it. Some women will get discouraged and think all mmu is awful (as I’ve already heard in a couple other forums!) But, as every cloud has a silver lining, many of these women will start looking for better mineral products, and AL will soon have many new fanatics!
Miss K, you’re not in the least bit crazy. You’re passionate about your work, and your company is your baby. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if other companies were half as involved in their products as you?
Everyone has said it all so well! I’ll just add that I am getting more and more requests in my shop for “natural” or “organic” or “mineral” makeup. And I don’t carry it there for a few reasons, the biggest one being that I can’t carry AL, and AL is, to me, hands down the best! I will not bring in ANY product that is based on bismuth, and my suppliers best be able to definitively state which colors in which products contain my personal bugaboo ingredients. If they can’t, I can’t bring in the line. So usually when someone asks for natural, organic or mineral makeup, I write the Aromaleigh site name on my business card along with shade recommendations for them to try. Usually these women also think that the only mmu out there is BE, and that it’s a brand new product line. I tell them nope – I tried BE specifically about 20 years ago or so. Been around a LONG time. And AL itself has been going for 10 years this year.
Anyway, it’s nice to be understood just a little bit! And yeah, when I make my twice yearly pilgrimmage to Sephora, I’ll look around, swipe textures, and leave without buying any cosmetics, because not only do I already own the BEST, but I also already own almost ALL of it…(But I’ll always need whatever is new from Miss K!)
The style of writing is quite familiar . Did you write guest posts for other blogs?