Bare Minerals Company History
“Go Bare” with bareMinerals Coupons from Bare Escentuals! In 1976, in a small store in Los Gatos, California, Diane Richardson owned and operated a small health-based store offering earth mother types of products to her customers.
Inspired by the clay pots she imported from India, Richardson began experimenting with different types of lotions, body creams and cosmetics using only natural ingredients. One of the products she developed was a small jar containing only five ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, bismuth oxychloride and iron oxide. She called the product Bare Minerals and offered it to women with skin problems who could not tolerate other makeup foundations. It not only covered blemishes and skin discoloration, it also improved the skin dramatically. Her store, Bare Escentuals, began pulling customers in like a steady tide of lemmings.
Her next brainstorm was creating classes that taught special techniques of mineral makeup application. Those classes became a signature standard of all the Bare Escentuals brands. With her first store thriving, Richardson opened a second store also located in Los Gatos.
Overwhelmed by the tremendous workload, Richardson brought in Nicholas Frank, a high-tech industry consultant to manage the financial load of Bare Escentuals. After closing the second store and receiving an infusion of funds from an angel venture capitalist group, Richardson and Frank opened two new stores and began to franchise outlets in other cities in Northern California. The stores opened and the stores closed despite a new logo and a highly competent staff of dedicated retail managers.
While the financial woes plagued the company, Richardson gained a high-profile customer when the May Company began to distribute her products in their department stores. The bare concept continued to draw in new customers as interest in mineral-based cosmetics continue to soar.
However, it was not enough. Again, Richardson went looking for venture capital and unbeknownst to all, it would mark a turning point for the company. In 1990, retail specialist John Hansen was attracted to Bare Escentuals and acting as Dolphin Acquisitions Corporation acquired the assets for a promissory note, at less than $1 million. Richardson was named vice-president in charge of product development but left the company shortly afterwards.
Enter cosmetic industry veteran Leslie Blodgett who was named president of the company and one of the five principal owners in 1994.
Blodgett, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, had begun her career as a sales associate for Bloomingdale’s in New York City. There she developed a personable sales approach that increased brand loyalty from customers. From there she worked in wholesale marketing at Neutrogena and Max Factor. She had never been in charge of the retail sector of an industry before, but she brought her unique approach and passion to Bare Escentuals.
She redesigned the packaging, employing earthy tones and a down home style with real women on the packaging. She launched the Bare Escentuals cosmetics under an improved name, bareMinerals in 1995.
Blodgett touted the redesigned products on the QVC network and television infomercials. Her low-key style and warm personality struck a chord with the 65 million viewers that saw the programming. After her first appearance on QVC, she sold in six minutes the same quantity the retail stores sold in a week. Then in an inspired move, she asked real customers to share their testimonials on the television programs and infomercials.
While Blodgett was busy with the new venues for the product, the home team continued expansion and opened retail stores around the country. Ultra-luxury specialty stores such as Sephora and Ulta provided more than 300 sales outlets for Bare Escentuals product line.
Further development after the acquisition of MD Formulations culminated with the launch of a cosmeceutical skin care line in 2001. That was the beginning of a meteoric climb for the company.
Today, Bare Escentuals, Inc. is the global forerunner in mineral-based cosmetics. The products are not only natural but have built-in sunscreen protection. There is no alcohol, fragrance, talc or preservatives. bareMinerals is the flagship of the company line, radiating outward to complementary products such as mascara, eye shadow, blush and brow liners. Bare Escentuals also sells its own brand of skin, bath and body cleansing products. From inception, Bare Escentuals has been a pioneer in environmentally friendly, natural products for women and it remains as a leader in the pack today.
Save on Bare Minerals Products With Promotional Deals, Discounts & Coupon Codes
Take a finger walk over to the Bare Escentuals website. Pretty in pink, it highlights the four premier lines of the Bare Escentuals family. It offers tutorials, an online forum, expert advice, and free shipping on orders over $50.00. Register online for future promotions, discounts and coupons. The website offers the same special as seen on television and savings can be as high as 70% on some items.
Out on the internet, Sephora offers coupons and special discount offers on Bare Escentuals products. The usual coupon sites have bareMinerals coupons as well as MD Formulations and Buxom. However, the company’s website will keep you entertained and well informed without having to ever go outside.
