Retail Nightmares

When I lived in San Francisco, I had four different jobs on one street: Chestnut Street in the Marina District. One day spa and three beauty boutiques.
I loved working at two of them and really hated working at the other two. At the job that would be my last on Chestnut Street (mainly because I had run out of places to work there) I had what is easily the worst retail experience of my life.
And that is saying A LOT as I have had many memorable experiences both in spa work and regular retail.
I'm always leery of salespeople who are obviously on commission, you can practically see the dollar signs in their eyes. I'm just not mindlessly competitive enough to thrive in an environment like that. I also sympathize way too much for the consumer so I just can't manipulate someone into buying more than they say they can afford.
Conversely, if I am passionate about a product and free to be honest with the customer in terms of what would work best for them, then I can sell like crazy, and I enjoy it.
But at this particular job we were trained to be pushy and have an answer for every protest a customer may have. I was already unhappy there and my enthusiasm for their products was quickly waning (always a sure sign it's time to move on) but I decided to give it one more solid try before giving notice.
One late morning I was in the shop by myself and a young woman in her early twenties came in. ("Compliment SOMETHING! Her shoes, her bag, her hair, ANYTHING!" I had been told, to 'break the ice.')
I desperately scanned her possessions and appearance for something I could comment on. I had already smiled and said hello and she didn't seem very receptive. Not seeing anything obvious I could compliment, I finally noticed she was wearing support hose.
Kind of weird, but unusual so therefore I could prove to her that I was paying attention. Plus, I have a natural tendency towards spider veins and could probably benefit from a good, sturdy pair of constricting pantyhose.
"I like those...I could probably use a pair" I said gesturing towards her tights.
"My...prosthetic legs?" She asked, puzzled.
Yes. Her prosthetic legs. She left without buying anything and I was fired a few days later.

Glominerals and Mineral Fusion--What's the Difference?

When I started with Whole Foods in 2004, I begged them to carry Glominerals.
My job was to help build an esthetics program at their new flagship store and that included mini-facials and makeovers. When I was working in Berkeley I had the opportunity to bring Glominerals into Elephant Pharmacy and I really loved working with them.
The line did so well there that they partnered with Glominerals to create Mineral Fusion for Whole Foods Market. This is one of the things I am most proud about in my career as a holistic esthetician.
So what's the difference? You may notice that they have similar colors and are the exact same price, so why would you choose one over the other? Here is an overview of a few of their differences:

They both have added antioxidants to help protect and boost the health of the skin. However, the each have slightly different antioxidants:

Mineral Fusion:

• White tea – contains flavonoids - Boosts the immune function of skin cells and protects against the damaging effects of the sun (Ingredient name: Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract)

• Red tea – contains antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that work to tighten and smooth the skin. (Ingredient name: Aspalathus Linearis Leaf Extract)

• Antileukine 6® – a blend of phosphatidyls, lipoyl lysine vitamin A, E and CO Q10. Controls photo-aging, balances hydration and protects the integrity of DNA. (Ingredient name: Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract)

• Pomegranate – contains polyphenols and ellagic acid found in pomegranate are highly efficient in fighting free radicals. Also contains ellagic acid for healing the skin. (Ingredient name: Punica Granatum)

mineral fusion cosmetics offer flawless coverage while giving you the benefits of UV and antioxidant protection. All of our products are noncomedogenic and provide moisture balancing benefits, allowing the skin to function normally. mineral fusion™ is your solution for skin conditions such as acne, rosacea and hyperpigmentation, providing healing and calming benefits.

Antileukine 6

Antileukine is a proprietary blend of ingredients found in mineral fusion cosmetics.

It works to control photo aging, balances hydration, and protects DNA integrity. It is a blend of Phosphatidyls, Lipoyl Lysine, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and CO Q10.

• Phosphatidyls - strengthens the skin structure
• Lipoyl Lysine - moisturizing amino acid
• Vitamin A - helps to improve skin smoothness
• Vitamin E - improves water binding ability
• Co Q10 - prevents free radical damage

Results

• Prevents damage due to excessive sun exposure & physiological aging
• Anti-wrinkle
• Protects skin metabolism (BPF-Biological Protecting Factor)

Glominerals:

The Glominerals team team developed an exclusive formulation by selecting the best quality pharmaceutical-grade ingredients including antioxidants, vitamins C, A, K, E and green tea extracts to prevent free-radical damage and improve the health and condition of the skin

Another difference is the ingredients. Mineral Fusion does not contain parabens or lakes.
Lakes are coloring agents and can be either naturally or synthetically derived. This is why MF has a much more muted color-palette. This is also why you won't find every Glo product at Whole Foods, not everything makes it past their quality standards team.
I did hear a rumor that Glominerals was updating their ingredients and possibly taking out parabens but I haven't found any ingredient changes online, only the same ones that are used in the foundation I own:

Ingredients
Titanium Dioxide, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Zinc Stearate Zinc Oxide, Bismuth Oxychloride, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Ascorbyl Palmate (vitamin C), Phytonadione (vitamin K), Camellia Oleifera (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. May Contain Iron Oxides, CI 77499, Carmine. Vitamin C, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Vitamin E

*If I find out that they have changed ingredients, I will edit to add the new formulation.

The last difference is the packaging. They both come in loose and compact forms, but the MF loose foundation comes with an attached sponge-top applicator. I still use a brush with it, however, so that's not a huge selling point with me although it does look good.
The MF compact does not come with any kind of sponge while the Glominerals compact does. The MF compacts are sleek and flat and the Glo compacts are classically rounded. The Glo packaging is silver and black while the MF packaging is a coppery-bronze color.

Bottom Line:
I've been using Glominerals for a long time and I have a soft spot for them. I really do hope that their ingredients continue to evolve and I don't doubt that they will. Both lines perform similarly although I do like the MF tinted moisturizers slightly better than the Glo version. But for foundation and eye and lip colors I still prefer Glominerals.

Where it all began...

I moved to San Francisco in 1997 when I was twenty. I had a shaved head. Let's just say there was no makeup in the black backpack I bought from the Army/Navy store for my adventure. I was living at Fort Mason in the Marina, I had a live-in job at the youth hostel there and was given a cute white house to live in with my never-home co-worker/roommate, Ted. It was a part time job and I was new to the city I was a bit bored. It was walking distance to Chestnut Street and so spent a lot of time there.
One day I decided to go into the Body Shop. It was during the summer and there were pyramids of candy-colored glycerin soap stacked everywhere. I can still remember the way it smelled. I bought a bottle of Leap! perfume (exclamation point theirs) and a Cinnamon stick (chubby pencil lipstick...not the right color for me)
One day I noticed they were hiring and put in my application. I wore a long black dress and a cardigan for my interview. I don't really remember what they asked me but the assistant manager, a guy named Ryan had the flu and looked absolutely miserable. I got the job and was excited. It paid something like $7.25 an hour.
The uniform was this great black wrap skirt and matching top with a mandarin collar. Who knows what kind of shoes I rocked back then. Doc Martens I'm guessing. I became friends with my co-workers. Marissa, Rebecca and Ryan mostly. We sang along to our favorite tape which we referred to as the "Chick Mix." I discovered a love for Motown. We dressed up as "Strong Women" and I was Princess Leia.
One night I was closing the store with a manager named David who had always been cranky to me. He was not my favorite manager to close with and one night he was in the back room counting the drawers a few minutes before we locked up and I was just finishing restocking. I had just placed a Vanilla Stick in it's place when I saw a man standing over me with a gun. Yes. We were robbed. He didn't hurt us but it seemed like a very real possibility at the time. After that day David and I were buddies and I still think of him as one of my favorite people in San Francisco.
A happier memory was when Marissa and I (was Rebecca there, too?) were chosen to go to a makeup training so we could do makeovers in the store. I discovered I was really good at it. We were also chosen to help out at a talk given by the sassy British founder, Anita Roddick. Afterwards we all went out to dinner with her. She was a riot.
I left the Body Shop after a year because they didn't promote me to assistant manager. I went across the street to work at Bare Escentuals. (over the years I worked all over that street later going to BeneFIT Cosmetics and Heaven Day Spa respectively)
Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop died recently from complications from Hepatitis C. She contracted the illness after a blood transfusion after delivering her daughter. She lived with the disease for years without having any idea that she had it.
This is staggering to me. I hadn't heard the news until I received emails from my old co-workers and dear friends. We still keep in touch although we are all scattered around the country now.
Ryan is living in New York with his partner, Daniel after a three year stint in Maine. Rebecca is still living in San Francisco with her husband, a very nice man from England. Marissa is the one we all live vicariously through. She's impulsive and adventurous and I'm never surprised when she suddenly emails me from Alaska. Here is part of the very touching email she sent us:

"While  i was standing in the kitchen listening to the news on the radio my
mind was filled with such amazing memeories of our times together. From
sing-a-longs to theme days, crying and laughing until almost peeing, to
sales contest and make-overs, corn eye shawdow to fawn shimmer, all the
kooks on Chestnut Street, all the kooks on Castro Street....
Our times made me the woman I am today.
I miss you all and will never
forget Anita!"

To say that getting that job in the summer of '97 changed the course of my life would not be an exaggeration. I discovered a love of skincare and makeup artistry and made lifelong friends.
It was also the first time I had encountered the activism and ethics side of body care products such as animal compassion and fair trade.
Thank you, Dame Anita.

My Friend Marie!

When I lived in Berkeley I worked for a great company called Elephant Pharmacy. I had the honor of being their very first esthetician hired and the second was a wonderful woman named Marie. She is a brilliant spitfire of a woman with a golden halo of hair. She is a chemist and fellow esthetician and I always loved having her around to help me answer more technical questions and just so I could pick her brain. I love chemistry and Marie made me even more interested in it.
I was the buyer and once we were meeting with a woman who had her own skincare line and she made all kinds of wild and dubious claims about her product. I asked her what specifically in her line ingredient-wise could do what she was claiming her product did. She told us that she went into the lab and 'spirits' told her what to put in her products and she couldn't explain how they could FULLY BLOCK THE SUN without the use of zinc, titanium dioxide or any chemical sunscreen agents. Marie asked her a few technical questions that she should have known the answers to but didn't. Well, let's just say we didn't end up carrying the product and the woman left in tears. Her husband came in and yelled at Marie. We were both stunned and later amused. We did not intend to be cruel or unfair to this woman but really, she had no business selling skincare.
Marie also has her own line of skincare called Marie-Veronique Skin Therapy and she's written a book called The Yoga Facelift.
I can't tell you how excited I am for her. She has so much knowledge and integrity and it's so great that she's helping so many people with her products and skincare philosophy. I've seen some of her Yoga for the Face classes and they really do produce results. Marie herself has the skin of a fifteen year old. (minus the acne)
When we were at Elephant together she had a huge following/fan base. I could tell a "Marie client" a mile away. We had the best time working side by side doing mini-facials and makeovers and since we had our own 'type' of customer we always complemented each other beautifully. I was teaching fun classes on how to make your own spa products at home and doing wedding makeup and Marie was teaching her fellow baby-boomers how to age with grace and style. "Alternative Aging" was how she referred to it, which is so much more realistic and attainable than "Anti-Aging." Really, who has found a way to truly stop the clock? That would be nobody and even if it were possible, would you really want to? I wouldn't.