| Hair Boutique's Link of The Week |
| Karen Marie Shelton |
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Bare
Escentuals User's Groups
I remember my first experience with aromatherapy very fondly. I went to see a
massage therapist back in St. Louis and she added lavender to the massage oil because I
was feeling unusually stressed. She asked me what my primary complaint was and I
told her nervous exhaustion. She whipped out the lavender, added it to the oils and
viola, I drifted off in a wonderful cloud.
For me to sleep anywhere, at any time, let alone on a massage table, is a pretty
amazing feat. I was impressed, relaxed and excited about my first experience with
this amazing type of therapy.
My interest in aromatherapy took off from that first experience years ago and I am
always interested in learning more. This quest for learning got me to Phoebe's
Bare Escentuals User's group web site where I was in heaven. The Bare Escentuals
User's group was started
Definition Of Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy uses "essential oils" (lavender, ylang ylang, etc) distilled
from plants to cure diseases and tend the body.
It is widely believe that essential oils can do everything from cure diseases, tend the
body and provide beauty therapies.
Aromatherapy has gained wide use and popularity in the US in the past 10 years.
However, this use of essential oils has been used throughout the world for many centuries.
Bare
Escentuals User's Group
The Bare Escentuals (BE for short) User's Group makes it very clear that they are not
in anyway affiliated with the Bare Escentuals company.
There is a special note on the site that specifically states that: "This
site is not affiliated in any way with Bare Escentuals, QVC or their subsidiaries.
The opinions, recommendations, and information contained on this site are only those of BE
consumers and in no way represent the opinions or recommendations of Bare Escentuals or
QVC."
Although the Bare Escentuals User's Group makes it very clear that they are not in
anyway affiliated with the Bare Escentuals company the User's Group web site was formed
around a consumer's mutual interest in Bare Escentuals products and aromatherapy.
Who Is The Bare Escentuals Company?
Bare Escentuals is a company that sells a line of beauty products that are based on
aromatherapy. That is even more important about Bare Escentuals is the fact that the
company has had a philosophy for over 20 years that is based on the concept that when
women feel beautiful, they look beautiful.
BE is based on the belief that beauty is an attitude and not a standard. They
believe that beauty originates deep within and manifest beyond the realms of genetics.
What a wonderful philosophy. As a result of their corporate
philosophy, BE develops products that feel beautiful, look beautiful and are based around
the natural ingredients provided by the Earth, including aromatherapy.
The Vision of BE
Bare Escentuals vision is simply: "As men and women enter Bare
Escentuals,
their olfactory senses become stimulated, more aware. People are drawn to the pleasant
aromas that fill the air. Once inside, you won't find lecturing signs or rushed sales
help--our design is to provide an anxiety-free environment for the maximum release of
tension.
Hair & Body Care
How did I first find HB? I originally surfed my way to the BE home page when I
read information on the web about their aromatherapy based hair care line.
I found my way to the Escentual
Hair & Body Care page where I discovered three different formulations of shampoo
that are enriched with chamomile, nettle, yarrow and wild cherry bark. They also
have a daily conditioner and a weekly hair therapy treatment.
The
BE User's Group Topics
Once I found my way to the BE page, it was only a matter of time until I found my way
to the great user's group page. I was thrilled to discover all the great topics that
either already exist, or are under current construction.
Phoebe created the User's Group site on 9/6/98 and has made tremendous strides in
developing the site in the past 5 months. She designed it to be a wonderful resource area
for the Bare Escentual users and any cosmetic junkies, in general. The site contains
an aromatherapy page, links, a chat,
newsletter and more.
Aromatherapy
One of the best features of the Bare Escentual's User Group page is the Aromatherapy page. This page is still under heavy construction
but promises to provide special aromatherapy related topics such as links, essential oils,
stress and anxiety, perfume basics, baths and massage oils, potpurri & sachets,
incense, candles, suppliers, good books and other aromatherapy pages.
There is currently some text that explains that smells can make or break an experience.
How true. This section of the site, when finished will provide some excellent
information. Stay tuned.
This page does include a great explanation of aromatherapy. It states that
"aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to revive, restore, and heal the body
through massage, baths, inhalations and other treatments.
The Links Pages
Another great feature of the Bare Escentual's User Group page is the Links
To Great Girl Stuff page. The links page is stuffed to the brim with really
great links for the following topics:
- Cosmetic Companies
- Beauty Supply Links
- Professional Tools
- Information Resources
- Fragrance
- Hair Care
- Skin Care
- Nails
- Links To Links
- Fashion & Other Stuff
All of my favorites are there from All About Hair to The Mining Company and WorldWide
Beauty, to name just a few of the extensive links. I always enjoy finding sites that
have a great links section. This allows me to explore new web territories and link
up to even more information.
User's Forum
If you want to post or review messages from other BE Users, you can do so
on the new User's Forum. The User's Form allows you to post que5sions,
messages, tips and ideas. Phoebe points out that it was specifically designed to be
a reliable place for all the BE Users to hang out and gather and share information.
The board is organized into topic areas which is very helpful for finding
the topics you have the most interest in participating in.
Down To Earth Article
This section contains a very informative listing of topics under the title
of a User's Guide To Bare Escentuals written by Karen.
There are currently 37 different topic titles which include everything
from BE eye pencils to lipstick, products for the feet, body and face and of course, the
hair care products. I read every single one of the topics and found them to range
from helpful to very helpful.
Since hair is always my foremost interest I clicked on Topic #31 first and
found out a little more about the BE Hair care line. According to Karen, the BE
Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner worked great on her thick, wavy, fly away and dry
hair. She also talks about a protein volumizer and that she finds it to be the most
wonderful creation for your hair. I will definitely have to add the BE
hair care line to my testing schedule for the future.
BEauty Bites Newletter
The BEauty Bites Newletter contains all sorts of goodies from Gigi's
review of a BE Boutique to Holiday Shopping Tips to a list of new colors and a QVC
shopping update. The newsletters has lots of good tidbits and should not be missed.
Summary
The Bare Escentual's User Group wins the Hair Boutique's Silver Hair Brush for Link of
the Week. This fairly new, but guaranteed to be great site, is already a
wonderful gathering place for Bare Escentual consumers. It also promises to be a
great resource for aromatherapy. Congratulations to Phoebe for a wonderful site that
promises to be a keeper.
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