You Had Me At "Hello"

Ahh, bareMinerals.  You've come a long way.  I was never really interested in the loose powder makeup thing so I kept my distance.  But when the Ready series of pressed eyeshadows came along, I was compelled to take a second look at what you had to offer.  Anxious to expand my cache of cosmetics, I decided to give you a chance to woo me... to sweep me off my feet and impress me.  After carefully scanning your catalogue of duos and quads, my eyes landed on a pairing that seemed to intimate that although it had a wild side, it could still be genteel enough to "take home to Mother".  I liked its confidence so I settled in and bought the flirtatious duo called The Vision.

Smartly dressed in black, bareMinerals' The Vision comes in a sleek, rubberized compact with a simple closure.

Besides a mirror, it also comes with a sponge applicator and a plastic insert with the simple greeting of "Hello".  Nice touch, but I wouldn't be won over so easily.  It's about quality with me; charm only gets you so far, buddy.  I still need to know what I'm working with.

The color combo is pretty awesome.  The pale blue called Illusion is a matte and the duo chrome teal/brown is a high pearl aptly called Mirage. 

And when I finally dipped my fingers into the shadows, I couldn't hide my excitement any longer.  The shadows felt amazing!  Illusion, the pale blue matte, was not chalky at all and both shades were equally soft and highly pigmented.

As pretty as the swatches were, I did wonder out loud whether Mirage was identical to MAC's Club - another well known duo chrome in the same color vein. 

But they are not only different in their finishes with Mirage being the "shinier" of the two, but they are different in color as well with Club being more of a green/brown and Mirage more of a teal combo.

Mirage (above), Club (below)

So after trying so hard to appear unimpressed and feigning disinterest, I had to acquiesce.  The Vision came with promises of a good time and it definitely delivered.  The flirting worked.  And the quality is amazing.  Oh, bareMinerals... I made you work hard for my attention, but who was I fooling?  As soon as I opened the tidy black compact, peeked inside and saw the insert... I have to admit... you had me at "Hello".

bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow duo in The Vision is available at Beauty.com and retails for $20.