A pretty place with a very ugly nature - Keyholder bareMinerals Employee Review

All the positives above being said, there's an awful lot cons to be on your guard for. Keep in mind that much of this is my own opinion and point of view but there's many issues that I know I wouldn't be the first to address. At any point of the day, there is massive amounts of pressure that is filtering through all the channels to make its way down to store level and that leaves the boutique manager to interpret this to their team in any way they see fit. This is common for business, we all want to strive to beat those numbers daily no matter where you are. But needless to say, it comes off as bullying and excessive. I was a keyholder for two years so though I wasn't on the front lines myself, I witnessed the best of both worlds to see how this pressure cascaded from management to beauty ambassador. What's promoted as a "fun" selling experience can often turn sour because of constant corporate pressure and based on my experience, if your boutique manager and/or district manager aren't at the top of their game (personally or professionally) and can't inform AND coach properly, I've seen this pressure create anxiety in the team and I've had plenty of staff confide in me to question if their job was on the line. Damage control. This one is way too long to touch on all the points of interest and this review is already long enough as it is. In my experience, bareMinerals isn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to product development, business strategies, quality control and general information. As a store employee, you are the company's brave champion who is sent to do battle alone and all staff members are subjected to this. There have been more times than I can try to remember where I had to correct my employers mistakes or errors that had nothing to do with my team's performance and is not limited to quality issues from product being sold from bareMinerals (store and online, QVC, Sephora, ULTA, Macy's, etc), knowingly and willingly selling expired product (but claiming the product has been developed for a longer shelf life WITHOUT preservatives), anything and everything to do with the actions of figure-head Leslie Blodgett * (see below for explanation) Basically, it's a very long list. * (Leslie Blodgett) Who we had little to no interaction with except sending a video or two of herself to our database of her celebrating a company accomplishment. Also, that's the only real time she ever "acknowledges" the boutiques: privately in videos sent to boutique staff. Publicly she only promotes QVC except for a new foundation launch, then she tells her followers to go to a boutique for a "shade match". I say "figure-head above because no one can really tell you what role she plays in the company because there's no straight answer and that seems to be the issue with many people from corporate. She's said to be the "creator" or Bare Escentuals, which is false information because she only came on as CEO in the 90's and the very basic product and company has existed since 1976. This is in no way bashing Leslie Blodgett by any means but my point is this: I feel like Leslie Blodgett is a major con to the company at this point. bareMinerals has earned the respect and trust of consumers everywhere, that is an undeniable fact. However, based on my constant experiences I had with the company, it's because of Leslie Blodgett's conflicting presence as she jumps in and out of the company that I feel is not only a constant issue but is stunting the growth of the company. Shiseido purchased Bare Escentuals in 2010 and I feel like that should have been Leslie's true exit. Leslie raised Bare Escentuals as a company from the ground-up; there is no denying her contribution to the cosmetic industry. But in the wake of the company trying to create new products and branch in new directions after the Shiseido purchase, Leslie's presence and influence is a huge contradiction and the effect filters all the way down to customer interactions. There's nothing wrong with Leslie's honesty when she promotes the product on infomercials: "this bareMinerals foundation is all you will ever need." That can be very true for some people, but what happens when those loyal customers enter a boutique to only purchase a ($27) foundation and refuse to look at anything else every time they visit? One can make the argument that a $27 sale is better than no sale, but it's not the point I'm looking to make. She's accomplished so much for the company but in the face of a new direction, beauty ambassadors are left with the task of contradicting Leslie's original message (which some customers hold onto like a gospel and that is NOT an exaggeration) and leads you down one of two paths: either the customer will trust you to a varying level and will return or they will refuse to listen when you try and make suggestions and either avoid your interaction they visit next or you will lose their business. And because of that, the employee will be forced to work off that "onesie" that much harder to avoid criticism that eventually filters from senior management. I've seen so many sales that are below company standards that have nothing to do with the staff's capability to sell, but because there are so many customers new and old who have seen or listened to Leslie Blodgett's philosophy and refuse to heed the word of anyone saying otherwise, I'm surprised the company hasn't simply opted for vending machines like ProActiv to cut down on the cost of having so many stores. What is the point of all this rambling? To let you know that no matter what, as a beauty ambassador for bareMinerals, you work in the shadow of a woman whose presence and influence in the ever-changing company can effect a number of daily sales and even if you realize this is the reason behind your struggling sales, you have to change your entire behavior just to tack on an extra item to your next sale. I do feel bad saying all of this because I'm sure Leslie Blodgett is a wonderful lady and this isn't about her as a PERSON but I don't feel bad expressing what I feel to be a truth. In the "11 Commandments of Beauty" or whatever it is called now and is posted in ALL the back rooms of boutiques on a wall, the very first post says, "What would Leslie do?" Well, Leslie would tell you that this one foundation is all you'll ever need and thank you for your business, end of story. Though I whole-heartedly agree with that philosophy and practiced it at expense of my average dollar sale and immense criticism from anyone above me, be prepared to be a held to double-agent standards -- in the game to promote Leslie's original message and to subtly contradict said original message and to try and build your sales to avoid daily heat from anyone above you. Oh and don't expect stellar gratis. On very rare occasion you'll get either one or two major launch items right before it comes out or whatever they decide to pull out of a random bin of products to try and motivate you to sell. You'll be forced to either make yourself samples of product on a regular basis or purchase the product that you are required to wear. I've witnessed a sales trainer call out an employee in front of an audience for wearing a light amount of foundation that wasn't by bareMinerals. Though that's obviously against policy and the employee was in the wrong, that employee was currently going through financial troubles and her living situation had been compromised and didn't have the money to purchase a new makeup and was embarrassed in front of 20+ other people in the room (two of those people were from the home office in San Fran who often work with Leslie Blodgett. It's those small, petty acts that eventually added up and made me realize my future was not with a company that puts on a false face of love and kindness to sell as much makeup as they can while hiding behind a mascot who promotes a message they fail to uphold.