Plum Crazy

True confessions. When I first saw the splash ad at Sephora.com for RareMinerals, a soon-to-be-released product from Bare Escentuals, I reacted positively. I am, without a doubt, precisely the target market for this kind of product. I am big into skin care. While that, in part, is related to the fact that I think it's just as important to take care of your skin as it is any other part of your body, a big part of it is nothing more than a desire to look good. I buy into the beauty culture, even as I know it's shallow.

RareMinerals is marketed as a skin care treatment, but also as a way to "cover your imperfections while you sleep." I totally relate to that. Sadly. I have no doubt this product was developed because a lot of women like myself have thought as we take off our makeup at night that it would be nice if there were a way to cover the imperfections even at night. A way that wouldn't damage your skin the way sleeping in makeup will. Bare Escentuals was started and is still owned by a woman.

Even as I think this, though, I also recognize how self-destructive that thought process is. Why do we feel this intense pressure to cover our physical imperfections even when we're sleeping. Safe in our own homes. Our own beds. Either alone or with someone who loves us. Even then we can't feel comfortable enough with ourselves to feel like we can be bare.

The stupid thing is that I know I don't look bad without my makeup. I look fine. I look fine when I wake up in the morning. Even with that knowledge, I still feel that pressure. To not want someone to see the few red spots that they probably wouldn't notice in the first place.

I know all this. And yet, I still want to buy the product.