bareMinerals Butter Drench Restorative Rich Face Cream

I have used this product for more than 10 years. Probably longer. I can’t remember the exact year I started using this butter drench. I’ve used it twice a day every day, so I’m very very familiar with what I’ve been using. OK, I’m here to say that I was extremely excited to finally be able to purchase my bareMinerals butter, drench restorative rich cream directly from bareMinerals a couple of weeks ago, especially after I ran out in mid June and have not been able to find a drop of it anywhere from Little Rock, Arkansas all the way to Nashville, Tennessee and even online it was not available. I have asked every Sephora store manager, and I’ve asked every Ulta store manager what’s going on with bareMinerals butter drench not being in stock and not one of them had an answer. So, I went directly to the source, to bareMinerals website and I started a conversation with them about it in their live chat messaging system They had no idea why it was not available either. They only knew that it was out of stock and prompted me to sign up for an email to let me know when it was back in stock. So I did that and while waiting, II speculated that it might be in one of those containers, crossing the ocean that hit a BIG wave & could possibly be lying at the bottom of the sea. I also read online that Bare Esentuals sold out to a Japanese company, Shiseido, but wasn’t sure of the details, like when? Maybe 2021 and why it would JUST now be changing? You would think that there would be some kind of information out as to why it was not available all year long. Maybe you might want to update your biggest customers through your company sending out a notice to the very people that work for you in distribution to the stores. Maybe you should have let your loyal customers know that you’re changing because now it says it’s infused with peptides and ceramides on some websites and not on the packaging? I’ve never noticed it having those ingredients before! Are we just using Smoothness in the Butter Drench jar? What’s going on? My daughter uses the smoothness, and I always knew it had peptides and ceramides, but not the butter drench! Now that I received mine, I can tell you everything about it is different. Even the labeling on the jar is different. It looks different, the color is not the same where it was a very pale shade of yellow. It is now stark white. It smells different. I’ve always loved the Bergamont, and if there is Bergamont essential oil in it, it is a very, very small dose as I cannot smell it any longer and that was one of the most satisfying things about using this product. Also, it feels different. While it’s still very rich and creamy, I almost get a feeling that I slathered on some creamy soap on my face and I no longer get the fresh cool moisturizing feeling and that Dewey look. In fact, I can actually feel it on my face. There is no Dewey moisturized look to my face now. I can’t really describe it, but it doesn’t feel very moisturizing as the old one did. Maybe it’s all in my head because I saw the different labeling. And the different color! Maybe I need to give it more time but I just wondered if anyone else noticed the difference. I also noticed that it no longer says Bare Escentuals on the product. Also noticed that it says it’s made in France instead of made in the USA like the old one. In the pictures you will see that the old jar is to the right and the new one I received with its packaging is to the left. I will go ahead and finish the product and see if I can deal with it. The last thing I have to say is that this brand uses a known potential harmful chemical that they are doing more studies on currently to see if it’s more than moderately dangerous for humans. Its use is to preserve the product with. It’s called Phenoxyethanol. It is a potential endocrine disruptor, among other things that’s not good for you or the environment. The app I use and identifying potential harmful chemicals says that it is a moderate risk. It is used in the product at levels less than one percent to prevent the growth of micro organisms. I will leave it there and you can further research it, but I did have a conversation with a bareMinerals technician that stated they used less than one percent of the recommended amount. I also see that the United States does not regulate its use. On the other hand, now that it’s being made in France, maybe we can feel safe that they are regulating the use of this chemical. With all that being said, we put this product on our face every single day! I use it morning and night. Maybe they should find something Safer to use to prevent the growth of microorganisms rather than this chemical.