Who you buy your makeup from depends on cost factors, but it also depends on your preferences for color choices, personal style, comfort levels shopping online, and budget. Even if vendors have a sample program, you can still get caught buying sample after sample until you figure out how to decipher web site descriptions of colors - and how to determine their target audience, so you know “who they're talking to”.

If you prefer to wear your eyeshadows as bold and vivid as possible regardless of your skintone (closer to magazine-photoshoot/fantasy makeup looks), your best bets are Aromaleigh, Make Up For Ever, or certain colors from Simply Naturals. Some Bare Escentuals' colors may appeal to you, but you'll probably find your best results by choosing from their “liner” shades. Like MAC Cosmetics, Aromaleigh and Make Up For Ever (and some other companies I haven't yet tried, such as Morgana Minerals and Fyrinnae) market themselves to fashion devotees, the punk/goth crowd…people who generally prefer to wear makeup that attracts as much attention to itself as to the wearer.

If you prefer to range between “extreme color” and the “soft focus lens”/natural look, you've got a wider playing field :D I suggest starting with Pure Luxe (anything not sold as part of a collection), Meow Cosmetics, Simply Naturals, and TSS. These companies are good for people who have been on a steady diet of brands like Bare Escentuals, but have grown unhappy with the price per item, the color range (want a wider range than colors for “the natural look”), or both.

If you prefer your makeup to be light, soft, and diffuse, your best bets are Bare Escentuals, Everyday Minerals, neutrals from any company, or colors described as “sheer” from TSS, Simply Naturals, and Pure Luxe.

I plan to update my reviews (or in some cases, actually write them) for these companies with my impression of each company's target audience and general strongest appeal, based on my own experience wearing the products and evaluating their site copy through a linguist's lens.

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