An email from my friend Debby the other day reminded me of how difficult it is for boomer gals to source cosmetics for our demographic these days. Ever since Hudson’s Bay bit the dust, boomer gals no longer have a place of our own to buy beauty products. Whenever I needed a new Estée Lauder lipstick or Lancôme mascara, I would toddle off to my local mall and visit one of the nice, professional ladies who staffed the various cosmetics counters at Hudson’s Bay. Every major company and a few lesser-known ones were represented in one retail village setting conducive to browsing, swiping testers on the back of my hand, and spritzing an expensive perfume on my wrist just for the hell of it. If I timed it right, I could capitalize on their seasonal promotions with a variety of products to try all done up in a handy-dandy little cosmetics bag.

Anyone who reads BoomerBroadcast on a regular basis knows I had long-standing issues with customer service and the shortages of sales staff at The Hudson’s Bay stores. Sephora, however, with its overly-made-up young sales associates and grocery store-style lineups to check out, will never do the job of demonstrating and selling cosmetics to boomers as well as the old department stores. The crowds of teenagers clogging the aisles and playing with all the testers in Sephora while the sales staff chat with each other, only serves to get on my nerves and prompt a hasty exit. Each store is laid out differently, which means I can never easily find what I am looking for without interrupting someone to ask, and the full complement of each company’s products is rarely available.

While not boomer-friendly, to their credit, Sephora does have plenty of mirrors, boxes of tissues and waste baskets available, which is a plus. They also have shelves in the checkout line stocked with trial sizes of a wide range of products, which is handy, but I rarely have the patience to wait in the lineup. If they offer promotional give-aways like the old department stores, I’ve never seen them.

It’s hard enough when a cosmetics company discontinues a product we’ve been devoted to for years. Now that we no longer have access to knowledgeable, dedicated sales staff for each line, it’s difficult to find satisfactory replacements. I recently ordered a discontinued Shiseido lipstick online that travelled all the way from Australia. It arrived two weeks later and bought me another year of having a colour I loved—I don’t care what it cost! That’s how loyal we are. I’ve never forgiven Estée Lauder for changing the formulation of their “Frosted Apricot” lipstick, which I wore and loved for more than fifty years. The “new and improved” version is too brown, too flat, and nothing like the old, much-loved pinkish-peach version. It was my go-to for all occasions, and now it’s gone forever. Estée Lauder didn’t bother to respond to my emails suggesting they bring back the original.

Drug stores have well-stocked inventories of cosmetics and dedicated staff, but they do not carry full lines that are familiar to boomers. They are sufficient for the basics, but lack the secret, behind-the-counter drawers of products that carry everything our hearts could desire. Ordering online is another option and perhaps the only option for some products, but online shopping is not conducive to trying on a new eye shadow colour or feeling the texture of a new foundation or cream blush on the back of your hand.

Holt Renfrew and Saks have lovely cosmetics counters and sales associates, but shopping there can be intimidating for some. Unless you’re prepared to drop a few hundred dollars, some shoppers may feel too shy to venture in. I’m sure that’s not a feeling the retailers want to engender, but that’s the way it is. And, the high-end stores often do not carry “High Street” mid-range brands like Estée Lauder or Lancôme. When we go to the United States (Oops! I know we shouldn’t go there, but sometimes you just gotta) we will probably make Macy’s or Dillard’s one of our first stops to stock up on favourite products, try some new ones, and probably get a free promotional gift to boot!

There are numerous other retailers to fill the shoes of the big, old department stores like Simpson’s, Eaton’s, and Hudson’s Bay for linens, housewares, and fashion. Nothing compares, though, to those old school department store professional sales ladies in the cosmetics department for supplying baby boomers with our favourite beauty products.  We’re going to have to retool to meet our beauty needs. The same can be said for lingerie now that those vast lingerie departments have disappeared. Montreal-based Simons is a lovely department store and they have an excellent, well-stocked lingerie department, but no cosmetics. Pleasurable shopping for boomer gals to score their favourite beauty products has been severely compromised. Don’t you think?