Wizards of home shopping TV

• Big win: Sold over 254,000 makeup kits in one day on QVC
• Website: www.bareescentuals.com

Swirl, tap and buff.

When Leslie Blodgett first debuted that technique for applying loose mineral makeup foundation before a live audience on QVC in 1997, she remembers "freaking out."

But Blodgett sold $45,000 worth of mineral foundation in six minutes that day.

"I was jumping up and down. It was a huge hit for me," she said. Four years later, bareMinerals makeup became a No. 1 selling brand on QVC.

Blodgett developed bareMinerals, a line of 100% natural loose mineral makeup, at Bare Escentuals. She joined Bare Escentuals in 1994 when it was a small San Francisco-based retailer with seven regional stores selling bath and body products. Blodgett transformed the company into a maker of mineral makeup. She is widely credited with pioneering the mineral makeup trend in the United States.

Under Blodgett, Bare Escentuals went public and in 2010 was acquired by Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido for over $1.8 billion.

Today Blodgett is executive chairman at Bare Escentuals. "I'm still definitely the face of the company," she said. And she's still teaching the swirl, tap, buff technique on QVC.

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