March Sparty Recap: Makeup was a Good Choice

Just wanted to quickly reflect on the terrific time all of us from Complexions had this past Thursday. Thanks to everyone who helped make our first “sparty” a smashing success. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, don’t worry – I think we’ll definitely do a variation on this season-inspired program again.

To recap: We started things off with a fresh herbal facial cleanse to exfoliate & moisturize the skin. It’s amazing what a wonderfully aromatic cleanse can do to ones mood after a long day. I also wanted everyone at the Sparty to have a happy, balanced & perfect base for the new spring make up colors that were set to go on later in the evening. Next, we spent some time brightening our smiles with a personal teeth whitening treatment from GoSMILE - there really is something to be said about products which produce meaningful results on the first application – a definitely crowd favorite. After that, individual hair consultations with our stylists educated us all on how best to brighten up our hair for the spring. And so, with our hair, skin & smiles recharged & ready for the warming weather, we headed over to the Make-Up counter and begun sampling a smorgasbord of fresh spring colors from the Complexions Essentials line. With most of the girls having home as their next destination (it was a quiet Thursday night after all!) delightful experimentation definitely won out over our more ‘tried & true’ shades and palettes. And just like the previous ’stations’, impromptu question & answer sessions broke out between Spartiers & staff prompting me to dream up plans for a more formal series on skincare Q&A. But I digress!

We closed the night out with a stroll through the Complexions Boutique and another interesting Q&A session about each of the product lines we carry. With so many brands offering so many skincare solutions these days, I find that focusing in on the specific ingredients (rather than individual programs and/or items) works best. It also didn’t hurt having the $25 dollar reservation fee be good towards any service or product purchased that night.

Our next Sparty is scheduled for April 16th and will feature a whole host of green-themed products & stations - expect email invites & an event post to our brand new Facebook Page within the week. I’m also happy to announce that Complexions will be hosting lots of little Earth Day celebrations throughout the month of April with special promotions on brands like Y’tsara, whose certified organic products help make each and every Thai inspired body wellness treatment as good for the earth as they are for our bodies. =)

Related articles

• Skin Care That’s Good for Your Skin (susanheim.blogspot.com)
• How to Really Help Build Collagen (articlesbase.com)
• Pure African Shea Nut Butter (passionategreen.net)
• Green Apple Festival and Planet Green Launch Online Volunteer Sign-Up for Earth Day (treehugger.com)
• Beauty Lab: Method’s New Moisturizing Body Care (treehugger.com)

Monthly Energy Bill Comparison: Before vs After Going Green

Image via Wikipedia

We have been in our new Complexions Spa location at 221 Wolf Road for eleven months now.  Earlier this week, I decided to take a quick look at the actual energy savings – if any – we’ve enjoyed thus far.  Here is the quick, back-of-the-napkin rundown:

In our previous location we had 4200 sf.  In our new location we have 8450sf. Thus far, monthly electric bills at 221 Wolf Rd average about $2200.00 which is equal to approximately $.26 per square foot.   After approximating our cost per square foot at the previous 4200 sf. location over several years, I’m happy to announce that total energy costs are down by approximately 34% .  Not too shabby!

This isn’t to say that the recent drop in global commodity prices (energy in particular) hasn’t been noticed. It has – but not because of any short-term monetary gains. On the contrary, the energy twists & turns  have reminded me of how it used to be at our old location where we spent countless hours coming up with superficial ways to reduce our monthly energy bills.  Rather distracting to say the least!  What’s more, at the end of the day, it really didn’t matter what I did because when if oil prices spiked up – so did the bills – regardless of any and all energy saving actions. Which brings me to one of the best parts about having designed and engineered the new Complexions to regulate nearly every power-sucking machine, room and/or appliances in as efficient a manner as possible. Looking back over the last several months, I find it difficult to pinpoint any amount of time spent worrying about such matters. In others words, the new Complexions facility essentially manages itself. And therein lies the magic behind good green construction – it frees you from the growing distractions of uncontrollable energy prices, leaky faucets, left-on light bulbs, inefficient air-circulation systems, etc etc.  So for Complexions, building GREEN definitely cost a bit more upfront – no doubt about that – however ….in the long term ….I believe our investments will more than pay for itself (which is what all good investments do!).

So in summary, the last several months worth of energy savings have exceeded my expectations.  Going GREEN has thus far proved to be a very sound – very pro-growth decision for our company.  Despite doubling both the size and scope of Complexions  via 2x the number of treatment rooms and and nearly 3x the amount of retail square footage we’ve (somehow) managed to keep month-to-month expenses flat (if not down).  Best of all, we’re coming in well below my ‘expected expenses’ long term budget plans- plotted long ago when gas was nearing $4 . Amazing how fast things change.

Related articles

• Getting your hands on some green…stimulus (money.cnn.com)
• Ontario’s bold new plan for a green economy (newswire.ca)
• Microsoft Looks to Cut Carbon Footprint 30% by 2012 (cleantechnica.com)
• Green energy our best shot (thestar.com)
• Gas bills could be cut by another $3, SaskEnergy says (cbc.ca)