I just returned from the International Beauty Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. I have to say, I am a bit disappointed at the show this year. In the Esthetic Spa section, there were only 5 isles of vendors. There was nothing new and not much excitement. I think this may have been the smallest turn out in many years. In years past this has been huge! I walked through the entire esthetics section in less than an hour. I think it was practically a wasted trip.
I am going to attend the New York Spa Owners meeting in two weeks for the first time. I suspect that that will be a far more worthwhile endeavor.
The 10th annual Spa Week Event will be taking place the week of April 13-19. We will be joining 700 spas across the country offering a few of our signature services at a special price of only $50.00. The goal of Spa Week is to introduce consumers to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle by having spa services that focus on “wellness”.
As the full impact of the economic downturn becomes painfully apparent, millions of Americans are experiencing the financial challenges of an uncertain future. So, it goes without saying that stress has become an everyday companion for many of us. This is unfortunately the start of a cycle where the average consumer cuts back on many of life’s necessities. Never before has Spa Week’s message been more relevant than in these trying times. The spa lifestyle is not only essential to maintaining one’s health and well-being, but it’s now available this week at an affordable price for everyone.
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 fromGoSMILE- 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 theMake-Upcounter 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 newFacebook Pagewithin the week. I’m also happy to announce that Complexions will be hosting lots of littleEarth Daycelebrations throughout the month of April with special promotions on brands likeY’tsara, whose certified organicproducts help make each and every Thai inspiredbody wellness treatmentas good for the earth as they are for our bodies. =)
This past Friday (January 23, 2009), I sat down with Diane Lee – co-host of FOX 23’s morning show – to discuss winter skin care do’s and don’ts. Considering how cold it’s been these past few weeks, I couldn’t ask for a more perfectly pertinent topic.
I think the most important piece of winter-related advice will always be the benefits of a milky cleanser with alpha hydroxy acids that gently exfoliate over a standard bar or face soap.When ever you exfoliate the dead surface cells, any hydrating ingredients applied after penetrate much more efficiently. It is like removing a blanket of dead skin and allowing the serum to penetrate to where it is needed. I recommend using lactic and citric acid rather than glycolic acid, especially during the winter months. Glycolic acid is a very well known alpha hydroxy acids however, it is better suited for an oilier skin type.
After exfoliating with a gentle cleanser (not soap;), I recommend using a hydrating serum with hyaluronic acid, or sodium PCA to add and bind moisture into the skin. This should be followed with the appropriate day cream which has a sun protection factor of at least a 15.
I had fun during the interview and hope to do more in the near future! I’ll leave all thoughts pertaining to my on-air performance for later this week – if you have any questions regarding some of the ingredients or products I mentioned to Diane, by all means, let me know either by comment or email. Stay balanced
Complexions has been open for 21 years. During this time, I have tried every form of advertising from newsletters, television, radio, newspaper print, magazines, mailings, you name it, we’ve tried it. When it comes right down to it, the most beneficial is the recommendation from a friend or word of mouth. Since our move into our new location I have attended many charity events and fund raisers. The exposure has been wonderful. I can’t tell you how rewarding this has been for my business. I think when I meet people and get to talk about my business, it’s like giving that personal referral to a friend. It has really helped us to grow the business in our new location. I have seen many of the people that I have talked to come in for services. It has been great. To solidify this type of referral business, I have taken it one step further and now we have a structured referral system with all of our employees. Part of their business building monthly goals, they need to have “so many” referrals each month. We’ve provided them with referral “spa dollars” for them to hand out to their guests, (we refer to clients as guests). The spa dollars gives the new guest a discount off their introductory service and the referring guest receives a thank you for the referral card along with their own “spa dollar” to apply to their next service. It is really working well. It brings new business through word of mouth, and the service providers take a little of the responsibility to build their business. Try a little networking, it works!
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