• HSN continued its role as an innovative force in the prestige fragrance industry with the successful debut of Jennifer Lopez’s Love & Light fragrance.Lopez made a live guest appearance on the network to launch her latest scent–and it was one of the most successful launches of her branded fragrances, selling more than 51,000 units.
During the premiere hour of the launch of Love & Light, Lopez said, “I am passionate about fragrance. HSN is the perfect place for me to tell my story and share what I love with my fans.”
Throughout the day, she shared the inspiration behind her newest fragrance and chatted with fans and friends who called in, including Khloe Kardashian, who purchased the scent as a wedding gift for her sister Kim. Lopez’s mom also surprised viewers with a special appearance, sharing personal stories and anecdotes from her daughter’s childhood.
• Payless ShoeSource is rolling out a new teen brand, Brash, which in addition to footwear and accessories, will include beauty items. Debuting in early this month, the beauty products will include fragrances and makeup items like lip stain and eyeshadow roller balls. All are designed to be “styled and collaged together to create a unique and edgy look,” according to the retailer. Beauty items will start at $3, the company said.
Payless has tapped musical artist Sierra Kusterbeck, lead singer of alt-rock band VersaEmerge, to serve as the Brash Girl. She will be the face and voice of the new exclusive-to-Payless brand.
To support the new brand, Payless is launching brashgirl.com, a special website dedicated to the new brand and featuring the full shoppable collection, as well as background information on Kusterbeck.
• Braun, part of P&G Beauty and Grooming, is bringing the Braun Satin Hair brush to the US. The brush, which combines Braun’s Active Ion Technology with its seamless bristle technology, has been a huge success in Europe, according to John Doherty, North America Braun business leader. It debuted on QVC.
“Braun remains committed to providing consumers with healthy hairstyling options. We’re pleased to be able to meet this consumer need in both the US and globally,” Doherty said.
The active ion technology was designed to instantly deliver visibly more shine and smoothness to hair with every brush stroke. The brush’s uniquely designed jet delivers a stream of active ions to the hair to instantly restore irresistible shine, and tame frizz and flyaways for touchable smoothness, according to the company.
• Johnson & Johnson has entered into an agreement to become a global sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, becoming the eighth and final FIFA World Cup Sponsor. With this sponsorship, Johnson & Johnson will be the exclusive and official healthcare sponsor, with the ability to activate across its businesses, including its consumer products, such as oral, sun, skin and wound care products.
In addition, J&J will receive exclusive global marketing rights related to the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 and 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“The FIFA World Cup unites people of all cultures, ages and socioeconomic levels like no other event, and we’re excited to tap into this passion and reach to further impact health and wellness around the world,” said Brian Perkins, corporate VP, corporate affairs, Johnson & Johnson. “Through this sponsorship, the company will be able to reach new professionals and consumers and deepen our commitment and connection to the people and communities we serve.”
• SC Johnson and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation have formed a long-term loan agreement for the company to display a collection of artifacts highlighting Frank Lloyd Wright’s influence on families and the home.The agreement marks a new chapter in the Johnson family’s long history with the visionary architect. Beginning in spring 2012, the 125-year-old company will exhibit a collection of Wright’s objects and memorabilia including drawings, models, furniture, fixtures, photos, personal effects and more. The exhibit will be open to the public, free of charge and will be housed in Fortaleza Hall on SC Johnson’s global headquarters campus in Racine, WI.
“We are thrilled to have this collection and open it up for exhibit,” said Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “We’re so pleased to bring this treasure to Racine and to continue our family’s long legacy with Wright.”
The first building Wright designed for the Johnson company was the Administration Building in 1936, followed by the Research Tower in 1944. Today, Fortaleza Hall, where this collection will be housed, features a Frank Lloyd Wright Library and Reading Room which houses a collection of more than 800 items including books on Wright and his career, drawings, blueprints, letters and photos. Currently, thousands of tourists and Wright enthusiasts visit SC Johnson’s headquarters each year to see Wright’s renowned designs.
• Seventh Generation has linked up with other like-minded companies in a special promotion for back-to-school time. The green cleaning company is partnering with food companies Annie’s Homegrown, Stonyfield YoKids and Honest Kids to encourage families to toss their brown bags by offering a free Kids Konserve lunch sack with the purchase of participating products.
• Edge Shave Gel and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced a partnership to identify fighters on the “Edge of Greatness” and give them the chance to be an official spokesman for Edge Shave Gel. Under the leadership of former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn, four rising UFC stars will compete for the public’s endorsement to become the next face of Team Edge.
Competing for the yearlong Edge sponsorship are Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis, Chad “Money” Mendes, Michael “Mayday” McDonald and Brian “All American” Stann.
To help Edge decide who should be the next face of “Team Edge,” UFC fans were asked vote at www.edgeshave.com/UFC. The fighter with the most votes will be sponsored by Edge, helping propel him one step closer to the “Edge of Greatness.”
The UFC partnership is an outgrowth of the recent launch of the “Edge of Greatness” initiative, a program Edge officials describe as a commitment to empower men by giving them an edge in life –both by offering the best possible morning shave to get ready for the day ahead, and by providing the tools guys need to fulfill their ambitions. In June, the “Edge of Greatness” campaign launched with the unveiling of a billboard in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, donated by Edge and designed by up-and-coming student artist Anthony Morton.
• The Clorox Company previewed its plans to launch a new mobile product ingredient application and website that will give consumers immediate access to product ingredient information while they shop or whenever they need it. The new tools will be available later this year and will give consumers information at their fingertips, including easier, on-the-go access to Clorox’s Ingredients Inside information by offering content and functionality optimized for mobile device use. In addition, the mobile application, focused initially on iPhone users, will allow consumers to use their smart phones to scan a product UPC code and be taken instantly to that product’s ingredient listing.
• Mary Kay Inspiring Stories is the beauty company’s new program created to give women nationwide the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be flown to Hollywood and produce documentaries that inspire, educate, and create a national conversation about the issue of domestic violence. This month, the selected participants for the Mary Kay Inspiring Stories project will head to Hollywood, CA to work together for seven days to create, produce, and direct three documentaries that share inspiring and moving stories of women affected by domestic violence. The documentaries will educate the public on ways to end domestic violence.
“Mary Kay has always been about enriching women’s lives, and being a champion for causes that affect women,” said Yvette Franco, vice president, Mary Kay, Inc. “Over the years, we’ve been proud to raise awareness and take action on important issues like domestic violence and we’re proud to continue in that tradition through Mary Kay Inspiring Stories.”
The films will premiere in late September, on the cusp of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Following the premiere and throughout the month of October, people across America will have the chance to view, vote and support the documentaries online at http://www.MaryKayInspiringStories.com. The film crew that captures America’s vote will have a $20,000 grant given to a domestic violence shelter in their name from the Mary Kay Foundation.
To further efforts to combat domestic violence, consumers can join Mary Kay in its worldwide efforts to change the lives of women and children through the purchase of Limited-Edition Beauty that Counts Mary Kay Creme Lipstick. In the US, from Sept. 16-Dec. 15, 2011, $1 will be donated from the sale of each shade—Give Dreams, Give Hope and Give Joy— to the Mary Kay Foundation in its efforts to end domestic violence.
• The National Eczema Association (NEA) has awarded MD Moms’ Daily Skin Protection Moisturizing Balm, fragrance-free Daily Skin Protection Moisturizing Balm, Gentle All-Over Clean Hair and Body Wash and fragrance-free Gentle All-Over Clean Hair and Body Wash its NEA Seal of Acceptance. Products eligible for the NEA Seal of Acceptance are those that have been created or intended for use by persons with eczema or severe sensitive skin conditions and that have satisfied the NEA Seal of Acceptance Criteria.
• Europe’s “beauty ritual for all hair types,” Orofluido, is about to expand its offerings in the US. According to the Colomer-owned hair care company, the products contain not one, but three exquisite oils—argan, cyperus and linseed. The successful brand, which currently boasts four additional shine products (shampoo, conditioner, mask and shine spray) in its overseas market, is adored by European beauty editors and has scored a bevy of beauty award nominations and wins. Now, the SKUs are available in the US.
• P&G Beauty & Grooming has rolled out My Beauty Adviser, a new application for iPhone and Android mobile platforms. P&G Beauty & Grooming brands Clairol, CoverGirl, Olay andPantene have joined forces to create the free app that provides consumers with an exclusive virtual beauty experience.
Developed by Densebrain, Inc., My Beauty Adviser boasts anintuitive user-friendly interface to improve consumers’ shopping experience and simplify purchasing decisions. Upon launching the application, users can choose to explore products, complete a consultation or browse a free magazine, according to P&G.
“Our customers continue to tell us they need guidance to decide which beauty products to use and how to use them to get the look that they want,” said Kevin Hochman, marketing director for Olay, Secret and Venus. “That’s why we created My Beauty Adviser—to help women find the best answers in a quick and fun way while on-the-go.We wanted to provide our customer with a free, interactive platform to help her make confident decisions about her beauty purchases and believe My Beauty Adviser accomplishes that goal.”
Jonathan Glanz, founder of Densebrain, Inc., called the app a “departure from the classic branded content feed.” He said it provides “truly relevant information to consumers in an easy to consume way that really connects with their needs.”
Specifically, a browsing feature allows users to learn about products, read and write reviews and ultimately establish their ideal regimen among the cosmetic, skin and hair care categories. Users can explore by product line, name or category, by tapping through each page.
Voice and barcode scanning uses advanced technology for instant access to products and content within the application. Voice Scan will direct to magazine articles and help start the product search.Users can also utilize the Barcode Scanner while shopping in retail aisles to instantly access product reviews and related articles.
In addition, My Beauty Adviser acts as a personal, handheld consultant that tailors a beauty recommendation to meet an individual’s needs. Users can complete consultations by answering questions about their skin and hair type, concerns and desired results. Once the consultation is complete, results reveal customized recommendations for products.
My Beauty Adviser magazine is an educational tool that offers access to exclusive content from top beauty reporters and bloggers. It will be updated monthly.
• Armaly Brands’ Brillo sponsored an art competition at the Ohio State Fair this year. Participating artists and contestants received up to 720 Brillo Steel Wool Soap Pads to create art pieces using the iconic cleaning pad, which were on display at the fair.
• Head & Shoulders has tapped actress Alyson Hannigan as the brand’s official female ambassador, joining two-time Super Bowl champion Troy Polamalu, and Minnesota Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer. Hannigan is part of a fully integrated campaign targeting female consumers that broke in July.
And beyond giving women advice on how to get great looking hair, Hannigan will team up with consumers to create The Good Girlfriend Guide, an e-manual of positive girlfriend to girlfriend advice that tackles everything from beauty faux pas to relationship blunders. To rally consumers behind their mission, the actress is urging women across the country to visit the Head & Shoulders for Women Facebook fan page where they can offer up their own advice on a series of topics ranging from parenting to fashion.
Fifty consumers will have their advice published in The Good Girlfriend Guide and five lucky women will be chosen to attend an exclusive, all access VIP e-book launch with Alyson in Los Angeles this November.
• Eucerin has unveiled its new Skin Health Cost Calculator as part of the brand’s Skin First Movement and commitment to educating Americans about the importance of treating their skin care more like health care. The Eucerin Skin Health Cost Calculator is being billed by the Beiersdorf brand as a first-of-its-kind tool to help consumers understand the financial benefits of good skin care habits by quantifying the medical costs their skin health habits can have throughout their lifetime.
According to Catherine Lair, marketing director, Beiersdorf, Inc., the Eucerin Skin Health Cost Calculator is the brand’s “latest step toward ensuring that women see their skin as a priority in maintaining their overall health by emphasizing the financial, emotional and practical benefits of nurturing the body’s largest organ.”
Created in collaboration with Eucerin Skin First Council member and leading pharmacoeconomic expert, Rajesh Balkrishnan, the calculator sheds light on the staggering expenses associated with poor skin habits. In fact, most people do not realize that unhealthy skin is expensive, costing Americans more than $40 billion per year, or $400 per person. Over a lifetime, the average amount spent on skin care issues and problems can be as high as $100,000.
“With the Eucerin Skin Health Cost Calculator, we are able to show Americans that it pays to have good skin health, both literally and figuratively,” said Balkrishnan. “The sooner you put your skin first, the less you’ll have to pay for skin recovery and the higher your quality of life will be.”
To tabulate Skin Health Cost scores and related dollar amounts, the Eucerin Skin Health Cost Calculator takes into account various skin health related habits, such as moisturizing and cleansing daily, smoking, and SPF use. The tool walks consumers through a series of questions and provides a score and suggested products at the end.
• Phase IV of Sebastian Professional’s What’s Next Awards has come to a close with Sarah Merrie of Hollywood’s Hairroin Salon named the winner. As the What’s Next Awards winner, she will join Sebastian Professional styling team backstage at New York Spring ‘12 Fashion Week where her shining styling abilities will take the runway by storm.
• TreSemme was the official sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashiion Week Swim 2012, July 14-18 in Miami. The brand highlighted its Fresh Start Collection of dry shampoos interactively throughout the week with a swimwear sponsorship, sampling, exclusive social media content and other activities.
For the third consecutive season, TreSemme sponsored Mara Hoffman’s show. At the TreSemme Cabana, guests were treated to a sneak peek at the latest innovations featured in the Fresh Start Collection and samples of TreSemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo. VIP guests were able to beat the heat inside The Raleigh Hotel at the Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge Suite. TreSemme stylists were also on hand at the “Top Down Pony Up” hair bar to create complimentary polished ponytails and summer ‘dos, helping guests stay and look cool despite the summer heat.
TreSemme provided fans with exclusive behind-the-scenes content available on TRESemme.com, as well as the TreSemme Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages.
• Veet has created the “28 Days of Beautiful” Facebookapplication as a way for consumers to engage with the brand, share beauty secrets, receive exclusive offers and discounts, and get insider tips from the Veet Smooth Patrol—a panel of three celebrity experts in the fields of fitness, fashion and beauty, respectively. The name of the application is a nod to the brand’s newest product launch, Veet Ready-to-Use Wax Strips for Face and Body, which provide up to 28 days of smoothness. The app is formatted as a month-long calendar offering one tip, trick or value-special per day as revealed through a virtual peel off tab, which replicates the actual look and functionality of the EasyGrip tab on the new Ready-to-Use Wax Strips.
• Wen by Chaz Dean wants to know how Wen has changed consumer’s lives in its new “Show & Tell Us Your Wen Hair Story” contest. Consumers were asked to upload a photo on Facebook in June and tell their hair story for a chance to win a trip to LA, a hair makeover, lunch with celebrity stylist and WEN creator, Chaz Dean, and a $500 gift card.
• Palm Beach Beauté announced that it has entered into an agreement with Wilde Cosmetics GmbH under which Palm Beach Beauté will exclusively distribute the Monteil Paris brand in the US. The renowned French skin care and fragrance brand, founded in 1936 by fashion designer Germaine Monteil, was acquired by the German cosmetic company Wilde Cosmetics GmbH in 2006.
“The Monteil brand is a perfect complement to our growing portfolio. We know we are partnering with a respected leader in the international beauty arena,” said Harold Ickovics, president and CEO of Palm Beach Beauté.
• L’Oréal USA relaunched Makeup.com with a fresh new look, a team of experienced contributing writers and plans to become the BBF (beauty best friend) of its readers, according to the cosmetics maker, which acquired the URL in 2009. To providing an authentic, editorially independent site, L’Oréal USA has teamed up with Federated Media to outsource the editorial content of Makeup.com to writers and beauty bloggers. New content is posted daily, including feature stories, blog posts, slide shows, “how to” videos, beauty news, tips and tricks and conversational starters.
The new site will be under the direction of consulting editor Ellen Seidman, formerly deputy editor at Glamour where she oversaw beauty coverage, and editor Ayren Jackson-Cannady, formerly a beauty writer for various women’s magazines including Redbook, Glamour, Real Simple and Fitness.
“Our brand strategy for Makeup.com is to speak to women as only their beauty best friend can,” said Farrah Linden, corporate media manager, L’Oréal USA. “We want to stimulate their beauty lives and encourage them to fearlessly step up to the ‘new’ and dare to be just a bit more adventuresome. Our brand tone is one of a best friend; we are playful, encouraging and in-the-know.”
• Estée Lauder is Tweeting. According to the company, the brand will connect to consumer from its New York City headquarters, offering behind the scenes photos from shoots and sharing tips from creative makeup director Tom Pecheux.
• Divine Skin Inc. plans to release a new oral analgesic intended to compete over the counter brands such as Tylenol and Advil and generic aspirin. The company plans to begin shipping upon final authorization by the Drug Enforcement Administration. In the US alone, manufacturers’ revenue from internal non-narcotic analgesics, antipyretics, antiarthritics, and anti- inflammatories, including salicylates and acetaminophen, totaled $2.4 billion in 2009, according to an August 2010 report published by the US Census Bureau.
• In its ongoing commitment to support fearless women, Secret Deodorant has created the Mean Stinks program; a supportive Facebook community that gives young women the courage to stand up to bullying. To help this cause, Secret is partnering with relatable role models—Amber Riley, best known as Mercedes on the hit Fox show “Glee,” and Rachel Simmons, nationally renowned relationship expert—to start a movement of “nice.”Secret is also partnering with PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center by donating a portion of proceeds from select Secret Clinical Strength purchases to it’s prevention efforts. To spread the word, Riley will participate in Facebook Q&A sessions on the Mean Stinks page as well as appear in print advertising that helps support donations to the center.