My hairstylist Sonya Ingram of Hair Designs With You In Mind in New Rochelle, New York, ([914] 633-HAIR), has kept my hair tight for years. I still believe in a good old-fashioned facial, and the Shizuka New York day spa ([212] 644-7400) has the magic touch.

Sjal Moisturizer Kura Intuitif ($245) hydrates my skin all day long. It’s pricey, but it’s so worth it.

Prescriptives Custom Blond Lip Gloss ($26) is genius! Not Only can you create your own dream color, but the finish and scent too!

When my legs are on the pale side, I smooth on Michael Kors Leg Shine ($32) for a summertime glow.

BEAUTY MOMENT

Salt ‘N Pepa’s Asymmetric haircut. Who didn’t Want to work This look?

Giorgio Armani Sheer Cream Blush ($40) is one bronzer I cannot do without

The fresh and unusual scents of Mistral Triple Milled Shea Butter Soaps ($7) are simply divine.

PLACES

If I miss my standing hair appointment, my local Dominican hair salons are my saving grace. Sunday at 9:00 A.M., for 20 bucks–what! And I can’t get enough of C.O. Bigelow (that’s where I’m shopping at left). It’s my best-kept beauty secret.

La Mer facial Cleansing Fluid ($65) is ridiculously moisturizing My dry skin so appreciates that.

I never leave home without Estee Lauder Liquid Liner in Black ($23). Never.

Niche as a category in beauty is often a traffic driver. Consumers will come to the drug channel specifically to see what’s new in niche, embracing a treasure-hunt mentality similarly associated with the dollar store shopping dynamic. In other words, shoppers may not know specifically what product they’re shopping for, but they know they can find the “new” in the drug channel’s beauty section. “Niche products in the beauty store reinforce the message to the beauty shopper that the drug store is the first destination to find out what’s new, exciting and different at mass retail,” commented Joe Millin, president of Woodridge Labs.

“It’s definitely a destination purchase,” he said. “She knows the drug store is filled with those treasure hunt opportunities.”

If retailers stocked only mainstream brands, they’d lose they’re finger to the pulse of “what’s next,” said Joel Cardin, executive vice president of Pacific World. “Because what’s next and what’s growing a lot of times is going to come from niche companies.”
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Niche in personal care and beauty is not necessarily the same as niche in health care. Whereas niche in OTC often services a specific condition for which there is a finite market–a significantly smaller market as compared to mainstream products–niche beauty care items can address mainstream product offerings for such niche demographics as ethnic skin care and hair care.

“Milani as a company was developed five years ago to service a niche market that existed in the cross-cultural, multi-cultural cosmetics industry,” stated Bob Wallner, vice president of sales with Milani Cosmetics. “It blends into the stated desire for most retailers today to micro-market, to try to bring product to the specific demographic that predominates [the local region],” he said. And it’s not a product line that appeals only to ethnic consumers. “Because the color range that we offer is very vivid, high pigmentation … it’s a brand of inclusion, not exclusion,” he said.

Like niche in health care, beauty niche items are characterized as being more profitable on a per-item basis than a corresponding major brand. Niche brands also help define the raison d’etre for a retailer. Wal-Mart, for example, trades on its value concept–shoppers know they’ll be hard-pressed to find a better price outside that mass merchant. Niche helps bring customers through the doors of those retailers not trading significantly on price.

There’s also the chance that a niche brand will bring in a whole new category or consumer habit that never occurred before. Purell, for example, pretty much created the hand sanitizer category. Another example would be Rembrandt, which brought tooth whitening to mass retail.

But seeding niche products onto the shelf can become a balancing act for retailers–stocking mainstream, albeit somewhat commoditized, products that consumers expect on store shelves on one end versus niche products that may not generate the same sheer volume of turns that a mass product generates. “You’ve got to be careful when you cut certain niche products,” said one industry executive who asked not to be named. “Because even if the turns aren’t there, you may be losing the draw of that niche product.”

An example of that would be Corn Huskers, which recently went to Johnson & Johnson with its acquisition of Pfizer. While J&J, and Pfizer before, certainly are not considered niche companies, Corn Huskers skin moisturizer is considered one of those venerable brands that attracts an intensely loyal shopper. “The owner of the brand … spends no money on [Corn Huskers], but it is an item that if a retailer has on the shelf, they’re fulfilling a niche because there is a customer … who’s going to come in there and buy that item.”

Part of the appeal of mainstream brands is not only the national advertising support that helps drive foot traffic through a retailer’s doors, but also the consumer insights and analytics a larger manufacturer can provide to their retail partners.

However, it’s a metric that niche companies can provide to retailers as well. “As a higher and higher percentage of niche companies become analytically armed at a comparable or higher level than major companies, the rationale for major brands winning the merchandising jump ball is diminishing somewhat,” acknowledged Jeff Elderton, chief operating officer for the Joyner Sales Agency. “Retailers are also benefiting from technologies which allow for a more global view of the merchandising. This allows for a total store analytics perspective which will shift merchandising strategy based on store-level category-segment-brand productivity and adjacency optimization.

You can pass the remote and turn the mouse over if for someone else to play with. I get my thrills hands-on–from hitting a good drugstore. I’m psyched by the whole experience, from the fun gesture of sweeping up a basket to hold my stash the moment I step in, to the delight of moving through the aisles for the little oohs and ahs of new discoveries. Let others complain about shopping–you’ll never hear me groan, “I have to gIt’s not that I’ve suddenly become some restless shopaholic–far from it! It’s simply that I know where the real finds are. I’ve learned that if you have the eye, you can work a $5 nail polish just as well as one that costs $15. I also love the convenience of being able to shop early or late, the fact that no one’s breathing down my neck trying to sell me something I don’t want, and most of all the “come as you are” invitation. Sisters, let’s face it: Some of those logo beauty hot spots can be a little stuffy, to the point where you feel compelled to bring it on in the style department before you ever set foot inside.

At the drugstore, however, I can really kick up my heels, stocking my basket with “now” and “later” treats with wild abandon. Depending on which haven I’m in–and I do have my faves across the country–I’m on the lookout for beauty staples, cute stuff, never-seen-this-before goodies and a cache of travel-size must-haves.

In New York, I love Zitomer Pharmacy, as much for the Diptyque candles and its own Z Cosmetics line as for those fab packets of Supersmile Mouthwash and Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream. I added Walgreens to my list after I was snowed-in in Chicago and had to step in there and re-create my beauty regimen. I’m happy to say I got it all, including great skin care from Lancome. Now whenever I’m in the Windy City I make it a must-stop, just as I do Barneys New York! From the Garden State to as far south as Virginia, I run into CVS or Rite Aid for my splurges. And when I’m deep in the heart of Texas, you’ll find me at Eckerd, freshening up my act with a few scented finds like Adidas’ Moves For Her. And I can’t wait to get to Colonial Drug in Cambridge, Massachusetts; I’m on a mission right now for glitzy powder compacts to store Black Opal’s Deluxe Finishing Loose Powder (which I can’t live without) and purse-size perfume bottles, and I’m dying to see what else they have to offer. Billed as “the place with no common scents,” they have more than one thousand fragrances, and I want to know what I’m missing!

I also like turning those close to me on to my little havens of style. Recently, when we touched down in L.A. to produce last month’s Hollywood issue, I grabbed some of our production team for a skip to West Hollywood’s Sav-On drugstore. Trust me, the girls are still smiling over their finds–especially the little travel-perk pieces that allow you to do those overnighters without sacrificing the pampering you’re accustomed to.

I’m not ashamed to tell you I often find the cutest gifts within these aisles as well–as we all know, in some cases, both department store and boutique items sit side by side at today’s drugstores. Sometimes Rx trips yield the greatest fantasies–like an ultrafeminine shower cap covered in tulle and starched pansies or an atomizer worthy of a 1930’s dressing table, both gifts making me the star of the day! Other times the journey is a little more practical–yielding my select staples of antiperspirant, mascaras, hair spray, loose cotton (you can’t beat it for thoroughly removing makeup–do kick those tissues and cotton balls to the curb!) and vitamins. And then there’s the checkout. Whatever my total, I always feel I’ve scored.

o to the store.” When the shopping is like this, I’m more than ready!

he new TravelMate C110 tablet PC by Acer America Corp. has everything the mobile user needs: high performance; a thin, light, 3.2-pound design; and wireless Intel, Centrino mobile technology. Users can write directly on the display with the included EMR pen or stylus, or simply flip the display for a full-functioned notebook computer. The integrated Wi-Fi 802.11b LAN support allows users to connect to widely available wireless networks, while Bluetooth wireless connectivity is provided for the new generation of printers, cell phones, and other peripherals. The TravelMate C110 comes with 512MB of memory (upgradeable to 1GB) and has a storage capacity of 40GB. Prices start at $1,899. Check it out at www.acer.com/us.

Cenuco has acquired from Playtex Products for $57 million several brands, including Baby Magic, Ogilvie, Tussy, Binaca, Mr. Bubble, Tek, Dentax, Chubs, Dorothy Gray and Better Off. Cenuco will integrate the brands with its Lander health and beauty care division.

According to Playtex, the divestiture of the brands is consistent with its strategy to focus on core categories of feminine care, infant care and skin care. Playtex anticipates that the divestiture will lower projected sales for 2005 by approximately $6 million and by approximately $53 million on a fully annualized basis.

Cenuco, through its Lander health and beauty care division, is a manufacturer and distributor of the Lander and Lander Essentials brands of health and beauty care products. Lander also makes private label brands for a limited number of retailers through its Canadian facility.

Antoinette Alexander

Category Specialist

COPYRIGHT 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permissio

My products are designed to repair and replenish dehydrated hair, whether it’s natural or processed,” Carter explains. “The moisturizers and essential oils, like she butter and some citrus oils, actually penetrate the scalp, leaving the hair well hydrated without the buildup that ingredients like petroleum and silicone can leave behind.” The line, sold at Whole Foods Market stores and select salons, ranges in price from $7 to $20. For more information, visit janecartersolution.com. For details, see Where to Buy.

CVS Corp. will continue to roll out its Beauty At The Door Program this year into 800 additional units. The program, which moves the beauty department from one end of the store to the other, was first launched in 400 stores in September. The chain also extended its Essence of Beauty skin care line into the hair care business with its new Essence of Beauty Hair Care collection.

The Truth About Beauty: Transform Your Looks and Your Life from the Inside Out by Kat James grew from the author’s obsessing to be thin to be beautiful and manifested as a full-blown compulsive eating disorder that ruled every minute of every day for 12 long years. Even while she was a successful spokesperson for major cosmetic brands and a TV makeover guru, who concentrated on making others appear beautiful, she was damaging her own beauty and health. At age 26, when a liver problem–arising from her eating disorder–threatened her life, she began her transformation toward better health. As she searched feverishly for answers to restore her health, she was appalled at the bias against useful alternative health care approaches. She boldly explains to newcomers to alternative modalities that the true motivation of the prejudice the traditional health care industry clings to lies with its bedfellow, profitability, from patentable synthetics and pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, she recognized the inextricable link between health and beauty and strode along a pathway to her most beautiful self. In The Truth About Beauty, James shares her journey and hopes to inspire others with “the incentive and tools” to take control for a better life (p. xix). She names tool number one as the “magic motivation” and defines it with the motto, “Think Health and Beauty Will Follow” (p. 26).
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She blames not only herself but also a culture that embraces advertising images that promote the myth of perfection (p. 14). Her goal is to jump start the efforts of others to feel and look better by educating her readers to be conscious of and to insist on quality, health-supporting foods, health care products, and cosmetics instead of embracing nutrient-deficient foods and synthetic products that have been scientifically documented as detrimental. She encourages readers to think about what they feed their bodies and minds and souls and to read labels and to question and search for nutrient-dense foods and natural products that can serve their best interests rather than being duped into a white- knuckled, never-let-go “brand loyalty” that rewards companies for over advertising and fancy packaging rather than the merits of the foods and products themselves. Rather than creating a feeling of deprivation with new choices, she invites readers to recognize the modifications as upgrades for a better life.

If brand loyalty is important to you, then this book is not for you; but if you already have begun to explore to find health-giving natural foods and natural products, then this book will enhance your efforts. James would be the first to suggest, however, that you not follow her lead blindfolded. Instead, always continue to read and study and question to find what works best for you. Even some of the companies that she recommends as having natural cosmetics may fall short of your own goals when you read the ingredients listed. So make your own choices. James’s book includes a hefty Resources Guide, an extensive bibliography, and a useful index. Find a comfortable place to read The Truth About Beauty, because Kat James will enchant and engage your interest to such a degree that you will not be able to put down the book easily. James’s book is a must read if you care about yourself and your loved ones.

Amongst the rows of product filling the show floor of the San Diego Convention Center, several themes emerged, offering a window into beauty and personal care trends building momentum heading into 2004.

Tough times “have consumers on the hunt for value. Several beauty manufacturers have responded by introducing multiple-use products or by grouping several color shades on one palette. Others have taken to grouping several products together in gift sets or cosmetics cases.

While value might be top of mind, consumers are not willing to sacrifice quality for quantity, which is why many beauty marketers have taken packaging cues from department store brands, such as Stila, Nars and Mac. For example, lip glosses–a segment that continues to gain steam as a hot item in the color cosmetics category–were packaged in multi-shade palettes, shower-head sponge applicators and twist-and-brush-on stylus instruments.

Several beauty companies have updated and upscaled their lines, banking on the selling power of masstige products in the drug store channel. In their view, refreshed packaging and updated shade collections will grab the attention of shoppers who frequent department store beauty counters.

Several ethnic beauty companies, eyeing the potential to reach more consumers, have introduced products that cast a wider net. In some cases, updated colors and sheerer formulations have been added to the mix, allowing women of various ethnic backgrounds, namely Asian and Hispanic, to find relevant products and shades within cosmetics lines that traditionally have targeted African-American women.

Posner, which throughout its 50-year history has catered to African-American women, has updated to a more universal color range and has plans to broaden its marketing approach to speak to women of various ethnic backgrounds and ages.

At the same time, large general market beauty companies continue to drum up ways to be more relevant to ethnic women.

Following her presentation of the Essence WOW Report on African-American women, Veronica Wilson, advertising account executive for Essence magazine, named L’Oreal one such beauty company that effectively reaches out beyond the general market to identify and acknowledge various ethnic groups, particularly through advertising.

Revlon also is working to reach a broader spectrum of women, as seen in glitzy, national advertising campaigns featuring actresses Halle Berry and Eva Mendes, who is of Cuban descent.

While the economy has heightened consumers’ awareness and sensitivity of value, the influence of cultures and ethnicities throughout the world is laying the framework for more long-term trends, namely beauty products with global appeal.

New and noteworthy

The ability to stand out among the thousands of products housed within the cosmetics and fragrance hall at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Marketplace show is a kind of litmus test to see if a new introduction can hold its own on the shelf.

Combing through each booth in search of standout innovations can be exhausting, but by the end of the three-day Marketplace conference, a slew of products in several key personal care categories had generated substantial buzz.

Skin care continues to churn out new technologies and new ingredient introductions. That said, Canus has been churning out a line of skin care products based on the naturally moisturizing properties of goat’s milk and has since expanded the line to cater to the, younger set with the recent launch of Li’l Goat’s Milk.

While it has yet to release all the details, the Andrew Jergens’ brand Biore has plans to reinforce its pore-perfect positioning with a new introduction that hinges on Food and Drug Administration approval.

On the cosmetics front, Elizabeth Arden will bring its Elizabeth Taylor brand from the fragrance counter to the beauty aisle with the launch of the Elizabeth Taylor Color Collection, designed to appeal to both the White Diamonds and the Forever Elizabeth fragrance user.

Ethnic beauty marketer Posner Cosmetics, which has extended its focus from African-American women to other women of color, updated product formulations, packaging and shade collections for the launch of its new masstige makeup line dubbed Luxe Looks.

Caboodles Cosmetics continues to crank out fun, trendy cosmetics that cater to the ‘tween and teen crowds. Plans for 2004 include sparkling lip glosses and lip jellies and makeup palettes, namely Wink for eyes and Pout for lips.

Teen People Trend-spotters singled out Lotta Luv’s Candy Corner Cosmetics collection as the most buzzworthy product at Marketplace. Another cosmetics manufacturer getting mileage out of candy licenses is Added Extras, whose brand portfolio includes Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike and Nerds, among others.

By filling its aisles with new personal care products featuring the latest ingredients, innovative delivery systems and, most important, valid benefit claims, chain drug stores spent the year communicating to their shoppers that they can find suitable mass alternatives that rival pricier department store and salon brands.

Regardless of category, the overwhelming emphasis in personal care centered on the idea that looking good is inextricably tied to feeling good.

As a consumer group, baby boomers delivered the message to manufacturers, marketers and retailers that they would pay premium drug store prices for products across all personal care categories that promote health and youthfulness.

New prestige-quality ingredients and improved product efficacy attracted the attention of more than just boomers. Twenty- and 30-somethings, taking a protectionist approach to their youth, also gravitated toward products featuring benefit claims such as firming, toning, rejuvenating and–the biggest buzzword of them all–anti-age. Olay hitting all of the above trends continued to extend its Total Effects line of anti-age treatments, with Total Effects Night Firming Cream.

Consumers, regardless of age or gender, sought out personal care products in their local drug stores that delivered more than a single promise. With staying young longer top of mind, both men and women have adopted a total body approach to delaying the signs of aging.

Men, taking cues from the expansive beauty routines of their female counterparts, continued to steadily expanded their grooming regimens well beyond razors and after-shave lotion. Their newfound interest in skin health paved the way for the successful launches of men’s grooming lines from the likes of Nivea and Neutrogena. Procter & Gamble re-energized Old Spice by shedding the “older men’s after-shave” image and repositioning the brand to a p peal to young men, who unabashedly embrace a stepped-up grooming regimen. Several personal care companies that traditionally cater to women edged their way into the category by placing one or two men-targeted products under their brand umbrella, such as Nair Hair Removal For Men and Clairol Men’s Choice hair color.

Like players in the men’s grooming arena, ethnic hair care manufacturers also lobbied for more space as they extended their brands well beyond chemical relaxers, deepening their lines with a range of styling products that maintain hair health.

Stellar growth in the styling segment has attracted general market brands, such as John Frieda and Pantene Pro-V, to the ethnic space.

Several ethnic hair care brands, namely ProLine’s TCB, Taking Care of Beauty and Soft Sheen-Carson added excitement to the ethnic set by revamping their packaging and logos in 2002. Throughout last year, Soft Sheen-Carson made a priority of developing a destination center for the African-American consumer. The company’s initiative, which has spilled over into 2003, re-en-forces its belief in maintaining a visible and compelling planogram for ethnic hair and skin care products–one that includes all relevant mass market ethnic brands in the category, not just items in the Soft Sheen-Carson product catalog.

Retailers’ shift in gears from a one-size-fits-all merchandising and marketing effort to a store-by-store approach ultimately will help both chain drug stores and their suppliers better cater to the nation’s demographic mixes.

Several drug stores spent the better part of 2002 experimenting with new data-driven inventory management systems. But even with all the advancements in POS data, as retailers and manufacturers have found, consumers heading to the ethnic set are becoming more difficult to pigeonhole.

“Many consumers have hair care needs that are not race based,” said Roslyn Chapman, founder of The Chapman Edge, a Chicago-based consulting firm specializing in ethnic marketing. The “changing complexion of America,” as Chapman referred to it, may require retailers to re-evaluate how they describe and label the ethnic department. She suggested retailers can entice the multicultural consumer in with signage that reads, “special needs section” and, in the future, to organize products by hair need, such as curly, relaxed or dry.

While consumer interest in holistic health certainly drove trends across personal care categories beyond men’s grooming and ethnic hair care, it did not dampen their interest in looking good. Consumers continued to seek out wallet-friendly alternatives to pricey whitening treatments, once only available at their dentist’s office.

A slew of at-home whiteners with brand new delivery systems joined Crest Whitestrips and Colgate’s Simply White in the oral care aisle. Whitening and fresh breath claims continued to fuel sales of tooth-pastes and portable oral care products, as well.

Consumer press touting the latest cosmetic treatments encouraged consumers to look for affordable alternatives in the skin care aisles of their local drug stores. Advancements in technology and the introduction of new ingredients helped to position drug stores as a destination for healthy skin care. What’s more, the sluggish economy did its part to woo new consumers to drug store aisles in search of affordable personal care items. Continued efforts to educate consumers on the channel’s ability to deliver solutions to all of one’s personal care needs will help keep them there when the economy rebounds