New Product: Face It

This article is written by Jennifer De Freitas of The Montreal Gazette and appears at http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/washcloth+with+heart/6178681/story.html

Women who dread their daily facial cleansing routine can now look forward to caring for their skin, thanks to Face It - a pink heartshaped face cloth designed for a woman's face and neck.

"Face It gives every girl a reason to love washing her face," said Karine Morin, 43, who launched her face cloth company Cloth in a Box in December with her business partner, Terry D'Amore, 37.

Morin and D'Amore, from Terrebonne and Montreal, respectively, are two entrepreneurial mothers with little time for facial pampering - something many women can relate to.

 

Karine Morin (left) and Terry D'Amore designed the Face It face cloth themselves in Montreal,

settling on a heart-shaped design after first considering round and square shapes.

Photograph by: JOHN KENNEY THE GAZETTE, The (Montreal) Gazette

Morin owns and manages three Le Salon Sugar hair salons with her sister, Natalie Morin. In 2011, the salons won the prestigious L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy - one of the most coveted awards in the Canadian beauty industry.


D'Amore was a production manager in the garment industry from the age of 17. She gave women manicures as a hobby and met Morin at Le Salon Sugar three years ago when she was referred to Morin as a part-time manicurist at the hair salon.

I kept asking myself, 'Why isn't there a face cloth on the market that women can call their own, which would motivate them and fulfill them in the same way their favourite choice of cleansing lotions do,' " Morin said.

This led Morin to ask friends and acquaintances what they washed their face with. "I always got that blank stare, questioning what is the right answer," she said with a laugh. That's when Morin realized she had a business opportunity.

Morin spent more than 10 years searching for the ideal face cloth in Canada, the United States and France. "I knew from the moment I heard about Terry through a colleague of mine that she didn't come to Le Salon Sugar to do nails, she came to help me turn my dream skin care product into a reality, Morin said.Together, Morin and D'Amore invested more than $100,000 in their face cloth business.

They designed the Face It face cloth themselves in Montreal, settling on a heart-shaped design after first considering round and square shapes. For the fabric they visited China, where the cloths are made, and returned to Montreal with 20 samples before creating a cloth that is 80% polyester and 20% polyamide.

Face It's heart-shaped design contours the face and its two heart-shaped pockets allow the hands to work simultaneously in circular motions. Women can dab their choice of cleansing lotion or soap on the face cloth. "It deeply cleanses the pores, gently exfoliates the skin and thoroughly removes makeup because of its tightly wove fabric," D'Amore said.

Morin explained that hands and soap fail to clean pores thoroughly; cotton pads leave unwanted lint residue, conventional terry cloths can be too abrasive and facial wipes contain lotions that may not be suitable for certain skin types.

The face cloth lasts up to 100 hand or machine washes and retails for $17 plus taxes.

Maria Larosa, 43, has been a client of Le Salon Sugar since it first opened in 2004. She had a hair appointment the day Face It face cloths hit the shelves. "Its shape and packaging sold me instantly that I bought seven of them to give as gifts during the holidays," said Larosa, who admitted to washing her face with her bare hands before using Face It. "It feels like you're giving yourself a massage," Larosa said, "And I love how the face cloth rounded edges make washing under the eyes so easy."

More than 700 Face It face cloths were sold within the first three weeks of the company's debut.

Morin and D'Amore are now in the process of getting Face It sold in beauty and cosmetic retailers. They have their heart set on Sephora, Pharmaprix and Jean Coutu.

They are also launching a face cloth for men in time for Father's Day. "The men's grooming industry is growing incredibly fast," explained Morin. "It's time they face it - like a man."

Face It can be purchased on the Cloth in a Box website or at any one of three Le Salon Sugar hair salons in Fontainebleau, Blainville and Laval.

Pomade Plays A Big Role In Timeless, Well-Groomed Style

“This season, men’s grooming goes classic,” writes blogger Mr Luxury Fashion Guru. In the recent installment Let Your Hair Up, Mr continues:

       “Cleanshaven faces and foreheads bared, with hair slicked backed and

       neatly coiffed. Volume is optional (from none at Louis Vuitton, to sculptural

       heights at Versace). These looks are timeless, and boardroom ready. This put-

       together, Clark Kent style will transition seamlessly to that chic rooftop bar after

       work as well.”

            Louis Vuitton and Versace, FW2012 (courtesy of Style.com)

To read the rest of this article and view men's style photos from Roberto Cavalli and Burberry Prorsum, Etro, go to Mr Luxury Fashion Guru Blog.

The Eyes Have It

“Gosh, I look so old.” Seemingly just a routine morning, except that I actually looked, really looked, at my eyes in the mirror. They were horrible. Frog-like puffy eyes. Where did they come from? How did I develop these awful rings under the eyes? I don't know, my eyes had never before looked like that, or at least I never noticed it. I couldn't believe how I had aged dramatically in just a few months. Some of it was due to poor nutrition, I'll admit, way too much coffee (and too many doughnuts, for quite the bloated look). And certainly not getting enough sleep regularly, contributing as did lack of exercise.

But anyway, I had to do something. And fast. So to cure puffy eyes, I headed straight to Starbucks and ordered two black teas, took them home, squeezed the excess liquid from the tea bags and refrigerated them for a short time until I had my fill from drinking the tea.

I had not used tea bags before but recalled reading about them. The theory behind tea bags on the eyes is that the caffeine in them will tighten the skin under the eyes, thereby reducing the puffiness. Sounds good in theory, so I tried laying down for 20 minutes with a tea bag on each closed eye. Well, long story short, it bombed. At the slightest movement, a tea bag would fall off. I couldn't move, I couldn't even breathe, or else plop, a bag falls. I attempted to hold the tea bags in place with my fingers but my arms quickly tired. Forget that!

I suppose I could have given cucumber slices on the eyes a shot. I see photos of women in spas always laying there with cucumber slices on their eyes (since the cucumber provides hydration), but cucumber slices probably wouldn't have fared any better for me than tea bags.

Nivea for Men Face Care Revitalizing Eye Roller Gel

Which brings us to today's FaceFacts blogpost about eye roller gel applications, a possible quick fix for puffiness and discolored eyes.

Lack of sleep, stress, aging, environmental factors, even genetics each can play a part in one's natural eye appearance. I am talking about the negative eye attributes here: puffy bags, rings under the eyes, dark circles, crow's feet and fine wrinkles in the thinner skin around the eyes. To combat these issues, cosmetics and skin care companies developed eye gels and creams, applied by using your fingertips to massage under the eyes.

Nivea, L'Oreal, Garnier, and a few others have each gone a step further by adding a small rollerball to apply the eye gel. Think roll-on deodorant but with a smaller rolling ball, so it is easy to grip and roll around and under the eye as a thin layer of the gel is secreted.

Do these eye roller gels really work? I don't know, but I am testing the Nivea for Men Face Care Revitalizing Eye Roller Gel and will show the results in an upcoming blogpost. Meanwhile, we have listed descriptions of nine popular eye roller products available for both women and men to reduce under eye puffiness, bags under the eyes, dark under eye circles, and eye wrinkles for both women and men at http://www.squidoo.com/when-rolling-your-eyes-can-be-a-good-thing.

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The Evolution of Anti-Aging

The fastest growing area of skincare and beauty products has been in anti-aging creams, wrinkle serums, and supplements. With average selling prices for anti-aging products vastly higher than for cosmetics, shaving cream, and nearly every other skin care product, revenues in this segment in the U.S. were $832 million in 2010 (the most recent data available, not incorporating anti-aging treatments, facelifts, medical procedures, etc.). Global market research firm Euromonitor International's last “Skin Care in the US” report stated that anti-aging products “are expected to show the fastest growth with 20% constant value growth over 2010-2015” while a similar report from Mintel Group forecast a 46% increase at current prices. One of the reasons for this increase is due to the evolution of anti-aging products.

Previously, cosmetics manufacturers targeted the 40-and-up age group by developing anti-aging products like eye creams and gels to eliminate wrinkles and reduce crow's feet, fine-lines around the eyes. Some consumers also sought solutions to reduce puffy eyes (eye bags), and dark circles under eyes.

Due to the age of the primary users, those products were once satisfactory, but a legion of new savvy younger customers has entered the market. The discerning buyers are already adept at maintaining healthy and bright skin, so to accommodate them, cosmetics companies have enhanced anti-aging products by making the products preventive in nature. These often contain SPF protection against UVA / UVB rays, moisturizing ingredients for hydration, vitamins and antioxidants, and peptides in protein boosting skin serums which increase collagen and provide supple skin, in addition to helping reverse the signs of aging.

Cosmetics companies are researching the addition of stem cells and hormones as ingredients. Product offerings have expanded beyond face and hands and are now being applied to the neckline as well.

[For vexxing skin issues, The American Academy of Dermatology recommends discussing with your dermatologist or doctor which skin care products are most safe and effective.]

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“Men's Grooming – US.” Mintel Sep 2010.

“Skin Care in the US.” Euromonitor International May 2011.

Lips: Lip Tips

The dead of winter is here, and it's easy to neglect lipcare. Sure, it's normal in summer to feel the sun giving you dry lips, so you naturally put on lip balm or wax chapstick, but in winter it's not so obvious. Maybe you've turned up the heat in your house, thereby making it more dry inside and lowering the humidity. You may not even realize when you're licking your lips to moisten them or peeling off a layer of chapped skin.

Rule #1 - Make sure you use a good lip balm that protects the outer lip layers against dryness, wind, and the elements while also maintaining adequate moisture for lip tissue. Simply put, do not use wax or petroleum jellies. Those products just lay on the lips and don't penetrate the lips as a moisturiser, nor are they particularly effective in healing lip sores, chapped lips and broken skin.

Rule #2 - Use a lip balm that has plenty of moisturizing properties. Lip skin is naturally dry and thin – there are only a few skin layers - so oil-based lip balms (more oil, less water) will do a better job of penetrating, moisturizing, and healing. Jojoba Oil is essential, recognized for moisturizing, being anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and absorbing quickly into the lips.  Also look for organic skincare ingredients, namely, pomegranate seed oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil, coconut oil, almond oil, avocado oil, or tea tree oil, as these essential oils each possess some of the same benefits.

Rule #3 - Don't forget the vitamins. Vitamins are great antioxidants for any lip or skin treatment, protecting against cell damage. Many lip balms already contain Vitamins A and E, but Vitamins B2, C, and D are also important to inhibit peeling and cracked lips, especially at the corners of the mouth. These vitamins are in green vegetables, eggs, cheese and dairy products and are a natural aid in fostering healthy and soft lips, so be sure to eat healthy and check the ingredients of your lip products. 

Pick Me Up In The Morning

Go into any bath and body shoppe and you'll see soaps and body washes in every fruit, flavor, and herbal essence imaginable. Well, almost imaginable. It never occurred to me that there would be a coffee-scented body wash, but I came across this coffee-mint body wash at thebestinmensgrooming blog:

Wash With Joe Coffeemint Invigorating BodyWash

          "Wash With Joe is a coffee & mint scented body wash. Now, I understand
          that some of you will be thinking, Coffee? Yes, Coffee. Wash With Joe is
          the most invigorating wash around. The mint within the wash is triple distilled
          peppermint and is, well, sharp shall we say.

          If you struggle, like me, to get yourself feeling awake in the morning then
          Wash With Joe will quickly become your wingman. It’s uplifting, energising
          and the coffee within it acts as a natural deodoriser. If you suffer from body
          odour issues, then Wash With Joe will definitely help to combat this. It comes
          a large bottle, almost half a litre, so it lasts forever."

Okay, I am skeptical of the 'coffee combatting body odor' bit, so I went to the Wash With Joe website where I read this in the description:

         

          "A richly foaming body wash, this re-charging formulation leaves you superbly
          refreshed and clean. Coffee is a natural deodorizer that absorbs odors, which
          makes this an effective body wash for people with active lifestyles."

While I drink coffee religiously – thank you, God – I don't want to smell the scent of coffee on me or anyone else in the shower; however, I am curious if the mint balances or even overpowers the coffee scent. Seems intriguing enough to jump up and grab a bottle to review myself.

Skincare in the Nick of Time

INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED KYOKU CORP. LAUNCHES FALDO PRO-CARE

Kyoku Corporation, the internationally renowned cosmetic and skincare company has announced it will launch a product line inspired by the golfer and sportsman, Sir Nick Faldo.

Sir Nick Faldo

Faldo ProCare, a range of personal care products developed in collaboration with the three-time Masters champion, will be available to consumers beginning in February 2012.

The Faldo ProCare range, which is built around products that fight UV damage, will include an SPF sunscreen, SPF lip balm, repairing hand cream, anti-fungal foot spray, insect repellant and muscle pain relief cream, all designed with golfers and sportsmen in mind. The products will be available in a full-collection all-in-one carrying case bearing the Faldo name, which easily clips to a golf or equipment bag.

“Sir Nick Faldo is a global icon in sports and is recognized as a pioneer among golfers in focusing on health, fitness and skin care,” said Livio Bisterzo, Chief Operating Officer of Kyoku. “We have built this line specifically with Nick Faldo in mind. As a broadcaster, businessman, sportsman and champion, Sir Nick models the skin care needs for men in life and sports.”

“After using Kyoku for Men’s products, I was interested in the possibility of creating a line which would make skin care and sun protection easy,” said Faldo. “This range and all-in-one packaging makes sense for sportsman and others. It’s all there to protect you from a day in and out of the sun.”

--Adapted from a Kyoku press release