Self Workout in the Park this Saturday

Looking forward to Self Workout in the Park being held this Saturday
in Chicago's Grant Park. Have gone to this event for a number of
years. Love the workouts, free beauty and food samples, and makeovers.
Maria Menounos of "Access Hollywood" will share fitness tips. The cost
is $20.95. More info at http://www.selfworkoutinthepark.com/

Starbucks Frappuccino My Way

This week Starbucks launched its however-you-want-it program to allow customers to customize their Frappuccinos. The old Frappuccinos used a dairy base so vegans (or others like myself who are avoiding dairy) could not partake. Now you can get one made with soymilk for an extra charge or add extra coffee. Yeay! I had a caramel soy Frappuccino no whip earlier in the week - yummy! Am ready for another one today.

Lecture at Housewares Show

At the March Housewares Show at Chicago's McCormick Place, Karen Kranz of Starpoint Consulting Group gave a presentation on "How to Make Your Store a Destination: Insights from Home Shopping Channels". Accessibility, authenticity, affordability, and community were some key
points she mentioned. TV channels HSN and QVC offer authenticity by having company founders,
makeup artists, celebrity chefs, and product inventors such as Bobbi
Brown, Mally Roncal, Nate Berkus, Colin Cowie, Emeril Lagasse, and
Wolfgang Puck appear on the shows.

Andrea Robinson Cooking

Here's a photo of chef and sommelier Andrea Robinson from March Macy's
State Street culinary demo where she paired wines with two dishes
including edamame pesto and chocolate ganache made with tofu.

Got Quoted in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution‏

I got quoted in last week's Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about Astral Brands (Aloette, CosMedix, Pur Minerals) and its goal to expand sales by using television.

"Virginia Lee, a senior analyst with Euromonitor International who covers the skin care and cosmetics industry, said that having a product on TV heightens consumers’ interest." “Companies have said that following their brands’ appearance on TV, they actually get more customers in the stores,” she said. “I would say that whereas 10 years ago, having your beauty brand on TV was kind of embarrassing, it’s no longer that way."

Instead, many prestige beauty brands including Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Lancome, and NV Perricone have embraced TV shopping (Home Shopping Network and QVC).

Article at: http://www.ajc.com/business/atlantas-astral-brands-seeks-495414.html

US Beauty Videocast

I spoke about the recession's impact on the US beauty market on this videocast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBYG1C3U50c

More Photos from Estee Lauder's Your Beauty Your Style Your Profile

This woman had also received a makeover at the Estee Lauder counter and was kind enough to let me take a photo of her in front of the photo booth. Doesn't she look great?