Mass Market Holiday Beauty Promotions

Hang on! The beauty promotions for the holidays are starting, and this year they will extend to mass market retailers. Determined to cut into department stores' holiday sales, drugstores and other mass merchants will be offering gifts with purchase and value sets. Some already are, but the full-court press will start the day after Thanksgiving (called Black Friday in the U.S.).

WWD provided a summary of the mass market foray into the holiday market. I couldn't resist adding my own comments to the news.

Beauty 360, an upscale boutique connected to select CVS Pharmacy locations, has a host of gift-with-purchase promotions planned. Shoppers who spend $25 on any Bloom cosmetics product will receive a Make Up Essentials Bag, a $29.95 value. Those who buy $30 worth of Warren Tricomi hair care products will receive a Blow Dry Lotion, a $15 value. A purchase of any Cargo cosmetics item will be rewarded with a choice of a free Boogie Nights Silver Eye Pencil or a Shimmer Pen, a $25 value. The beauty boutique will also be giving away a $25 Beauty 360 gift certificate with any purchase of $100 or more through January 31. Holiday-themed open houses are planned in every Beauty 360 store on November 26th and each Thursday in December, from 2:00 pm. to 7:00 pm.

Inside the traditional CVS beauty departments, the retailer has special offers, but they aren't nearly as exciting. CVS will offer proprietary sets, including the Essence of Beauty All Occasion Tote, complete with a matching cosmetics bag, mini-sized hand cream, and body mist for $14.99, a so-called $75 value, as well as the Essence of Beauty Luxury Slipper Set, which includes a foot scrub and lotion for $9.99, a $14 value. I think this shows that the focus of CVS has slipped away from the prestige brands, such as Vichy, that it had started to promote at select stores, to the lower end of the scale.

CVS did collaborate with brands to create promotional items that are slightly more interesting than its in-house label. A sampling of what will be offered includes the Wet 'n Wild Festive Flirt Nail Kit, which has eight nail colors and a nail file for $4.99, a $17 value; the Burt’s Bees Tin Ornament with Beeswax Lip Balms for $9.99, a $15 value; and $19.99 fragrance sampler boxes available in classics for her, celebrity for her, and celebrity for him, with a $20 coupon for a full scent inside. I'm unimpressed with the fragrances. I don't think they are a good fit with middle-class neighborhoods like mine, where residents have money to spend on non-essential holiday gifts. Duane Reade, Walgreens, Rite Aid, ShopRite, and Target all have similar promotions planned. I've got my eye on this Dripping in Diamonds brush set from Sonia Kashuk for Target.
Online retailers are getting in on the act too. One of my favorites, Beauty.com, will be offering an assortment of Laura Geller cosmetics gift sets for up to 75% off. Beauty.com is also working with beauty brands to create value sets for the holidays, including Stila's Color Wheel Eye Shadow Palette for $38. Beauty.com has already had to reorder this popular Stila set.

Right now, there is a special offer at Beauty.com. Get a free Lolita makeup bag filled with 13 beauty samples with any $100 purchase.

Beauty.com (and its sister Drugstore.com) will be offering free shipping on all non-prescription orders of $25 or more through December 20. Beauty.com also launched its first-ever printed gift guide, which will offer free shipping on any item featured within its pages. The guide will be tucked into shipping boxes.

According to the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch, up to 138 million people plan to shop Black Friday weekend (Friday through Sunday), up from the 134 million people who planned to do so last year. Non-mall retailers want a piece of that action. There will be some good deals out there. Shop early!

Photo and information courtesy of WWD

Reed Krakoff to Launch First Fragrance

WWD reported last week that Reed Krakoff, president and creative director of Coach, will launch his first fragrance. Like the other products bearing his name, Reed Krakoff is infusing his new fragrance with a modernist style and upscale positioning - we're talking seriously upscale.

“Doing fragrance was one of my first priorities in creating my own brand - I see it as a touchstone,” said Krakoff, whose Reed Krakoff Collection is sold in his freestanding boutiques; Saks Fifth Avenue; a selection of upscale boutiques in Paris, Japan, and Milan; and his own Web site.

The Reed Krakoff Collection was first shown at New York Fashion Week last February, and it launched in September. It includes ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, jewelry, small leather goods, sunglasses, watches, and accessories - a designer grab bag.

Krakoff’s goal with his limited-edition fragrance is to create a “beautiful, quality, artisan-inspired product. His attention to detail is evident in the bottles for the fragrance, which are handcrafted by the Seguso family in Murano, Italy. The house has produced high-quality glass since the 12^th century. The bottles are rendered in four colors: gray, nude, silver fleck, and clear - using the sommerso technique, which involves creating a bottle within a bottle. The inner bottle is shaded with the chosen color, while the outer shell is clear. It's very "Danish" looking to me - very modern.

Oddly, the bottles are sold empty, but include two refills of the fragrance. The scent, an eau de parfum, is described as opening with a blend of black pepper, bright aldehydes, and neroli extract. It has a heart of French hyacinth absolute, white peony, and violet leaf extract (I'm swooning at that), and a dry-down of vetiver heart, precious vetiver absolute, and orris concrete (giving it a unisex base). I need to get my hands on it! Unfortunately, it may be out of reach.

Only 100 of each color bottle will be produced, all four varieties containing the same fragrance. The bottles are hand-numbered, and each will retail for $695! Krakoff is aware that the limited run and high price tag of the scent will put it out of the reach of many people. However, he noted, “what a lot of women want is something that not everyone can afford. This is definitely a very high-end project. I think the phrase ‘limited edition’ is overused, but this is a true limited edition.” Really? Are we that shallow? We want what others can't afford simply because they can't afford it?

I'd like to think that a woman would spend $695 on a fragrance because it moves her to rapture - an experience no other fragrance can produce. When she wears it, she feels enveloped in a veil of well-being, happiness, attractiveness, and enlightenment. It intoxicates her like no other scent. The bottle adds to the experience - a center of attention on a spare dressing table - the most important possession on her vanity. She is self-confident and happy when she wears her fragrance, not because she is the only one within miles who can afford it, but because it's her path to zen.

This fragrance sounds divine. The notes are intriguing, and I would love to get my hands on a sample. It won't be easy. The scents will be available only at Reed Krakoff boutiques and by special request, beginning at the end of November. I wish him well and hope that his own aspirational objectives can be satisfied by those who want the only bottle on the block.

Any thoughts?

Photo and launch information courtesy of WWD - "the" subscription for anyone interested in the beauty industry