Beauty Industry – Adamant About Beauty

Taking my own advice

October 16, 2019October 17, 2019BeautyLeave a Comment

On Saturday, I turn 42. And today, I received perhaps the best birthday gift ever: Sarah Akram herself told me I looked 30. “Good genes and good skin care,” I responded. When I then confessed that I didn’t remember when my last facial was, however, she did remind me that these facial treatments are a necessity to stay youthful-looking and that Botox does not replace the need for facials (Amen, sister. I preach this every day…).

Much like the cobbler’s daughter, while I work in the world of facials and skin care products, I do not take my own advice frequently enough. While the last time I had Botox was in June and the last time I used our Advanced retinol serum was this past Monday evening, I truly cannot recall when the last time I had a facial was.

With my birthday looming, I decided it was time to complement great home care with a really good facial. On the recommendation of a friend of mine who has particularly glowing skin (and I realize now somewhat naively) I called Sarah Akram Skincare to schedule a facial with the eponymous founder for mid-November. While I I thought this was lots of advance notice, I was gently told the next availability was January 30, 2020. “Not meant to be,” I thought, while putting my name on the wait list. Yesterday, the lovely Nyles called me back to let me know of a last-minute cancellation for this morning – so I rearranged my meetings, all the while thinking “totally meant to be, this is my early birthday gift to myself.”

Extravagant, yes. Worth every penny, absolutely. Akram is everything I love in a facial therapist: gorgeous with flawless skin, super knowledgeable about her craft, serious, friendly but not too talkative – and has magical hands. This treatment was 90 minutes of a beautifully balanced combination of technology (LED, microdermabrasion, cryo, something warm I forgot to ask about) and touch (the facial begins and ends with amazing massage). Akram uses products from Environ and Biologique Recherche, two brands I admire yet had never experienced firsthand (I did of course bring her some Alchimie to try).

I left with glowing, bright, plumped, rejuvenated skin (this photo is immediately post treatment, zero makeup) – ready to enjoy my last three days as a 41-year old and looking forward to 42 – and to my next facial at Sarah Akram Skincare, scheduled for February 2020.

Traveling in beauty

October 2, 2019October 2, 2019TravelLeave a Comment

I travel. A lot. I crisscross the country every which way for work and I love it. I often am on four to five flights each week and I often change time zones and climates two to three times each week. And I still get compliments on my skin. Here are my best beauty travel tips.

I pack so many beauty products that I always have to check my bag. So if you are adamantly opposed to that, just stop reading right now.
I think of skin care like I do about clothes – in terms of changing climates: it’s all about layering. T-shirts + jackets = serums + moisturizers. I add and layer as need be and am equally prepared for Puerto Rico and Seattle weather.
Airplane air is drying, so many of those products are aimed at maintaining moisture – oils and heavier moisturizers that I would not necessarily use daily during a week in the office. Our Gentle cream cleanser. Our Kantic+® Intensely nourishing cream. My current favorite facial oil. Lots of serums.
Also because airplane air is drying, I always have a travel size of our Kantic® Brightening moisture mask in my purse and I apply some on any flight longer than 2.5 hours. (This also prevents me smelling like airplane all the time, which is a most lovely benefit).
Because of my line of work, I get a lot of samples and gifts of beauty products. I use travel as a way to test them. This morning, as part of my multi-step facial routine, I tried a sample of the new Elizabeth Arden vitamin C capsules (received as a gift on the road in Puerto Rico last week). I also take full-size gifts on the road (hence checked suitcase) and leave them in the hotel bathroom if I don’t fall in love with them and imagine that a lovely hotel attendant will find them and fall in love.
I have an amazing walk-in shower at home, but no bathtub. So hotel rooms with bathtubs are like a treasure. I pack bath oils (I love any Clarins body oil in my bath), bath salts (Kneipp and Aveda, always lavender, are my favorites), and take baths.
These baths are the perfect excuse for a mini facial “at home,” aka Gentle refining scrub and Kantic® Brightening moisture mask. Proper exfoliation is always important, but I feel it is particularly key on the road to keep my skin bright and glowing.
Because I am on the road so much, I maintain the same body care routine on the road as I do at home. Firming gel for neck and bust. Optimizing body contour gel. Soothing body lotion. (Are you starting to see the need to check my suitcase…?).
Flights are terrible for swelling in the lower extremities. So a leg and foot massage with our Dry skin balm is a must every day I fly.
One thing I do not travel with is my hairdryer, and hotel room hair dryers are not always amazing. A DryBar appointment on the road helps me look my best for important meetings.
And finally, every morning, a tall glass of water with EmergenC (Super Orange), and a shot (to drink not to inject) of Vitamin B12.

May your travels be safe – and beautiful!

“Love is the precursor to contribution” and other wisdom from Marcus Buckingham

September 18, 2019Industry newsLeave a Comment

Last week I had the privilege of attending the annual International Spa Association (ISPA) conference at The Venetian in Las Vegas. There were many highlights, including reconnecting with spa friends, listening to Susan Cain speak about introverts, dinner at Morel’s, and more. Yet what I can’t stop thinking about is the presentation Marcus Buckingham gave on the topic of his latest book, Nine Lies About Work.

Here are the nine workplace misconceptions (aka lies):

People care which company they work for (they care which company they join).
The best (strategic) plan wins (forget about them, yet planning is a great activity to engage in)
The best companies cascade goals (yet alignment is a good thing)
The best people are well-rounded
People need feedback
People can reliably rate other people
People have potential (everyone can get better)
Work / life balance matters most (balance is stasis and we don’t want stasis)
Leadership is a “thing” (there is no such thing as leadership, if you look at great leaders, they are all different)

I am still wrapping my head around these misconceptions and can’t wait to dig deeper with Buckingham’s book. I also jotted down a few other amazing one-liners from his presentation:

Average is homogeneous; excellence looks weird quickly
Define a job by the outcome not the method
Your strengths are your key areas of development (your weaknesses are not)
Your future greatness is based on your current goodness
Strength replays (stop saying “stop that” but “keep doing that,” not to celebrate but to interrogate)
Good job is not the end of the sentence; good job is the start of a sentence (a sentence that includes these questions) what were you thinking? what was going on? what worked?)
Love is the precursor to contribution
Burnout is the absence of love
Don’t do what you love but find love in what you do – a little love goes a long way to fight against the feeling of burnout

Thank you Marcus Buckingham, and thank you ISPA!

Dr. Polla (aka Dad’s) top skin care tips

September 4, 2019July 23, 2020Alchimie Forever, BeautyLeave a Comment

Earlier this Summer, I had the chance to share my Dad’s (aka Dr. Luigi L. Polla, Switzerland’s leading dermatologist) favorite tips about how to age gracefully with consumers and influencers across the country. For those of you whom I did not have the chance to preach in person, I would like to preach in writing… thank you for humoring me.

Here are my Dad’s top dos and don’ts to age more gracefully:

No smoking. Ever. It increases the presence of free radicals in your skin, accelerates aging, gives your skin a leather look, and creates terrible upper lip wrinkles.
No straws. Just don’t do it. These are bad for the environment and bad for your upper lip wrinkles.
Sleep on your back. And yes, you can teach yourself to do it. Even if you sleep half the night on your back, your face and décolleté wrinkles will thank you. (My Dad can always tell how a woman sleeps by looking at her facial wrinkles… deeper on the side you sleep on).
SPF daily. From January 1^st to December 31^st. When it rains, When it snows. Every. Single. Day. No excuses, no exceptions.
Don’t go to a tanning salon. Ever.
If you’re old enough to drink, you’re old enough for a good anti-aging eye cream. Prevention is key, and the skin around the eyes is so thin it needs more help and earlier help than the rest of our face.
Your face ends on your décolleté. Treat your neck and bust as you do your face, with effective anti-aging products and SPF every day. Nothing is worse than your face saying “I am 37” and your décolleté saying “I am 44.”
Wear less “skin” makeup (ie foundation, powder, concealer, etc.). Take care of your skin and let your natural beauty show through.
Leave your pimples alone. Don’t ever pick at them, don’t do your own extractions. All that will accomplish is scarring.
Drink water. Your skin is as much a reflection of what you put on it as what you put in your body.
Exercise. It’s great for your body, but also great for your skin.
Choose to be happy. It shows on your skin.

Thanks Dad for everything you have taught me. About life, about love, and about skin. What tips would you add to these? I can’t wait to hear!

Get Out of Your Own Way – and Get Healthier Now

January 23, 2019Beauty1 Comment

I just returned from Serious Business, the leading conference organized by Neill Corporation, and the brainchild of Debra Neill Baker and Carol Augusto. This year’s theme was “Get out of your own way,” a powerful reminder that despite our best intentions, we are sometimes our own worst enemies…

One of the keynote speakers was Ben Greenfield, who spoke about habits to enhance health and longevity, as reported in the book Blue Zones. This resonated with me particularly strongly as I recently read the book Ikigai, which touches on the same theme, and am in already struggling to keep some of my New Year’s resolutions.

The list of healthy habits below may not be new information, but I know I get in my own way, and needed the reminder. Here are Ben Greenfield’s healthful recommendations for cleaner, better, longer living.

Don’t smoke. (If not for longer living, do this for better skin)
Avoid sugar and vegetable oil.
Eat dark colored fruits and vegetables, like purple cabbage and blueberries. (And put them on your skin too!)
Eat legumes.
Implement 12-16 hours of intermittent fasting in your routine, to help your body “clean up the trash.” That may mean giving up breakfast…
Go to the gym, yes. But beyond that, incorporate low impact movement every day. (Walking or gardening come to mind)
Ensure you have a strong sense of community. (When is the last time you called your best friend?)
Possess a strong life purpose, what the Japanese call “ikigai”.
Ruthlessly eliminate the sense of hurry to minimize stress.
Engage in a spiritual discipline, religion, or the belief in a higher power.
Remain reproductively useful. (Yes, he did tell the audience to have more sex)
Drink a little every day, mostly wine, preferably red.

The Email Newsletters That Make Me Smarter

September 7, 2018September 8, 2018My life3 Comments

I spend time daily unsubscribing from email newsletters. I also spend time daily (or weekly) relishing email newsletters. Here are the ones that keep me thinking, questioning, learning.

WWD

This is the classis source of news for anyone in beauty or fashion. I enjoy the fashion aspect, but my favorite articles are not surprisingly the beauty pieces by Jenny Fine, Ellen Thomas, and Allison Collins. Also, the print issue of Beauty Inc. is a treasure. And yes, I pay for this content.

Business of Fashion

Imran Amed is a genius. He is on my list of five people I would like to have dinner with. I love everything about the Business of Fashion – the daily emails, the podcasts, the print issues (more treasures), and BOF Professional. And yes, I also pay for that content. The articles by Sarah Brown are just by themselves worth the price.

Retail Dive

I love this daily email because it keeps me updated with overall retail trends – not just beauty. It helps me learn from outside my industry – and influences the stores I visit during my travels to get a feel for the current reality of retail.

Beyond the articles, I love the ‘What We’re Reading” section of every email.

Racked

I love the blend of business and beauty, and Racked does it best. This article on Amazon beauty is an example of why I stay subscribed to their newsletters.

BeautyMatter

Kelly Kovack is my friend, so I am biased. But she does have one of the most beautiful brains in the beauty industry. So, when she started BeautyMatter a couple of years ago, I subscribed from Day 1 and have not missed a day. I love her quarterly beauty M&A recaps, her white papers, and the daily beauty news. Smart, short, on point.

Harvard Management Tip of the Day

I look forward to this email every single day. This is the daily email I forward the most. To my sisters, to my team, to my friends. The tips range from management advice (for example how to delegate), the importance of vacation time, and my all-time favorite, the need to put a “meeting-free day” on your calendar every week. That is top on my goal list!

Marc Ross

Brigadoon is Marc Ross’ brain-child. The best annual conference I have ever attended. He keeps me thinking beyond my “comfort and industry bubble” in between these conferences with his daily emails (Marc Ross Daily), but what I get the most out of are the Brigadoon Weekly emails. The Ross Rant is particularly delicious. Also, his reading lists are inspiring.

Shane Parrish

Weekly brain food. Literally, that is what he calls his Friday emails. I came across him because of a podcast I listened to from The Knowledge Project – an interview with Naval Ravikant. This is possibly my favorite podcast of all times, I have actually already listened to it twice. Shane’s weekly emails include articles, a note on the book he is currently reading, and a quote he is thinking about.

Scott Galloway

I must admit, I only like about one third of his No Mercy / No Malice emails, but I can’t bring myself to unsubscribe because when I like them, I love them. If you don’t know him, he is a Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business, and founder of the digital intelligence firm L2 (I also get their emails, but those feel more like homework). Try it.

Thomas Oppong, curator of Postanly

I can’t recall how I found Thomas – but I look forward to his Friday emails every week. I don’t always find the inspiration I crave, but when I do, it is quite amazing. This is one of my favorite articles shared.

I stopped watching the news a long time ago. My husband fills me in on the things I must know, I listen to NPR while driving, and I get The Skimm every day. A girlfriend of mine told me it makes her feel dumb when she reads it – like they are not taking their readers seriously. I have been thinking about this a lot, but I have not unsubscribed yet (also I love their Instagram account).

What I just subscribed to: The Cut. I just couldn’t resist, after the whole “Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t know about The Cut” saga. Also, I love Jane Larkworthy’s articles.

What I am thinking of subscribing to: Glossy. There is now a paid version, which I have committed to signing up for by the end of this month. I love their podcasts, and Jill Manoff, Editor-in-Chief of Glossy who is both smart and sassy.

What I am still trying to figure out: Beauty Independent. I get these emails daily. I enjoy them. I am still trying to understand the background, what the connection to IBE means, the agenda.

What I recently unsubscribed myself from: Tim Ferriss (I just can’t), Total Retail (Retail Dive is so much better).

What are your must-read email newsletters? What am I missing?