Jean Godfrey-June: Free Gift with Purchase: My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup
Whoa! Did this book intrique me. I certainly would never plan an "acne breakfast" for a client as Jean Godrey-June describes in this book, but the notion really makes me want to do a reality check everytime a press release goes out our doors. Thanks Jean! (*****)
Napkins with a Twist: Fabulous Folds with Flair for Every Occasion
Event Planning is about working out thousands of details in a creative way. Here we have a look at clever ways to fold napkins... a very great resource for coming up with new ideas. (****)
Caroline Cox: The Handbag: An Illustrated History
This is a really lovely, well written and illustrated book about the purses through history. It's a great gift book for any fashionista. (*****)
Chandler Burr: The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York
The tale of the creation of 2 fragrances: Un Jardin sur de Nil from Hermes; and Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely from Coty. Written by Chandler Burr, the scent critic for T: The New York Times Style Magazine. (*****)
Dana Thomas: Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster
A really well researched and informative look at the luxury fashion and cosmetics business. Gives great forward looking analysis of marketing trends. (*****)
We're excited that so many bloggers and editors are finding out about our client Lavilin's revolutionary deodorant.
Made with Calendula, Arnica, and Chamomile, Lavilin kills odor causing bacteria.
Jennifer, author of Beauty in Real Life, gave Lavilin a try most recently. She was skeptical at first, but once again the results are very positive!
Stay fresh and odor free all summer - win one of 5 sets of our client Lavilin's all natural underarm and foot deodorant just by entering a comment on SteepingBeauty Blog.
Winners will be chosen at random next week so hop on over and put in your two cents!
Steeping Beauty, one of the leading beauty bloggers, tried our client Lavilin's all natural underarm cream last week - and loved it!
SB is quick to point out the many wonders of Lavilin, which include the total absence of alcohol, aluminum, parabens, phthalates, or other chemicals.
She also recommends Lavilin for travel, which is exactly what we think.
Be sure to visit Steeping Beauty for more tips on cutting edge beauty products.
Our client Lavilin has been getting rave reviews from some very important bloggers.
Daily Dose of Coffee did an extensive test of this mighty little product and the review was enthusiastic.
Meredith at DDOC gave Lavilin a very rigorous try out and was amazed when she loved it.
The MyStyle road testers loved the product as well - they gave it to 3 of their staffers and the results were very detailed and positive. Read the review here.
And the Ladies Lotto pointed out that Lavilin is an aluminum and alcohol free alternative to other products. They go on to describe the product and it's ingredients. Be sure to visit them here.
If you have a shoe collection anything like Carrie Bradshaw's it may take some time to pick out the perfect pair every day.
One thing however that never goes with Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik or Christian Louboutin is foot odor.
So we were really thrilled when RunningWithHeels.com did an article about keeping feet fresh and fine, naturally.
As they write:
The cause of annoying odor is 
bacteria. Our feet are covered with sweat glands and when they’re cooped up inside shoes all day, those glands go to work. Dark and damp conditions inside our shoes are where bacteria and fungi like to make home sweet home, but surprisingly it’s not their presence that causes the odor. Yes, it gets grosser. The bacteria consume both the sweat and dead skin cells from our feet, and it’s their waste product that actually starts to smell.
RWH then goes on to recommend several eco friendly products/methods to help the situation. Baking Soda, Tea Tree Oil, and our client Lavilin's Foot Deodorant were among these.
ShoeBlogger, another fabulous site, picked up the story as well and added their own spin. Lavilin still made the cut, with a link to some user reviews from amazon.com. Lavilin sells for $16 for about .5 oz.
In the beauty world one of the best parts of summer are the uplifting fragrances that get us thinking of warm breezes and white flowing skirts.
Scents with descriptions that make one feel as though they'll be transported to a tropical paradise with one spritz, such as with Michael Kors new Island Fiji (a full-blossom floral resplendent with sensuality amidst a sea of pristine Polynesian waters) can absolutely make you giddy.
We've listed a few of our favorites below - included in the collection are (1) Vera Wang's limited edition Princess; (2) Laura Mercier's Neroli; (3) Lavanila's Vanilla Coconut; (4) Incanto Heaven by Salvatore Ferragamo; and (5) Lucy B's Pink Fragapani. Naturally we stand by Chanel #5 - the classic, shown left.
The theme with each of these is tropical, and vacation minded. We'd like to point out that nothing clashes with the perfect blend of grapefruit and vanilla more than the extraneous scent of deodorant or scented body lotion. To that end we recommend our client Lavilin's all natural deodorant which is made with Calendula, Chamomile, and Arnica to provide an ultra gentle yet effective protection. It'll bring out the best of your favorite fragrance by smelling like nothing at all.
Hilarious, tongue-in-cheek, but really not that far from reality. Check out how one of Petunia Pickle Bottom's Idealistic Istanbul Shoulder Bags finds a home.
A shoe fetish in the summer time calls for amazing looking feet!
There is just no way those Jimmy Choos will work with dry heels, and un-groomed toes.
Our client Beauty Feet offers one of the best home care products for keeping feet in “sandal-ously” sexy condition.
Beauty Feet is a remarkable new product just rolling out in the United States.
It's made from all natural 
things.
These include Pinus Sylvestris (Pine) leaf (when was the last time you looked at a Pine tree and saw a beauty treatment?)
The reality is that Pine extract is an amazing skin balancing ingredient that really works wonders.
Vitamins A & E help stimulate cell rejuvenation, while Aloe Vera and Hyaluronic Acid add moisture and softness.
Heres a wonderful, easy pedicure for home:
Take half cup of regular sugar, blend it with ¼ cup lemon juice, and a tablespoon olive oil. Soak feet for a few minutes in warm water to soften, then use the sugar mixture to exfoliate and invigorate skin.
Then smooth on Beauty Feet and cover with clean cotton booties. For an extra fabulous treat, slip into a pair of heated lavender spa booties, and relax.
The results will be legion! And you'll be ready for even the skimpiest sandals.
Beauty Feet is available in a Moisturizing Gel - $16 for 100 cc; and a more intensive Beauty Feet Roll On - $16 for 80 cc's.
Be sure to pick up the current issue of Health Magazine. Our client Illume is part of a layout about ways to turn a bedroom into a soothing place.
Included in the recommendations are getting a non-glowing alarm clock, selecting sleepwear that doesn't scratch or constrict, picking out an amazing set of sheets, and relaxing to some candlelight ...ala Illume. 
The story appears on page 37 and is lovely!
For more information and samples, please contact us at 646/706.7761 or email info@leberpr.com
This article, It's Your Makeup Artist's Autograph I Want, in the New York Times caught my eye.
The story, about the growing celebrity of makeup artists, demonstrates that we're long past Andy Warhol's maxim of everyone having 15 minutes of personal fame... (it's up to at least a half an hour at this point). This is the era of the personal brand, where the personalities of the people behind the products are just as integral to the marketing of a brand as the product itself.
Now, it's unclear whether the trend discussed in this story is really a New York and Los Angeles phenomenon, and if women in Kansas and Ohio are also focused in on the doings of Pat McGrath (shown here with a model), but it does further the notion of promoting personality. With all the blogs, websites, pod-casts and video stations devoted to the minutia of every market segment (cosmetics being carefully documented with each product roll-out and spokes-model hiring) it's easy to see the wave of things to come.
As a publicist working with consumer brands like beauty, and baby, I have always felt that product comes first. Package design, market positioning, and product performance are keys to successful branding - however in this day and age a charismatic CEO helps the effort immensely. Blame it on the paparazzi and our fascination with the doings of celebrities when they're off the clock. It's gotten to the point that even snaps of Jennifer Aniston at the grocery store have grown tedious. We now want insight into everyone's personal lives ... there's more and more swimmers inside the fishbowl and fewer of us benignly watching from a safe distance. Fantastic looks aren't a requirement as they were some years ago for getting ink and airtime. Being knowledgeable, speaking well on camera, and the ability to tell a joke go just as far these days.
Call it hyper-market-democratization, Fishbowl Marketing, or Deep Branding....it sure livens things up!
Our client Illume Candles recently rolled out a gorgeous new collection, Modern Naturals, which features a delightful fragrance called Earth Rose.
The editors at OK Magazine loved the essential oil blend as much as we did and featured it last week in a story called "The Love Doctor is In The House".
The candle is shown in a segment of the feature about natural aphrodisiacs as a way to set the mood with a delightful scent.
When New York Times Restaurant Critic Frank Bruni says he loves something it's a seminal moment.
Foodies throughout this country hang on every salacious vowel that he types out.
So when we read that he has a weakness for our client Illume Candle's Balsam & Cedar fragrance from the limited edition Winter Bliss Collection we were enthused to say the least.
As reported on Refinery 29 yesterday, and picked up by the Gothamist, Bruni says, "I've long been a sucker for overpriced candles, and I like Illume the best. This scent smells like the essence of Christmas. I bought it for the first time about a week ago and it hadn't been burning for an hour when I was back out the door to stock up on more. I'm always convinced that things I fall in love with will disappear when I least expect it. Better to stock up."
As soon as the "Hot For" story appeared, Bruni's loyal fans responded without delay. "A
food critic loving scented candles??" they exclaimed. Just goes with what we said in our post yesterday about the Winter Bliss Collection being the greatest for parties of all kinds. How could you not love something that gives out the gentle aroma of a Heavenly Valley ski lodge at Christmas?
Head over to Illumecandles.com to check out the storied candles before they disappear - as Bruni laments, they are a seasonal blend.
Bruni joins a well rounded list of celebs who are addicted to the essential oils blends of Illume Candles custom scents. Paris and Nicky Hilton, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Mary J. Blige, Jessica Simpson, and even California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger love Illume!
