NYC...Day 3

Our final day in NYC began with visit with our friends at The Royal Promotion Group.  RPG has been working with us to design our open sell concept...think Sephora and Ulta...for our distributor stores.  They design fixtures for some of the top retailers including Tiffany and Co., Target, Walmart, Loreal, P&G, etc.  We took Ursula's feedback to the RPG team lead by Ellen Friedman who promised to help us create a design that was a little more user friendly.  For those of you that had a chance to view our open sell display prototypes at the spring trade shows (pictured above), you may remember that you almost had to lay on the floor to actually grab a Pure Press to buy :).  Oops!  Definitely, something that needs to be fixed.  Thank goodness for prototypes before you spend thousands of $$$.  BTW...Ellen was wearing the most fabulous agate ring...the shopaholic in me was having a hard time concentrating!  Both Jamie and I left the meeting and immediately commented on the ring..ha..ha!!

Next, we were off to meet with our reps at HCT Packaging.  This is my favorite meeting of the trip because I get the opportunity to meet with the designer directly, Chris Tarling, who really has amazing taste.  I think I like everything he suggests for our brand.  He recently designed our custom hand mirror that will debut at our fall trade shows.  Chris showed us the new innovation from Cosmoprof and from that we were able to come up with two new great packaging concepts.  Our clients have been asking for a smaller reusable eyeshadow palette, so I went to the meeting with that request in mind.  I am so excited about the design we came up with for a Pick 2 Colour Palette!!!  It is going to be AMAZING!  If all works out well, I may consider switching up the Pick 4 and 10 design to match.  We'll see.  It will take at least six months in development...I cannot wait.

One of the things I love about the team at HCT is that they are such fun people!  I swear I laugh constantly from the time I sit down until I head out the door.  We all went to lunch out on the patio of Rockefeller Center at Brasserie Ruhlmann which had AMAZING food.

Just as we were finishing up, the waiter dumped out some water on the ground which started trickling toward one of the girls Louis Vuitton bags.  Ally Deblasio was mid sentence when she noticed the foul liquid getting closer.  She proceeds to reprimand the waiter saying "HEY...Watch it!  That is a Louis!"  I burst out laughing.  Only in Manhattan, right?

Why M.A.C Cosmetics is a leader...

                                      Photo Credit: www.mindfeed.com

As I mentioned in my previous post, Jamie and I had the AMAZING opportunity to listen to Nick Gavrelis, VP Global Product Development for M.A.C Cosmetics, review their past collections and give insight as to why M.A.C Cosmetics is such a leader in the cosmetic industry.  The entire M.A.C Product Development Team was there to show support.  It was so incredible to be in the same room with them as an amazing example of creating beautiful and exciting products.

In the past year, M.A.C. has launched a total of 52 collections!!!!!!!  I cannot even fathom that number...52. OMG!  That is all I can say.  ONE PER FREAKING WEEK!  Astounding, unimaginable, completely crazy...

Personally I feel like the quality is hit and miss, but their marketing is fantastic!  They will launch something completely fabulous and follow it with something mediocre.  BUT...I guess they can do that when they have a cult following.  However, Nick went through many collections that have been truly amazing.  Let me just say that I still use my Hello Kitty Too Dolly eyeshadow palette.  It was the inspiration behind the creation of Pretty Edgy and Haute Eye Colour that just launched recently.  The shades made it to my top ten, so Mirabella had to have them.  I decided to make them in a mineral formula which increases the payoff for even more stellar application.  What do you think of these great shades?

And I cannot forget to mention the M.A.C Liberty of London Collection.  This one completely speaks to me.  I love how they partnered with the fashion house to reinvigorate an iconic print.  Check out this interview found on the Makeup Stash! blog with James Gager on Liberty of London.  I love the attention to detail that is so M.A.C.

And last but not least...Wonder Women!  While I was not a fan of the formulas used for Wonder Women, the concept was fantastic.  Jamie and I were at the Luxe Pack show over two years ago when we saw the jumbo lip gloss applicator presented by HCP Packaging.  We both loved it!  Usually I get disappointed when I see something that I liked be used by another brand.  This time, I just thought that M.A.C couldn't have found a more perfect theme to use such a fun item.  The jumbo bronzers were awesome too!...although I cannot imagine ever running out of that product:).  Seriously...huge! 

Photo Credit: www.temptalia.com

While Nick's speech ran a little long...how could it not with 52 launches:)...I came away inspired to continue to make sure that Mirabella's products are top notch!  No detail is too small to be obsessed about...

NYC...Day 2

                                Photo Credit - citymap.com

Following our long day of PR interviews...our schedule became a little brighter!  Off we went to visit with our packaging designer, Ursula Flurer.  I LOVE visiting the offices of Flurer Design just off Broadway near Union Square!

Big sigh...Ursula is such a lovely lady:).  Her style is impeccable and we are so lucky to have her stamp of approval.  She keeps us in line and our designs on brand.  You would never believe the time and thought that goes into every little aspect of a product that is being created.  The package, carton and label all need to flow together to create a complete story.  It is amazing how small adjustments can make such a difference in the overall look and feel of a product.

Recently, I have been working on the design of our open sell display.  This is such an important investment for Mirabella and our distributor stores.  It has been extremely difficult to translate the prestige look and feel of shopping Mirabella into the limited marketable space that the open sell display offers.  Within minutes of taking what we currently have and presenting it to Ursula, she could pinpoint exactly what we were missing.  Such little tweaks that are totally going to make a world of difference.  Ursula tells it like it is.  She isn't afraid to say that something is not working.  I ALWAYS feel so inspired after a productive visit with Ursula.

                                Photo Credit: www.luxepacknyc.com

Following our time in Union Square, we headed to the Luxe Pack show at the Metropolitan Pavilion and Altman Building.  I always choose this show over HBA because everyone that is in the luxury business attends. I do not have to weed through 100 vendors to find one with prestige capabilities.  However, this year I realized that I have made a big jump in terms of what excites me anymore.  In the past, I was fine with using stock packaging available and customizing silkscreens and sprays to make it unique.  Now I find that my taste is gravitating into custom designs...which means $$$ much to John's chagrin:).  I realized that upcoming innovation isn't showcased at the show for fear of companies stealing ideas.  The real innovation is discussed in private.  This year, however, they ramped up their company presentations.  One in particular, "The New Packaging Paradigm", seemed very interesting.  We were fortunate enough to hear Nick Gavrelis, VP Global Product Development for M.A.C. Cosmetics, speak about why M.A.C is such a leader in the cosmetic industry.  Stay tuned for details!!!