Fresh Sake Bath

I have been using Fresh products for years (mentioning the wonders it has done for my hair here) and am so excited to share my newest Fresh product obsession: Sake Bath.  The soak eases body tensions and detoxifies while the scent calms - achieving all the perfect elements of a hot bath.  Fresh is known for using natural ingredients in its products such as sugar, milk, soy and rice.  And did you know the company is part of the LVMH group?   Find it here and let me know how it worked for you.


Photo credit:  Fresh

Luxury 360 - The fun of Beauty Part 2

In my last post: LUXURY 360 - THE FUN OF BEAUTY PART 1, I showcased the "fun-ness" of Chanel's Color Creativity video and the reasons luxury brands are instilling more creativity into beauty from a branding and sales perspective.  

Today I want to share a really interesting except from the L2 Think Tank Digital IQ Index supplement, "Beauty in China" to further illustrate the reason beauty is a key focus and growth area for luxury brands:

• Young women in China currently spend 10-15% of annual income on beauty products
• Trading up; the prestige beauty segment is outpacing the mass category in terms of growth
• China is the largest online beauty market in the world with 17% of beauty bought online (compared to 4-6% in 'mature' markets) 

What trends are you seeing in the luxury beauty market?

Luxury 360 - The fun of Beauty Part 1

I swear the beauty industry keeps getting more interesting.  Take these still shots above from the Color Creativity video featured on Chanel's beauty webpage here.  The reinterpretation of the iconic design of Chanel beauty products is...well, fun!  

It makes sense that Chanel and other luxury brands are similarly increasing their point-of-view (and often investment) in beauty to entice consumers in new and innovative ways:

• Beauty can be a huge revenue generator to brands (as it is for Chanel and Dior) and has higher margins than fashion. 
• Beauty as entry-level priced products allows everyone to become part of a luxury brand's often aspirational world.
• Once a consumer has been introduced to a luxury brand through beauty, a brand can then cross and up-sell to higher price point items.  
• Apart from fragrance, which is a highly fragmented market with low brand loyalty, make up and skincare are high on brand loyalty.  Think about it.  Once you find a concealer, blush or even a mascara that works for you, you repeat buy.       

So much more to say on this topic but I thought I would split it into two posts.  More beauty insights to come in the next post, LUXURY 360 - THE FUN OF BEAUTY PART 2.

Paris Fashion Week: Menswear A/W'13

Lanvin

Dries Van Noten

Louis Vuitton

Givenchy

A glimpse of my favourite looks from the final installment of the A/W'13 European menswear shows coming from Paris Fashion Week.  Three distinctive trends stood out: leather, print (especially PJ-print for men which I actually love since it was my favourite trend of 2012 for women), and again oversized trousers as seen in the London shows here.  All the shows played on volume this season which is definitely a more casual change from the easy-to-look-good-in tailored look.  European men's shows are now over but women's shows are just around the corner.  Excited to see what's next.


Photo credit: GQ

Swan lake

(rag & bone sweater and jeans, All Saints boots, Tom Ford sunglasses)

Designer Spotlight: SUNO

Spring is around the corner.  My newest discovery with womenswear label SUNO has my eye happily focused on Spring.  My obsession with my favorite trends of 2012 (see post here) continues with SUNO's SS13 collection.  Peplum and silk blouses (PJ-inspired) along with tailored jackets to give an edge will be my look this Spring.  See more from SUNO available soon at NET-A-PORTER. 


Photo credit: SUNO

Milan Fashion Week Photo Diary

In addition to enjoying the A/W'13 menswear shows during Milan Fashion Week, I was able to get in some necessary sightseeing.  The Duomo was even more grand and stunning than I remember it.  With London and Milan under our belts, next up is Paris Fashion Week.  

Burberry Prorsum Menswear A/W '13 Show

(Burberry Prorsum jacket)

I had the most fantastic time in Milan and the highlight was without a doubt attending the Burberry Prorsum menswear show.  The show was truly a production.  In addition to the beautiful fashions presented on the runway, the venue, backdrop, lighting and music featuring British musician Amy Macdonald and Burberry Acoustic musician Jake Bugg tied it all together encouraging a breathtaking <sigh> when the lights went down.  See full show video here.

London Fashion Week: Menswear A/W '13

Lou Dalton

Inspirations: “Texan oil baron, "a local hero", Shetland.”

James Long

Inspiration: "It's a show that is inspired by all things John Waters and a special interest in marquetry."

E. Tautz

Inspiration: "Being young, living and growing up in the Hebrides, exiled in the most remote corner of the British Isles inspired the AW13 collection."

Christopher Raeburn

Signatures: "Innovative, functional and fun."

The second ever London Fashion Week for men's collections ended yesterday.  The city is still buzzing from the shows and my picks of the best looks are above.  First impression: Baggy pants ruled the runway.  A mix of classic British elegance with double-breasted jackets as seen at E.Tautz and modern street style at Christopher Raeburn were my favorites.  Tomorrow I am off to Milan for Milan Fashion Week.  More men's show coverage to come.

Digital Marketing

I took a great class on Digital Marketing a few months back and took the below quiz as an introduction.   Don’t peek at the answers below too quickly!

Questions:

1.     Who spends more time online on average? Men or women?

2.     What are the top three product categories that people buy via smart phone apps?

3.     What percentage of companies are now using Twitter?

4.     By late 2011, how many tweets were there per day on Twitter?

5.     What simple addition to a web page can help double conversion rates?

Answers:

1.     Women. Spending an average 8% more time at 25 hours per week.

2.     Groceries (76 GBP a month), travel tickets (56 GBP a month) and clothing (47 GBP a month).

3.     83% of companies are using Twitter as part of their social media strategy.

4.     250 million tweets per day or 3,000 per second.

5.     Adding photos of people to a web page can often improve conversion rates.  

PPhoto credit: Burberry

Top Trends of 2012

 Peplum

Pajamas & the Silk Printed Blouse

Baroque

Oxblood

Photo credit: Elle