August 2009
I often appear on regional TV morning shows with my “Beauty for ten dollars or less” segment. Both funky and practical, ideas like “use your mascara to darken grey roots” are always entertaining and fun to explore. But in today’s recession, they have become important tools of eco-friendly living; economy friendly living, that is.
But how did the need for the many faces of makeup manifest? The busier-than-ever working woman? The smaller-than-ever bathroom? The readily felt recession, or the invent of the metrosexual? Formulas for all hair types are back, and buying three products for three needs is a triple threat.
Today, when selling products to the justifiably money-conscious consumer who, according to Santa Monica-based stylist Lucia Ochoa “is waiting longer than ever to come in for touch ups,” pitching multiple use products is not only savvy but fiscally fit. From “use shampoo as shower gel and brush cleaner” to suggesting a favorite conditioner to shave legs, this creativity images a satylist as an ultra reliable, trusted beauty expert. The result? Gaining confidence, clients and cash. So be creative: Tomato juice gets rid of the ‘gross greens’ blondes experience after swimming, so suggest it when a client is traveling or simply cannot make it into your salon.
Beauty, like history, is cyclical. Think: the revival false lashes, hair falls and glitter liner. Americans have become used to beauty done with duality: bras designed to be worn 8 ways, makeup made with SPF, travel size curlers, dryers with cold shot buttons, wet to dry powder formulations- the list is long and colorful. And yet beauty pros flock to Cosmoprof in Bologna each spring to search how new products can satisfy their ever-hungry beauty buyer.
When I asked I.C.O.N stylist/salon owner Chiara Scudieri what inspired her to create her health-based line which offers a menu of ways to mix products together for clever hair cocktails, she explained that “women do not have the time or money to indulge in each and every beauty practice they desire.” So I.C.O.N was created with multiple personalities: for example, the conditioner and the detangler both can double as a body moisturizer; the hairspray can be used to both polish a blowout and bounce up curls; the tea tree/peppermint infused formula to help detox the scalp, is also popular as a tingling, feel-good foot and hand treatment.
So do not let your client switch shops to save cents. Simple suggestions, such as “extend the life of red highlights with a wash of cranberry tea” or “use fabric softening sheets to end flyaways” can help you survive the cut of a client’s bleeding budget.