Customer Service: Is It Important To You?

This is something I witnessed in a major department store recently.

While at the counter in the fashion jewelry section, a customer was trying to turn the display stand. To be honest, the display stand was heavy and somewhat difficult to turn (I had tried one at another counter myself). 

Now while trying to turn the display stand to get a look at items on the other side, it started tipping over causing jewelry items to spill onto the floor. As the customer was desperately trying to keep the display stand from falling to the floor, along comes a sales person who sees what's about to happen. Instead of going over to help the customer, the sales person looks at her and quipped "Seriously Miss ...Seriously"?

The customer looked at the sales person in total disbelief and said "Did you just say seriously to me"?  The sales person replied "yes...seriously?" and then instructs the customer to leave the items as she will get them. The customer looks at her and says "I don't need your help, I will pick them up myself"! And pick them up she did. 

Needless to say I was completely mortified by the response and lack of assistance by the store's employee (and I saw this unfold from beginning to end)! I can only hope that the customer reported the incident to the store's management. If it were me, I certainly would have to address this situation with them.

Why in the world is the level of customer service continuing to spiral downward? Have we stopped caring?

Let me know your thoughts on this incident. How would you manage a situation like this if it happened to you? 

Stay Beautiful! 

Holiday Gift Ideas

It's that time of year again! Christmas is a couple of days away leaving you of course with still enough time to add a few gift items under the tree for family, friends and of course yourself! :)

From a beauty standpoint there are some pretty terrific things out there. Below are a few of my personal favorites.

 

 Tarte -The Tarte of Giving Collectors Set & Travel Bag

This beautiful travel bag in a rich purple with its perfectly stitched bows is sold exclusively by Sephora. With the price tag of US$59.00, it contains a multitude of Tarte goodies!
 - 20 x .07 oz Limited-Edition Amazonian Clay Eye Shadows
- 8 x .059 oz Deluxe Maracuja Lipglosses
- 0.23 oz Deluxe Pure Maracuja Oil
- 0.08 oz Deluxe Maracuja C-Brighter™ Eye Treatment
- 0.05 oz Deluxe Limited-Edition Amazonian 12-Hour Clay Blush in Memorable
- 0.17 oz Deluxe Cheek Stain in Flush
- 0.16 oz Deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes™ 4-In-1 Mascara
- Travel Makeup Bag 

 

Laura Mercier Body & Bath Luxe Quartet 

In scents such as Ambre Vanillé and Creme Brûlée, the body and bath sets by Laura Mercier make an exquisite gift to place underneath the tree. Priced at $80.00, this beautiful chocolate brown box contains:

- 6 oz. Body Scrub
- 6 oz. Soufflé Body Crème
- 6 oz. Honey Bath
- Mini Wooden Honey Dipper
- 4 oz. Candle (in a frosted glass tumbler)
   

                     Honey by Marc Jacobs

 

This is my favorite fragrance for the year 2013! It is an energetic, floral scent which does not overpower the user. With the top note consisting of pear and juicy mandarin; the mid note contains orange blossom, peach 

nectar, apricot, and honeysuckle and the base note of honey (the highlight), golden vanilla, and smooth woods, this newest addition to the Marc Jacobs line of fragrances is definitely worth a whiff of your time. 

The price for Honey by Marc Jacobs Eau de Parfum in the 1.7oz bottle is $70. However, you may also purchase it in rollerball format from Sephora for $22. 

 

Finally, let's not forget those other small, yet still wonderful stocking stuffers  that are greatly appreciated as well. I am talking about gift certificates and gift cards. Gift certificates may be purchased for a full or half day of services at the spa, hair salon or manicure and/or pedicure. You can also think about purchasing gift cards from Sephora, Ulta, M.A.C., Nordstroms, Macy's, Dillards, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's or Target. It would not be a bad idea to pair a gift certificate with a gift card.

 

 Here's wishing you and your families a Merry Christmas and a healthy, joyous and prosperous New Year!

 

    

Stay beautiful!

The Makeup Show in NYC

The Makeup Show - NY: This is my favorite trade show as its focus is directed toward those of us whom are professional or freelance makeup artists. The annual two-day event was held in New York City's Metropolitan Pavilion on May 5th and 6th. The days consist of educational seminars, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, product demonstrations, makeup competitions, pro discounts and networking. For me, this was also a great opportunity to catch up with people I have not seen in awhile.
 

The exhibitors that participated this year read like a "who's who" in the cosmetic industry. Exhibitors such as Smashbox, Nars, Make Up For Ever, MAC, The Powder Group, Tweezerman, Naked Cosmetics, Dermalogica, Mario Badescu, Hakuhodo, Crown Brush Company, Face Atelier, Eve Pearl, Stila, BDellium, Yaby Cosmetics, Frends, Alcone Company, Embryolisse USA, Mehron, Graftobian, Temptu, OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics), Crystal Wright Live, Inglot Cosmetics, Bite Beauty, Ellis Faas and Kevyn Aucoin Cosmetics. This was a just a small sampling of the exhibitors.

 

The body painting was spectacular! Seeing artists throughout the space working on their models. When the body painting artists have finished, the models will stroll around the event space so we attendees may see the beautiful work done by these exceptionally talented artists.

 

 
My two favorite purchases were the tee shirt from Crystal Wright Live and a cute storage case for my false eyelashes from the company Lady Moss.

The tee shirt (on the right) was a big favorite amongst my fellow makeup artists. Kudos to Crystal Wright Live for making it available for purchase at The Makeup Show! To learn more about Crystal Wright Live or to purchase the tee shirt ($22.00), click here. Tee shirts are also available for hair and nail artists.




                                                                                                                                                           

The "Ribbon False Eye Lash Case" is cute, but also very functional. There's room for 3 sets of lashes, adhesive and tweezers or adhesive remover (depending upon the size). Thanks to Lady Moss for making them available to purchase at The Makeup Show.
  
The item is priced at $5.50 at Lady Moss. To purchase the case from Lady Moss, click here.



Monthly Favorite: Recently I purchased a natural and organic product called "White Tea Gel Fluid Cleanser" by Korres. It is a vegan friendly product formulated for all skin types. After using this facial cleanser for the very first time, it left my combination skin feeling soft and smooth. The t-zone and non oily areas of my skin looked and felt moisturized. It did a great job balancing these areas, without over stripping them. The product's scent is quite pleasant.

Unfortunately "White Tea Gel Fluid Cleanser" will no longer be carried in Sephora. However a couple of places where you can purchase this product are Amazon.com or Skinstore.com. The price will vary depending upon where you purchase the product (Amazon $18.98 and Skinstore $21.00).
 

On The Cheap (But Oh So Chic!): The "Ultra Last Lip Wear" lipsticks by N.Y.C. (New York Color) Cosmetics. They are supposed to last for up to six hours (I'm not able to confirm this yet). However this is not the reason why I am mentioning them. For the price of $1.99, you will get a lipstick that is quite moisturizing. After an hour, my lips were still soft without showing any signs of dryness. N.Y.C. "Ultra Last Lip Wear" lipsticks come in ten shades. They may be purchased in stores such as CVS, Walgreens, Target and K-Mart. 






I Nailed It!: I was by the nail bar at Sephora a few days ago. Nails Inc. has a collection of polishes called "Leather Effects". The collection looked pretty interesting. So I decided to give it a go and polished the nails on my left hand. Once the polish dried to its matte finish, I rubbed my finger over each nail. I didn't really like the texture, so I put on a layer of Nails Inc. topcoat. Afterwards, it felt somewhat better, but I am not planning to purchase anything from this collection. The colors I tested out were "Noho Leather Effects", "Shoreditch Lane Leather Effects" and "Soho Mews Leather Effects". Should you decide to test it out, be sure to use Nails Inc.'s matte topcoat. 


Monthly Treat (Because I'm Worth It!): When I attended The Makeup Show this year, I stopped by the Smashbox booth. I have been wanting to purchase their BB Cream, but never got around to buying it. Finally I said today's the day. Boy am I glad I waited! As this was a trade show, Smashbox gave us pros a lovely discount. This permitted me to purchase not one but two of their BB Creams. Thank you Smashbox!

Walking further into the space I found Nars Cosmetics. I stopped to check and see if my favorite Nars eyeshadow was available for purchase. Again I got lucky as it was on their display counter AND they had it in stock! The color to which I am referring it "Outremer". It is a rich royal blue. Thank you Nars Cosmetics!

 



 
Did You Hear About?: Scarves are one of my favorite accessories. I wear them all the time. Unfortunately it can become a bit boring wearing them the same way all the time. Here is a YouTube video entitled "25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes". To view the video, click here.





 

Every woman wants to find her perfect shade of red lipstick. For some this task can be somewhat frustrating. Well help is on the way! There is a wonderful article on The Beauty Department's website called "Best Red Lip Shades For Your Skin Tone".  Click here to read it. 


   

Scent-sational: "Loverdose" by Diesel. If you can find this fragrance...buy it! It's absolutely wonderful!

Stay beautiful!
Leza

Sam Fine's Latest Venture & Post Holiday Finds

Did You Hear About?: Fashion Fair Cosmetics recent launching of the "Sam Fine Supreme Color Collection". This signature cosmetic collection is the latest venture from makeup artist extraordinaire Sam Fine. Along with his book "Fine Beauty" and DVD "Fine: The Basics of Beauty", this is the Fashion Fair creative makeup director's first ever cosmetics line. It consists of two eyeshadow quads ($38 ea.), eight lipstick shades ($22 ea.) and a nude golden shimmer lipgloss ($20). The "Sam Fine Supreme Color Collection" may be purchased at Macy's, Dillards, Lord & Taylor and online at Fashion Fair Cosmetics.

Below are a few images of the "Sam Fine Supreme Color Collection".  The middle image shows the "Amalfi Coast" eyeshadow quad with the colors: Sand (shimmer), Forest Green (shimmer), Copper (shimmer) and Chocolate Brown (matte).  Also in this image is "Moroccan Spice" one of the eight lipsticks from this collection. Last (but not least), is a nude golden shimmer lipgloss in "Canary Diamond". The third image is the eyeshadow quad in "Tunisian Nights" with Ice (iridescent), Cobalt Blue  (shimmer), Violet (shimmer) and Black (matte). The eyeshadow applicators are engraved with Sam Fine on one side and Fashion Fair on the other.  The applicator in the lipgloss is a synthetic brush.
    

Book: FINE Beauty

  

DVD: FINE: The Basics of Beauty

  
  


Here are two great  additions for your makeup reference library by Sam Fine.









 
Monthly Favorite(s): Brrrrr.... it's been so cold! I been piling on hand lotion and facial moisturizer. For hands, my current go to product is Vaseline's Total Moisture: Clean Feeling Lotion. This is a non-greasy lotion that absorbs quickly into the skin and contains pure oat extract.  Vaseline's Total Moisture comes in two other formulas: Aloe Fresh: Light Feeling Lotion and Cocoa Radiant: Rich Feeling Lotion. Look for Vaseline's Total Moisture products at CVS, Rite-Aid, Target and K-Mart. 

Also helping to protect my face from the cold air and biting winds is Earth Science's "Almond-Aloe Moisturizer". It's lightly scented light-weight facial moisturizer that can be used by all skin types.  Priced at $8.99, you can purchase this and other Earth Science facial products at Whole Foods. 






On The Cheap (But Oh So Chic!): I found a couple of post holiday sales in K-Mart. While there I purchased Halle Berry's "Reveal the Passion" perfume; gift sets of Faith Hill's "True" and "Soul 2 Soul".  The scent of these fragrances are quite nice (actually better than I expected). They are long lasting.  A tiny spritz on your pulse points and you're good to go!  I love the facet cut top of "Reveal the Passion". When light passes through, it reflects beautifully (this can be seen in the second image).

Halle Berry's "Reveal The Passion"

Halle Berry's "Reveal The Passion"

 

"True" Body Lotion

Faith Hill's "True" Gift Set

"True" Perfume

"Soul 2 Soul" Gift Set

"Soul 2 Soul" Perfume

"Soul 2 Soul" Body Lotion

 














I Nailed It!: I found three brown colored nail lacquers that I actually like. Revlon's "Hot for Chocolate #903" (a deep dark brown), Maybelline's "Downtown Brown #725" (a duo chrome that is the nail lacquer equivalent to "Club" eyeshadow by M.A.C.) and Revlon Colorstay's "French Toast #210" (a soft gold-flecked shimmer). 

In the pictures below (left and center) are Revlon's "Hot for Chocolate #903" and "French Toast #210". On the right is Maybelline's "Downtown Brown #725".

I hope you enjoyed my first posting of 2013. There's more to come. See you soon.


Stay beautiful!