News Alert

Good-Doings

When skincare lines contribute proceeds to charity, any percentage can help. But Make-Up Designory (MUD, www.mudshop.com) wants to do even better. The company will donate 100% of sales revenue from its MUD Cares palette to NextAid. The nonprofit organization creates safe and sustainable housing for orphaned African children who lost their parents to the AIDS epidemic. MUD is committed to sponsoring the completion of an entire housing unit—it's raising the $25,000 needed through sales of the $25 palette. “By selling just 1,000 pieces, we'll be contributing to these needy communities and investing in the futures of countless children,” says CEO Tate Holland. The limited-edition compacts feature four MUD eye shadow colors: Spanish Gold, Moss, Cashmere and Dulce de Leche. For more information on NextAid, visit nextaid.org.

Sanítas CEO Lisa M. Crary, second from right, with employees and donations for The Gathering Place.

One of the greatest expenses for parents is diapers. The nonprofit organization The Gathering Place (www.the-gatheringplace.org) knows what a burden that expense can be on new mothers. For those struggling to make ends meet or have become homeless, the charity—which offers low-income women and children healthcare, shelter, food and clothing—holds donation drives to provide up to 100 diapers per month to families in need.

This year, Sanítas (www.sanitas-skincare.com) joined the cause by using its Boulder, Colorado-based Training Institute as a receiving center. The company collected diapers in its classes, and encouraged students and visitors to extend the outreach to their friends, families and neighbors. The joint effort brought in more than 3,000 diapers. The company continues to collect personal-care items (shampoo, toothpaste, hair brushes) for the women and children at The Gathering Place.

Web Buzz

OPI (www.opi.com) is expanding its customer service to the Web. The company’s newly redesigned site allows visitors to search for individual products, color collections, seasonal favorites, treatment protocols and additional spa products. Plus, nail professionals can visit the “Try On Studio” to match color with their clients’ skin tones.

There’s a virtual hand that can be adjusted by skin color and nail length. Click a color from the entire OPI catalog, and it appears on the nails. “The new site gives visitors the chance to click into the latest nail and style trends, as well as explore OPI’s entire portfolio of products,” says executive vice president and artistic director Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, who writes a blog for the site that covers trends, travel, celebrity sightings and more.

Spa and beauty professionals can sign up for OPI Pro (www.pro.opi.com) to ask questions, read industry news, network and order products online.

Web Buzz (continued)

Popular website Spa-Addicts (www.spa-addicts.com) has revamped and relaunched, offering an expanded array of services and search results. Founder Mary Blackmon’s goals for the update were to offer Web 2.0 features that provide targeted, local search results, enhanced community forums and feedback tools that put the clients and advertisers in touch.

Additionally, the site has added blogs and news areas that cover the latest beauty, health and wellness trends. “More and more women have shared that spas are as essential to their well-being as good nutrition and exercise,” Blackmon says. “I designed the new Spa-Addicts to support women in their quest to attain the spa lifestyle everyday.”

Site enhancements include geo-targeted mapping that allows consumers to find a spa anywhere in the world. It also includes expanded listings with more editorial reviews and comments from the spa-going community, and a “SpaLebs” section that dishes the latest dirt on Hollywood spa-going habits and star sightings.

The Professional Beauty Association (PBA, www.probeauty.org) has launched the new PBA Beauty Industry Guide, an online search tool available to PBA members and non-members. The directory lists products and services unique to the industry, searchable by keyword, region, category or procedure. Finding a tool, product or seminar here versus using a traditional search engine produces industry-specific results and eliminates spam. PBA members will have access to a desktop application that allows them to conduct searches from their home or office computers. To find out more about the PBA and the Beauty Industry Guide, call 800.468.2274 or visit www.probeauty.org.

New Arrivals

Professional skincare leader Dermalogica (www.dermalogica.com) has put down roots in a second U.S. location. It recently opened a new concept store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. The 1,640-square-foot space was designed by award-winning architect Jean Nouvel, and has zones designated for retail, skincare consultations, mini treatments and the company’s signature face-mapping services. Just like at its Santa Monica, California location, treatments are administered in futuristic SkinPods that offer customizable lighting and music. For more information, call 212.219.9800 or visit www.dermalogicainsoho.com.

Murad (www.murad.com) founder Howard Murad, M.D., is proving his commitment to wellness with the opening of the latest Murad Inclusive Health Center at CHRISTUS Hospital in Beaumont, Texas. The newly dubbed CHRISTUS Healthy Living Spa will offer treatments and services that focus on recovery, cell regeneration and antiaging.

Treatments will utilize Murad’s Science of Cellular Water philosophy that targets the aging process and promotes healing from the inside out. “Having a full-service Murad spa on site gives us the ability to improve our guests’ lifestyles in a variety of ways,” says Mario Mudano, administrator for CHRISTUS Hospital. “Instead of just having people come see us when they’re sick, we’re proactively promoting wellness and healthy living.”

The staff will consist of massage therapists, skincare specialists and medical professionals. Plastic surgeon and CHRISTUS resident Benjamin Beckert, M.D., will serve as the spa’s medical director.

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