FGI PANEL: THE ART OF THE BEAUTY START

“You are probably looking at the luckiest woman in the world,†said Essie Weingarten, founder of essie, the ubiquitous brand of jaunty nail polish carried in salons around the world. Weingarten detailed her climb from bottling colors at home to selling her brand to L’Oréal at last month’s Fashion Group International (FGI) beauty symposium entitled, The Art of the Beauty Start.
Weingarten was one of five panelists who spoke about ways that small, niche beauty brands can break into the marketplace and stay above the red line. Sponsored by Self magazine and The Estée Lauder Companies, the luncheon event drew a packed crowd to the New York Hilton for insights
HOW DO YOU DEFINE LUXURY?

Have you ever dreamed about winning the lottery and fantasized about how you would spend the money? Would you buy a mansion, diamonds, yacht, or an island? Whatever your pleasure, it’s sure to include a luxury item.
But is luxury just for the very rich? Definitely not, according to the speakers at the Beauty’s Luxury Lift-Off panel, sponsored by The Fashion Group International in New York City.
[caption id=”attachment_31451″ align=”aligncenter” width=”548″ caption=”Luxury panel participants: Frederic Fekkai, La Mer's Nancy Feetham, Estee Lauder Companies' Veronique Gabai-Pinsky, Chanel's Ava Huang, Self's Laura McEwen, and Luxury Council's Greg Furman”
JO MALONE TO LAUNCH NEW FRAGRANCE COMPANY JO LOVES
Photo Credit: www.joloves.com
After a five year hiatus, Jo Malone is ready to get into the fragrance biz again. In 2006, she stepped down as creative director of the Jo Malone fragrance company, which she sold to The Estee Lauder Companies in 1999. This month, the entrepreneur has announced plans to launch Jo Loves, a completely separate global fragrance brand that will debut in time for Christmas 2011.
“I spent the last three years being mum at home and enjoyed that thoroughly, but still deep within me is that little niggling thought ‘could I do it again’?†commented Ms. Malone