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CBD is everywhere: Sellers advise customers to do research - Turn to 10 |
- CBD is everywhere: Sellers advise customers to do research - Turn to 10
- ‘Anthem’ Is Crawling Its Way Toward Becoming ‘Diablo 3’ With Its Cataclysm - Forbes
- In The Battle For Beauty Shoppers, Ulta Is Pulling Ahead Of Sephora And Amazon - Forbes
- The Best of Beauty Awards of 2019 - GoodHousekeeping.com
- Mysteries of Menopause - Features - TheStranger.com
- How Bloomingdale's Is Reinventing The Beauty Shopping Experience - Forbes
| CBD is everywhere: Sellers advise customers to do research - Turn to 10 Posted: 19 Aug 2019 03:21 PM PDT [unable to retrieve full-text content]CBD is everywhere: Sellers advise customers to do research Turn to 10 CBD is everywhere and for good reason -- it works," Darin Tripoli, who is the owner and operator of Sunshine Vape on Atwells Avenue in Providence, told NBC ... |
| ‘Anthem’ Is Crawling Its Way Toward Becoming ‘Diablo 3’ With Its Cataclysm - Forbes Posted: 19 Aug 2019 06:27 AM PDT  Anthem BioWareYes, I am still playing Anthem's Cataclysm event, having finished up Destiny 2's Solstice event and my brain unable to play any games that aren't loot shooters or Fortnite at this point in my gaming career. Every time I post about Anthem people keep saying "why are you doing this to yourself??" but the truth is, I'm having…a good time, generally? Again, there is a big difference between "hey this Cataclysm event isn't bad" and "wow BioWare has saved Anthem!" as I still don't think the latter is the case. I am not a representative sample of the larger gaming public, and I cannot imagine Anthem is seeing soaring playercounts right now, and its tiny Twitch presence hasn't budged at all. Why am I liking the Cataclysm? The more I play it, the more I realize that Anthem is channeling one of my favorite games, Diablo 3. The Catacylsm feels like a Greater/Nephilim Rift. It's a timed activity where you mow through mobs and take down a boss, best done efficiently with a team. You farm for loot while you're there, with the best drops coming from the boss, usually, and you amass a currency that can be "gambled" for items back home in specific categories, ie. Kadala the Blood Shard vendor. Hell, this latest update even has beams of light shoot into the sky from Masterwork and Legendary items, a Diablo signature.  Diablo 3 BlizzardIt's not just the structure of the event or cosmetic changes, it's also how the game is starting to feel. The higher legendary drop rate (it could probably still be bumped a little more) is finally starting to allow me to unlock truly powerful builds in Anthem for the first time, well, ever. I have a disgusting Intecerptor acid melee build. I have a dual cannon Colossus that can't die and never needs to fire his guns, with his skills always up. I am wrecking with these guys in a way that I simply have not seem replicated across other games in this genre, in a way that only reminds me of my most powerful builds in Diablo. The Division has been the most "Diablo-like" game in this genre with its sets and affixes, but you rarely ever feel truly powerful in that game, being melted by individual enemies if you're out of cover for a split second. Destiny, meanwhile, is obsessed with balance and has to weigh PvP and PvE, putting a limit on the types of wild abilities you can have. Borderlands may be the closest series to Diablo, the original loot shooter, and yet Anthem is getting really, really close with the way it works now. Of course, the depth still isn't there. Diablo 3 had seven classes in the end with multiple viable builds for each. Anthem isn't anywhere close to that. Diablo 3 had loads of different farming paths while Anthem only seems like it can do one at a time, ie. now repeating the Cataclysm over and over again, with other activities barely even possible to matchmake for, and producing far fewer rewards.  Anthem BioWareAnd yet I am still getting strong Diablo vibes all the same, hence why I'm continuing to play. Tomorrow should be the first time Anthem introduces legendary support items, which will allow me to take these current builds to an even higher plane of butt-kicking, and I am looking forward to that. Combine all this with the fact that Anthem's technical issues are far fewer than they used to be, and it's not a bad time if you're a fan of this genre. I genuinely don't know what's next for Anthem. We haven't had a roadmap for months, with BioWare scrapping it after being unable to hit the dates, but the Cataclysm was something that was always on the horizon. Now, I don't know what is, if anything, and if EA and BioWare are still committed to the game or ready to fold up shop and move on, back to old series like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. We'll see, I suppose. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Pre-order my new sci-fi novel Herokiller, and read my first series, The Earthborn Trilogy, which is also on audiobook.  |
| In The Battle For Beauty Shoppers, Ulta Is Pulling Ahead Of Sephora And Amazon - Forbes Posted: 19 Mar 2019 12:00 AM PDT  Fans gather at local Ulta Beauty in Houston to greet Kylie Jenner. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Ulta Beauty) GettyBoth Ulta and Sephora are exceptional retailers, as my Forbes.com contributor colleague Steven Dennis reported recently. Roughly equivalent in footprint—1,174 Ulta stores and about 1,100 free-standing Sephora stores and J.C. Penney shop-in-shops—both retailers did extremely well last year. Ulta Beauty just announced sales were up 14.1% in 2018 reaching $6.7 billion. And while LVMH doesn't break out Sephora from within its Selective Retailing group, it highlighted Sephora's sales growth as contributing to its 10% corporate growth in 2018. Another fellow Forbes.com contributor Walter Loeb has written an excellent analysis of Ulta's recent performance. Then there is Amazon. EMarketer estimates Amazon reached $16 billion in total health, personal care and beauty product sales, a 37.9% increase over 2017. Though only a subset of that total compares with Ulta's and Sephora's range, it is notable that health, personal care and beauty products is Amazon's third fastest-growing category after food and beverage and apparel and accessories. The beauty business is an extremely active one in terms of frequency of purchase, with some 70% of consumers making monthly purchases, according to Cowen's Consumer Tracker. And in beauty retail, Ulta, Sephora and Amazon are the major players. One chart explains it all With all the numbers and accompanying analysis floating around, sometimes the answer to what is really happening in the fiercely competitive beauty retail business boils down to one chart. This is it: The survey question, "When shopping for beauty products (e.g. cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, hair products), I prefer to shop at:.." Cowen Consumer Tracker, Feb. 2019 (n=1,276); When shopping for beauty products, I prefer to shop... Cowen & CompanySince October 2018, Ulta has been moving ahead of both Amazon and Sephora as consumers' first choice in beauty . This is based upon Cowen's monthly Consumer Tracker, which surveys nearly 1,300 consumers. As much as exclusive products, like Kylie Cosmetics and Morphe at Ulta and Fenty Beauty at Sephora, are credited with each beauty retailers' boost in sales—and Amazon is Amazon—I think the main reason Ulta is breaking from the pack is not so much what it sells but how it sells. Ulta offers a breadth of assortment covering the widest range of customer needs at all price points, a personalized approach for customers in how they want to be served from full-service to self-service, and a newly expanded rewards and credit card program that actually builds loyalty, some 31.8 million strong. Further, Ulta has a more integrated mobile app that supports customers in the many ways they want to shop. For example, SimilarWeb reports that 60% of Ulta visitors in 2018 came via its mobile app, as compared with 48% of Sephora's. As strong as Ulta's e-commerce business is (it accounted for 11% of sales in 2018 and grew 25.1% in the fourth quarter on top of 50.4% in the fourth quarter of 2017), online sales growth in 2018 didn't meet expectations. But that was largely due to a channel shift, specifically "our guest's avid interest in coming to the store," said CEO Mary Dillon in the most recent earnings call. This is a good thing for the future of the company. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg © 2018 Bloomberg Finance LPThe physical store is where Ulta's magic happens and where shoppers' emotional connection with the brand is built and reinforced in each visit. Unlike the Sephora store, which leans toward prestige lines that can be a bit off-putting to the everyday shopper, Ulta stores have an open feeling and more down-home friendliness delivered by the sales associate. Ulta stores are simply more accessible. The best of Ulta happens in the store The physical store is where Ulta can learn the most about the customer, her wants and needs, and so is able to cater to her during each visit, or him, as more men are finding it a comfortable place to shop for themselves. Ulta also bridges the generation gap better than Sephora. While Ulta is particularly strong among the under-34 set, as is Sephora, Ulta attracts a wider age range of customers. In terms of its online traffic, 32% of Ulta visitors are 45 years and older, as compared with 25% for Sephora, according to SimilarWeb. Because Ulta draws a wider spectrum of guests, it is able to execute its "mass migration" strategy, where sales associates introduce shoppers brought in to purchase mass brands to more prestige brands. "It's a unique aspect of the Ulta Beauty experience," commented Scott Settersten, treasurer and CFO in the earnings call. "That behavior is quite strong." As much as Ulta is working to personalize its e-commerce experience through product and co-product recommendations, replenishment reminders, and even customizing the guests' home page depending on whether they are a first-time visitor or their history from previous visits, the ultimate personalized shopping experience is still delivered in-store person-to-person. "We're all really focused on what our guests are looking for at the end of the day, and if we can make sure to offer that to them; I think we're going to continue to be in a good place," Dillon said. Among the things Ulta's guests want is a personal experience with the many digitally-native brands that are showcased in the store. In addition to Kylie and Morphe, Ulta satisfies its guests' digitally-fed curiosity with brands like Morphe x James Charles Palette, Revolution Beauty, Lime Crime, Ofra and Sugarpill. "'New' continues to drive traffic and share gains across all categories," Dillon shared, and added that new programs from Tarte, Urban Decay, Smith & Cult, GrandeLASH, an exclusive fragrance from Ariana Grande, a new line of cannabis-infused skincare Cannuka and the expansion of Kiehl's to all stores will attract more guests. It all comes down to which beauty retailer understands its customers better and on that score, Ulta is way ahead in the U.S. market and its advantage is only likely to grow in the future. That's because its strategy is to draw customers into the actual store to touch, see and try the Ulta's "possibilities are beautiful" brand experience. See also: Sephora, Ulta And The Battle For The $56 Billion U.S. Beauty Retail Market Note: Morphe x James Charles Palette, Lime Crime and Ofra were misspelled upon original publication due to transcription error and corrected.  |
| The Best of Beauty Awards of 2019 - GoodHousekeeping.com Posted: 15 Apr 2019 12:00 AM PDT  . Our Good Housekeeping Institute beauty experts evaluated over 1,000 skincare, hair and makeup products to find which ones really work. From GH Seal stars to breakthrough innovations and the year's hottest picks — here are the top 75 our experts stand behind.  . How We TestedThe Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab's chemists, Ph.D. director, and beauty team experts evaluated thousands of skincare, hair, and makeup products using both consumer and Lab testing with state-of-the-art scientific instruments to find which products on the market really work and stand above the rest. The Good Housekeeping Beauty Awards encompass the Beauty Lab's best-tested products, GH Seal stars, breakthrough innovations, and the year's hottest new picks.  .  .         Pro Laser This in-office treatment is the first to combine two types of lasers in a single session for better results in less time. Beauty Lab Senior Chemist Sabina Wizemann reported a noticeable improvement in dark spots and pore count after one visit, with minimal downtime.   .             MADE-FOR-YOU FACE SERUM $195 This state-of-the-art SkinCeuticals technology allows you to get a face serum custom-made (and labeled!) for your skin on the spot at a dermatologist's office. LAB LOWDOWN "The service combines pro assessment with an advanced algorithm to tailor specific concentrations of science-backed ingredients like glycolic acid and retinol to an individual's skin needs. These are then mixed by a machine in a base for your skin type," says Beauty Lab Senior Chemist Sabina Wizemann. "It's superior to all other personalized skincare on the market."   .             .      Exceptional Nail Service Nail your manis and pedis with CND's new no-damage, fast-removal pro gel nail polish service, available in a rainbow of 65 colors. TESTER NOTES 100% of testers gave it a perfect score for drying quickly, and several said it left nails "healthy" and "stronger" after it was removed.          .              .          Smart Hairbrush This inventive brush, with a bendy head that hugs head contours for less tugging, earned a rare near-perfect score in Lab testing for gently detangling wet or dry hair of all textures. "By far the best brush I've ever used on myself or my clients," a pro stylist tester raved.          |
| Mysteries of Menopause - Features - TheStranger.com Posted: 13 Aug 2019 10:25 PM PDT  Though it inspires an almost Kierkegaardian level of fear and trembling in many women, menopause is cool. And more than cool, it's freeing. Alexandra Citrin "Hot flash!" I announced as I reached for something to fan myself with. The conversation over the coffee-shop counter stopped dead. The other customers had that get-me-out-of-here look, and the barista turned bright red, like he was having an even hotter flash himself. I fanned away, shamelessly. And intrigued. Call it my moment of menopausal enlightenment. With just two words, I seemed to have stumbled on a whole new mode of transgression, voicing something most people would rather be left unvoiced. The menopausal woman as social transgressor? Count me in! That was more than 20 years ago. You'd think a whole generation of outspoken women would have moved things forward since then. But even though we no longer refer to menopause as "the change"—which, like most euphemisms, is absurd, like you're going to metamorphose into a giant insect—it's still merely whispered among women, as though there were something shameful about it. Indeed, for some, the prospect of menopause seems to induce an almost Kierkegaardian level of fear and trembling. In which case whatever I say here about my own experience may only add to that dread. Or it may create its own kind of metamorphosis, opening up a very different perspective. You might even end up agreeing with me that however hot those flashes, menopause is cool. And more than cool, it's freeing. Though it didn't seem that way to me when it first began. In what I suspect was a case of feminist snobbery, I'd managed to convince myself that only wimpy women got hot flashes. I'd read somewhere that a quarter of all women never do, and that they sail through menopause with blithe nonchalance. And although blithe nonchalance had never been my thing, I fully expected to be one of them. So I was caught off guard when the flashes began. In fact, I was insulted. "You mean I'm just an ordinary biological being? I don't get a free pass?" Hot flashes are the most obvious "symptom" of menopause. The quote marks are there because a symptom implies something medically wrong, instead of a natural process. And hot flashes are not symptoms of illness. They're withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal, that is, from an immensely powerful drug: hormones. You can ignore the gradual disappearance of your period. For many, that may come as a relief. But hot flashes aren't ignorable, especially since "flash" is a misnomer. Here and gone in a second? No way. These most public signs of menopause last at least a couple of minutes, and sometimes far longer. When they come during the day, they're hard to disguise. ("Is it really hot in here or what?" you say as you resist the impulse to strip, and then realize from the way people are staring at you that the answer is "or what.") But when they come at night? That's something else. "Do you sleep warm?" a saleswoman once asked as I was shopping for a new mattress. The question came with an oddly meaningful look, but in my premenopausal innocence, I failed to interpret it. What she meant was: "Do you have night sweats?" In which case, as I'd discover a couple of years later, the foam mattress I'd decided on was not a great choice. Rubber and sweat don't mix. Night sweats are simply nighttime hot flashes. Not such a big deal, you might think, until you start coming wide awake two or three times a night, radiating heat. And I do mean heat. Throw-off-the-covers, take-a-cold-shower, stand-naked-at-the-open-window-during-a-snowstorm kind of heat. Which goes a long way to explaining why menopausal women have a rep for "emotional volatility." When you can't get a decent night's rest for months at a time, you end up seriously sleep-deprived. But this is far more than simply physical. It's existential. Hot flashes are the clearest possible message, not just inscribed on your body but radiating out from inside it, that you no longer have any biological reason to be alive. Your reproductive function—the continuation of the species—is over, done with. You're not producing eggs anymore. You're no longer fit for breeding. The prime Darwinian reason for your existence on this earth is hereby declared null and void. And this is a relatively new state of being. Not so long ago, that menopausal message would have ended with "over and out," since until the early 20th century, not that many women lived long enough to experience it. Before vaccines and antibiotics, the average life span—worldwide—was in the early 40s, and it had been that way for most of recorded history. Something as seemingly minor as an infected cut or drinking the wrong water (or childbirth, or the flu, let alone the plague) could kill you. That's not even counting war and famine. Which is another reason menopause caught me by surprise: I never expected to live long enough to go through it. As a student in England, I'd marched with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the conviction that World War III—the big one, the nuclear one—was close (as it still is, and given the current occupant of the White House, more so than ever). We were all about to die, I thought, so who needed to even consider menopause? Yet here I was 30 years later in Seattle, hot-flashing and night-sweating like crazy. So now what? Sure, you can fight menopause, if denial is your thing. I know because I made it mine for a while. "Screw this," I thought. "No way am I putting up with it." And headed straight for HRT—hormone replacement therapy. Why care about the long-term cancer risk when I could call biology's bluff right now? Give me my estrogen fix, and I'd be fine. I could kid myself—and a few others—that I was still a sexually attractive being. Or at least a sexually available one. All of which came to a screeching halt when I developed uterine fibroids. These made menstruation a nonevent by comparison. Huge clots of blood kept slithering out of me, inducing a kind of fascinated horror. I was almost proud that I could produce that much blood and still stand upright. "Surgery," said the doctor. "A routine procedure, nothing to worry about." But since the prospect of a sharp instrument pointed anywhere in my direction tends to induce intense worry, this failed to reassure. Surely there was a less radical option. Even—gasp—the obvious one. I steeled myself, and bid a mournful farewell to HRT, all those lovely artificial hormones. Sure enough, the fibroids disappeared, starved of the estrogen that had been feeding them. And the hot flashes and night sweats started back up, stronger than ever for having been delayed. As though biology were saying, "Ha, knew I'd catch you sooner or later." *** Okay, you think, you can deal with this. Instead of trying to pretend that hot flashes don't exist, all you need to do is go down to Uwajimaya and get a couple of paper fans, preferably ones with tassels or fringes. Open a fan up with a flick of the wrist (this takes practice) and make like a courtesan or a Southern belle or Madame Butterfly (this might not take practice). And if someone is embarrassed by your having a hot flash, politely suggest that they grow the fuck up. But then you'll find out that once the flashes and sweats are done—a year or two on average, though I still get them occasionally—you don't end up back where you started. You look in the mirror one clear winter morning when the light is really bright and realize that your body seems to be, um, changing. Not into a giant insect, true. But what you see doesn't match your usual image of yourself. You knew you had a wrinkle or two—but in that morning light, it's no longer possible to deny that there are a lot more of them, and that they're more pronounced. You raise your arms and realize that your skin isn't as smooth and taut as it once was. It occurs to you with a shiver of dismay that the word might be "sagging." Your waist seems to have expanded somehow, which could be why you've been complaining that they're making jeans smaller than they used to. And you might find—could it really be?—that your pubic hair looks suspiciously thinner. Your pubic hair, for chrissakes! That's getting downright personal. And this is only what you can see in the mirror. Where the merest thought of sex was once enough to make you go all moist and lubricious, now you have to kind of concentrate to get where you want to be. Not that you're anywhere near that dread phrase "vaginal dryness," and yet the possibility of it hovers, challenging your sense of yourself as a sexual being. If you have a flair for hyperbole, you might even suspect that you're gradually being desexed. None of this is possible, you think. You're too young for this. You're not ready for it. But your body says you are. And at some point, your mind is likely to catch up. While some women stay lustily active long after menopause, defying sophomoric sniggers about cougars, many don't. Sexual desire often goes down along with the hormone levels, though since we're still at the whispering stage, nobody seems to know how often. In my case, however, it went way down. And while that sounds like it must have felt like the cruelest blow of all, it didn't. One friend thinks this might be easier for me to say since I had a ball as an active sexual being. Dancing in between the pill and AIDS, I had no sense that I'd missed out on anything, so it could be that I'd had my fill. Yet I think it more likely that my increasing indifference to what's conventionally thought of as the loss of sexual desire had nothing to do with how much sex I had or hadn't "had" (that weird phrase "having sex," as though it were something to be consumed). More likely, that is, that it simply came with the territory. A loss is only something you feel deprived of, and I didn't feel deprived. And still don't. Yet there's a whole pile of interested parties out there all too eager to convince me that my lack of a sense of lack is itself a lack. As they see it, this is not just a loss but a problem. And more than a problem, a "dysfunction," a "disorder." Which apparently means that I need to be made functional again. Or brought back to order. *** This is where the big money comes in, eager to capitalize on the desire to ward off a natural process. "Loss of libido," that is, has been transformed into a marketing opportunity. Though it began not with women but with men. Specifically, with the male equivalent of menopause: the gradual process known as andropause, which is the result of decreasing levels of testosterone. The range of "symptoms" includes declining sperm count, receding hairline, increasing body fat, and thinning pubic hair (yes, men too). But the one andropausal sign that constitutes the biggest challenge to standard ideas of male sexuality is what is now known as erectile dysfunction. This became a go-to diagnostic category when Pfizer researchers working on a new cardiovascular drug discovered that penile erection was one of the drug's side effects. The company's marketers got a hard-on at the news and set about what they call "drug repositioning." They'd restore penises to functionality and render them safe for prime-time television with sunnily crafted commercials using the abbreviation ED, which sounded kind of man-next-door friendly. And the woman next door? "Female Viagra," of course. It debuted in 2015, packaged with an unerring instinct for stereotype in the form of little pink pills. Branded as Addyi, it made its bid for FDA approval as a treatment for HSDD, or "hypoactive sexual desire disorder"—a DSM-III diagnostic category that evidently considers me a disorderly woman and has no idea that I might take that as a compliment. Where Viagra works on blood flow, Addyi works on neurotransmitters, an "all-in-the-brain" approach that may make sense to many women. But there's a lot about Addyi that doesn't make sense. It's expensive, to start with. It doesn't mix with alcohol. And even if you're a wealthy teetotaler, you still have to take it every day, sex or no sex. Plus, as reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the best you can expect from Addyi is that it "increases sexually satisfying events 0.5 times a month." An extra half orgasm a month. For $400. Not covered by insurance. You might not even be aware of that half orgasm, since the main effect of Addyi appears to be sedation—in fact, sedation to the point of "sudden prolonged unconsciousness," especially when combined with booze. Which makes it sound not unlike a date-rape drug. And if the prospect of really expensive, unconscious sex is not enough to turn you off, you might consider the fact that Addyi failed FDA approval twice. It only succeeded on the third try when its manufacturer, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, hired a public-relations firm to create a ginned-up consumer advocacy campaign. The FDA doubled down on the mysteries of its approval criteria last month when it gave the go-ahead to a new "low sexual desire" drug for women. This one's called Vyleesi, due on the market in September in the form of an auto-injector pen at a mere $899 for the pen itself, plus $99 for each subsequent dose. Just jab yourself in the thigh or the belly 45 minutes before sex—ouch!—and you'll be good to go. Except for the nausea, that is. Per the manufacturer's website, "nausea is reported in 40% of patients who receive up to 8 monthly doses"—though, with confusing vagueness, nausea "improves for most patients with the second dose." Plus, since the drug stimulates melanin receptors, it can darken the skin of your face and breasts, as well as your gums—particularly if you already have dark skin. So now you'll be able to inject, throw up, get blotchy, and feel sexy. Your nearest drugstore is a lot cheaper, and a lot more direct. Mine boasts two whole shelves of glycerin- and silicone-based lubricants in the "feminine hygiene" aisle, placed at eye level right above the condoms and the pregnancy test kits. Astroglide and K-Y Jelly paved the way here, repositioning anal-sex standbys into an expanded array of "couples lubricants" (his and hers, blue and red) as well as specifically "feminine" ones, so that while your vagina is saying "I'd rather not," you can trick it into saying "okay." Or you can trick your eyes instead. If your body is trying to tell you that you're really not up for sex, you can at least look like you're up for it and fake the bloom of pulchritude. Thus the $8 billion business of cosmetic surgery (sharp instruments!). And injections of a paralytic toxin (more sharp instruments!). And hundreds—maybe even thousands—of organic and not-so-organic creams, lotions, gels, infusions, balms, fillers, volumizers, plumpers, serums, super-serums, and mega-serums. Regarding which, the main organizing principle appears to be that the smaller the bottle, the higher the price. But why do we even want to play such tricks? Why do so many of us—both women and men—find it so hard to listen to our bodies when they don't respond like they used to? Or acknowledge what should surely be self-evident, which is that we're not hormone-driven teenagers anymore. What exactly is wrong with waning libido? Why does it seem so threatening? Or is what we're really afraid of something else? Not menopause itself, but what it signifies: age. *** Ever since I went off HRT, I've looked my age. Premenopausal friends rush to insist that this isn't so and seem disturbed—even dumbfounded—when I ask what's wrong with looking my age. I've apparently asked a very un-American question. Indeed, given the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, an anti-capitalist one. But I suspect what makes it so challenging for many women is the fear that without youthful sexuality, you somehow don't count. To be postmenopausal, that is, is to risk becoming the invisible middle-aged woman. She does exist. The day I first saw her, she was all too visible—the kind of totally unremarkable woman whose presence I'd never have registered if she hadn't been staring at me while I gazed in the windows of the downtown Nordstrom. "What does she think she's doing?" I thought, with what I now recognize as dismissive condescension. "What's her problem?" I tried to outstare her, but she held her ground insistently. Maybe she was someone I'd met and didn't remember? I'm not that good at recognizing faces, so that figured. Come to think of it, she did look kind of familiar... Which is when I finally realized that this middle-aged woman was me, reflected in the store window against the background of the latest fashions. A rude reality check? Yes, and a good one. One response would have been to head straight for the cosmetics counters, but instead I kept on walking and started thinking. Did I really place so much store in how I appeared in the eyes of others? Had I ever actually enjoyed being stared at in the street? Did I ever think a wolf whistle was a compliment? Had any of that been in any way cute, or had it felt more like harassment? I'd come literally face-to-face with the fact that I was no longer a sexual object. Still female, obviously, but no longer conforming to feminine stereotype. And to my surprise, this felt like a relief. More than a relief—an emancipation. Whatever need I'd felt to conform to that stereotype before menopause, I no longer did. I began to appreciate the anonymity of the middle-aged woman. I was free to look as feminine or as unfeminine as I liked. I could choose my degree of visibility and enjoy the ease of flowing smoothly, unremarked, through public space. Middle-aged women, I realized, would make excellent spies. Not that I totally gave up on feminine signifiers. I haven't done high heels since karate messed up my knees years ago, but I'm still a sucker for long suede boots and fingerless gloves reaching up to my elbows and any color nail polish but pink. Not because I want to look attractive—attractive to whom? or for what?—but because I like them. They make me smile. And they're effortless. I may admire the way some older women rock exquisitely groomed silver hair and defiantly red lipstick, but my hair has never been anything but unruly, and I defy better without any lipstick at all. And without sexual desire. Or any desire to reestablish it. I realize how terrifying this sounds to a lot of women, for the simple reason that I know how terrifying it would have once sounded to me. I can practically hear my past self screaming: "What do you mean, no desire?" She might even be cowering in dismay or weeping in pity for the future me. An end to sexuality? The horror, the horror! Yet I'm anything but horrified. And it feels like anything but an end. Because the obvious needs to be stated: The end of sex isn't the end of life. After menopause, most of us get two or three decades more, and these decades feel to me like an unexpected gift. So what kind of ungracious idiot would I be to reject a gift this big? I could spend these years shriveled into mourning my sexual self, or I could get down with hormone-free existence (almost hormone-free, that is, since postmenopausal bodies still retain about 20 percent of what they once had, in a kind of basic maintenance level). And here's where I discovered that there was a lot to get down with. My mind felt clearer, for a start. It was as though there'd been a very fine, gauzy film over it, a kind of barely detectable hormonal mist that had now lifted. It felt like I'd gotten back full use of my intellect, so much so that I suspect I've done my best work in the two decades since menopause. And where I'd imagined that waning libido would mean waning energy, it didn't. Like so many others, I'd managed to conflate libido with vitality—a conflation that only demonstrates that we're all still Freudians at heart. My sense of vitality was as strong as ever; it just no longer depended on sex. Which is why I still work out and stay in shape—not in order to attract anyone, but because it feels good to be in a smoothly working body, and I think better this way. Besides, if I do get the urge (that 20 percent maintenance level doing its thing), it's easy and surprisingly quick to satisfy it myself. Menopause, it turns out, freed me from want—from wanting not only sex but everything we tend to associate with it. Wanting to be attractive. Wanting to please. Wanting to prove something. This is very relaxing. I'm less concerned with how others see me, and thus more at ease with myself. And with others. There's no longer any sexual subtext to my interactions with men—or with women—and that seems to allow for more meaningful conversation, more forthrightness, more honesty. In other words, sex isn't getting in the way. Not that I'm ignoring it. If I no longer want sex myself, I find that I'm more generous about it for others. There's no sense of envy or resentment, but instead a kind of welcoming beneficence. In my more self-aggrandizing moments, it's as though I'm some kind of crone-goddess sitting cross-legged on the rim of a high mesa, watching those still in the throes of hormones pursue sex down below me as I smile and lift my hand in blessing, saying, "Go, my children, go. Enjoy!" So hold off on the pity, and spare me the dismay. I'm not waning, and I'm not in a state of loss. I'm post-sexual. I'm into it. And I'm thriving up here on my mesa.  |
| How Bloomingdale's Is Reinventing The Beauty Shopping Experience - Forbes Posted: 17 Jan 2019 12:00 AM PST  Bloomingdale's Cosmetics Floor Re-Opening Benjamin Lozovsky, LozophotoDepartment stores are in the battle for their lives. Classed in the category of general merchandise stores in Census Department's Monthly Retail Trade Survey, department stores, excluding discounters, shrunk 2.1% year-over-year through October 2018, as compared to the entire general merchandise category, which posted healthy 3.5% growth. In the last ten years, department stores have experienced a massive 30% drop in sales. Department store sales 2007-2017 Unity MarketingNowhere is a department store's battle for survival more critical than in the beauty department , often the most productive selling spaces in a department store in terms of dollars per square foot. With Sephora, Ulta and e-commerce players chipping away at what was department-store dominance in premium beauty, department store beauty departments are the front line of battle, with Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barney's giving makeovers to their beauty departments recently. Now Bloomingdale's 59th Street flagship joins the fray with a totally reimagined beauty department that spreads across four floors. Unveiled today, it may be the biggest, boldest idea of what a department store like Bloomingdale's can bring to its customers and the beauty brands that make their home there. Bloomingdale's new face of beauty In his classic book, Like No Other Store, the late, great Marvin Traub commented on Charles Revson's famous trope, "In the factory we make cosmetics; in the store we sell hope." Traub wrote, "If cosmetics companies sold fantasy, we set out to be the dream factory." Bloomingdale's executive team and its beauty brand partners have been dreaming about what its next-generation dream factory needs to be. I met with Francine Klein, vice chairman and GMM for shoes, handbags, fashion accessories, fashion and fine jewelry, cosmetics and outlets, and Stacie Borteck, vice president and DMM for cosmetics, to discuss the new face of beauty at the 59th Street flagship store. Klein and Borteck are hoping their dream will become a nightmare for competitors. And with success behind them, the concept will be rolled out to other Bloomingdale's stores across the chain. "We are creating a playground for the beauty and fragrance world," Klein shares, as she explains that the new beauty vision is part of the company's total flagship renovation that started last year with the home and ready-to-wear worlds. "Our mission is to create energy and excitement that radiates throughout the store," Klein continues. " It's retail as theatre. It's entertainment that customers can't get at home shopping. " Lancome at Bloomingdale's 59th street store Benjamin Lozovsky, LozophotoHere is how Bloomingdale's sets its new stage for beauty. First impressions count Unlike Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship, which moved its beauty and fragrance department from the first to second floor last year, Bloomingdale's remains committed to beauty making a grand first impression on the customer. On entering the store, the customer walks a red carpet through a space that is more open and engaging than before with "play stations" that invite the customer to test and try new products. "This is our customer's first start on her journey throughout the store," Klein says. "It's her first impression and we designed it to be spectacular." Throughout our conversation, Klein and Borteck refer to the customer as "she," though men can find plenty there as well, either for their own grooming needs or as gifts for their significant other, like in the newly imagined Fragrance Hall. Hitting on all five-sensory cylinders With plenty of new things to touch, see and experience on the main floor, Bloomingdale's is adding new ways to engage through scent in an expanded fragrance space. "Fragrances have been a growth driver for us," Borteck says. "Our customers tell us they are looking for more luxury fragrances to expand her portfolio, so we added about 25% more space to the Fragrance Hall and 14 new brands like Creed." Creed in Fragrance Hall at Bloomingdale's 5th street store enjamin Lozovsky, LozophotoAlso new in the Fragrance Hall is Hermetica, a molecular fragrance, alcohol-free collection, which gets its first brick-and-mortar showing here, and Le Labo, which hand-blends scents with personalized labels at time of purchase. Set in a square layout, the Fragrance Hall features individual luxury brand shop-in-shops along the perimeter, with an open shopping environment in the center. "We filled the hall with sought-after brands and spent a lot of time curating our assortment," Borteck says. High-tech and high-touch Adding to customers' sensory engagement will be plenty of high-tech enhancements combined with high-touch personal experiences. "We challenged ourselves and our brand partner to create state-of-the-art interactive spaces," Borteck explains. Tom Ford Beauty at Bloomingdale's 59th Street Store Benjamin Lozovsky, LozophotoDigital technology is deployed in various brands' shop-in-shop environments, like Tom Ford Beauty. It is debuting a new design concept that integrates digital with private consultation stations. Tom Ford-trained beauty advisors can record makeup application sessions for the customer, which she can take along with her products to recreate the look at home. And high-tech try-on stations allow customers to apply different looks virtually. "Imagine being able to have a full face done without lips, then go to the play station to virtually try-on 15 different shades and textures of lipstick," Borteck says. "You can actually see what you look like without putting it on." This is not just a fun experience for the customer, but Bloomingdale's and Tom Ford have discovered that it also encourages people to add on second and third shade purchases. Estee Lauder also offers a virtual try-on experience as well, and Lancome introduces its first digitally powered foundation shade-matching station in the U.S. at Bloomingdale's. Charlotte Tilbury will offer a space for customers to capture their Instagram moments on the second floor, as well as a shop-in-shop on the main floor. "Our customer is shopping more independently," Borteck explains. "While she wants beauty advisors available who are knowledgeable, she also wants to discover on her own. Technology offers that for the customer." Beauty on every floor The cosmetics department will span nearly 36,000 square feet on the main floor, but will include 1,100 square feet of additional selling space in beauty outposts on other floors, including an open space on the fifth floor that will showcase new products and trends on a rotating schedule. "This is part of our concept to infuse beauty throughout the store," Borteck explains. One of those opportunistically located outposts will be an open-sell curated concept called Glowhaus on the second floor. Glowhaus is for millennials and gets double exposure on the main floor adjacent to MAC and upstairs next to the millennial section of ready-to-wear fashion. "Glowhaus is packed with brands trending on social media, housed in a playful open-sell environment where all the products are there to touch, try on and purchase on your own," Borteck says and adds, "This encourages cross shopping and further delights and surprises the customer." Another open-sell concept called Wellchemist will be opened on the main floor. It features a selection of clean beauty brands which has growing appeal to customers of all ages. "Everyone is becoming more conscious of ingredients and what they put on their skin," Borteck says. "This is a new concept that we are introducing in our flagship." "Part of our renovation was to create flexible spaces. Besides cosmetics on different floors, we left a blank canvas for event activation and new product launches," Borteck explains. New brands and room for more Bloomingdale's new beauty department will open with over 200 beauty brands, including 75 new to the store. Many of the new introductions will be featured in Glowhaus and Wellchemist with each adding about 30 new brands to the flagship store. Noteworthy new brands include Armani Prive, Creed, Le Labo and Maison Francis Kurkdijan in fragrance; Becca, Glamglow, Joanna Vargas, Lime Crime, Pestle and Mortar, Shiffa, Stila and Sulwahsoo in color and skin care; Hum ingestibles and Living Proof hair care. Personal beauty guide With more than 200 brands to choose from, Bloomingdale's is providing expert beauty guides to help customers navigate the expanded range of offering. This personal beauty shopping service is said to be the first of its kind. These brand-agnostic beauty stylists help shoppers discover new brands that fit their needs and learn new makeup and skin care techniques. "A customer can get their makeup done across different brands with appointments booked online," Borteck says. "Our stylists can curate product selections tailored to the customers needs and do a makeup bag refresh, like a closet overhaul for makeup." "We see this as a compelling new service that isn't offered out there today," Borteck adds. Services reign supreme Rounding out the experiences for beauty customers are an expanded range of spa and beauty services. Depending on the brand, services may be free with product purchases or offered with a service charge, like the 30-minute facial for $30 in the Clarins Open Spa on the third floor. This new Clarins spa concept is a Bloomingdale's exclusive among retailers in the U.S. Clarins Open Spa at Bloomingdale's 59th street store Benjamin Lozovsky, LozophotoFrom head to toe, Bloomingdale's has its customers covered, including hair styling by GHD and an OPI nail bar on the second floor opening this spring. Lancome, Amore Pacific/Sulwhasoo, La Mer, Clarins, La Prairie and Sisley also offer space room services on the main store. Like no other beauty floor in the world The Bloomingdale's team have had their eyes on what other retailers are doing in beauty, but let their customers and the company's own unique DNA drive what it hopes to be the ultimate expression for beauty at retail. It all comes down to expressing Bloomingdale's unique style in beauty—just as in fashion. "One of our overriding missions is to have style come together for our customers," Klein says. "Having stylists is important to us across all our different categories. They help customers create-their-own style that comes together including beauty." In closing, Borteck shared that the concepts introduced at the 59th street flagship will begin to roll out to other stores as opportunities arise, such as in the planned renovation to its Bergen county store in New Jersey this year. Learning here will also inform two new stores coming online in Valley Fair, California and in Norwalk, Connecticut. "We have customers who like to come into the store to shop and experience things," Klein proudly exclaims. "They want fun, excitement and service. We haven't kept our heads in the sand by not looking at what's happening in the competitive environment, but our goal is to give our customers something that is special and unique in a style that only Bloomingdale's can give ."  |
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