Nonie Creme: From Street Kid to Beauty Maven

Nonie Creme: From Street Kid to Beauty Maven

Article Credit: CEW Beauty Insider

Color and trend expert, Nonie Creme, has been a backstage fixture her entire career. She cut her teeth as a session manicurist in London, forging relationships over the years with the world's top fashion designers, photographers, makeup, hair and nail artists. As the Founding Creative Director of Butter London, Nonie was at the helm of product formulation, design and brand development with imaginative techniques, bold graphics and the audacious cheeky humor that made the Butter London range a modern cult classic. Her work in product design and development, color and branding have helped shape the now explosive nail industry, and have made Nonie one-to-watch for seasonal nail and color trends. Here, she shares her start in the beauty biz and the trends she’s seeing for fall. 

I was a troubled kid. I was smart, but I had a chip on my shoulder, and struggled with authority. When I ran away to London in 1994, my parents had enough and cut me off. Talk about tough love.

After a few months, it turned out that my 19-year-old British boyfriend was not going to be a rich and famous rock star. (I know, shocker.) I needed a job, and fast. I had an art degree from a great college…but no one wanted to hire a bratty American kid in Doc Martens. I was alone and scared, and that “shoulder chip” disappeared as I watched my last few pennies drain away.

I have to admit, I’d always really enjoyed painting nails, and it seemed like a fun and easy way to make money, so I went to night school and got certified. Finally, my art education really came into play. I had a natural affinity for color, and could hand-mix nail lacquer shades just by looking at a piece of fabric, a shoe, anything really. People in the fashion and beauty industry loved my “bespoke” nail lacquers, and I started to get calls from top fashion designers asking me to design nail looks for their runway shows and ad campaigns. Editors invited me to weigh in on what I saw happening in beauty and color, and I became a regular expert on the magazine circuit. I used those years to focus on truly understanding the intersection of fashion and beauty, and how color could be used to marry the two. It’s knowledge I used to create the Butter London product range, and now as Founding Creative Director of my next company, Nonie Creme – Colour Prevails, I get the opportunity to use my trend forecasting skills to create new products and colors each season.

So, let’s dive into that!

Fall 2014 is all about the new nude. But before you panic this doesn’t mean you will be wandering around wearing nothing but moisturizer and Chapstick. It’s more about blending and fading certain features, while subtly enhancing others. Features are stained and blurred around the edges, softened and enlarged.

Skin is about invisibility this season. You want it to just…disappear. Using a concealer that truly matches your skin tone, dot and blend in any blemishes, unevenness, dark spots, etc. Then cover everything in sheer matte foundation. Skin should not be a “thing.” There was almost no blush on the runways, but if you feel totally terrified by the concept, run a light bronzer over your whole face with a big, soft brush. No contouring, cheaters!

Next, you’ll want to choose a feature to play with. Eyes? Lips? Brows? Pick just ONE, and go subtle on everything else. For example, if you’re going for a lip, you might want to use a soft pink pearl on your eye lids, a tiny touch of mascara, and a little black eye liner only on your inner waterline, then go for a big, stained berry or wine lip that comes right out to the edge of the lips. Apply lip stain more heavily right in the center of your lips, creating a lust-worthy pout.

Brows are huge in every sense of the word. Let’s blame Cara Delevingne. Personally, I am cursed with patchy brows from my over-plucking punk days, but a little brown pencil, and I’m back in the brow game. Pencil in your brows one shade lighter than you think - strong brows mean Brooke Shields, not Frida Kahlo….Use a clear brow gel to rough up brows and make them “messy.”

Eyes this season are easier than ever to do well. Soft metallics are the order of the day, and although we are talking fall, there is a strong trend for pastels. Try a wash of metallic shadow or powder over your entire eyelid, and around your under-eye as well, then go back in with a good, smudgy black liner and heavily line your upper and inner waterlines. Next, gently rub your eyes, (like you’re tired), and behold your new “I woke up like this” sexy eye. Add a heavy dose of black mascara on upper lashes only.

Whatever you wear this fall, make it feel like you. Add your twist or favorite technique to the mix. Make up should enhance your beauty, not hide your lovely face!

XOXO Nonie Creme

BareMinerals to Launch Solid Foundation

BareMinerals Ready SPF 20 Foundation line and the Precision Face Brush.

Photo By Kyle Ericksen

Armed with a new tag line, “We Don’t Like Using the F-Word,” Bare Escentuals is looking to get consumers on solid ground with the introduction of its first pressed foundation. 

Launching in September, BareMinerals Ready SPF 20 Foundation is a solid sea mineral-enriched formula designed to provide natural coverage and antiaging benefits. 

“Leslie [Blodgett, Bare Escentuals founder and executive chairman] has always been frustrated by using the word ‘foundation,’” said Elizabeth Lamont, vice president of marketing. “It can be cakey and clog pores. This doesn’t look or act like foundation. It’s makeup that acts like skin care.”

At play in the formula is a cold-pressed oil technology, which binds the powder without the aid of talc or fillers. The brand’s proprietary SeaNutrive Mineral Complex, a concentrated blend of algae and seaweed, as well as vitamins A, C and E, are included to enhance cell turnover and provide a healthy looking complexion. “Solid mineral [powders] are different than what [our consumer] is seeing in the marketplace,” said Lamont. “It looks like a powder but feels like a cream.”

In addition, a time-released moisturizing technology delivers mineral-encapsulated glycerin and humic acid throughout the day to hydrate skin. The product is “clinically proven to firm skin,” noted Lamont. 

BareMinerals’ full breadth of 20 classic loose shades — from fair to warm deep — in original and matte variations, will be offered in the new Ready format, which has a “natural” finish. (Original imparts a “naturally luminous” effect, while Matte’s is “naturally matte.”)

“We listen to our customer first and foremost and she is very vocal,” said Lamont. “She asked for products that are convenient. She wants her product wherever she goes and solid form is preferred for portability.” 

Although the company declined to share sales figures, industry sources believe the collection could generate $50 to $100 million at retail in its first year.

Coinciding with the launch will be the introduction of the Precision Face Brush, which will be offered in classic and retractable iterations ($28 and $22, respectively). 

“The formula gives as much coverage as you like depending on which brush as you use,” said Lamont. 

With a history of loose powder formulas, BareMinerals entered pressed-powder territory with the launch of Ready Eyeshadow in September 2011. The company followed up with solid-form bronzers and blushes in March. 

In order to market Ready Foundation, BareMinerals will launch a new ad campaign featuring its most recent catchphrase in October and November magazines. The brand has also partnered with Ulta to promote Ready, which will be featured in the retailer’s monthly “prestige magazine,” marking the first color cosmetics sample offered in its pages. Ready will also be highlighted in a Macy’s direct mailer (with a sample) as well as during Sephora’s October Hot Now promotion. “We plan to distribute four million samples throughout September to November,” said Lamont. 

Also in October, Bare Escentuals boutiques will provide 50,000 customers “foundation fittings,” where they can be shade-matched and given a makeup application. 

The product’s official debut will be on QVC on Aug. 15, with a follow-up show on Aug. 25, featuring Blodgett and a QVC-exclusive silver compact with matching brush.

“There is a certain energy and buzz that travels through the airwaves when Leslie comes on to explain her products,” said Lamont. 

Come Sept. 1, Ready SPF 20 Foundation, $29, will be available at retailers like Sephora, Ulta, Macy’s, Dillard’s and Nordstrom, Bare Escentuals boutiques and bareminerals.com.

“This is our biggest launch ever and our partners are as [pleased] as we are,” said Lamont.





By BELISA SILVA WWD Copyright © 2012 Fairchild Fashion Media. All rights reserved.

Giorgio Armani Cosmetics to Launch Maestro Fusion Makeup SPF15

Armani’s Maestro.

Photo By Thomas Iannaccone

After eight years of research, Giorgio Armani Cosmetics is gearing up to release Maestro Fusion Makeup SPF15, a new formula the brand calls a “complexion perfector.”

The collection will be introduced globally in September; in the U.S., it will be on counter Sept. 15. 

“This product represents a new category for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics,” said Véronique Gautier, international general manager of Giorgio Armani Parfums. “It is a complexion perfector — pigments suspended in a water-free, powder-free new formulation unlike any other product. It is not a foundation; rather a fusion of oils and pigments. Maestro will offer an unprecedented weightless texture which is the perfect addition to the wardrobe of complexion products currently offered in the Armani beauty line.”

Added Linda Cantello, international makeup artist for Giorgio Armani Beauty: “The patented Fusion technology powers the high-slip fluid with smart pigment technology, which is dispensed via a dropper. It is an ultra-fine oil-pigment suspension designed to perfect the skin.”

The product’s base is both water and powder-free, and has five time-released oils which evaporate gradually while leaving color on the skin. The formula is also noncomedogenic. 

Cantello added that because oils are necessary for pigments to spread on the skin’s surface, the brand evaluated close to 100 oils based on volatility, nutrition and blending. From that group, five volatile, semi-volatile and non-volatile oils were selected. Each evaporates at different rates, maximizing color and moisture throughout the day. The volatile dry oil helps the color to glide on the skin and create an even distribution of pigment on the skin. A non-volatile complex, which includes lotus oil, has anti-free radical properties and hydrating agents and remains on the skin’s surface, she noted. 

While traditional foundations are comprised of 20 percent water in 80 percent oil, Maestro’s formula includes 60 percent dry oils and 11 percent pigments, with technology designed to adapt to the user’s natural skin tone, said Gautier.

In the U.S., 12 shades will be sold; globally, nine shades will be sold. In the U.S., each 1-oz. Maestro will retail for $62. 

U.S. distribution will include about 130 specialty stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue. While executives declined to comment on sales projections, industry sources estimated that Maestro would do upwards of $10 million at retail in the U.S. in its first year on counter. In the U.S., it will be promoted through heavy in-store sampling, dramming and direct mail. 

A complementary product, Maestro Eraser, will also be offered. Described as a hybrid of concealer, skin care and illuminator, it is designed specifically for the eye area, said Cantello. It is powered by haloxyl, which is said to eliminate bilirubin and iron — often causes of under-eye circles — as well as reinforce skin elasticity and firmness. In addition to its intended purpose, Cantello noted that she also likes to use Eraser on the tops of cheekbones, the bridge of the nose and above the upper lip to give the face a glow and contouring effect. It will be sold in six shades, each retailing for $40 for 0.5 oz.




From WWD Copyright © 2012 Fairchild Fashion Media. All rights reserved.

BB Creams are the Balm

BB Cream Market Looks Promising and Poised for Growth

According to a brand new report by The NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, BB Creams* also referred to as ‘blemish balms’ or ‘beauty balms’ have grown significantly in sales in the past several months. The relatively new product is quickly catching the fancy of a small segment of U.S. women. In the 12 months ending March 2012, BB creams sold in U.S. department stores generated close to $9 million according to NPD BeautyTrends®.

Women tell NPD that while they expect BB Creams to provide skincare and makeup benefits, they want to understand more about the product and how it works. According to NPD, about 8 in 10 beauty shoppers like beauty products that offer multiple benefits, and that rises to just over 9 in 10 for BB Cream purchasers. The top five benefits expected from a BB Cream include: natural looking coverage (52%), moisturizes/hydrates skin (47%), nourishes/treats skin (42%), provides SPF sunscreen protection (42%), and improves skin texture (38%).

Although the incidence of purchasing BB Creams is currently very small (2% of total beauty shoppers) the majority of purchasers tell NPD they’re extremely or very satisfied with their last BB Cream purchase, and 77 percent express positive repurchase intent. According to the report, almost 4 in 10 beauty shoppers overall say that they would consider buying a BB Cream in the future.

“About half of all beauty shoppers are sitting on the fence, saying they may or may not buy BB Creams in the future. Why does that matter? Almost 7 in 10 BB Cream purchasers have replaced either a makeup or skincare product with a BB Cream. Even though usage is low right now, as more brands enter the market and the category grows, cannibalization could become a much larger challenge,” said Karen Grant, vice president and senior global industry analyst, The NPD Group.

“Messaging that clearly distinguishes the benefits of and usage occasions for BB Creams versus other facial products could help ensure the coexistence of various products in a women’s beauty regimen. Figuring that out could make the difference in whether BB Creams gain traction more broadly or not,” ended Grant.

*BB Creams also referred to as ‘Blemish Balms’ or ‘Beauty Balms,’ are multi-functional products that combine the functionality of primers, SPF and moisturizers, along with the anti-aging benefits of skin serums.

Topshop Colour Pop

The core range comprises 97 SKUs, priced between $8 and $20, available from May in selected Topshop stores and online at www.topshop.com.

Inspiration by hot spots in London, New York, Tokyo, Rio and LA, the matte-finish pale grey packaging is described as "bespoke rough and ready". Cute hand-drawn spots, stripes and smudges were scribbled using the range's kohl pencils. The items are also housed in a matte black box with an illustration of the product inside.

Each season, new trend-led colours will be injected into the core range to offer more scope for creativity, while limited-edition capsule ranges will appear throughout the year, starting with spring/summer 2010 (also available beginning May), an ethereal collection of festival-inspired make-up, and face and lash adornments. Standout products include feathered lashes, gold transfers, metallic crayons and pots of shimmering glitter dust. Each season these capsule collections will be accompanied by a fashion story, which will encourage make-up experimentation.