Hair removal creams work by dissolving hair from the root, making the hair removal last longer than shaving and produce smoother results. The hate portion of our love-hate relationship with hair removal creams comes from the fact that it’s messy.

Veet has made this a more pleasant experience by including a dual sided sponge in their In-Shower Hair Removal Cream. You apply with the smooth pink side and exfoliate and remove hair with the white side. Being able to apply the cream without actually touch it was a great experience; not getting it on our hands meant that we didn’t get all over the bathroom.

This formula is also designed to dissolve slowly on contact with water, so while you’re waiting you can jump in the shower. We preferred the old fashioned way, and just waited the 3 minutes before hopping in the shower, but it was nice to know we didn’t have to. And although it’s not advertised on the packaging, we found the scent to be a lot more pleasant than most depilatories. Recessionistas can visit http://www.veet.us/offers.php for $2.00 off of any Veet product.

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

There’s no doubt that you have plenty to choose from when it comes to buying an eye cream. But many of them do not have every desired benefit at once. It is rare to find an effective product that works on wrinkles, dark circles, AND loss of firmness. However the Aveeno Positively Ageless Lifting & Firming Eye Cream does it all; and it really works! Within four weeks, our concealer was getting a lot less action. This eye cream contains wheat protein to firm skin, and shiitake mushrooms to slow down the aging process.

Aveeno has always been a favorite of dermatologists for its gentle ingredients. So as expected, the product didn’t have any unnecessary fragrance and it didn’t sting our eyes. Our favorite part about this product was that it didn’t affect our makeup at all. Since it’s a non-greasy, fast absorbing cream we didn’t get any creased eye shadow or traveling eyeliner.

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

Quality eyeshadow has never been so affordable. We have found the perfect palette of colors for the Spring! For around $5, the WetnWild Ultimate Expressions Eyeshadow Palette has 8 long wearing eyeshadows. Fantasy Island 398 is our favorite shadow combination this season. It has vibrant hues that will match any spring wardrobe, and also includes a matte selection of brown and cream (reminiscent of the Bobbi Brown best selling shadow, Bone).

There is a generous amount of eyeshadow in this palette, and it also includes a mirror. The shades are meant to complement each other, and they are crease resistant. Try using a synthetic brush to apply the dark brown or green shadow for a soft but unique look.

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

When you have very oily skin  powder foundation stops the grease fest in its tracks. We liked the Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation Compact because of its light feel and multiple benefits. The powder has an SPF 20 and antioxidants to protect your skin from aging. It’s also fragrance and oil free. You can get sheer to medium coverage with this powder. We liked using the sponge applicator, but for full coverage we took a big powder brush and used it to set our liquid foundation.

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

Many matte lovers balk at highlighters, finding shimmer to be cheap and obvious. However, when applied correctly, a quality highlighter can make your face look naturally luminous.

The WetnWild BeautyBenefits Brilliance Eye Shimmer Stick is like a super product. You can use it as an all over eyecolor, eyeshadow base, or as a highlighter for your brow bone.

We tried the shade Pink Peony (there are 6 shades available). Its’ subtle iridescent color made our eyes appear brighter and prettier. No unnecessary glitter in this creamy product at all. We were already happy enough with how the shimmer stick made our eyes look, but became serious advocates when we discovered that this shimmer stick has ingredients that prevents age and boosts hydration. It’s also crease and water-resistant so you don’t have to worry about how long your look will last.

Our favorite way to use this shimmer stick was to put it on our eyelid as a base color, then dust a dark shadow in the crease. The shimmer stick made the shadow look richer, and last longer too.

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

Glam Camp Program is a hit at Teen Community Events

Harrisburg, PA RITE AID stores, working with Cosmetic Promotions Inc, a national beauty marketing and promotion firm, attract Teen shoppers to their stores by attending various Teen events around the Nation. For the 2^nd year, CPI sends attractive young models along with high-value giveaways to targeted events happening in 5 of RITE AID’s strongest markets that match up with a high teen population. The giveaway is a custom designed “Glam Camp” duffle bag that contains 12 beauty product samples and coupons from RITE AID’s vendors such as Jergens Natural Glow, Jesse’s Girl Eye Dust, Clearasil Daily Face Wash,  Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste,  John Frieda Clear Glaze,  Hawaiian Tropic Oil Free Faces, Maybelline Volume Seduction Lip, Wet n Wild Lip Gloss, Ban Solid Deodorant, Got2Be Smooth Operator Hairspray, Yes to Carrots Sample, Playtex Gentle Glide Slender Tampons and a Seventeen Magazine Subscription Card. The Glam Camp bags are also a gift themselves as they are a pink and black small duffle bag with a hip logo that can be re-used for school, events, or hobbies.

RITE AID Glam Camp was excited to be involved in this year’s 94.5 WPST Prom Expo which happened on March 22^nd in Hamilton, NJ.  The 1^st 500 event attendees to arrive received the FREE Glam Camp Bag valued at over $25. The event was promoted heavily in advance on the radio as well as on the PST website.  There was a “Pimp your Prom” contest which offered PST listeners a chance to win a complete prom package for 5 couples including limousine, dresses, tuxedos, make-over and spa services! In addition to the contest, vendors and sponsors had the opportunity to showcase their business, products and services. The Expo PST’s Totally Interactive Night Show host, Shinn, hosted the event. “Even though we didn’t win the ‘Pimp my Prom’ we loved the Rite Aid goody bag” said one attendee; “There is such great stuff in here. I will use all of these; especially the Jergen’s bronzing lotion.”

Another popular event is the annual US Spirit Cheerleading Event held in Columbus, Ohio this past March which had a target audience of teen girls 15-to 19 yrs of age. The Glam Camp bags were handed out over the three days of competition to 1500 attendees. The RITE AID message was promoted via banners at the event to over 3500 participants and almost 8000 spectators.  The event coordinators  felt the free Glam Bags were a big success and perfect fit for the event’s participants and look forward to having RITE AID there again next year.

“Thank you so much for allowing US Spirit the opportunity to work with you in distributing the free Glam Bags to our cheerleaders. The girls absolutely loved receiving the Glam Bags and the moms liked the idea that it wasn’t the usual “junk” but rather items the girls need and will put to good use”, gushed Jen Schenck, US Spirit Coordinator “Each day, the free Glam Bags added much enthusiasm to our already excited cheerleaders. We knew the Glam Bags would be a treat for them, but the wonderful response far surpassed anything we had anticipated!”

The Glam Camp program has been very successful for RITE AID and their vendors. One vendor’s website hits went up 244% after the first bag distribution and continues to grow with each event. “I can always tell when the bags have been distributed” says Jesse Lawrence of Jesse’s Girl, an exclusive RITE AID brand of cosmetics; “because I get so much web traffic the next few days”. Other Glam Camp programs include Back to School Makeovers in 200 stores and a tie in with Seventeen Magazine featuring 8 vendors. All programs are completely coordinated and executed by Cosmetic Promotions Inc. The company secures the vendors, the bags and all the venues for distribution.

You can’t go wrong with 2 products in one compact. Revlon’s Beyond Natural Concealer & Highlighter contains a silky smooth concealer for under eye circles and a highlighter for skin enhancement. We were thankful that the concealer was opaque enough to keep our dark circles a secret.

You can use the highlighter on your cheekbones, inner corner of your eyes, brows, etc. We thought it worked best to accentuate our cheekbones; it’s so subtle it truly made us look like we had great bone structure.

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

Cosmetic Promotions, a National marketing and promotion company, completed a 6 month customer response survey on in-store demonstrations. The survey was conducted during several events in various retailers between 4^th Quarter 2008 and 1^st quarter 2009.

Of the almost 3000 people surveyed,

• 60% had never tried any of the products demonstrated before
• 35% intended to purchase immediately based on the demonstration, another 56% intended to purchase later (less than 9% had no purchase intent)
• 96% would like more of the same event at that store

The age group breakdown was as follows:

• 25% – under 25
• 44% – 25-50
• 31% – over 50

The events are usually conducted by a professional makeup artist and features brands such as Cover Girl, Wet n Wild and Neutrogena in mass drug, food or merchandiser stores.  Markwins Company hired Cosmetic Promotions to do over 500 in-store events during this period on their Wet n Wild and Black Radiance brands and to introduce their new Beauty Benefits Brand. At a recent Beauty Benefits event, sales average 3 pieces per hour with a closure rate of 150%. The closure rate is figured by dividing the number of sales by the number of makeovers performed. 82% if the customers had never tried or heard of the brand prior to the event and the company is happy with the results.

At a recent Neutrogena Cosmetic event held in Meijer’s stores, sales were almost 6 pieces per hour with a 277% closure rate. Of the 67% who had never tried Neutrogena, more than 2/3rds made a purchase during the event.

To further encourage customers to stop and participate, these events usually include a drawing for a Beauty Basket. Customers can also opt in to be notified of future events by checking that box on the entry forms, so these events also provide a valuable mailing list for the customer. In addition, the makeup artists take time to train the store associates on the brands so sales continue even after the event is over.

For more information on how you can benefit from such an event, contact Kristin Bocox with the CosPro Agency at 877-326-7776 or kristin@cosmeticpromotions.com.

Having fun in the Walgreen’s beauty department is not just restricted to us non-celebrities. Popular daytime talk show host Bonnie Hunt devoted an entire segment of her show to her love of shopping at Walgreens for her cosmetics. “You know that I talk about going to Walgreens all the time to get my makeup…And I’ve been doing that since I was a teenager…And I still go there, I still get my CoverGirl and stuff”.

On the show she took her friend Holly with her flip video so she could see how fun it was to shop at Walgreens, and they happened to go on their Saturdate weekend, which is a Saturday that Walgreens devotes every month to beauty. Beauty advisors teach customers about products and treat them to samples and coupons. The video was hilarious and Sally, the Walgreens beauty advisor on duty good naturedly entertained all of their questions.

At that same store (and 200 other top Walgreen’s stores), there is going to be a big event for Coty Fragrances in celebration of Mother’s Day. On May 9^th and 23^rd  a demonstrator will be there distributing samples and spritzing customers with the new Halle Berry Fragrance as well as Celine, and Nautica Bermuda Blue. Customers can sign up to win a great Fragrance Basket at each store and there is also a gift with purchase opportunity. Customers  can also enter to win a $50 Walgreens gift card from the Bonnie Hunt Show at http://www.bonniehunt.com/walgreens/.

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

In January of this year, L’Oreal released a line of sulfate-free hair care products for color-treated hair. There are three systems to choose from: Moisture, Smooth, and Volume.  If you didn’t already know, sulfates are the detergents that clean your hair in shampoos. Unfortunately, they can strip and dull hair, which is an even bigger problem for women who dye their hair.

We tried the L’Oreal EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care System from the Moisture line, which includes the shampoo, conditioner, and deep restorative masque (named one of Marie Claire Magazine’s 25 Best Beauty Products of the Year for 2009). The system doesn’t contain salts or sulfates that wash away color. Instead, the system uses natural surfactants (gives products the ability to remove dirt when dissolved in water) and natural botanicals.

This system was completely the opposite of what we expected. Since the products don’t contain the sulfates that are in our favorite shampoos, we expected less lather than usual, less volume, and perhaps more product build up left behind. But the shampoo actually had a great lather, and we got a salon worthy clean. Most products for color-treated hair make you sacrifice volume for protecting your hair color. But even after flat-ironing, we had voluminous, light weight hair; we can’t wait to try their Volume products. The scent of this product is soft and subtle; it smells of rosemary, juniper, and mint.

Most hair sunscreen products only block UVB rays, but this system has both UVA and UVB filters so you also have better protection from the sun. After weeks of use, our hair color is still bright and shiny. We would recommend this product for anyone who wants volume, whether or not they color their hair. And as if we didn’t have enough reasons to continue buying this product, L’Oreal created EverPure without testing on animals or using animal by products.

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.