Friday, March 27, 2009

Box Samples Arrived

The box samples have arrived and let me tell you they look really nice. They have a very classy, yet earthy feel to them. We are going to make a few minor changes and give our approval for full production. I think they are going to be a big hit even without skin care serum in them! :)

The packet artwork is being worked out with our supplier and they will send it to the filling center to make sure the machines recognize the zone for cutting before we place our order for the first 50,000.

Of course all this hoopla over the boxes should not take away from the actual product. It is in the words of one blogger, "a magic lotion". I can only say that when I have used samples it leaves my skin feeling great and seems to clear up my eczema. I really do love this product and am extremely happy with the result. I can't wait to share it with the world!

As always, a full disclosure of the ingredients are on our site. ToBetterSkin.com

Friday, March 20, 2009

Skin Care Box Art work Done Finally

Wow, has this been great! The art work has been finalized after a lot of tweaking. Amazing how far beyond a schedule you can become but totally worth it when you see it all come to fruition.

You must be wondering what is so unique about this box. Well, our box is not only made from recycled materials but is hand-made and re-usable for jewelery, recipes, note cards, whatever you'd like. BUT ALSO, wait there's more! The box contains flower seeds, yep, that's right. It can be buried in your garden with a bit of dirt, kept moist and flowers will grow. How cool is that for a skin care box!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Here we go!!!

It's crunch time! We are ordering our packets and boxes this week. the next four weeks are going to be long as we wait for delivery. Product order will be in two weeks to coincide with the delivery of the packets and boxes. Reviews have been great for those that have tried it.

In cyberspace it is hard to know who is paying attention, who is following all this. Please let us know if you're interested in receiving samples. jeune d'âge skin serum will be all that you expect in a high end product but priced sensibly. WE want to share this with everyone!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Really busy week

This must have been my busiest week since Christmas. Three product managers came in town from the East Coast. Funny how they only come during the winter months.

This blog is not completely related to the skin care business other then that I actually feel guilty for not getting more done outside of my "day" job. I've driven 1,100 miles in 5 working days but still managed at least an hour devoted to skin care sales projections so all is not lost. :)

Hopefully we can order packaging next week. The artwork and Cosmoprof Show ad came out great!


-- Post From My iPhone

Monday, March 9, 2009

Skin Care Serum Ingredient List Back from Lab

We have it! Our ingredient list, or "ingredient deck" in lab speak, just came in from the lab today. YAY! So here it is! And this stuff feels great!

Rose Distillate, Organic Aloe Vera Juice, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), Emulsifying Wax NF, Acai Oil, Organic Bilberry Extract, Organic Sugar Cane Extract, Organic Sugar Maple Extract, Organic Orange Fruit Extract, Organic Lemon Extract, Organic Cranberry Extract, Vitamin E), Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid), Vitamin C, Phenoxyethanol, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, CoQ10, Beta Carotene (Pro Vitamin A), Retinol Palmitate (Vitamin A), Alpha Lipoic Acid, DL- Thioctic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate (Panthenol Vitamin B5), Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Carrot Oil, Lecithin, Xanthan Gum (Polysaccharide gum), Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid.

I've put a detailed description of each and every ingredient on our website (tobetterskin.com). I think I'm going to have to get back to the lab though, the Cosmetic Grade Acai Oil has some Sunflower Oil to allow better blending. I need to find out where that falls into the ingredient deck. As it turns out Sunflower Oil is also very good for your skin.

Another exciting bit of news! A great blend of a companion moisturizer is in the works.

Stay tuned!

Skin care art work

Now that we have the company logo, brand name and tag line it's all the details that can really bog the process down. Small things can take the most time. I've always said it's the last 5% that can take 95% of your time. It's more true than I ever imagined!

So now we need to finalize the art work for the boxes and the sample packets. Each change is really important as it is a lasting impression. First impressions with a product release are so important and I cannot afford to have this fail! I just can't! My family and mortgage depend on it, oh yea, the mortgage. You know the kind, where your house is worth less than the loan. Yea, that kind. I guess I'm feeling frustrated this morning because my partner is very good at where the talents lay, but getting stuff done that isn't the fun stuff takes way too long in my humble opinion. ARGHHH!

Then there is the case of money. I'm going to really extend myself to get this great product launched. We have Reps excited and wanting to sell already. Several consultants/bloggers are very interested. Once we launch there will be no money until that batch is sold meaning there will be a full 4 to 6 weeks before we have more product. So, the business plan is being worked on day and night, sometimes until the wee hours of the morning so we can approach a bank for a line fo credit. Hope our tax money for the bail-outs are going to come back to us. :)

OK, I'll be in a better mood tomorrow.

The art work really does look great so far!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Time to make a record of this. It all started when...

Wow, where do I start? It all started back in...December, was it? As you'll learn, I'm not great with time - when things happened and in what order. Pretty sure it was December anyway. A friend came to me with an idea. This friend wanted to partner with me in a business, what we were going to do was all up to what went through our little brains at that time. Well, on this particular day the idea was based on an experience at a NuSkin seminar.

According to my partner NuSkin had one major flaw in its' presentation of their product. And as it turns out most of the entire industry seems to be ignoring one important thing about most skin care products. They oxidize! Yes, even products with lots and lots of anti-oxidants oxidize in a fairly short period of time. What does this mean? It means that most of those great things that they put in the products anti-oxidant products are useless before you get though with the container. But wait! Don't the put preservatives in?

Well, yes. Most do! Why add a chemical compund to preserve a natural product when it's really not the best for your skin? Another thing to ponder; skin lotions, at least the good ones, are meant to absorb into the skin. This means that along with all those great ingredients come the preservatives working it's way into your lower levels of the skin. Think about it. A typical container is 1 to 2 ounces for a month supply. Over the years this adds up and those chemicals you don't think about are now working through one of the most important organs of your body that protect all others - your skin.

Then there are those natural and/or organic products that don't contain preservatives. But is that good? Well it is meant to be but by the time you open the product it has already begun to degrade.

So what's the answer? Well, you could use Phenoxyethanol which is an organic chemical compound derived from sage essential oil. But even so you will have some degredation. And so, we had a plan...which you will learn more about later.

Our first decision was to make a complete list of the most desirable ingredients on the market, add in some exotic organic and natural products that are packed full of nutrients for the skin and pour them all in a pot in our kitchen and waallaa! We'd have one of the best products on the market! Yea, right? Not so easy. Stay tuned, I'll tell you more...

M