Show some skin

Taking good care of their hair, skin and nails are among top priorities for some women, and something that manager of Salon Essentials, Rosemary Costa understands. "I have always been interested in the beauty industry," Costa told WMN. "For me personally, it's not just about selling products. It's about educating people about the benefits of the products I distribute and the importance of following good hair, skin and nail regimes."

Costa has been the distributor for a number of L'Oreal's products for many years and has recently added new products to the distribution list. On June 11, Salon Essentials hosted a makeup training event for Dermablend makeup, conducted by L'Oreal international educators, for makeup artists, beauty advisers, and retailers. On June 12 two training events on the use of the La Roche Posay and Vichy skincare brands were held at the Mecalfab Training Room, and later that same day training on Dermablend and La Roche Posay was held for the medical professionals at the Hyatt Regency.

"L'Oreal has four divisions. The consumer products division (CPD), professional products division (PPD), Luxe division and the active cosmetics division (ACD)." The CPD brands are distributed in retail channels, while the PPD distributes its products in salons. Products from the Luxe division are sold at department stores, cosmetics stores, and online, and ACD products are sold at healthcare outlets such as pharmacies and medi-spas. The ACD, under which La Roche Posay, Dermablend and Vichy brands fall, were formulated to meet a range of different skin care needs from normal to blemish-prone. "ACD skin care products for La Roche are for specific skin conditions like eczemas and pigmentation problems," Costa explained, "and the strength behind Vichy products comes from it minerals. It can be used by women of any age."

Vichy was created in 1931 by Dr Haller, medical director of the thermal treatment center in Vichy, France. He discovered a unique link between natural mineral water and its therapeutic benefits for the skin, giving it an irresistible healthy beauty. Costa said Dermablend makeup is the number one recommendation by dermatologists worldwide and provides natural-looking coverage for minor to major skin imperfections on all skin types and skin tones. While these products may have been available on a much smaller scale in TT before, Costa said Salon Essentials is the official distributor.

Costa's desire to introduce international standards in skin, hair and nail care to TT began in 1999 when she obtained the local franchise for Pivot Point Academy, a US based institute with over 50 years experience in providing beauty education, training beauty professionals around the world. Costa said she started with brands such as Pervonia, Matrix and Redken, which were used by the students in the student salon in their skin and hair care training.

"Pivot Point brought international beauty education standards to TT," Costa said. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, Costa said she closed the school and voluntarily gave up the franchise. But that did not hamper her from pushing forward with her goal of helping TT women to easy access to top-of-the-line skin and hair care products. The La Roche Posay, Dermablend and Vichy brands will soon be available through dermatologists and selected retailers and pharmacies.

"The ACD has other brands which I hope to distribute in the next 12 to 24 months," she said.