BOBBI BROWN TARGETS DRY SKIN WITH EXTRA
Byline: Kerry Diamond
NEW YORK — Has Bobbi Brown hit a dry spell? Her business, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, hasn’t. But her skin has.
“The older I get, the drier it gets,” admitted Brown. She was using a heavy moisturizer from another brand manufactured by her parent company, Estee Lauder, but she found that her skin no longer responded to it. “I needed something extra,” she noted.
With that, Bobbi Brown Extra was born. This quartet of products, which is separate from her basic line of Bobbi Brown Essentials skin care, will launch in March at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Holt Renfrew. Around October, a global rollout will begin and the products will be available on Bobbibrown.com.
According to industry sources, the Extra products could ring up an extra $7.5 million at retail in 2001.
The first product, Moisturizing Balm, contains glycerin, shea butter, aloe, ylang ylang, cucumber and vitamin A. “I wanted a dense cream similar to whipped butter,” explained Brown. “It had to feel rich, but look good under makeup.” It will retail for $75 for a 1.7-oz. jar. SPF 25 Moisturizing Balm is a similar product except that it contains sunscreen. It also will retail for $75 for a 1.7-oz. jar.
Soothing Balm is a pink ointment that Brown swears “she will never get on a plane without.” It contains avocado extract, shea butter, beeswax and rosemary oil and can be used to hydrate dry skin anywhere on the body. “It’s formulated for the face, but I use it everywhere, lips, cuticles, elbows. You can use it over and under makeup.” Soothing Balm will retail for $50 for a .5-oz. jar.
The pink tint of Soothing Balm is naturally derived, Brown noted, as is the bright yellow hue of Balm Rinse. This rich cleanser smells of oranges and contains orange oil and olive oil. “I wanted a cleanser that would take my makeup off, but leave my skin feeling soft,” said Brown. Balm Rinse will retail for $50 for a 6.8-oz. jar.
All four products come packaged in heavy clear glass jars with black lids.
Extra will be promoted with deluxe samples, direct mail and co-op advertising. In stores, customers will be offered a mini-facial, followed by a makeup application.
Brown plans to expand the Extra line with more products in the fall. A kit filled with travel-size containers of the Extra products will be available in April.
In other Bobbi Brown news, the company is gearing up for its 10th anniversary in April. The Anniversary Lip Collection, a set of Brown’s 10 original lipstick colors packaged in a black leather case, will go on sale that month exclusively at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Holt Renfrew. It will retail for $100 and 30,000 sets have been produced.
Brown’s concealers have been reformulated and will be sold under the name Concealer Kit. Each kit includes a cream concealer, a sheer powder and a mini-powder puff. The concealer is available in eight shades and will retail for $35. The Porcelain concealer comes with a white powder, while the other shades come with a pale yellow powder. The concealers will hit Bobbi Brown counters in April.