Blue Eye Shadow Encore!

I had fun writing the Starting Point column in the March issue of GCI magazine -- Blue Eye Shadow Forever -- and it seems that a lot of you had fun reading it! Thanks to all for letting me know that you had seen it and it made you smile nostalgically or even laugh out loud. Blue eye shadow can do that to a person. I understand that "Mimi blue!..." for Mimi Bobeck of the Drew Carey show, was a popular response to the column. A classic and one I somehow neglected to mention in the Starting Point. Cristina Samuels from Mode Cosmetics said her blue shade called Moonstruck was inspired by a favorite movie. She said "naming colors is great fun and making color cosmetics is exhilarating." That's the passion for this business that I so love to see. If you could name an eye shadow -- doesn't have to be blue -- for something you're passionate about, what would you call it, and why?

Summersent News

And speaking of companies in the U.S. Midwest, we've been following the story of Marjorie Midgarden Fragrances, Summersent, since just before owner Marjorie Kitzrow launched her line into the Von Maur department store chain two years ago. She was taken up by Takashimaya New York last year, and called me last week to say she will launch in Liberty in London early in April. She also said she spent some time presenting her fragrance in Fred Segal Beauty at The Lift during the Sundance Film Festival. And what's next? Marjorie says there are new things in the works. We'll just have to keep watching. I know I will.

Checking the Pulse at Teamworks

I spent the afternoon at the Midwest SCC's Teamworks event, and left feeling pretty good about the energy in the room and the vitality of the industry here in the U.S. Midwest. There was a good deal of talk about new product introductions planned for this year among the exhibiting suppliers, as well as about upcoming attendance at the variety of shows that will feature cosmetic ingredients and technologies. The GCI team will be at In-Cosmetics and at the NYSCC's Suppliers' Day, both coming up pretty quickly. It will be interesting to check out the energy and ingredient introductions at those shows.

If you're curious about what's going on in the U.S. Midwest, check out the story we wrote up about a few of the beauty brands that call the Chicago area -- and the Midwest -- home, in the March issue of GCI magazine.

Alberto Culver scientist Perry Romanowski was at the show and did his usual good job of encouraging me to tend to my blog -- he's a pretty committed blogger -- and so I dashed out to get a few words posted about the Teamworks event. If you were there, I'd love to hear your impressions of the event and your take on the vitality I sensed there.