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Harriet and Buddy Rose were pioneers. Back in 1979, they started Forsythe Cosmetics and introduced the first range of $1 polish in over 100 colors. This was around the same time little known Arnie Miller, Paula Meehan Kent, Jerri Redding and Paul Mitchell were coming out with Matrix, Redken and Paul Mitchell salon lines.

Forsythe had two key salespeople working for them, Janet Greenberg and Essie Weingarten. Both left around the same time in 1981 to start their own companies. Greenberg went on to start Charni and Weingarten went on to start Essie.

Charni and Essie both copied Forsythe’s marketing idea and launched $1 polish in a multitude of shades. Both prospered quickly due to their previous connections and they became natural competitors. However, Greenberg decided motherhood was more important and Charni faded away. Essie on the other hand kept on churning out new shades focused in the French manicure category and came up with names like Ballet Slipper and Waltz to differentiate her brand from the masses like Revlon and L’Oreal.

Eventually the $1 bottle went to $1.25, then $1.50, then $1.75, then $2.00, then $2.50. Mind you, this bottle had no brand name, it was a square bottle with a white top. If you called Essie to order, most of the time after 6PM Essie herself would answer the phone and take the order, no order too small. Her and Max (business partner) sat upstairs in a small open office with four others yelling back and forth while processing orders. One caveat with Essie: she made sure she was paid.

Then Max had the brilliant idea to put the logo on the bottle. Of course the price zoomed to $3.00, then $3.50 and now sits at $4.00, surely ready to go up again once the economy settles in (they always kept pace with OPI).

During the growth stage, you could see Essie and Max behind their booth at the NY, Long Beach and Midwest trade shows. Manicurists would come with lists and buy hundreds of bottles. Essie was there packing up the boxes, tearing apart the boxes, talking and yakking. Max stood behind the booth with his Armani suit and Hermes tie watching the whole time and making sure the money was properly accounted for. Smart man.

Alas, a couple years ago L’Oreal nearly bought Essie but something happened. But not for long. Perhaps as long as 6-9 months ago, Essie signed the dotted line agreeing in principle to sell her company founded back in 1981. Yesterday the press got hold of the news that L’Oreal in fact bought Essie and both Essie and Max signed long term contracts to stay on.

Needless to say, life in Astoria, NY will change quickly as L’Oreal moves production and inventory to its central locations. It will be strange to see Essie and Max walk into 575 Fifth Avenue and sit in an office.

In the end, it’s yet one more entrepreneurial-based company gone in our industry. Snatched up like gold floating in the river. L’Oreal is now in the polish business and God only knows what they will do with the brand. George at OPI is most likely wondering the same thing himself.

I will miss the Essie chapter. There are memories that won’t fade especially when it came to Max’s BS, but all in the love of the business. This was a long chapter, nearly 25 years long.

Good luck Essie and Max. Enjoy your newfound wealth and take time to travel. Be sure to visit Turquoise & Caicos and Playa Del Platinum. After all, you are now living in the Lapis of Luxury.

Happy Thursday!

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A couple weeks ago a salesperson came in for a meeting. A common occurrence that happens far too often. In conversation I learned he had a daughter and a wife and was traveling light.

I wanted to give him something to take home to earn some bonus points. I gave him the new mini collections from both Essie and OPI.

The phone call I received the next day was such that you would have thought I gave him a couple sets of Tiffany studs. That’s how happy they were.

Last week I interviewed a candidate wanting to work at TNG. He came in from NY and I learned that he too had a daughter and wife. On his way back to NY, I have him the OPI mini collection to earn some bonus points.

He gave the collection to his soon to be 13 year old daughter and she was giddy with excitement. She soon envisioned her father bringing home boxes of TNG goodies. And his wife wants 50 of them for a big birthday party.

The thing is, we are around beauty products all day long and to many of us, they are as utilitarian and exciting as a cup of morning coffee. We are so used to the products that they don’t excite us and we take them for granted. But when the same products are given or made available to those not around them, they jump up and down with excitement.

I doubt the owners wife of a florist gets excited when her husband brings home flowers. I doubt the owners wife of a jewelry store gets excited when her husband brings home another trinket. We all get jaded.

But I’m telling you. These mini collections are priceless and hot. If you own a salon or spa, put a dozen of them at the cash wrap and see what happens. It’s time to get excited about what others get excited about.

Happy Tuesday!

When I’m 60 years old, I want to be on the cover of Business Week or Forbes. Now wouldn’t that something. I was on the cover of dBusiness last summer and that was pretty cool. But us business guys with the exception of a few like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Jack Welch rarely reach celebrity status.

On the other hand, if you can sell a bottle of nail polish for $8 with your name on it for nearly 40 years as Essie has done, you can reach celebrity status. Essie’s bottles continue to be flogged in major magazines because:

A. Essie has told beauty editors that nail polish is a fashion statement

B. Essie invites fashion editors to luncheons, dinners and gives them lots of free Essie polish

C. Essie loves doing everything herself, making her brand unique among others

D. Essie’s lifestyle of the "apartment" in Manhattan, the "beach house" in the Hampton’s and the getaways to the Peninsula in Beverly Hills and Le Toiny in St. Bart’s enlists her in the minimum requirement book to be a celebrity

I’m almost certain that if her partner for the past 24 years would buy her a jet, then for sure Essie would make the cover of a magazine. But for turning 60, Essie isn’t doing too bad. MORE magazine has her featured on page 41 of the current issue. After reading it, I’m getting my skis waxed and shopping for the latest in snowmobile gear (all matching of course).

Last I heard, a Vespa is not a Gulfstream, but how much celebrity status does one really want?

Pick up a copy today and share it in the salon. You might even sell a bottle or two of Essie polish!

Happy Tuesday!

It’s a well known fact that diamonds are a girls best friend. But then again, so are shoes, handbags, cosmetics, dresses, accessories and restaurant reservations.

Diamonds last forever. That is perhaps one of the greatest marketing lines ever invented. DeBeers came up with that one years ago; they are the clearing house for all diamonds sold and are responsible for keeping the price points high.

Sapphires and emeralds aren’t too bad either. Although a bit lower priced, they have that lure that brings attention day after day. One never gets tired of looking at brilliant gems.

With this in mind, Essie herself a connoisseur of fine diamonds, an idea hatched. Why not put a diamond, sapphire and emerald in a bottle of polish and name the collection Essie Loves Diamonds?

Essie partnered with designer Judith Ripka and with no budget spared, came up with a special 1-ct diamond, sapphire and emerald gem. The collection has 3 colors and each color will have one lucky bottle in it containing the gem, up to a $5000 value. At $15 a pop, it ain’t cheap but the marketing folks at Essie are tossing in a signature crystal file, a $14 value, for free (Max is a big shooter).

The collection officially launches August 1 but you can buy now at theindustrysource.com and bebeautiful.com.

If you are a lucky winner, you have to let me know so I can feature you in my blog and in our magazine. Good luck to all.

Happy Thursday!