In a telltale sign of the pro nail industry, once again the Imposters are riding high and it even appears the imposters are copying the imposters.

Copycats have been around since the inception of acrylics. It got to a feverish point when manicurists started their own brands trying to capture market momentum. Mind you, manicurists who never saw what a factory floor looks like.

Not since the glory days of the late 80’s and early 90’s have such a profusion of imposters arisen to take advantage of not one but two huge trends: Two week color (CND Shellac) and polish that “shatters” (OPI Shatter).

None of the imposters that I am aware manufacturer a single thing including even the label that goes on the bottle. They sub-contract with a chemical company, give them a brand name and order. The chemical company produces the product and ships to the imposter. The same chemical company may make the same item for 20 different brands, all with different imposter names.

The June NAILPRO issue is inundated with imposter brands. In fact, they make up more than half the advertising so that tells you where the industry is right now. What value these companies add to the industry is questionable and who buys these products is yet another question. But if the road to riches is copying someone else’s idea and marketing it in a trade journal, then the road must be golden.

Here are some of the imposters advertising in the June issue for gel polish:

• Gelavish (is that the most original name they could come up with?)
• mani Q (how can two imposters both advertise black and white in the same month?)
• Cacee (funny how they have neon’s one month after Harmony introduced theirs)
• Gelicure (more originality)
• Gelez (what?)
• Rainbow
• Perfect Match (yeah baby, more neons)
• Gelacquer (YIKES!)
• Gelux
• Geleration
• X-Tame
• Gel-On

Here some of the imposters advertising in the June issue for “shattered” polish:

• Fractured (how original)
• Crackle
• Artisan Crackle (the imposters copying the imposters)

And off the chart, I really love this one: Honey & Milk Body Butter. Are you kidding me? Cuccio Milk & Honey Body Butter has been knocked off, a first for TONY! But c’mon, is that the best name this imposter could come up with?

Now you think I would have to make all this up but it’s all true. Now if one or more these mentioned brands might show me photos of their R&D facility, production lines, raw material inventory and so forth and then I will believe. But the real question in all this is WHY? You figure out the answer.

Happy Monday!

We have succumbed to reality shows. Now what can we in the beauty industry do to take advantage of consumer’s submissions? It seems almost anything and everything.

Tat’s have become so mainstream that you look at your own arm and wonder why you don’t have a few. Those walking around with tat’s know that people are looking at them and just like reality TV, bingo!

Hair feathers are the latest fad and could be over with by summer. But right now people are buying feathers online and soon the entire female population will be competing with chickens, turkeys, and blue jays. Hopefully no one is wearing feathers come hunting season. Again, people wear them for the attention and just like reality TV, bingo!

OPI Shatter is so big that even the powers at OPI cannot keep up. For the first time in George’s illustrious career at OPI, he has failed to keep up with demand. But that hasn’t stopped him from coming out with yet more new colors for people to clamor over. The next collection is due in a couple of weeks and it will be hot. Women love Shattered nails as they draw attention and just like reality TV, bingo!

I’m glad not to be young anymore for a few reasons. One is that I don’t have to worry about studs. Studs were traditionally for earlobes. But how boring that became! Then studs appeared in the upper and middle sections of the ear. Hmm, why stop at the ear. There are now studs for places and parts of the body that ones imagination must use to see. And every time I see one not on an ear, it draws my attention and just like reality TV, bingo!

There are times I am thrilled not to be a woman. One of those times is when it comes to shoes. I own about 10 pair and it’s a pretty simple decision which pair to wear each day. But being a woman? YIKES! Should it be flats, sandals, thongs, heels, casual, formal, boots, and every variation in-between. But the most severe of all is the hot platforms. Suddenly, short women are tall and they love it. They love it because it draws attention and just like reality TV, bingo!

So what’s next? Fudge tried wild hair color but that was a quick fad. Years ago a company called Italian Jewelry had wild gold jewelry for nails. One of the hot items was dangles. You drilled a hole in the nail and attached an O ring into the hole and a dangle of your choice hung from the ring. Perhaps this will come back. If we can do hair feathers, how about hair jewelry? Hey, what can we do with toes? Pedicures have become very boring and so UNreality TV like. Surely we can do something very cool for toes and toenails. Toe rings were hot for a while but not enough shock factor.

We have a choice: Wait for the next reality show to come up with the next big thing or we do it on our own. Ideas anyone? Bingo!

Happy Monday!