No where is fashion more prevalent in the USA than New York. And no one in our industry is more attached to NY Fashion Week than Jan Arnold.

While her father invented Solar Nails and her brother Jim managed the growth of the company, Jan was always “out there” on the cusp. Jan never bowed to what others wore in clothing, shoes or makeup. Rather Jan has always been a walking billboard of individuality, healthy living, shopping and how can we not mention. . .nails.

So it was no surprise when Jan and Jim sold their company to Colomer, that Jan wanted to stay on as their “fashion advisor.” Truthfully, I don’t know Jan’s title but when it comes to nail creations, no one does it like her. John Heffner, Jan’s just retired boss even introduced a polish line to satisfy Jan’s intense creative (how do you like use of that word!) needs, Colour & Effects. Truly artistic people use these products religiously. But fame and notoriety didn’t come from this and that didn’t stop Jan’s fashion parade for a second. She was doing NY Fashion Week before it was even a week long.

Jan’s true talents and perhaps one of her top highlights of her career came with the launch of Shellac and the totally unexpected media coverage the line received. Jan as flamboyant as can be (who else can get away with bleached white hair, 6” heel patent boots and a dress you don’t find at Barney’s on any given day) became a sensation and came into the limelight naturally. Shellac was not only revolutionary but it gave Jan creative freedom to explore design like never before. Even though Shellac launched in only 12 colors, Jan figured out a way to “layer” colors to create many more custom colors and with the launch of the next 12 shades, figured out a way to perfect nail art using Shellac exclusively.

The results are impressive but if you talk to Jan, she hasn’t changed one bit. She loves what she does and always has. Who else can do a daily blog at NY Fashion Week complete with photos and commentary AND be backstage for hours on end? Here are some of my favorite pics posted, please visit http://cndfashionweek.com/Spring2012/category/day-1/ to see her entire post:

Day 2

Day 5

Day 7

If anything, Jan has brought nails into the fashion scene and onto the runways. While the focus is still on legs, breasts, and hair, at least nails are big enough for designers to take notice. And if sales of Shellac are any indication of fashion success, then we can only imagine than Jan will be doing what Jan does best for a very long time.

Happy Tuesday!

You see the TV commercials showing the before and after pictures of people who lost 40, 60, and even 100 pounds and you say to yourself, “Yeah, right.”

Gilberto is a true example of someone who really did lose 62 pounds and is now a walking testimonial/advertisement to what looking like 62 pounds less looks and feels like.

You see, most people gain weight by putting too much food into their mouth. More calories than needed equals more pounds than needed. The average person will gain 1-2 pounds a year just by drinking a can of soda a day and/or eating a single bag of potato chips (1 oz.). It’s easy to do.

Gilberto would start his day off with breakfast at home. Then around 10AM would be his snack time. No kidding, his wife made the best 12” hoagies stuffed with ham and cheese and oozing with mayo and he would scarf this down every day at his desk. Then came lunch time and dinner time and after dinner time.

Then one day something clicked in Gilberto’s brain and he woke up thinking to himself that he wanted to run a 5K. But first, he had to run a mile. He was inspired by others and once he put his mind to it, he made it happen. Follows are his personal before and after photos (and sorry ladies, Gilberto is happily married):

Gilberto is one proud man. And rightfully so. He has already turned down offers from Men’s Health and Sport’s Illustrated Male Swimsuit issue. He loves his SAP too much. For those truly inspired by this, you can read his own interpretation of how he achieved his goal, maintained his goal and how it changed his life. Congratulations Gilberto!

After I learned how to eat and move more from Weight Watchers, and after I lost those 62 lbs, the difficult part now Is how to maintain the right weight without gaining those extra pounds back.

Today I have up to 5 Lbs I could use to keep myself on the Normal Weight ranges according to my age and height, where I shouldn’t exceed of 173 Lbs.

For it I created my own Personal Loss Weight Protocol:

• Sleep: 7-8 hours per night

• Water: At least drink 2 Liters of water per day  (never tap water since it is loaded of chlorine, fluoride and other contaminates)

• Walk/Run: Minimum goal per week is running 9 miles

• Fruits: At least 3 servings per day

• Dinner before 7:00pm: Salad, Fruits, Small protein portion(100 grams) and water or tea., or ideally 3 hours before sleep.

• Eat Breakfast: increase metabolism and decrease appetite. Never skip it.

• No Trans fats: Avoid Hydrogenated or Partial Hydrogenated oils.

• No Artificial Sweeteners: Splenda, NutraSweet, aspartame, etc.

• Limit Cold Drinks: They Slow metabolism.

• No Carbonated Drinks: They clog the liver and lymphatic system.

• Use Saunas: Sweating increases metabolism (15 minutes 3 times a week)

• Eat Fibers: Reduce appetite, relieve constipation and improve digestion.

• Drugs: Avoid non prescription and prescription drugs.

• Probiotics: eat the friendly bacteria from yogurts (1 per day)

• Multivitamins: One per day

• Try Organic Foods: a little bit more expensive but they are free of hormones, antibiotics, flavor enhancers, herbicides, pesticides, (when I read “All Natural labels” they mean nothing to me).

• Carbohydrates:  I never combine more than 1 Carb at the same time, If I eat Pasta I do not eat Bread, etc.

• Portions: are very important “What It fits in the palm of my hand (Without the fingers)”.

And the last thing I wanted to add if that the dedication and discipline are key to achieve this and/or any goal in your life.

Happy Friday!

P.S. And yes, Gilberto ran his first 5K this year and broke the 30 minute mark!

Do you live to eat or eat to live?

Food is the one thing we can satisfy ourselves with instantly. Ice cream is America’s favorite dessert by a wide margin (chocolate and vanilla are tied, butter pecan close behind) and no doubt there are those that consume a pint every night watching TV.

But eating too much of the wrong foods can be deadly, hence the phenomenal increase of Type II Diabetes in America. And America has never been fatter which causes even more health care issues. And who pays for health care? We all do.

So it makes sense to eat healthy and splurge once in a while. For me, lean and clean during the week and bring it on for the weekend (still, no butter, crème or desserts). Eat plenty of fruits and veggies (great for lunch and snacks) and focus on seasonal items. We love going to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings, best stuff and great prices.

When people come over for dinner, why not prepare some fun, healthy options instead of the typical high fat, easy to make options? Here a few of mine:

Yummy grilled shrimp with fresh chives or green onions. Marinate shrimp with fresh lemon juice, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, spices of choice (I like Emeril’s for this) and olive oil. Let marinate in refrigerator for an hour. Cook on medium grill 2-3 minutes per side. Make more than you think, they go fast. Best place to buy shrimp: Eastern Market, Costco, Kroger

This is everyone’s all-time favorite! Bruschetta platter half with tomatoes, garlic and basil, the other half with guacamole and ahi tuna. Buy loaf of Italian baguette, slice into 3/4” slices. For tomato side, buy freshest tomatoes available, Roma work well. Seed and dice, add fresh garlic, fresh chopped basil, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil to taste. Let marinate for at least an hour. Serve at room temperature. Sorry, but the other half is a secret. . . .

The perfect salad and so easy. Costco sells the best mozzarella, just make sure to buy buffalo (in water) versus pizza mozzarella. Slice into thin slices. Need good ripe tomatoes, slice thin as well. Arrange on platter. Top with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh chopped basil.

World’s best breakfast sandwich. 99% of breakfast items are high fat with plenty of cream, butter and oil. This sandwich is low fat and tastes amazing. Perhaps I will post the recipe at another date.

Coming up next, how one TNG Rebel learned not only to eat better, but what it meant for him.

Happy Wednesday!

Osama Bin Laden was a villain. He was diabolical. He planned and carried through something that America will never forget. But even as Bin Laden is dead, in his master plan, he knew that America would commemorate a 10th year anniversary if he was successful. Coincidence or not, he picked the opening weekend of NFL football, and a Sunday no less.

More TV’s were tuned in on Sunday than perhaps any other “regular” day of the year. Women were fascinated by the media coverage of 9/11 while men were still glued to their TV’s beginning with the opening season game Thursday night (how dare Obama try to interfere with that). The NFL, perhaps the most powerful organization outside politics and church had its own media interpretation of 9/11 Sunday night for its viewers to see. As the U.S. Flag that covered the entire length and width of the football field, the cameras panned to the players, coaches and fans. It reminded me when Clinton did his first State of the Union speech and had the grand idea to bring in a civilian, honor that person and then smile and wave to that person. Great TV stuff.

Now don’t get me wrong, remembering 9/11 is important to the American psyche. I remember the first 6 months afterwards. TNG had its Fall quarterly meeting the week after and we had all talent go outside by our flag poles and we sang America the Beautiful and did the National Anthem. During this period, the entire country was one and for that brief period of time, we were all humble. Planes were empty, hotels were empty, business paused and it was like nothing really mattered.

But over time, business got back to normal, airlines added flights and hotels booked more rooms. The media urged people to get on with their lives and as we know, the media controls all. And people did exactly that.

President Bush was the master of fighting the war on terrorism and there was no bickering between parties what had to be done. Whatever Bush wanted, he got. For five years, he was in control. Iraq, Afghanistan, whatever and whenever. Then 2005 came and that feeling too started to slip away.

Fast forward ten years to 2011 and where is America today? True, there has not been another successful attack on American soil since 9/11. True, Bin Laden is dead. But unlike the end of the cold war, unlike the end of WWI and WWII, and unlike the end of many wars going back into history, this one will never end.

We have already spent more than $1.3 TRILLION since 9/11 fighting terrorism and no doubt, the government loves spending money on defense. Our military has lost more than 6000 lives, more than double the lives lost on 9/11. Obama’s plan to move out of Afghanistan in slated for 2014 but who knows. And when we do move out, what will become of the forlorn country? Unlike 10 years ago, most Americans want us out not in 2014 but NOW. Their mood has changed.

Republicans and Democrats can’t compromise on anything. They barely passed the extension of the debt ceiling. Unemployment continues to hold steady at 9% and consumer confidence is at historic lows. The housing mess is still a mess and gas prices are stuck in the high $3 a gallon range.

Typically after a war, countries rebuild and an economic surge takes over for years to come. Witness WWI and WWII. Witness the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. The 20’s, 50’s and 90’s were among the best decades in American history. Most economists will admit that the decade after 9/11 is one of America’s worst.

Yes, it’s a lost war. The media was in rare form over the weekend to commemorate the 10th Anniversary as it should. What’s next? All eyes are on Europe right now as it appears Greece will default which could cause other European countries like Spain, Portugal and Italy to do the same. Now that we are in a global economy, the results could be devastating. Media’s focus will switch quickly.

In the meantime, we have the NFL. And thank God for that. Guys are in pigskin heaven and football widows are free to do whatever they want as long as they don’t ask a question during the game. The NFL players are union and went on strike. Four months later, the game is as popular as ever. Not so when baseball, basketball and hockey went on strike. The NFL is king and perhaps if anyone can get us back on track, it’s them. If nothing else, we will be entertained.

Happy Monday!

As my readers know, I am a Starbucks raving fan. Howard Schultz, CEO, left his company to pursue other interests in early part of the last decade only to return January 2008 to revitalize the chain. And that he has. The stock has tripled since then and items like hot breakfast sandwiches and specialty frozen drinks have driven growth.

So it came as quite a surprise to receive a letter from Schultz this past Friday that was emailed to most likely his Gold customers. What follows is his letter which is of pure political nature. If you don’t want to read about political issues, then don’t read this letter. I am enclosing it because Schultz obviously has a reason for writing the letter and sharing with the world. Ironically, it was sent two hours after one of the worst employment reports to come out of the U.S .Government since 1945. The stock market is not happy, people looking for work are not happy and truthfully, when it comes down to the economy, what is there to be happy about?

Obama just registered his lowest approval rating yet, only 43%. He scores far worse when it comes to the economy. Perhaps he will have something to say on Thursday at 7PM, we will all be listening (or will we?).

As a CEO, our responsibilities are many but mainly are focused on our talent (employees), customers and community. I can tell you that the biggest concern going right now is if the country and rest of the world will go back into a recession (double-dip). The fact that so many people think so means we have hope it won’t. But until then, look for more business executives like Schultz to get involved in politics, something typical taboo for highly recognized CEO’s. Here you go:

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September 2011 Dear Starbucks Friend and Fellow Citizen: I love our country. And I am a beneficiary of the promise of America. But today, I am very concerned that at times I do not recognize the America that I love. Like so many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failure of leadership in Washington. And also like you, I am frustrated by our political leaders’ steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty. Americans can’t find jobs. Small businesses can’t get credit. And the fracturing of consumer confidence continues. We are better than this. Three weeks ago, I asked fellow business leaders to join me in urging the President and the Congress to put an end to partisan gridlock and, in its place, to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. More than 100 business leaders representing American companies – large and small – joined me in signing a two-part pledge: First, to withhold political campaign contributions until a transparent, comprehensive, bipartisan debt-and-deficit package is reached that honestly, and fairly, sets America on a path to long-term financial health and security. Second, to do all we can to break the cycle of economic uncertainty that grips our country by committing to accelerate investment in jobs and hiring. In the weeks since then, I have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt stories of Americans from across the country, sharing their anguish over losing hope in the strongest and most galvanizing force of all – the American Dream. Some feel they have no voice. Others feel they no longer matter. And many feel they have been left behind. We cannot let this stand. Please join other concerned Americans and me on a national call-in conversation on Tuesday September 6th hosted by “No Labels,” a nonpartisan organization dedicated to fostering cooperative and more effective government. To learn more about the forum and the pledges, visit www.upwardspiral2011.org America is at a fragile and critical moment in its history. We must restore hope in the American Dream. We must celebrate all that America stands for around the world. And while our Founding Fathers recognized the constructive value of political debate, we must send the message to today’s elected officials in a civil, respectful voice they hear and understand, that the time to put citizenship ahead of partisanship is now. Yours is the voice that can help ignite the contagious upward spiral of confidence that our country desperately needs. With great respect, chief executive officer, Starbucks Coffee Company

Happy Tuesday!

Women really have taken over planet Earth.

57% of college enrollment is girls. Good news for guys, bad news for girls (no wonder the average age for first-time marriages has increased so much).

Guys aged 25-54 are now at the lowest employment since. . .only 81.2%.

This recession and recovery for the first time has excluded guys mostly due to the lack of construction and manufacturing jobs. The slight hope for guys is that guys are more willing to work in a different profession than girls but girls are the ones that have grabbed the jobs in health care and education (the two growing categories) over the past 3 years.

This past Monday one of our favorite guest artists, Eric Lindsey, did a sold-out Balayage class at The Academy. There was only one guy in attendance.

Walk into most salons and look for guy hairdressers. Unless they are the salon owner, they are few and far between.

While I have blogged about this before, the situation has really become exasperated. What happened to guys in the beauty salon industry? And what can we do to get guys back in?

If the PBA is really trying to do something fruitful for our industry besides overcharging its participants for trade shows and contests, perhaps they can get involved in this. We need to bring more hairdressers in from Europe. Most guys I know over the past 25 years are European heritage and virtually all the superstars are as such. Problem is that immigration is handing out Visa’s for hairdressers.

Just as colleges are 95% co-ed and thrive on this, our industry needs a better mix to thrive as well. Guys I know still in the business pull in six figures annually and know how good our profession is.

But how do we bring in guys in the USA that graduate from high school and are looking for a career opportunity? I have some ideas but would love to hear some from you.

Happy Wednesday!

People have paid more than $1M to have lunch with Warren Buffett. I would rather have lunch with Steve Jobs.

For those with short term memories, Jobs was kicked out of his own company back in 1984 (back when typewriters were the laptop of the day). He eventually came back.

Fast forward to 2004 and Steve Jobs announced he had cancer and left the company once again. But miraculously, Jobs returns and the rest is history.

Apple is the most valuable company in the WORLD, Exxon Mobil is second. Can you imagine that an iPod, iPhone, iPad and MAC are move valuable than all the oil and gas assets of Exxon Mobil? They are.

I wish I knew Steve Jobs. Unlike Bill Gates who for some strange reason checked out long time ago, Jobs and Apple have been one. All its employees are “Apple-ized,” cult-like loyal to the company. Jobs has created a world in which everyone can participate in. Sony invented the Walkman but Jobs invented truly portable music. Thanks to Jobs, I run with music. Do you recall the Sony Discman? YIKES! Do you remember the Sony Trinitron TV? It’s no wonder Sony is less than 10% of the value of Apple.

Jobs defied the corporate world. He made products for individuals, not corporations. Companies that make products for corporations are in big trouble. Look at both Dell and H-P. Neither want to be in the PC business anymore. Can you imagine? They want to be in the software business where real profits are made. IBM who invented the PC gave up long ago and sold to its PC division to the Chinese. No would be surprised if H-P did the same. PC’s are commodities and will go the way of typewriters. But not Macs. In fact, Mac sales are exploding.

Jobs took the phone and that’s when Motorola hung up. The iPhone is the #1 selling smartphone and the Blackberry is close to extinction. There are more than 400,00 apps alone and growing daily.

And the iPad? Not even Jobs could have imagined. Remember the Newton? Jobs got hammered for that one and proof positive that one must fail and fail often to succeed.

For Steve Jobs to give up his CEO role, his cancer must be getting worse. Tim Cook is well respected and done a heck of job himself. Jobs will still be Chairman and he has the company running well for at least the next few years. But Apple without Jobs will be different. There is no other CEO, founder, leader quite like him.

I miss him already. We will all miss his signature black mock long sleeve t-shirt and jeans on stage showing off his latest invention. We will miss his genius. We will miss his inspiration. But what we will miss most was his ability to allow ordinary individuals the freedom to listen, to talk, to play (#1 game company too), to express. Roy Disney comes to mind as another CEO/Founder that did the same thing in his industry. Today, Disney is still a great brand. And hopefully with Tim Cook at the helm, Apple will be Apple for many more years to come.

We certainly hope so.

Happy Thursday!

Stop on by tomorrow for a Black Angus dog (perennial favorite), Greek salad, ice cream and fun as we are having another summer barbeque. Lunch starts at Noon.

Are driver’s more out of control than ever? Why is it that certain driver’s think that the instant they put on their turn signal that gives them the instant right-of-way to merge in front of you? And how many times do driver’s do that only to switch into the far left lane and make a u-turn?

Speaking of people out of control, people texting while walking.

Oh, oh, don’t look now but inflation is up, unemployment claims are up and markets are down, down, down.

I can’t stay at anyone’s house when traveling. Yet there are those that love it. What camp are you in?

What worse feeling is there that when you flush the toilet the water reverses and starts rising?

What is to become of the typical office? We no longer need clocks. Fax machines are near obsolete. And like home phones, office phones are used less and less. At least the keyboard and monitor is still around but for how long?

DQ is a having a sale on Blizzards. What’s better than the Heath Bar one? Love them going down, hate them afterwards.

How’s this for a busy weekend? October 15-16, STRIDES event for ACS on Belle Isle in the AM followed by the MSU-UM game at Spartan stadium (another victory for MSU) and then the Detroit Free Press Marathon the next day.

With Kid Rock last weekend and the Dream Cruise this weekend, Detroit is BUSY. Good to see downtown hotels sold out and people walking around. Now if they can get crime under control.

The hair feather craze is done. Was that fast or what? And what makes a craze done?

If you haven’t checked out the all-new kemonusa.com site, check it out. Very cool, features the Kemon history video on the home page, education calendar, color charts for all color lines, salon locator and much more.

Do you like your dogs plain, with chili, Chicago style, onions & mustard or anything goes?

Happy Thursday!

I was never popular in elementary, middle or high school. I wasn’t a jock, didn’t participate in team sports or go to football games. I didn’t have a leather jacket sporting the big S (Southfield High). I didn’t have a car but I did have a deck of cards for magic tricks and a little poker. But I sure knew a lot of popular people, both boys and girls. They were cool and anyone and everyone cool was part of a clique.

Popularity is one of those things you don’t think about, yet it is part of daily life. What makes people popular anyway? What makes products popular? What makes a song, app, or video popular? What makes shoes, clothes, the things we eat popular? Why did Five Guys become the fastest growing burger joint when so many others can’t make it in a single location?

The current issue of Business Week is all about this subject and I find it quite fascinating. The issue doesn’t delve into celebrities, sports stars and politicians, it really focuses on brands, people and activities that affect our daily life.

For instance, what is the most popular pro sport? Not football but basketball. Really?

Here are some popular brands that have been popular since marketing was created:

• Marlboro
• Oreo
• Tide (how many loads of laundry per year per person? 400)
• French’s
• M&M’s
• Lays
• Coke
• Honey Nut Cheerios

What is the most popular snack bar? Nature’s Valley Oats

Most popular movie franchise? Harry Potter of course. Is Barry Meyer, Warner Bros. Chairman one of the most brilliant movie guys ever? He paid $2M for the rights in 1998. The 8 movies have already brought over $7B in revenues. Speaking of movies, who are the three most popular guys? Leonardo DiCaprio, John Travolta, and Will Smith.

Most popular business book is Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. YEAH!

OK, this one is ridiculous. What is the most successful celebrity fragrance launch of all time? Someday by Justin Bieber. YIKES! Most popular game on Amazon.com is Story Cubes (very cute).

And finally, since women love to shop, most popular department store is Nordstrom’s.

Interestingly enough, there weren’t any personal care products listed. Hmm, I wonder if there was a special section for this products, what the brands would look like.

Happy Monday!

All six new Shellac shades are in stock, a full month earlier than expected. WOW!

Who would buy Kwame’s book? And would they read it if they bought it?

Big weekend in Detroit with two Kid Rock concerts. Are you a Kid Rock fan?

The new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm is Larry David’s best yet. The last episode is particularly funny. One scene was about one of his friends that always confirms appointments and meals before they happen. David never confirms because he is always on time and present. This particular time however, he totally forgot about the lunch date and his friend didn’t confirm because of David.

While I don’t eat burgers, fries and onion rings (well, once in a great while), I love watching them being made and eaten on Food Networks, Dives, Diners and Drive-Ins. The Blimpie burger joint in Ann Arbor was recently featured. They grind fresh daily their meat and form them in 1.6 oz. balls. You then order how many balls you want. Most people order 3 but 5 and even 10 are also popular. And their rings? They take 3 days to make: First day peel onions and cover in water. Second day slice and put in refrigerator. Third day is the cooking day. Thin sliced with good crunch. YUM!

Oh, I love this technique too: Put a slice of cheese in the patty and cook as desired. Cheese oozes out. More yum.

We are living through stock market history. Are day traders the next “home flippers” to do us in?

With gold at $1800 an ounce, should anyone walk around with gold jewelry anymore?

Does anyone not shop at Costco?

How many times do you adjust the water temperature before stepping under the shower head?

Happy Thursday!