Interview with BeautyFix Brand Beauty!

Four Truffles sat down with the beautiful and talented Nicole Cardi, Brand Director from Beautyfix to ask a few questions about how this whole Beautyfix beast came to exist.

4T:  What is Beautyfix?

Nicole: Beautyfix is an exclusive beauty club dedicated to matching you with the perfect products. Each season, a panel of beauty experts separates the winners from the losers and then suggests the best product matches based on a personal profile you create. Your product matches will be divided into 2 categories: Must-Haves and Panel Faves. Must-Haves are products the panel has picked specifically for you. Panel Faves are more of the panelists’ favorites that you pick yourself! You’ll never cry over a broken beauty heart again.

4T:  How did you choose your Beauty Panelists?

Nicole: Our main criteria was that each expert be highly regarded within their respective fields as an expert, one of the best.

Many of the panelists are beauty industry professionals that I personally have known for years and are people that I trust. We wanted a nice mix of experts, opinions and experience so we turned to a few areas and used different qualifications for each.

Hair, Makeup and Nail Professionals: resume and credentials were reviewed such as working with high profile clients, photographers and magazines.

Dr’s: This elite group was chosen by resume, certifications, specialty, popularity and success rates.

Online Influencers: We reviewed the content, type of audience, and determined if they had a strong following similar to our Beautyfix customers.

4T:  What is the process they use to review each product?

Nicole: Everyone is a little different and uses their own individual process, then they complete a simple online form to share their feedback and to vote for their favorite products.  Our panelists’ opinions are based on their expertise, combined with their personal experience with the products. They test the products on themselves, in addition to using them on their clients.
Sean James, Celebrity Hairstylist, often seeks feedback from his clients such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Jamie Pressley, especially if it’s a female oriented product.  He loves to get their feedback.
In addition to reporting on the sensory experience with the product and the results it provides, some of our panelists are very focused on the ingredients and their efficacy. Dr. Barbara Polla, a specialist in Cellular Aging from Geneva Switzerland, and her daughter Ada Polla who works in product development, created the brand Alchimie Forever together. When they review products for Beautyfix, they look very closely at the ingredients and often consult with their chemist for feedback.

Overall, we get a nice cross section from a variety of perspectives.We have a fairly large group of extremely opinionated beauty experts, and if we can get a majority of them to agree that a product is fantastic, we know we’ll have a winner with our members. We don’t expect that everyone will love every product, but since the majority of our members really love our products, we know the concept works.

4T:  Do you sample by their trade/speciality?

Nicole: Everyone gets everything, for the most part.  We like to mix it up for so we can get well-rounded feedback, not just in the field of expertise for that person.

4T:  How long have you been in the biz?

Nicole: 15 years.  I started as a makeup artist and worked for photographers and did a lot of print work.  I also had a strong brow shaping business (I’ve been known to shape a mean brow!) and then worked for brands.  Over time, I kept leaning towards the corporate side of the beauty business and took jobs in various capacities.

Just before I joined Beautyfix, I took a leap from the brand side to work as a Buyer. I worked at Fred Segal Beauty which prepared me for developing and running Beautyfix.  I have a rigorous personal process myself for determining if I like a product and I get to make the tough choice of what brands make it through to the panel.

4T:   What’s the best part of the company?

Nicole: Innovation.  The owners are pioneers in integrating beauty into the online space to create an experience for the consumer that is likened to walking into a store. More and more people are buying their beauty products online and we strive to provide a warm, friendly and personal experience through the web.

4T:  What are your fave body products?

Nicole: Four Truffles, of course!  I really LOVE the body butter.  I like that it’s natural and great for dry areas but the texture allows me to use it anywhere because it’s not greasy.  Love that butter!

I also like Amazonia Viva’s Exfoliating Body Cream because has a unique texture and scent – it’s different than any other body scrub I have used. I’m also a big fan of Alchimie Forever’s Helium Body Conditioner – it’s like a conditioner you would use on your hair but for your body. I like innovative products that really work.

4T:  Does Beautyfix employ green practices?

Nicole: We try to work with as many green brands as we can. Operationally, we opt for green choices when available.  For example, we printed our gift cards on corn instead of PVC. As an office, we recycle and try to be mindful of not overusing any of our resources.

4T:  How did Beautyfix find Four Truffles?

Nicole: Our members love bath and body products and I was looking for a brand that had effective natural products.  We have a strong partnership with glow.com and I noticed when they launched Four Truffles.  I then proceeded to harass them for an introduction. I personally prefer the natural category for body care, as do many of our members, so Four Truffles was a really good fit for our program.

4T:  Why should Four Truffles customers try Beautyfix?

Nicole:  It’s fun! There are so many amazing beauty products out there so it’s important to explore and try new products. The more you explore, the more likely you are to find products you’ll fall in love with.  I believe in having fun and not being stuck on the same things all the time. With Beautyfix you also have the added benefit of knowing that the products have been vetted by a panel of beauty experts – so you’ll only get amazing products.

62% of women who consider themselves to be brand loyalists say that they would consider switching brands if they got a sample from another brand. Often times, women want to try something new, but they are afraid of wasting their money on a product they may not like as well as their tried and true. Beautyfix gives women the opportunity to try before they buy. It’s the perfect way to sample many products with low risk at a great price.

Posted Under: Beauty & Fashion Trends, Beauty Tips, Quotables, What's New? | April 11th, 2010 | No Comments