The marketing team spent some time over the last week talking about the Beauty Collection Blog, and the fact that it’s a critical piece to growing the strength of our voice in World of Beauty.

To-date, we’ve had terrific contributions from a number of talented beauty writers (who should be familiar faces on Facebook too!), including:  Candy Darr, Chelsea Rau, Claudia Castillo, Jennifer Morgan,Kathleen Novak, Kia E., Katie Coleman, Laura Castillo, Melinda Gordon, Sompath Breen, Shelby Doyle, and Tiffany Salvia

We can’t say it enough – we appreciate you, value you, and have really enjoyed playing in the sandbox with you!

And, we’re hoping you’ll stay on board with what we have planned next.

So what are we planning?

We want to take the blog, and Beauty Collections’ social media presence, to the next level.  We want to increase our influence in the world of beauty, be paid more attention to, have more fun, feature more cool things, and…provide more opportunities to beauty enthusiasts – especially (but not exclusive to) those who live in SoCal.

To that end, we’ve made a decision to bring on board a talented professional writer and experienced beauty editor to become the Associate Editor of the blog.  She’ll be working with the marketing team (Jazerai when she’s back, me, Hannah) to grow blog.beautycollection.com’s influence, visibility, and status.

Her job in a nutshell is going to be to build the team of talented and skilled content producers – and to provide you with direction, visibility, and opportunity.

Why should you be interested?  If we do our job right, our content producers will get:

• Projects that you find interesting and rewarding
• Opportunities to specialize in areas of beauty (makeup, anti-aging, hair care, etc.) that really interest you
• Increased visibility for your writing on the blog, and for yourself (your own blog, business, projects etc.)
• A fun and engaged community of bloggers you enjoy meeting, and working with
• VIP access to brands and events
• A constant stream of quality products to review – all in your area of passion/ interest

We’re also establishing a select team of Curators

While we’re recruiting for contributors in general, we’re also going to be establishing a Curator Team – five or six bloggers who, through their quality of work and consistency, get special bennies including:

• Inclusion in the Beauty Collection employee discount program (30% off all purchases)
• Periodic inclusion in the COLLECTOR monthly print newsletter
• Other special (and fabulous!) opportunities that are still TBD

For those who are available, we’ll be meeting to discuss the program next Wednesday (Nov 2, 2011)
We’re going to be holding a meeting next Wednesday night at 7PM in the West Hollywood store to meet you, introduce the Associate Editor (if she’s available!), discuss our plans, and get feedback.

If you’re interested in attending, please confirm in Facebook and also send an email to customercare@beautycollection.com with:

• Interested in attending beauty bloggers event” in the subject line
• Your name, email address, and telephone number in the body of the email

For those of you who CAN’T attend but who are interested, please send an email directly to the head of marketing, Lawrence, at lawrence@beautycollection.com.  We’ll be in touch.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Combining science, beauty and a passion for caring for sensitive skin, Avene has become the leading expert in natural solutions for stubborn skin issues. Using a combination of their enriched Thermal Spring Water and hydrotherapy – a therapeutic treatment that has been used since the 19th century as a natural treatment for sensitive skin conditions, Avene’s gentle yet effective formulas have become an instant celeb-favorite.

Avene’s Thermal Spring Water is so powerful that it is the key element in all of their products.  Travelling 40-years through the Cevennes Mountains, Avene’s Thermal Spring Water originates as rain, before embarking on the journey to healing. Absorbing  enriched minerals and trace elements along the way, Avene’s Thermal Spring Water becomes more than just rain – but a uniquely composed, natural healing resource.  Over 300 biological, pharmacological and clinical studies have been conducted by both Avene and independent researchers, confirming  the miraculous healing and soothing benefits of Thermal Spring Water.

REVIEW

My 4 year old son has terrible keratosis pilaris [KP].  If you aren’t familiar with KP, it’s an inherited skin condition, where extra keratin accumulates in the hair follicles.  The result?  Unsightly bumps on your limbs and sometimes your face.  While my son isn’t vain quite yet, the bumps do bother him – he’s constantly talking about them and picking them, leaving tiny scars on his limbs.

I had heard so many amazing things about Avene’s Thermal Spring Water, that I just had to try it.  While my son hates the ‘special lotion’ and creams that we use, I hoped that he would be excited about a spray – after all, what kid doesn’t like a spray bottle aka water gun?

The spray comes out more like a mist, just like the water misters you find at amusement parks during the summer – light and airy.  A lot of people have asked if the water is okay to use on your face – the answer yes.  The water is just like natural water, you can spray it anywhere with zero irritation.  I spray it right in my son’s face to address the bumps he’s developed on his cheeks.  The main thing that I have noticed is the ‘texture’ of the water.  It’s definitely lighter than ‘regular water’ and leaves a bit of sheen when applied.  After it dries, it leaves your skin uber soft, and refreshed.  During these hot months, I keep a can in my fridge for a quick refresher.  Here are some ways that I have used it thus far:

• Addressing my son’s KP, eczema and dry skin
• To set my makeup
• As a quick refresher after being outside in the heat
• Soothe bug bites

The result?

After using the Avene Thermal Spray on my son for 3 weeks, I am proud to say that his bumps are down to about 10%.  He only has a couple on one arm, none on his face, and 2-3 on his legs.  I cannot stress enough how this has changed his life.  Not only has it made the unsightly bumps go away, but it has avoided any scarring, that may bother him as he gets older.  All in all, it has changed our lives.  Thank you Avene.

Product: Avene Thermal Spring Water

Price: $7.50 – $16

Purchase: All Beauty Collection locations and online.