Cristina Carlino, Miracle Worker

When Cristina Carlino appeared on my television screen last night after a nine-month absence, I had to do a double take. She looks so different!

Cristina credits the technology behind her new Philosophy Miracle Worker Anti-Aging Retinoid Pads for her "miraculous" transformation.

Hmmm .... call me skeptical, but new appearance plus long absence usually equals only one thing. I just can't believe that there wasn't a little something more than a new retinoid involved here. Now I'm not saying that she had the full Joan Rivers, but I'm guessing that there just might be a human hand involved in her miraculous transformation.

If she really did get those results from her new miracle products, then Queen Bea is going to pray at the alter of the Philosophy auto-delivery gods!

What do you think? Check out some older pictures of Cristina here (scroll to the right),  here, and here.

It's a Beautiful Day

Check out the QVC It's a Beautiful Day sneak peak over at the Beautiful Makeup Search blog here and here and here (she's got a lot of ground to cover!)

Rock & Republic will also be making their debut on the Q. Never heard of them, but the name has me intrigued. Will I come out looking like Pink?

And Philosophy will have the TSV ... check out the Philosophy Advanced Make-up Optional Skincare Set.

So will you be glued to the couch all day tomorrow with QVC set on speed dial???

Charla is Da Bomb, Baby

Charla Rines is by far the kookiest and funniest home shopping host out there. Granted, she can be a tad over the top and a little too much to take at times, but I'd rather be annoyed occasionally than bored all the time.

I was channel surfing last night and happened to come by Charla selling Isomers on ShopNBC. If I see Charla, I have to pause and listen for at least a couple minutes. You just never know what she's gonna do.

Charla seemed genuinely passionate about the Isomers products she was presenting. She talked about what she uses regularly and the results that she has seen--using her own face to demonstrate results. And, no, she didn't look like an airbrushed supermodel. She looked like a regular lady fighting the good fight against the ever-persistent hands of time.

Charla was not only entertaining, but she interacted with the vendor, the fabulous Manuela Marcheggiani, as if she were a customer with substantive questions about the products.

For her part, Manuela was personable and informative. She didn't gloss over the research that explained how and why a particular product worked. I see why Isomers has such a loyal following. It seems to be the way Philisophy was in the beginning, before everything became about a big bowl of sudsy Gingerbread Man shower gel demonstrations.

They were perfect together. The inquisitive entertainer coupled with the knowledgeable vendor was so refreshing. It was everything that home shopping could and should be. And this was on ShopNBC of all places!

I almost ordered some anti-reddness serum since I have such a problem with dry, red skin. Almost. I think that the only thing that stopped me was that there wasn't a special on that specific product. But as soon as there is ...

The Brains Behind the Beauty

This is a great interview with QVC cosmetics buyer, Michele Tacconelli. If you love all things beauty and makeup, it's definitely worth going to the Sparkle and Gloss blog for a read. Michele is sort of the "woman behind the curtain" of QVC beauty brands.

Here's a little snippet ...

Michele Tacconelli, buyer of color cosmetics for QVC in the U.S., has been with the network 10 years and is credited with discovering and/or nurturing some of its biggest successes – Bare Escentuals, philosophy, Laura Geller and one of her more recent finds – 100% Pure that she expects will become a “huge” success due to its use of natural ingredients. It is currently the only brand in the world using fruit tints for color, claimed its creator in a broadcast in early October.

Why do you think women are willing to buy beauty products without seeing them or touching them?
At QVC we have the top expert on the brand, whether it is the president or a makeup artist, to really explain the product. You can’t get that kind of expertise and passion at traditional retail. That is an unmatched experience that QVC offers and that is the biggest difference between us and traditional beauty retail. It is about the story and the passion. There is a personal connection with the consumer that is really important. Plus the show is live and that develops a trust factor. You have to keep it believable.

Who is the QVC shopper? Do you have a target market?
Our customer is a shopper of the world and very sophisticated. They read the beauty magazines and they know this category well. They want you to excite them. So the brand and the products have to have unique qualities. Our customer loves to shop in store, on the Internet or anywhere. We do not see her as a target age group. She is someone who is looking for something new and different.

Do you have exclusives on brands? What do you look for in the brands you bring on?
We have a lot of brands that are also in traditional retail. But we have some brand and product exclusives as well, and that helps drive our business. [For instance, QVC has the exclusive on the 100% Pure cosmetics products until January.] We really look to build long term relationships with our brands. One of our strengths is in brand-building. For instance, we introduced Mally Beauty, the cosmetics collection by makeup artist Mally Roncal. I had seen a lot of celebrity makeup lines, but she had a unique point of view. Mally took the techniques she used on her clients and created products that made it easy to duplicate the looks at home. Her brand launched on QVC on March 5, 2005, and the one-hour show ended 22 minutes early because all the items had sold out.

Down the Rabbit Hole: My First trip to Sephora

Yesterday, for the first time, I ventured into the holy temple of beauty … Sephora. Wow … just, wow!!! I was so overwhelmed that I could barely take it all in. It was like I fell headfirst down the rabbit hole and landed smack dab in the middle of QVC-land. Aisle after endless aisle of products that I’d been hearing about for years were on display.

I finally got the chance to smell all the Philosophy not-really-perfume perfumes—Amazing Grace, Inner Grace, Baby Grace, Pure Grace, and Falling in Love. After smelling them for myself, I can say that yes, in fact, these are perfumes. I don’t know why Philosophy likes to pretend otherwise. And, they weren’t what I was expecting. I suppose after listening to long-winded and flowery descriptions by numerous hosts and Philosophy founder, Cristina, I had certain preconceived notions going in.

My favorite? Baby Grace. I never would have guessed that. Although I have to confess, I had just spent twenty minutes at the Yankee Candle store sniffing the new holiday candles so my smeller was a little spent.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to really test out everything since my husband, Mr. Queen Bea, and my son, Queen Bea Jr., were not-so-patiently waiting for me (Sbarro pizza was calling—Yum-O!). I plan on going back when I have more time and less men with me and I can’t wait!

And, for the record, most of the deals on the Q for the products really are deals. As Dolly Parton said, “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!” Amen, sister.

Blue Plate Special Daily Round Up ... It's EVIL PAY DAY!!!

Woot! Woot! I loooooooooooooove 5 Evil Pay Day! I know that it's not really a sale, but it feels like a sale. What can I say, I'm a sucker. I have no idea what I'm going to get. Ugh! I always do this. I always crack under the pressure. I just know that they are going to present something tomorrow and I'm just going to kick myself for not thinking to get it today. Pressure ... pressure ... I'm like a Cook's Essentials pressure cooker!

The official QVC TSV is a 3-piece Supersmile kit ... but who cares? I mean really, it's evil pay day, chickadess! However, along with the Supersmile, there's a page full of other auto-delivery (AD) items that you can order and lock in the 5 evil pays--Dr. Denese, BE, Philosophy, Ojon. So if you need to stock up, now's the time.

Queen Bea needs to sit down and elevate her feet and try to get some air.

HSN has this hideous excuse for a Technibond ring as their TS. I like Techinbond, I really do. Gold is like $1000 per troy ounce or something ridiculously high like that, so buying solid gold jewelry is an investment (like the ShopNBC OTV today).

I like Technibond best when it's just big, bold gold, like omegas and cuffs. I do not like ugly, drill-bit diamond, and nasty gemstones that belong in the bottom of a fish tank--not to mention the overall hideousness of the design. Yuck. Sorry, but this is bad.

BTW, did you read what Paul Deasy had to say about Technibond now that he's no longer under HSN's thumb? Check it out here.

ShopNBC has this beautiful and very expensive ruby necklace. This is niiiiiiiiiiiiiice, but not gonna happen ... I just can't justify $1500 for a necklace. but don't those rubies just look juicy?

Don't forget free shipping on the All Stars products!

BTW, they are now offering a big selection of fragrances ... even Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely. She's just not loyal to HSN at all. What was I thinking? She won't even show up to sell her own products

Purity Made (Not So) Simple

Philosophy's Purity Made Simple is one of the products that made the Philosophy brand what it is today. It's up there with Hope in a Jar, which was so famously made famous by being one of Oprah's Favorite Things.

Over the last few months, many customers have noticed that the product seemed different: thicker, runnier, smelly, and drying. Do the noticeable changes have anything to do with that fact that founder and on-air spokesperson, Cristina Carlino, sold the company to the Carlyle Group last year? Isn't that what usually happens when beauty companies get bought out? (I'm looking right at you, Tova!)

A very helpful poster on the QVC message boards emailed Philosophy about the problem and got a very long and rather confusing response from customer service detailing multiple mismatched ingredient labels, viscosity, and (new and improved) surfactants--all while trying to be very reassuring that nothing has actually changed. Read it for yourself here--just be sure to strap yourself in first because your head is gonna spin!

Heed the warning of Tova, corporate suits at the Carlyle Group--do NOT screw around with the formulas! It's called Purity Made Simple, not Purity Made as Clear as Mud!

On a side note, although I haven't seen it on the Q (could have been there and sold out quickly though), the new Hope in a Jar with SPF 20 sunscreen is available on Amazon.