PURPLE BLAB

I’m having a bad day. There. I said it.

You know I eat, sleep, and breathe Purple Lab and words cannot accurately express the passion I have for it. But it’s not always a fun glamorous party. If I’m to be honest, which is what this blog is about – a true look at everything that makes a brand – than I will tell you this…  Just because you’re on HSN doesn’t mean you’re rolling in it, especially when you’re building a brand and investing in product development.

The spring runway – and even many fall runways – were stalked by glamazons sporting a fresh-faced, natural, no-makeup-makeup look. Have you noticed? So we put Ashley, one of our multi-tasking mavens, to the test and create the look herself.

Meet Ash:

She is an all-natural kind of girl to begin with (not to mention the most amazing singer ever – full on jazz vocals a la Norah Jones).

Armed with Silk Sheets luxe foundation infused with silk, Luxury Squared under-eye concealer and highlighter, collagen-packed Cheek Implants in Backstage Pass (ripe, delicious peach with golden undertones), Lashionista Modelista and Huge Lips Skinny Hips in Worship Kate, she turned herself into an exact replica of what Stella McCartney’s models looked like on the catwalk. (Love Stella, BTW.)

Monday and Tuesday, Sharon and I will be doing “desk side,” which are one-on-one meetings with magazine editors at their desks.

The beauty editors – all editors, really – are inundated with event invitations, appointments, and deadlines. When you go to them, it helps make their lives easier.

This is the cute e-vite we did to get them on the books.

It’s not easy to get their attention and PR is really all about relationships at the end of the day. Lucky for Purple Lab, people love Sharon! 

Sharon, Purple Lab rock star Communications Queen, managed to do something I cannot imagine anyone else in PR accomplishing.

She secured a placement (translation: a piece) in the new Cosmopolitan Magazine!

Now… the reason it was an amazing feat.

Here’s the story. Sharon pitched the beauty editor at the magazine in the fall, when we thought we’d have the product in question… Luvah, the sexiest 3D lip color (both a stain and a gloss in one compact) infused with Dong Quai (an ancient Chinese herb known as a libido stimulant), Ylang-Ylang (used as the floral remedy for sensuality), Vitamin E (a nourishing antioxidant), vanilla mint scent (the better to kiss you with, my dear), and a double plumper I call “Complex OO.”

This was the big show I was waiting for. Yes, I had already done a 9a.m. But that was kind of a warm up. The 8p.m. That was the real debut. It was where I put all of my energy as far as promotion is concerned.

The big moment, below, with Shannon Smith, the host!

A) I wore purple Lanvin with ruffle detail

B) See, ther are the red patent six inch heels again!

C) Do you see how short I am? After this, I started sitting on two pillows!

February 18th, 5a.m., I woke up in a pool of sweat. In four hours, I was about to be on HSN for the first time. I couldn’t even recall the name of my foundation! And my heart sounded like a bass at a Motley Crue concert.

Everything I had worked for was about to come to fruition.

What if it failed?

Two hours before I was to hear Matt, the producer, say, ”Action,” I was in the green room, getting primped with the models.

I haven’t had the time to really delve into things the way I want to but I plan to dish this weekend.

Until then, I thought I’d pick up where I left off… training!

The day before the show, I met with Bob and Chelsea of Bob Circosta Communications,  who are not only billion dollar HSN on air guests and brands themselves but also school newbies like moi.

Chelsea literally played host, filmed me, and then we critiqued. This was in front of Temptalia, who was there to report on it all. No pressure!

I am JUST coming to earth now after the HSN debut and I’ve been home since Saturday. No joke – I slept 16 hours Saturday.  I know I left off saying that I’d talk about my training and rehearsals but before I go there, I thought I’d give you a quick look at behind the scenes.

This video was done by Temptalia, who came with me to the launch to get the skinny.  Thank you, Christine.

Yesterday in Tampa Glampa, a day before the big  HSN debut, my six-inch-heels and I were with Christine, the blogger behind Temptalia, who is a love and honey sweet, all day.

She has been capturing the behind-the-scenes look at what goes into launching a brand on this massive network. The day began with a tour where I discovered aspects of the network I had no idea about.

I got to Florida yesterday morning and went right to a go-see. Still needed to find one more model, someone in her 50s and the one I found – LOVE! Sweet, beautiful, poised, sassy with a fun sparkle to her energy. It is all coming together.

HSN, here I come! And ALL of the new products are now on their site at special debut introductory prices. My heart is pounding so hard, you’d think I had a base in my chest cavity.