Pearlesque Show, Purple Lab’s silicone-free primer with crushed pearls (for that perfect sheen), honey and kiwi, is inspired by old Hollywood glamour, femme fatale beauty embodied by the confident starlets and pin-ups of yesteryear.

So we hoofed it to the Tribeca studio of photographer Burke Heffner (you may have seen him on MTV’s Made) for an old-school style Varga girl shoot, starring the lovely Andrea Lavinthal, an editrix at Real Beauty. He is genius behind the lens and knows just how to bring out the best in his subjects.

On hand, Miss Veronica Varlow, burlesque chanteuse. She was the posing coach, there to show Andrea the art of unleashing your inner Pearlesque star!

You know we luv us some Va-va-va-Veronica! (This is her at our launch event last year!)

If you met Veronica, you’d think she stepped out of another time. Wearing a tight black 1940’s style flared dress with baby pink satin detail, she commands herself with a mix of poise and mystery that is utterly captivating. (The first time my mom met her, she said “It’s so cute that she’s in costume!” I was like, “Mom, that’s how she dresses EVERY DAY!”).

Andrea Lavinthal, our friend/pearlesque model, is a journalist who writes for Real Beauty (Note: when she first graduated from college, she almost interned for Karen and then she got a “real job” at Cosmo Magazine).

Here’s Andrea, pre-shoot (like the lavish bed set up?).

She strolled in with the Real Beauty camera crew who were on hand to capture the magic. In Andrea’s world as a writer, she normally challenges other women to beauty challenges but today, she is challenging herself.

Mission: Unleash your inner Pearlesque Star.

After Ani Hovhannisyan did makeup (using Pearlesque Show, of course) along with all Purple Lab musts, it was time for wardrobe: a curve loving black dress and a Gucci marabou feather shrug (Tom Ford’s last spring season from Gucci, plucked from Karen’s closet).

Andrea unleashed her inner Gypsie Rose and made herself at home on a white shag rug. “If you are ever feeling unsure when shooting, just think ICON ICON ICON …. And it is impossible to look bad,” Veronica said (sage advice and our new mantra!).

Burke has a warm approach and a way of making his subjects confortqable. And together, Veronica and her hubby brought out the best on Andrea, who looked stunningly gorgeous (a new Facebook profile picture, perhaps?).

Three hours later, it was a wrap.

For the final pic and video, you’ll have to stay tuned!

Mwah!

All of us at Purple Lab

Those who know me know that I am not a night owl. I’m in bed by 10:30, never later than 11. So having a 2a.m. show is not easy for me. It takes an enormous amount of mental prep, not to mention sugar-free Red Bull (the only time I will have caffeine -I never drink any and I hate coffee).

Let’s just say, it took a long time in makeup to get me ready!

At midnight, I was photographed for a before picture. Now this is something that kind of bugs me – everyone kept saying, over and over and over – that I had the “best before and after pictures” (in comparison to the models).

Such a backhanded compliment, don’t you think? It’s like, “you look bad before and with makeup, there’s a drastic difference.”

I know, I know I have dark circles! I get it!

The host was Rachel Huber, a sprightly red head. We met right before the show but it seemed like we were old friends.

Oh, and I wore a burgondy short puffy sleeve lace-trimmed Zac Posen top with black shorts to the knee. Of course, six inch heels go without saying.

Now, Rachel was coming off of another show right before me. I mentioned this before but I have to say it again because it’s a riot.

When hosts have back-to-back shows, there’s about 10 seconds to get from one studio to the next. And the building is HUGE. So someone rushes them over in a wheelchair where they examine their notes and put on some lip gloss.

Todd caught Rachel in transit!

I also unveiled a new product! Pearlesque Show, a fab silicone-free primer infused wtih crushed pearls (for luminous skin), kiwi (antioxidants galore), honey (anti-bacterial), plumping peptides and other delicious skin care ingredients. Details later. It’s not even on our site yet.

Meet Pearlesque show, whose name was the brainchild of a good F.O.P.L. (friend of Purple Lab) Amanda Green (@LALupusLady on Twitter).

OMG! David’s Cookies was throughout my visit. Every time I walked through the hallways, I smelled the inoxicating scent of freshly baked brownies, blondies and chocolate chunk cookies, my favorite when I was a kid (I used to have the recipe and make them every weekend in 8th grade).

I managed to avoid the sugar the entire time but I caved after my last show. I was literally running frantic to the kitchen, the food styling room, the set to find some.

No luck. I actually got caught red handed while opening a sealed tin that was on a table with a sign that read, “Do Not Touch,” by two HSN VPs! Luckily, they laughed.

I wish I had a picture of the look on my face when they walked in… with a tour of guests! Yeesh!

In the green room, I had a little visit from my friend Carol Brodie. She has a line called Rarities on HSN and she rocked the house. But poor girl – she had a 3a.m. to 5a.m. show. How she manages it and looks so fresh is beyond me! Beeeeyond!

Next time, I’ll need to wear her jewelry! I have my eye on some emerald earrings!

More on the other shows, where I almost fell off my perch.

Mwah!

Karen

Purple Lab Creatrix

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! 

Normally, brands don’t do evites for desk sides, but we wanted to do something more official. It looks professional. Would have loved to have had paper invitations but funding would not allow.

It’s important to be sitting down with editors in this way because they will reall understand the product and the brand, much moreso than by a press release. Monday and Tuesday are the days and we have 18 meetings, all back to back from 9:00 to 5:30p.m.

For each meeting, we’re bringing the products, information (fact sheets) on them and a delisch lip-shaped cookie with our logo in icing, thanks to Crystal of Tasty Morsels Bakery.

We just packed up the Purple Lab branded boxes, arranged with hot pink tissue paper and our products, so we don’t have to scramble last minute to set it all up (cookies, not included – those will be picked up the day of so they’re fresh).

The scene of the crime, below, is taking up a nice portion of my bedroom. 

You have to understand how our stock is arranged. It is basically piles of clearly labeled packing boxes, lids open with color names and product names on the lids. And they all sit atop of a mirrored platform that is part of a piece of art (the sculpture that is meant to be placed on the mirror is not in our possession yet and when it is, I have NO IDEA what we’ll do with the stock!).

Anyway, back to desk sides. They’re really vital right now. The last time I saw editors was when I had nothing but Huge Lips Skinny Hips to show. They likely think of Purple Lab as a one product brand and now I can show how we’re expanding (fingers crossed, we’ll have lab samples of Pearlesque Show, available in April on HSN, as well).

Keep you posted on how it goes. Hope you’ll be reading about it all in the magazines in a few months!

Mwah!

Karen

Purple Lab Creatrix

Not a moment of rest since HSN went down. We’re in the midst of planning the next group of shows for the April, for which I’ll be bringing contest winner Jessica Harlow with me! (I’m meeting her this week  – so excited!)

Plus, the manic manufacturing phase for Pearlesque Show has begun. Below, a comp of the design for the componentry.

Sharon and I are furiosly planning PR and marketing – desk sides with the major magazines, adding content to the site, starting to shoot how-to videos, and a special initiative for Pearlesque Show’s launch (cannot give deets yet – but it will be fierce).

While I shared the design comp for the component, we’re still working on the box it goes in (a.k.a. unit carton). All of the wordage, however, has been sent to HSN’s legal for approval. I’m praying I will get it in the next two weeks so I have time to do something pre-launch.

Always a mad rush. I dream of the day it’s not!

In the meantime, don’t ask me about tax situation. It’s a wreck. And I would guesstimate that I’m a good year away from having a real office, which means I am putting aside baby making plans for later. No way could I imagine having an infant in my home office with five interns, a desk in the living room, no door to shut (the apartment is loft-like, hence no privacy and I often take conference calls in the closet or bathroom), and running around the way I do.

I swear, if I did give birth right now, the baby would surely turn out to be the unibomber. Sorry mom and dad! I have to wait another year – not the best idea considering I’m verrrrry close to 40.  

Thank God my brother is having a child in April – alleviates a little of the grandparent-pressure!

There are big conversations in-office about retail expansion – are we ready and if so, where? It’s hard to grow in the traditional brick and mortar arena.

Imagine you’re in a massive store with 200 locations.

You have to provide point of sale displays to each, along with multiple testers of all products. You have to visit each store regularly, send a team in to train staff and often, you send someone to work the floor in your name. There’s marketing for each location on top of it all.

Meaning: MONEY!

Selling IN is one thing… selling THROUGH is another. That requires support.

Back to MONEY which is not at my disposal, sadly.

Even as you sell products on HSN, any money coming in goes back to fuel the growth of the company, manufacturing, cost of goods, photo shoots for the site. Need I go on?

I’m also talking to the chemists about some products for July for the HSN presentations then. Totally hush-hush so I can’t go there now, but if the testing we’re doing works out, OMG, will I have something insane for your makeup bag!

Mwah!

Karen

Purple Lab Creatrix