Famous Fingers

Lacquer from OPI Products has recently made it onto the fingernails of plenty of celebrities. People magazine reported that High School Musical star

Jordin Sparks

Vanessa Hudgins was recently spotted getting a mani/pedi at a salon in Washington, D.C., where her polish of choice was Melody in Mocha. And when American Idol winner Jordin Sparks took to the American Music Awards stage to present an award in Los Angeles late last year, OPI went with her. Celebrity nail tech Libbie Simpkins gave Sparks a manicure before the awards ceremony and used the claret St. Petersburgandy lacquer from the Russian Collection by OPI. For more nail fashions from the AMAs, see "Taste the Rainbow" in the Hollywood File section.

Stuff We All Get

Nordic Care aimed to raise its brand awareness in the music business through two 2007 giveaways that took place at Remix Hotel events in Atlanta (Sept. 20-22) and Los Angeles (Nov. 8-10). The events brought industry heavyweights together for demonstrations and discussions of advances in music technology. Attendees such as R&B artist T-Pain, producers Michael C. Ross (Christina Aguilera, The Dixie Chicks) and Needham (Fleetwood Mac, The Killers) all received VIP gift bags that included small bottles of Nordic Care Skin Conditioner. In all, Nordic Care gave away more than 400 units of the lotion.

Holiday Gifts
The end of 2007 brought several new company mergers to the nailcare industry. On Dec. 18, American International Industries (AII) announced it had acquired certain assets of Chéci, which manufactures nail and pedicure products such as files, buffers and other various nail- and footcare tools. AII adds these products to its existing footcare lines of Gena and ProLinc. Also in December, Spilo Worldwide purchased Flowery Beauty Products, longtime markers of Swedish Clover Fot Fils, Purifiles, D-Files and single-use D-Kits. "After so many years of putting my heart and soul into this business, I could not be leaving it in better hands," says Geoffrey Giles, former president and owner of Flowery.

Inquiring Minds
P&G Beauty has relaunched its website, pgbeautyscience.com, to serve as a resource that can answer all of your burning questions about the science behind the beauty products we use every day. "We have more than 1,880 scientists working across multiple disciplines at P&G Beauty," says principal scientist Dianna Kenneally. "We're thrilled to have a place where that vast range of research and valuable scientific information can be shared with a broader audience." The site contains content on product development, research partnerships, and scientific publications and data.

Get the Word Out

Marketing can be the trickiest (and most time-consuming) part of running a salon-based business. One new website aims to help you with that necessary chore: NewBizBuilders.com. A part of Scientific Marketing Services, the site provides access to professional-level business literature, such as logos, brochures, direct mail and stationery. In addition, marketing professionals are an email away with free support and sales advice-particularly valuable to small business owners. Check out the site at newbizbuilders.com or email service@newbizbuilders.com for more information.

Guatemalan Getaway

Risé Carter, national director of sales and education for NSI, recently held a five-day training event in Guatemala City, Guatemala, to kick off NSI's partnership with new distributor Grupo Nuova Direziones S.A. Owner Carlos Funes had been exclusively distributing haircare products and salon equipment in the Central American country, and NSI marks his first foray into the nailcare arena. Carter worked with both sales and marketing teams at Grupo Nuova Direziones and eight nail techs to train them as educators in the Attraction Acrylic System and the Balance UV Gel System. The final event showed off NSI products to more than 75 local salon owners and nail techs.

Happy Hands in the Heartland
Nebraska nail techs have a chance to test their acrylic pink-and-white and nail art skills in the upcoming Star City Nail Competition, the first in what organizer Susan Cap hopes will become an annual event. "If you feel you can do the best nails in the state, get the recognition you deserve by joining us for this event!" she says. Educators from CND and EZ Flow have already signed on to judge the finished nails, while manufacturers such as Aerial, American International Industries, EZ Flow, IBD, Peels Beauty Supply and Sally's Beauty Supply are offering prizes and giveaways. The competition will take place on April 13 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is open to any licensed nail technician. First-place winners in each category will receive $200. For more information, visit academyofnaildesign.com or call 402/488-6117.

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Ancient Find

If you need more proof of how timeless a manicure is, look no further than the Rubtsovsk region of the Altai Territory in Russia. (Well, that is pretty far, actually!) The area, near the country's border with Kazakhstan, was the site of an archeological find in November 2007. Russian newspaper Regnum reported that members of an expedition discovered the well-preserved remains of a woman who is estimated to have died in the fourth century B.C. Thanks to copper plates surrounding the body, the mummy is so intact that the woman's manicure still shines, which will help researchers carry out a molecular-genetic analysis to determine if the woman was native to the area. Wherever she's from, she definitely had style.

Driven, Determined Diva
If you're searching for tips on expanding your salon, you might want to look to Dashing Diva. The national chain, which opened its first salon in New York's Greenwich Village in October 2003, now boasts more than 58,000 salons as franchisees as well as additional company-owned operations in New York, California, North Carolina, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Philippines, Korea and Kuwait. An additional 15 to 20 salons are slated to open over the next 12 months, including a flagship store in Shanghai, China, and several European markets. Dashing Diva's biggest selling point is its attention to sanitation, but other features have been grabbing clients as well: The menu includes themed pedicures that change every two months and services geared toward "little divas" and men. The company has also implemented a "Virtual Lashes" service that will soon be rolled out to all locations, and recently launched a line of "triple-free" nail polishes (no DBP, formaldehyde or toluene) and a line of spa products. These touches appeal to a young demographic, which is Dashing Diva's goal; they've partnered with other companies, such as American Express' IN:NYC and IN:LA, that are also looking for a hip clientele. "For a relatively young brand, we have managed to forge a pretty tight relationship with our customer base," says Deborah Storz, CEO of Dashing Diva. "We're often approached by other companies--like liquor companies, apparel companies, telecom entities--who want to partner with Dashing Diva to reach that same customer, and when it makes sense, we do it."

Going Up...
As of Jan. 1, those applying for manicurist, cosmetologist and esthetician licenses in the state of California have to pay an additional application/examination fee on top of the initial license fee. The application/examination fee is the same across all categories at $75, making the total amount required for a manicurist license $110, $125 for a cosmetologist license and $115 for an esthetician license. Both fees can be combined into one payment. The renewal fees have also increased as of March 1--for all personal license types, the renewal fee is now $50 and the delinquent renewal fee is an additional $25.

Just Rewards
Every year, Today's Black Woman magazine honors African American men who are role models in their communities. For the magazine's fourth such awards ceremony, Lisa Cocuzza Public Relations provided the goody bag sponsorships, which included products from VB Cosmetics, Clean Logic Bath & Body Care and Dermagenics. "I always encourage our clients to do these sorts of events," Cocuzza says. "For this event, they asked for only 10 products total, which is such a small amount for the exposure."

I Sense a Theme...

Give your clients a unified spa experience with a new program just launched by Cuccio Naturalé. The company has packaged six products in four different scents (Pomegranate & Fig, Tuscan Citrus Herb, Papaya & Guava and Milk & Honey) into Signature Service kits, making it easy to put together spa manicures and pedicures--and to find complementary drinks, munchies and decorations for exotic-themed packages. Cuccio will also help you market the services; when you buy one of the Signature Service kits along with a Cuccio Master kit, you'll also receive a free marketing banner for your client waiting area. The banners display three levels of services--Express, Spa and Paradiso--that will elevate your salon to its own new level of luxury.

Hair Appointment
LCN has become the first nail enhancement manufacturer to join Intercoiffure, an international organization of elite salons and beauty professionals. Pat Griesdorn, owner of LCN USA, was inducted into Intercoiffure at the organization's October 2007 Atelier, held in New York.

Elvis Was Here

The slate of events for the 2008 Global Salon Business Awards (GSBA), held from June 7 to 9 in Los Angeles, continues to grow. The opening night party will be held at the Beverly Hills estate of GSBA president and founder Paula Kent Meehan, a property she purchased from Elvis Presley 34 years ago. The welcome will be appropriately themed. The second day will play host to the business and management-themed Educational Forum, which will take place on the UCLA campus and taught by UCLA professors. The day will be capped with the Hollywood Salon Owners Panel. Education will continue on the final day of the event, which will culminate with the gala dinner, hosted by Leeza Gibbons. For more information, visit salonbusinessawards.com.