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Ten Years Strong
 This September, Cuccio Naturalé celebrated 10 years of successful business and becoming the No. 1 global spa brand. "The last 10 years have been amazing—I've really seen the line develop into a mature spa brand," says Tony Cuccio, CEO and president of Cuccio Naturalè. Available in over 75 countries around the world, the company has transformed into a full-fledged spa service brand for nail professionals. "We started with a few niche products and now we have a line of full scale service spa products," Cuccio says.
When Cuccio started the brand, he wanted a way to elevate natural nail services. At the time, most nail technicians focused solely on enhancement services because they allowed techs to charge more than a basic natural nail manicure. "I wanted to find a way to take the natural nail manicure and pedicure to the next level," says Cuccio. And that he did; the line started off with 12 core products, including Wheat Germ Cuticle Oil, Manicure Soak Balls and Mango Hand Peel, which helped him introduce the spa concept to nail techs. "It took some education to get nail techs on board with the fact that they need to look beyond nails and treat the skin on the hands and feet during services," he explains. Luckily, the concept took off, and now the brand includes approximately 280 products, with one of its most popular being the Signature Service Kits, which includes all the products needed to provide clients with a themed spa manicure and pedicure.
So what does the future hold for this ever-growing spa brand? "We plan to develop innovative products and services that will take the normal every day services to another level of salon and spa services," says Cuccio. Stay tuned for more outstanding salon and retail-friendly spa products from this global leader!
Industry Pioneer
The beauty industry lost a major player when Buddy Rose, cofounder of Forsythe Cosmetic Group, passed away on July 13 at the age of 74. Together with his wife of 48 years and business partner, Harriet Rose,  they earned the reputation for creating innovative, trendsetting products over the last 30 years. In addition to his flourishing company, Buddy was a family man who enjoyed spending time with his wife, son, two daughters and grandchildren. He was able to enjoy the best of both worlds as two of his children, Michael and Whitney, became involved with the business, bringing new energy and fresh ideas to the forefront. If you'd like to make a donation in Buddy's name, the family asks that you send it to Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital or the Israel Emergency Fund, c/o Temple Shaaray Tefila.
Unmasking Hope
Over 500 beauty industry icons, artists and supporters gathered to honor Cheryl and Jim Markham, cofounders of PureOlogy Serious Colour Care, at the Spirit of Life Masquerade Gala at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. The gala, which was held in conjunction with Cosmoprof North America in July, celebrated the culmination of a yearlong campaign ('Create Beauty. Unmask Hope.'), and raised more than $1.1 million for City of Hope, a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases in Duarte, California.
(Above) The Markhams with Creative Age publisher Deborah Carver.
Salon industry professionals attended the event adorned in elaborate and colorful masks, including Kim Vo, Sonya and Christopher Dove, Dean Banowetz, Sue Pemberton and actress Debi Mazar, mistress of ceremonies. Michael A. Friedman, president and CEO for City of Hope, presented the Markhams with The Spirit of Life Award, City of Hope's top philanthropic honor, on behalf of the National Professional Salon Industry. "Cheryl and Jim Markham's commitment to City of Hope's mission is an inspiration to us all," says Csynthia Savage, senior director of development for City of Hope. "We are honored to celebrate their contributions to the beauty industry and their dedication to the lifesaving research and treatment programs of City of Hope."
Your Voice Matters
 In 2008, the Allied Beauty Association (ABA) canceled all nail competitions across Canada citing a lack of interest and low registration from nail technicians. At that time, the ABA said that if there was an increase in expressed interest, then they would consider reinstating nail competitions in 2010. In July 2009, Christine Turner, ABA nail competition director, sent out an announcement that stated, "The ABA board is strongly considering leaving competitions out of the ABA shows indefinitely, as they haven't had enough responses to warrant their return and the expenses they represent." As a result, Turner encourages all nail professionals to send a letter to the ABA to express the need and importance of nail competitions in Canada. She said, "Even if you don't think that you'll compete in the near future, please consider the travesty of losing the option for all Canadian nail professionals." In an effort to garner support, Turner created a template letter for nail professionals to fill out that she will send to the ABA. If you'd like more information, including her template letter, contact her via naildiva.ca or info@naildiva.com.
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Beauty In Action
Clockwise from top right: NYX Professional Cosmetics booth; OPI president/CEO George Schaeffer, Jeff Schwartz from The Cricket Co., PBA Manufacturer Council member Ray Mager, CND president/CEO John Heffner; OPI Products booth; Orly CEO Jeff Pink with Creative Age publisher Deborah Carver; Essie Cosmetics booth.
Crowds flocked to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from July 19 to 21 to attend the premiere business-to-business beauty event, Cosmoprof North America. Over 600 companies came to exhibit their latest and greatest products to importers, distributors, manufacturers, magazine editors and more. In addition to meet-and-greets, special educational seminars were held with roundtables and panel discussions on topics from evaluating green packaging materials and creating your own private label to how to thrive in a challenging economy and increase sales for beauty stores.
This year's show welcomed PBA Beauty Week, North America's largest and most inclusive beauty event, where guests were presented with education, networking and professional growth opportunities. Also new this year was the 2009 Discover Beauty Award. The 20 brands that participated in the Discover Beauty program—a spotlight on emerging brands looking for the right market—were judged on packaging, overall brand concept and likelihood to succeed in the beauty marketplace.
The show concluded with the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) paying tribute to the work and dedication of styling professionals, and the City of Hope Spirit of Life Award honoring PureOlogy founders Cheryl and Jim Markham.
Another year, another great event. Looks like those in the beauty industry aren't going to let a sagging economy hold them back. Here's to more innovations and opportunities next year! —Stephanie Yaggy
Innovative Design
 In June, Forsythe Cosmetic Group received a 2009 Cosmetic Innovator of the Year Finalist City Award from the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers & Distributors (ICMAD) for Outstanding Packaging and Design Innovation. The award was given for the package and design of the Color Club One & Done Collection, which is an array of 24 mini-nail lacquers that are environmentally friendly and promote zero cross contamination. ICMAD is a non-profit trade association dedicated to providing programs and services to creative and innovative cosmetic companies to help them succeed in the rapidly changing, highly competitive cosmetics and personal care industries.
Brand Recognition
CND's re-branding campaign received the highest recognition for brand redesign at the fifth annual ReBrand 100 Global Awards in June. ReBrand is a global online resource for case studies of the most effective brand transformations and at the awards ceremony the company recognizes the world's most successful re-brands. After being examined by a panel of 10 judges who are prominent industry experts, the CND campaign was named one of the world's most effective re-brands. CND chose Mires Ball, a San Diego-based design firm, for the successful re-branding campaign. "Mires Ball helped us beautifully illustrate and articulate our vision for CND's future while honoring our 30 year heritage," says Kim Natale, CND vice president of marketing.
Smokin' Hot
The 2nd Annual Nail Tech Networking Event of the Smokies held in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was a huge success! The June event was even larger than last year with 77 attendees, two guest speakers and 11 educators. Set up similar to a trade show, the event offered nail technicians an opportunity to network and learn in an intimate setting. "It combines the best of both worlds by mixing the aspects of a big show with the intimacy of private classes, plus the opportunity to have nails demoed by the best educators in the business," explains Jill Wright, event organizer and nail technician.
 Educators included G. Elizondo from Young Nails, Athena Elliot from Minx, Tammy Warner from Akzentz Gels, Norma Sproles from OPI Products, Brenda Anderson from Vicki Peters Nail Products and Kira Frazizer-Jones from Masterworks Innovations in Nails. In addition to demos, attendees were treated to topical discussions from guest speakers, such as Robert Spalding, M.D., who spoke about becoming a medical nail technician, and Jaime Schrabeck, Ph.D., who discussed the business of nails. New additions to this year's event included educators who offered private nail classes the day before and after the event, so interested attendees could further improve their skills with a specific product.
Due to the success and positive response from the event, Wright has already scheduled next year's event for June 26, which will be based on the same format including private nail classes from educators. For more information, visit jillsnails.com.
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