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Posts Tagged ‘sephora’
Just when it seemed there wasn’t a new idea in retail, J.C. Penney laid out an ambitious plan to overhaul its stores and brand. Some highlights:
- Fewer sales, lower prices. J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson confirmed what we already know: Very little department store merchandise, like 2 percent, sells at full price. So rather than go through the motions of pricing it high only to put it on clearance, J.C. Penney will price most merchandise 30 percent lower to start, with month promotions on select goods.
- Shops within the store. You know it: J.C. Penney is blah. Following its success with Sephora shops within JC Penney, the entire floor will be gradually reconfigured into mini shops.
- Monthly themes more in line with our lives rather than the retail calendar. So January might be about “renewal,” as WWD reported, with special merchandise to support the theme. (Can’t wait to see if they can really resist breaking out the Christmas decor the day after Halloween).
- Ellen DeGeneres as the new spokeswoman in ads.
- New brands, like Nanette Lepore creating a juniors dress and sportswear line called l’amour nanette lepore.
- Every brand makeover requires a P. Diddy move: J.C. Penney wants be known as JCP. The initials were revealed today on new red, white and blue logos.
It would be nice to think the stores can really evolve as dramatically as Johnson, a retail visionary credited with major change at Target and Apple, as dramatically as described. At the very least, J.C. Penney-er, JCP-has retailers talking about (and no doubt defending) promotional pricing and in a meaningful way.
This is going to be fun to watch.
MN p.s.: J.C. Penney was my first guess at a replacement for Bloomingdale’s at MOA. Industry response to that theory was tepid…but with today’s news, I can’t help but think what a perfect place MOA would be to unveil a completely reinvented JCP. Say 90,000 square feet or so?
Tags: JC Penney, JCP, Mall of America, nanette lepore, Ron Johnson, sephora
Posted in Current Affairs, Twin Cities retail | 3 Comments »
 Yes I did double back across Mall of America to save $4.50 today and it gave me great satisfaction. Sephora is selling Living Proof. styling products (good for taming the frizzies – one of the few I'll vouch for) for $24, same price as the Living Proof website. But [email protected] Mall and QVC.com has the same products for $19.50! That's a significant difference. Good to remember QVC for beauty and haircare – they carry a lot of quality, high-end brands, and the prices are competitive. Of that, I've got Proof.
Tags: living proof, Mall of America, MOA, no frizz, qvc, QVC at the mall, sephora
Posted in Beauty | 1 Comment »
 I've been cycling through hair products faster lately than Pam Anderson switches husbands. But this morning, I believe I may finally have found my mate: No Frizz by Living Proof ($14 or $24 at Sephora). It's been getting a lot of buzz lately, and well-deserved. My hair seems tamer and better behaved already. Too bad it's a perfectly sunny day. Rain, humidity – bring it on!
Tags: anti frizz, curly hair, frizz product, hair product, living proof, no frizz, sephora, wavy hair
Posted in Beauty | No Comments »
 Dealing with my new dye job and my quest for waves is getting complicated. Today in the shower, it was a showdown between conditioners: Kinky-Curly Knot Today, suggested by StormSister Spatique and Clairol Perfect 10 ColorSeal Intensive Conditioning Creme, which I was instructed to use once a week for the next six weeks by the Clairol team that did my hair last week. I thought about using both – my hair could handle it, but it just seemed like too much work, so Clairol won out. Color scares me.
I compensated by applying Kinky-Curly Styling Custard and used it to try to twist the ends of my hair for nonchalant (ha!) waves like I've seen in magazines. I dried my hair using a sock diffuser (took three Trade Secrets to locate this $6 gizmo). End result: not exactly Gisele, but less fluff, so we're making progress. Still, my hair looked frizzy so I dabbed on Aveda's Light Elements Smoothing Fluid, which might have helped – but not enough to stop me from buying No Frizz Styling Cream at Sephora, which I will try next time I wash my hair. Thank goodness that only happens twice a week.
Tags: aveda, Clairol, colorseal, curly hair, frizz, hair product, kinky curly, no frizz, sephora, storm sister, stormsister, waves, wavy hair
Posted in Beauty | 1 Comment »
 It's my goal in life to avoid washing my hair. I'll try any product that will give me an extra day, or better yet, two. Here's one for the shopping cart: I'm told Anne Hathaway relies on Ted Gibson hair sheets to keep her hair shiny, sleek and frizz-free. The sheets are said to leave hair "feeling clean," which is good enough for me. Sephora sells them, $17.50 for a 10-pack. Steep, but a whole lot cheaper – and faster – than a blowout.
According to the Ted Gibson pr machine, Ms. Hathaway "keeps a supply of hair sheets with her whenever she travels."
Now you know.
Tags: anne hathaway, bed bath beyond, chi, hair accessories, hair straightener, hair tools, sephora, straight hair, straigtening iron, Ted Gibson
Posted in Beauty | No Comments »
Rosedale Center has long been a more pleasant, updated place to shop than, say, Southdale. And it’s finally getting the stores and amenities that will keep shoppers on the east side of town (watch out, Mall of America!). The mall announced Tuesday that J. Crew, Sephora, White House/Black Market and C.J. Banks will open at Rosedale this spring, along with Rocco Altobelli Salon & Day Spa and Flame, a new restaurant from Hemisphere Restaurant Partners. And of course, Lucy is already there – MOA doesn’t have that one!
Tags: c.j. banks, cj banks, flame, hemisphere restaurant partners, j. crew, jcrew, lucy, Mall of America, minneapolis shopping, MOA, rocco, rocco altobelli, rosedale, sephora, southdale, St. Paul shopping, twin cities shopping, white house black market, white house/black market
Posted in Shopping Tips | No Comments »
Cos Bar is set to open Friday (Sept. 7) at 50th & France. Last week, I found myself shopping the one in Vail, Colorado (my husband wondered if that meant we could write off our family vacation). The mini-chain, which got its start in Colorado resort towns Vail and Aspen, is supposed to be a sort of luxury Sephora where sales associates don’t work for any one brand, so you can feel more confident they will show you the product that works best for you. I like the idea, but I wasn’t especially impressed by the Vail Cos Bar. It felt cramped and not as posh as I would have expected. Oh sure, the brands were high-end – Laura Mercier, La Mer, and so on – but nothing you couldn’t find elsewhere in town. Frankly, I think Cherie Boutique Francais in Wayzata delivers a much more authentic luxury beauty shopping experience. But, I say this without having seen the Edina Cos Bar. I’ll be there tomorrow – whether my husband likes it or not. Love to hear your impressions.
Tags: 50th and France, beauty store, Cherie Boutique Francais, Cos Bar, Edina beauty boutique, Minneapolis beauty boutique, Minneapolis beauty shop, sephora, Twin Cities beauty shop
Posted in Beauty | 1 Comment »
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