Romy Raves

Greetings Beauties! This past month has been a whirlwind of activity for Romy Raves, and I am grateful to be settling down for a few minutes to play catch up and fill you in on the latest trends and the fabulous products I discovered at Cosmoprof North America 2010 (just before before I leave for BlogHer 2010 in early August-whew!)

Cosmoprof is the largest professional B2B beauty show in North America and this year over 700 companies showcased their brands and products to 25,000 attendees from all areas of the beauty industry. Let me tell you, this show is HUGE, overwhelming, amazing and insightful and I barely had a chance to thoroughly cover it all in three days, but of course I managed  

I had a ball diligently perusing each and every aisle, scouring the show for the latest and greatest beauty offerings. And while I attend many lifestyle and beauty shows throughout the year, this is by far my favorite because it is so professional, classy, well executed, and enjoyable to walk through (they do not sell anything on the show floor and I think this makes a world of difference.) And as an added bonus, yours truly had the pleasure of moderating a very insightful panel on Increasing Revenue with Social Networking, with some of today’s leading champions of social media: Dan Lagani of Readers Digest Media, Nancy Trent of Trent & Company, Inc.and Joshua Onysko of Pangea Organics.

I wanted to share some of the noteworthy trends that I uncovered at this years show, and later this week I will publish a post on some of my most exciting finds and new brands I discovered (or rediscovered) at CPNA 2010. Make sure to come back later this week to learn about my discoveries.

TRENDS FROM COSMOPROF 2010

All Things Smooth & Straight: Once again there was a plethora of companies offering their version of Brazilian Straightening Treatments, some with chemicals and some without, but it was obvious to me that women are still in mad pursuit of frizz free hair and companies are continuing to jump on this band wagon. Some companies are adding ingredients like Acai to these treatments to enhance the benefits clients get from these services. Fun and decorative flat irons were everywhere and I also saw lots of frizz eliminating shampoos, conditioners, and serums continuing to support this sleek, smooth and shiny hair movement. Obliphica Oil (from the Sea Buckthorn Berry) seems to be this years version of the coveted Argan Oil.   

Bling It On: I love me some bling and this year I was in sparkle heaven with the vast of amount of blingy options at the show. Of course my beloved Bling Strands were there to start this diva’s show off right! They blinged me out in my fav chocolate strands and sprinkled in their new Rainbow Bling Strands (love them) and people stopped me left and right to ask about it. A cool new find at the show this year were rhinestone strips that you flat iron onto the hair, super fun! And I was very excited to see a multitude of glittery options in the nail polish category – new this year is glass flecked shimmers - these sparkly hues reflect so much light they bring bling to a whole new level, I can’t wait to tyr them!

Out With The Bad, In With The Good: Organic, greener, sustainable, better for you cosmetic and beauty product options continue to prevail. Many of the brands present at the show are offering one or more products without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, formaldehyde, toluene, or DBP. And I was also excited to note the trend towards sustainability, and it was really nice to see companies who are giving back a portion of their profits to challenged communities and the environment (Rahua is a brand that I am particularly excited about.)  

Hybrid Nail Polish: This is a category that I was really excited to see burgeoning at CPNA 2010! IMO, what is going on in this category is revolutionary and CND Shellac is paving the way! Here is my take on how I see the nail category evolving: acrylics have paved the way for gel nails (which are still booming BTW) and now the staying power of gels have paved the way for hybrids. What is a hybrid nail polish? This is a category busting product which is applied like regular polish, cured under a light in between coats, it lasts for 2+ weeks and looks fresh and shiny all the time! It’s a major ‘wow’ and many companies are starting to offer their version of this type of product. However, some brands are calling it gel polish etc. which is leading to some confusion. Just to clarify, gel nails can change the look, structure and length of your nails, while hybrids have amazing, durable staying power, but don’t change the nails structure.

Those are some of the trends I discovered this year, have you noticed any beauty trends that you would like to share? Please post them here.

I am super excited to be heading to Cosmoprof North America in Las Vegas tomorrow, which is the largest professional B2B beauty show in North America. In my opinion, CPNA is the best, most polished and professional beauty event that I attend, and I love it! This year, I am heading to LV with my hubby (and social media guru) to scout beauty trends, network with brands and industry professionals and most importantly discover new and unknown brands and products. 

I am especially excited about the Discover Beauty section of the conference because it showcases a group of hand-selected brands from around the world that most consumers are not familiar with. This exclusive section of the conference is laid out like mini stores that allow you to really interact with these emerging brands, explore their products and learn more about what differentiates that brand. Some of the brands that I am excited to check out include:

Barista Bath and Body: A natural and organic line of luxury products that extends the exeprience of coffee beyond your morning cup. Even though I am not a coffee drinker, I am excited about a line that offers the stimulating smell and wake-up the skin benefits of caffeine.

Essè Cosmetics from Italy: Essè Cosmetics is a line that incorporates the benefits of grapes and wine. This oenophile is always intrigued by products that utilize grapes and wine.

IT Cosmetics:  This line infuses medical grade anti-aging technology into innovative, high performance color cosmetics. I was recently introduced to this intriguing line and am just beginning to explore the products. I am already very impressed with their Bye Bye Under Eye concealer .

The Jojoba Company:  A natural skin care line built on the remarkable qualities of pure, Australian jojoba that is grown in Australia without pesticides or fertilizers. Jojoba has an old school appeal and I am interested to see how it has evolved.

The Skin Deli:  A gourmet skincare line packed with nutrient-rich natural ingredients that are made out of 100% recognizable food ingredients. This line sounds like a yummy hybrid of two of my passions food and beauty, can’t wait to check it out!