Designer Skin

Designer Skin
Creating Winning Collections

by Scott Eric Barrett

TEMPE, ARIZ.-BASED DESIGNER SKIN IS TAKING A TWO-PRONGED APPROACH TO 2003, RELEASING A PAIR OF NEW COLLECTIONS--THE HOLLYWOOD COLLECTION AND THE MIRACLE COLLECTION--IT HOPES WILL STAND OUT IN THE CROWDED MARKETPLACE.

"ABSOLUTE DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT TO OUR CUSTOMERS IS STILL OUR MISSION STATEMENT," SAYS BETH FELKER, THE COMPANY'S VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AND MARKETING.

"ADVANCED DARK TANNING FORMULAS, CUTTING-EDGE SKINCARE INGREDIENTS, EXEMPLARY CUSTOMER SERVICE, SALON SUPPORT AND EDUCATION EPITOMIZE THE DESIGNER SKIN EXPERIENCE. WE BELIEVE THE HOLLYWOOD COLLECTION AND THE MIRACLE COLLECTION WILL CARRY ON THIS LEGACY."

The Hollywood Collection features two spectacular dark tanning accelerators that will take tanners to outrageous levels of tanning ecstasy, Felker says. She adds that the company had a lot of fun designing this line, as the packaging will attest.

"Rock Star Extreme Sizzle Bronzer will rock their world while delivering gorgeous, golden bronze color," she says. "Drama Queen Dark Tanning Formula with hemp seed oil will deliver dramatically dark tanning results and whisper-soft, sensuous skin."

The Miracle Collection features two dark tanning accelerators--Worship Dark Tanning Bronzer and Goddess 200XXX Extreme Sizzle Formula--that utilize advanced anti-aging and firming technology. Superior skincare ingredients such as alpha lipoic acid and copper provide the powerful anti-aging and firming benefits while delivering stunning tanning results, she says.

"We are extremely proud and excited about The Miracle Collection, which are our most-advanced skincare and tanning formulas to date," she says. "We spent a great deal of time researching the most advanced anti-aging ingredients available in the marketplace. And, the icing on the cake could be the coconut-lime fragrance of the formulas. People went crazy in our office over the fragrance during product development."

The collection also features Angel Daily Moisturizer with hemp seed oil. "We want everyone to try a sample of this moisturizer because once customers feel their skin after applying this lotion, they will be hooked," Felker says.

Designing The Future

Designer Skin features four collections: The Couture Collection, The Tantrum Collection, The Hollywood Collection and The Miracle Collection for a total of 13 tanning accelerators, a sunless tanning spray, a moisturizer and a new SPF 30 lip balm. And, of course, the company also manufactures its Miracle Breast supplement, which remains an extremely popular add-on sale item for salons.

"There is so much work that goes into the development of every product we create," she says. "The whole process is quite labor-intensive from choosing product names to formulation, packaging, even fragrance--it takes a multitude of people working a multitude of hours. The most difficult part this year is trying to one-up our products from last season. We all loved The Tantrum Collection, so it was somewhat intimidating at first even trying to imagine surpassing that. But now we are all totally in love with this year's formulas and packaging. It's like giving birth to a new treasure every single year."

In 2002, Designer Skin grew approximately 170 percent. The company experienced some growing pains as a function of such unprecedented growth and has been preparing itself for 2003. For example, it added another 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility so that it can produce even more lotion at greater efficiencies.

"We have expanded our programs as well as employees," Felker says. "We basically are getting all of our ducks in a row because we all believe that 2003 will be the year for Designer Skin. The excitement in the office is palpable at this point. We can't wait for the season to be in full swing."