Beauty Tipsy wrote:

Super Brightening Undereye Concealer says it's a special formulation designed to hide and treat chronic dark circles. I know it's necessary to give cosmetics and skin care some time to work but I'm just not seeing it. Chronic or just temporarily stress-enhanced, my dark circles are standing their ground. I was truly hoping for a quick fix but I guess it's back to the makeup kit.

So glad you bring up dark circles under eyes. I just got Sheer Cover and it is a quick fix and I love it. Wish Quixtar made mineral foundation.

Sorry to hear about your basement issues, but glad to see you found joy in the new lines budding on the mall shelves for the summer shopping season!

My indulgence came in the form of cashing in a birthday present for a Taylor Made R5 driver!! Sure it isnt fancy cologne or a new outfit-- like my Polo/Murano summer combo of blue lightknit Polo shirt and linen pants.   But the colors of the driver cover are a sleek pattern of black, red, and yellow; and BOY does it make a difference off the tee, sending the Pro-V1* sailing straight down the fairway!!!

Looking forward to more posts!  Perhaps you could address some of the NAO line.  I know the E. Funkhauser line is quite extensive overseas, are there plans to make NAO as robust and complete?  How about boosting Artistry to being a very full line to truly compete with other "prestige brands"?  I have found all to often that if Artistry doesn't have a particular product, a customer might grace the kiosks of an Estee Lauder or Clinique rep, and in buying that product, also get the competing product at a discount and no longer purchase Artistry......  Don't really know how I can counter that one yet!

As per the discussion on thetruthaboutquixtar.com, do you recommend those products over the Artistry equivalents?

"I have found all to often that if Artistry doesn't have a particular product, a customer might grace the kiosks of an Estee Lauder or Clinique rep, and in buying that product, also get the competing product at a discount and no longer purchase Artistry......  Don't really know how I can counter that one yet!"

That's a very good point. The thing about department store prestige lines is that once you buy one thing at full price, you often get a ton of freebies or discounted items. I used to buy Clinique skin care because, if you timed it right, it was even cheaper than buying the drug store versions.

Also, cosmetic purchases are often a spur-of-the-moment splurge. Feeling down? Hit the counter and try a bunch of new shades. I think BT exemplified that in her post. Online ordering, or even beauty parties, have a lot to compete with there.

BT, Are you there? Are you going to answer Janet's May 29 question?

Janet - think like a business owner! Throw in some freebies and discounts for your clients occasionally, if you think that will help keep them as a profitable customer or perhaps increase their ordering. I've done customer cashback offers on big ticket items when I've been trying to reach a goal, with the cash basically what I'd profit extra on that sale if I made the goal. Works brilliantly, and I make the extra profit on sales of other products.

I'm here - just in transition. Had to leave my home this morning for the work to being, so my tipsy has been otherwise occupied. I'll cozy up with a latte tonight and take a proper look at all the comments. In OUCH! I mentioned a few entries I had planned to post. I think "Who does she think she is?" may shed a little light on my overall beauty philosophy for Artistry and others. TBC...  

Just wanted to thank you for the heated eyelash curler suggestion a few posts back. I finally caved and took the plunge, though it was a little costly for an experiment. I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It takes seconds to heat, I never burn or pinch my lids like I did with the clamp, and my liner and shadow stay perfectly in place. No more smudges! Well, at least not before I leave the house... Thanks beauty tipsy ;)

So, the cozy up with a latte thing never happened. I'm sorry. I did check into my hotel with the best of intentions but there was not a latte to be found. Even worse, they wanted $10 a day for internet access. What in the world???

When I'm displaced from my home and paying a pretty penny to stay at a hotel, I expect the internet to be a given. Frankly, I just refused. Perhaps one of you IT peeps can tell me why there would be such a charge. Is it really necessary? I need to know for future travel.

As far as responding to comments, I'm back in my home! ;) I know the wireless is working there, so I really will respond ASAP. Cheers!

Some places charge for internet just like they charge ridiculous rates for the telephone, to make money. If they built it into your hotel room bill you probably wouldn't notice, right?

Great discussion! As for whether I was recommending the products I mentioned "over" Artistry - not at all. I was just giving my opinion on some current products in the market. In fact, Artistry doesn't currently offer candles, nail polish, or a lip plumping product. We do offer concealer but again I wanted to see if the Colorfill claim about tackling chronic dark circles was really legit. In my personal experience with the product - I was not impressed.

Do I try other brands and think that there are some great products out there that are not Artistry, yes. But let me be perfectly clear about this - I truly believe and have seen the data that proves that Artistry products are exceptional in both the results they deliver and the value they offer. And while I realize that most of you don't know me personally, I consider myself to be an individual of high integrity. That said, I could not and would not do this job if I didn't believe in what I was writing.

Here's the other thing I believe - the truth may not always profit you immediately but earning someone's trust will pay off in the long run. The individuals I really trust and consider to be my true beauty advisors are the ones that listened to my concerns and haven't just recommended their products but have walked me over to another counter to get me a product that they personally believed would make me happy as a customer. They didn't make a commission that day. Their co-workers thought they were completely insane to point me in the direction of another brand. But that day, that one moment, earned my trust. And rest assured that six years later if they told me that a product was the right one for me, I'd believe it and I'd buy it.

Tex - You're right, I probably wouldn't notice if the additional cost was built into the room charge. Even more important, I would have been impressed at how effortless it was for me to do the things I planned do that evening. Considering all that's been going on, it wouldn't have taken much! And rather than leaving frustrated about the things I couldn't do while I was there, I would have left satisfied. It's all about the customer, right?

Just FYI Tonya, I know this is a Quixtar blog (for now ;-) ), but Amway markets Artistry nail polishes in other markets, as well as some lip plumping products from E.Funkhouser. And excellent products they are too I'm told :-) As for the dark circles under the eyes, this can be caused by a number of things, from allergies to poor nutrition to simple genetics or not getting enough sleep. It basically happens because the skin there is thinner so what's going on underneath shows through. Something like Artistry Vitamin C and Yam may help improve the underlying cellular structure and thicken things up - but alas, not a quick fix either!

That's true! I just don't always have access to the products available in other markets. The E. Funkhouser stuff rocks! I LOVE IT! And I've purchased the nail polish when I've run across it at the store. It's great but not necessairly the colors I personally prefer. I've had the pleasure of polishing up my nieces with a mani and pedi though! ;)

Thanks for the dark circle tip. Vitamin C + Wild Yam Treatment is one of the Artistry products I always keep on hand. Unfortnately I think right now the problem has been stress related and my very thin skin doesn't help.

Cheers,

t

p.s. With your knowledge and use of the products I can't imagine that you'll be showing the signs of aging anytime soon. But I am planning a men's skin care special post per your request.

As an IBO, I was shocked to see you promoting competitors' products in this blog. For example, as you pointed out, Artistry doesn't offer candles right now - but there are candles elsewhere on Quixtar. Also, by pointing people to Bath & Body Works, you are promoting that store; people will go in there for the candle but come out with body wash, lotion, etc., which Quixtar developed Body Blends specifically to compete against. We try to live by the mindset that we have a limited amount of money to spend, and if it's not our site, we probably don't need it. We own our virtual store, not the mall.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on competitor products. Please see my response to a similar comment in this string, posted June 5.

what is the best way to get a prospective customer to switch from what they use now to ours?

i like giving them a chance to do their own comparison by samples of ours, nothing speaks like the actual feel & smell of ours! also commenting on what i see is working for them, what i like about their present looks. then asking if they have ever tried restorative enzymes, peptides, vitamin c & wild yam or aha, etc. of course if you have a skin analyzer magnifier machine, it's easy to get them to see that they need our products.