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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

What's New!

Hello blogiverse!

It has, once again, been too long since my last post.  My apologies, I know how entertaining I am, you must have missed me!  (I kid of course).

It has been an exciting 3 months for Biopelle!  Q1 was packed with trade shows, new sales consultants and new product launches!  I have so much to tell you!

Trade shows are always exciting events for us, we get to spend time with our customers and meet new potential customers and introduce them to our products.  Many of our shows that we've attended this year have also included speakers at the podium sharing our clinical data, mainly for our Retriderm and Tensage lines.  We really appreciate our speakers who have shared these clinical findings with their colleagues.

If you haven't seen the Retriderm white paper or Tensage B&A's yet, I encourage you to visit our product fan pages and see the great improvements our products can provide.

Q1 also brought us 4 new sales consultants!  They all came to our headquarters in Detroit for a 2 week training on all of the products and hit the streets in March to start working in their territories.  They have a lot of ground to cover, many of them covering several states, so if you haven't seen them yet keep your eyes and ears open as they work to contact everyone.

Our new reps are working in the following cities/states: Chicago (including all of IL and WI), New Orleans (including all of LA, AL and MS), Miami (including all of FL) and Phoenix (including all of AZ, CO and NV).  I may have missed some states, as I said they are large territories!  These new sales consultants were a great class to teach and I think you will find that they are highly intelligent and caring and I hope that you will welcome them into your office!

And last but of course not least, we have launched 2 new products and 2 new SYNERGIES kits!

OC Eight Acne Mattifying Gel uses the same oil-absorbing Acrysorb technology as our current OC Eight Mattifying Gel and pairs it with 7% benzoyl peroxide to help fight acne and control shine.  You may have been familiar with this product as Clinac BPO, previously offered through another of our sales divisions, Ferndale Laboratories.  It is now available without a prescription and can be dispensed directly from your office!

SYNERGIES Recovery Ointment is our post-laser treatment occlusive ointment which utilizes Inflacin, a unique anti-inflammatory ingredient to soothe inflammation and speed the recovery process.  Inflacin is delivered with a QuSome liposomal delivery system to ensure that it effectively reaches the treatment area in a stable way.  SYNERGIES Recovery Ointment also includes other soothing agents like panthenol, bisabolol and sunflower seed oil in a petrolatum-free vehicle making it a great soothing and hydrating agent for post-laser patients.

If you aren't familiar with our SYNERGIES kits, they are a series of kits that combine products from different Biopelle brands that work to treat one concern.  The 2 new products above inspired the new SYNERGIES kits: Let Me Be Perfectly Clear and Time For Some R&R.

Let Me Be Perfectly Clear is an acne treatment kit that combines products to cleanse, treat and maintain healthy skin.  This kit of course includes the OC Eight Acne Mattifying Gel along with our AFA Cream Cleanser and PRESCRIBEDsolutions Line Subtractor (AHA + vitamin C).

Time For Some R&R is our Pre and Post-procedure repair and recovery kit and brings together 4 products to prepare, soothe and repair the skin before and after ablative treatments.  The regimen begins with pretreatment with PRESCRIBEDsolutions Control Tactics.  The patient will receive our Don't Be So Sensitive cleanser (also from the PRESCRIBEDsolutions line) to use before and after the treatment.  Immediately after the procedure, the patient will use our new Recovery Ointment and the kit is completed by our Tensage Intensive Ampoule treatments which help to repair and enhance the end result.

So that's what we've been up to!

Thanks for reading!  Stay tuned for more updates about Biopelle and what we're up to.  Contact your Sales Consultants for more information about the products mentioned in this blog or leave comments on our Facebook page!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

3 months later...

Well...Happy New Year!

I am embarrassed by how long it's been since my last post, both on my blog and on Facebook in general.  I could certainly provide a laundry list of excuses as to why it's been so long, but that would only bore you.

The honest truth is that I set out with this grand idea to do some type of comparison of each of our products to each other, but after the cleansers, each of the serums has such a different modality that there really was no comparison.

Writer's block!

After that I was distracted by other projects and the holidays and...well, now I'm just giving you that list of excuses that I said I wasn't going to give you.

So I say Happy New Year!  I am making an official resolution to resume my blogging and Facebook status updates for 2011 so here we go!

What's new with Biopelle...

We've got some new faces out and about for us!  4 new sales consultants will be hitting the ground around the country, they are in training now.  So far we've done one webinar and I'm very excited about our new team members in Chicago, Miami, New Orleans and Phoenix, so keep your office doors open to them as they are out and about later this quarter.

We're getting ready for the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) in New Orleans (that's February 4-7).  Will you be there?  Be sure to stop by our booth #2211 and see what's new!  We'll be handing out our Eco-Friendly Grocery bags again this year with a new design.

There is a lot on the horizon for Biopelle in 2011, but I'm not really sure what I can share with you right now.  I'll keep you posted!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Lean, Mean, Cleaning Machine!

Hello blogiverse!  It's been a little while since my last update, mostly because nothing has changed with my regimen so I wasn't sure what to talk about.  But now I've had a lightbulb click on that should keep me typing for a little while. 


I was talking with a coworker and I realized that I've used nearly every product in our armementarium here at Biopelle!  So I thought that maybe I'd do some comparisons or brand features and talk about the products a little bit more. 


I've been trying to decide where to begin and I've decided on cleansers.  They are the first step to any regimen that I've ever seen, it seems like a logical place to start.


Biopelle has 6 different cleansers and I've tried 5 of them.  If you've been reading my blog you'll know that I personally am enamored with the AFA Cream Cleanser!  It's really the best for my skin that I've found.  Here are a few things I love about it: 



  • It foams!  Even though this is a soap free cleanser, it still gives you nice suds and I'm not sure why but it just makes me feel like I'm cleaning better when I have bubbles.
  • It's thorough, but not overly so.  I can take off my make-up with one wash, but my skin doesn't feel tight or dry afterward.
  • It doesn't smell.  There's no fragrance, but the natural smell of the product is very neutral, hardly any scent to it at all.
There is also an AFA Gel Cleanser which I do like for many of the same reasons as the cream cleanser, but it is a bit more aggressive and leaves my skin feeling dry.  It's designed for oilier skin types and that just isn't me.

My next favorite cleanser is the Ascorderm Refining Cleanser.  It is a gel cleanser, but I don't find it to be as drying for my skin as the AFA Gel Cleanser.  I like how clean it leaves my skin feeling, but there is just something about an exfoliating cleanser that leaves my skin feeling a little more "squeaky clean" for day to day use.  I will use the Ascorderm cleanser usually after I've done an exfoliating treatment, just so that I'm not over exfoliating because my skin can't take it.

My next favorite cleanser is Surface Improvement from the PRESCRIBEDsolutions product line.  This is our exfoliating scrub with perfectly spherical jojoba beads for a mechanical exfoliation.  If you've been following the blog, you'll know that my skin has been a bit too sensitive for chemical exfoliants since I had my daughter, so I like having a mechanical exfoliant to use every once in a while just to keep those dry, dead skin cells moving down the drain!  

Surface Improvement is also a MUST HAVE on my list for summer time.  Exfoliating before sunless tanners is so important and Surface Improvement puts you in control of how much exfoliation you get (by how hard you scrub).  This was helpful for me after I had over applied my self tanner and ended up with a big orange spot on my knee!  A little extra scrubbing and I was back to normal.

The last two cleansers, both also from PRESCRIBEDsolutions, I don't have much to say about!  Don't Be So Sensitive is our post procedure cleanser, so it is very gentle and hydrating for that very sensitive skin.  It just isn't what I need for my skin type, but I'm told that it is great for what it's designed for.  It did leave my skin feeling moisturized, but like I said before I like more of a "squeaky clean" kind of feeling.

And then there is Starting Up/Face.  I actually haven't tried this cleanser yet, which is sad because I've had a bottle of it in my medicine cabinet since we bought the line a year ago.  I just keep forgetting to give it a try.  

Maybe tonight!

Well, that's my cleanser run down!  Have you found your perfect Biopelle cleanser?  Feel free to share it as a comment, I'm curious!

Monday, August 23, 2010

I'm Baaaaaack!

Did you miss me?  My witty commentary?  My failed product trials?  My relentless product plugs?

*crickets chirping...*

Well, missed me or not, I'm back from an excellent 2 week vacation.  If you have the opportunity, I highly recommended taking two consecutive weeks off.  There's just something incredibly relaxing to be a few days into your vacation and realize that one week from that moment you will STILL be on vacation.

This was the first "family" vacation for my husband, daughter and I, a big road trip from Detroit down to Memphis and back.  That meant a ton of organizing and packing!  I had all of her meals, toys, sleeping gear, clothes, diapers, wipes planned to the T.  And of course all of my clothes, entertainment, beauty supplies, make-up, hair care...or so I thought.  I forgot to pack my evening regimen (Retriderm Serum and Tensage Ampoules).

Our first night we stayed in Kentucky, which meant unpacking and repacking all of that gear... and somehow in that process I lost my Radical Results!

So my vacation regimen was down to my AFA Cream Cleanser, PRESCRIBEDsolutions The Eyes Have It and Up the Anti and my OC Eight.

And wouldn't you know it that my Radical Results was actually in my "shower bag" instead of my "make-up bag" and was with me all along, I just couldn't find it?!?

Even though my skin took a vacation from it's regimen and was subjected to the 118 degree heat index in Memphis, it seems to have survived in relatively good condition.  Some of the "freckles" (they sound cuter when you call them that instead of sun spots) that I had after my pregnancy have gotten darker, I should have reapplied better while driving, but I'm surprised that I haven't had any acne breakouts.  Knock on wood...

I'm back on track this week and I do notice my skin feels much softer after my Tensage Ampoule last night!

Oh and of all the times for me to bump into one of Nashville's biggest dermatologists, it had to be in the middle of my skin care vacation!  I'm sure I looked a hot mess anyway with the heat while we were waiting on the valet.  He was very polite though and didn't call me out on it!

Some of my other vacation highlights:

Newport on the Levee - The Newport Aquarium - I'm a sucker for sharks and I really enjoyed this aquarium.  The entire downtown shopping area is very cool.

Memphis - Rendezvous Barbecue - We only had 3 days to take in all of the Memphis Barbecue we could handle, so I'm no expert, but my judgement, these were the ribs that best fit my expectations!

Memphis - The Peabody Hotel - This historic hotel is luxurious and down to earth at the same time.  What really stands out though is the staff!  From check in to check out every interaction I had with any of the hotel staff was friendly, prompt and helpful.  And you've got to love the Ducks!

Nashville - Big River Brewery - They have a far more extensive menu than I was expecting for a brewery.  Very casual dining, but with a lot of options to meet a large variety of tastes.  All in a great downtown location.

So there's my vacation rundown!  I'll get back to talking about skincare now that I'm back on track with actually using it!  I hope that you've had a great summer.

Oh and my marketing plug for this blog is for you to join our group: Biopelle Tips, Tricks and Advice!  We're looking for advice from real Biopelle customers on ways that you use our products for maximum results.  You could be featured in our next edition of the Biopelle BioBlast e-newsletter which is sent to Biopelle customers all across the country!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Bring on the paparazzi

Wow, it's been a long while since my last blog. True Matte complexions, celebrity sightings...Where to begin??

Well, we'll start with my skin.  Flawless!  I have been breakout free forever, it's so nice.  I haven't made any changes to my regimen since I added Ascorderm, all in all I'm very happy with things.  Here's what I'm using, in case you forgot or were wondering:

AM
AFA Cream Cleanser
Ascorderm Contouring Serum
Ascorderm Restore Moisturizing Lotion
PRESCRIBEDsolutions The Eyes Have It !
PRESCRIBEDsolutions Up the Anti
OC Eight

PM
Ascorderm Refining Cleanser (I don't have any good reason for using a different cleanser in the morning and the evening and I know I probably should be using the Ascorderm in the morning for the antioxidants, I just like the way the AFA feels in the morning)
Retriderm Vitamin A Serum
Tensage Intensive Ampoule Treatment (Not every night, basically just when I feel like it)

It seems a lot more complicated when I type it all out. So there you have it, my beauty regimen!

In Marketing news, I'm sure that all of you on Facebook have seen the multiple posts of our mention on photos of Brooke Hogan from celebrity make-up artist Alex LaMarsh.  Alex loves OC Eight and was kind enough to share her love with the world!  I love looking at pictures of her work (and not just because the models look flawless with OC Eight) but because it all looks so natural, even the pictures with crazy editorial make-up.  You can check out some of her work on the enclosed link.

We're beginning our 2011 plans here at the office, time for budget requests and marketing proposals.  I'm very excited about Biopelle's future plans! 

So now that my skin care has evened out and I don't have anything new to talk about, I think I'm going to attack my husband with some products!  We'll see if he'll be my guinea pig...

I'll keep you posted!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

When all else fails...

read the directions.

Yes, I finally used Ascorderm as it is intended (serum first with the cream or lotion on top) and I have to say I really like it!  I'm using the Ascorderm lotion, it dries really quickly and feels really light on my skin.  Makes for the perfect base for my Up the Anti!

I'm kicking myself for forgetting my Heliocare because we went to the beach today.  I have a very interesting burn on my legs because apparently I didn't apply my sunscreen very evenly.  It would have been nice to have that added protection!  We'll probably go to a parade tomorrow, so I'll have to be more careful with my application.

Well, I'd better keep it short and sweet, just wanted to send out a quick update on the Ascorderm situation!  I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Drops of Jupiter

I'm not really sure what that means, but I was thinking about my Ascorderm dropper and that Train song popped into my head.  I figured that if it was a good enough title for their song and album, it was a good enough title for my blog.

Hello blog!

I missed you, but what I really miss is how you used to sync with Facebook within a day or so.  Now you hold my blogs indefinitely and then post several of them all at once.

So, let's talk Ascorderm. 

For starters I still haven't properly used the product I'm sorry to say.  I was trying to conserve inventory and take one of the old bottles with the pump cap.  For those of you who do not know, the pump cap leaks, which is why we are now packaging the serums with a dropper cap.  Antioxidant fun fact - the reason the pump leaks is that the antioxidants used in the serum give off a gas which builds pressure in the bottle, eventually breaking the seals of the pump and causing it to leak.  Now that we have the dropper, users will open the cap every day, releasing those gases and preventing leakage.

Woo hoo!

The other fun fact that I learned is that because those other antioxidants are changing, it protects the vitamin c from changing, so the l-ascorbic acid stays stable and ready to use even after sitting on the shelf (or in the medicine cabinet in my case) for an extended time.

Enough of me changing the subject though and back to my excuses about not using Ascorderm.  As I was saying at first I was using the old pump cap, which broke and leaked serum everywhere.  I threw it out, got another one and then bugged our operations manager to give me a dropper (this way I still didn't interrupt our inventory).  All of that took a few days, during which time I was still using my Radical Results (which I had saved even though I broke the pump on that one too (just to repeat from my previous blog that pump broke because of either me power pumping it or it just being a faulty seal and not for the same reasons as the Ascorderm)).  So in all honesty for the next two days I used my Radical Results out of habit (and cursed each day after I realized I had used the wrong serum) so I finally tossed the Radical Results and now am on to the Ascorderm Serum.

Here's what I like about it - it feels very light when you apply it, it's not as thick of a serum as the Radical Results is.  I also like the smell, it reminds me of coffee, which is always a good thing to smell early in the morning.  I don't mind the smell of Radical Results but during one of our trainings, someone said that it smells like a sushi restaurant and I can't lie...they were right!  Not that it smells like fish, but there is a very distinct smell in a sushi place, some kind of mixture of seaweed and soy sauce...I can't describe it.  But you get used to it pretty quickly.

Here's what I don't like about the Ascorderm - the absorption.  Now as I said earlier I have not been properly using the product.  You are supposed to follow the serum with a moisturizer and I haven't been doing that.  So I brought one of those home and will try it out tomorrow.  I went with the Ascorderm moisturizing lotion, I think it's lighter than the cream and hopefully won't take too long to dry.

I can' t really even describe what it is about the absorption, I think I just had gotten so used to how the Radical Results felt, that I just need to adjust.  I've heard people describe Ascorderm as tacky, but I don't think that's really the word I would use.  I just felt like it was not mixing well with my make-up application.

I'll let you know how it goes!

In other skin news, all is well!  I think that I have been breakout free (knock on wood) for a month now.  And that's totally breakout free, not just saying that even though I still had a few tiny zits appear.  Totally zit free!

Go Biopelle!

In marketing news, a friend just told me that our brand fan pages are starting to pop up in his "suggested" section on Facebook.  Do you see them too?  Please become a fan and encourage other product users to do so as well!  I have big plans for our Facebook presence, but I really need more friends and fans in order for me to justify the spending!  So any help that you can provide would be so wonderful.

Oh and if anyone reading this is friends with Oprah and wants to put me in touch with her too, that would be great!

That reminds me though that I was contacted by my favorite make-up artist who asked me if I could provide some OC Eight for one of her musical clients to take with him on tour.  I don't have permission to name drop, but I just wanted to tell you how excited I was!!  This isn't the first time that I've been told that someone famous is using our products, but every time I hear it I just can't help but think that this might be THE person to give us a good recommendation and send the masses in search of our products.  Unfortunately you usually have to pay for that type of endorsement, but a girl can dream.

So if you are famous and reading this, please tell the world that you love our products, free of charge.