My Labor Of Love Receives Recognition

I sit at my desk this morning feeling overwhelming gratitude as I ponder my next article for the Skin Care Guide.  As many have come to know me over the past several years, probably realize how much I truly enjoy writing, and I get to use my Blog as a place I can be myself and share my two cents on many issues.

Some issues I like to write about, interjecting facts with humor, or just to simply create a fun piece, and then there are some I don’t like to deal with!  Life is not always rosy and can prove to be challenging, even for me.  But I trudge through, working even on the more difficult stories that may put a knot in my gut, keeping it real, knowing that I may not have everyone concurring with my ideals.  In rare instances, I unwittingly create controversy.  Regardless, it has always been about keeping my readers’ best interests at heart which keeps me motivated to write those in depth articles.

After all I don’t do it to just to do it or to have something to do out of boredom, but because it is a true labor of love…..and I do mean labor.  Sometimes taking me weeks or months to bring a single article to fruition depending on the research involved.  I have always been about debunking myths in my industry, including over inflated claims on many products sold on the market today and conveying those findings to my readers.

It is this dedication I have practiced which has others in my industry taking notice and appreciating my candor and stance against those that want to sell by perpetuating fear!

Last week I was invited to join an expert panel of industry insiders from the U.S. and the U.K. involved in manufacturing and research and development which in large part are made up of scientists, herbalists, aromatherapists and chemists.  It seems they too have enjoyed my articles based on sound science through the dissemination of the facts without scaremongering, instead of recycling old fallacies that hover on the internet for ad infinitum which most of, I might add, is mainly for marketing purposes to sell products.

I have had the opportunity to share many ideas and thoughts with my esteemed colleagues through LinkedIn on a professional level.  However, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be selected to join them in bringing forth truth based knowledge to offset in large part, those that have set out to control our industry using our government to do it with.  Or use junk science to promote an agenda against the entire Personal Care Products Industry as a whole.  And with all of that, I felt a certain responsibility to consumers to help them determine what was fact versus myth.  An example was defeating the Colorado Personal Care Products Safety Act several months ago.

I hope everyone will visit this excellent resource for information surrounding our industry and begin to weigh sound science with junk science.  Remember, there always is two sides to a story and typically those built on negativity get the most interest, sadly.  But proponents for sound science are finally pushing back against those that do not give accurate information, or in most cases incomplete or antiquated data.

Hope to see you there!

Personal Care Truth

Do You Offer Private Label Mineral Makeup?

I finally decided this is a question that I should elaborate on since I am receiving multiple requests asking to provide my mineral makeup for private label to Spas, Salons and Start-ups.

I realize that there is a huge demand for this since many in the mineral makeup world wish to go into business for themselves, and the mass producers provide a service in a profession they enjoy and are an asset to the industry.  Plus it can create a nice alternate stream of additional income.  However, when I created Sterling Minerals Premium Cosmetics, I did it with the intention of providing something truly unique to the makeup world of minerals.

I personally had been on the consumer side of using many different mineral makeup brands, but they all seemed the same and very rarely strayed from the basic formulas scattered all over the internet.  I never could understand how some minerals had a different name, yet felt and performed the same.  Or those that had the same ingredients as the next according to the ingredient lists, yet did weird things to my face.  This clued me in to there being more in that brands version than they were letting on.

After an arduous 2 years of research and development in creating a uniquely different quality to my brand, I knew that my minerals were something special.  They really left skin feeling fantastic without heaviness or caking, and provided incredible staying power and created smoother skin texture, surpassing all others.  Plus I disclose every ingredient used in my formulas in order to achieve the look and feel of these amazing powders.  And the additional benefit of the 3 formulas for different skin types has been a huge success to this line since many other makeup brands don’t offer this in loose minerals.

So to answer the question with some questions of my own:

1. Knowing the benefits my mineral makeup offers, why would I want to dilute this formula across the marketplace under the guise of another name?
2. Don’t we already have enough mass marketers and formulas of the same ingredients available?
3. As a customer, don’t you get tired of sampling same old, same old, thinking the next will be better when you only learn that it is the same as the next?
4. Also, do you ever ask yourself why one costs more or less than the other when the ingredients are identical?
5. What sets theirs apart from others besides price?

This is really the crux of the matter and why I choose to keep my formulas close to my brand, never compromising the skin beautifying benefits they provide to my customers.  When you buy Sterling Minerals products, you can rest assured they are my pure and gentle minerals exclusively, without a doubt.

I am very grateful and flattered by all the requests since many recognize the unique differences mine offer from other brands, but private label is not something I will be offering now, or in the future.   Wholesaling and retailing my products are the only options I offer to maintain the integrity of the Sterling Minerals Brand and I look forward to any inquiries in this regard.