Alluring Win!

This week I received the brilliant news Jouer won a coveted Best of Beauty Award from Allure Magazine. 
I cried when I heard the news. My son and I jumped up and down for 5 minutes.

The invitation arrived by FED EX! 

That red sticker is my Oscar and Allure magazine my beauty bible.

Perfect Airplane reading material when I can't use my Kindle! Flying to NY for the Allure party...

After a day of meetings, I threw on my red dress (I wanted to coordinate with the sticker)...

Roland Mouret 

...and got my makeup done by Irina Krupnik - the most gorgeous makeup artist ever!! Yes, having someone as beautiful as Irina applying makeup can be intimidating. But, she is so sweet I felt perfectly comfortable.

Irina is a beauty! 

After she meticulously applied individual lashes at my hotel, I changed my mind outside the venue and frantically pulled the fake lashes off my eyelids (along with some real ones too). Lashes felt like I was trying too hard. I'm trying to remain cool at this point. Hah!

Meredith laughed, it's not the first time she's seen me in beauty emergency mode.

Elevator up to the awards....

We walked into the room and couldn't believe the energy, the beauty...we felt like we'd arrived!

Such a NYC party, beautiful view and good music. 

We immediately sought out the Jouer display... just to be sure we actually did win and didn't make some terrible mistake.

There it was...

Jouer's Luminizing Moisture Tint,  displayed amongst other winners in the "base" category. 

Voila! Am I making a spectacle yet?

When Linda Wells, Editor in Chief of the magazine, spoke at Wednesday’s ceremony she quoted a Greek Philosopher, Senecal, who said, “Luck is when hard work meets preparation”.  

Linda Wells, Editor in Chief of Allure, talking Beauty.

I told Linda Wells (Oh, am I name dropping?), I was certainly the happiest person in the room that night!

I did feel lucky that night. But, I also know that hard work also means never accepting the word no.

Most people think it all looks so glamorous and simple. But the truth is, I have been rejected over and over and over hundreds of times along the way.

"NO","NO","NO","NO","NO","NO","NO","NO"

When I wanted to start the line, I couldn't find a packager who would work with me. I was told custom packaging is too difficult, and not to pursue.

"NO"

Labs have rejected me because my minimums are too small and they can't see my growth potential.

NO

PR Companies have told me they couldn't work with my line because I'm not a makeup artist and who would believe in me?

NO

Retailers rejected me because I either wasn't in enough stores, or I was in the wrong stores, or they just didn't want to take a risk on a new line.

NO

I often reread a poem my father sent me before he passed away to give me the encouragement I know he would have offered.

This poem hangs where I can see it every morning. 

But, behind hard work and luck lie the angels who help carry out the mission.

I'd like to call out my angels here...Team Jouer, who go above and beyond to ensure Jouer is a success.

These are my angels:

Team Jouer (Partial representation) at Dusty's wedding last Fall.
From Left: Myself, Aida, Meredith, Dusty, Sarah, Donna and Whitney

If you’ve spoken with Whitney in Customer Service, you know what I mean. Zappos could learn a thing or two from Whitney. She knows customers by their first names, can chat with them about anything. But, boy, she is good at figuring out what colors work on ANYONE!

Whitney, left, and Meredith, Right. Team Jouer, Sales and Marketing (plus a host of other jobs!). 

We share in the highs and lows at this company, as evidenced by my Sales and Marketing whiz, Meredith, who cried with me at Wednesday nights' ceremony! There is NOBODY who meets Meredith who doesn't LOVE her. She embodies the Jouer Girl: stylish, witty, smart, dedicated - a complete package! 

No joke, we cried! 

The dedication at my office is enviable. From Nicki who keeps me organized and sometimes on time, to Dusty, Donna, Aida, Laurie, Jamie...My office is spoiled with beauty and brains. Peggy,  Doris and Kate make everything LOOK beautiful from our packaging to the websites to Newsletters, and Insider Reports plus more. Hillary was right, it takes a village to raise a child! 

There are too many angels to name here, from my NY Makeup Stylists (Chelsea, Neil, Sarah, Elizabeth, Karen, Kim, Naoko...) to makeup artists who've helped me with celebrity placements and even distribution, to my friends who bought Jouer when no one had heard of it (Special mention Beverly Lipsky!), keeping my sales afloat.  

And, my sweetest angels, my children, who understand why mommy will never be room mom at school and put up with my travels and support me because they see how much I love what I do. Maybe they'll be as lucky as I am and love their work! 

All that said, it's now back to the grind. We're taking time to celebrate next week with a special dinner. But, there is a lot of work to do, a lot of road to travel. 

Thanks for your support everyone and keep sharing the magic of Jouer. 

XO