Sephora.com

Sephora.com is a website dedicated to cosmetics and fragrances.

However, once you delve deeper into the site, you will notice that it's much more. The availability of one-on-one advice available via e-mail sets them apart from other beauty websites. Another major benefit of this site is "one stop shopping" for a wide variety of products.

Sephora.com has several extraordinary features including:

• A "brand locator" that allows you to scan for products by company name.
• A "beauty advisor team" where you can read answers to other people's questions or e-mail questions of your own.
• A "gift advisor" for when you just don't know what to get someone.
• A "Magazine" section for the latest tips, trends and professional makeup tips.

Searching the site can be accomplished in a couple of different ways. There is a search by product line such as fragrance, makeup or bath and body. You may also search by clicking on the section titled, "Brand Boutique", if you know the name of the company you are looking for. One other option is to go to the site index or the search box, which is located on the top right hand corner of the site.

Sephora.com is user-friendly and easy to access, providing much more than just a place to purchase makeup. This website provides a wealth of information for anyone interested in the world of beauty.

Reviewed by FIDM R&RC staff member Monika Earle.

The voice of the industry...

Do you want to be the first to find the accents for your Spring 2002 wardrobe? Are you focusing on the comfort of casual leg and footwear? Researching the accessories market "movers and shakers"? Wondering about international trade show dates? Looking for pet accessories?

Accessories magazine previews styles and colors for every season where you'll find trends and directions for...

• Novelty accessories
• Fashion headgear
• Belts
• Hosiery
• Backpacks
• Handbags
• Scarves...etc., etc., etc.
  

Retail reports, designer profiles, hot picks, business overviews--these are a few of the features, special sections and department style files that fill the multiple pages of this trade publication.

Reviewed by FIDM R&RC staff member Roseanna Garcia.

How does an organization stimulate a customer to purchase goods and/or services? How did companies such as Burger King, Nickelodeon, Avon and Bugle Boy grab the eyes, cash, and credit of this trillion dollar global economy for more than a nano-second? What's one of the primary equations for business success?

Designing Brands...

• Details the creative process by using 17 project models
• Helps you redesign or update your well-known products
• Carves out niche markets
• Shows you how to develop a strategy
• Highlights the implementation of many successful solutions

Designing Brands: Market Success through Graphic Distinction provides the business community and the entrepreneurial want-to-be not only with a strategy, but also with innovative graphic design concepts to excite the consumer's imagination. It is extremely well illustrated with text and pictures. So if you are looking for information on brand positioning, ideas for "start-up" companies, customer targeting and/or graphic design, Designing Brands is the book for you.

Reviewed by FIDM R&RC staff members Peter Davis & Monika Earle.