Authentic Skin

The first book I read shortly after my cancer diagnosis— which inspired my starting my business Authentic… http://t.co/pLcgxasa

The first book I read shortly after my cancer diagnosis— which inspired my starting my business Authentic Skin—was “Not Just a Pretty Face,” by Stacy Malkin. Stacy went on to found the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics, www.safecosmetics.org recently said this of Authentic Skin!!

“Congratulations to Authentic Skin Remedies for being a Champion of safe cosmetics, and for demonstrating that it’s possible to make personal care products that far exceed current safety standards in the United States. A growing number of consumers are seeking personal care products that do not contain hazardous chemicals, and our report shows that making safer products is not only possible, but is also part of a successful business model,” said Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of the book “Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry.”

Authentic Skin is excited to be presenting a symposium on the dangers in beauty as newly awarded “Champions” for… http://t.co/JBRcT4Ld

Our friends at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics just released their new report, Market Shift, and (drumroll… http://t.co/MugAPzva

Negotiate what YOU want to pay in high-end shops this holiday season! - When I was in college, I loved the… http://t.co/ABSuddd9

When I was in college, I loved the thrill of finding a good bargain. Like many of us when we are young students, I had the time to really shop but no money. I scoured thrift stores, antique shops, and flea markets looking for something beautiful and unique that was a price I was willing to pay. I remember the sheer joy of discovering a beautiful ring in a Paris flea market while backpacking in my early twenties. I skipped food that day and ordered one pot of tea and one sparkling water to share with my girlfriend— over the course of several hours— in order to pay the $40.00 the shop owner agreed to “trade me” for my coveted ring. Almost twenty years later, I still wear it and brag to my girlfriends who compliment it, that I negotiated the price down in lui of eating food that day.

As I got older and took my first job in the bustling, high-tech corporate world, I found myself having a considerable amount more money but no time. Suddenly, after putting in a 12 hour day negotiating deals with customers, looking for a bargain on my precious time off, lacked the luster it once had. I now choose the luxury of online shopping or catalog shopping over saving a few dollars. Once my life become even more busy with the addition of children, negotiating deals while personal shopping seemed all the more exhausting. I would much rather run into Nordstrom or Best Buy and pay full price in order to get my necessities. Many of my friends would check catalogs to see if a sale was coming up before buying that new television, but to me the 20% I would save waiting a few weeks for something to go on sale was simply one more thing to stay on top of in my already busy life.

Last week, all of that changed! I discovered the ideal shopping solution that merges my need to save time and my old addiction to finding a product I loved at a price I was willing to pay. As a business owner and blogger about safe skincare and beauty, I was approached to attend a fabulous champagne brunch along with other bloggers—followed by a shopping expedition where each of us were teamed up and was given $250 cash to shop and test out the free mobile “Savvy application” via our smart phones. Can you say, a dream afternoon for any busy, working mom?!

Here is how it works, after downloading the savvy app to your phone, shop in one of the 44 partner stores already working with Savvy including The Body Shop, Bath and Body Works, (the two beauty shops I planned on spending the afternoon)  J Crew, Anthropology (where I actually ended up spending my afternoon,) Babies R us etc—see here for complete list: http://www.savvy.com/store.htm.

See a beautiful handbag you have to have? Like this one pictured? Buy it now and scan the receipt with the application. If it goes on sale within 30 days of your purchase, Savvy will let you know and collect the credit back from the retailer for you!

Or, if you see something you love but the price is a bit more than you are willing to part with, scan the bar code of the item and change the set price to the price you are willing to pay and Savvy will let the retailer know. If the retailer is willing to part with that beautiful, lemon colored jacket for 20% off, rather than not sell it at all, Savvy will let you know and you can come back and pick it up at your price, on YOUR terms.

Here is where this app works for retailers, I, along with my new found blogger friends, spent at least three times longer in the shop handling items, looking at them, pricing them out for what we thought they were worth. I must have tried on half a dozen beautiful items I wouldn’t have even looked at as they were out of my normal shopping budget. By asking the retailer to offer me a price I was willing to pay took a few extra seconds to scan the bar code and I had nothing to lose and my price to gain.

On the flip side, if the item is purchased that day, in giving the customer the refund they deserve once the item goes on sale, gets that shopper back in that store to redeem the credit and creates a loyalty in that customer over time. 

Here’s where the application works for the customer, the ability to bargain shop as if you were in a Paris flea market without the haggling you have to do in person, or if you decide to purchase that new kitchen-aid mixer at retailer cost, snap a picture of your receipt via the Savvy app and open your email one day to see a 20% refund credit from that mixer few weeks later!  Pretty savvy if you ask me!

**Consumer warning, this application is addicting!

To find out more about Savvy or to download the free application see their website

www.savvy.com

Amy Rueda

Cancer survivor turned safe beauty activist!

To read more about Amy and her search for “safe beauty” read her blog www.tumblr.authenticskin.com or #authenticskin on twitter or www.authenticskin.com

Curious about Cosmetic Acupuncture?..come try it for a fraction of the price at Ladies Night we are offering a… http://t.co/WumXwxtH

We offer LED Light therapy in Willow Glen seen on RHWBH http://t.co/2ccl4sa6 via @bravotv

Photo: Future salon professionals learning that beauty doesn’t need to be dangerous! http://t.co/QImS2y8N