NEW YORK — Stress may be a ubiquitous reality, but one skin care marketer is out to alleviate the effects of stress on the skin.
Skyn Iceland, which was introduced last January by Sarah Kugelman, a beauty industry veteran of more than 20 years, already has created three new products for next year, which could be the breakeven year for the upstart brand.
“I’m interested in the whole area of stress,” said Kugelman. “The skin is out of balance when you’re stressed.” The word “skyn,” she added, is Icelandic for “senses.” “It represents a link between the skin and the senses,” Kugelman said of the brand’s name.
Skyn Iceland now includes seven products, an assortment that ranges in price from $25 for the 1-oz. Anti-Stress Oral Spray to $75 for the 2-oz. Oxygen Infused Night Cream. Other items include a daily lotion, eye cream, face wash, face mist and mask. There’s also a $45 kit, called the 5 Day Detox Kit for Stressed Skin.
Plans call for the introduction in April of three new products: Anti-Blemish Gel, $25 for 0.5 oz.; Bio-Intense Healing Serum, $75 for 1 oz., and Nordic Skin Peel, $45 for 60 pads.
Industry sources estimate Skyn Iceland could reach the $1.5 million mark in retail sales volume once the trio of new products has reached full distribution next year.
Kugelman, a product development and marketing executive who worked as vice president of marketing for the Jane cosmetics brand and, before that, created Gloss.com in 1999, contended aromatherapy has been beauty’s only link to stress. She said skin care is not just about addressing wrinkles, but also involves talking to consumers about proper eating, sleeping and exercise.
Kugelman has tapped research on stress conducted by the American Institute of Stress. She also has put together an advisory panel for Skyn Iceland that includes dermatologist Diane Madfes, who belongs to the American Academy of Dermatologists.
Five dermal symptoms of stress, Kugelman said, include higher oil production, which can lead to clogged pores; impaired lipid barrier function, which can result in dry skin; the release of histamines, which can cause irritation that may lead to rosacea and eczema; impaired immune functions, which can prevent the skin from healing effectively, and internal inflammation, which is thought to accelerate aging.
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Numerous Skyn Iceland products are based on white willow bark, which yields a naturally derived form of salicylic acid. The line’s oral spray, which is designed to be applied under the tongue three times a day, employs an extract of green tea that has a history as a de-stressor in Asia. The ingredient is said to “work with alpha brain waves to send a signal to the body not to be stressed,” Kugelman claimed.
Products also employ glacial waters from Iceland, as well as botanical extracts and herbs from that country, including kelp, and powerful antioxidants such as cloudberry seed oil and cranberry seed oil. Additionally, the products “all have encapsulated oxygen to feed cells so they perform at the optimal level,” said Kugelman.
Skyn Iceland’s distribution base could reach 100 doors by yearend, according to Kugelman, who said she believes that figure could double next year and include more spa doors.
Existing Skyn Iceland venues include 30 Sephora locations, Henri Bendel, Jeffrey New York, C.O. Bigelow here, Pure Beauty and skyniceland.com. New doors of distribution include the Wynn Resort and Spa in Las Vegas and Harbor Beauty Bar in Rockland, Maine.
Internationally, plans call for the line to arrive at five El Corte Ingles doors in Spain next month. Also, a U.K. launch is planned for Selfridges next fall.
Wording on products’ outer packaging — stream-of-consciousness phrases including concepts such as “breakout, no energy” and “under-eye circles” — which was designed by Shari Creed, highlight the snags of daily life in an effort to get customers’ attention. “We wanted people to form an emotional connection to the brand,” said Kugelman.