online confessions
BEHIND-THE-SCENES AT OUR FAVORITE ONLINE DESTINATIONS.
It’s summer time and that means, time to travel. Regardless of your destination,
one thing you want, is to look Instagram ready. So this month we’re going behindthe-scenes at one of our favorite Online destinations TravelBeauty.com with
founder and CEO Alyssa Barrie Weiss to talk style, travel and the best in beauty.
What inspired the creation of
TravelBeauty.com? In my travels
to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and
the French West Indies, my favorite
pastime has always been raiding
every pharmacy and luxury boutique I
could find to discover the best beauty
products each region had to offer. Upon
returning home to New York City,
I was always floored that I couldn't
find any of my favorite products,
especially in the city where one can
find everything! I also did not want
my frequent travels to stop me from
having my regimen with me at all
times. This meant ensuring all of my
products were "TSA-friendly," namely
3.4 fl oz or less (I also realized that
many full size products are 3.4 fl oz
and less—more on that later). Where
could I find the very best products from
my travels that could also travel with
me? The idea for Travel Beauty was
born: An exclusive Online destination
that would be the ultimate source of
discovery for the finest luxury products
from around the globe.
What's the best thing about being
involved in TravelBeauty.com?
There are so many! Doing what I
love everyday is one of them. Having
worked in the advertising world
HEAVEN HAS HEELS summer 2015 | @HHHEELS
and later at The New York Times, my
career has spanned marketing, media,
advertising and communications and
I have also had a life-long infatuation
with beauty products. Combining these
passions to create a digital native,
luxury beauty shopping experience,
has been thrilling. One of the most
gratifying aspects is receiving so much
positive feedback from our customers.
We hear from many clients that they
are so excited to find us as we not only
offer unbelievable products they can't
find anywhere else but we also provide
comprehensive product guidance and
advice as well as superb customer
service which makes them feel
pampered and special. When Travel
Beauty's customers are delighted, so
am I!
What does an average day on the
job look like for you? Every day
is completely different. I am an early
riser and am usually at my computer,
Nespresso in hand, by 6:15am. The
beauty business is not as glamorous
as it may sound. While traveling
the world scouting out new beauty
finds is one of my favorite things in
life—truly, much of a typical day is
devoted to crafting, planning and
tweaking marketing and advertising
initiatives and developing technology
to make Travel Beauty even better.
We are continually reexamining the
Online shopping experience from the
customers' perspective, in the hopes of
creating a warmer, more personalized
environment that feels like a one-onone consultation. This includes many
different touch points, one of which
is providing easy to find product
guidance and beauty and wellness
services recommendations.
Claire McCormack, Travel
Beauty's Chief Content Officer
heads up content creation for the
site. We're really proud of what we
publish. Providing expert guidance on
products and services is an important
part of creating a comprehensive
beauty shopping experience. We are
passionate about beauty products and
services and are not afraid to share our
secrets, even the seemingly taboo ones.
What are some of you favorite
travel products? Travel Beauty has
redrawn the lines of what is considered
travel size. We abide by the TSA's
definition, which is 3.4 fl oz or less.
Though travel size typically conjures a
visual of miniature size products, the
truth is that many full size products fall
into these parameters. Most full size
face creams and serums, for example,
are 1.7 fl oz or less, the manufactures
don't market them as travel size but
we do. With that in mind, like many
frequent flyers, I favor traveling light
but don't like to skimp on my regimen
so I tend to gravitate towards products
that are master multi-taskers.
What’s new and exciting for
TravelBeauty.com in 2015? We are in
the process of on-boarding some new
brands Be on the lookout for Emma
Hardie, an organic skin and body
care brand from the UK, Binchotan
Charcoal, a charcoal based product line
from Japan, Sapelo Skin Care, an all
natural, ultra luxe line from Savannah,
GA and others.