Six Tips For A Happy Holiday

happy holidays from the Merlot family

Wishing you and yours a bright holiday season!

This time of year can be challenging for keeping up healthy habits, maintaining energy, and making enough time for ourselves.

Here are a few tips to help bring some health and wellness to your holidays:

Make some time to stretch. Getting out of bed on a cold morning can be tough, but engaging in a few easy stretches after you wake up can help warm up your muscles. Stretching can also help prevent injury and improve stability — definitely beneficial when you’re rushing around getting last minute gifts!

Keep your hairstyling routine simple. Even for a holiday party, a sleek pony tail or bun can look really elegant — and helps save time getting ready. For a little sparkle, add a small headband.

headband, holiday hairstyle

 

Grab a cup of (green) tea. When it’s cold outside, a warm drink does wonders. Green tea is high in antioxidants and can help improve blood flow.

Give a gift that benefits a good cause. There’s an abundance of companies using their sales to give back in some way. (Check out places like Ten Thousand Villages for home goods, or One Hope for wine — they even have a Merlot!) It feels good to give a gift, and it’s an added bonus to pay it forward.

Sign up for a fun run or walk. If the weather’s not too cold, join a friend or family member for some outdoor exercise. Catch up and connect while doing right by your body. The runner’s high is usually worth it.

running

Write a thank you note. Have a co-worker that you couldn’t do your job without? Or a friend who has gone the extra mile? Hand writing a note is a simple way to collect your thoughts and tell someone how much you care. The act of gratitude with make you feel good too!

Fall Favorite: Chocolate Pecan Pie

We’re big fans of healthy living and healthy eating, and try to keep it up during the holidays, but every once in a while you need a sweet treat.

This chocolate pecan pie recipe is always a big hit for Thanksgiving Dinner (and other holidays too!)  Merlot Skin Care’s founder Wayne Beckley shares his classic recipe.

chocolate pecan pie

Wayne’s Chocolate Pecan Pie

Ingredients:
2 cups pecans
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 bag mini chocolate chips
*pre-made pie crust

Bake pie crust according to directions until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool slightly.

Turn oven to 375 degrees.

Cover the bottom of the baked pie crust with a layer of mini chocolate chips (about 1/4″ thick).

In a medium bowl stir together corn syrup, sugar, vanilla, and eggs.  Mix in pecans.  Pour mixture over the chocolate chip-lined crust.

Put pie on a baking sheet and insert into 375 degree oven.  Bake about 60 minutes, checking occasionally and rotating.  Remove from oven when mostly set.  Filling will firm as it cools.  Do not over-bake.  Let cool before cutting and serving.

*You can make your own pie crust, though we usually keep it simple with a frozen pre-made one.  (Don’t judge us!)

 

 

Photo credit: @joefoodie via Visualhunt / CC BY

Experiencing The China Beauty Expo

Last week hundreds of beauty companies flocked to Shanghai for the China Beauty Expo. Billed as the premiere beauty business event in Asia, the three-day Expo brought together some 1200 brands from over 20 countries. Held at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center, a sprawling facility that includes over 650,000 square feet of exhibition space, companies from around the globe gathered to show off new beauty tools, ingredients, services, treatments, and packaging.

Throughout the 15 exhibit halls there was a dizzying array of spectacles — muscular shirtless men hawking product samples, brand ambassadors giving neck massages, orchestrated fashion show-type events to demonstrate new makeup, booth workers dressed as cosplay-like characters — all vying for the attention of potential distributors, buyers, and shoppers.IMG_1902models

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New technology was on display, from medical-type treatments to steam removal for nail polish and motorized nail sculpting (think of a dremmel tool for your nails).

nail app

3-D printed nail art with an app for design selection

medical

Woman receiving a facial sonogram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memebox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Korea’s Memebox, showcasing a collection by PONY, the influential beauty guru. The South Korean company has Y-Combinator connections and a San Francisco office, with a strategy that targets social media influencers for deep collaborations.

cupping

Cupping demonstrations

 

Expecting some half a million visitors, the Expo also stood as an opportunity for brands looking to expand and grow in the robust Chinese market. As cultural customs give preference to cultivating more personal relationships and conducting business face-to-face, the event helps facilitate personalized interactions.

CBE-show2

Product experiences from Merlot Skin Care

 

The Expo reinforced a number of industry trends including the utilization of aloe as a signature ingredient, the strength of the natural beauty category, and the undeniable role of social media in building authentic brand awareness and partnering with online personalities to cater to a specific audience.

The prevalence of WeChat in China makes social shopping (social media + ecommerce) a more seamless experience — an integration that hasn’t fully hit the U.S., but it’s just a matter of time…  Here’s looking to CBE 2017.

Launching At The China Beauty Expo

Merlot Skin Care unveils new releases in Shanghai in May

As more small businesses look toward global expansion, Merlot Skin Care, the best-selling natural grape seed-based skin care brand, prepares to release a host of new products at the China Beauty Expo in Shanghai May 18 – 20, 2016.

The Expo will mark the debut of a new brand look, as well as travel size versions of Merlot’s popular Moisturizer, Moonlight Radiance Night Cream, and Hand Cream Plus Sanitizer.  In celebration of Merlot Skin Care’s 15 year anniversary, new packaging has been created to emphasize the brand’s focus on fresh, powerful, good-for-you skin care.

“We’re very excited to debut these new concepts on an international stage, and expand Merlot’s global reach,” says Michele Beckley, Vice President of Operations for Merlot Skin Care.  “This is a great opportunity to introduce beauty customers in China to our brand of high quality, American-made goods.”

Skin care represents the fastest growing segment of China’s cosmetic market, with special interest paid to anti-aging products.  Merlot Skin Care’s emphasis on natural grape seed antioxidants to protect skin and fight against premature aging make the brand a natural fit for entrance into the Chinese market.

At the China Beauty Expo, Merlot Skin Care will release:

  • Merlot Moisturizer (2 oz.) – a fast-absorbing, ultra lightweight moisturizer
  • Merlot Moonlight Radiance Night Cream (2 oz.) – a deeply hydrating cream that works to repair fine lines and wrinkles
  • Merlot Hand Cream Plus Sanitizer (1 oz.) – a moisturizing lotion that also protects and sanitizes
  • Merlot Grape Seed Eye Cream (1 oz.) – a targeted treatment to reduce puffiness and under-eye circles

These new Merlot Skin Care items are expected to be available in the United States later this year.  Produced in Dallas, Texas, and originated in El Paso, Texas, the Merlot Skin Care brand is paraben-free, cruelty-free, and vegan friendly.

Additionally, the Merlot company will preview a new brand, MultiV6, created by Merlot Skin Care’s founder and CEO, Wayne Beckley.   The MultiV6 brand utilizes a combination of six vitamins plus resveratrol to deliver nutrients and intense hydration to the skin.  The brand will include a Day Cream, Night Cream, and specialized Serum.  The MultiV6 line will be shown for the first time publicly at the China Beauty Expo, and should be available in the United States in the coming months.