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women's wear daily Published: Thursday, October 30, 2003 NEW YORK — As the term “metrosexual” inhabits urban vocabulary, men’s personal care products are hot. Soon, Bullie Care, a new skin care system for men, will join the competition with a fresh approach. “For too long, the industry standard has been to clump male skin care products together for use by all skin types without any clear direction or sequence of use instructions,” said John Cypher, Bullie’s founder. With that in mind, he created the Bullie Care system with three sublines for individual skin types. He began selling the products exclusively online in April and said the sales have been “surprisingly good.” With a retail launch planned for early next year, Cypher expects first-year retail sales to exceed $2 million. Barney’s New York will begin selling Bullie Care in February, and Cypher is hopeful that other large doors will follow suit. He said he’s also making inroads with select upscale retailers, pharmacies, apothecaries, spas and salons. New York and Los Angeles are the priority markets, “but because there has been demand for Bullie in many other cities, including Atlanta, Seattle and Washington, D.C., the products will eventually be more widely available,” he said. For now, Bullie’s plans for advertising are minimal, working only with a p.r firm and Quintessentially, an executive concierge service. While Quintessentially is reaching out to affluent consumers who already take extra care with their skin, Cypher hopes to capture some of the soap-and-water market, too. With minimalist labels, clear bottles and products colored in masculine hues, it may not be hard. “[The packaging elements] really give a lot of shelf presence,” Cypher said. “The label is didactic, informative and gives the active ingredients.” He’s also alert to the fact that many men still aren’t ready to admit they use facial products. “While men are taking more effort making themselves look better, they don’t want people to recognize they’re making that effort,” Cypher said. “The products won’t clash with colognes or anything else they use to make themselves smell better. We try to keep it as natural as possible. Most items do not have alcohol, dyes or fragrances.” (Though he admits one product does have fragrance because “it would smell terrible if it didn’t.”) All products are a blend of vitamin-enriched, botanical ingredients with no animal testing. The 6-oz. cleanser retails for $24, the 6-oz. post-shave plus toner for $19, the 4-oz. moisturizer for $30 and the 4-oz. refinement scrub for $36. Each product is available in formulations for three different skin types: all types-combination, normal to oily and dry to sensitive. Cypher said he’ll take a backward approach when he expands the line. “We didn’t start with shaving products and grow out,” he said. “We started with skin care and will go back in.” He plans to introduce shaving products and accessories in 2004, followed by hair care. — Emily Farris |