Read my lips

An American beauty company spearheads a unique range of products called colourceuticals.

WHEN women see their cosmetic surgeons to have their lips plumped up, chances are they would be pointing to Angelina Jolie as the poster girl for bee-stung lips.

American beauty brand Fusion Beauty saw the power of sensual smackers and created the lip plumper, Lipfusion, the first in the market, and it became the brand’s claim to fame in 2005.

Apparently, the Lipfusion micro-injected Collagen Lip Plump offers instant and measurable lip plumping without irritation or injectibles.

“In the United States, we have seen and heard some crazy stories about the different types of cosmetic surgery that women undergo, whether rightly or wrong, and some really young girls are doing it,” said Dianne Watson, international vice president for Fusion Brands Inc, in an interview. She was in Kuala Lumpur recently for the launch of the brand.

As women start to mature, “they start looking for an answer to cosmetic surgery,” said Watson.

“You don’t want to be radical and you want lasting results. So, we are the alternative to scalpels and needles. That’s how we position ourselves,” she explained.

Lipfusion was exclusively launched with Sephora in the United States and Europe, and this product alone, according to Watson, brought in US$26mil (RM78mil) in the first year.

The company Fusion Brands Inc is privately owned by Eugene Melnyk who is engaged in research and development, manufacturing, sales and marketing of two beauty brands, namely Fusion Beauty and Clean beauty product lines.

Fusion Brands was established in 2005 and bought over by Melnyk in 2009. He is the founder, former chairman and CEO of Biovail Corporation, which is now Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

Apart from his bio-tech pharmaceutical business, Watson said that Melnyk, who now lives in Barbados, owns a hockey team in Canada, as well as race horses.

She added that he is not involved in the day-to-day business of Fusion Brands but that role falls under the purview of CEO Caroline Pieper-Vogt, who has extensive experience in skincare and colour products. She was brought in to reposition and grow the brand.

“Colourceuticals is a category that didn’t exist and our CEO, Caroline created it. When you do that, especially in the competitive beauty industry, you should take it as far and as quickly as possible before the competition comes in!” Watson exclaimed.

Angelina Jolie's Beauty Slips - Plans Cosmetic Surgery Binge To ...

The 35-year-old Jolie was so humiliated when a survey revealed women prefer the looks of more youthful actresses that she instantly decided to go under the knife for a major makeover, sources say.

Despite Brad’s objections, Angelina wants plastic surgeons to shave years off her famous face with several painful procedures that will put her in the hospital and require a lengthy recuperation, insiders say.

“She also wants to smooth out the creases in her neck, and she intends to get fat grafts to fill in age lines and plump up her face.  To finish off her makeover, Angie wants upper eyelid surgery to lift her droopy eyelids.” said the source.