Active Radiance Serum Launch Party
Katie Scott, Coordinator, Corporate Communications

Does it get any better than listening to Dr. Murad speak in person while receiving mini hand treatments, mini massages, personalized facial consultations and walking away with a Murad gift bag complete with an array of Murad product? I don’t think it does! This is what more than 150 guests experienced at the Active Radiance Launch Party held at the Murad Inclusive Health Spa on Thursday June 4th to celebrate Murad’s newest innovation—Active Radiance Serum! This was my first launch party at Murad and I couldn’t believe how many people could fit in to one room! The spa was flooded with smiling faces as they listened to the profound Dr. Murad share his beauty tips and philosophies all the while enjoying Murad treatments with Murad’s one-of-a-kind expert estheticians. Lucky winner Katie Borrud walked away with Murad’s “Sun Undone” Health and Beauty Package for two valued at over $1200! She received an array of prizes, including spa treatments and lunch for two at the Murad Inclusive Health Spa, Juicy Couture sunglasses, two 1-month passes to YogaWorks, two retail size Active Radiance Serums and more. FYI—take it from me, NEVER miss an event at Murad—it was truly magical!

Win $500 Worth of Murad Products

Murad’s Ratings & Reviews Sweepstakes is back! If you’ve never entered or never heard of our Ratings and Reviews Sweepstakes, then don’t miss this chance to participate! Simply rate and review your Murad favorites for a chance to win $500 worth of free Murad products! It’s that easy! Each product review equals one sweepstakes entry. Sweepstakes ends July 31. So visit Murad today to enter.

See Jane Run…with Dr. Murad
by Stefani Green, Coordinator, Media Relations

If you ever watched ABC Channel 7 news in the Los Angeles area during the mornings, then I am sure you know who Jane Monreal is!!! She was a fixture on the morning news reporting on traffic, beauty, dance and lifestyle. She is a wonderful person, so real and so sweet—with such great energy. She recently started her own Production Company called enCompass Entertainment and wanted to interview Dr. Murad for her new series called See Jane Run, a travel destination show that follows Jane’s excursions all over the world. Jane thoroughly enjoyed meeting with Dr. Murad and learning all about the Science of Cellular Water—he even personally evaluated her and informed her about her intracellular water levels, her skin (flawless of course!) and shared his tips for becoming as healthy and beautiful as possible (he’s THE expert on that—trust me). Dr. Murad gave her a personal tour of all the amazing facilities here at Murad and she was so impressed, she’s coming back for a full Murad Spa Day! Check out the picture of Dr. Murad and Jane together (seriously, 2 of the nicest, most down-to-earth people on the planet!) and be sure to visit Jane’s blog—oh, and be sure to keep an eye out for Dr. Murad on See Jane Run coming soon.

Green Beauty

“Green Beauty” might not sound so attractive (sounds a little like green with envy or green eggs and ham) but there are major dollars behind it. Technology Strategy Board recently invested more than $30 million dollars into green research projects. Among the projects is the use of seaweed in beauty products.
The Body Shop and the University of Leeds have also backed such research.

Murad may be ahead of the curve…the Murad Inclusive Health Spa has been featuring a Seaweed Detoxifying Wrap for some time. And Dr. Murad has been an innovator in skincare science for 20 years. Perhaps we’ll see a Murad Green Skincare line in the near future.

WOW of the Week

WOW !! I received product 3 days ago, and already am experiencing a change in my skin.

My skin lacked lustre. Murad has restored it. I have used all products from Dept. Store to drug store.

This is truly a remarkable product.

I found a home w/ Murad. THANK YOU !!!

–Susan

Summer’s Here!!!

Summer officially started on June 21 at 1:45 AM, otherwise known as Summer Solstice. Summer Solstice is a happy time for those of us who live in sunny California. There’s a Summer of Love SOULstice Festival in Santa Monica. Del Mar celebrates the arrival of summer with a culinary twist. Tahoe hosts its own Summer Kick-Off over 4 days. And Santa Barbara knocks it out of the park with the Summer Solstice Parade.

Murad took part in the celebration with Summer Fun Shorts Day. That’s right. Murad employees were given a free pass to wear shorts to the office in observance of Summer Solstice. Some wore bermudas, some chose cargos, while others classed it up with heels. Regardless of the style or color or flip flops or tennis shoes, we all had a blast seeing our fellow coworkers walking down the hallway looking cool and casual with shorts on. Discovering who rocked shorts to work was like a fun, day-long surprise.

I would like to say a big THANKS to Murad for giving us the chance to celebrate our favorite season (well, my favorite anyway) and a big HAVE FUN THIS SUMMER to everyone out there.

Now it’s time to dust off the barbeques, put on the flip flops, and head to the beach. And of course, we always remember to wear
our sunblock!

At-Home Laser Treatment for Wrinkles?

This month witnessed the approval by the FDA of Palomar Medical Technologies’ laser device for eye-area wrinkles. We know the FDA has gotten it wrong before. We’ve all heard about the recall of Zicam this same month. So I’m wondering about this recent development. Personally, I cringe at eye-lash curlers so I couldn’t image taking a laser to my eye. If any laser is getting near my eye, a board-certified doctor better be at the other end of it! My advice, stick with eye creams. Murad has a whole selection of eye creams for your specific concern. And they work!

What are your thoughts about this new over-the-counter wrinkle treatment in laser form?

Murad Employees: Masters of Skincare……
and the English Language
by Carina Zaragoza, Coordinator, eCommerce

I’m not sure how the conversation was started, but suddenly, 4 Murad employees (two from the catalog team and two from the eTeam) synchronized their lunches and engaged in a friendly game of Boggle. Each questioned the other as to the validity of their chosen words (totter? frit?). In the end however, Sam Shefrin, our very own SEO Guru, came out victorious (although whether he knew the definition of “covin” as he furiously jotted it down on paper is still a mystery). Do I see a company-wide Murad Boggle Tournament in the near future? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, I’ll get started on memorizing all the three letter words in the English Language.

Anxiety-Proof Suncare

I have a very relaxed attitude towards most things - some would say a bit too relaxed. I make up for it with my obsession with sun protection. I will reapply 4 times on cloudy days I spend indoors. I never know when some sneaky, DNA-damaging UVA ray will slip through my window onto my exposed hand. And good luck to anyone who has to have lunch with me when the only table available is under direct sunlight. I will squirm for the duration, and because all of my attention is being paid to the damage being done to my skin cells, I probably won’t hear a word of the conversation.

I realize that most people aren’t this neurotic (I like to think of it as “attentive”) about sun protection. Most do not use sunscreen at all. Of those who do, few reapply throughout the day, so their protection only lasts for a few hours. But even for those who are as “attentive” as I am, a high SPF does not ensure complete protection. A sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or above (I’ve seen some SPF 100 products recently) only filter about 97% of UVB rays while it remains on your skin (SPF 15 will filter about 93%). However, an SPF rating gives no assurance of UVA protection – and these are the rays that cause the majority of skin aging. My sincere but naïve hope is that the FDA will finally approve a rating system for UVA protection like the one in Japan and Europe. Until that happens, look for these FDA approved UVA protectors on your sunscreen’s label – Avobenzone, Zinc, and Titanium, to ensure that you are getting some broad spectrum protection.

But even if you are as attentive as possible, some of those damaging rays are going to slip by and harm your skin cells. That is why we add a cocktail of antioxidants and repair enhancers into all of our sunscreen formulas. These will serve to repair the damage done by the rays that your sunscreen cannot protect you from. Not only does their inclusion leave your skin looking and feeling healthy, they also allow me to stop obsessing over that slippery 3% of UV rays that I know are breaking through my armor.

Night on the Red Carpet
by Stefani Green, Coordinator, Media Relations

Murad hosted a night on the red carpet to introduce and welcome our new international face of Murad, Turkish celeb Ebru Salli. It was a wonderful evening full of VIP’s and guests red-carpet-ready! Each attendee was treated to the opportunity to enjoy chair massages or hand treatments featuring Murad products and everyone left with a Murad goody bag packed with the lushest Murad products! Guests also had the honor of meeting and mingling with Dr. Murad and his lovely wife who entertained the VIP crowd (who included Selen Eryuce, Commercial Consul for the Turkish Consulate General) while all dined on delicious cuisine from Ill Fornaio paired with an array of wines. Ebru Salli is a huge superstar in Turkey (they call her the Oprah of Turkey!) where she has her own TV Show, cook book and sells the number one Pilates DVD! Not only is she stunning and a total show stopper, but she is an absolute sweetheart and one of the most down to earth people you’ll ever meet. She perfectly embodies Murad’s Inclusive Health Philosophy which makes her the ideal match for Murad. Did I mention that she photographs like a pro? Seriously, I don’t think any of her photos even need touching up. Look for her as the new face of Murad—she will be featured in various catalogs, campaigns and on our Web site!