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Time to Get Fresh!

by on ‎06-27-2012 05:17 PM

A few weeks ago, I went to New York to spend the day with Lev Glazman, the co-founder of Fresh. Lev and I had worked together a few times and I was familiar with the Fresh products we present on air, but I didn’t know very much about the brand outside of QVC. Now that we have a one-hour show coming up, it was time to learn more. Lev suggested that we meet in Manhattan at the Fresh store in Union Square. That day, it rained all morning and then turned gray and muggy. However, stepping inside the store was like entering a bright, clean, fragrant utopia. I can only describe it as Fresh. In fact, I've never experienced a product line that's so completely summed up by its name.


Fresh store in Union Square
Fresh store in Union Square


On the artfully arranged shelves, you can find a range of antiaging products featuring ingredients from around the globe including sugar, Umbrian clay, milk, soy, and sake. Near the counter, I fell in love with the most beautiful soaps, all hand-wrapped like perfect presents. I brought one home and it almost killed me to open it. It seemed too pretty, but I’m glad I did. The moisturizing ingredients make using it even better than looking at it.


One of my favorite parts of the trip was experiencing the fragrances, each carefully developed by Lev and his team. You can pick the ones you like and fill your own bottle. In fact, I’m wearing the Pear Cassis as I write this blog.


Lev at the fragrance bar
Lev at the fragrance bar


While the store is beautiful, it's the product formulations that have made the company famous. At this point, I feel like I could write a book about my favorite Fresh treatments, but since this is just a blog, I’ll narrow it down to my top three:


Sugar Lip Treatment
This product seems to be constantly winning awards and getting press mentions. The plum color won the coveted CEW award for best prestige lip product in 2011. I'm a product junkie so I've used a lot of lip treatments, but this is my all-time favorite. Lev says that sugar is a natural humectant and keeps the skin moist. I now have this treatment in almost every color. Every shade goes on sheer, providing a pretty tint that still looks natural. I also love that it has SPF 15, making it perfect for summer. Right now, I’m wearing the Honey. I’ve been putting the clear on my kids before they go out to play. I love Sugar Lip Treatment so much that I’ve given tubes as gifts to both of my sisters.


These are my favorite colors. I want to try the Coral next
These are my favorite colors. I want to try the Coral next


You can see they go on sheer, which is perfect for summer. This is Plum, Rose, Passion, and Honey
You can see they go on sheer, which is perfect for summer.
This is Plum, Rose, Passion, and Honey


Soy Cleanser
This gel cleanser is very gentle, but it seems to leave my face very clean. It even takes off eye makeup. I've been using it on its own and with the Clarisonic. It leaves skin soft and smooth.


Crème Ancienne
This is a moisturizer that has been referred to as “couture skin care.” Normally that would sound overblown, but in this case, it's really true. Lev says he found a recipe that was used to treat skin in the 2nd century. He recreated the formula, adding even more antiaging ingredients. It's full of natural, antiaging ingredients including meadowfoam seed oil, chamomile wax, and beeswax. The first time I used it, I was surprised by its thickness. I worried it would be heavy. Instead, it absorbed into my skin and I really could see a difference in hydration when I woke up the next morning. You can use it as the only or last step in your skin-care routine.


Lev and I will be together for a show on Thursday, July 5 at 10pm ET featuring some of the brand’s most popular beauty treatments. Have you tried anything from Fresh? I'd love to read your comments here or you can join the discussion on my Facebook page.


—Sandra Bennett