Bath and Body Travel Packettes: Q&A with Lisa Hoffman

When interviewing marketers about executive travel lifestyles, the importance of travel kits and travel-sized personal care products to business travelers became evident. Lisa Hoffman, founder of Lisa Hoffman Beauty, shared with GCI magazine her take on the travel product market.

GCI: What travel-sized/travel-friendly skin care products and/or accessories does Lisa Hoffman Beauty sell?

Lisa Hoffman: We sell travel-friendly options in all the categories that we’ve launched our products. Our philosophy has always been to create products with exceptional formulas and packaging and to make sure these products fit into your lifestyle by offering portable alternatives for added convenience. We are all time stressed and “on the go.” In my skin care collection, we offer a 24 Hour Packette that contains all the products for an essential skincare regimen, housed in a disposable set of single dose ampoules. There are five products for day and five products for night. The “day” products include cleanser, toner, moisturizer, eye cream and lip serum. The “night” products include cleanser, vitamin A and C serum, night face cream, eye concentrate and lip concentrate. I also have a travel-friendly packette for all the products in my Spa Bath and Spa Shower collections. Since women tend to have different rituals for bathing as they do for showering, I created two different collections to address this need. For instance, the products in the Spa Bath collection are meant for those times when women want to luxuriate in the bath. This collection was developed to create a pampered and decadent bathing experience by offering products that are rich, highly moisturizing and deeply conditioning. The products in the Spa Shower collection, on the other hand, were developed for a quick and invigorating shower experience. Our body oil is light and instantly seals in the moisture, while our body lotion absorbs quickly, so you can immediately pull on your stockings, jeans or jewelry. I also have a fragrance line featuring four pulse-point oils that can be layered throughout the day. As with all my products, the four fragrances are portable and offered in small vials contained in an elegant leather pouch that is easily carried in a handbag, travel bag or gym bag. The vials and leather pouch also look beautiful on a dresser or bedside table.

GCI: What cosmetic/personal care products can’t you live without while traveling?

Lisa Hoffman: The products I can’t live without are actually from my own line, the 24 Hour Packette and the Spa Bath & Spa Shower Packettes. I think I am like most women. I want to be able to take care of myself while I’m on the road, but I don’t want it to occupy too much time and space in my life. Life for so many of us these days is quite full and complicated, and I’m always looking to simplify. The packettes give me the convenience of being able to use all the products in my regimen without having to lug around large jars or bottles. The packettes take up little space and very little time to pack. I also have very curly hair, with a mind of its own, so I like to use Kérastase Paris hair products to tame my curls. Kérastase offers travel-sized versions of their shampoos and conditioners, which I like to take with me on all my trips.

GCI: What’s the most important thing a business traveler should remember when packing?

Lisa Hoffman: Keep it simple. Keep it light. Carry on luggage, whenever possible, and don’t be afraid to wear the same outfit several times.

GCI: What advice can you offer frequent business travelers in the beauty industry to relieve stress?

Lisa Hoffman: Since I travel frequently, I’ve experienced my fair share of stressful travel days. I listen to classical music on my iPod, and I apply a little bit of my favorite soothing scent to help calm my nerves. I really enjoy knitting as a way to relieve stress. I love to knit because I can do it while I talk to people or while I’m watching a movie on a long flight. And, I like to read novels that take me away from all my responsibilities—like a mini vacation.

GCI: What are projects on your company’s roster now, and what are your future professional goals?

Lisa Hoffman: We’ve set a pretty high goal for ourselves. Our goal is to turn our collections into “beauty classics” and to become a lifestyle that all women aspire to lead. To achieve this goal, we’ve set an aggressive product development calendar. In 12 short months, we’ve launched four collections from skin care to fragrance, and we currently have in development a Spa Facial collection that will launch in April and two new fragrances that will launch in the U.S. in the fall. We also expect to expand into the following categories—travel makeup, home fragrance, men’s skin care, hair care and baby care.

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