Q&A: The History and Success of Celeb Luxury

Last year, Leland emerged from a 10-year sabbatical to launch Celeb Luxury, whose Colorwash system adds color while cleansing to prevent color fade between services. Basically, he invented a new category within the industry: Colorposit. Clients can choose from two different categories: Gem Lites, which is designed for the most asked-for colors in the salon, and Viral Fashion Color Care, which is perfect for popular bright and vibrant colors. We sat down with Leland to learn about his history in the industry, the success of Celeb Luxury over the past year and all about his latest launch, Colorbrain Custom Colorwash Mix.

 

How did your background help create Celeb Luxury?

When I was 15 years old, my mentor, Michael Mazzei, owner of NuBest Salon in Manhasset, New York, convinced me to follow my creative passion and attend beauty school to become a colorist. At 20, I established one of the first color departments, training multiple hair color specialists. In 1972, Michael and I opened The Color Salon at NuBest Salon and Spa. It is the world’s largest color department in one of the largest salons in the world. In 1986, I co-founded founded Haircolor USA, a yearly hair color education seminar, which drew more than 30,000 salon owners and cosmetologists, and advanced hair color specialization globally. In 1989, Michael and I co-founded ARTec Systems Group. The company developed innovative new products including the first true Color Depositing Shampoo, ARTec Colorist Collection.

 

How do Celeb Luxury products work?

Viral Colorwash and Gem Lites Colorwash add real, rich color to hair while cleansing and stop color from visible washout and fade. Gem Lites has 10 Amazing Tones that are more traditional, brilliant colors, and Viral Colorwash, with 10 extreme bold and pastel color tones, is for the fastest-growing segment in hair care today.

How has the response been since Celeb Luxury hit the market?
Within six months of launching through CosmoProf and Armstrong McCall, divisions of Beauty Systems Group, we’re in 1200-plus professional stores and 3,000-plus salons across the U.S. and Canada, and soon to be in the U.K. The launch surpassed all expectations with record sales and, according to Mark Spinks, President of Beauty Systems Group, Celeb Luxury was their biggest launch ever.

What’s next for Celeb Luxury?

On May 15, Celeb Luxury launched Colorbrain Custom Colorwash Mix bottles to give hairdressers and colorists the unique opportunity to mix an exact color match to the exact hair color they created for their client. A big advantage and huge selling point is that the hairdresser and salon own the formula. The client has to return to the salon to repurchase their Colorbrain Custom Colorwash Mix, which can’t be diverted or internet-discounted. This gives the salon higher retail profit margins and creates client loyalty. No one can divert your Colorbrain!

Viral Colorwash comes in 10 on-trend hues to support today’s fastest-growing color category, fashion shades.

Brand-new Colorbrain Custom Colorwash Mix allows colorists to create unique and exact color matches so their clients can maintain their hue at home.

Gem Lites Colorwash is available in 10 jewel tone shades.