Jabot jumps from soap plots to store shelves
As is the case with most soap operas, the characters on CBS’s long-running The Young and the Restless are constantly facing uphill battles – drug and alcohol dependency, corporate espionage and hit-and-run accidents to name a few.
Often at the centre of these feuds is the show’s fictitious cosmetic empire, Jabot Cosmetics, which has changed hands more times than Victor Newman has wives.
In a recent plotline, the company was restored back to its rightful owners, Jack and Ashley Abbott, whose father John started Jabot Cosmetics in the early 1980s.
The storyline was years in the making and provides a launching point for the real-life Jabot Cosmetics Red Carpet collection, which is available for sale in U.S. stores and online starting today.
The real-world Jabot is created and manufactured by beauty company Fusion Brands, which is owned by Canadian businessman Eugene Melnyk.
The affordable line includes fragrances, colour cosmetics and skin care products such as bronzer, lip gloss, foundation, wrinkle serum and eye cream, with prices ranging from $15 to $45.
Being part of The Young and The Restless cult certainly helps differentiate the line from competitive brands, but so too does the quality of the brand, said Caroline Pieper-Vogt, chief executive officer of Fusion Brands.
“We develop products that really have these hard working actors in mind,” she said. “We are the backstage Hollywood beauty secret and that give us a unique positions. We’re able to take the tips and tricks of these Hollywood actresses who know the tricks of the trade so we’ve developed the line with them and for them.”
Jabot made its red carpet debut as a sponsor of the 38th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on CBS in June with four national television spots, and backstage interviews with actress Tracey Bregman, who plays department store owner Lauren Fenmore.
Bregman serves as the face of the line and is hosting a five-hour special on the Home Shopping Network Thursday where she will showcase the Red Carpet collection.
While CBS and Fusion attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the hour-long drama, the cancellation of ABC soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live have some critics wondering if daytime drama is quickly losing its luster.
But with an average of six million viewers per episode, Pieper-Vogt said she’s confident of Y&R’s staying power.
The line is available in the U.S. through the Home Shopping Network, ShopJabot.com, and Ulta retail locations, but won’t make its Canadian debut until next year.
