Beautyland Couture Owner Launches New Book

Beautyland Couture (BLC) owner Nina Kaplan will host a public launch party at her store on Saturday, November 19 from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m to unveil her new book, “Madison K. Live, Life, Fun.” 

The novel features Kaplan’s fictitious BLC Beauty and Fashion Editor Madison K, a recent high school graduate starting out in New York City with her two best friends and her Pomeranian, Zsa Zsa.

“The book is a tween book with great crossover value—it‘s the perfect middle school girl’s book, but her mom will like it, her little sister will like it,” said Kaplan. “Madison K. is the little girl in all of us, so everyone can relate to the things she deals with.”

Inspired by her real-life teenaged daughter, also named Madison, Kaplan originally developed the character of Madison K. in part to help educate her customers about beauty.

“People don’t always know about skin care, what ingredients products contain, why something costs more or less, or why it may never work,” Kaplan said. “I thought it would be a good idea to have an avatar who is young and fun in appearance to speak for the business.”

True to her mission, Madison K. reviews BLC products on her blog, which will soon feature animated “webisodes.” The character is also present in the shop that Kaplan describes as “a candy store for women"—look for “Madison’s Favorite” picks among the cosmetics, jewelry, accessories, clothing and other beauty products sold there.

But Kaplan says she also created Madison K., who she describes as “flawed but fabulous,” to serve an even loftier goal.

“I think the image of Madison K. is somebody society desperately needs,” said Kaplan. “She is a great role model for a young girl today, unlike Lindsay Lohan or Kim Kardashian. She‘s a decent human being, and she‘s cool. She‘s the sort of girl you‘d want your daughter to be.”

Speaking of your daughter, you may want to bring her to the launch party. Kaplan plans to create a carnival atmosphere, complete with sweet treats, giveaways, mini-makeovers, glitter tattoos, and the chance to win two tickets to the Jingle Ball concert in conjunction with Q102. (Winners will be announced at the end of the day.)

Attendees can also enter to win a $250 gift certificate to the store. Kaplan (and the real Zsa Zsa) will be on hand to sign books and gift packages.

Can't wail til next Saturday? The book is already on sale at Amazon for $14.99. Kaplan says it is the first installment in a series; she has already completed book two. She also has big plans for the store, calling it a “think tank” that will someday be home to a full service salon, spa and café, in addition to the custom clothing line and private event space already in place today.

Kaplan may be a first-time author, but the fine artist has spent more than 20 years in the beauty and fashion industry, at one time owning both a fashion boutique and a home store in Newtown.

With Beautyland Couture, Kaplan says she aspires to “bring a little humanity back to shopping. Sure, you can buy online, but we’re more about shopping the experience—have fun, go out, try it, touch, feel, learn.”

She puts strong emphasis on selling only high quality products that she or a member of her team have successfully tried themselves. For that reason, she says, “we don’t sell everything, we’re very edited down.“

The store motto is, “It’s all about the fun," and that’s what Kaplan has in store for the launch party on Nov. 19 at , 46 West Rd., Newtown.