Product Fiend

(NEW YORK) Condé Nast Publications is amping up its own blog content for fall. The publishing house, which launched ElasticWaist.com in May focusing on weight and culture and obsessions, is creating a blog network being overseen by Susan Kaplow, a consultant for Condé Nast who will also serve as executive editor. Next up is ProductFiend.com, a skincare blog that launches this fall and will focus comprehensively on everything from acne to anti-aging. "It's not a general beauty blog," Kaplow said of the stand-alone site. "What we're doing is separate from what Allure does; there's no relation between the two." ProductFiend.com will feature skincare tips and tricks from makeup artists-something the Linda Wells-edited title has offered in the past-but the site will not report on trends or makeup colors. "This is entirely separate from Allure; there is no connection with Allure on this project," Kaplow continued. "It's a stand-alone entity that's more fun and informal. It's much more community-oriented."

Story ideas that will be showcased on the site include Q&As on how to cover blemishes, treating the face before makeup is applied, and new breakthrough innovations. "It's focusing on the preparation of the skin," Kaplow added. In preparation for its debut, Saryn Chorney will patrol the shows as a video correspondent with Sebastian Conley, the Emmy Award-winning director who will serve as videographer for the site. Kaplow currently employs a three person staff (including herself) that will be based out of 4 Times Square along with freelance writers and bloggers nationwide. The third component of the network will be TheDailyBedpost.com, a women's sex blog tackling, among its topics, sexual health habits. Kaplow said that more complementary sites may be launched in the future. "These sites are meant to serve in a real, colloquial, and informal way," she said. "We have the freedom of a different approach to reach a new audience."
JIM SHI