NewBeauty finds ideal home in Boca

Quarterly 'nip and tuck magazine' debuts today with circulation of 500,000

Published Tuesday, January 18, 2005
By Sean Salai

A trendy cosmetic surgery magazine on the finer points of "nipping and tucking" debuts today from Boca Raton, where local observers say it has found the perfect publishing home. The plastic surgeons and patients said it was only natural that the 500,000-circulation NewBeauty magazine was being published nationwide from Boca - a city recently named the "vainest place to live in America" by Self magazine.

"It's absolutely appropriate that this is coming out of Boca," said Dr. Lawrence Korpeck, a leading Boca plastic surgeon familiar with NewBeauty. "We've got affluence combined with a huge public interest in cosmetic surgery that makes it very timely. It actually looks like a good quality magazine too."

Korpeck, practicing in Boca for 18 years, said recent television shows like "Extreme Makeover" and "Nip/Tuck" had made "botox," "breast implants," and "liposuction" into household names and fueled public interest in dermatology and cosmetic surgery to the point where a specialty magazine like NewBeauty was inevitable.

"Years ago, it was just the elderly who thought about cosmetic surgery," Korpeck said. "Now we're starting to see people in their 20s to 40s looking for it. Why? First of all, people are much more open about it nowadays. Secondly, they don't want to wait until they're older to feel good about themselves."

Recent statistics show plastic surgery on the rise among the young. The number of girls under age 18 who had breast implants nearly tripled between 2002 and 2003, from 3,872 to 11,326 according to the London Guardian.

"Plastic surgery is definitely more accepted now, especially in our community," said Dr. Cristina F. Keusch of the Boca Raton Plastic Surgery Center. "In the past, people wouldn't even discuss it with their closest friends. Now we're seeing more men, more young people, more educated individuals. Cosmetic maintenance is not just for the rich anymore and this sort of magazine is absolutely appropriate in Boca." One Boca housewife named Tracy, a breast implant recipient who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was looking forward to the first issue of NewBeauty.

"I'm going to be thinking about face lifts and Botox as I get older, so this magazine sounds perfect for me," said Tracy, 33. "I will definitely buy it."

Tracy said she got her implants seven years ago and "had them lifted" in September after giving birth to her second child, adding, "It's definitely a self-confidence thing. It's about making myself feel better. I wish this magazine was on newsstands seven years ago."

Vicki, a Boca saleswoman, also expressed interest in NewBeauty. She received a facelift from Dr. Korpeck on Sept. 1. "As I get older, I work out and eat right. But I'm always looking for competitive ways to stay young-looking, through skin products or new techniques, so I'll definitely buy it," said Vicki, 44, who also wanted to remain anonymous.

According to publisher Sandow Media, NewBeauty's debut issue started hitting newsstands a few weeks ago and would be at full distribution by the end of today's official launch date.

With a record-setting 650 national and regional advertising pages, the quarterly magazine is heavily saturated with marketing. Advertisers in the first issue include BMW, London Jewelers, Robert Coin, Bergio, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Ziering Medical, Doctor D. Schwab, and the Cosmetic Enhancement Expo 2005.

Adam Sandow, president of Sandow Media and the magazine's publisher, said the reason for NewBeauty's good advertising is its high quality - he uses a 70 lbs. glossy paper stock - and a smart marketing campaign that offers different editions in 14 markets.

"We're trying to bring publishing talent from all around the country here to Boca Raton," Sandow said. "It's not common for a national publisher to be in Boca, since everyone is in New York, but I love it here and it's a fantastic market."

Sandow plans three issues of the magazine (the newsstand price is $9.95) this year and four in 2006. To maximize its impact, he's publishing NewBeauty in a national edition and 13 local editions for markets such as L.A., Florida, the Northeast and the Midwest.

"You get more magazine in the major markets," he said. "The magazine's 320 pages in South Florida, but just 240 pages in places like Philadelphia."

Sandow, 36, recently opened a new headquarters building for Sandow Media - which he started in Boca in early 2002 - at the Florida Atlantic University Research and Development Park.

"It's actually pretty coincidental that we're starting the magazine here in Boca," he said. "We're mostly interested in places where the cosmetic surgery market is still emerging. For instance, we tested the magazine in Atlanta because we already knew it would work well in Boca." Sandow said his marketing strategy is newsstand-heavy and targeted at the general public. NewBeauty is thus available primarily at airports, grocery stores, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, Borders and B. Dalton's.

About 20 percent of the issues from each production run are being set aside as free copies for health clubs, beauty salons and physicians' clinics. Subscriptions, meanwhile, sell at two issues for $19.95 and four for $29.99.

NewBeauty touts itself as "the first magazine devoted exclusively to providing a comprehensive guide to the latest advances in plastic surgery, dermatology and cosmetic dentistry as well as revealing the best non-surgical beauty secrets, must-have products and expert advice."

Editorially, the magazine divides its coverage of all things plastic by body parts - face, smile, skin, body and mind - and includes a special section (the first one: "NewMan") in every issue. Regular sections include beauty brief, innovations, Frederic Fekkai's Hair Apparent, Rx versus Retail and Service with a Smile.

The debut issue, a copy of which was provided for this article, features an illustrated "before and after" section on breast augmentation as well as a two-page glamour spread on young Boca plastic surgeon Albert Dabbah. One story, "All About Injectables," covers Botox.

"Cosmetic enhancement is almost as old as civilization itself, with references dating back to Egyptian papyri and Sanskrit texts as early as 800 B.C.," states an unsigned Beauty Brief editorial. "Cleopatra reportedly bathed in milk, benefiting from the exfoliating qualities of the lactic acid."

Several physicians sit on the editorial board of the magazine, which also spills ink in each issue on finding the right doctor.

Writer Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@bocanews.com, or 561-893-6427.