On May 13, 2009, Essence magazine presented Smart Beauty IV, a presentation and panel discussion focusing on African-American women and the prestige beauty category, including cosmetics, skin care, hair care and fragrance. Presented at a breakfast at New York's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the discussion revealed results of a proprietary study by Essence in conjunction with New York-based research firm, Vision Critical Group.Essence President, Michelle Ebanks and Essence Beauty and Cover Director, Mikki Taylor, welcomed attendees to what was the fourth installment of the magazine's Smart Beauty series. Mikki Taylor, who moderated the panel of distinguished guests, including celebrity makeup artist, Sam Fine, dermatologist, Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton, and retail trending specialist, Candace Corlett, president of WSL Strategic Retail, began the discussion with an affirmation of African-American spending power, noting that $7.5 billion represented the amount African-American women spent last year; and that African-American women spend 80% more on cosmetics annually and nearly twice as much on skincare products than general market women spend...