The recession may be over but companies that cater to consumers believe people are digging in for a long, frugal winter. That's why Clorox Co. is keeping the price steady on a new improved trash bag that grips the top of the garbage can. Clorox says it wants to highlight the bags' "greater value." Similarly, Campbell Soup Co. recently reduced the promoted price of its V8 beverages in some markets to 2 for $5 from 2 for $6. Burger King Holdings Inc. is selling double cheeseburgers for just a dollar.

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Pricing is perhaps where companies are finding consumers at their most grudging. Procter & Gamble Co. and other major makers of household staples, while vowing to resist price wars, say they plan to flood stores with enhanced versions of existing products. After nearly a decade of introducing increasingly expensive items, P&G's new products will span a wider range of prices, most notably at the low end. Among its efforts, P&G is paring the price of its Cheer detergent to reposition it as a "value" brand.

Beauty products maker Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. recently reported better-than-expected results in a sign that consumers are starting to boost discretionary spending. But Estee Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda told analysts it's "prudent to remain cautious in our outlook" because of high unemployment and weak consumer sentiment. As a result, Mr. Freda said Estee Lauder's holiday gift sets will offer wider price ranges to give consumers greater choice.

"We are incredibly excited to partner with Tom Pecheux," said Jane Hertzmark Hudis, Global Brand President, Estee Lauder. "Tom will add a new energy, style and fashion edge to Estee Lauder makeup. His intuitive sense of color and expertise in global beauty trends will help us redefine modern color in a bold new way."

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Pecheux's first advertising campaign for Estee Lauder will feature Hilary Rhoda and will launch in time for Spring 2010. Highly sought after, Pecheux's resume includes countless editorials and covers for Vogue Paris, Vogue Italia and American Vogue with his runway work including the likes of Balmain, YSL, Marni, Ralph Lauren, Badgley Mischka and Derek Lam.

"I'm very Hollywood in modern terms," said Kors, sitting in his Beverly Hills store with passers-by shooting pictures through the windows. "I don't think I am old-fashioned Hollywood glamour. I am definitely not Cary Grant. I am still very low-key. When I run into Ellen Pompeo and her husband at the Beverly Hills Hotel, we are in flip-flops eating grilled cheese."

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"I am every bit as intrigued by seeing Reese [Witherspoon] with her kids or Angelina [Jolie] with her groceries looking great as I am seeing them on the red carpet," said Kors. "When you put this makeup on, suddenly you feel attainable glamour. You walk into the office, and no one would say, 'Is that a new lipstick?' You look glamorous without looking painted. That would be your Hollywood moment."

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Kors' approach to the collection is set apart by his desire for sheerness, even in the lipsticks, which are called sheens. "That's something that was really new for Estee Lauder," said Lauder. "It is an interesting way for us to look at color. In the past, we have done thicker, more opaque colors on the lip."

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There are three complementary products that Lauder considers standouts of the collection: $32 shimmering loose powder, $22 lip sheen in a subtle pink shade with gold flecks dubbed Hollywood Gold and $20 lip gloss in Hollywood Gold. She compared these products with a great camel coat or black dress in a Michael Kors collection that she described as "the bare essentials that you need."

New products, continued growth in Asia, improved exchange rates and a boost in travel retail business resulted in better- than-anticipated net sales in the quarter ended Sept. 30, the New York-based company said today in a statement. The statement didn't contain specific earnings projections.

The company also said it benefited from lower spending and earlier holiday shipments, which it had originally expected to fall in the second quarter. Estee Lauder said that it will report full earnings Oct. 30 and that it expects to boost its full-year forecast at that time.

U.S. cosmetic and fragrance seller Estee Lauder Cos Inc (EL.N) said it would close the global wholesale distribution of its 30-year-old Prescriptives skin-care products brand by Jan. 31, 2010, as the brand's value was no longer viable in the current market environment.

The owner of the Clinique, Bobbi Brown and M.A.C brands said it expects to take restructuring charges of $35 million to $40 million in connection with the action.

You may have recently heard that Prescriptives has made the difficult decision to close its retail counters globally, effective January 31, 2010. You can continue to purchase your favorite Prescriptives products here at www.prescriptives.com for US shipping while inventory lasts. The Calyx fragrance, a Prescriptives best-seller, will continue to be sold after the closure of our retail counters. You will find Calyx at the fragrance bar in select fine department stores beginning February 1st and it will continue to be available online at www.prescriptives.com.

For your convenience, Prescriptives has established a toll free number—1-877-819-2968—and we invite you to call us with any question or concern.

Jane Lauder, senior vice president and general manager of the Origins brand, was elected Tuesday to Lauder's board. She joins her cousin, William Lauder, and her sister, Aerin Lauder, on the board of the company founded by their iconic grandmother, Estee Lauder, in 1946.

"I see this role as an evolution of my role with the company," said Jane Lauder, 36, who is succeeding her father, Ronald Lauder, 65, on the board. The elder Lauder joined the board in 1968. Jane Lauder will continue to serve in her role at Origins, and Ronald Lauder will continue to serve as chairman of Clinique Laboratories LLC. Leonard Lauder remains chairman emeritus. "Origins is my key focus, but being part of the executive leadership is a natural way to round out my experience," said Jane Lauder. "My father has been a great mentor, and he will continue to be. It is important to him and to my uncle [Leonard Lauder] that the next generation continues to grow."

Her appointment is effective immediately. "In fact, they made me vote on something today," she said with a laugh. Her elevation is the latest in a series of changes that have occurred at Lauder since president and chief executive officer Fabrizio Freda joined the company in March 2008.

An Estee Lauder spokeswoman said the company does not comment on market rumors. Pinto's agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) also declined comment Monday.

The 24-year-old Bollywood-turned-Hollywood star certainly would be a catch for any brand aiming to increase its fortunes in India: she has global awareness and is seen by many as a hometown girl-made-good. In addition to starring in the 2008 surprise hit -- which gathered eight Academy Awards on Feb. 22, including Best Picture -- Pinto has signed on to Woody Allen's latest project, an as-yet-untitled film which will also star Naomi Watts.

And the Estee Lauder Cos. is making moves designed to spike its business in the country. According to Euromonitor, India's total beauty business generated sales of about $4.45 billion in 2007, marking a 47 percent increase over 2002. Last July, the Estée Lauder Cos. acquired a minority stake in Forest Essentials, an ayurvedic manufacturer of skin, body and hair care products, which is based in a suburb of Delhi. In June, the first Estee Lauder brand store opened in India -- a 485-square-foot jewel box at the Galleria at Trident in Mumbai. "The timing is right to bring Estee Lauder to India," John Demsey, an Estee Lauder group president, said at the time, adding that the goal is to "introduce the brand to a whole new generation of women."

In lock step, the firm's chief executive officer William Lauder and Fabrizio Freda, president and chief operating officer, delivered a clear message targeted to company employees and Wall Street, that change was afloat at the 64-year-old, family-run company. The pair outlined a multipronged, four-year restructuring effort that is expected to wring out $450 million to $550 million in costs.

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Its cost-cutting measures also include a continuation of the hiring freeze announced last quarter and an immediate freeze in merit-based pay increases. The plan could result in one-time charges of $350 million to $450 million over the next few years. "We are cutting costs much deeper than this company has ever done," Freda told WWD following Lauder's earnings call.

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Richard Kunes, executive vice president and chief financial officer, referred to the holiday selling season as “one of the worst in decades,” noting that average same-store sales of U.S. prestige department stores fell 12 percent, and beauty sales in that channel dropped 7 percent. As retailers continued efforts to de-stock inventory levels, Lauder’s shipments fell 19 percent, said Kunes.

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The job cuts will affect mostly manufacturing and distribution workers, white collar positions and back-office operations, said Lauder. It will not affect employees at the store level, who account for an approximate one-third of the firm's 32,000-person workforce.

Sirtuin EX-1 Technology: Estee Lauder developed the exclusive Sirtuin EX-1 Technology to help skin naturally stimulate its proteins, thereby helping skin cells renew their innate ability to withstand daily assaults. The key ingredient in this technology is a patented hydrolyzed anti-aging rice extract, which helps skin behave in a younger way to reverse away the visible years.

Tri-Hyaluronic Acid Complex: An industry first, Tri-Hyaluronic Acid Complex is a unique blend of three Hyaluronic Acid technologies that work at multiple levels in the skin to help replenish, rebuild and sustain the ideal moist environment for more lineless, youthful looking skin. This complex differs from traditional Hyaluronic Acid because it not only replenishes moisture to the skin but also rebuilds and sustains skin’s own natural Hyaluronic Acid deep within the skin's surface.

Each of the fragrances is named for a gem, noted Trudi Loren, vice president of corporate fragrance development worldwide for the Estée Lauder Cos. Ruby, concocted in partnership with International Flavors & Fragrances, is "for someone who's very passionate, confident and strong," she said. Its top notes are of melon, peach and bergamot; the heart is of rose, freesia and raspberry, and its drydown includes sandalwood.

Purple Diamond, a spicy oriental developed with Givaudan, is meant to represent "mysterious intrigue." It has top notes of plum and black currant, a heart of Indian night-blooming jasmine and a drydown of vanilla.

Blue Opal, concocted with Firmenich, "expresses spirituality and balance," and has top notes of watermelon and red berries, a heart of lilac and rose petal and a drydown of wet skin accord.

Each of the scents will be sold in 1-oz. and 2.5-oz. eau de toilette sprays, retailing for $17 and $25, respectively.

Thursday afternoon, Evelyn and Leonard Lauder, held a private luncheon at Le Cirque 2000 to honor Elizabeth Hurley’s 13 years as a Lauder spokeswoman. "It's been a lovefest since the beginning," said Evelyn Lauder, who gave Hurley a gold Cartier Love bracelet. "Elizabeth resonates with everyone -- especially the consumers. They say she is the kind of person they would want as a friend." Hurley will appear in two Estée Lauder brand ads later this year: for the new Sensuous fragrance, due out in July, and for Perfectionist, which the company is releasing with an updated formula, also in July.

When she's not at Lauder, Hurley has a host of other things keeping her busy. She continues to design and market her Elizabeth Hurley Beach collection of swimwear (a trademark fight with California-based sportswear brand Hurley International notwithstanding) and has just designed a lower-priced swimwear line for Spanish retailer Mango. Hurley will appear in advertising for the collection, Elizabeth Hurley for Mango, due out next month.