L'Oreal, the giant luxury cosmetic company, is holding its own revenue-wise in comparison to its competitors such as Estee Lauder Cos. and Procter and Gamble.  In the first half, sales of L'Oreal's products, including Lancome and Kiehl's, plunged 13%. To me, that's not a big dive.

L'Oreal Chief Executive Jean-Paul Agon, with company headquarters based in the outskirts of Paris, shares his business vision for the future on L'Oreal with journalist Christina Passariello of the WSJ.

Biggest takeaway?

WSJ: L'Oréal already has a wide presence in emerging markets. What is left for growth?

Mr. Agon: We are really pushing our acceleration of business in new markets. Even this year, if Western Europe, North America or Japan are tough, the rest of the world is doing very well. China is growing, Brazil is growing, India is growing. And we are also opening up new markets where we were not before. Since the beginning of the year we have opened three new subsidiaries—in Egypt, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.

The internationalization is really doing well. For example, [first-half sales growth in] Brazil is 21%, India is 16%, South Africa is 19%, China is 14%. In a crisis year, when a big country like India or China or Brazil is growing double-digit like this, it's very encouraging.

Read the entire interview here and learn about L'Oreal's anti-crisis strategy.

Photo:  Kate Winslet for Lancome.

An exhibition coordinated by the Reunion des Musees Nationaux in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum and sponsored by LVMH / Moët Hennessy / Louis Vuitton (Paris).

While in France, I had the pleasure of discovering the much-talked-about Laduree macaroon but did not have an opportunity to taste one. Do you know of it? It is considered the best-of-the-best of macaroon cookies.

These small, round cakes, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle, are made every morning in Ladurée’s "laboratory." With each new season, Ladurée pays tribute to this its most famous creation by creating a new flavour (pictured is the flavor for autumn --Macaroon Mangue Jasmine).

I am happy to advise that Laduree has a website but for the life of me, I cannot figure out if they ship "fresh to U.S." Can anyone help me out?

Check out Laduree here (but turn your computer's volume down first!) and explore their product offerings here.

You will understand why I crave a Laduree macaroon.