Fresh-faced into our inbox, we have some news on French beauty company Lancôme. Since former Harper's Bazaar beauty director Kerry Diamond has taken over, the publicity ratings aren't looking so hot.

"The buzz" according to our insider "is that she's in over her head." After half her staff defected it may come as no surprise that the company is rumored to be struggling in the PR department. But it isn't just a lack of staff — Diamond has been busying herself with a book she's working on for competing cosmetic brand, Laura Mercier.

Instead of promoting her new brand, it seems that she has her manicured hands full of manuscript pages for the upcoming book she is writing for beauty competitor Laura Mercier. How can anyone have brand loyalty while the Company’s own publicist spends her time working on a book for a beauty competitor on and around L’Oreal’s company clock?

Diamond is even said to be sending the pages to Mercier's Bellport home via Lancôme’s fax machine.

Our tipster sums it up better than we can on a Friday afternoon full of head bashing: "Can we say conflict of interest? Oui, Oui!"

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