Woodmere man invents the ‘Confidence Shell’

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After Woodmere resident Harry Friedman became unemployed due to contract dispute, after working as an investment banker for 18 years, his next career move was inspired by following an insight into the lives of his daughters, ages 10 and 17, and their friends.

“After hearing about girls who are going through depression and cutting, I wanted to combat the problem of girls having low self-confidence,” he said. “There’s a lot of attention being paid to bullying and I felt this was how I could reinvent myself.”

Friedman brainstormed about what girls use often in their daily lives, and ultimately came up with the Confidence Shell, a makeup mirror that voices up to 40 positive affirmations every time it’s opened. “I knew girls use cosmetics and mirrors,” he said. “It says things like, ‘the best makeup a girl can wear is a smile.’”

Ayala, Friedman’s daughter, a fifth-grader at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, thinks the mirror is a great thing for girls her age to have.

“When they open it and look in the mirror it will make them happy to hear the nice things and some of my friends have seen it and already want one,” she said. “The Confidence Shell will help girls with their self-esteem simply by hearing all the positive things they never realized about themselves.”

Friedman’s teenage daughter, Jessica, 17, a senior at Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in Hewlett, agrees with her younger sister.

“Everyone wants and deserves to be reminded how special and beautiful they are,” she said. “I know our society is having a big problem with self-esteem and bullying and the Confidence Shell will help bring a lot of attention to the problem a lot of kids are having now.”

Though Friedman doesn’t believe the Confidence Shell is a cure for bullying, he thinks it’s a great tool to bring attention to the issue.

“I’m very passionate about the cause behind the product,” he said. “I also began a prototype for boys which would be in the shape of a cell phone and have different affirmations for them.”

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