fresh look for spring

There's something decidely refreshing about the August cover of British Vogue. Perhaps it's the gold and blue hues which immediately evoke images of the beach, or the sunkissed colour of both skin and hair.

I love Lily Donaldson's caramel coloured locks, loosely curled with honey highlights. I also love her makeup by L'Oreal, it's natural yet modern without being too trend driven. It just looks so easy and unfussy.

What I'm particularly taken with is the colour of her nails. I have a penchant for nabbing the newest colour and was quick off the mark to dip my talons in Chanel's navy nailpolish 'Blue Satin'. My only complaint (apart from the fact it chips too easily) is that it is perhaps a little too dark and closely resembles black. This is a lighter shade of blue and looks really pretty. According to the credits it is 'Resist and Shine UV Nail Varnish' in Meteorite Black. I hope it's available in NZ!

It's hard to even contemplate getting excited about spring or summer while the country is being pelted with gale force winds and rain, but this cover shines like a little beacon of warm weather hope!

red or dead

The debate rages on. Should cosmetic companies remove lead from lipstick?
Posed as a simple question like that it seems the answer should be yes - we no longer have lead in our household paints, pencils (I hate to think how much I ingested as a child learning to write and gnawing on my pencil), or on children's toys, so why is it in our lippie? However it's not as simple as that.
In America a lobby group called, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, has filed a class action suit against luxury goods maker LVMH who make Christian Dior cosmetics. They found, through their own independent testing, that Dior Addict Positive Red had higher than most amounts of lead. The group first filed the suit in November and LVMH retailated with a request to not proceed. A judge in Chicago has just rejected this request and the action shall go ahead.
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics also campaigned the Californian senate for a new bill 'Senate Bill 1712' which would require that all cosmetic companies make lipstick with the lowest amount of lead possible. They claim the bill was heavily lobbied by leading cosmetic companies resulting in its defeat. You can read more about both cases on their website
The amounts of lead in lipstick varies. Ranging from .07ppm to .84ppm (with one registering 6.7ppm). PPM stands for parts per million.
Sure lead is a proven toxin that accumulates in the body and can cause learning problems, infertility and even miscarriage in pregnant women, but does it lead to cancer as some claim? How many people have been reported as dying from ingesting lead through their lipstick? None.
Another website reports that a FDA compliance officer told them that the amount of lead in lipstick was so small there are no adverse effects for consumers. All dyes used in food and cosmetics must be approved by the FDA for safety and products sold in the USA must only be made with FDA certifiable colours, otherwise they will not be allowed at all. So stringent is the FDA that it often leads the rest of the world - some products sold in Europe and Asia are not allowed in the US. While the FDA currently do not have any guidelines on the amount of lead used in cosmetics, it has said the current amounts are non-threatening.
Something else to consider - lead is also in candy. The FDA limit of lead in candy is 0.1ppm - apparently it was five times higher until only recently.
The biggest problem is knowing which lippie contains lead as there are many that don't - even fire engine red ones. And I guess that's where the lobbyists come in handy - by making all cosmetic companies follow the same guidelines and rules we can be assured in knowing that ANY red lipstick is lead free. It will be interesting to see the results of the class action suit.
Incidentally - John Campbell recently discussed this on his show Campbell Live, he said he asked a number of cosmetic companies and they said there's no lead in their products.
What do you think? Does this make you think twice about applying red lipstick? Or do you think it's a whole lot of scaremongering?

botoxed bridal parties

Girlfriends there's a new form of Bridezilla behaviour happening overseas and beware - it could be coming to our shores.
A recent article in the International Herald Tribune, 'It's Botox for you, dear bridesmaids' sheds light on a new trend happening in America, particularly for those over 30. Instead of gifting their beloved brideslaves with jewellery, brides are encouraging, if not demanding, their entourage indulge in a little cosmetic enhancement for the big day. And I don't mean just a manicure, facial, makeup or hair session. These brides are insisting on botox, teeth whitening, chemical peels or for a bridesmaid with age spots a course of Fraxel laser treatments. And they're planning these treatments in advance - months in advance.
As one bride-to-be put it, if she were ten years younger and tying the knot, a bracelet, necklace or matching earrings would suffice as a gift to her friends-in-waiting. But at 35 she felt an evening together at a medi spa was more special, particularly as in that decade most of her friends are aware of the effects of getting older.
But do bridesmaids agree? Some quite willingly will go along for the ride, others are more reluctant. One bridesmaid who was asked to have her breasts enlarged declined and chose to wear a push up bra instead (rightly so I think, there's quite a difference between a jab between the eyes and breast implants!). And these generous offers extend beyond the girls in matching dresses to the mother of the bride and mother-in-law. You'd need to have a good relationship with her to feel comfortable asking!
Part of this trend is attributed to the distribution of photos on social networking sites like Facebook. It's now possible to view wedding photos of people you'd never normally have the luxury of viewing. And no one wants to look like the ugly bridesmaid. If the brides doing it, and her best friend, you can bet the others will follow suit.
Another factor is a marketing push by cosmetic surgeons and medi-spa places at Bridal Fairs around the US. With enticing offerings such as Bridal Beauty Buffets, package treatments have been whipped up and are attractive offerings. Brides are now factoring in the course of treatments into her budget, perhaps forgoing other things to make up for it (although no one in their right mind would forgo the dream dress). For many, the bridesmaids are coming to the party and assisting with the cost (rather happily compared with buying a frock they may never wear again).
So is this trend happening here?
I conducted an unofficial survey and phoned Auckland based The Face Place to ask if they often saw bridal parties coming in for a group session. They said that while they see a lot of brides, they haven't as yet, seen any bridal parties en masse. Mostly because of the nature of consultations, each client is assessed individually by a doctor and there are many forms to fill. It's taken very seriously here and not viewed as 'party' type treatment.
I also phoned Birkenhead's The Elements Spa. On their website they list SPArties for any occasion. The menu includes massage, reflexology, mini manicure, mini pedicure, eyelash and eyebrow tint and tidy and a spray tan. Not quite the needle jabbing treatments that are currently en vogue. However Elements does offer these services and they could accommodate requests should they be asked.
I haven't been to a bride fair in a couple of years (since my own big day where incidentally I lavished Karen Walker necklaces on my bridesmaids and none of them had any cosmetic treatments - as you can see in the photo above they don't need it!), so i don't know if these are being marketed to brides-to-be here like they are in the States. But surely that is just a matter of time?
Perhaps it's a matter of cost? Maybe treatments in America are cheaper than here? Maybe, in a society that laps up the plastic fantastic look at a galloping rate, it's just a matter of another necessity being added to the bulging wedding details list. Perhaps we're a bit more down-to-earth here?
What do you think? Would you, or did you, insist on your bridal party undergoing appearance medicine for your big day? If you were a bridesmaid, and asked to have dermal fillers and botox, teeth whitening and so on - would you? Where would you draw the line at looking good for someone else's big day?