Beauty news: Nice to nails

The W Room in Kohimarama. Photo / Supplied

Now is the time to be extra kind to your nails to keep them in good condition through the cooler months. A cuticle conditioner should be your top choice to ward off dry skin and help encourage healthy nail growth, says salon manager Amber Vorster at Kohimarama nail bar The W Room.

The specialist salon, in a quiet street a block back from Tamaki Drive, is bringing a new style to nail services. It has a boutique feel, including a small garden courtyard where women can relax with a coffee while their nails dry. But with more and more clients opting for O.P.I Axxium gels, rather than artificial nails, or a paint job, the number worrying about chips and smudges is fast evaporating. Vorster says nearly all her clients have shifted to the gel polish, which, like Shellac, is fast gaining favour round town. The O.P.I version has the advantage of more colour choice, including many of O.P.I's lacquer favourites. Right now, brights are in for tropical holidays, especially on toes, but otherwise women are opting for neutrals or strong, dark shades, including chocolate, rather than the muddier colours that have been popular.

The W Room, 5/7 Eltham Rd, Kohimarama, ph (09) 578 3221.

Makeover magicians

Lancome national makeup artist Stefan Knight is moving back into the freelance world. He's busy working on another season for New Zealand's Next Top Model - look out for him wielding the brushes in upcoming episodes. A predecessor in the Lancome role, Petra Rijnbeek, who has also worked in television, has teamed up with friend Kirstin Lloyd, formerly of Servilles. The pair have opened a new hair and beauty salon called Amica (which means friend in Italian) in Grey Lynn. Rijnbeek reckons: "Auckland is humming with successful women who don't have the time to pamper themselves and be immersed in current style trends." She says Amica offers specialist appearance advice in a friendly environment.

Stealth wealth

Flying underneath the radar for our recent VIP issue and beauty column on luxury skincare available for retail sale in New Zealand was the Natura Bisse range stocked exclusively at the Langham Hotel's Chuan Spa. With prices for this Spanish selection pushing $1000 for serum and day creams, the spa's winter promotion which lets you be slathered in the stuff while enjoying a 90-minute body treatment seems - relatively speaking - a bargain. The Perfect Day promotion costs $390 and includes champagne afternoon tea before or after your treatment, available Monday to Wednesday only until the end of July. The spa is also offering several other enticing winter treatment deals, including a couples honey massage and an introduction to traditional Chinese medicine paired with a facial.

Designs on you

Fashion, film, now Tom Ford wants to beautify you too. His lipstick launch, in which he appeared in the advertising with model Lara Stone, will be followed by a beauty range of makeup and skincare, designed in collaboration with English makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury. As with his perfumes, don't expect to see the range here any time soon, but one to look out for on shopping trips overseas.

Gaga again

Lady Gaga's latest HIV-Aids charity fundraising collaboration with M.A.C sees her name on Viva Glam Gaga 2. This time her nude lip-colour selections will be around for 12 months, as an added boost to the work of the M.A.C Aids Fund. The Lipglass is $38 and the lipstick $40, with all proceeds going to the fund.

Lots of love

A special gift is being offered with the purchase of a full-sized product from the Chloe fragrance range. Customers receive a 5ml mini Love Chloe fragrance in a leather pouch which can be worn as a necklace. From Smith & Caughey's and selected Life pharmacies.

Happy Birthday

To celebrate its 90th birthday, Swiss company Weleda is offering a discovery pack for $29.90, containing seven favourite products from its biodynamic skincare range. Find trial sizes of Sea Buckthorn hand cream, Citrus Body Wash and Wild Rose Body Oil in a handy tin. Available from selected health food stores and pharmacies.

Marking a sad loss

Auckland has lost a passionate powerhouse with the death of Branka Simunovich, the founder of beauty lines Olive and Tebe. Branka and her second husband, Ivan Simunovich, planted the Simunovich Olive Estate over a decade ago and the 96ha property now boasts more than 40,000 trees, bringing a touch of old Europe to the Bombay Hills. The estate is home to the noted Bracu restaurant, and is also used as a functions venue, with this side of the business expanding in recent years after Branka established a wedding pavilion in the olive grove.

Although Branka was a driving force across the estate, the skincare side of the business was her real baby. Her pride and joy was the purpose-built facility for olive oil extraction for the manufacture of her two skincare ranges. The business was inspired by her family's tradition of using olive ingredients to make soap and other cosmetics. She was such a fan of olive oil that she told Viva in an interview several years ago that she drank a vial of it every morning.

"To our family, olive oil isn't simply a matter of food or health, but a way of life. Our products are our heart and soul."

Olive and Tebe products are exported and sold here in pharmacies and department stores and at the estate. They rely on simple, natural ingredients - the Tebe range uses olive leaf extract, an ingredient now gaining international interest for its effectiveness.

Branka, who had a background in science, emigrated to New Zealand with her first husband in the early 1990s, but he soon returned to Europe.

She stayed on and later married Ivan, who has now retired to Croatia.

She died suddenly at home on June 5 and is survived by her two adult children who live in Auckland, along with her four grandchildren.

Her assistant, Karen Adam, said Branka's staff (who have taken out a commemorative advertisement in Viva this week) were committed to keeping the business going. "It's what she would have wanted." They would miss her drive and energy, but were determined her hard work would continue to bear fruit.