Retail Therapy: Happy birthday Taylor

Jeans Wests' Selvedge denim. Photo / Supplied

Taylor Boutique turns 10 next week, and the boutique is celebrating by giving you the presents! Each boutique will offer a special organic soy wax candle with every purchase over $500 (the offer is available until March 13), as well as giving away two dinners valued at $150 at Kermadec Restaurant; everyone who purchases something from the store during the week goes in the draw. And on Monday there will be cupcakes and Champagne in store to celebrate the actual day of their birthday. The new winter collection is in now, with lots of signature Taylor pieces.

All a-Twitter

Want to go backstage at the world's top fashion weeks? Lucky New Zealander Amber Dreadon, a senior makeup artist for M.A.C, was working at the big Milan shows last week and shared her experience on Twitter. Other M.A.C artists are doing the same from Paris this week, so keep an eye out to see the looks they created. You can see backstage videos on www.youtube.com/maccosmetics and for tweets sign up on on www.twitter.com to embed the widget on your website or blog. Facebook members can also find the MAC F/W '09 Twitter widget on the MAC Facebook Fan page. It's Amber's second time in Milan and this year she worked on shows including Marni, Alberta Feretti, Costume National, Pucci, Moschino, Ferragamo and dsquared2. The looks tested on the runway filter are used for product development, meaning Amber is also helping shape beauty trends that ultimately end up on sale. This year's shows feature a lot of barely there makeup and punky dark lips.

Recycle for the kids

If you've still got a brick of a phone from the 90s and don't know how to get rid of it, why not donate it to Starship and help them raise funds for the kids? The Starship Foundation are encouraging New Zealanders to donate their old mobile phones to be recycled, in turn helping sick kids and preventing the phones from ending up in a landfill. It's a great, easy way to donate to charity, especially in tough economic times when not everyone can donate financially. For more information and to find out how to donate your phone, visit www.starship.org.nz/phone or phone 0800 STARSHIP.

Farmers do Levi's

Here's some good news for all you accessory fanatics out there: Farmers are exclusively stocking Levi's bags. The collection will be in selected Farmers stores from March 12. And Liz Mitchell has added on to her capsule line with the department store, with a range of lingerie and accessories. The lingerie collection is called Tailored, and features practical and comfortable undergarments made to be worn every day. Made for New Zealand women's curves, the pieces are reasonably priced too, from $16.99 for a brief to $49.99 for a bra. Mitchell has also released a small range of bags and belts, ranging from $79.99 for a belt to $275 for a leather tote.

Tee please

Local label Polish have released a memorial T-shirt in honour of co-founder Struan Barty. Barty passed away from lymphoma last year, and now wife Sarah and her team have created the tee in his memory. The Stru Magic T-shirts are available for $149, with $5 going to the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation. To find out where to buy the T-shirt, visit www.leukaemia.org.nz/page/191

Denim diva

Jeans West stores have a new range of selvedge denim on the shelves. Selvedge denim is high quality Japanese denim, and Jeans West's range consists of four styles for men and women which feature exclusive trims, rivets and open side seams. The range is limited edition, and is in store now.

Help those in need

Jewellery label Pandora will donate 15 per cent of the sales of its gold and silver angel beads to the Red Cross Victorian Bush Fire Appeal during 2009. The gold Angel beads sell for $491 and the silver $30, and are available from selected stockists including La Boutique in Auckland's Chancery. For more stockists information visit www.pandora-jewelry.com.

Superette online

One of our favourite boutiques is now online. Newmarket's Superette has opened an online store, so you can buy Lover, Sass & Bide, Shakuhachi, Stolen Girlfriends Club and more from the comfort of your own home. The virtual store will offer exclusive pre-orders of incoming stock, and they have also joined the blogosphere with a team blog. Get shopping at www.superette.co.nz/shop.

Be kind

We don't want to be preachy, but this year will see many New Zealanders struggling more than usual, so if you're in the position to be able to help others, why not give someone a Life Giving Gift from charity Lifewise? You choose something from the catalogue - from a bunch of flowers to a gardening package - Lifewise send you a card for you to keep or to gift to someone else, and then give the life changing gift to a Kiwi in need. There are 11 gifts to choose from, from $10 to $100. For more information or to buy a Life Giving Gift, visit www.lifewise.org.nz.