KEY POINTS:
Second-hand clothing stores tend either to concentrate on vintage costume and highly fashionable looks or pre-loved designer labels, tossed out by wealthier shoppers after just one season. Tatty's, a newly opened store on Ponsonby Rd, plans to focus on both. Proprietor Aimee Egdell has been around second-hand garments most of her life - she's 26 and for 23 years her parents owned the Recycle Boutique chain in Auckland. So she knows what she's talking about.
"And I just hope my own personality and my tastes in art and music come through," says Egdell, who was assisted in her store's renovations by a bunch of handy friends she met at art school. "I'm hoping to bring a youthfulness and creativity to second-hand clothes but to still cater for everyone who likes second-hand shopping."
Tatty's, 159 Ponsonby Rd. Ph (09) 376 2761.
Sporty number
Most sports bras seem to work on the principle that the tighter one's breasts are bound to the chest, the less likely they are to get in the way when you're running, playing netball, doing yoga or undertaking any other kind of sporting activity. And in many cases, this is true. But although your chest might be supported and comfortably restricted, it probably also resembles nothing better than a shelf underneath your athletic outfit.
Which is why Bendon, which does a good sports bra anyway, has come up with a solution. Besides a nice firm racer back, the new smartly titled Sport BodySculpt bra also has a foam contour cup that makes for lift, separation and shapeliness.
For the well-endowed, this new soft and comfy bra doesn't seem to offer quite as much support as the earlier compression versions, but for anyone else it certainly makes a prettier silhouette. Bendon Sport BodySculpt bar, in stores now, RRP$59.95
Scent sense
It makes sense, but it's something the average perfume buyer may never have thought of : broadly speaking, different smells appeal to different cultures. Alain Lorenzo, president of Parfums Givenchy, told an American newspaper recently the rule of thumb is that richer scents are preferred by Latin and black cultures and fresher ones by European cultures. Asians like even fresher ones still.
And the reasons can be many and varied. Where New Zealanders might associate a smell with baby powder or lemon dishwashing liquid - and therefore be turned off - the French, for instance, would associate orange blossom with babies and beeswax with cleaning products.
Where you might find Americans hurrying toward a fresh, sporty smell like Calvin Klein's ck One, Japanese consumers will scurry away from rich, potent perfumes like Kenzo's Jungle because they draw attention to the wearer, which isn't necessarily appropriate for them.
So, if you're shopping for a scented present of some kind, you could use that information, applying it to the recipient's personality.
Of course, there can be exceptions to the rules and for the perfume shopper in a quandary there are also smells that have a universal appeal, such as vanilla or strawberry.
Hip hurrah
Hippies rejoice. New Zealanders are about to get their very own range of Ayurvedic beauty products, as developed by the good folk at Planet Ayurveda in Mt Eden. The Indian system of health has been around for thousands of years and because it's holistic, is based on balancing the body through diet and exercise as well as healing lotions and potions. Dr Singh Ajit, the creator of the range, from the Mt Eden centre, where local celeb Lana CocKroft went for help after her mysterious illness, has already invented one range of beauty products for an exclusive Auckland spa before launching his own collection. The products, which are made from ingredients as organic and natural as possible and which retail from around $20-50, include tasty-sounding items such as almond and saffron moisturiser, blackberry astringent and aloe vera conditioner. Ayurda is available online at www.ayurda.co.nz or at Planet Ayurveda, 578 Mt Eden Rd, Mt Eden. Ph (09) 623 2651.
