KEY POINTS:
Local label World is branching out into beauty products. They've opened a shop in Vulcan Lane where they'll be stocking exclusive goodies, including lines by Marc Jacobs, Aesop, Philosophy, StriVectin-SD, Nickel for men from France, Demeter fragrance, Diptyque candles through to Gucci, Stella McCartney candles, Agent Provocateur and
the classic 4711 range.
Possibly most exciting of all is the stock coming from D.L. & Co. The dandified Douglas Little, founder of the LA-based company, self-described alchemist and wearer of three-piece suits, makes luxury giftware with a Gothic or Victorian air - darkly beautiful items such as black skull-shaped candles scented with wormwood or mint and presented in a paper box, tied with a black silk ribbon.
Or how about an absinthe-coloured candle in a scalloped glass holder, which arrives in a hand-stitched box with matching ribbon?
"It's not about how much makeup you can slap on to cover your skin to hide wrinkles and blemishes, but about how to improve your skin with care, so that makeup naturally looks and sits better," says World's Denise L'Estrange-Corbet.
All these lovely beauty and life-enhancing products sit prettily in the distinctive store that's also selling treasures such as a Russian lamp, Napoleon III chairs, ecclesiastic altar candlesticks, bronze and marble swallow bookends, phrenology heads, fortune-telling books and a collection of German vases.
* 35 Vulcan Lane, ph (09) 377 0647.
Ts to treasure
The humble T-shirt has become a statement of style and intent. So if you're bored with sending out generic signals but don't want to sell your first child to be able to afford something extra-special, check out the Cleatis-Preston collection.
The T-shirts in this constantly changing range are nicely made in cotton and decorated by local artists and designers.
Right now you'll find reflections of artist Richard Orjis' project, Secret Society of Mud, on shirts alongside work from illustrators Blair Sayer and Leah Morgan, and designs by Disruptiv graffiti artist Elliot "Askew" O'Donnell.
In the future, Cleatis-Preston, the brainchild of graphic and clothing designers Kennedy Poynter and Jason Ng, will also stock bags, furnishings and toys.
Cleatis-Preston T-shirts start at $65 and each comes with a swingtag with the artist's biography.
* Auckland stockists include Texas Radio, Method and Butterfly Net. For more, check www.darkwaterltd.com
Work out in style
After Christmas you'll be wanting plenty of exercise to work off all those mince pies. No doubt you'll be wanting to do this in the most athletic style possible.
Possibly you'll even want to look like an All Black, in which case you'll be interested in Baselayer from Canterbury. These tight-fitting tops are made from 85 per cent polyester and 15 per cent elastane and are designed to go under other athletic clothing to keep you either comfortably warm or pleasantly cool.
Having test-driven the clothing here at Viva, we're happy to say the cooling and heating properties of the garments do seem to work, although unless you've got a six-pack already you'll be wanting to wear these skin-tight numbers underneath other gear.
For mooching about
Local label Moochi has just come upwith a capsule collection of summer sleepwear. In elegantly plain shapes and their trademark black and white, there are simple pyjamasas well as nightgowns, all made from soft Indian cotton and retailing from around $69.
Extra night out
The Saturday Shop, which featured in a Viva story about handmade artistic fashion, is now also a Thursday-evening shop. It's open every Thursday from 5pm as well as Saturdays from 10.30am till 5pm at 203 K' Rd, up the black iron spiral staircase at the end of the arcade. Ph (09) 377 0169.
Straight up
Converts to the cult of ghd hair-straightening irons will like this idea - a Christmas gift pack from the maker of this brilliant styling tool. A fabric bag includes a pair of hair-irons in a leather case and a limited-edition ghd thermodynamics hair product.
Retails at $449. For stockists ph 0800 880 209. That may sound expensive, but as anyone who owns one of these babies will tell you, it's worth every cent.
Shoe junkies alert
Winter footwear from Marc Jacobs, Chloe and Olivia Morris is on the shelves at Mei Mei in Ponsonby now. Get your credit cards out because the shapes and styles are out of the ordinary.
Good vibes
If you feel like doing some good during the gift-giving season, consider presenting a loved one with one of the limited-edition T-shirts from Untouched World.
Featuring an endangered-kiwi design, they are made from organic cotton.
Profits will go to conservation projects helped by the environment-oriented, Christchurch-based fashion label.
Or instead of buying someone talcum powder they'll never use, or an ornament they'll hide in the cupboard, spend on their behalf at Oxfam. You can donate money for food, education - even a goat.
The recipient gets a certificate telling them about what you've done on their behalf. Visit www.untouchedworld.com or www.oxfamunwrapped.org.nz for more.
Beautiful plan
In the beauty industry it is not uncommon to have to pay a little extra for the latest thing. Especially if that latest thing reduces fine lines and wrinkles.
Idebenone, a powerful chemical antioxidant, set off just such a rush of hype and high prices last year when it was used in Prevage, acream which is the product of an alliance between cosmetics giant Elizabeth Arden and Allergan, who make Botox.
The original products cost close to $300, but a new range is now available that have the same concentrations of idebenone, but costs less.
Dermactin-T anti-wrinkle eye cream costs $95 and facial cream $155.
* From selected pharmacies.