Retail Therapy: Great minds

Last month we featured Dunedin designer Ava Saunders of the label Lou & Ash as a designer to watch. We love her creative ways with knitwear and crocheting. And just to prove that she's right on trend or, in fact, ahead of the trend, we spotted designer Paul Smith embracing this craft look at London Fashion Week a few days later.

Starck Eyes

The new Philippe Starck range of frames has arrived at Parnell eyewear store VisionX. The premium Starck eyes Collection is a collaboration between Starck and French eyewear designer Alain Mikli, and features handmade frames with flexible hinges that make them adaptable to each face shape. The collection is available exclusively at VisionX, who went through a two-year process to gain approval from the Alain Mikli Company in France. VisionX, ph (09) 373 4879.

Moving up

Young Auckland makeup artist Phoenix Renata has shifted into bigger premises in Kingsland. Her flagship store, renamed Phoenix Cosmetics - House of Makeup, has car parking and the bigger villa will allow a photo studio and makeup school to be opened later on. Makeup and brow consultations take place in boudoir-style rooms and there's space for special Ladies Nights. Renata, 26, is keen to become the "go to" destination for superior professional makeup services and already offers customers the creation of custom makeup palettes. She opened a second store in Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna, last year. The new Kingsland premises are at 511 New North Road. Ph (09) 845 6620 or see phoenixcosmetics.com.

Paint class

Maybelline Colorama nail polishes are mini-sizes of on-trend nail colours so you can play around with the latest shades without spending up large. They cost just $7.99 and come in 16 shades including purples, berries and browns. Orly has also brought out a range of Matte polishes, that perform better finish-wise than some competing products.

Dry and dark

Dry shampoo maker Batiste has now launched two new versions of its effective hair reviver especially for brunettes and black-haired women. This gets round the light, powdery look a dry shampoo can leave round the hairline on those with darker hair. The new coloured versions cost $17.99, the original is $14.99, from leading pharmacies.

Dye be gone

For colour jobs gone wrong, this new hair product could be the answer. Colour B4 acts to knock back the colour, supposedly without stripping the condition. We haven't tried it yet, but it comes well hyped so might be worth a shot if you are unhappy with a dye job's outcome. It is said to shrink the dye molecules, but not damage the hair's natural pigment, allowing dye to be washed away without use of bleach or ammonia, returning hair to its natural colour, or if it is bleached with dye on top, back to the bleached state. Hair can be re-dyed afterwards. Priced from $34.95, stockist details see colourb4.co.nz.

* If in doubt about how dark to go with home hair dye, err on the lighter side or consider a product that allows you to paint on some subtle streaks for a bit of light and shade rather ending up with an unnatural mono-colour.

Cameo appearance

We love cameos, so we like artist Octavia Cook's new pieces now on display at Anna Miles Gallery. The resin and gold pigment stained Madam Kokku Kaisha (pictured) was inspired by Cook's recent trip to Japan after being married, where she became aware of the tradition of conspicuous mending with gold. The piece is actually of Cook herself, sporting a married Japanese woman's traditional chignon. Anna Miles Gallery, ph (09) 3774788.