Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin for M.A.C Viva Glam. Photo / Supplied
Hot helper
The hot pink Viva Glam Nicki Lipglass ($38) is a new line extension in M.A.C's charity fundraising Viva Glam collection. It is on-counter from Monday with all proceeds from sales going to help people living with or affected by HIV/Aids. This year's spokespeople, singers Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin, have also lent their names to Viva Glam Nicki Lipstick and Ricky Lip Conditioner.
Look good, do good
Another wonder fruit - move over acai et al - is winning fans. This time it's dragon fruit, which is being used in cosmetics. It's being put to especially good effect by The Body Shop Foundation, with its Dragon Fruit Lip Butter, with all proceeds of worldwide sales going to charity. The Body Shop wants its New Zealand customers to select which causes they consider most deserving, with cancer charity Look Good Feel Better, whale campaign Project Jonah and Connected Media, an organisation to promote sustainability, in the running. They will all be beneficiaries: the top choice will get 50 per cent of sales proceeds, next 30 per cent and the third-placed selection gets 20 per cent.
Buy a Dragon Fruit Lip Butter for $13.25 before October 7.
Freshly squeezed
Fruity fresh Juicy Tubes were a sensation that took lip gloss from teen plaything to grown-up beauty staple. They're still a firm favourite, now made even more moreish in limited edition packaging. For those who can't decide which to pick, the Once Upon a Week collection makes it simple; there's a different one for every day. Flavours include grapefruit, cherry and chocolate and there are seven new shades, five colourbursts and two more neutral balms for the weekend. Each costs $39, from Lancome counters at department stores and selected pharmacies.
Freshen up
Wella salons have introduced Color Fresh, a smart service that recognises women sometimes crave a little help between permanent colouring sessions. Color Fresh offers a semi-permanent colour refresh and a blowdry to tide you over, or you can use the opportunity to experiment with a new shade without being stuck with it. Best of all it is salon-supervised, so clients who need a retouch will get expert advice rather than resorting to plucking a pack of dye off the supermarket shelves and sometimes ending up with the wrong result. Instead they will buy a bottle of Color Fresh and after this is applied they can take home the rest to use for further touch-ups.
"We can now provide our clients with a take-home, easy application colour," says Wella colour ambassador and leading Christchurch stylist Shar Sutherland Todd.
This is a clever move to try to retain cash-strapped salon customers, who are increasingly stretching out times between global colouring appointments while also asking for "pit-stop" retouches for in-between. A number of salons already offer this help, but Color Fresh puts the practice on a more formal footing. A refresh can be used to restore reds, refine blonds and disguise greys, or just for a shot of fun. There are 20 combinable ammonia-free colour options which will leave hair shining and silky for up to 10 shampoos.
* Color Fresh comes with a recommended price of $23 per bottle. Salon application is followed by a blow-dry for which prices vary. (To find a Wella salon, ph 0800 800 128.)
Quick smart
Servilles is getting increasingly savvy to keep its customers happy. Its Style Express is a quick, affordable option that offers a simple $25 style in 25 minutes if you turn up with washed and dried hair. Save more time and money by buying a Style Express card at $100 giving four styling sessions, plus a bonus one for free. It's a great gift idea. A similar loyalty scheme was introduced at Servilles Ponsonby a few years back, but the deal is now available across all the Auckland salons. Styling fixes can range from straightening, to ringlets and loose waves or a volume boost. (Booking advised, but casual inquiries welcome. See servilles.com for salon contact details).
Nature's touch
Davines has introduced a new ammonia-free permanent colouring system, called A New Colour, to salons. While by no means the first odourless, gentle ammonia-free choice, the Italian salon brand has taken its environmentally aware approach further than many competitors. A New Colour also draws on vegetable pigments, melanin and metasilicate (a quartz mineral powder) for its 43 chromatic choices.
Colour specialist Goldwell has also gone ammonia-free with its conditioning Nectaya salon range. It gives 100 per cent grey coverage and added colour brilliance, while using more than 90 per cent natural ingredients, including argan oil, in Goldwell's typically strong range of shades. (Goldwell salons, toll-free ph 0800 567 465.)
Colour care
To get more from your colour ask about simple salon services that can boost hair vitality. Examples include Goldwell's Colourglow IQ serums and Wella Cellophanes. IQ serums are a 30-second application that helps restore shine and provide strength and moisture to hair. They contain UV filters to guard against fade and can be used after a colour or as a regular treatment.