The Social Life: No makeup selfies

Rotorua woman Sian Roberts, who owns jewellery business Cobalt Heights, posted this to her 5000 fans on her Facebook business page. Today she's making a donation for every sale.

It's easy to blame social media for all the wrongs in the world, but what about all the rights?

Missing people, lost pets, cancer patients' bucket lists and more recently for charitable organisations.

How many no make-up selfies have you seen on Facebook this week?

Personally, I have seen dozens and they have been all over the world.

The hashtag that went viral in Britain has led to donations to the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation as Kiwi women ditch the lippie for the sake of one photo. The campaign helped the British charity Cancer Research UK raise almost $2 million in little more than a day. It asks women to post photos of themselves online without make-up, with the hashtag #nomakeupselfie.

It wasn't long before the craze caught on down here, with one of my colleagues begging not to be nominated.

I've seen selfies from women who'd paint their faces before stepping out of the door, as well as those who usually go for the au naturel make-up look. One friend posted a tired morning pic, while another did hers as she made her online donation. The friend who didn't want to do one said she would donate anyway.

Whatever you think of the campaign you have to agree it's worked. Facebook is increasingly being used by charities as they, like big and small businesses, recognise the value of social media. But it can only be classed as a success if those who do like the posts make the donation to match.

Since last week the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation had received more than $24,000 in donations, just from the simple act of taking your photo without make-up.

To make an online donation New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation: http://nzbcf.org.nz Cancer Society of New Zealand: www.cancernz.org.nz.