Covergirl has announced a charitable partnership between its Clean brand of makeup and the Children's Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) program. Covergirl also launched the campaign, "Covergirl Clean Makeup for Clean Water," with a one time $500,000 contribution to CSDW.
Actress Dania Ramirez was recently named as the newest spokesmodel for covergirl. She is pictured above with Queen Latifah. This past September, Dania returned to her native Dominican Republic to help deliver a year’s supply of clean drinking water to villages in need as part of the CSDW campaign.
Dania says, "I was thrilled to be back in my home country to help Covergirl deliver clean drinking water. I know firsthand that a shortage of safe drinking water can be a matter of life or death. When I was growing up, at times we had to boil our water before drinking it so we didn't get sick or worse."
Celebrity makeup artist Scott Barnes talks about his new book, About Face, in the video below. Scott Barnes says it took him three years to write the book. He says his brother died recently from melanoma at 30 and his book also includes advice about avoiding the sun. Scott Barnes also gives a quick tip on how to create the smokey eye look in the video. Take a look:
In About Face, Scott Barnes shares what he has learned during his career as a make-up artist working working with A-list celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Aniston. The guide includes step-by-step photos detailing makeup techniques and products. It also explains beauty rituals and must-have makeup items.
Jennifer Lopez graces the cover of Scott Barnes new book. Scott Barnes has been Jennifer's make-up artist for years. She was out to help Scott Barnes promote the launch of his new beauty tips guide. In this Extra interview, Jennifer Lopez shares her top beauty tip, sleep. Take a look:
Celebrity stylist Taylor Jacobson, best known from Bravo's "The Rachel Zoe Project," has joined the Everyday Minerals makeup line as a brand ambassador. Taylor Jacobson will also write a weekly blog called "Love, Taylor" for the company's website, where she will convey her point of view on a variety of beauty-related topics. Taylor Jacobson left her job as Rachel Zoe's assistant to go out on her own. Taylor is pictured above with Everyday Minerals founder Carina Menzies.
"My 'Love, Taylor' blog is a way for women to join me on my journey of self-discovery, every step of the way. I am really passionate about the beauty, and am honored to represent the brand," says Taylor. "It's a place where women can get to know the real me."
Avon has announced that it is donating $1 million to charities that will help victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The company said that the money will be donated through the Avon Foundation for Women. The money will be divided equally between the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
Andrea Jung, Avon's chairman and chief executive officer, said: "We are deeply saddened by the devastation caused to our neighbors in Haiti by the recent earthquake. Disaster relief has long been a critical component of Avon's philanthropy. I believe it is our responsibility as a global corporate citizen to lend our support to the relief efforts aiding the people of Haiti."
Avon is also making plans to incorporate campaigns where portions of the proceeds from Avon products will go towards relief efforts in Haiti.
Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido is launching
a friendly takeover bid of Bare Escentuals. Bare Escentuals is getting a premium for the sale and is more than happy to be taken over by the Japanese cosmetics giant.
Under the terms of the tender offer, which is scheduled to start in 10 days, Shiseido plans to buy shares for $18.20 each, a 40.8 percent premium over Bare Escentuals’ average stock price during the last three months, and a 39.9 percent premium over the closing price Wednesday. Once the majority of stock is tendered, Shiseido said it would buy the remaining shares for the same price, $18.20, in a second-step merger. The offer was made through Shiseido's U.S. affiliate.
Shiseido said the Bare Escentuals board will back the offer. Among the shareholders, Berkshire Partners LLC and certain affiliates, which hold about 16 percent of outstanding common stock, have agreed to the deal. In addition, Bare Escentuals chief executive officer Leslie Blodgett, who holds 6 percent of the firm, would exchange 40 percent of her stake in exchange for an undisclosed interest in Shiseido.
The acquisition would be operated as a separate division of Shiseido and its business would be managed by the current roster of executives, led by Blodgett, who is expected to report to Tokyo headquarters.
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"I couldn't be more pleased to be joining forces with the team at Shiseido....Together with Shiseido, we look forward to bringing our mineral-based beauty products to even more women worldwide," Blodgett said.
85% of Bare Escentuals' sales are in the U.S. This move will allow Bare Escentuals to tap into the Asian market and grow substantially.
Dermatologist Dr. Debra Wattenberg
visits The Today Show to talk about the shelf life of cosmetics and how to avoid bacterial and fungal contamination. Dr. Wattenberg says that lip gloss lasts only 2-3 months, especially if it's the kind with a wand. Lipsticks can last up to a year, and mascara has a very short shelf life of three months maximum. Because we're mascara-intensive around here, we've never had a tube last more than a month anyway. Dr. Wattenberg also has some good tips for storage of cosmetics and brush washing. Take a look:
Taylor Momsen is on the February, 2010 issue of Seventeen magazine. In this behind the scenes video Taylor, who is 16, talks about her musical influences and her personal style. She also discusses her love of dramatic makeup -- she says the natural look is not for her and she loves to apply cosmetics. Take a look:
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Remember back in July when Olay named Twiggy as the face of the ad campaign for Olay Definity Eye Illuminator? The ad has had consumer advocates in Britain up in arms over what it says is a severely Photoshopped image. The ad came under fire for extensive airbrushing to make Twiggy (who is 60) look unrealistically wrinkle-free. The image does show a few crow's feet around her eyes, but that's really about it. That ad has now been ruled to be misleading and has been banned in Britain. Take a look:
Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper posed together for the Spring 2010 Mac Viva Glam Campaign. Ellen von Unwerth was the photographer for the campaign. You can see a full photograph here on cyanatrendland.com. Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper are the new faces of the MAC AIDS Fund. Two new lipsticks will launch in March, MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipstick and Viva Glam Cyndi Lipstick.
The Washington Postreports that Iran is banning all female TV presenters on state television from wearing makeup. Wearing makeup is illegal in Iran, but millions of women wear it anyway. In a bit of optimistic thinking, the government has also banned unruly children and "abnormal" music.
The broadcaster's top manager, Ezzatollah Zarghami, told his managers that female presenters wearing makeup are to be taken off air, saying the wearing of makeup was against the law -- even though millions of women in this country use it. He said there "should be no insulting of family elders by children."
"Lowering and refining of music is among our plans," Zarghami also told his managers. His comments were reported in the Ettemaad newspaper.
Iran's state television is under heavy criticism from both supporters and opponents of the government, who say its programs are relatively dull and don't appeal to the nation's urban middle class. Viewers are increasingly turning to foreign-based Farsi-language satellite channels, some of them financially backed by the United States and Britain.
Not surprisingly, ratings for Iranian state television are way, way down. In addition to the censored news it broadcasts, the anchors all look terrible because they can't use proper makeup to correct skintones for television cameras. As many American politicians have discovered, one has to wear makeup on TV just to look normal, because of the lighting.
As for declaring that henceforth all children must not be unruly, well, good luck with that.
MAC Cosmetics has partnered with Lilly Pulitzer for a MAC in Lillyland collection that will arrive in stores on January 7th, 2010. Prices range from $12 for Nail Lacquer to $27.50 for Pearlmatte Face Powder. You can see photos of the collection here on Temptalia.
Valerie Boyer, a member of the French Parliament, has introduced legislation that will require advertisements that have been retouched to be clearly labeled as such.
Some think such a law would destroy photographic art; some think it might help reduce anorexia; some say the idea is aimed at the wrong target, given that nearly every advertising photograph is retouched. Others believe such a label might sensitize people to the fakery involved in most of the advertising images with which they're bludgeoned.
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For Ms. Boyer, who has a background in health administration, the fight is really about her two teenage daughters, 16 and 17, and the pressures on young women to match the fashionable ideal of a thin body and perfect skin.
"I got interested in the subject of the body because it's really a mother's reflection," she said. "It's the closeness I have to adolescents that drove me to become interested in these subjects."
It is a topic that consumes her. "If someone wants to make life a success, wants to feel good in their skin, wants to be part of society, one has to be thin or skinny, and then it's not enough -- one will have his body transformed with software that alters the image, so we enter a standardized and brainwashed world, and those who aren't part of it are excluded from society."
Her proposed law has yet to be voted on in the National Assembly, where Ms. Boyer sits as a member of the center-right from heavily Socialist Marseille. The legislation is aimed at advertising, though its preamble suggests expanding the measure to other kinds of photographs. Her initiative has already brought her attention, as part of a larger, passionate and confused debate about models, beauty and anorexia.
The debate has been quite heated, with passions high on both sides of the debate. The photos in question are advertising products and in many countries are already subject to false advertising laws. In England, companies have been slapped down hard for using fake lashes and hair extensions in ads for products that claim to give similar results for consumers who don't have the benefit of fake hair.
In the U.S., all magazine covers, features and ads are so heavily photoshopped that a law like that would result in disclaimers on just about every page of every magazine. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Maybe teenagers would then realize that what they see in the magazines is quite unrelated to reality. The rest of us already know that.
Julia Roberts is a new global ambassador for Lancome. WWD
reports that the details of Julia's new role won't be made public until early next year.
Part of the movement of top-tier stars into beauty began when the celebrity fragrance trend started to gain traction in 2001 with Jennifer Lopez's Glow by J.Lo, which did upwards of $100 million at retail globally in its first year on counter. In February 2002, Catherine Zeta-Jones signed a spokeswoman deal with Elizabeth Arden, and the star race was on. It now includes Cate Blanchett promoting Procter & Gamble Co.'s SK-II skin care line; Halle Berry representing both makeup at Revlon and her own fragrances at Coty Beauty; Kate Winslet as the face of Lancome's Tresor fragrance, and Brad Pitt partnering with Kiehl's. As Zeta-Jones told WWD in March 2008, "Things have completely changed. It used to be, if you're an actor, why are you selling stuff? People only used to do it in Japan. But beauty is an industry that makes complete sense for an actress."
The Internet is what changed all that. Major movie stars have done ads in Japan for years with strict contract provisions requiring that the ads would never be seen outside of that country. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have both done Japanese campaigns. But when the Internet arrived, fans would pass around the ads to fans all over the world. When movie stars' careers didn't come to a screeching halt just because they hawked beer in Japan, agents realized that the old taboo of big stars not hawking products was officially over.
Now, every major star wants a big commercial contract. This is why you don't see models as faces of major cosmetics companies much any more: the movie stars and their agents have snapped them up.