As Wellington gears up to Africa Day this Saturday, with a 12-hour celebration at the Wellington Town Hall beginning at 11.30 a.m., there’s a distinctively non-African name behind the scenes doing the make-up for the fashion show on the day, as well as the smaller Taste of Africa event at Te Papa from 6 p.m. tonight (May 23).
   Kareen D. Holland, whose business KD One recently opened at Morrison Kent House on The Terrace, is applying her extensive experience in film make-up to the community event.
   KD One’s natural skin care and cosmetics stemmed from Holland’s years in film, working with such luminaries as Weta’s Sir Richard Taylor.
   Working at Taste of Africa and Africa Day is Holland’s way of giving back to the community, something she was keen to do ever since KD One opened last month.
   Africa Day showcases African culture through dance, music, arts, crafts and cuisine. It is the first major cultural event for African communities in Wellington.
   KD One was mentored by Lucire publisher Jack Yan as part of his work with Business Mentors New Zealand.

After the announcement that New Zealand label Starfish was closing down, which Lucire covered first last Friday, customers received a farewell message in their email today.
   Starfish will have a closing down sale with up to 35 per cent off, at both its website and its flagship Wellington store on Willis Street.
   The email indicates that the company will trade for a few more weeks while liquidators at Price Waterhouse Coopers collect claims from creditors.
   ‘While it is sad to say good-bye we’re proud of all we’ve achieved,’ reads the email, signed by founder Laurie Foon and her team. ‘Starfish has been an amazing platform to not only put all of our creative passion, but to also be part of our communities in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland. We feel privileged to have been able to make a contribution to the NZ fashion scene as well as being able to voice our thoughts on social issues from motorways to pioneering ethical clothing.’
   They thank customers ‘who have loyally followed us, loved our clothes and given us massive encouragement along the way. It’s been more than we could have dreamed of. We’ve loved meeting you and hope that Starfish has been more than just clothing to you.’
   Starfish was founded in 1993 by sisters Laurie and Miriam Foon. It was Lucire’s first featured label in 1997, and remained in our pages regularly as one of our favourites. It was highlighted in Summer Rayne Oakes’s international guide to eco-fashion, Style, Naturally.

Above Starfish’s Laurie Foon, photographed in 2011.

Look out for the Body Shop’s Mothers’ Day gift packages. Lucire tried the White Musk shower gel and body lotion, a subtle scent of one of the Body Shop’s favourites. It’s an attractively packaged duo with a matching shower scrunchy. This would be a lovely treat for a travel gift when you just want a bit of pampering that’s a bit more than the hotel freebies, retailing at NZ$23. (Custom wrapping paper for Mothers’ Day is also available.) If white musk isn’t your scent, try the Japanese Cherry Blossom, a floral fragrance. There are several gift packages in this range: shower gel, body lotion, and hand cream. Most of the Body Shop’s top sellers have a gift package to suit your budget and your nose; Madagascan Vanilla Bean, Moringa Flower and my favourite, the Shea Pamper pack—anything with pamper in the title works for me.
   The Body Shop is also all about eyes with the launch in May of 21 new eye colours. I particularly liked that they can be used both wet and dry, so when you want a defined line or depth of colour, use them wet; for that smouldering or smoky look, layer or blend them. There are shades in this range for all eye colours, moods and occasions. You can have the subtle hues of Caramel Flirt, which is much more than a nude—it has a lovely shimmer without being glitzy; or Sugar Gaze to give a lustrous highlight. Moonlight Kiss can be used as a liner or a smoky evening look, and for a young or more frivolous look, check out Berry Cute—think of a berry smoothy. Blueberry Night pairs wonderfully with Midnight Flirt. If you’re feeling earthy, the matte of Fig Leaf combined with the pearly Sweet Pea will fill the green tones beautifully.
   Retailing at NZ$21 per mono eyeshadow, the Colour Crush range is produced in Italy from high-quality pigments and Community Fair Trade Oils to the Body Shop’s high standard of sustainability and quality. The individual clear pack is compact and enables you to see exactly what you’re buying.—Linden Sprunt

In stores now are Nicki Minaj’s latest Viva Glam lipstick and Lipglass from MAC.
   The new offerings are in pastel lavender pink, with the full selling price going toward helping men, women and children living with, or affected by, HIV and Aids.
   Priced at NZ$40 for the Viva Glam Nicki 2 lipstick and NZ$38 for the Lipglass, they are strictly limited editions.
   Rapper and songwriter Minaj, who was announced as MAC’s spokeswoman for its Viva Glam campaign in July 2011, had been putting her name to the company’s products since 2010. She succeeded Lady Gaga.
   MAC says the Fund has raised over US$200 million for HIV–Aids through the sale of its Viva Glam lip products.

April 25: Beyoncé releases ‘Beyoncé as Mrs Carter in H&M’—see her new video here

For years, Hennes & Mauritz hired spokesmodels who were familiar, but not instantly recognizable. There’s none of that these days as the retailer announces a partnership with Beyoncé, who will appear in print and TV advertising for its summer 2013 collection. Its last big name, promoting its autumn 2012 line, was Lana del Rey (see Lucire 28), as H&M ties in fashion with the biggest names in the music industry.
   Beyoncé kicks off her Mrs Carter Show world tour on April 15, and the new campaign ties in with that. The advertising features ‘Beyoncé as Mrs Carter in H&M’, with the company saying that it represents ‘the idea that all women can be all things: strong, vulnerable, sensual, maternal, fun, flirtatious.’
   The TV commercial, to be released online in full and edited for TV, features a new song from Beyoncé, ‘Standing on the Sun’. The song will be available worldwide and via hm.com from May.
   Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin shot the print campaign in Nassau, while the commercial was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.
   In a release, Beyoncé says, ‘I’ve always liked H&M’s focus on fun and affordable fashion. I really loved the concept we collaborated on to explore the different emotions of women represented by the four elements—fire, water, earth and wind. It was a beautiful shoot on a tropical island. It felt more like making a video than a commercial.’
   The famed Donald Schneider, now creative director at H&M, says, ‘H&M’s summer campaign starring Beyoncé is an epic fantasy, with glamour, drama and also a sense of paradise. It was amazing to watch her on the shoot make it all look effortless—a quality that makes her such an icon for women around the world. The campaign is the essence of Beyoncé, and also the essence of H&M this summer.’
   Ann-Sofie Johansson, head of design for the retailer, notes, ‘In the campaign Beyoncé is wearing the key pieces from H&M you need for life in the sun this summer.
   ‘There’s the perfect bodycon dress, as well as a flowing sun dress that makes a real statement. And of course there are the bikinis, especially the fringed bikini. What makes these pieces even more special is that Beyoncé herself had input into the design, and they are full of her own personal style.’
   The collection, which includes swimwear and beachwear from the H&M for Water collection benefiting H&M for WaterAid, hits H&M stores, on- and offline, from May.

Top MAC’s new Mineralize Rich Lipstick promises the same high quality as the company’s other lines. Above Chloé is offering free engraving for its Signature fragrance this weekend, but only at Selfridges.

If you’re in the UK, Chloé and Selfridges have teamed up to offer free complimentary engraving for Mother’s Day, but only this weekend (March 9 and 10). With any purchase of a Chloé Signature fragrance (30 ml and above), you can receive free engraving in store.
   Shiseido, meanwhile, has won an award at the the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the second consecutive year. The announcement by the Ethisphere Institute, an American think-tank, was announced on March 6, awarding companies that have best practices in ethics and corporate social responsibility, not unlike the Medinge Group’s earlier Brands with a Conscience awards.
   The ceremony took place in New York.
   MAC Cosmetics, meanwhile, have three new releases. For the eyes, the MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot range (bottom), still with its highly pigmented colour and pearlized finish, has a new creamy formula that dries more quickly. Suggested retail price is NZ$44, with the 242 Shader brush at NZ$68. The Paint Pots hit retailers on March 11.

   On March 18, MAC’s Mineralize Moisture SPF 15 foundation (below) becomes available, featuring shea butter, emollients and conditioning extracts. MAC says the combination of powders has an ‘optical blurring effect’ that helps even the skin tone. The foundation, with 18 shades, retails for NZ$75 each, and the 130 Short Duo fibre brush at NZ$90.
   Completing the MAC releases, also due on the 18th, is its Mineralize Rich Lipstick line, which the company says is larger in size and has a mineral moist complex for hydration. There are 12 vibrant shades, each retailing at NZ$58.

Jack Yan/Lucire

Lucire is already a huge fan of Project Born, which raises money for the Neonatal Trust. So when we heard Ride4Life 2013, benefiting the same charity, would be passing through Wellington, naturally, we wanted to get on board to help this worthy cause.
   The fundraising event sees a core team of eight cyclists, including ex-All Black Christian Cullen, ride from Cape Reinga to Bluff, with a NZ$1 million target.
   They had set off on February 25, and last week, I had run in to one of the BMW support vehicles just south of Paihia. Both Team McMillan BMW and Mini, and Jeff Gray BMW and Mini, have supplied vehicles to help out, namely eight Mini Rays, one Mini Countryman, and a BMW X5. The Minis will be auctioned off at the end of the bicycle ride on Trade Me with all proceeds going to the Neonatal Trust.
   Michael Meads, CEO of the Trust, has been happy with the ‘outstanding’ support he has received from sponsors, including the Team McMillan and Jeff Gray dealerships.
   Meads himself is piloting one of the Minis. ‘I absolutely love the Mini—it handles differently and feels very solid. It can take a corner at speed and it’s not an issue.’ The Minis, travelling in convoy, have actually attracted people to the cycling effort whenever they have a stop.
   Joining them to the half-way mark in Wellington today was a classic car club, whose members drove a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air, a 1956 Ford Thunderbird, and a 1957 Ford Country Sedan.
   Meads says the inspiration came from a former chairman, Eugene Collins, who was a cycling fanatic. Cycling between Auckland and Wellington, Collins was able to raise $10,000 for the Trust at the time of the Christchurch earthquake. ‘We talked about how we could make it bigger and make more money,’ says Meads.
   Meads and Collins had become involved with the Trust through their own neonatal experiences. Collins’s son, Harrison, suffered from meconium aspiration and even had to go on a heart–lung bypass machine, as well as endure emergency flights between Auckland and Wellington. Harrison is now a healthy 11-year-old who competes in triathlons.
   Meads’s own experience saw his wife admitted to hospital during the 18th week of her pregnancy as she began going into labour. After three and a half months in hospital, she gave birth to their twins at 35 weeks. ‘I could see a need to help out,’ Meads recalls.
   With the help of TV announcer Grant Walker, whose son had been in neonatal care a year before, he began talking about a charitable trust, before learning that the forerunner to the current Neonatal Trust existed.
   The earlier organization was focused on Wellington, and Meads was one of the driving forces who saw it rebranded and turned into a national movement, through amalgamation and establishment of other branches. There are now five, in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
   He says there is a need to help transition families who returned to the 14 provinces around the country after their neonatal experiences in the five main centres. Ride4Life 2013 is geared to raise funds for the provincial areas.
   After Wellington, the cyclists will board the Interislander, another supporter, but will in fact keep pedalling: they will be on wind trainers. There are no rest days for them between Wellington and Bluff, with one leg 187 km in distance. After Bluff, they will head to Invercargill to watch Collins attempt to break a 24-hour cycling velodrome endurance record.
   One baby every 90 minutes requires neonatal intervention, says Meads.
   The cyclists, including Cullen, will be in Wellington on Thursday, March 7, collecting around the city. Alternatively, you can donate via ride4life.co.nz or through any Westpac branch. There’s a Facebook page, where you can follow some of their progress.—Jack Yan, Publisher

Jack Yan/Lucire

Panos Emporio has announced that one of the contestants in next week’s Top Model Sverige will become its new model for 2013.
   In next week’s episode on Sweden’s TV3, the 10 models will be photographed by Nigel Barker, with one winner being adopted by the swimwear label for a future campaign.
   Filmed at the end of last year, Panos Emporio boss Panos Papadopoulos flew to Los Angeles for the show. It is the sixth season of the Swedish licensed version of the programme.
   Staying with Swedish companies: in another nod to corporate social responsibility, Hennes & Mauritz has announced it has developed a water strategy in association with WWF.
   As part of a three-year global partnership, H&M says it will build water into its corporate planning, including ‘being a good neighbour and good steward of shared resources,’ says WWF International’s director-general, Jim Leape.
   WWF had evaluated H&M’s water usage and challenges through 2012 to form the basis of the strategy. In 2013, the company plans to implement it globally, working with public policy-makers, NGOs, water institutions and other companies, to support better management of river basins in China and Bangladesh, it says. It will also support WWF conservation projects in the Yangtze River basin.
   Internally, staff will receive training on the water impact on raw material production and its value chain. It will also improve its water efficiency and minimize its suppliers’ impact on water. The company is targeting all 48 national markets and reaching all 750 direct suppliers, with all its 94,000 employees receiving education on water issues.
   Finally, the Peninsula Hotels has announced a new campaign for all its properties, called Peninsula Moments. The campaign shows what is distinctive about each one of its properties, from stunning architecture, authenticity, design, to insight. Unsurprisingly, the clip from Hong Kong—arguably the most famous Peninsula property—features its fleet of green Rolls-Royces, while Bangkok shows off its nearby temple and Shanghai its aviation lounge.

Above The Peninsula Hong Kong Rolls-Royce fleet and its pool.

Above The Peninsula Shanghai Aviation Lounge. The Peninsula Manila’s lobby. A temple in Bangkok, near the property.