beauty: health

Thrilled to see the message in your eyes

Above: Olivia Newton-John on her Great Walk to Beijing earlier in 2008. PHOTO: TANYA CARTER

LUCIRE has traditionally supported various breast cancer causes each October, having begun in 2001 when associate publisher Ann Fryer went on the Avon Breast Cancer Walk in New York.

This year, we’ve caught two initiatives Down Under geared to helping the cause during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

During a week where Olivia Newton-John was the talk of the office—from Lucire team members at head office watching YouTube clips of the Broadway musical, Xanadu to hearing the Grease ‘Mega-Mix’ played at two Wellington clubs—we received news of the Liv Kit being distributed through Curves in Australia and New Zealand.

The Olivia Aid, to give its proper name, is a breast self-exam aid. It was a huge success some years ago in the UK, and the partnership with Curves seeks to repeat the earlier success in the antipodes. It is endorsed by four-time Grammy Award-winner Olivia Newton-John, who credits self-examination for her early detection of breast cancer. Fresh from her honeymoon after her marriage to John Easterling, Newton-John celebrates 16 years of being cancer-free.

She says she hopes that the partnership with Curves will allow all women to have a kit in their medicine cabinet within the next five years. ‘My wish is that all women age 20 and above perform monthly breast self-examinations,’ she says.

Curves had supported the star’s Great Walk to Beijing, a 228 km journey along the Great Wall of China, raising over A$2 million for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre Appeal. She had been joined by Curves co-founder Diane Heavin. Curves alone helped raised A$1 million.

During October, Curves aims to get the Olivia Aid into the hands of one million women, including non-members who can get a free kit on showing that they have had a mammogram in the last 12 months.

Dove, meanwhile, will release a Pink range to support the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation. Its most popular products will be available in pink versions: the white beauty bar, the body wash, the anti-perspirant roll-on and aerosol deodorants.

Dove says that 2,500 women in New Zealand are diagnosed with breast cancer per annum and 600 will die from the condition.

The company will take a page from Avon’s New York book and has organized the Dove Pink Star Walk on October 11 in Auckland. The 5 km walk commences at 8 P.M., with prizes for best pink outfit, and a fireworks’ display. Entry is at www.mydove.co.nz and a registration fee applies. •

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Above: Two very different initiatives, one cause: the awareness of breast cancer this October. Olivia Newton-John is promoting Olivia Aid in partnership with Curves, while Dove will launch Pink versions of some of its staple items for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.