On My Desk: what's new in October

This week’s On My Desk column is starting to get Christmassy – as well as a healthy dash of Spring skincare – coming across my desk, in news and new product releases…

This week’s On My Desk column is starting to get Christmassy – as well as a healthy dash of Spring skincare – coming across my desk, in news and new product releases…

I can think of no end of women for whom a new pair of ghds would not go amiss this Christmas. They’ve done coloured ghd stylers before – notably the pink ones for breast cancer – and this season they’re releasing three metallic hues: sahara gold, shimmering silver and rich ruby ($319 each). They’re the new gold, frankincense and myrrh.

To promote the new metallic ghd stylers, these pretty gold, silver and red RUBY nailpolishes (pictured left) arrived.

The best USB stick goes to Mr Vintage’s wooden Christmas tree USB, inside this reindeer cracker.

Mr Vintage is promoting the myriad of Kiwiana-themed treats that are available at a pop-up kiosk in Sylvia Park outside Glassons and Rodd & Gunn. This pop-up shop, open until 30 December 2012, complements their e-store www.mrvintage.co.nz. As well as their New Zealand tees, they are selling New Zealand-print tea towels, beer bottle openers, jewellery, notebooks, and coffee cups, too.

I love a good pun, and I would have been proud to have come up with this one. It’s an ice block (or "ice lolly" if you’re British, as my husband insists on calling them) smashed up and combined with liquor to make a cocktail and termed a "blocktail." This media kit came in a wooden crate – the current PR packaging trend du jour – with a mint plant, cocktail measuring jug and Ice Bar Co iceblocks/icelollies Lemon, Lime & Bitters; Classic Brewed Ginger Beer; and the new Summer Peach Ice Tea, to crush and add to vodka. You can simply pay someone else to do it all for you however, at certain bars throughout Auckland including A-Z: Basalt, Celsuis, Degree, The Dominion, The Elephant Wrestler, The Flying Moa, Garrison Public House, Ginger Minx, Goode Brothers, JAC’s Trading Co, Mama Loco, The Merchant Bar & Kitchen, Moreton’s, The Postman’s Leg, The Running Bull, Villager, and The Zookeeper’s Son.

Clearasil released PerfectaWash which arrived with a Petal cupcake and mini bottle of bubbles. PerfectaWash is an atuomatic dispenser, meaning it dispenses 1.5ml of acne-fighting product each time. The dispenser and refill with 3 AA batteries retails for $24.99 and the refill is $14.99 from supermarkets.

Perhaps in sync with all this early Christmas cheer, comes the M&R Essentials Intense Detox Tonic. This homeopathic remedy in a dropper bottle aims to cure what ails you when you want to detox, with bach flower essences to encourage healthy bowel and organ balance. It is $39.90 and for stockists see wwwmandressentials.co.nz

While we’re talking all things healthy, I had the amazing opportunity of taking part in a yoga class at Mande White Yoga, along with members of the My Girls Facebook page, courtesy of adidas and its fitness-promoting group, My Girls. The My Girls are a group of high-profile women, including Sara Tetro (below left) and Honor Dillon (below right, with Mindfood’s Carolyn Enting and Thread’s Megan Robinson in the centre) encouraging New Zealand women to get off the couch. I see they also took part in Auckland Marathon yesterday with fabulous finish times.

The adidas adipure is an indoors trainer, perfect for dancing, Pilates, and yoga.

The Australian organic and vegan cosmetics company INIKA is fabulous at releasing gift sets, and I find them a great way to try out new colours I wouldn’t necessarily choose but end up loving. This latest one is probably my favourite Inika set yet: a Christmas gift set retailing as usual at $99 in a gold vinyl zip case with a Lip Whip in Apricot, an eyeliner pencil in Coco, an angled and a round make-up brush, and two mineral eyeshadows in Gold Dust and Forest. This set pictured is Precious Metallic Gold, and it also comes – for those with cooler skintones – in Precious Metallic Silver. Available from 1st October until 31st December 2012 from stockists; see www.inikacosmetics.co.nz

Lily&Louis PR have extended their beauty representation (they have spa skincare brand Nimue) with a fun, youthful and colourful skincare range called "I Love." They launched with a confectionary-themed event with a candy bar, and hand massages for guests. The Italian brand is priced around $9.99 for lipglosses and $18.95 for large shower gels in fruity colours and fragrances. Scents include Raspberry & Blackberry, Vanilla & Ice cream, and Blueberry & Smoothie. "I Love" is a pharmacy range exclusive to selected Life, Unichem, Amcal and Radius pharmacies nationwide.

Christmas is definitely a time when more is more, and so the aptly-titled MOR skincare and gift range is perfect. Nothing minimalistic about this; it comes in absolutely gorgeous packaging with ornate gold lettering that I’d be happy to present to friends and family, or keep myself and display on the bathroom shelf or dresser. My favourite is the pink and gold packaging of Neroli Clementine ($39.99, pictured below). They do value sets for gifts too, with a hand and body wash and lotion set at $49.99 instead of $79.99 in fragrances Italian Blood Orange, Candied Vanilla Almond, and Lychee Flower.

I’m not holding my breath for the sun to appear anytime soon with any regularity, but when it does, Banana Boat have released a new clear spray so one doesn’t get a milky residue when applying sunscreen. It came in a media kit evoking a tropical island with palm fronds and white sand in a glass vase. The clear spray comes in an Ultra 30+ and a Kids spray. Banana Boat Kids SPF 30+ Very High Protection Clear Sunscreen Spray is $16.49 and is available from supermarkets nationwide.

Megan Robinson
29 October 2012