Little indulgences–cosmetics come to mind–are pretty much all we are getting by on these days, and sometimes even those purchases seem frivolous. But now Peacekeeper, a new line of lip and nail paints, can help ease your spending guilt and do some good beyond lifting your own mood.
Peacekeeper donates all after-tax profits from its makeup collection to women’s health advocacy and human rights organizations working to combat such problems as domestic violence, rape, honor crimes and genital mutilation.
“The majority of women purchase beauty products. Attaching women’s advocacy causes to the sale of these everyday products makes a woman . . . part of the solution,” says creator Jody R. Weiss, a former sports marketing professional and daughter of Vietnam War-era peace activists who decided to return to her non-violence-advocacy roots.
Peacekeeper lip paints ($16 each) come in 12 shades that range from sheer pink (Paint Me Tender) to blood red (Paint Me Full of Self-Esteem). The nail paints ($11.50 each) are available in 10 colors, from the golden-toned Paint Me Empowered to the burnished bronze Paint Me Truthful. Our testers found the lipsticks and polishes to be as long-lasting and long-wearing as the line’s literature claims.
For more information, go to www.iamapeacekeeper. com.
Fashion meets function: They’re potentially life-saving but not very lovely, right? Thanks to Lauren Phillips, a fashion-conscious 14-year-old with diabetes, medical identification bracelets just got a style boost. The handmade interchangeable bracelets, called Lauren’s Hope for a Cure, come in a variety of styles and are detachable from the medical I.D. tag. Most feature sterling silver or 14-karat gold-filled beads. We liked the bracelet made of silver beads and multi-colored Swarovski crystals; the black onyx and silver beaded one also is pretty yet low-key. The I.D. tag can be engraved for any medical condition. Ten percent of the net profits from the bracelets are donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Bracelets start at $39.95; go to www.laurenshope.com or call 800-360-8680.
It takes grains: We’ve put a few food items on our hair in the name of beauty–lemon juice to highlight, avocado and mayonnaise to condition–but never did we consider rice. Carol Graves did, though; she’s the creator of the MicroWaves Heat Cap, a hair-curling hat made of a heavyweight cotton fabric that contains uncooked rice. To use the hat, set dry hair on any kind of curlers, heat the cap in the microwave for a minute or two, and slip it on over the curlers. For optimal results, leave it on until it cools. The idea behind the hat is that when it’s heated, the water in the rice creates steam, and the steam heat curls your hair. The cap works best on short and medium length hair, Graves says, though it also worked fairly well on our long straight hair. But so do electric rollers, without the added step of heating and putting on a hat. So what’s the advantage, we wondered. Graves says the heat cap is gentler on hair; creates fuller, longer-lasting curls; and you can go outside wearing it. The bouffant-style hat is burgundy and blue, has a Velcro closure in the back and looks kind of like something we’ve seen on a skit involving a “royal court” in an episode of “Barney.” So we’ll give Graves the first two, but we won’t be running for the train wearing her fine chapeau. Microwaves Heat Cap, $49.95 plus shipping, is available at www.heatcap.com or call 888-629-2875.
Holding it together: Sara Blakely, creator of Spanx footless pantyhose and control-top fishnets, has come out with what we think is the best product so far in the Spanx line. Blakely recently introduced Power Panties, her company’s answer to thong underwear and the problem of panty lines. Power Panties are billed as having “the comfort of underwear, the feel of hosiery and the power of a shaper.” We think they feel like a combination of a girdle, bicycle shorts and control top pantyhose, and love how the mid-thigh-length leg doesn’t roll or ride up. Power Panties, $25 per pair, come in four colors and five sizes and are available at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. For more information or to order, go to www.spanx.com or call 877-997-7269.
