Cos Bar (short for cosmetics bar) is a family-owned chain of 12 beauty boutiques "that carry the world’s best luxury brands in many of America's most exclusive destinations." Now they're moving into masstige via a collaboration with Target.

At top, owners Lily Garfield and her son Oliver discuss their retail concept, which started by wooing the apres-ski crowd in tony Aspen, Colo. Their new collection of bath and body lotions, tools and bags hits Target stores May 6, as part of retailer's move into branded in-store boutiques, dubbed "The Shops at Target." 

Liv Tyler continues her long association with Givenchy, this time taking a page from her father Steven Tyler's songbook by breaking out her rock chick persona to cover the INXS hit, Need You Tonight.

The campaign is for the launch of Givenchy'sVery Irrésistible Givenchy Electric Rose perfume, with this music video/commercial shot by director Johan Renck. According to Givenchy, "The Need You Tonight video captures Liv's resolutely rock 'n' roll spirit and shows her more magnetic and irresistible than ever. Featuring a choreography by famous dancer Bianca Li, its unique style and energetic vibe resonate perfectly with the Givenchy world."

See her previous campaigns for the brand below.Continue reading...

You may not have heard of Astalift, but you will soon. The line of skin creams, which promises to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, is expanding from Asia to Europe. Its claims may not be unique, but the brand behind it is: Fujifilm.

Cosmetics, specifically anti-aging creams made from the same antioxidation technology used in preventing photos from fading, are the backbone of a brand extension which has kept Fujifilm alive in Asia, where Astalift has been available in Japan and China for the past couple of years, in a rapidly changing world where its core product, photography and film, shifted 180 degrees, leaving one major brand, the newly bankrupt Kodak, in its digital dust.

Applying its patented chemicals in new ways, with Astalift Fujifilm claims that Pico-Collagen penetrates the skin through cell gaps, working from the inside-out to restore suppleness and elasticity, and has built its Fujifilm Beauty brand around that claim, first in Asia and now coming to Europe. Using collagen in cosmetics is relatively new, but its use in preventing photographic images fading is tried and true.Continue reading...

Lancôme has signed its first Muslim model — the 22-year-old gamine-cropped Tunisian, Hanaa Ben Abdesslem — as a global face. The brand features Hanaa, who debuted as a model in Vivienne Westwood's spring 2011 runway show and broke out a few months later after cropping her hair for Givenchy, in the short film above; check out her first campaign work for the makeup brand below.Continue reading...

Returning with their "Love it Light" campaign, Diet Coke is releasing 3 new can designs in Europe and the UK while partnering with Benefit Cosmetics, the American beauty products brand. As show above, the cans will feature floral, zebra and houndstooth prints in female face profiles.

In a new commercial for the campaign (below), the three marionettes from Diet Coke UK's 2010 Love It Light campaign (Eleanor, Bernadette, and Irene) make their return — shown fighting for the last can of Diet Coke in the fridge by explaining why they each need it most.Continue reading...

"This commercial isn't real, neither are society's standards of beauty." Fotoshop by Adobé, posted on Vimeo only four days ago, now boasts over 2.3 million views (and more than 900,000 on Rosten's YouTube channel). 

The fake infomercial, created by California-based filmmaker Jesse Rosten, advertises a high end cosmetic beauty product, the so-called Fotoshop by Adobé, that purports to erase wrinkles and such with Photoshop-like results.

An ingenious spoof on those FTC-riling claims by some overly zealous beauty marketers, it pokes fun at the transforming of models into someone completely unrecognizable.Continue reading...

MAC, the Canadian-born global brand of cosmetics that built its name and credibility with makeup artists, is known for its limited-edition lines inspired by celebrities such as Lady Gaga, the latest celebrity endorser of its Viva Glam line. Now, it's embracing lesser-known fashion icons whose style is no less eccentric, even if their names are better known by fashion insiders.

Take 90-year-old Iris Apfel’s MAC makeup line coming in January, which is described as "a color collection inspired by a rare bird who has always been ahead of her time," says MAC's official release. The 20-piece collection is “full of bombastically bright lipsticks, attention-grabbing nail lacquers and unambiguous hues of eye-shadow,” writes The Daily Mail, and an “impeccable brow pencil." 

The ever-chic Apfel is delivering her signature eccentricity, an inspiration for decades in jewelry, fashion and museum exhibitions, to make-up. “The range proves, yet again, that the wonderfully outspoken nonagenarian is beyond compartmentalising — falling far outside the usual fashions associated with those old enough to be great grand-mothers,” writes the Mail.Continue reading...

American Apparel apparently isn’t happy enough to just stick with clothing. The manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer of its own clothing lines has vastly expanded beyond cotton t-shirts. Expanding its make-up line, AA recently introduced nail polish and has now followed it up with its own collection of lip gloss.

With its acting president just quitting, the 22-year-old company is doing what it can these days to boost sales. It reported earlier this month a $7.2 million loss in the third quarter that ended Sept. 30, according to the Los Angeles Times. While that’s not good news, at least it wasn’t the $9.5 million lost in the same quarter in 2010.

Hoping to prove that when the going gets tough women pump up the lip color, AA's lip gloss will come in nine recession-busting colors, Apparel News reports, including the red-hued “Legalize LA” and pink-toned “Pantytime.”

“These are colors for everyone,” said Marsha Brady, the creatively-named creative director for American Apparel, according to Apparel News. “Over the last few months of color trials, employees were eager to see them and try them on, so we got to see how they performed on many different complexions. We’re really happy with how pretty and natural they look on everyone.”

The brand's controversy-seeking CEO and founder Dov Charney is, as you might imagine, pumped about the new line of lip gloss.Continue reading...