Lady Gaga returns as the face and inspiration for MAC's annual Viva Glam line of makeup, which donates a portion of each item sold to the MAC AIDS Fund for HIV/AIDS research. Last year she shared the Viva Glam campaign with Cyndi Lauper; this year she's flying solo.

The celebrity-branded beauty brigade is running full-tilt before Valentine's Day.

Sephora is stocking up on Justin Bieber's million-selling One Less Lonely Girl nail polish and a pink-haired Lady Gaga drops her new single and hits newsstands on the cover of Vogue.

Rihanna also released the above video for her Reb'l Fleur perfume; meant to be played backwards, it's best viewed as an interactive video on her website.

Not to be left out, the Kardashians — Kim and Khloe — are also vying for attention, promoting their respective perfumes with racy new videos.Continue reading...

Procter & Gamble's new campaign for its Venus line of women's shaving products features Jennifer Lopez as the "Venus Goddess" — the brand's first-ever global ambassador — and a new Goddess focus to its digital marketing. According to P&G's marketing materials,

she'll inspire women around the world to "reveal the goddess in you," by feeling confident, powerful and beautiful, inside and out. Lopez — and her amazing legs — will star in all elements of the brands marketing campaigns for 2011 which includes an exclusive remake of the iconic Venus song, plus the launch of a new philanthropic effort dedicated to empowering women through education: the Venus Goddess Fund for Education.

A $70,000 corporate citizenship component will see the Venus Goddess Fund for Education donate $1 per consumer-shared "goddess story" uploaded to its website, up to "a maximum of 5,000 stories (or $5,000). In addition, a set donation of $65,000 will be made; $50,000 to the Step Up Women’s Network (U.S.) and $15,000 to CARE International (Canada)."

Occasionally, even a retailer as savvy as Wal-Mart steps in it. That may be what’s happening with the chain’s decision to develop its own beauty line aimed at 8- to 12-year-olds — the fledgling fashionistas marketers call tweens.

GeoGirl, which debuts in February, replaces the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen cosmetics line. It's designed for young skin, with natural ingredients such as white willow bark and chamomile. Sold in recyclable packaging, natch, the items are named in tween-speak texting slang such as J4G (Just For Grins).

“GeoGirl is about teaching this generation about beauty care in a responsible way,” stated Carmen Bauza, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s vice president and divisional merchandise manager of beauty and personal care. “This [line] is a great learning experience for us to determine how to communicate with this generation.”

That may be Wal-Mart's corporate rationale for encouraging kids to wear makeup. But it didn’t take long for outraged moms and others to take shots at what seemed to them like child exploitation by Wal-Mart.Continue reading...

Gleeks (you know, fans of the hit TV series Glee) have been showing their devotion with Glee-inspired manicures.

Now nail color brand OPI, which has always kept customers chuckling with polish names such as "My Chihuahua Bites" and "Manicurist of Seville," is getting into the game. Its Sephora by OPI collection is taking a note from Glee with a nail polish collection that pays tribute to the award-winning series.

The new line will bear the hallmarks of OPI's usual cleverness, with inside-joke names like Miss Bossy Pants, a rich raspberry, Slushied, an opaque blue, and Sue vs. Shue, a navy blue. The colors will be available individually as well as in 6-color minisets this spring in Sephora stores.Continue reading...

It's pretty clear from the L'Oreal Paris teaser spot above that the brand's next celebrity face Gwen Stefani. The singer/designer's hiring was just confirmed in a follow-up commercial, after the jump.Continue reading...

What a kerfuffle a year-end promo can make. L'Oreal's recent new year promo, above, sparked rumors that it was replacing global brand ambassador Aishwarya Rai, the Bollywood actress and former Miss World, with younger Indian actress/model Freida Pinto, who rose to fame in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire.

Perish the thought, per this statement by the cosmetics giant: 

"We are shocked and surprised to read in some sections of the media/press about Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being replaced as the face of L'Oreal Paris... Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan continues to be our valued spokesperson, as she has since 2000. While she remains an integral part of the L'Oreal Paris world wide Dream Team, she was unfortunately unavailable for our New Year commercial shoot due to prior commitments. She is one of the most iconic women of our times and is certainly the face of L'Oreal Paris internationally and in India for a range of products which include campaigns for Total Repair 5, Excellence Crème, Color Riche, Hydrafresh."

Other current L'Oreal celebrity endorsers include Beyonce, Diane Kruger, Jane Fonda, Rachel Weisz, Gerard Butler, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Lopez.

CoverGirl's newest brand ambassador, Taylor Swift, joins Queen Latifah and Ellen DeGeneres to help launch MyCoverGirl, the brand's new year-long Facebook promotion, in a spot that debuted Friday. Fans who 'like' the brand on Facebook will be entered in a draw for a chance to dance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Additional prizes throughout the year include free samples and a chance to meet the other celeb spokesmodels (including the not-shown Drew Barrymore). The brand is donating $1 to Make-A-Wish Foundation for the first 50,000 fans who participate.

Swift's first CoverGirl commercials, touting the P&G-owned brand's first luxury line — NatureLuxe, which launches this month — also highlight the new FB promotion.Continue reading...