Beauty News

Not content to be the gorgeous face of just one beauty brand, model Cara Delevingne has signed on to be the face of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté's new Baby Doll mascara, according to WWD. The new formula, which will premiere exclusively on yslbeautyus.com on March 20, is the latest addition to Yves Saint Laurent Beauté's Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils franchise. At launch, it will be available in black, blue, brown, and violet.

Cara, who recently walked in the Saint Laurent Fall 2013 show, appears in the '60s-inspired campaign donning an all-black Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane ensemble. The single- and double-page advertisement was shot by Terry Richardson, but the model was recently snapped by another famous face. Karl Lagerfeld stepped behind the lens to capture Cara for Melissa Magazine, WWD reports. Cara also recently signed on to be the face of Burberry Body Tender.

No two women are alike, so Nars is catering its newest campaign to every woman with an interactive video experience. Illustrator and director Quentin Jones created a collaborative journey that allows you to choose your favorite Satin Lip Pencil ($25) shade to see what happens next. You can follow stylist Catherine Baba or musician Sarah Ruba, while you explore all the vibrant color offerings in the line. The video combines an individual-user experience with cinematic style and the amazing makeup Nars is known for. What are you waiting for? Click already!

Long heralded as one of the biggest online hubs for luxury fashion, Net-a-porter is expanding its reach to include beauty. The site will launch its "The Quintessential Edit" on March 20, which is slated to include products ranging from 3Lab to Chantecaille to Le Métier de Beauté. This shift is fresh off the heels of the site's inclusion of menswear and discounted goods. "As we started to expand it was a disconnect to not be able to offer beauty," Alison Loehnis, the company's managing director, said to WWD. "By being at the front lines, we have an enormous amount of insight and exposure to talent and also product."

The Quintessential Edit will have a home on net-a-porter.com, and the company stresses that there are no plans to create a stand-alone business. Loehnis said that Net-a-porter is and always will be a fashion business above all else. But she understands the importance of beauty curation. "It's so interesting because we have this panel of just under 10,000 customers that are superusers who provide us with amazing insight," she said. "Beauty is the chart topper without fail." The Quintessential Edit will be making plenty of customers that much happier.

The fauna are rejoicing all throughout the European Union as the projected ban on animal-tested cosmetics takes effect today. Even though this has been the projected date of the official ban since 2009, many cosmetic companies expected a delay or reprieve to occur. However, earlier this year a letter from the EU health commissioner, Tonio Borg, promised the date would stand. "I believe that the ban should enter into force in March 2013 as Parliament and Council have already decided. I am therefore not planning to propose a postponement or derogation to the ban," Borg wrote to animal-testing campaigners. Under the new legislation, any new cosmetic products are outlawed if tested on animals.

It seems the animal-testing policies will be under fire this year in many other countries, too. On Jan. 1, a similar law took effect in India. Israel also made it illegal to market, import, or sell animal-tested products this month. "This great achievement in Europe is only the closure of one chapter," said Paul McGreevy, international values director at The Body Shop. "The future of beauty must be cruelty free." Will the United States be a part of chapter two?

Bobbi Brown is getting in on the philanthropy game yet again, but this time, she's expanding her reach worldwide. To celebrate International Women's Month, Brown is launching her Pretty Powerful Campaign For Women and Girls. As part of the campaign, she is releasing a limited-edition Pretty Powerful Pot Rouge ($25), a delicate pink blush that works on a variety of skin tones. Through the sale of the rouge, along with donations via GlobalGiving.org, Brown will raise money for Dress For Success.

Every penny of the US proceeds of the Pretty Powerful Pot Rouge will go toward Dress For Success. "Makeup alone cannot even the playing field for women and girls across the world," Brown said. "But I believe that together, those who create, apply, buy, and wear makeup can." Want to learn more about the campaign? Just watch Brown's video, and listen to her talk about the campaign.

While Kiehl's is known for its dedication to charitable initiatives, the beauty giant is embarking on what may be its most creative philanthropic effort to date. In conjunction with DonorsChoose.org, Kiehl's is donating $50,000 to science education nationwide. But the impressive aspect of the campaign is that Kiehl's is allowing its customers to choose where their money is going to.

It breaks down like this: public school teachers post requests to DonorsChoose.org for their classroom. From March 11 to April 15, a quantity of Kiehl's new jumbo-size Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate (which will retail at $100) will be available in Kiehl's brick-and-mortar stores and online. When purchased, customers will receive a $50 gift code, which they can redeem at www.DonorsChoose.com/Kiehls to be applied to the teacher's request of their choice. Easy as that.

All of the requests will be science-based to align with Kiehl's pharmaceutical and scientific heritage. The projects will also be located in areas where Kiehl's customers live, giving donors the opportunity to give locally. Choosing your own adventure never felt this good.

Model and It girl Cara Delevingne, who was named Vogue's model of the year for 2013, has landed her first fragrance campaign as the face of Burberry Body Tender. The fragrance, which is available in Burberry brick-and-mortar stores as well as online starting today, contains notes of lemon, English rose, and white jasmine to create a relaxed, playful experience.

For a fragrance like this, picking Delevingne was a no-brainer. "Cara's natural beauty and vibrant energy lit up alongside magnificent architecture," Christopher Bailey, chief creative officer for Burberry, said of the fragrance's video. Delevingne is a Burberry regular by now; she appeared in her first Burberry campaign in 2011 and has walked the runway and lent her visage to a number of the brand's campaigns since. Watch the full ad below!

To celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, L'Occitane is allowing women to indulge in a little bit of self-pampering while giving back at the same time. The beauty brand is releasing its Women's Day Soap ($8), which is made from fair-trade shea butter and produced in a completely women-run factory in African nation Burkina Faso. All of the proceeds from the soap sales will help build literacy centers for women there. Pick up your soap on March 8 and help spread some girl power around the world. Who said beauty was a shallow affair?

Fashion brand Ruffian is making it even easier to get its eccentric runway manicures at home with a new nail polish collection. The lacquer line will be released with the help of Birchbox this Fall, according to WWD. But this week, Birchbox Facebook fans will get to vote on their three favorite shades to be shipped in the September box. The starter hues include Delirium (a vibrant plum), Fox Hunt (a burnt orange), Lady Alabaster (a pastel lavender), Venus in Fur (a muted champagne), and Hedge Fund (a forest green).

Designer Brian Wolk also hopes to retail in stores beginning this September, too. The debut will be timed with Ruffian's Spring 2014 showing during New York Fashion Week. The brand is already known for its extensive nail designs on the runway, and last year it collaborated with MAC on half-moon tips. This news is just the most recent in a long list of high-fashion designers jumping on the nail craze, including Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs, and Jason Wu.

Carly Rae Jepsen is moving on from her hit "Call Me Maybe" into a new beauty deal with Burt's Bees. The singer will be the face of the new Güd Red Ruby Groovy line, and the first celebrity spokesperson for the natural-beauty brand. Burt's Bees hopes her strong pull with Generation Z, along with her social media presence, will bring their products into a younger demographic.

The new line will include a shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and body wash all retailing for $7 each. The scent is filled with fruity notes of grapefruit, black currant, apple, mandarin, and papaya. "I've always been attracted to things that smell feminine, and I like things that are energizing," Carly Rae told WWD. "I feel very womanly, and it makes me sort of ready to take on more."