"Beauty balm" or "blemish balm" creams are all-in-one potions that replace moisturiser, foundation and sunblock. Photo / Thinkstock
How could I be so stupid and ignorant? The setting was the Estee Lauder counter at Smith & Caughey's Newmarket. The assistant was showing us her BB cream with much gusto.
I admitted I'd never heard of BB creams.
"Everyone knows about BB creams," my daughter uttered with a touch of disgust.
Not me. And it would appear not lots of women who don't read Girlfriend magazine.
For the record, these "miracle creams" are a new invention that hit the stores here big time in the past two years.
"Beauty balm" or "blemish balm" creams are all-in-one potions that really do replace moisturiser, foundation and sunblock. One slap across the face in the morning and you're done.
The next big thing is CC cream, says Smith & Caughey's cosmetics buyer Lynda Grant. It's more of a cover cream than the earlier BB creams.
Not all products marketed as "miracles" are anything of the sort.
I remember my then 4-year-old calling excitedly for me to come to the TV. She had seen a product advertised that would miracle away "those things around your eyes". Yeah right!
Having said that, new and amazing beauty products are coming on to the market every year. Grant says one of the latest products that is transforming women's beauty regimes this year is Vinylux Nails.
These are the home version of hard-wearing shellac nails and produced by the same company. The most amazing thing is that Vinylux is "handbag hard" in eight minutes and lasts an entire week without chipping.
Grant and her colleagues are using nothing else on their nails. Getting started requires one bottle of colour and one top coat, which last as long as regular nail polish, totalling $39.80.
Another miracle product staff and customers can't get enough of is Flash Lash. This, like LiLash from the same company, is designed to lengthen and thicken eyelashes over time. "It looks like you have eyelash extensions," says Grant.
One "can't live without" a new-fangled product I'm absolutely sold on, volumising "hair dust".
This is silica powder that is sprinkled into fine hair such as mine and turns it instantly into a manageable mane.
Some people dislike the feel - which is similar to having washed your hair with sand.
The effect, however, is miraculous. It comes in expensive brands such as Osis Dust, but I buy Schwarzkopf from Farmers for $9.99.
Grant and her colleagues are also taken with Solution Buds, which are like cotton buds, but have a tiny reservoir of eye makeup remover in them. Twist and say goodbye to panda eyes in the morning.
The final beauty miracle I will mention isn't quite so new, but it is game-changing for women who can't be bothered re-applying lipstick.
Lip stains are set and forget. Put them on and they will last 12 hours at least.
They stain your lips the colour you want.
More deals
• LiLash $109 at thewarehouse.co.nz or in-store
• Garnier BB Cream $17.49 at Countdown.
• Clinique CC Cream in four shades. $50 at Farmers.
• Flash Lash $69 at Smith & Caughey's stores.
• Stargazer semi-permanent lip stain pen $19.95 at Fishpond.co.nz.
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