KEY POINTS:
Like all good counter-intelligence operations, there have been secret planning meetings, codenames and an ambush.
At the centre of all the fuss is the electric toothbrush of mascaras, a battery-powered moving mascara said to coat lashes effortlessly.
American company Estee Lauder this week stole a march on its French rival, Lancome, in the local battle for sales.
Both companies say they've spent about four years developing their technology and applying for patents to build a micro-gadget into what is an everyday makeup item for many women.
On Wednesday, Lancome told beauty editors that its Oscillation mascara would go on sale in late February as a highlight of its 2009 calendar.
It has only a handful in the country, and there's already a waiting list.
Lauder's launch was rumoured to be in March/April, but on Thursday its TurboLash hit the shelves.
"It's going to be the hot item on Christmas lists this year," said Estee Lauder brand general manager Karen Chadderton.
Lancome is planning a television commercial campaign for its launch, the first non-perfume television advertising by a luxury cosmetics brand in New Zealand.
It says it's unfazed by being beaten, and reckons the competition will increase interest in its later launch.
"The Christmas period for us, we didn't think it was the right time," Miranda Waple, general manager of Lancome New Zealand, said yesterday.
Huge demand for both brands internationally has meant getting the mascaras here has been a tall order. Australia is still waiting and they've only been on general sale in the United States since late October.
Ms Chadderton said the brushes were being made 24/7 to keep up. Getting them into the country quietly had been a challenge. She said the innovative product was "right up there" in beauty industry launches.
Ms Waple said she's been lobbying Paris for enough supplies, with
