Most skincare is water-based, which has its drawbacks. For instance: Water cannot be classified as organic … Water breeds bacteria so requires a serious preservative system for long shelf life … And water is basically a pretty passive ingredient, so it doesn’t really add that much to the mix.

So how clever of Juice Beauty to use freshly squeezed organic juice as the base of its skincare range. This means it’s able to create formulations that consist almost completely of certified organic ingredients. Even the preservatives used are food-grade preservatives (- not a paraben in sight).

The other benefit of basing skincare on organic juice is that the end result is a much more highly powered and active concoction – the juice being rich in antioxidants, vitamins, phytonutrients and hydroxy acids.

A few other reasons to love the range:

* It doesn’t just give you healthy-look skin, but also promises some serious look-younger results, thanks to a slew of active ingredients, such as coenzyme Q10, DMAE and peptides. The Green Apple range is particularly potent for skin showing signs of wear and tear.
* It’s pH balanced – so suited well to sensitive-prone skins.
* It supports fair trade and sustainable farming. Two examples: myrrh is sourced from Ethiopia, ylang ylang from Madagascar.
* No product or ingredient has been tested on animals; all formulations are vegetarian.
* It smells good-enough-to-eat.

Juice Beauty is priced from $29 and available from Rescu Beauty Bar

I am all for writers’ rights, being a writer and all. But all of this awards-boycotting business was seriously starting to annoy the beauty editor side of me. After all, the red carpet is where most beauty trends begin these days. Way more than the runway. (You might have thought I was slack last week not mentioning the Paris couture shows. I actually did look at it. It just left me a little whatever. Big bouffant hair being as realistic to me as $50,000 dresses). So thank goodness the Screen Actors Guild awards went ahead. My top three looks …

Kate Hudson in Balmain, looking part flower child, part motorbike babe. Love love love.

Angelina, keeping the is-she-or-isn’t-she guessing-game going with this divine vintage Hermès dress.

Marcia Cross, all pre-Raphaelite-ish with her pale skin, turquoise gown and copper hair.

“And it’s a fact that the fake-luxury industry, which is especially concentrated in China, supports slave and child labour. There is also strong evidence to show that proceeds from the sale of fake goods help to fund terrorist groups.” Being Chinese, I find the above statement quite racist. China=slave labour is a fact? Then present your evidence. Buying counterfeit = supporting terrorists? Prove it. You cannot make these claims and not support them. This is scare-mongering. Harper’s ran a story like this some time ago too. Yes, a lot of counterfeit products come out of China – but they are not all made by slaves and children! I am not saying it does not exist, but this kind of generalisation is unfair. China’s wages are so low that you can use what we would deem skilled labour and still be being paying cents.”

And just in case anyone else is thinking the same, I’d like to run my response:

“I’m sorry that you found this to be racist. I however strongly disagree with you and anyone who knows me knows that I am far from racist, nor am I a careless journalist. I have read much on the issue of counterfeiting, more than enough to justify this blog entry. If you want to learn more yourself, read the book Deluxe by Dana Thomas for one, which outlines all the evidence anyone needs to know there is a serious problem.”

A quick but hopefully reasonable reply. I realise I didn’t present many facts and figures yesterday to support my claims, but this is a blog. The point is to be, well, to the point. It’s not an investigative feature you’d find in a magazine. What’s more, I don’t get paid for anything you see on this site. I take a huge chunk of my own unpaid time every day to plan, manage and write this site, so I can’t afford to spend too long on each blog entry. Nevertheless, I just want you all to know that I don’t say things for the hell of filling screen space. I only send something live once I feel that it has something valid to tell you. I’d also just like to reiterate that I am far from racist – one of the most abhorrent of things to me – and that I believe counterfeiting to be wrong on so many levels. Which is why I wrote about it yesterday. Look, I could go on about this, but I actually can’t – I’m running off to do my paid work now.

I was at my local bottle shop yesterday (detox is over, woo hoo) and asked the guy working there why there suddenly seemed to be so much affordable French champagne everywhere. “Some companies have had to drop their prices to compete with the illegal fakes that are popping up,” he told me. Now fake designer bags, we have all heard of. But faux French champagne? Worrying stuff.

Which is why I thought it timely to alert you to a thing called the grey market. It’s nothing to do with where your nana shops. It’s when certain retailers import product directly from overseas, bypassing the official local distributor for a brand. Which is why some shops charge a lot less for product, such as perfume, than others – they basically buy it in bulk at a cut-price currency conversion rate.

You may think that sounds like a good deal for you. But here’s what you should know. The legalisation of parallel importing has made our market much more susceptible to poor quality product. In beauty, this can mean out-of-date product. At best. At worst, it can mean you’re being duped into buying a fake. And it’s a fact that the fake-luxury industry, which is especially concentrated in China, supports slave and child labour. There is also strong evidence to show that proceeds from the sale of fake goods help to fund terrorist groups.

As such third-world countries become more technologically advanced, the fakes become even more realistic looking. Scary enough when you think about what you might be putting on your skin. Terrifying when you think about what you might be putting in your body, in the mistaken thought that you’re drinking lovingly grown grapes from Champagne.

So conclusion: whether you’re buying makeup, skincare, fragrance, accessories or alcohol, only shop from outlets you know to be reputable. Or call the head office of the brand to find its nearest official outlet.

Like I said on Monday, magnifying mirrors should be made illegal. (Up there with those lingerie fitting room mirrors at David Jones). I blame them for many of my beauty paranoias. Including one I’ve just found out has a name: porexia. It’s basically when you see your pores as much larger and more of an issue than they really are. I shouldn’t be too flippant about it. There are serious cases of body dysmorphia where people obsessively pick and squeeze at imperfections that are barely perceptible to the naked eye. But in mild cases, we need a bit of a reality check. In other words, take a step away from the mirror and remember, nobody is looking at your pores as closely as you are.

Oh, speaking of David Jones’ hideous lingerie fitting room mirrors … I braved them the other day and am so glad I did. I have finally discovered Cosabella and its fabulous demi cup bra and low-rise boy knickers. Just as DJs is discontinuing the line though. But if you hurry, there’s still a stack of mesh bras and knickers in all sorts of gorgeous gelato shades – and all on sale. Totally worth facing those mirrors for.