All eyes are on London for the Olympics, the queen’s diamond jubilee and British beauties like Lily Cole, whose role as the Medieval damsel Greta in Snow White and the Huntsman has kept a devouring for more of her, from both the evil queen and the public alike.
Supermodel, actress, straight-A student, and now Lily has pinned another star in her badge: First-ever ambassador for The Body Shop.
The British beauty brand normally does not summon celebrity muses, says Michael Muñoz, managing director, The Body Shop Philippines. But because of Lily’s sterling standing as staunch supporter for Elton John AIDS Foundation, End Water Poverty Campaign, Environment Justice Foundation’s “fight children’s labor in fashion” campaign and other environmental and humanitarian causes, The Body Shop cannot help but take notice and make an exception.
“She is not only an advocate, a model and an actress. She’s very vocal about what she believes in, a true activist,” exclaims Muñoz.
In an interview with Marie Claire after she was named ambassador last March, Lily declared, “This runs much deeper than just being the face of a campaign, it’s really important, so it’s a really exciting project to be part of!”
Lily, it says in her Wiki bio, only works with brands attuned to her fair-trade and sustainability ethos. For Body Shop, Lily is synonymous with “Beauty with a Heart,” a campaign based on what Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick believes in and what she would continue advocating if she did not die in 2007, explains Muñoz.
Cole designed the pink packaging for the campaign’s Activist makeup collection, named as such to banner Body Shop’s new war against animal testing. The 10-piece set includes a lip and cheek tint that comes as a dome for quicker application; shimmer eye shadow cubes; purple liquid eyeliner; and a pearl radiance primer.
The collection’s beautifying oils, which come in many fruity flavors, are based on their bestselling body mist, says Muñoz, but are made more moisturizing and longer-lasting through a light addition of oil.
Like the usual Body Shop fare, the range is made from ethically-sourced, sustainable ingredients from around the world, Muñoz assures. He says the set also comes in recyclable PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) containers and Hello Again Wash Bag made of recycled plastic bottles.
To make social activists like Lily more at home, the Body Shop introduces its new store concept: Pulse. By constructing new branches and renovating existing stores as Pulse, the company aims to reduce up to 50 percent of its regular energy consumption via replacing fluorescent lights with LED (light-emitting diode) strips and 35-watt ceiling lamps; using a more efficient air-conditioning system; installing recycled wood as flooring and using other 100-percent Forest Stewardship Council-certified fixtures.
“Pulse is a heartbeat in the community. It is where Beauty With Heart comes to life through our Community Fair Trade products, our passionate teams, and through our community and values walls which allow for consumer engagement and interaction,” Body Shop international brand director Ann Massal explains in a report.
The centerpiece of every Pulse store is a pair of wooden Story Selling Tables, which Muñoz likens to big kitchen counters, in which customers can make themselves feel at home to try products with friends.
Incorporating cutting-edge design, top quality materials and natural imagery, the boutique-style Pulse store aims to create a warm, welcoming space to excite and inform people about The Body Shop products and values such as protecting the planet, activating self esteem, defending human rights, supporting community fair trade and fighting against animal testing.
In addition, Body Shop Philippines actively supports the orphanage Child Hope and the campaign against sex trafficking, Muñoz says. Among their latest achievements, he adds, are amassing 480,000 signatures condemning sex trafficking. These have been submitted to Pres. Benigno Aquino III in partnership with a global non-government organization. The president then endorsed the signatures to the United Nations, which then accredited the effort. Muñoz reveals that later this year, a new skincare BB cream will be introduced to further benefit this cause.
Meanwhile, customers are encouraged to sign a Cruelty Free International Pledge to ban companies testing on animals. While not everyone can go to the Olympics or become a supermodel like Cole, a signature supporting a cause is a ticket to winning gold — a golden heart.