Nicki and Ricky for Viva Glam

If you never thought you'd see Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin advertising makeup together, think again. The popular rapper and Puerto Rican pop star have been chosen by MAC Cosmetics as the faces of its 2012 Viva Glam lipstick campaign.

In case you're one of the five makeup lovers worldwide who haven't yet heard of Viva Glam, it is a program geared towards supporting the MAC AIDS Fund. The entire sale price of each lipstick is donated to the fund to help fight HIV and AIDS. Since the Viva Glam's institution, the campaign has raised $224 million for the cause.

Following such successes as the ever-popular Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi come the wonderfully named Viva Glam Nicki and Viva Glam Ricky. The picture for the campaign features Nicki Minaj leaning on a motorcycle while Ricky Martin flexes his biceps in front of a graffiti-like background splashed with hot pink. It's an advertisement that's pretty hard to miss. The lipsticks, both in shades of pink, make their debut in February, retailing for $14 at department stores and online at MAC Cosmetics.

Text Esther Reisberg
Source and Image Daily Mail

Rihanna for Armani SS'12

Rihanna is back with another steamy ad campaign for Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani underwear.

Although 2012’s spring/summer campaign is a little more tame than last year’s backseat-changing, leather-filled campaign that showed us an edgy, blonde RiRi, it still delivers in the sexy department.

Lace lingerie, a silk camisole, striped hot pants, and a nice serving of denim is seen in the new campaign, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. Dawning a new brunette look, RiRi wears zero accessories (other than her tattoos), which really puts all of the focus on fashion.

For the second year running, Armani may have put together one of the best ad campaigns of the year, and this is only the first taste of SS'12.

Check out more photos from Rihanna’s sexy new Armani ad campaign after the jump...

Pantene Partners With Olympic Athletes

Celebrity endorsements of beauty products have become as commonplace as seeing a Starbucks pop up along every three blocks, so it comes as no surprise that Pantene is now partnering with Olympic athletes to advertise its products. Though the world's most popular haircare brand has never featured athletes before, its new marketing approach focuses on the importance of healthy beauty.

Pantene has selected eleven female athletes as part of its first international campaign to back the London 2012 Olympic Games. Joining the ranks of famous faces like Eva Mendes and Shay Mitchell will be Olympic competitors Natalie Coughlin, a swimmer for the U.S. team, and Evegeniya Kanaeva, a Russian rhythmic gymnast.

The idea is that these women represent the brand's view that health is beauty in its own right. Pantene representatives believe that the athletes are ideal not just because of their active and healthy lifestyles, but because their hair is left extremely vulnerable during competitions. The haircare products are advertised as strong enough to treat even the most damaged hair. With athletic women as beauty ambassadors, Pantene is advocating health and proving that it can perform just as well as any Olympic champion.

Text Esther Reisberg

Source and Image Business Wire

Pinball is Dior's New Black

Our industry is nothing but opulent. As a leader of the most extravagant, Dior has brought a new way of incorporating a little bit of fashion into our lives — with a pinball machine that plays with pearls. 

According to Dior, the game is supposed to "show, in a light and fun way, the richness and savoir faire of Dior." Mind you, the game is virtual, but the 3-D video alone creates a different take on the traditional Mise en Dior necklace, in a very glitzy and techy way. 

Until this dream becomes a reality, Dior has found a clever way to reinvent their typical advertisement.

Text Corinna Fabre
Source Dior

Anja Rubik in Ad Campaign for Elie Saab's First Perfume

The Lebanese gown designer Elie Saab is releasing his first fragance product this summer called Le Parfum. The simply named fragrance will feature top notes of orange blossom, a heart of sambac jasmine, and a base of cedar, pathouli and rose honey, according to Fragrantica http://www.fragrantica.com. The print ad features Polish beauty Anja Rubik with Next modeling agency. The blond, blue-eyed beauty can also be seen gleaming from the April 2011 cover of Vogue Australia, from current SS11 Chloe Fragrance ads, DKNY Woman's Fragrance and editorials spanning the globe, according to Models.com. The photographers for the Elie Saab Le Parfum shoot were Mart Atlas and Marcus Piggott.

Text by Joann Pan

Sources: Fragrantica, The Cut, Models.com, Elie Saab

Shower Fun with Tom Ford

Skin sells. Tom Ford created a whole empire based on this concept. Who else could have come up with this ad campaign for bath products (well maybe Dov Charney could have, but this is certainly more tasteful than an adolescent-looking girl showing off her coochie)? Call me an easy target, but I've never wanted designer shower gel so badly. It's kind of like that Zoolander scene where the male models had a little too much fun at the gas station, kind of silly but fun, fresh and sexy nonetheless.

Text Kristina Bravo
Source: Fashionologie.com