Zara’s first complete beauty collection is available online from today (there’s no date for a counter in Ireland yet). We haven’t tried it out yet, but we’re just flagging it as its design caught our eye – it’s been created by Fabien Baron, the creative genius behind the Nars packaging and logo. Most of the packaging is refillable, from the lip colours to the bronzing powders, and the range of colours is expansive, with 39 nail colours (vegan formula), for example. The creative director is renowned UK make-up artist Diane Kendal. The refillable vegan Stiletto Lipsticks are remarkably similar-looking to those by Hourglass, while the Ultimate Matte lipstick design also has a premium look (€10.95, refills €6.95). With everything under €20, including six-shade eyeshadow palettes, metal foil loose pigments (€8.95) and even the large power brush (€12.95), it looks seriously competitive price-wise.

We’ve yet to try out the formulas, and will report back. Just on testing, in case you’re curious as I was: the collection is sold in China, however we are informed that “due to changes in recent Chinese legislation around this, and Zara agreements within China, this collection is still completely cruelty-free.” PETA reported in March this year that, following a sustained PETA effort, China will allow imported “general cosmetics” such as shampoo, body wash, lipstick, lotion, and makeup to be sold in the country without being tested on animals. This means that companies that take certain steps can soon market most imported ordinary cosmetics in China without being required to pay for them to be tested on animals. www.zara.com