Minerals is the magic word of the moment in makeup. Calgary’s Teye International, debuting its whopping new makeup collection at Holt Renfrew, has minerals galore. The company’s Web site (www.teye.ca/) extols the virtues of minerals: they allow oxygen and nitrogen to pass through makeup to the skin; they shield the body against ultraviolet rays; they’re anti-inflammatory agents; and they’re antibacterial. Plus, that light-reflecting quality makes us look radiant. The Teye line includes the Safari and Zebra bronzers—prismatic mineral powders that can be brushed on eyes, face, and body to create shimmering highlights or an all-over glow. ($20 to $79 at Holt Renfrew)
> Patty Jones

Tea oil, a long-time Asian cooking staple, has come to B.C. under the brand Treasure Green. High in omega fatty acids, the oil is extracted from green tea seeds from the plant camellia oleifera, which grows naturally in the mountains of southern China. For cooks, an attraction is the high smoking point of 464 degrees (olive oil smokes at about 375 degrees). For diners, the attraction is health: it’s high in antioxidants, has no cholesterol or sodium, and has a 97.2 percent absorption rate. Tea oil is available at Stong’s Market (4560 Dunbar Street) and Capers Community Market (various locations) for $9.99 per 500-millilitre bottle.
> Pieta Woolley

Following on the success of Yummi Bears chewy vitamins for kids, Hero Nutritionals has launched—you guessed it—a line of chewy vitamins for adults. With the consistency of gummy bears, Slice of Life vitamins are a heck of a lot easier to get down than the chunky horse-pill option. The “vitamin C + pomegranate”—meant to reduce low-density lipoproteins, which carry bad cholesterol—looks like a little orange slice, has a funny medicinal scent, but a delicious true-orangey flavour. Slice of Life also comes in a multivitamin with lycopene; an Omega 3, 6, 9; CoQ10; and one called “Energy with B12”. They’re available at most health-food stores. For more info, see www.heronutritionals.com/.
> Pieta Woolley

If your year must include a Baywatch-inspired bikini run down Kits Beach, two books promise to erase the winter jiggles. Looking ripped on the cover of her book Making the Cut (Random House, $16.95), Jillian Michaels, the team trainer from the reality show The Biggest Loser, promises to shred readers in a single month. In Are You Ready! (Random House, $25.95) The Biggest Loser’s trainer and fitness expert Bob Harper works readers from the inside out with a lifestyle-changing program for those with significant weight to lose. If neither approach works for you, there’s always the annual Wreck Beach Bare Buns Run in the summer: no bikini required, and jiggling is part of the fun.
> Pieta Woolley