Weekend Reading: Olivia Palermo Partners with Ciaté, Lipstick-Smearing Selfies, Gwyneth Paltrow Gets Vagina Steam and More!

Why The U.S Won't Ban Cosmetics Animal Testing Anytime Soon - South Korea made headlines in the beginning of January when it announced a five-year plan to enact a ban on animal testing of cosmetic products. That announcement follows similar bans by India and Europe, which puts a lot of pressure on the U.S. to follow suit. While most people agree that testing cosmetics on animals seems unnecessarily cruel, it’s going to be complicated to get a ban here, thanks to a combination of science, economics and politics. [ fashionista ]

Gwyneth Paltrow Gets Vagina Steam at Spa, Preaches Its Virtues on Goop - The ultimate TMI? Gwyneth Paltrow just introduced one very intimate and surprising step that fans must take in their quests to becoming Goop goddesses. The lifestyle guru, 42, is famous for offering up recipes, beauty tips, and covetable yet outrageously expensive products, but this week she took it a step further when she preached the importance of getting so-called V-Steams — a spa treatment that cleanses a customer's lady parts. [ us magazine ]

Lipstick-Smearing Selfies Aim To Raise Awareness For Cervical Cancer In The UK - Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, a U.K.-based organization that provides women with information about cervical cancer, has launched a selfie campaign called #smearforsmear in an effort to change that. The concept is simple: Smear your lipstick, take a selfie, post it on social media, raise awareness. Think Ice Bucket Challenge, but for cervical cancer. [ huffington ]

Olivia Palermo Partners with Ciaté - Palermo has signed on as creative director of Ciaté until spring 2016. She will provide input across the brand and will collaborate on four makeup and nail collections containing more than 18 stockkeeping units to celebrate the company’s entry into color cosmetics. [ wwd ]

Meet the Beauty Guru Calling Foul on the Industry - "Don’t encourage the [skin-care] industry to be assholes," Paula Begoun, the founder of beauty brand Paula's Choice and self-proclaimed cosmetics cop, told when asked her about how she rates beauty brands on her website. Unlike other online beauty reviewers, Begoun's site takes a scientific approach to reviewing beauty products: She analyzes their ingredients rather than testing the products, and gives them a rating, followed by an often tongue-in-cheek explanation of the product's grade. [ the cut ]

Keira Knightley Looks Completely Gorgeous in Chanel's Rouge Coco Lipstick Campaign - Talk about a bold red lip! Keira Knightley looks absolutely stunning in the new ads for Chanel's recently updated line of Rouge Coco lipstick, proving she’s truly a natural star. In both of the campaign images, the mother-to-be shows off her perfectly colored pout, and wears midnight blue head-to-toe Chanel looks that are emblazoned with the phrase “I love Coco.” [ instyle ]

MAC's Creative Director James Gager is Still A Make-up Rebel at 70 - James Gager joined MAC, where he is now creative director, in 1999, a year after it was acquired by Estee Lauder. In the 90s, MAC was known as an underground brand that eschewed advertising. Gager helped turn it into a $3 billion dollar company known for its visual campaigns, and without selling out, he says. [ id ]

featured image: olivia palermo via style du monde