If there’s one person who knows a great swimsuit when she sees one, it’s 36 year old ex-supermodel and former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition glamour girl Monika Schnarre. Coming out of her 15 year retirement from modeling, she is now the new spokesperson for Sea Queen. Never heard of the brand? Neither had I. That’s because the swimwear maker has just returned from a 10 year hiatus from the market. And why should we care? Because this is a brand specifically designed to fit and flatter women 35 and up and has figured out what makes the perfect swimsuit. Check out the video or click on to find out what the secret is! Read the rest of this entry »

I must begin this post with an apology to my brother for the following story. Sorry Mat, it just had to be told.

A bunch of years ago, my brother thought it would be a good idea to get rid of all the hair on his back. The best way to do this he thought? A cream depilatory. This story invariably ends with the horrible smell of chemicals mixed with burning hair, a patchy looking pattern of back hair, and a week of my brother not feeling confident enough to take his shirt off and go swimming. Tragic. So when it comes to hair removal techniques, I go pretty standard with a razor. In an attempt to convert the simpletons like myself, Veet has come out with an entire line of hair removal products. The line, consisting of both painful and painless methods, has a solution to every kind of hair removal procedure you can imagine. Female mustaches be gone! Let’s see what we can find out. Read the rest of this entry »

From Student to Success – Fashion Community Helps Launch Local Grad

What does it take to make it in Vancouver’s fashion industry? Determination, money, design skills and a lot of support. There are hundreds of fashion graduates entering the industry each year, vying for their chance – Portobello West and fellow sponsors are helping one talented grad by putting everything they need on a silver platter.

The Portobello West Graduate Award will provide one outstanding fashion student with the means to launch their line. They will receive over $15,000 in prizes, including one year at Portobello West fashion and art market, a website, a professional photo shoot by Co.lektiv Images, five months of PR support from The Honey Mustard Fashion and Media Services, a Fashion High membership, a full page ad in The Block Magazine, and a one year membership including a $250 starter kit of eco-friendly fabrics from SYKA Textiles.

You’ve only got one month left to apply so click on to read the rest of this press release! Read the rest of this entry »

I’m pretty good at some things and can wing most others, but if there is one thing that I’m absolutely clueless about, it’s beauty products. I’ve never quite understood why my sister refuses to leave the house without her makeup on or her hair just so. But while going through all the hair extension options available to us ladies (and some laddies) at the annual ABA (Allied Beauty Association) Show this year, I couldn’t help but try out some blue stresses against my black. Gone are the days when hair extensions meant pain and permanently damaged hair…actually, there are still products that will give you that, but the good news is that there are many other pain- and hassle-free ones that will still give you a gorgeous look one day AND a different one the next should you desire a change. Today, we’re featuring three such options and I bet you’ll want to try out at least one of ‘em before the video ends!

We all remember the nasty photos of Britney that came out last year immediately after a trip to the Restylane clinic. Oh, you mean you don’t keep up with the manic craziness that is her life on a daily basis? Weird. Ok – I’ll give you the run down. The paps snapped Brit in her car leaving the clinic attempting to cover the ridiculousness that had become her plumper, duck billed lips. Normal side effect? Or botched procedure? Let me tell you, if that’s the result I’d rather avoid both. Lip plumping glosses have been around for a while now but one of our readers had one she wanted us to give a try: City Lips Instant Lip Plumper (advanced formula). So we put it up against one of the hippest brands on the market to see how they compared. I now call to the ring our two contenders – City Lips vs Urban Decay. Let’s keep this clean ladies, and most of all, big, plump and beautiful. Fight! Read the rest of this entry »

Cars, houses…heck, pretty much everything! They don’t make ‘em like they used to. And textiles are no exception. Today’s clothes are largely composed of strange synthetics that combined with shoddy mass manufacturing, just can’t take the wear and tear of regular use. And that’s how big companies like it. How else will they get you to go back for more! Well, that wasn’t always the case. Fabrics from 20 or 30 years ago were more substantial and rivalled today’s standards.

Now thanks to the rise of Conscious Consumerism, people are realizing that there is a lot of life left in old clothes. You know that gorgeous party dress that you’ve had to shelf due to that conspicuous tear? Save for the hole, the rest of the garment can be salvaged and become part of a cheeky and cheerful new design. That’s Melissa Ferreira‘s artistic view anyway. When the Vancouver-based designer started Adhesif Clothing, she was inspired by the quality of older textiles and just how many unwanted clothes were out there. “It just made sense to use recycled fabrics,” she said. “There was already an abundance of it.”

Wearing Melissa’s adorable, sustainable clothes is a great way to make your statement and celebrate the planet. “Start by taking small steps. Reduce, re-use, and recycle. At the very least, don’t be wasteful.”

For a listing of shops that carry Adhesif Clothing, click here.

I covet stick straight hair. Having curls and a dual cowlick to boot, the flat-iron look is something that I really need to work for in order to make it happen every day. To think, that my Dabbler editor almost didn’t give me this assignment because she thought I already had straight hair! After I did my little happy dance, I accepted the challenge of testing out Pantene Pro-V’s latest collection – the Extra Straight hair care line: shampoo, conditioner, and straightening cream. With my jumbo ceramic round brush in hand, I gladly put this one to the test.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am extremely low maintenance. I remind my boyfriend of this often when he balks at the minutes it takes me to get ready before we leave the house. You could almost consider me NO maintenance. But this little challenge left me to be “that” girl at the gym with a completely made up face to go and sweat it out – all in the name of journalistic integrity. Can CoverGirl convert me? With the new Outlast All-Day Lipcolor and LashBlast Volume Blasting Mascara in hand, I’m ready to take them on. Lucky for them, I’m a die-hard mascara wearer, but lipstick? Not so much. Kissable lips, luscious lashes, and all of it easy and long lasting? We’ll see. Read the rest of this entry »

Had I lived in the 50’s, I woulda had to spend hours at the salon, exposed myself to toxic fumes, and given up my first born all in the name of gorgeous, completely unnatural looking hair. Flash me back to the present however and you’ve got Clairol’s Perfect 10 by Nice ‘n Easy claiming to give the natural colour I crave for $15.99 Cdn and a mere ten minutes of my time. Toss in the assurance that I won’t be falling into a chemically induced coma and I’m sold! But this one I had to see to believe. What have the scientists at Clairol come up with now? To find out, I put Perfect 10 to the test.

Read on to get The Goods on Perfect 10! Read the rest of this entry »

Giving credit where credit is due. That’s the motivation behind the creation of this line of fragrances that embodies the classic art of perfumery.

Like a child who grows up in a circus and knows the trapeze naturally, Frédéric Malle was brought up in a family of perfumers and became sensitized at a very young age to the world of fragrances. It’s no wonder, considering his grandfather was Parfums Christian Dior founder Serge Heftler-Louiche, and his mother the art director of the design giant for many years.

Even though the choice seemed obvious, Malle thought that he would move on to a different field, and for a while he did. But having developed a very acute appreciation for scents, he was asked to work at the famed Roure lab, where his career took a significant turn. “The minute I walked into that lab, I realized that it was home for me,” he reminisces. Having just come from the field of advertising at the time, he found the understated and humble world of perfumers refreshing and inspiring.

Fragrances have always been fronted by famous faces or famous names. No one ever really gives a second thought to the people behind the actual creations. That is what Malle sought to change in 2000 when he founded Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle. Crazy as it sounds, after selecting nine of the best “noses” in the industry, Malle offered them the ultimate freedom to create their dream fragrances, “fragrances with no limits, with no compromises.” Money was no longer an object and deadlines were a thing of the past. Without such restrictions tainting the results, these famous yet unknown perfumers were given the rare opportunity to develop products that were not only truly their own (and showcased as such), but to be enjoyed with absolute pride.

Simplicity is the key to a successful scent. As Malle explained to me, the simplest formulas or as he puts it, “those that are to the point,” often turn out to be the best. Perfumes that are of poor quality are ones that try to say too many things at once. Asked how one selects the right fragrance for them, Malle turns again to his principle of freedom. There are many clichés in the perfume industry and he is very quick to brush them all off. Simply trust your nose and the emotions that a particular smell invokes. What you like is generally what will suit you and don’t let science or jargon muddle up what you think is best. There isn’t even a “right” way of applying perfumes, he tells me. Dab it or splash it anywhere you like according to the strength of the perfume and be careful with dark fragrances if you apply them on clothes because they’re likely to stain. In terms of guidelines, that’s as much as you need to know really. He did point out that if you wear perfume on your skin, you’ll still have it on even if your clothes are not. Oh the French eh!

Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle is available at Holt Renfrew and believe me when I tell you this: The people working there really really know their stuff. After we wrapped up the video shoot, I chatted with a couple of their personnel and before I knew it, I’d lost at least half an hour. I guarantee you’ll be impressed by the service and I have absolutely no doubt that you’ll leave learning volumes about not only these fragrances, but the very interesting science and history behind them all. Look for Bojana!

For more info on the people or the products featured in this piece, visit www.editionsdeparfums.com