The zipper. Avril Lavigne. Degrassi Junior High. All quality Canadian productions (hey, don’t judge)… then shows like “The Guard” come out and give them all a bad name. Sometimes turning on the CBC makes me want to cringe. When it comes to mags though, can we redeem ourselves? The market for women’s health magazines is continuously growing so it was only a matter of time before a Canadian equivalent emerged. First to step up to the plate, none other than Reader’s Digest with its new Best Health mag, specifically catering to health conscious Canadian women. With healthy menu options and new gyms popping up all the time, let’s see what this magazine has to offer. 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 »

Let the games begin! Put Apple and Microsoft in the ring and see who’s left standing. What’s the battle over? Portable media players. I bought my iPod about two years ago and never looked back. I carry it with me whenever I leave the house, just in case I’m left with a spare minute to kill. The Zune is Microsoft’s answer to the iPod, in a market completely dominated by the signature white earphones. We are living in an iTunes nation. After a month of trials, would I trade my mint green iPod for a sleek black Zune? It’s Jobs vs. Gates again…this should be quite the throwdown. Read the rest of this entry »

Erase my stress? As in gone? Completely? This is one claim I just can’t possibly believe. But the StressEraser by Helicor Inc. seems to think it can do just that. A life without stress has been a dream of mine ever since the day I could spell the word stress, so forgive my skepticism on this one. At $299 Cdn, it’s going to have to be pretty damn good to get my seal of approval. Let’s see if the StressEraser lives up to its name. I, Stasia “Stressed Out” Siscoe, am putting it to the test! Read the rest of this entry »

What appears on the wine label counts. You can learn a lot about a wine before you buy. The trick is to know what’s worth reading. Wine label literacy can go a long way to increasing wine enjoyment and decreasing buyer remorse.

James Nevison & Kenji Hodgson
Co-authors, “Had a Glass” Annual Series

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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 »

Meatless burgers and Tofurky freak me out. So when presented with the prospect of trying something that both looked and tasted like peanut butter, but had not seen a trace of nuts for miles, I was a little weary.

Totally NutFree’s new FreeNut Butter is an all natural, Canadian made, soy butter. They’re marketing this product towards people with nut allergies, vegetarians and vegans, and most of all, people who are health conscious. It has the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Health Check symbol on the jar and every piece of marketing material they supply boasts how much better it is for you than regular peanut butter.

So let’s get on with first impressions. FreeNut Butter? Seriously? I understand what the company is going for with this name (it SOUNDS just like PEAnut butter, this is perfect!) but yet, when I gave the name to three guys, it was met with a barrage of laughter and a few “Are you serious?” type questions.

Moving right past the name however (cause really, it ain’t gonna change any time soon), I went ahead and tried it. Opened the jar…good sign, a freshness seal. Thought:

Sometimes I think this is just used for effect, cause frankly, if you make a product that can sit on the shelf for years before it expires, what level of freshness can there possibly be? But I digress.

With the freshness seal intact, I proceeded to peel it back and smell the FreeNut goodness. Looks like peanut butter. Smells like peanut butter. Now for the crucial taste test:

Hmmmm. Not so much.

While it tasted similar to peanut butter, it just wasn’t the real thing. The texture was actually stickier than peanut butter if you can believe it, and there was a slight aftertaste that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. After visiting the website and seeing that the company claims the product to be free of bitter and musty aromas (I should hope so…), but then says that the product has bitter and musty flavours (excuse me?!), I suppose this funny aftertaste was explained.

But wait…there probably aren’t a whole lot of people out there who sneak a spoonful of straight PB while their mom isn’t looking right? Better try the more conventional, FreeNut Butter on toast.

I have to say, it wasn’t half bad. I had some toast and FreeNut Butter for breakfast this morning and I was impressed. The funny aftertaste was gone and it tasted more like peanut butter than it did when I ate the forbidden spoonful. Score one for FreeNuts!

For someone who hasn’t tasted peanut butter in a while (i.e. people with nut allergies or vegetarians/vegans), this seems to be a great alternative. It tastes close enough to peanut butter that those who don’t know any better would likely be fooled. For someone who knows and loves a good PB&J sandwich on a Saturday afternoon however, sorry folks, this just won’t do it for ya. Considering the premiums one usually pays for healthier products, it just wouldn’t be worth it to me to have the seemingly healthier FreeNut Butter on my kitchen shelves.

So, the verdict is in. I would highly recommend Totally NutFree’s FreeNut Butter to anyone I know who is allergic to, or against eating, nuts.

For this tough nut with a discerning palette however, I say pass me the Skippy!

Next week, Stasia‘s got The Goods on Clairol’s Perfect 10 by Nice ‘n Easy!

Is it still taboo to talk about sex toys and lubes? Well, if we still have to give vibrators cutesy names like “The Rabbit” or ambiguous one like “The Magic Bullet,” then yeah, I’d say it’s still not quite the social norm. Wildly popular shows like Sex and The City however, have certainly made it quite clear that society is more than ready for a dramatic change in the way we view sensuality and pleasure. And as we tried to maneuver our way through the crowd of people down the aisles of the Taboo Naughty But Nice Sex Show in Vancouver this past weekend, the general public is obviously not only able to admit that they are curious, but also willing to explore new things in the realm of sex.

For anyone who’s ever wanted to, but have been embarrassed to attend one of these trade shows, you can rest assured that it’s neither intimidating, nor obscene or dirty. Like the operation of any other business out there, all the exhibitors are nothing but friendly and professional. You won’t feel pressured to buy anything and if you do make a purchase, you won’t feel like you have to hide it. The atmosphere is fun and relaxed, and the stage shows are always a draw. There are open seminars and workshops that teach you anything from how to to avoid dating disasters to how to find that elusive G-spot. It’s definitely not just about sex toys – There are booths for energy drinks, protein shakes, “clothing optional holidays,” skin care products, tattooes on the spot, anti-snoring solutions, aromatherapy, bed sheets, and even cancan dancers…and that’s just naming a few. There are contests and giveaways galore and raffle ticket sales for worthy causes like Aids Vancouver.

But let’s be frank here. What we all want to know about is what the latest sex toys are, right? Well, if that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get! Click on the link below for the pleasure trove of goodies that we found at the Sex Show and keep an eye out for the fantastic giveaway that we’ve got for one lucky viewer, courtesy of our friends at the Little Shop of Pleasures!

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Starting to feel like you need professional help when you visit an electronics store these days? You’re not the only one. But fret not! Frank Lee from LG and the techies at Dabbler are here to help.

We sat down with Frank right before Christmas to take a look at the latest and greatest LG devices and are using them as a reference to explain the ins and outs of modern tech. So take a walk with us as we draw a map through the electronics jungle.

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