My "Look" for the wedding!

I don't think I mentioned to all of you, the disaster that I had with my dress for Lauren's Wedding... but oh was it a disaster!

I had purchased this amazing dress (that I felt great in) at BCBG in Florida, while I was there in December.

It was a simple, but romantic, black gown. Being the 5 foot little person that I am, I knew I would have to have it hemmed. As the date started to creep closer and closer, I realized how nervous I was about having the dress hemmed because I don't know a reliable place here in Toronto. 

So I figured I would called the closest BCBG to me (Young and Bloor) and ask where they refer their clients to, for alterations. 

The manager of BCBG gave me the name and address to a place that she highly recommends and sends ALL of her clients to. So I felt like I couldn't go wrong...

You see where this is going, don't you?

Long story short, I had the dress pinned, and it looked amazing, but when I went to pick it up a week later...

I was shocked to find a butchered dress! 

With 2 weeks until the wedding, and me being the pickiest shopper EVER, I started to panic and it took EVERYTHING in my power not to cry, scream, and yell!

The guy at the alterations place told me there was nothing he could do to fix it and then stared at me blankly!

Luckily Lauren was there and spoke up! She asked "So, are you going to pay to replace the dress?"

He chuckled and said, "No!"

It was then that I ponied up and asked to speak with his manager. I got her on the phone and was told by her to go back to BCBG and buy a new dress, once I had the new dress I was supposed to bring the receipt back to them and they would send it off to head office, and she says "MAYBE, you MIGHT, be reimbursed for the new dress." 

MAYBE and MIGHT weren't good enough for me, these dresses are PRICEY!

So Lauren and I went over to BCBG to look at the dresses and see if there was even anything I liked! Lauren suggested that the first thing we do, is speak to the BCBG manager and tell her what the situation was!

She was SOOOOOOOO sweet and apologetic! In the end she decided to let me scavenge the store with 2 sales associates at my disposal to find a NEW dress with LITTLE time to spare - she told me "Not to worry about a thing" and that she would deal with ALL of it!

At the time I didn't know what this meant, but I let the sales people walk me around the store, and help me with sizes. Unfortunately there wasn't much left! It was prom season, as well as bridal season. There were only 4 floor length dresses for me to choose from and sizing was definitely and issue! 

The one I liked MOST was only available in a size 0 or a size 14, Eeeeks!

I got the size 0 on, *with the help of Lauren and 2 sales ladies, but it was on, and decided I would take it and just loose a little bit of weight (in 2 weeks!)

I went to the check out to see what the manager really meant by "NOT TO WORRY ABOUT A THING," and was pleasantly surprised to find that she REALLY meant that!

I walked out of BCBG with a new dress, and didn't even spend a penny!!!

AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

I have to say, I wasn't in love with the new dress the way I was with my origonal, but it would do and I was thankful for the amazing staff of BCBG!

I was careful with what I ate from that point until the wedding and was sure to work out as much as I could, because I didn't want to look like a sausage in my dress!

Of course the night before the wedding, I lost all of my will-power because of stress and ate a tub of ice-cream! Oh silly me!

Okay, so the focus of the day was obviously the BRIDE and her family, I was at their home in Newmarket, early in the morning to make them pretty and knew that there would probably be NO time for me to Doll up!

The night before I curled my hair, and the morning of, before heading to Newmarket I did my make-up!

Here's how it turned out!

Oh Amika and Osis, How I love you - I can do my hair the night before - sleep - and still look half decent! What would I do without you?

And the 3rd Look.... Amanda!

Amanda

The Last of The Brides Maids...

Not a blood relative, but she may as well be! 

Their Mom's are BFF's (they even look alike), grew up in each others homes and they share all of the same childhood memories!! 

She's known as the honourary sister!

She's a beautiful girl with a flawless smile, who general goes simple - less is more kind of girl!

... but her make-up for the day screamed GLAMOUR and her jewelry did too! 

So I figured, WHY NOT - let's to a Hollywood inspired Oscar-esque style!

I was warned that Amanda's hair doesn't hold a curl so well, so I figured lets play it safe and pin it ALL back, while still keeping it romantic and feminine.

My inspiration:

I put a DEEP side part in Amanda's hair and curled with my 1" barrel (Medium in the Amika Set). Used my infamous concoction of Osis products to produce volume, texture and HOLD. 

Glamour Queen . Dust It . Elastic . Freeze . Sessions

Here's how it turned out!

The Trick:

Make a LOOSE pony tail with all of the curled hair from the ears back - leaving the front sections of your hair loose! 

With bobby pins, secure the pony tail into a loose and messy bun! 

Starting on one side pull small sections of the loose hair from the front - towards the bun and secure into place with bobby pins!

Continue pinning on both sides... there's no RIGHT or WRONG here, just pin in a visually pleasing way!

Check in Next week to see how we achieved the Bride's Princess inspired "Look!"

A Successful Girls Night In at Lift!

Thanks Ladies for Organizing an Amazing Night for a Great Cause!

Left to Right: Lauren (Lift Beauty Girl), Farah, ME, Anjali, Joy, Aanchal

Photo Cred: Arianne of http://www.glittergeek.ca

As I am sure you are all aware, last Friday night the above ladies hosted an amazing night at Lift Beauty Boutique

Cup Cakes, Wine, Hair Styling, Make-up Apps and Girl Talk... oh my! What more could we possibly ask for!

 Our attendees arrived looking great, but left looking Stunning with thanks to the Lift Beauty Boutique Staff and the hosts themselves!

 Hope to see all of you lovely ladies again soon!

Remember, the Lift Beauty Girls Travel!

In home parties are a blast and super affordable for ANY event - Birthdays, Bachlorettes, Bridal Showers or just a fun girls night in! We bring the tools for hair, make-up and nails - You sit back and get the salon pampering in your home! For more info call 416-960-5438!

Make-up Used: Lift Cosmetics

Hair Products: Osis and Moroccan Oil

Don't Wanna Wash and ReStyle your Hair??

Here's one of my Lazy Day Tricks:

Hot way to look Styled without putting TOO much effort in!

 

• Flat, 2 Day Old hair!

• Added some Dust It at the Roots and Sprayed Glamour Queen ALL OVER, tossed my head upside down and messed it up! 

• Pulled my hair into a low side pony tail

 

•  Braided the Pony

• Slid the elastic from the top, down to the bottom, to hold the braid!

• With ONE bobby pin I tucked the extra hair back, to give more shape!

•  Then SPRAYED all over AGAIN with Glamour Queen!

TADAAA! What do you think??

Lauren's Lingere Shower!

 

Hey Ladies, 

Hope you had an amazing weekend! I would like to formally introduce you to my other half - Not my Boyfriend but my BFF, Partner in Crime & fellow

Lift Beauty Girl!

You have heard LOTS about her and even seen pics of her STUNNING face, and now here she is with HER weekend Gossip Sesh... *She definitely had a more eventful weekend than I!

Heeeeerrrrreeeee'ss Laaaaauuuuurrrrreeen... 

(That was my attempt to type out how an announcer would welcome her! haha)

Thanks for the warm welcome Ladies, I'm Lauren and I can't wait to get to know you!

This weekend marked the official (or not so official) start of wedding season! I had my bridal shower this Sunday and it was really a Beauty Girl's dream! Plus having the Lift Beauty Girls there was great, we had impromptu makeup and hair touch ups as needed, hmmm that's a fun idea for the pre-bachelorette party!

My Maid of Honour (Big Sis) put together a beautiful afternoon where Lace met Tea Cups for this super fun gathering of girlish sweets (complete with lipstick sugar cookies) and lingere gifts.

I knew cameras would be SNAP snap SNAPPING all day long, and since I was the guest of honour I felt I should doll myself up to fit the theme of Girlie Lingerie Garden Tea Party. 

(Photo: Left-Big Sis Alicia, Middle-Little Sis Beanie & ME!)

*My Gorgeous sisters are Lift Cosmetics and Osis fanatics, their "looks" were LIFT looks 100%!

I felt tousled hair would be suiting for the lingere theme but with a rosy 50's inspired makeup look would match the tea party side of it all. I figured I would go bridal with a white dress, complete with bustier style stitching and an a-line skirt. 

Here's how I got my LOOK:

I know Emily's already taught you all of the tips and tricks to getting that tousled look with your hair, but here's a recap - she taught me how to do this, I'M NO HAIR STYLIST (like her), If I can do this, you can do this!

1. Washed my hair before bed, put some Buff and Morrocan Oil in it to leave it soft and shiny. Then got some beauty sleep.

2. Woke up a little early and plugged in my curling iron in first thing!

3. Brushed out my hair and sprayed some Glamour Queen in it to freshen and give it some volume.

4. Twisted sections around my iron *Held the iron horizontally to give it more of a 50's roller set look.

5. Next step: I got some breakfast, did my makeup, danced around to Lady Gaga. All of this action loosened my girls and gave me that messy look!

6. Right before I left my place I sprinkled some Dust It on my roots, flipped my head over and Shook it Out!!

7. Voila!

My Make-up, a Complete Lift Cosmetics Look...

1. A 50's tea party look NEEDS glowing skin. Mixed a little of Camouflage Concealer (I used Light Beige) into my moisturizer and smoothed it over my skin.

2. Dusted my skin with Dual Powder Foundation (I used N2, cause I'm pale)

3. Applied 502 Glazed Amethyst Blush underneath my cheek bones to create definition.

4. Then brightened my cheeks with 471 Cotton Candy Blush, a gorgeous soft shimmering rose colour, by applying it over the apples of my cheeks and over my eyelids.

5. HIGHLIGHT, HIGHLIGHT, HIGHLIGHT. I used Pink Opal Shimmer over my cheekbones, inner corner of my eyes, and on the brow bone.

6. Lined my upper lash line with Onyx Eyeliner, kicking it up at the ends just a little bit for that 50's style eyeline.

7. Uses as much mascara as my lashes could handle. I used the Lash Primer first to create an even fuller lash look and to keep my lashes really healthy.

8. Finished it off with a pink rosy lip. I chose Crush from our Mineral Lipstick Collection to keep my lips super soft.

Well, there you have it, some simple tricks for my shower inspired look! Come into the store and I will show you the products in person! Mention this post and I will give you 15% off any of the suggested products!

Oscar Buzz!

You didn't think I would go without talking about the Oscars AT ALL, did you??

Friday's and Saturday's are Tip and Trick Days, So let's foucs on the most talked about "looks" of the 2010 Oscars and see how I can help you recreate it at home! Hope you enjoy.. Xo

Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bullock's hair Stylist seem to been part of the few who didn't get the memo that having hair UP, is totally IN!

As I am sure you all notices all of the fashionista's had they hair pulled back for the big night! Most of them where showing volume and texture which made the styles look less manicured and more organic to juxtipose their well polished jewlery and perfectly hemmed dresses!

(Miley Had the best of this look, but we will be using here for tomorrow's make-up tips!)

Here's how you can do it at home in 10 easy steps...

1. Don't wash your hair for 2 days!
2.  Apply DUST IT, by Osis to the roots!
3. Flip your head upside down and place your hands (with fingers spread apart) at the root and shake shake shake!
4. Flip back over and your hair should be pretty messy and big! Spray that mess with ELASTIC, by Osis *On promo at Lift right now! Receive a free Dry style and Mini Make-up App Certificate with the purchase of any Osis Hair Spray.
5. If you like LOTS of volume, add a little back combing.
6. Divide the hair into 2 sections and put each section into a pony, one above the other.
7.  Use a tail comb or your fingers to pull and loosen the hair near your face. Leave it messy!
8. Curl the 2 pony's, brush them out, and then tease!
9.  Now start pinning!
10. Spray again with Elastic and TADAAA!!! Looks Beautiful!

Tuesday = Weekend Gossip Sesh!

IceFest & Birthday PARTY...

Okay, so the ice sculptures were totally breath taking! It's amazing how detailed they were! I'm assuming the Canadian theme was in honour of Canada hosting the Olympics. Someone should have sent these Toronto ice artists out to BC to help with the opening ceremonies!
Did any of you visit the Yorkville Icefest??
 *Sorry to those clients who were trying to get to us on Saturday - traffic was insane and Cumberland Street was closed!

So the VIBE at LBB on Saturday was absolutely amazing which put me in the BEST mood... which was necessary for my BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! My birthday was officially spread over 4 WEEKS this year... Tee-hehe

After a LONG day at work, I'm not usually in the mood to socialized. I have a habit of putting on my PJ's and plopping myself on my couch for the night! But my BF and I had committed to hosting an annual party in honour of both of our Birthday's. We do it every year and it's always a great time, lots of food, drinks and friends!

This year was NO exception!! Our place was filled with LOVE, laughter, friendship and of course ICE CREAM CAKE!

Mmmmm Yummmy!

Although I had made it clear on the invite that the party would be super casual, as the HOST and Birthday Girl I felt it wasn't appropriate to be plopped on the couch in my PJ's.

I decided to go for an "unpolished, feminine chick" look!

Here's how I put it together:

HAIR:

- Wrapped large sections of my hair around a medium sizes curling iron and sprayed (before and after) with Glamour Queen!

- With a tinny clip, I tucked a few locks away from my face and secured them at the nap of my neck!

MAKE-UP:

- Some people say NO bronzer in the winter.... I'm not those people! As long as you have the right shade of bronzer you can get away with it year round and I definitely made that statement at my bday party!

- I used some warm Chestnut Eye Liner, and a soft pink shimmer on my inner eyes and cheek bones... LOADS of mascara and completed it with a soft lip; Flirt *my go to lip shade!

ATTIRE:

IT WAS HOT IN HERE (Temperature!)

- So I threw on a soft rose coloured, racer back tank and layered on top of it a winter white lace cami (casual but cute)..

- Dark denim - wide leg jeans, and caramel coloured oxford shoes!

- and to pull it all together, a long strand of pearls and a stunning gold key necklace (Thanks to my old friend Lauren!)

Let me know what you think of my look....

To get this look purchase the following items:

*Receive 15% off the total package, and recieve a free lesson on how to get the look!

Osis' Glamour Queen

Medium Size Curling Iron (Special order)

Lift Cosmetics' Tropical Tan Bronzer

Lift Cosmetics' Chestnut Liner

Lift Cosmetics' Temptress Blush

-and-

Lift Cosmetics' Flirt Vanilla Bean Mineral Lipstick

Should Lift be carrying accessories and clothing too, or what??

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love you Tomorrow, it's only a day away!!!

VALENTINE’S DAY - with a loved one? Or Out Looking for one to LOVE?                                   

Either way, the look has to be just right! Being approachable while also being SMOKING HOT is hard to achieve. So here are a few pointers!

(Take a Tip or Two from Blake -  Totally hot, while still being herself!)

Guys like touchable hair, so lay off the hard hold hair spray. No need for helmet head.

• Try Osis’ Elastic, it will hold your style while keeping your hair soft and moveable!

Kissable Lips: I don’t know about you, but I don’t like leaving evidence on my man! Flesh tones are SOOOO in.

• Try Lift Cosmetics’ “flirt,” it will keep your lips, soft and subtle.

Made you BLUSH! ;)
A soft wash in a warm pink colour will keep your crush, date or LOVER’s confidence up! It will be our little secret that it isn’t him making you blush that perfect shade of pink!

• Try "Natural Glow," by Lift cosmetics, this colour is perfect for every skin tone!

Hope you all have the most romantic and movie-like Valentine’s Day!
Xo

The 5 Minute Style and Frost Bitten Ends...

The truth is, this weather isn’t great for long locks!

 

 


I dunno about you guys but I trim my hair ever 6-8 weeks which is frequent enough that I shouldn’t be getting split ends, and I’m NOT!
Here's the trick; not only do I trim on the reg but I also use the hair saving "Moroccan Oil." This product is absolutely unbelievable and it's totally dummy proof. It can be used on wet OR dry hair and it smells soooooo good.
The benefit: The molecules in this oil are actually small enough to saturate into the hair shaft, chalking the hair full of all of the right things to keep it looking, feeling and truly BEING healthy.

I've also learnt to work with what I’ve got, to save my ends.... (It's less time consuming too.)
Tip: try do avoid using heat to style your hair. Ie. Blow dryer/curling iron/flat iron

The 5 minute Do:

1. Shower, Apply Moroccan Oil.... give your hair a break and let it try naturally.
2.  Apply Osis “Magic” and “4-Play” from root to end, to tame and frizz and to add texture. Then toss all of that hair into a loose and very low pony. (If you want some volume at the root, do a little back combing prior to pulling it back/if you have short layers in the front let them hang out )
3. You remember the 90's, close to your scalp and above your elastic divide the hair in two, making room to pull your ponnied hair threw.
4. Twist, tease and knot the hair that has been pulled threw.  
5. Grab a hand full of bobby pins and start pinning your tassled locks into a low cluster

*Tip: Cross Pinning will help to keep the hair from falling.

Party Like A Rock Star - For Free??

The Grammy’s have passed, but the Canadian Music Awards are still to come - April 18th, 2010! It’s a few months away, but if you want to win a trip to the awards, then you need to get your ballot in soon!

Starting this week with any purchase of Osis' Sessions, Magic, Dust it, Twin Curl, Glamour Queen, and Upload you will get a chance to WIN:

- ROUND trip to St. John’s, Newfoundland
- Tickets to the 2010 Awards
- Attendence to an ultra exclusive Gibson After Party
- GOODIES GALORE

We have to thank OSIS for the opportunity!    

P.S. If you need any of your Osis styling products, next week is a good time to do it! Any purchase of Sessions, Magic, Dust it, Twin Curl, Glamour Queen, and Upload comes with a super cute SLEEPING MASK and the chance to win the above package!

P.P.S. Just by entering to win you will also receive 10% of French Connection! Come see us for more details!