A Girl's Bestfriend is Always a Winner

Ahh Winners... the place I go for a little R&R at the end of a long day. It is there I forget my worries and my head just drifts away as I stroll aimlessly done the aisles. It offers me things I never thought I needed. Like the rubber bands you are suppose to use during a workout, or the anti-age serum from Russia, oh and that hairdryer that looks like a brush. I have yet to use these products and I won’t lie the anti-age serum from Russia does freak me out a little. But, just knowing there is a place you can go to find this stuff and have no one hound you in the process, is absolute bliss.

To most women Winners is seen as a daunting task, full of racks of shit and no help in site. Many times it can feel you are on the front lines in battle, when you pick up a pair of Michael Kors boots in a size seven and some bitch won’t stop following you around (I don’t do that, I swear).  Here’s the thing, Winners can be your best friend when you have nothing to buy and your frienemy when you do. So here is my solution, a quick and easy guide for all you Winner-naysayers.  Though I am a firm believer in not going to Winners to find something specific, I will share my list of favourite Toronto locations that will cater to your particular shopping needs.

First on the list is the College Park location and probably my favourite Winners. It was recently renovated to accommodate the massive amounts of people who shop there. If you are new to the Winners way of shopping (or have been living under a rock) you may find this store to be a little overwhelming. My suggestion to you... pop a couple of percs and get on with your life.

This Winners location has one, if not the best Runway collection.  I once found a Pucci trench for $450 dollars. Steep? I think not, considering the actual price for a Pucci trench is an average of $1500. Many of the top designers can be found here at half the price. I have found designers such as Pink Tartan, Tara Jarmon, Versace, Valentino, and D&G just to name a few. If you are patient, you can hit a jackpot of great designer clothing that was sold six months ago in some of the upscale department stores.

This location is also decent for brand name handbags and skin/ hair products. One thing I do not like about this location is the bathroom. It is one of the grossest bathrooms I have ever used and there is never any soap!

The next location on the list is the Front St. East location. This Winners is best known for its beauty and hair products. You can pretty much find anything in this section. I love how clean and organized it is and many of the products stay intact (unlike other locations). This store is rarely overcrowded and come winter season there is a massive selection of boots and leather gloves. This location also has a large home section, where you will find many of the same products as you would in Homesense. Above all I like the location itself, the building is beautiful and has so much character.

I constantly struggle between the College Park Winners and the Bloor street location. I find they have the best selection, but offer it at different times. One great thing about the Bloor location is it has a Starbucks underneath. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you are planning on spending a vast amount of time shopping then you best have a latte. I love this location for the shoes! I have found so many fabulous finds with regards to shoes that it brings a tear to my eye.

 Mind you I don’t wear half of them but that is beside the point. I once found a pair of the Kate Spade polka dot kitten heels! Oh how it took my breath away when I turned them over to find a price tag of $150. I have found many designer shoes at this location, and when they go on clearance the prices cannot be beat. The selection of handbags is also excellent as well as the jewellery, but the shoes are by far the best part of this location. Not to mention, if you find yourself out of shopping luck you have Escada, Prada, and Chanel all within a five minute walk.

I avoid Scotia Bank Plaza like the plague; actually I think the Scotia Bank Winners is the plague. I have only found one thing from that Winners and it is a pair of Beyond Vintage boots. Though I do cherish these boots as they look friggin’ adorable with a pair of skinny jeans, I also curse every time I wear them. They are really not my size and I pretty much have to bind my feet like they did to wealthy Chinese girls in the 17^th Century.  Who said you cannot learn from a fashion blogger?

This is the most boring Winners location and I do not recommend you waste your time by going. One time I just fell asleep while shopping and everyone thought I fainted (true story). Anyway, the only people that shop there are women who wear green v-neck sweaters and grey pants. Boooooooring!

Well there you have it ladies my top three Winners locations, and the Scotia Bank dud. I hope I offered a little insight into what each has to offer. I wish you all the best of luck in your shopping endeavours, and may the fashion fairy sprinkle a little wholesale dust your way.

Bah Humbug, Go Buy Yourself Somethin' Pretty.

With all the amazing sales that were going on this holiday season, it was very hard for me to focus on anyone but myself. Though I do feel a bit ashamed to have just said (or wrote) that aloud, I am overcome with a deeper more satisfying emotion. This more satisfying emotion, though superficial as it may seem, completely belongs to my utter happiness of practically buying a whole new wardrobe at half the price.

I know I am supposed to be thinking of others at this time of year, but Christmas is now such a man made holiday, that I am starting not to care. I am not saying that you should completely forget about the act of giving, but to also give a little or a lot more to yourself this season.

This whole shake up in the retail world should be used to your advantage. So what if you have to stay up all night making paper cranes (or whatever the hell homemade shit is)? No one is actually going to refuse a homemade gift. I am pretty sure that is frowned upon and would be seen as bad etiquette. Your friends and family will just smile, accept your homemade shit and make a mental note to do the same to you next year. If you pay close attention you can actually see the mental note being scribed.

Then take that extra money you have been saving for this holiday, and go buy that New Year’s dress or a cashmere cardigan at 60% off! Next, buy a toy or a pair of mittens and donate them to one of your local charities. This will make you feel better about the money you just spent on yourself, and you know how we all like to feel better about ourselves around the holidays.

Now I know this was not really anything to do with fashion or beauty advice, though I feel I gave you better advice. I advised you on indulging yourself, and took it upon myself to admit my selfishness. You will go shopping, while knowing that out there in the world there is me... a far more self-centered person. Happy Holidays Ladies! Let the shopping bug bite you in the ass.

To Bang, or Not to Bang?

 As a young impressionable eight year old, I was extremely self conscience of the way I looked. One day my mother took me to Sears to get my hair cut, and left me in the hands of one under-qualified hairstylist. Anyway, while she was cutting my hair I asked her to not touch my bangs as I wanted to grow them out. “Oh no hun, I would keep your bangs just until you grow into your forehead”, the bitch said. Who says something like that to an eight year old?! Needless to say, I was haunted by that comment for the rest of my teenage adolescent years. After countless attempts by my mother and friends telling me my forehead was a decent size, I decided to grow out my bangs four years ago. I liked the look so much I never thought twice about the comment made by that 80’s reject from Sears.

A couple of months ago I started to get a little antsy with my hair, as all women do. I wanted a change and decided bangs would be it! My first attempt to the salon did not fair too well. My stylist gave me a look when I told her to give me bangs and I quickly backed out. We both decided that I should start with a long side sweep bang, so I could conceal them if I hated the style. I walked around for weeks with my unsatisfied long sweep, and what made it worse, is it grew out in a short period of time. I called my salon to book another appointment and was told my stylist was not in. I am not one to book appointments in advance, when I decide on something I want it done within the day!

The receptionist said she would book me with Yoko and that she was a great stylist. Now I am always a little hesitant to do anything drastic with a new stylist. I am a firm believer in building a trusting relationship when it comes to your hair and who is taking care of it. I decided that I would just get my hair cut and wait until I could get an appointment with my stylist before I went straight bang. I am not sure what came over me when I sat down with Yoko, maybe it was the fabulous latte she made me, but I felt completely comfortable.

When I talked to her about how I wanted to go for a straight blunt bang she was all for it! Not one look of uneasiness in her eyes. I had a three minute tug of war in my head and finally let Yoko work her magic. I was completely happy with the result; I finally had the bangs I have always wanted.

Now ladies do not go into this with blinded ignorance. Make sure you do your bang research and if you switch stylists like you bed men, wait until you see your finished hair cut before you let your bangs go under the scissors. You cannot break up with your bangs. Also, be sure to ask if the salon has complimentary bang cuts, a reputable salon should. If you have a slight cowlick, ask your stylist to razor your bangs so that they appear even.

Happy Banging Everyone!

Winter Trend Alert!

Good news to all those ladies that have to drink a bottle of wine in order to slip on those three-inch heels. The kitten heel is back! As a girl that never wears a heel less than three inches, I have to say this season’s look is actually pretty cute. Not only is this look practical, it is sophisticated and great for the über-professional. I am especially drooling over the adorable sling backs that look killer with a pair of skinny jeans.

For a more polished look, such as one you would wear to the office, consider pairing your kittens with a fuller, longer skirt. Make sure to nip the skirt at the waist, and keep it simple on the top.

Don’t be afraid of colour when choosing a pair of heels, it is already dark and dreary outside! Have fun with this trend and play with different colours and textures. If you are not one for the brights, a nude heel is a no-fail and will take you anywhere. Finally fashion has come up with a sane trend, so enjoy looking charmingly cute without slipping on your ass.

The hell with cake... let them wear shoes!!

There is something about beautiful pair of pumps that makes a woman wonder if she could do without sex and chocolate? If it came down to Jake Gyllenhaal in boxer briefs made out of dark chocolate, or a pair of mint suede Greissimo Mule’s from Christian Louboutin’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection... I would choose Christian. There is nothing I like more in life than shoes! They always fit, and they never say you look fat like your clothes secretly do in the mirror. Your legs look a thousand times better as soon as slip those bad gals on. You walk down the street in a great pair of heels and you feel strong and powerful, and you know all eyes are on you.

The problem with beautiful shoes is that the price tags are ugly. Though, ladies do not get discouraged, good things come to those who wait. I am going to tell you of a tale about the best shoe find ever, no settling required. My friend Christine and I decided to take a personal day and do what we normally do, drink coffee at Starbucks and look at magazines. This time was a little different; I was helping Christine look through magazines for her wedding shoes. After two hours, three lattes, and a zillion wedding magazines, we decided that today would be the day we were going to find Christine’s shoes. Armed with photographic visuals, copious amounts of caffeine, and a child-like optimism, we set off to Bay and Bloor.

Our first stop was Celebration Shoes, in Yorkville. Celebration Shoes is known for specializing in bridal shoes and accessories for 13 years. Another cool tidbit about this little shoes store is that they can dye almost any fabric shoe. Unfortunately, we had no luck and continued on. We stopped in at Holt Renfrew and of course got the usual pretentious treatment of stares and looks of “you can’t afford anything here”. I do not know why I shop there? Anyway, didn’t find anything, our child-like optimism was slowly turning. We left Holt’s, feeling ugly and worthless, exactly how Holt Renfrew wants you to feel.

Are next stop was an immaculately white shoe store, which I forget the name. We trudged in and mucked up the entire place with our muddy, wet Uggs. Needless to say the owner was pissed as he was about to close. Story of the day, we did not find anything, and left giggling a thank you and apologizing for the mess. Who decorates a shoes store all in white anyway? Good in theory, awful in reality.

After endless hours of walking around and not the faintest hope of finding a decent pair of wedding shoes, we decided to give up and go have a martini. It was then we realized we had completely bypassed David’s on Bloor. Now I am not a particular fan of this store, as it has the same pretentious feel as Holt’s, and it creep’s me out when old guys help me with shoes. But, we were desperate and there was a sale sign in the window. The store was pretty busy and the sense of urgency in each woman’s eyes as I looked around, gave me a sense that this was no ordinary sale. I knew we had hit the jackpot this was a secret sale (prices are lower than actually marked)!

Normally after New Year’s, shoes tend to go ridiculously on sale and if you blink you will miss it. Also, the bigger your foot the better, normally nines and tens are left in designer footwear. Now you have to have a strong heart for these sales, and I do not promote violence but you may have to bring a small can of whoopass. You do not want any bitch coming between you and your fabulous find! You also may have to stalk a fellow shopper around the store until she gets freaked out and puts down the shoes. I’m just kidding (not really).

I am not sure if there was some spiritual entity at work that day, but all of sudden both Christine and I felt a white light coming from the bottom of a shoe rack. There tucked between the winter 2009 rejects were a pair of white satin, two-inch heel Christian Louboutin’s! They were a perfect fit and only $299, I felt every women in the store take a moment of silence. As we both walked to the cash we could not contain our excitement, even the old man helping us seem to feed off our enthusiasm. Better yet, when he rung them up they were marked down further to $199! We floated out of the store so high on life we didn’t even stop for a martini.

The Shoes!!!!!

My Top 10 Beauty Must Haves!!!

These days, it is hard to know if magazines are telling the truth about beauty products, or if they are receiving kickbacks from suppliers. Well ladies, and of course gentlemen, you can trust me! As I am just a little fashion blogger in a world of three million, you can trust that I have not received any kickbacks from the product suppliers I am about to rave about.

Alright, first on my list is Vichy's Aqualia Thermal UV. This is non-greasy moisturizer with an SPF of 15 that leaves my skin feeling nourished and protected. It retails for around $27.00, but a little pump goes a long way!

Next up is Olay's Touch of Sun. I use light/medium, but depending on your skin shade you may need the medium/dark. I use this product all year around, especially when I have a special occasion. It is a cheap and effective way to get a sun-kissed glow without looking like an oompa loompa.

Boots, a cosmetics company from the UK has an excellent anti-blemish cleansing foam. It is light-weight and removes makeup with ease. I bought this at Target in the States, but I know Shoppers Drug Mart carries the Boots line.

Now, if you are looking for a fabulous skin care line and you don't mind spending a little money, look no further than Declaré. This is my favourite line of skin care and if I could afford everything they sell, I WOULD BUY IT! For now, I have spent my money wisely and have limited my purchases to their Softcleansing Tonifying Lotion and Hydrobalance Creme-Gel, both for sensitive skin. I know I have put two facial moisturizers on the list, but I am a face moisturizing whore. You can find both products at large Rexall Pharmacy`s and I have found this line at the Bay on Queen St. The price range of these products is between $27.00 to $55.00. Whether you take my advice or not, I suggest you spend a little extra money on your toner. In my opinion, I believe a good toner is more important than what you use to wash your face.

L'Oreal Paris Studio Secrets is new to the market, but I believe it to be one of the best base products I have ever used. I put it on over my moisturizer and before I put on my makeup. I even use it on the days I don't wear makeup.

Another great product by L'Oreal Paris is Eye Defense for the under eye. I use this every morning and night and I have noticed that my dark circles have diminished. It is a very light-weight formula that I paid around $14 for. I find Rexall tends to have sales on their L'Oreal products every couple of weeks, so you may get it for approximately 20% cheaper.

There is not much to say about Moroccan Oil except that is a fabulous product! I have yet to find a rival to this product, and trust me I have tried. I not only use this on my hair but I also use it when my skin gets really dry. If I was on a deserted Island and could only bring one thing, I may choose Moroccan Oil over my Ipod touch. Now that says a lot about a product!

I have been on a mission since I was 15 to find the best mascara, and I think I may have found it. Maybelline's The Falsies makes it look like you actually have false eyelashes on! It goes on beautifully and you can build it up without looking like a Jarvis Street hooker. Great product and may even trump BadGal by Benefit, as it is way cheaper!

The last product of My Top 10 Beauty Must Haves belongs to Touche Eclat by Yves Sait Laurent. This is the ultimate beauty product. It retails for $50, but it is well worth it. It gives you that "eight hours of sleep look" when you have actually had only four. This is by far one of my best beauty investments and is available at the Bay and Sephora. It comes in a variety of shades and you can use it to highlight any part of your face.

Well there you have it, I hope this list will make your beauty shopping a little easier. Take care my Beauty Gurus!

Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself... I'm a Woman of Wealth and Taste.

I have enjoyed fashion since I was first photographed on the potty reading 'Vogue' (will find picture). Fashion has taken up a huge portion of my life; I can not tell you the hold 'Lady Fashion' has over me, but it is strong! The countless hours I have devoted to Vogue, Lou Lou, and In Style when I should have been doing something credible is alarming. Though who's to say that those countless hours have not been credible? I mean, there is more to Vogue than just pretty pictures. I have read numerous articles on world issues that I may never have thought to read, if it were not for Vogue. What it comes down to is: Fashion is ART; a beautiful and a creative way that people use to express themselves. It speaks of your character and personality. Fashion gives those around you a glimpse of who you are and what you stand for. The expression "I just threw this on and ran out the door", is not true. Sure you threw it on, but you did THINK about what is now covering your back, subconsciously or not! Take from this blog what you will, but remember...you're more afraid of fashion, than fashion is of you!