FASHION Magazine celebrates 35 years!

Linda! Cindy! Naomi! Christy! Models in the 90's were on a one name basis. No need for last names as we all knew the gorgeously tall creatures strutting the runways. But one truly iconic name was fellow Canadian Linda, as in Linda Evangelista. The St. Catherines, Ontario native is the cover model for the November issue of FASHION Magazine's 35th Anniversary collectors edition.

On the cover, Linda is wearing a dress by Lanvin. Photographed by Pamela Hanson. Styled by Tammy Eckenswiller. Hair by Brent Lavett for Art Department/Lavett & Chin. Makeup by Sam Addington for Kramer + Kramer. Manicure by Julie Kandalec for Bernstein & Andriulli/Chanel

On maintaining her privacy:

“I really like just to do covers and do the beautiful editorials,” she says. “I like to pass on the interview part.”

On recognizing the downside of the digital age and its detrimental effect on fashion photography:

Instead of taking the trouble to get things right as a picture is being taken, often the effort is left to post-production. “I have pictures that I did with Steven Meisel that were not retouched…we held eight reflectors if we had to make the light perfect. They didn’t have to erase a shadow or bag or wrinkle or pimple.”

On her workout regimen:

“I have a trainer. I do spinning. I do cross-training. I do weightlifting. I do my Power Plate. I do my rebounder trampoline. I do my rowing machine. And I play sports.”

The November issue goes on sale October 8, 2012.
(image courtesy of FASHION Magazine)

beautyparler.ca in Glow Magazine October 2012

(courtesy of Glow Magazine)

Excitement here as I was chosen as one of GLOW Magazine's bloggers for their October 2012 issue. Back in August I was asked to be featured and I've been trying to keep quiet about it because was worried perhaps last minute I'd be cut from the feature. Hey these things happen...Now that the magazine is on newstands, wanted to share with you an excerpt.

Glow Magazine: Who are your beauty icons? "I love Giovanna Battaglia...!"

via Giovanna Battaglia.com

Geez, give me a whole page in a beauty magazine and its all about, "Look at Me! Look at Me!". Fine! Enough about me.
The gorgeous, Colombian actress Sofia Vergara graces the cover of GLOW's October 2012 issue. The 40 year old shares her early rise to stardom and her hilarious role on the hugely successful sitcom Modern Family. Did you know she's a natural blonde.

“When I moved to Los Angeles, no one could believe I was Latina because I had blonde hair,” she recalls, pointing out that blonde is her natural colour. “I had to go brunette so I could look ‘more Latina’ and get acting jobs.”

For more information about GLOW Magazine;
visit GLOW.ca or your nearest newstand
Thank you GLOW for featuring me in your October 2012 issue! xo

blog room almost ready! {Interior Design}

Back in March I wrote about my dream blog room. It's still in a state of disarray, sort of...I did get rid of alot of old clothes to make room for alot of beauty products. Geez, a girl can have too many beauty products. Wow! Did I just admit that? Anyhow, back to the room which I intend to stuff all my beauty crap stuff with. Maybe a Beauty Anonymous support group needs to be created.
First, the $45 desk which I found on Kijiji;

 

it has been; sanded down, primed, painted in an off white shade

& new knobs added

(final outcome to be revealed soon)

A shelving unit (also) from Kijiji purchased for $10 has been added to the room which I'm not entirely happy with but works for now. And a rug from Urban Outfitters that the husband doesn't like...wait its my room, right? He can have a say too. So, out with the rug!

blog room {part 2} by beautyparler on Polyvore

Truth is I need more storage and not just for my stuff but my husband's also. So, thinking a tall-boy/dresser is necessary. Another necessity is comfort! Truth is the Eames tulip chair I originally wanted (replica by the way) is not very comfortable. Something with a bit of padding since I am on this computer all day.

Stay tuned for the final outcome....TO BE CONTINUED

How long does it take for you to decorate a room in your home? 

Workforce: Workface Routine {Travel Tuesday}

We all have our workforce face routine. I remember back when I rode the subway to work with the 9-5 crowd there was always that one woman applying her makeup in her hand held mirror. Or the woman who runs to the washroom before any co-workers see her to apply her makeup. Also, the not-so-shy type who just waits to get to her desk to apply her face. Which ever work environment you have, we all have a routine...mine is in a hotel room and can be at anytime of the day. Key is to always look "fresh" and never jet-lag. Not always so easy...

workface: daily routine by beautyparler featuring maybelline cosmetics

Collection Cosmetics Lasting Perfection Concealer (formerly Collection 2000 Cosmetics)
I've purchased this atleast 3x now at Super Drugs in London!! Amazing concealer; doesn't crease, lasts all day, looks natural and not cakey. Need I write more? Oh yeah and inexpensive.

Nars Cosmetics Bronzer in shade Laguna
Being a bronzer slut (I cheat on all my bronzers) I always go back to my Holy Grail of bronzers, Nars! Looks natural on my yellow-based skintone without looking like a pumpkin.

Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation 
This one shade fits all shade works lovely on my skintone. Its sheer coverage and hydrating, leaves skin with a natural glow. Plus, has a SPF of 30 & anti-aging benefits. Unfortunately, I left this behind in a hotel room. Must purchase again!

Max factor Xperience Mousse Mascara
Another Super Drug purchase from London (also available at Boots Pharmacies).  Really like the blackness of this mascara (I always buy the darkest shade of any mascara available). Full, separate lashes and doesn't bother my sensitive eyes on long flights. 

Maybelline Define-a-Brow Pencil
An old favourite; inexpensive, looks natural, and doesn't smudge. Good long lasting pencil! A great alternative to MAC Brow pencil.

This Works Perfect Look Skin Miracle
Very similar to the Perricone MD No Foundation No Foundation! Sheer coverage, just the right amount of hydrating and slight glow. The shade looks like caramel but evens out skin tone flawlessly.

Pur Minerals 4-In-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup Foundation with SPF 15
I confess, for the longest time I just couldn't get mineral powder foundations to look natural on my skin. The key was not in the kabuki brush which comes with most mineral powders but to use a blush brush. I apply this lightly over the above sheer tinted moisturizers listed.

Caryl Baker Visage blush in shade Slept In
Just recently got into this brand! Love this new shade for Fall 2012; a gorgeous mauve-pink blush that brightens my complexion.

What is your workforce workface?

Fall 2012: to Splurge or Budget {beauty}

Fall 2012:Splurge or Budget by beautyparler featuring rimmel mascara

Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara
I rave about this mascara all the time. Its inexpensive and works! Perhaps it's the wand shape but this mascara separates and lengthens my lashes.

Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balms
These lip pencils are actually hydrating lip balms. Those intimidated by lip colour can slowly introduce these into their makeup collection as these are sheer. Lips are left with a hint of colour, "like your lips but better!". Listed as a splurge, Clinique can easily be classified as a budget brand if you consider buying during their Clinique Bonus time. I love their Bonus', especially their makeup bags.

Yves Rocher Replumping Serum Foundation
A great medium coverage foundation. Yves Rocher has many sales throughout the year so easily a budget item. Only negative is their shade selection tends to be on the pink side but if you can find a match a really good foundation.

Givenchy Phenomen' Eyes Mascara
I normally wouldn't spend more than $10 on a mascara but there are exceptions and here is one of them. The 3 spheres wand (slightly similar to the Rimmel Sexy Curves wand) coats each lash. Result=long, lush lashes without the heaviness, feels like nothing on.

Shiseido Radiant Lifting Foundation
Medium coverage foundation but with a very natural look. Mask like foundation is a 90's thing, this foundation covers without looking cakey. As for lifting, not much to lift (yet)!

Annabelle TwistUp Retractable Lipstick Crayon
Provides great coverage, not a full-on colour so no need to worry about "bleeding" outside your lip line. Prefer the darker shades for Fall, the fool-proof applicator makes it a simple no brainer lip product.

What are your Splurge or Budget beauty buys this Fall?

Go for Romantic {MISSHA debuts at NYFW-Spring 2013}

(one of my favourite BB creams, M Perfect BB Cream, review here)

Fast forward to Spring 2013, at the Behnaz Sarafpour show at New York Fashion Week the mood was romantic. For the first time, MISSHA cosmetics (a popular Korean cosmetic line) presented at NYFW. 

Behnaz Sarafpour says, “I think we both have a very modern, and yet feminine sensibility that compliment one another.”

Legendary makeup artist, Val Garland, created an ethereal look using muted beiges, rosy cheeks, and berry-stained lips.

Prism Bright-On Auto Powder, a mineral powder with a vibrating applicator to ensure the most precise and even coverage

I love pretty packaging!

2012 Limited-Edition Lip Palettes will be introduced in the U.S October 2012

 For more information:

visit MISSHA

(images: courtesy LTI Cosmetics)

time to exFALLiate {scrubs}

Its that time of year again, time to exFALLiate! Really, its always a good time to exfoliate but when that cold front starts to veer this way my skin begins to look blah. The natural glow from the Summer months fades quickly and skin begins to shed like a snake. No need to look flaky in the process, with a little facial scrub intervention say goodbye to dead skin.

exFALLiate {scrubs} by beautyparler featuring a skincare

Bioré Warming anti-blackhead cream cleanser; Bioré is not just for teens! Just as blackheads aren't exclusive in your teens either. In my mid-thirties and I still get blackheads (not as noticeable to some) but I see those pesky dots on my nose. Although its technically a cleanser I use it as a scrub because it has little scrubbies & its water-activated warming clay feels great. Contains pore-penetrating 2% salicylic acid. Caution for sensitive skin due to warming effect.

Éclos Anti-Aging Instant Radiance Facial Scrub; an impulse buy that didn't disappoint. Although not indicated on the box, this scrub is actually a warming scrub. Not sure about the anti-aging benefits but love the exfoliating grains in this scrub, skin feels smooth and hydrated afterwards. Due to warming effect sensitive skin take caution.

Vichy Pureté Thermale Softening Exfoliating Cream; a good option for sensitive skin types as not as many grains as above scrubs and in a cream formula. Also paraben-free! Skin is left hydrated and smooth.

Beauty and Truth Illuminating Scrub; very fine microdermabrasion scrub in a fluffy creamy soufflé. Love the feel of this scrub, works well around the crevice of the nose and gets all the gunk out. Contains sugar-cane, so don't be tempted to eat it.

Live Clean: Fresh Face smoothing facial scrub; in general Live Clean products are a safe bet. They are inexpensive and easily found at your local store. They are also 98% plant-based and free of basically alot of crap found in skincare today. Grains of corn-cob make this a gentle scrub therefore a great option for sensitive types.

What are your current favourite scrubs? Do you tend to scrub more in the colder months or less?

hotel amenities by CHI Haircare {Travel Tuesday}

Hotel amenities are not on the top of my list of things to look at when I walk into any hotel room. Surprisingly, as obviously I love beauty products. The truth is I don't find hotel amenities to be of high quality, they tend to be water downed and very masculine smelling. Actually, I rarely touch the stuff and bring my own items. Perhaps its due to the fact that I practically live in hotel rooms and prefer to have a "piece of home" and familiar bath products provide that. As for hair tools, don't get me started on those retro style hairdryers that omit no power. Only on my travels to Brazil did I find a fantastic hotel hairdryer, read about here in a past post!

However, hotels must have finally caught on. The hotel chain Palace Resorts, has partnered with CHI haircare and body products.

“When most women travel, typically, they’ll find an average blow-dryer in their room — and certainly not a hair iron — so they will pack heavy hair tools and products.” said Gibran Chapur, Executive Vice President for Palace Resorts. “By partnering with CHI, a brand women know and love, Palace Resorts is further pampering them with the professional quality hair and beauty products they would find in a salon.”

Palace Resorts will carry both the CHI Pro Hairdryer and the CHI Ceramic Hairstyling Iron, if guests fall in love with the products they are also available for purchase.

“CHI professional tools and wetline products help women feel and look their best whether they’re preparing for a wedding, relaxing by the beach or spending an evening on the town. We are honored to partner with Palace Resorts to help them enhance the experience for their guests with the best in hair care while they are away from home,” Farouk Shami, Founder & Chairman of Farouk Systems.

Finally, a hotel chain that understands a woman's beauty needs. No longer necessary to carry travel-size hair tools. When I first started my career as a flight attendant I actually purchased a travel-size hairdryer and flat-iron. Five years later, I just wash and tie my hair in a bun.

If only other hotel chains would start carrying awesome hair and body products my bun would be a thing of the past!

For more information: Palace Resorts

For more information on CHI products: visit Farouk Systems

(images: courtesy of NewLink Group)

cupcakes on wheels, that's Pretty Sweet! {lifestyle}

(photography: Owais Rafique, Phot-O-Holic Imagery courtesy Pretty Sweet)

I have a sweet tooth, my husband not so much. However, give him a tiramisu cupcake from Pretty Sweet and he too will indulge. Pretty Sweet: a mobile cupcakery, is a local food truck owned by Savera, who I met last year at a Wedding Show while planning my wedding.
Check out my bridal shower cake & cupcakes she created; BonitaBride

almost sold-out

Savera runs her own cake business also called, Pretty Sweet Cakes. Savera's story is pretty cool too, she left her job in the financial area to follow her passion for baking. She started in her own kitchen, from designing and baking wedding cakes she turned to cupcakes. However, there was one more adventure she wanted to take on, a mobile cupcakery. Although food trucks are the craze in the U.S, operating a food truck in Toronto is not exactly an easy task.
Starting a Food Truck in Toronto

Created by Toronto Food Trucks

Follow Pretty Sweet on Facebook for locations on where to find yummy cupakes on wheels!

flavours: mint chocolate, red velvet, tiramisu (bottom one had a slight accident but didn't alter the taste!)

Find Pretty Sweet;

Pretty Sweet: a mobile cupcakery

Pretty Sweet: Cakes

on Facebook

twitter: PrettySweet_to

Happy 175th Anniversary Holt Renfrew

(window display, 1930's)

Canada's leading luxury retailer, Holt Renfrew, is celebrating 175 this year! It all started in Quebec City, a shop selling caps and hats. A few years later its the leader in furs and the first store to sell Dior Couture. It is now the epitome of elegance and class in Canada, synonymous with luxury.
To celebrate the 175th Anniversary Holts has released a limited edition collection in their signature magenta pink.

Christian Louboutin

Lady Peep platform slingback, $1295

Valentino

magenta patent Vernice Couture Bow pump, $745

Manolo Blahnik

Magenta BB 105mm pump, $595

Bobbi Brown

Brightening Finishing Powder in Porcelain Pearl, $58

Deborah Lippmann

Raise your Glass Nail Lacquer, $22

Giorgio Armani

Your perfect kiss of "Holts Magenta" 

Rouge d'Armani Special Ed. sheer lipstick in pink 500, $38

175th Holt Renfrew limited-edition Diet Coke

$5.99 six-pack or $1.75 each

in the mail came my 175th Holt's anniversary heart-shaped balloon

Happy 175th Anniversary!

(images: store front via Facebook, all others courtesy of EnvironicsPR)