Prairie Beauty Bites

Guitar Luv: KT Tunstall

2011-06-11T18:25:00.004-06:00

KT Tunstall is an amazing artist. Coming up the hard way, busking and touring small clubs, she worked her butt off even after signing a record contract before they'd let her record.

The result is a live act that leaves people with their jaws dropped. This was best seen in her stunning performance on "Later... With Jools Holldand" in 2004. Her last minute replacement of Nas left her with only 24 hours to prepare for a live UK national debut that left other acts speechless. (Check out the members of Embrace at 3:24)

I've always loved this live version even better than the album version, just for the sheer surprise of it. The recorded show version had the second verse sliced out, but it's still great.

This performance introduced the non-musical world to the Akai E2 Headrush loop pedal, which she has dubbed the "Wee Bastard," as a tool that does more than just echoes the chorus. Here is a vid KT did for Akai showing how easily she can use the loop pedal.

And my favourite song from her debut album, Eye to the Telescope, is not Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, but Suddenly I See. There are two official releases for this, and in my house we're split over which is better. My sweetie loves the "Standard Version," a more traditional "band plays in a darkly-lit warehouse" vid with the twist that KT joins herself mid-song and sings harmonies... with herself. I'm torn but I give the edge to the "Larger Than Life" version, a trippy vid that shows KT as a normal-sized person and a giant moving through a trainset diorama. It fits the jumpy rhythm of the song and it's charming.

Pick one for yourself!

After four million album sales, KT has stayed true to herself and hasn't let her success go to her head. She's political and she has no delusions of grandeur. My kind of artist!

2011-04-11T18:37:00.000-06:00

I had vague ambitions of being an actress when I was younger (who didn't?). Alas, it was not to be, mostly due to my brutal stage fright.

I did all kinds of things to get over it. I joined the school choir, public theatre groups, sold sex toys at home parties. Try being shy when you have to describe the function of a Kegel exerciser to a room of giggling couples. I dare you. Even so, I had too many nerves and not enough talent.

But apparently, I could have just done Daytime TV soaps. This quick acting lesson is courtesy of my favourite Edmontonian in LA, Nathan Fillion of ABC's Castle, but more importantly Malcolm Reynolds of Joss Whedon's Firefly.

Gender Equality: An Obsolete Concept?

2011-03-08T12:34:00.008-07:00

Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. It's a day for focusing on equality for women in this world.

A lot of my friends (okay, Caucasian males) comment that we don't need these kinds of focuses anymore. They think the world is fair enough. Well, if that's the case, then we should find equality is drastically better than it was 20 years ago, right?

Not in the movies. In 2009, women directed 7 per cent of the top-grossing films, the same amount as in 1989. After Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar last year for best director, I expected to see women nominated again this year. Especially with two Best Picture films that were directed by women. I was disappointed that there were none.

Well then, at least Canada is an example of gender equality for the world to follow, right? According to IndexMundi.com, the Canadian sex ratio (males/females) is 0.98, so we're almost evenly divided men to women. And don't forget:

"Canada was among the first countries to sign Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrines the principles of gender equality in employment, public life, and education in Part I, section 15. These principles are also reflected in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the 1998 Multiculturalism Act, which introduced measures to protect and promote the rights of aboriginal women and foreigners." Wikigender.org

So how does Canada measure up?

I checked with the World Economic Forum, which selects the top countries in terms of gender equity by comparing 1) income and employment, 2) participation in higher education, 3) health, and 4) political involvement. Here's the top 15 countries for 2010:

Wait, where's Canada?

We're 20th. Out of 134 countries, we came in 20th. Not bad, but not great for a country that prides itself on being the vanguard for human rights and peacekeeping.

So where does Canada excel? Umm... socialism.

"One bright spot in terms of women’s equality is in the results found for women who work in unionized environments. Women make 82% of men’s incomes in such environments – even when comparing full time, full year employment. When assessing the impact of unionization, the study reveals that non-unionized environments create a wider gender gap – women make only 72% of men’s incomes in such environments." Center for Social Justice

"Women aged 25 to 29 employed on a full-time, full-year basis earned 85 cents for each dollar received by their male counterparts in 2005.

In 2005, the gender income gap was narrower for those new entrants that had achieved higher levels of education than for their less-educated counterparts:
Women aged 25 to 29 holding a graduate or professional diploma and working on a full-time, full-year basis earned 96 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts in 2005.

Women with a bachelor’s degree earned 89 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

Women with a registered apprenticeship or trades certificate earned only 65 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

Young women with no high school diploma earned 67 cents for every dollar earned by young men with the same level of education.

For the most highly educated Canadian women, gender differences in earnings within identical occupations are generally very small among new entrants to the labour force... Two exceptions are management occupations and sales and service occupations, where Canadian women consistently earn far less than their male counterparts. Young women employed in management occupations earned 86 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts in 2005. In sales and service occupations, the gap was even larger, at 72 cents for every dollar. Canadian women continue to be overrepresented in low-paying occupations in Canada." Conference Board of Canada

Wait, so women making at least 20 per cent less than men is pretty good? Awesome. And where are we failing?

"Statistics Canada's 1998 report Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile, which analysed data provided by 154 reporting police agencies, shows that:
Women continue to outnumber men nine to one as victims of assault by a spouse or partner;
in 1996 half of all family homicides involved spouses;

Between 1977 and 1996, three times as many women were killed by their spouses as were men killed by their spouses;

Girls are at greatest risk of sexual assault by a family member while between 12 and 15 years of age;

In 1996 nine of ten crimes committed against older adults by family members were physical assaults.
Violence is a major factor in women's health and well-being. The measurable health-related costs of violence against women in Canada exceed $1.5 billion a year. These costs include short-term medical and dental treatment for injuries, long-term physical and psychological care, lost time at work, and use of transition homes and crisis centres" Health Canada

Oh, and Canadian women have only 22% representation in government. And that's an all-time record.

So when I hear my friends say that they're pissed off that women and visible minorities get special programs and scholarships, I sort of want to punch them in the stomach. Not in the nuts. That's sexist. But hard. In the stomach.

Link Love: Goodnews.com

2011-01-31T18:21:00.003-07:00

As someone who surfs the internet a lot, I see a lot of discount offers. There are tons of programs that offer to send you local deals. All you have to do is submit some personal information.

This is my favourite of these offerings. Goodnews.com donates a portion of their proceeds to a local charity.

First, they are partnering with Edmonton Food Bank, who will receive 5% of all sales generated from January 25 to February 27, 2011.

Send your friends to the website, because the discounts only happen if enough people apply for them.

Unproductive or not?

2011-01-09T20:29:00.008-07:00

Today, I gave up on plans to go cross-country skiing and spent most of the day in bed finishing The Hunger Games trilogy. It's something I've been putting off for a couple of months, and I always find a good reason to do something more "productive."

"I have to paint the bathroom."

"There's Christmas shopping to do."

"I need to clean out my closet."

It feels like I've been going non-stop for months. Even the Christmas holiday was an exercise in constant motion. I try to maintain work and life balance, but there's always something to do. I came back from a week off work feeling like I hadn't had any time off. And to make matters worse, I'm so distracted by all the things I should be doing that I have trouble focusing when I read a book. So finishing a book takes a while, and I seem to find reasons not to read.

But today? Edmonton received a great snow dump this weekend. The snow is fresh and almost 30 cm deep (that's over a foot for the non-metric) and the weather is -16 degrees Celsius. It's a little too deep and kind of cold for cross country skiing. Also, my once-a-week meds have 12-hour side effects that are pretty much like being hella-drunk: dizziness, balance issues & nausea. So naturally, I took them last night and forgot how I'd feel this morning.

That makes it a stay-home day. Now, the house could use a good post-Christmas scrubbing, and I'm still cleaning out my closets for the clothing drive I'm running at work. Since Ukrainian Christmas is over, I should probably take down the Christmas tree.

But I woke up to the bright post-snowfall sunlight streaming into my bedroom window. My hon was already up and playing Call of Duty downstairs. So instead of rushing to get the day going, I said screw it and stayed in bed all morning and most of the afternoon, and read until the daylight started to fade. Like most Sundays, I wasn't hungry in the morning. Let's face it: I eat plenty as a middle-income Canadian, so skipping one meal won't be the end of the world.

And when I was done? My side effects had passed. I came downstairs and made a really tasty meal of leek soup and pan-fried pork loin and finished it off with a homemade latte. I'd finished the book series I've been really excited to finish. And I felt more relaxed than I have in months. One day did more to relax me than a whole week away from work.

It would be easy to dismiss today as an unproductive day. Oxford Dictionary defines unproductive as "(of an activity or period) not achieving much; not very useful." I could have been doing a lot of things. Instead, I see today as productive by just giving me time to breath and accomplish one of those "less important" things on my to do list that's been nagging at me.

By bringing down my stress levels, today was definitely useful.

Video: Octopus kills shark

2010-11-10T20:28:00.001-07:00

Keeping with the theme...

What happens when you put an octopus and a shark in the same aquarium tank?

Craziness, that's what.

New Look to the Blog

2010-11-10T14:28:00.004-07:00

The blog is all shiny with a new look. Now that my program and my first major home renovation are done, I'll have more time to devote to writing.

I also posted my first Photoshop background. It fits the website theme and my personality, non?

Attention Please

2010-10-21T12:25:00.004-06:00

Gerard Butler and Hugh Jackman attended the Metropolitan Musuem of Modern Art for Global Poverty Project event last night. They posed for photos together.

Somehow, they knew I was having a terrible week (totalling my car in a freeway pile-up) and knew just how to cheer me up.

Thank you. That is all.

Philly Opera rules the flash mob

2010-07-11T08:44:00.005-06:00

Standing among the the crowd at the Reading Terminal Market on 24 April 2010, members of the Philadelphia Opera Company treated the crowd to "Flash Brindisi".

The company piped Verdi's "La traviata" over the loudspeakers, and broke into song within the amazed crowd. Cell phones frantically captured the performance on video, as young and old alike were enchanted by what seemed at first to be impromptu karaoke. The crowd quickly realized what was happening, and stopped their busy shopping to enjoy the performance. The performers engaged some of the more willing viewers in mini-serenades.

What a great way to celebrate opera, and advertise for the opera company. These days it's easy to dismiss opera as elitist or out of touch, but this performance reminded everyone in the marketplace that opera can be just as lighthearted as any modern form of music. It truly brought the opera to the average person.

This was an innovative twist on the flash mob. Edmonton Opera, are you listening?

Making My Day Easier

2010-06-08T14:27:00.001-06:00

We moved into our home in October 2002, just a couple of blocks from 34th Street and 34th Avenue. At the time, that intersection was controlled by three-way stop signs.

Since then, the road has extended into Silverberry and traffic lights have gone up. This has helped with the lefthand turn onto 34th Street, but the turn has been tricky in the morning. Everyone turns into slow-moving traffic because most of it is turning right. Still, it's not ideal and would take 10 minutes to turn if done legally. It's also a kittle scary with all the buses turning at the intersection.

Last week, the city installed a left turn signal. Finally, we can turn safely during rush hour traffic.

Thanks, City of Edmonton. This makes my commute much easier in every direction!

Twilight-themed MasterCard

2010-06-06T14:13:00.006-06:00

You can now purchase a MasterCard Debit with your favourite book series on it. Really? When does merchandising go too far? Is this any different in principle than a credit card that supports the Oilers or APEGGA?

At least they're pre-paid. The interest rates would have to be spectacular.

The Models Are Coming! The Models Are Coming!

2010-06-02T12:26:00.005-06:00

At long last, we don't have to pay crazy shipping and California Sales Tax to get lovely lacy things from Victoria's Secret. They are opening a flagship store at West Edmonton Mall in August. It might just be a model invasion!

I love so many of the clothes they sell, and even though I've always tried to stay loyal to Canadian lingerie brands, their product is flat-out gorgeous. I also like the La Senza product, but I feel less loyalty to them now that they are no longer Canadian (Limited Brand owns both companies). Victoria's Secret bras just fit me better, and they feel more sensual than Wonderbras, which are my other go-to bra.

When the first buzz hit about VS coming to Canada, I was disappointed because they were only talking about PINK stores. But with a 16,000 sq. ft. full store, maybe we'll see some lovely clothes, coats & boots next to the delicates.

What is your favourite bra maker?

Synthetic DNA grows in cells

2010-05-21T16:15:00.007-06:00

Just when I think life is returning to normal...

They create artificial life.

It's official. The zombie apocalypse is coming.

I'm glad I live on the outskirts of a smaller city. Time to stockpile the essentials: food, water, rifles, lipgloss. You know, the bare necessities.

Here is Craig Venter presenting the work in his TED Talk:

Putting the Olympics to Bed

2010-03-30T08:12:00.027-06:00

Olympic fervor is winding down this week. The downtown core will be teeming with Olympic and Paralympic supporters at Churchill Square today at noon to celebrate Edmonton's contribution to the Vancouver 2010 Games.

Among the honoured guests is Dr. Bob Steadward, who is considered by many to be the father of international paralympic sport. Bob helped to organize the first national wheelchair games in 1968, and from that point forward he was an advocate for disabled athletes.

He worked through the 1980s and 1990s to found the International Paralympic Committee and as IPC president from 1989 to 2001, he increased the member countries from under 40 to over 200. During is presidency, the Olympic and Paralympic Games were held concurrently for the first time at Seoul, Korea in 1988. For his work with disabled athletes, Bob has received the Order of Canada, membership in the Canada Sports Hall of Fame, and the Olympic Order.

It's exciting to see what kind of impact Edmonton had on the games this year, and how much we helped to Own the Podium. But for me, it's even more inspiring to see one man's work to change the face of international sport.

In the meantime, it's two years until the London Games. I miss the Summer & Winter Games all happening in the same year. It happens so often now that it feels watered down, not like an "Olympic Year."

Oh well. Bye, Vancouver 2010. We had a great time. On to London 2012!

RIP: Alexander McQueen

2010-02-13T22:12:00.014-07:00

L'enfant terrible est mort.

Alexander McQueen died Thursday at the age of 40 in his London home, nine days after the death of his mother and shortly before London and Paris Fashion Week began. Fashion's bad boy combined impeccable tailoring with irreverent and fantastic vision.

He has always been one of my top five designers. His collections were controversial, his aesthetic was eclectic and his runway shows were ambitious. Here are a few of his pieces that inspire me.

xoxoxo

Olympic Spirit

2010-01-13T19:18:00.001-07:00

GeoTagged, [N53.53994, E113.43032]

The Olympic Torch passes through Edmonton tonight. I was meeting some friends downtown at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald, so we went out to see it.

It's only -8 degrees so the weather was nice for a winter theme. Lots of people on the street, and lots of police presence.

A fun time for sure. Now it's time for a Hotel MacDonald lounge drink. I'm having a Polar Bear - hot chocolate with Bailey's & Peppermint Schnapps. Yum!

Hypothyroidism - Gears Grinding to a Halt

2009-12-10T10:53:00.015-07:00

Wow. I have a medical reason for being a fat, lazy slob. Cool!

I just had an appointment with my doctor to follow up on some blood work. It was part of my annual physical, but I put it off for months because I have a thing about needles. He wanted to test my thyroid hormone levels because I had put on weight over a year that hadn't come off and my Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) symptoms have been stronger this year. I just have no energy and I'm more sluggish than usual. He wanted to check if I have diabetes or an iron deficiency.

I was nervous for the last week after booking my appointment, mainly because my doctor's schedule was so open and I'm used to booking appointments farther out. Usually, I need to book at least a week in advance, but the receptionist sounded like I could come in the following day. That didn't work with my schedule, but I kept thinking, 'What's wrong that he can see me right away? He never sees me right away!' I joked about it with Sweetie last night, telling myself "It's not a tumor." Okay, so I can be fatalistic.

When I went in, My test results showed that my cholesterol is a little bit high, but marginally, so adjusting my diet will fix it. My blood, blood sugar and iron levels are all good. Then he dropped the sluggish bomb.

He confirmed that I have hypothyroidism. My thyroid is producing about half the thyroid hormones I need to run my metabolism properly.

Now for the crazy part. I'm looking up hypothyroidism online, and I discover the following symptoms. Look at how many I have (in green):

Dry, thick skin (check - most of my skin's not thick, but it's been super-dry for about four years)
Hair thinning
Painful muscles and joints (check - my shoulder has been giving me pain for about two years)
Depression (CHECK- that's a big 10-4, buddy! Four years ago I had my worst bout of SAD in two decades and I still haven't recovered fully. It's been pissing me off because it's supposed to lessen as you age.)
Memory problems (check - I have horrible short-term memory, and it's seemed worse in recent years)
Constipation
Goitre
Heavy, irregular or prolonged menstrual periods
Low body temperature (below 97.8°F first thing in the morning) (check - I've been checking my basal temperature daily for 6 months)
Low blood pressure (check - it runs in my family)
Puffy eyes
Slow pulse
Reduced libido (check - for the last few years)
Fatigue (check - tired when I wake up, drained when I go to sleep, too tired to sleep)
Chronic sinus infections (check - my whole life)
Headaches (check - in the last few years I've had fairly regular headaches, but it was problems with my bite/teeth)
Sweating abnormalities
Heat and/or cold intolerance (check - I'm a bit of an iceberg)
Irritability (Shut Up! I mean, check)
Fluid retention
Anxiety/panic attacks (check)
Frequent colds and sore throats (I get sore throats all the time, but only for a day or so)
Lightheadedness (check - all the time)
Ringing in the ears (check)
Decreased concentration (...what? Oh, check.)
Slow wound healing (check - it takes months for the red spots from even the tiniest sores to heal. Ingrown hairs are the bane of my existence right now.)
Easy bruising (So my Sweetie says... Not like that!)
Unhealthy, dry, brittle or ridged nails (check - I've always had a couple of nails with ridges, but the last five years they've gotten worse and more nails have them.)
Acid Indigestion (check - doctor told me it was acid reflux)
Cold hands or feet (check - my feet are always freezing cold, but I try to ignore it until I touch other skin to them)
Inappropriate weight gain (check - no, I won't say how much. Not a lot, but enough for my doctor to wonder)
Hypoglycemia (sorta check - my baseline blood glucose is normal, but if I go too long between meals, I get extremely irritable and lightheaded)
Falling asleep during the day
Itching (check - comes with dry skin, right?)
High cholesterol (check - Dude!)
Loss of outside portion of eyebrows (although mine are thinner than they used to be...)

This blew my mind. Most of the oddball things that are wrong with my health are symptoms of low thyroid function! This sounds like a laundry list of woes, but if you think about how much your endocrine system controls your body, it makes sense that systems all over would be affected. The human body is wild.

This is good news because it's a relatively easy fix. From the western medicine side, I can just take a synthetic thyroid supplement, just like taking extra vitamins. He wrote me a prescription for SynThroid and told me that it will take about two weeks to feel the effect, so by Christmas I should be a ball of energy. He also told me to book a six-month follow up. More needles. Great.

I'm not taking this lying down though. A bit of research revealed that from the holistic side, I can take iodine, selenium, and add coconut oil to my diet.

It turns out that too much polyunsaturated fat can inhibit tissue response to thyroid hormones. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, and it promotes increased metabolism. Coconut oil will not cure a sluggish thyroid, but it's like adding high octane fuel to your engine - it improves performance (metabolism). Crazy, huh? That might explain why I ate like a pig in the Dominican Republic and didn't gain a single pound. Lots of pina coladas.

Video Luv: Angry Alien Productions

2009-12-06T13:14:00.009-07:00

Have you ever heard the adage that says everyone is especially good at three things? Sometimes the three things are kind of weird, but there are always three things people excel at.

I love movies. I watch a lot of movies, old and new, and I love to see movies over and over again. One of my three things is trivia, especially TV and movie trivia. I watch TV shows and movie and retain all sorts of oddball information about them. I love pulling quotes and

For a movie geek like me, Angry Alien Productions is wicked fun. 30-Second Bunnies Theatre takes movies and condenses them down to half a minute, as performed by cute bunnies. Even the non-bunnies often have bunny ears mysteriously tied around their heads.

Jennifer Shiman creates the 30-Second Bunnies Flash movies all by herself, with her friends helping out with some of the voices. Started in 2004 as a way to open doors as a satire humour coloumnist, Shiman first bunnified "The Exorcist." After a lot of positive feedback, the bunnies made more films that year, until Good Morning America played their version of "Titanic." After tha, 30-Second Bunny Theatre was invited to create movies for Starz.com, which now hosts the bunnies' newest releases.

My favourites include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Reservoir Dogs and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. But the best, for me, has to be the one with a 4,000-pound shark with bunny ears tied around his head. That's right...

http://www.angryalien.com/0804/jawsbunnies.asp
Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-da-da-dum da-da-da-dum da-da-DUM!

This month, the bunnies are wishing us a Merry Christmas by bunnifying Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. This marks the first time they've tackled an animated film. Somehow there's an irony there...

P.S. Watch for the scroll-over buttons at the beginning and the end of the movies for some extra bunny goodness.

Weather Is Crazy Here!

2009-11-16T20:55:00.008-07:00

Well, hot damn! The last two months have been crazy. School has been crazy with a group project, and we're renovating two bathrooms. To prep for our recent vacation, both Sweetie and I were working a lot of extra hours at work.

On the bright side, I just got back from a wonderful wedding vacation in Punta Cana and went to work today when the weather was 15 degrees. In November!

The lawns were dying when we left, and now the leaves have finally fallen off the trees. This was a problem that could weaken the trees over the winter.

How amazing is the weather in Edmonton? You never know what the weather will bring!

Link Luv: Al Pacino's Voice

2009-10-25T15:08:00.002-06:00

Found this and thought it was awesome.

Video Luv: John Williams Is the Man

2009-09-20T10:32:00.004-06:00

Post 100 - thought I'd give you something special. I found this video on YouTube, and I'm totally in love with it. Check out the awesomeness!

Direct link is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4

If you don't know why I think it's so good, consider the following:

A capella singing (challenging to stay on pitch).
All parts recorded by the same guy (talk about great tempo)!
He's a cute geek (love the t-shirts).
John Williams (hel-LO, only the composer of the most recognizable music themes of the 20th and 21st centuries)!
Star Wars ('nuff said).

My favourite part is, naturally, Jaws, followed closely by Superman. What's yours?

Link Love: Yukon Jack

2009-09-11T07:28:00.001-06:00

This is the only reason I change my radio to the Bear anymore.

Video Luv: French Bulldog Puppies

2009-09-04T22:31:00.002-06:00

I saw this and I just had to share it. Easily the cutest thing I've seen today.

Forbes Magazine World's Most Powerful Women

2009-08-31T10:15:00.002-06:00

Interesting
Oprah Winfrey is higher than Queen Elizabeth
Michelle Obama is higher than Oprah Winfrey
Nancy Gates is higher than Hillary Rodham Clinton and Michelle Obama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes_Magazine%27s_List_of_The_World%27s_100_Most_Powerful_Women

1	Angela Merkel	Chancellor	Germany
2	Sheila Bair	Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.	U.S.
3	Indra Nooyi	Chief executive, PepsiCo	U.S.
4	Cynthia Carroll	Chief executive, Anglo American	U.K.
5	Ho Ching	Chief executive, Temasek	Singapore
6	Irene Rosenfeld	Chief executive, Kraft Foods	U.S.
7	Ellen Kullman	Chief executive, DuPont	U.S.
8	Angela Braly	Chief executive, WellPoint	U.S.
9	Anne Lauvergeon	Chief executive, Areva	France
10	Lynn Elsenhans	Chief executive, Sunoco	U.S.
11	Cristina Fernandez	President	Argentina
12	Carol Bartz	Chief executive, Yahoo	U.S.
13	Sonia Gandhi	President, Indian National Congress Party	India
14	Ursula Burns	Chief executive, Xerox Corp.	U.S.
15	Anne Mulcahy	Chairman, Xerox Corp.	U.S.
16	Safra Catz	President, Oracle	U.S.
17	Christine Lagarde	Minister of Economy, Finance & Employment	France
18	Gail Kelly	Chief executive, Westpac	Australia
19	Marjorie Scardino	Chief executive, Pearson Plc.	U.K.
20	Chanda Kochhar	Chief executive, ICICI Bank	India
21	Mary Sammons	Chief executive, Rite Aid Corp.	U.S.
22	Michelle Bachelet	President	Chile
23	Paula Reynolds	Chief restructuring officer, AIG	U.S.
24	Carol Meyrowitz	Chief executive, TJX Companies	U.S.
25	Andrea Jung	Chief executive, Avon	U.S.

26	Patricia Woertz	Chief executive, Archer Daniels Midland	U.S.
27	Guler Sabanci	Chairman, Sabanci Holding	Turkey
28	Barbara Desoer	President, Bank of America Home Loans & Insurance	U.S.
29	Brenda Barnes	Chief executive, Sara Lee Corp.	U.S.
30	Risa Lavizzo-Mourey	Chief executive, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation	U.S.
31	Ann Livermore	Executive vice president, Hewlett-Packard	U.S.
32	Cathie Lesjak	Executive vice president, Hewlett-Packard	U.S.
33	Marina Berlusconi	Chairman, Fininvest Group	Italy
34	Melinda Gates	Co-chairman, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation	U.S.
35	Nancy Pelosi	Speaker of the House, House of Representatives	U.S.
36	Hillary Rodham Clinton	Secretary of State	U.S.
37	Jane Mendillo	Chief executive, Harvard Management Co.	U.S.
38	Margaret Chan	Director-general, World Health Org.	Switzerland
39	Susan Chambers	Executive vice president, Global People Division, Wal-Mart Stores	U.S.
40	Michelle Obama	First Lady	U.S.
41	Oprah Winfrey	Chairman, Harpo	U.S.
42	Queen Elizabeth II	Queen	U.K.
43	Nancy McKinstry	Chief executive, Wolters Kluwer	Netherlands
44	Gloria Arroyo	President	Philippines
45	Ana Patricia Botin	Executive Chairman, Banesto	Spain
46	Ann Veneman	Executive Director, UNICEF	U.S.
47	Yulia Tymoshenko	Prime minister	Ukraine
48	Ruth Bader Ginsburg	Supreme Court Justice	U.S.
49	Janet Robinson	Chief executive, The New York Times Co.	U.S.
50	Dominique Senequier	Chief executive, AXA Private Equity	France

51	Janet Napolitano	Secretary of Homeland Security	U.S.
52	Anne Sweeney	Co-chairman, Disney Media Networks	U.S.
53	Neelie Kroes	Commissioner for Competition, European Union	Netherlands
54	Gail Boudreaux	President, UnitedHealthcare	U.S.
55	Sonia Sotomayor	Supreme Court Justice	U.S.
56	Mary Schapiro	Chairman Securities & Exchange Commission	U.S.
57	Kathleen Sebelius	Secretary of Health & Human Services	U.S.
58	Ellen Alemany	Chief executive, RBS Americas and Citizens Financial Group	U.S.
59	Susan Ivey	Chief executive, Reynolds American	U.S.
60	Amy Pascal	Co-chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment	U.S.
61	Helen Clark	Chairman, United Nations Development Group	New Zealand
62	Judy McGrath	Chief executive, MTV Networks	U.S.
63	Stacey Snider	Chief Executive, DreamWorks Studios	U.S.
64	Navanethem Pillay	High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations	South Africa
65	Janet Clark	Chief financial officer, Marathon Oil	U.S.
66	Sherilyn McCoy	Worldwide chairman, Pharmaceuticals Group, Johnson & Johnson	U.S.
67	Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf	President	Liberia
68	Tarja Halonen	President	Finland
69	Mary McAleese	President	Ireland
70	Virginia Rometty	Senior vice president, IBM	U.S.
71	Angela Ahrendts	Chief executive, Burberry Group Plc.	U.K.
72	Sri Indrawati	Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance	Indonesia
73	Terri Dial	Chief executive, North America Consumer Banking, Citigroup	U.S.
74	Deirdre Connelly	President, North American Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline	U.S.
75	Johanna Sigurdardottir	Prime minister	Iceland

76	Queen Rania	Queen	Jordan
77	Christina Gold	Chief executive, Western Union	U.S.
78	Colleen Goggins	Worldwide chairman, Consumer Group, Johnson & Johnson	U.S.
79	Hasina Wajed	Prime minister	Bangladesh
80	Hyun Jeong-eun	Chairman, Hyundai Group	South Korea
81	Amy Schulman	Senior vice president, Pfizer	U.S.
82	Penny Pritzker	Chairman, Classic Residence by Hyatt	U.S.
83	Drew Faust	President, Harvard University	U.S.
84	Melanie Healey	Group president, Feminine & Health Care, Procter & Gamble	U.S.
85	Elizabeth Smith	President, Avon	U.S.
86	Deb Henretta	Group president, Asia, Procter & Gamble	Singapore
87	Ann Moore	Chief executive, Time Inc.	U.S.
88	Sallie Krawcheck	Chief executive global wealth management, Bank of America	U.S.
89	Pamela Nicholson	President, Enterprise Rent-A-Car	U.S.
90	Janice Fields	Chief operating officer, McDonald's USA	U.S.
91	Stephanie Burns	Chief executive, Dow Corning	U.S.
92	Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw	Chairman, Biocon	India
93	Eva Cheng	Executive vice president, Amway Greater China & Southeast Asia	Hong Kong
94	Efrat Peled	Chief executive, Arison Investments	Israel
95	Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi	Minister of the Economy	United Arab Emirates
96	Charlene Begley	Chief executive, GE Enterprise Solutions	U.S.
97	Mindy Grossman	Chief executive, HSN, Inc.	U.S.
98	Sharon Allen	Chairman, Deloitte LLP	U.S.
99	Heidi Miller	Chief executive, Treasury & Securities Services, JPMorgan Chase	U.S.
100	Mary Callahan Erdoes	Chairman, JPMorgan Global Wealth Management	U.S.

Video Luv: Natural Runner

2009-08-12T20:46:00.003-06:00

I've been trying to get into running for a while now. I've bought the fancy shoes. I've gotten the snug, shorter pants. I've set my alarm clock an hour earlier than normal. The only thing I'm missing is the "push."

You know the push. It's the final thing that persuades you, "Yes, I know the bed is toasty warm, or that movie and cup of hot chocolate is ready, but instead I'll go out and run until I'm sweaty and sore."

Pain is something I handle pretty well. I believe I have a reasonably high threshold for pain. Still, I don't go out of my way to cause myself pain, so exercise has never appealed to me.

I'm not sure exactly how to get that final drive to get running. The motivation to look better is not enough to make my body ache. I'm vain, but I'm not quite that vain. The goal to feel better is a strong drive, but isn't quite enough for me.

I saw this and thought that it might be enough of a push. Enjoy!

Shopping Luv: Southgate Shopping Centre

2009-08-05T22:20:00.007-06:00

When it was announced that Southgate was getting an expansion and a facelift, I was stoked. It could do with a facelift, and LRT extension will help revitalize the area and make it more accessible. But since I now work in Sherwood Park and live in Mill Woods, I only get out to the mall every month or so to play at MAC. I didn't really pay much attention to what new outlets were moving into Southgate.

I've noticed the marketing campaign around the city along with everyone else. I was excited to find out what it was, and when I found out it was the Southgate reopening I was more excited than some people.

I have preferred Southgate ever since I came to Edmonton for university. Even after I chose to stay here, it became my favourite mall. My first three years out of university I worked at West Edmonton Mall, and I enjoyed the atmosphere at the world's largest indoor mall. I think it was how I imagined New York City is: loud, active and busy at all hours of the day.

But I always liked Southgate more. Even though WEM managed to house so many high-end retail stores, I preferred the cool, relaxed atmosphere at Southgate. The mall is so bright and sunny, as though the skylights let in extra light. Southgate also scored the first MAC outlet in Edmonton, and that pretty much solidified its place in my heart.

Earlier this week I booked an appointment at Blu's in Southgate to get some trousers hemmed. I new the mall reopening was today, so I planned to look around and see what was new. I wandered through the newly constructed wing and saw familiar black and white stripes...

Well, bust my buttons - there's a Sephora! No more travelling to the west end of the city for my glam purchases! MAC and Sephora, finally closer to home. What a cost savings in fuel and time! :) Naturally, I had to grab a few items...

By coincidence, I just ran out of moisturizer. I've been using Sweetie's Infinite Aloe, but I've been dying to try Philosophy's Hope In a Jar - 2 oz (CDN$49) after a cousin told me how much she loves it. Gee, what an opportunity!

I finally picked up the Shu Uemura Lash Curler (CDN$19) to see if it's really better than my trusty Life Brand set from Shoppers Drug Mart.

I picked up the Tweezerman Folding Clipper (CDN$10) for Sweetie, who took one look at it and said, "I don't think I'll never use it." Fine by me, that makes me less over budget!

Time for some Too Faced Shadow Insurance (CDN$17) to battle my oily eyelids. I've read so many rave reviews about this eye primer that I just couldn't resist.

I've been wanting a thin eyeliner brush and a pencil brush, so I had to try the Sephora Double-Ended Winged Brush (CDN$18) and hopefully get a two-for one. The bristles are very soft, so we'll see how it applies and holds up.

The best part was that I had enough Sephora points to get a free sample of Benefit BAD Gal Blue mascara, another item on my WANT list.

Quite a haul and a great way to end my day!

Health Bites: Pepsi To Post Aquafina Is Tap Water

2009-07-23T17:46:00.008-06:00

It's about time! PepsiCo, manufacturers of Aquafina, are considering finally printing on their labels that the contents are plain old tap water.

Yes, for those of you who didn't notice that the label doesn't say spring water, that's because it's not. Don't feel too bad about it. This deception by omission is also used by Coca-Cola too with Dasani. Better yet, they are often tap water that's been bottled far from the city or town where they are sold. So, your bottled water purity depending on how well the city where it's bottled cleans their water, and how long it sits out in trucks traveling the hot sun transporting to you. Makes you not want to spend $2 per bottle though, doesn't it?

I used to be a bottled water drinker, and I especially loved to drink spring water. I was willing to pay a lot for water from exotic places like France and Fiji. However, I also really liked a bottled spring water from a local company. I chose to drink bottled water partly for the clean taste, but also the convenience, especially when traveling.

There were two main reasons I switched from drinking bottled water. First, I read articles that pointed out that spring water that wasn't any cleaner than my local water. I found out that Edmonton tap water has been consistently rated as some of the cleanest water in the world. The techniques they use to purify the water, before and after it's used, make it cleaner when it is returned to the river where we draw it.

I have an uncle who works for EPCOR at the main water treatment plant. He's told me about the process for cleaning water, and more importantly, the maintenance of the plants. It's incredible to hear about the tiny values that they consider to be unacceptable contamination.

Second, I read things about the whole BPA scare that didn't scare me, but did make me think about what I'm putting in my body. I don't see a reason to put something that's supposed to be good for you but contains an X-factor that they don't fully understand yet.

Keeping in mind that tap water, which we take for granted in Canada and waste in ridiculous amounts, is not free. We pay for it every month, just like we pay for gas or electricity. Basically, it boils down to me being cheap and not agreeing with paying extra for something that is provided to me at such a low cost.

Now, I try to drink only tap water or filtered tap water from a SIGG bottle I carry with me (light blue Power Grip Sports Bottle pictured), or hot drinks from a stainless steel coffee mug I keep in the car. At work I use my trusty Pisces mug that's been with me since college.

I use a Brita water filter on the advice of my naturopath, but I don't have a problem drinking unfiltered Edmonton tap water. I find the water here to be very sweet, and its rare that we have any aftertaste. In my house we have two filters: Sweetie likes cold water, but I like it room temperature.

I admit that I'm not a total purist when I travel, because I believe in the adage that you won't get an upset stomach if you don't drink local tap water when you travel. I eat the local fruit, but I only drink bottled water.

What do you use to hold your drinks? Do you filter your water?

Hero of the Day: Kitwana Jones

2009-07-22T10:28:00.011-06:00

Hats off to my hero of the day... Kitwana Jones!

The Edmonton Eskimo defensive end/linebacker apprehended a mugger in the most awesome way possible yesterday morning.

He was driving to the Capital Ex pancake breakfast when he heard a woman shouting down the street. He saw a man running away with a woman's purse, so he jumped out, chased the mugger down, tackled him and held him down until the police arrived.

Naturally, city police are stating that they don't advise citizens to take the law into their own hands. However, they are also praising K.J. for acting so bravely. The mugger only received a scraped knee, which means he fared better than most guys who K.J. tackles!

Our professional athletes in Edmonton are called upon to be civic leaders and are viewed as role models. They use their celebrity to expose the public to local charities and organizations. Sometimes, they are heroes in their own right. In 2002, five Edmonton Eskimos rescued a woman by catching her when she leapt from the fourth floor of a burning apartment building.

Fashion Boing! Lady Gaga

2009-07-16T12:46:00.010-06:00

Lady Gaga loves to do very in-your-face, avant-garde fashion intended for high shock value. She tends to wear outfits that look like she forgot to put on pants. She loves leotards. She carries odd accessories (remember the teacup?).

I honestly don't know what to make of this.

Seriously?! SERIOUSLY.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Muppets. I love Animal. That doesn't mean I want to see his monobrow across a pop queen's crotch.

At least she didn't wear this in the Love Game video. She just went nude-ish - rhinestones don't really count as clothing unless they are much thicker.

Lady Gaga - LoveGame - Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

By the bye, I love this video. I see references to lots of 80s videos in it. And maybe I have fuschia on the brain, but I think the whole shag-do leather-clad dance in the Love Game video is an homage to Samantha Fox's Naughty Girls (Need Love Too). What do you think?

Samantha Fox Naughty Girls Need Love Too - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Man, I wanted SFs pink hair!

Freebiez: Slurpee Day

2009-07-10T21:01:00.004-06:00

Back after a long absence... Sometimes life catches up with you!

7-Eleven is hosting its seventh annual Slurpee Day. Until they run out of special 7.11-ounce birthday cups, participating 7-Eleven stores will give away Slurpees!

Yum. I'm on my way for Dr Pepper Slurpee, baby!

Here are some interesting tidbits about Slurpees:

In the 1950s, Omar Knedlick created a new frozen beverage when his soda fountain broke and he froze and then served his sodas. He built machines using new automobile air conditioning technology. 7-Eleven bought three of these machines and started selling "Slushes" in 1965. Two years before Bob Stanford, a 7-Eleven agency director, changed the name to Slurpee.
7-Eleven owns every genuine Slurpee machine except one. That one is privately owned.
Slurpees are always served at 2 degrees Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenhait).
Slurpees are only carbonated in the United States.
Canadians purchase 30,000,000 Slurpees per year.
Winnipeg is considered the Slurpee capital of the world. 7-Eleven stores in Manitoba sell an average of 8,330. Compare that to the rest of Canada at 5,990.
Most Slurpee flavours are kosher "parve" and halal (except Diet Pepsi and Piña Colada).
Slurpees are gluten free.
In 2004, Slurpee created an edible straw!

Video Luv: Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus

2009-05-28T22:03:00.000-06:00

If this won't be an awesomely awful movie, I don't know what will be.

Lorenzo Lamas. Debbie (sorry, Deborah) Gibson. Giant CG-frickin'-I shark. The trailer shows the shark breaching into a jumbo jet.

When you go there, go big. Go HUGE. GO MEGA.

I'm already drooling with the cheesy goodness. Or badness. Time will tell.

Tech Luv: EA SPORTS Active for Wii

2009-05-17T18:36:00.008-06:00

After weaning our household off video game consoles, we broke down and bought a Nintendo to use the Wii Fit. Once we heard about the Balance Board and the possibilities it provided, we convinced ourselves that we couldn't live without this system. We brought the system home within a couple of weeks of its release, and dutifully used it for months.

Lately, I've fallen off the wagon a bit. While I enjoy the Balance Board and the exercises, there are some shortcomings with the Wii Fit game that comes with it.

The exercises and activities on the disc are very good, and the variety of activities are really nice. The game offers yoga instruction, strength training, cardio and balance exercises. The problem is that you have to pause after each exercise to select another one. This really stops the flow of what you are doing.

The other troubling part of the software we found is that we cannot work out together. This means our workouts take twice as long because we work out one after the other.

Sweetie and I have thought the game would be better with a workout program included with the software and with a workout for two people. I've been watching all the fitness packages that have come out this year, but none of them have quite addressed the problems we saw with Wii Fit.

Well, gaming giant EA has responded to our needs. This Tuesday (19 May 2009), they officially launch EA SPORTS Active for Wii ($59.99, Amazon). I am pre-ordered and can't wait to try it.

This game represents the best workout package I have found so far. The package includes a game CD-ROM, a leg strap and a resistance band. The game is equipped with preset workouts or the ability to create your own custom workouts. With more than 25 exercises and three intensity levels, there is a huge variety of workouts that you can program. The exercises range from inline skating, strength training (with the resistance band), running, basketball and dance workouts. You also get feedback on how your workout is designed so you can vary the length and type of exercises.

The game includes a virtual personal trainer to motivate you. The leg strap is where you hold the Wii Nunchuk while you work out, and this really improves the way that your movements are recorded. The virtual trainer also guides you in performing exercises correctly. One of the challenges with the Wii Fit is that when you run, you're supposed to put the controller in your pocket to measure how fast you run. In workout clothes, it doesn't work that well. Your pocket is either non-existant so that it's tucked in too high or the pocket is too big. Either way, it doesn't measure your run very well. Putting the Nunchuk in the leg strap should measure much more accurately.

The game also includes a multiplayer mode that allows you to play with someone else. By adding the EA SPORTS Active Multiplayer Pack ($18.99, Amazon), you can compete against another player, or work together to win a challenge.

The tracking software also allows you to track your other activities and diet, and lets you set measurable goals to achieve. You can also participate in a 30-day Challenge. This program gives you a different workout of increasing intensity every day. How far can you push yourself?

The following video shows just one of the features of EA SPORTS Active: the 30-day Challenge.

EA SPORTS Active

Pic Luv: Blooming Hibiscus

2009-05-12T17:48:00.014-06:00

Well, this sucks! It's the middle of May, and it is snowing in Edmonton.

Spring session schedule of two night classes is kicking my ass. Three hour classes four nights a week after a full-time job is just as bad as it sounds. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. On the bright side, I'm enjoying the course material, and it is very relevant to what's happening at work.

May is half over, wow! The schedule makes the days fly by. I'm completely wiped out when I get home. Poor sweetie is lonely all night and then just watches me crumple onto the couch. For once, I'm the one going to bed first.

When I am tired lately, I think of the great flowers that I saw in Punta Cana in February, and how there will be beautiful flowers all over the yards here very soon. Here's a hibiscus flower I photographed while I was there. They grow so plentifully at the resort we stayed at that the staff picks them almost daily and leaves them on the pillows of guests who tip them. In February!

I hope it brightens your day like it does mine. What is your pick-me-up on a crappy day?

P.S. This was taken with my trusty Sony CyberShot DSC-W30. I love this little camera and I take it everywhere with me, but I can't wait until I get my new DSLR. I really want to play with lenses and fields of focus!

Tech Luv: ZAGG InvisibleSHIELD

2009-04-26T20:11:00.006-06:00

I'm one of those geeks who loves to find something fun cool and show others why they should have the same thing because it will make their lives better.

I bought an iPhone, and I love it. I put off buying one because I knew I'd be hooked on it, and I am. The apps you can use on it are fun, and even the free ones can be innovative. I've only paid for one app so far, and that was a mistake purchase. I bought the game Lemonade Stand, but I'm glad I did because it is a new version of the old game I played on my Apple 2C, and for us old-school geeks it includes a version with the old graphics.

The other reason was that the iPhone is bigger than my last cellphone. Not that an iPhone is big, but my last phone (a Sony Ericcson 580i) was quite small. I always buy a protective case for my cellphones, so I bought a ZCover iSAglove silicone case with an armband clip. I wanted to use the armband clip when I exercied and planned to buy the window clip to make the phone a cheapy wireless system in the car, but I found that the case was quite bulky. Because it's silicone and has ridges all over it, lint sticks to it and it is difficult to pull smoothly out of the case.

Because we were planning on taking the iPhones on vacation to Dominican Republic, I was trying to find another case when my sweetie showed me this video for ZAGG InvisibleSHIELD armour (I've embedded the video below). After I saw the video, I was sold on it. We picked up a pair at Westworld the next day.

The installation looks really difficult, but it's not too bad if you watch a video on installation first. Sweetie installed his armour first, and then I installed mine. They each took nearly half an hour to install, and it was tough to get the sides to stick correctly. Still, we followed the instructions, (especially the "palming" technique) and it did the trick.

I had a little trouble with one of the corners. There was a bubble that I couldn't quite get out, and it kept it from wrapping around the corner properly. It doesn't stick out or hook on anything, and I'm probably the only one who notices. (See the much-magnified picture?)

The ZAGG InvisibleSHIELD is a cool product. They protect from almost any scratch, and it's only 0.2 mm thick. The armour won't protect from impact damage, so if you drop it, it will probably be just as broken.

The good news is that the case won't be scratched even if it is broken. I tend not to drop my phone too often, but I worry about scratching it since I keep it in a purse.

If scratch protection is most important to you, then this is the case for you!

2009-04-17T00:08:00.004-06:00

I am an unabashed Star Wars geek. I teem with useless trivia about the original trilogy, which I've watched over 100 times. R2D2 is my favourite character in the series, followed by Mara Jade. I believe he's the only one who knows what is going on throughout the series, and would have told people if C3PO could translate properly!

I saw this, and the geek in me got so excited that I actually drooled. When it was over, I looked at the hub and said, "I am so turned on right now." He looked at me and said, "What a geek!"

Yes, I'm a big fat geek and proud of it. What brings out the geek in you?

Product Peek: Dolly Eyes

2009-04-14T21:25:00.005-06:00

I own a lot of glasses.
In my former career I was an optician, so I own a lot of different glasses and contact lenses. Basically, it's kind of ridiculous.

I have a hatbox crammed full of glasses, and I'm still working through the lenses I collected over the years. I even have hard contacts that I never wear - you need to build up wearing time, and I rotate contacts and glasses too much to build it up.

Sometimes I walk into the office in the morning wearing glasses I haven't worn in a year. It's fun to have someone ask if I have new glasses. I can change my eye colour or even make them look like wolf eyes.

I always get excited when I see new types of transformation contacts. The lenses at theDollyEye.com fall somewhere in between excitement and creepy for me. The lenses make your eyes look like the big glass eyes in porcelain dolls.

They are cute, but they also border on creepy. They come in several different colours, and they extend past a natural iris to put nearly 15mm of colour across the eye. Because the colour passes beyond the upper and lower eyelids, the effect is that you have huge eyes like a doll.

I don't know if I'd pick these for myself. Because I have blue eyes, I find that colour change lenses (rather than colour tinting lenses) tend to look unnatural on my eyes. The colours get very pale, so blue lenses look ice-blue like a husky dog, green lenses look like spring leaves, and brown lenses look yellow. There are times when this works to good effect. I'd like it if I was dressing up in costume like a zombie or an elf, but for daily wear this isn't the look I'm going trying to achieve.

Still, the black ones might be good to try. They'd look like intense, dark grey eyes. What colour would look good on you?

Treehouse Luv: Free Spirit Spheres

2009-04-14T18:58:00.001-06:00

Did you have a treehouse as a kid? Bet it wasn't as awesome as these...

Free Spirit Spheres

Bag Luv: Suede & Co.

2009-04-13T22:19:00.011-06:00

Great, I think I'm about to go on a purse binge. Fabulously Broke In the City just pointed out to me that Shopper's Drug Mart is carrying the cutest purses by a Canadian company, Suede & Co.

There are a few that need to come home with me:
As if those weren't pretty enough:

I think I'll be making a trip to Shopper's this week. I have enough Optimum Points on my card to get a couple of them!

Icon Luv: Barbie

2009-04-06T22:43:00.009-06:00

I was a tomboy as child. I loved Tonka trucks and camping equipment. But since I'm such a conundrum, I also loved dolls. I played with Barbie until I was much older than was fashionable, under the pretense that I was playing with my sister.

My favourite doll was Beauty Secrets Barbie (1980 model is shown in the photo). I loved that she was so articulated, and that she had so many items. I loved that she could hold her little powder puff and dab it on her face. I loved that she had a stocked beauty kit.

When I grew older, I realized that Barbie didn't look like me. I was a thin girl with a small bust and hips, and Barbie was, well, pneumatic. She was not like me, so I put away childish things, but I couldn't get rid of them completely. I still had a secret love of Barbie.

When I studied Clothing & Textiles in university, we had a lecture in one class by a Barbie doll collector. She explained to us how Barbie had influenced and been influenced by fashion and popular culture. I was amazed because my little Barbie connection from childhood suddenly had a connection to feminism and pop culture in ways I'd never considered. Despite her unnatural dimensions, Barbie had many positive career roles, including:

Astronaut
Doctor
Volunteer candy striper
UNICEF ambassador

Barbie was a beauty and she and her friends represented many cultures, always with a great sense of style and a killer makeup look.

Others know the fun of Barbie too. MAC released the MAC Loves Barbie cosmetics line in 2007 with beautiful doll-like shades like bright pink. This was one of MACs most successful collections, and Barbie was brought back to the minds of women who grew up playing with their dolls. In turn, Barbie released a MAC Barbie Doll, which was sought after by not just Barbie collectors but MAC collectors as well.

In 2009, Barbie celebrates her 50th anniversary. At New York Fashion Week for Fall 2009, 50 designers contributed to a 50-look Barbie runway show. Stila released the Stila Loves Barbie line, containing more doll-like shades in cute little paint can kits. Lou Lou magazine published an article showing a few examples of Barbie's fashion influences over the years.

I have to admit I still long for some of the Barbies that come out every year. Face it, Barbie is still hot. Hot pink!

Happy Birthday Sista!

2009-03-31T18:22:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday, baby sister!

Video Luv: Ninja Cat

2009-03-30T19:21:00.003-06:00

I saw this and had to watch it again. And again. And again. It's Awesome!

Product Lust: Bonne Bell Lip Smackers Jell-o

2009-03-25T20:07:00.010-06:00

It's un-PC, but I love Lip Smackers by Bonne Bell. I don't care if they are petroleum-based and don't stay on my lips long enough to moisturize. The flavours are tasty and they make my lips have a sheen without being shiny. I dare say I'd take the mighty Dr Pepper Lip Smackers even over my beloved MAC Lipglass.

I just found out they offer Jell-O flavours. Holy crap, that's awesome! Must have, especially Lime! After all, who doesn't love Jell-O? That bouncy. shiny, tasty stuff.

As kids we played with it constantly, and didn't get in trouble, which made it better. It was sort of the point! It was an inexpensive treat when times were tough, and we could stuff ourselves full without Mom worrying about us overeating.

We made homemade Jell-O with extra gelatin mixed in to make Knox Blox at sleepovers. We bounced them off walls, each other, and the basement floor. Don't worry, we didn't eat those ones!

My first cooking experience was with Jell-O. It had heating, mixing, timing and serving, so it was cooking to me. I made layered Jell-O with fruit for a tea party. What can I say, I was ambitious. I was going to be the Julia Childs of Jell-O!

The first recipe was an unmitigated failure. The first layer hardened too much. Some of the fruit juice from the canned fruit cocktail dropped in the pan, which made the second layer too watery, so it didn't harden enough. The result was like trying to eat spaghetti sauce off a waterbed.

Still, I never lost my taste for it. I even liked to lick the Jell-O powder like homemade Lik-M-Aid (remember those?) while I read late at night in my bed. So bring on the Lip Smackers!

Video Luv: Pantomime

2009-03-22T20:08:00.009-06:00

I've been kind of crazy for pantomime lately. My sis, who lives in London, UK, gets to see lots of really good panto, making me jealous.

Pantomime is not to be confused with mime performances, as in white-face and trying to get out of the box. Pantomime is an old musical-comedy theatre style dating back to Greece and Rome.

There's traditional themes like gender-swapped roles (men playing women and girls playing boys), the pantomime horse (two-person costume), and mixing of traditional songs with new lyrics. Think community dinner theatre on LSD.

Celebrities, especially grand old actors, love to do guest appearances in London pantos. It's a great way to ham it up and have a ball with the traditions of old theatre.

Here's a fun pantomime society that can give you a good idea of what a panto is like.

P.S., the pantomime dame in the photo is Sir Ian McKellen from a panto in 2004. Go Gandalf!

Link Luv: The Story of Stuf

2009-03-13T22:29:00.005-06:00

Did you ever wonder how you can get electronic accessories for a buck? Or why your shirts and pants lose their hems so fast? Or why you swear you take out more trash every week than you did growing up at your parent's house?

Take a look at this website. The Story of Stuff is a website by Annie Leonard that has some great ideas and some really interesting links. I love the video on the homepage. It's only 20 minutes long, and it is fun to watch.

I'm a reduce/reuse/recycler from way back. I have very little trash at the curb, even in the winter when it's two weeks between pick-ups. Our recycle bags are always more full than the trash bins.

Still, it always bugs me when I look at how much I have in my little house. Really, it's not a little house. I have friends with smaller houses, but it is cramped because it's full of stuff. If I could get rid of half my stuff, I'd have a cozy home. Sweetie and I talk about it all the time, and we plug away as a team to reduce what's in the house.

The trouble is that we're both packrats. I try to reduce how much I buy and I keep trying to unclutter. It seems impossible and ridiculous at the same time. I know that I don't need half the stuff I have, and yet I can't bring myself to get rid of things. I've reduced a lot and have a lot to remove, but it seems like trying to climb up a down escalator. I

I recycle a lot, and I try to reduce, but I know I can reduce even more.

Link Luv: Lagerfeld on Twitter!

2009-03-06T21:52:00.004-07:00

Okay, I read this today and am giggling my little butt off! Karl Lagerfeld, as in THE Karl Lagerfeld, is blogging on Twitter.

I have no idea if this is really Karl. Would Karl use the word "persnickety"? I would, but would he?
I'm rather persnickety, but I like disorder at work. I'd freeze at a tidy desk.
5:11 PM Feb 28th from web

Then again, some of these are soooo Lagerfeld:

On this day each year, I soak the previous year's calendar in my mother's favorite perfume and then set it ablaze. Here's to a fresh start.
12:13 PM Jan 1st from web.

Here's hoping it's him. I'd love to know that he secretly loves rap.

Thanks to the boys over at The Sword for the tip! Here are some non-Twitter Lagerfeld quotes to brighten your day.

“I’m sorry. What I say is only applicable as I am saying it.” (This should be my disclaimer.)

"Elegance has nothing to do with fashion."

“Coming out after a show is good discipline for me because I have to watch out that I don’t look like an old garden gnome next to all these 20-year-old models.”

Video Luv: Animation Time!

2009-02-11T19:36:00.007-07:00

I love all things stop-motion animation, except for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I think it's the voices; like nails on a chalkboard. But the Peter Gabriel video for "Sledgehammer" is still incredible, and Ray Hammerstein movies were always great fun.

Of course, the best of those has to be Clash of the Titans, which I've seen a couple of hundred times. Mom used to use it in her Grade 8 Language Arts class to test students on how much they paid attention to Greek mythology. She showed them the movie and had them write essays describing the errors in the plot and character interaction. Some of those kids could probably still tell you who Cassiopeia and her boasting really pissed off. That was one of the few videos we owned and I watched it a lot!

Here's an awesome stop-motion video that made me smile.

Pretty Kitty!

2009-02-09T23:01:00.001-07:00

This kitty is adorable. Listen to it really nom-nom.

Calling All Canucks: Vitamin D Drive

2009-02-06T21:26:00.017-07:00

Check it out! February is Vitamin D month, and GrassrootsHealth in the US setting up a campaign to solve vitamin D deficiency. Daction is a program to generate awareness of the problem and testing. The program will involve testing twice a year over five years to study the effects of Vitamin D levels on the body.

Okay, so I've been accused of being a bit of an earth muffin. But I'm a big believer in the effect of what you ingest affects your overall health. I include vitamin D supplements in my personal battle with seasonal affective disorder.

Vitamin D is the fat-soluble one called the "sunshine vitamin" because it's produced by your body when UV rays contact the skin, and it's not commonly found in foods naturally.

I'm fair-skinned, so my daily use of an SPF 8 reduces vitamin D absorption by 95%, and since I live in Edmonton, there's not enough UVB here for me from October to mid-March. Interestingly, that's when my SAD hits and recedes every year.

There are several diseases which have strong links to vitamin D deficiency. Rickets is the original deficiency disease, but a lack of vitamin D increases risk for high blood pressure, chronic muscle pain, osteoporosis, periodontal disease, type 1 diabetes, cancer, tuberculosis and some autoimmune diseases.

Oxford University released a study this week showing that a form of vitamin D triggers an immune system gene linked to multiple sclerosis. This is especially important to me because a dear friend was recently diagnosed with MS.

Think this doesn't affect you? 97 percent of Canadians are vitamin D deficient at some point in the year, according to University of Calgary research.

The cost to join the Daction project is USD30.00, which includes a health survey and at-home vitamin D blood spot test. The test results will be shipped directly to you, and you are able to make our own changes. This is a really reasonable cost for a five-year program that could make such a big difference to your life. It's a great chance to see what changing your vitamin intake can do to improve your health.

What can you do? "Participate in the study, get tested, get your serum levels to the 40-60 ng/ml range and learn all you can about Vitamin D," said Dr. Vieth of the GrassrootsHealth sponsored testing.

Remember to take your vitamin D supplement with a calcium or magnesium supplement for maximum absorption. Don't worry about overdosing on it; toxicity requires taking more than 100 times the RDA amount for months.

Please join the campaign and tell at least two friends about it.

Props to BodyBeautiful.ca for sending out a call to action for Canadians to join the campaign!

Product Lust: Avon Clearskin® Professional Acne Treatment System

2009-02-05T08:21:00.002-07:00

Salicylic Acid* OTC active treatment to clear, reduce & help prevent acne blemishes.
*Scrub & Lotion only.
Glycolic Acid An effective skin retexturizer.
Exclusive Zinc Hexapeptide-11 Designed to help control surface oil in oily-prone skin.

Beauty Girl: Dakota Fanning

2009-01-30T17:48:00.001-07:00

I have to say (even if it makes me sound, like, so OLD) that it's soooo refreshing to see a teenager dressing like a teenager. Let's all give a big ol' HUZZAH to Dakota Fanning.

How nice is it to see a 15-year-old dressing like a really cute 15-year-old and not a little over-sexed wannabe?

I love this dress, with the architectural details and the asymmetric lines. I even like the colour, because its not beige, but it's demure. And the shoes are wicked too!

Don't get me wrong, I believe that kids are completely overprotected these days and infantalized by their parents (I say confidently with my dried up little vay-gay). Still, just because I think kids should be brought up in an atmosphere of awareness, it doesn't mean they should run around like a modern Miss Kitty.

Dakota's aging well, which is something you always worry about with child actors. The teen years seem to be so cruel to so many. Nobody wants to be the one who used to be so cute.

Kudos, kiddo!

50 Things To Say Before You Die

2009-01-26T21:34:00.002-07:00

My first meme! I saw this and thought it was a nice way to brighten my day.
50 Things to Say Before You Die

Thanks for everything you’ve done.
You’ve changed my life.
I need you.
I’ve only got one life to live.
Nothing can stop me.
I love my life.
There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.
I can change the world.
I will change the world.
I have changed the world.
I’m rich without money.
I’m doing what I was meant to do.
I conquered my biggest fear.
Glad to help you.
I have all the money I need.
I don’t care what people think.
I’m honest.
I’m going for it!
I’m proud of myself.
I’ve failed.
I’ve learned from my failures.
I have no regrets.
I don’t like my life.
I’ve never had more fun in my life.
You hurt me.
There’s more to life than this.
I love you no matter what.
I’ve accomplished a lot.
You’ve been successful.
I’m listening.
I’m here for you.
Words can’t describe the way I feel.
I’m not giving up.
I don’t have any worries.
There is no place like home.
It was a pleasure to talk to you.
I have all the time in the world.
I need a hand.
You’re my best friend.
I’m glad you were here.
I’m just gonna go for it.
I can’t thank you enough.
I’m trusting my gut.
I follow my own path.
What a wonderful world.
I take full responsibility.
I’m not sorry.
I came, I saw, I conquered.
I haven’t said enough.
I’m not afraid.

I've said quite a few in my life, but I have a few to go, I think.

Today was a bit of a rough day, and I let life's rougher bits get me down. It's tricky when you wake up in a bad mood because your day always feels like it has a limit on how good you can feel.

After reading this, I started to to think. This is a much nicer set of goals than "get a bigger house" or go to the gym more." I'm probably one of those people who needs a reminder every now and again to just lighten the hell up.

How many on the list have you said?

2009-01-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

I can't think how to make this about beauty, but the geek in me loves it. Maybe it's a Bob-&-Doug-MacKenzie kind of thing, "Beauty, eh?"

For those of us who love Paper Rock Scissors, here's the ultimate geek upgrade. What's not to love?

Product Review: Rimmel London Lash Maxxx Waterproof Mascara

2009-01-22T18:21:00.001-07:00

In my quest for the perfect long, thick lashes, I'm always testing out new mascaras. Because my lashes are long and sparse, I find that the thickening mascaras are trickier for me to use. They tend to give me spiderlegs instead of lashes.

I decided to give Rimmel London Lash Maxxx Waterproof Mascara a try. It claims to multiply lashes three times. The wand is a one-sided brush instead of the standard spiral brush. I find that the formula isn't too thick, but it does seem to thicken up the lashes a bit.

Still, like most volumizing mascaras, I find that after three weeks the formula thickens up in the tube. I don't pump my mascara, but this happens a lot with volumizing mascaras.

Hail To the Chief

2009-01-20T13:54:00.003-07:00

As a neighbour watching our friends to the south, I've been cautiously optimistic that the new government would enact some change. But listening to the inaugural address U.S. President Barack Obama gave today did fill me, for the first time, with a sense of hope.

Watch the address . There is beauty in his words, and he's a great orator by any standard. This gave me the same feeling that the inaugural address JFK gives when you watch it.

Goals for 2009

2009-01-03T19:59:00.004-07:00

It's good to set goals for yourself, right? So here we go: in 2009 I will...

Post three times a week. I'll try for a combination of observations, product reviews and the thing I didn't post in 2008, Hollywood trivia.
Preparing the house for sale: getting rid of 30% of knick-knacks and souvenirs in the hospital, repairs to washrooms, upgrade lino flooring.
Get a dog. Sweetie says this is contingent on goal 2, so apart from the great feeling upgrading the house will give me, I'll finally have a dog again!
lose 10 inches by improving tone in arms, legs and waist. I'm not really sure what change this will cause in my weight, but it's the muscle tone I'm interested in.
Finish five courses in my Public Relations program. When I pass my current courses, I'll take two courses in the spring session and one in the autumn.
Increase my charitable donations. Not just our monetary donations, but my time and effort. I will make more clothing drives happen, and I will enter the MS Walk, which I haven't done for years.
Continue to develop the communications plan at work. Specifically, I want to develop and implement a recruitment communications plan and the overall communications plan. This is especially important with the recent drive to find new work, and will be challenging with the limitations we'll have on our resources.

What are your goals for 2009?

Product Lust: Molten Magic Heat Packs

2008-12-13T22:36:00.009-07:00

Wow, where did the time go? Three weeks vanished in a blur of moving school and offices.

I thought I'd show you one of my favourite items that I keep beside the bed. Molten Magic Heat Packs are reusable exothermic heating pads that are safe to apply directly to skin and have been a treasure for me over the years. I bought a pair of the small ones ($8) at the Klondike Days Exposition two years ago, and last year I bought two more in the medium size ($10 each).

These pads work by encasing a metal activator disc and a sodium acetate solution in a high-grade vinyl pouch. The metal disc is "popped", and the metal reacts with the liquid solution, heating to 54 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit). This is very warm; almost too hot to stand against your skin, but not quite. The heating effect lasts for 20-30 minutes, and they are recharged by simmering in boiling water for 5-10 minutes.

The small packs are perfect as handwarmers in cold weather. All sizes of packs are great for theraputic use too. I use them at night when my back feels stiff, and they are perfect for placing on your tummy to deal with menstrual cramps.

I find that they recharge quickly, and I recommend buying them in pairs. That way, when you have used one and are charging it, you can use the other. I also use them while they are cooling down after I boil them, so I get double the heating effect.

They are available at local fairs, keep an eye out for them!

2008-11-20T13:48:00.007-07:00

MAC has just released an awesome set of metallic cosmetics in Metal Urge. And this weekend, you can order online with free shipping.

7 shades of Brushed Metal-X Eye Shadow:

Gilded Ash - dark charcoal grey with pearl
Gold Spice - metallic coppery gold
Forged Rose - Reddish copper with gold pearl
Verdigris - Dirty deep green with silver pearl
Metalblu - Navy blue with silver pearl
Pink Platinum - Light blue/pink with silver pearl
Material Gold - Pale peach/beige with gold pearl

3 shades of Pigments:

Cocomotion - Dirty gold with an olive undertone and a gold sparkle
Spiritualize - Yellow green with silver and gold pearl
Gold Mode - Tan gold

4 shades of Glitter:

Reflects Bronze - Rich sparkling gold
Reflects Blackened Red - Sparkling burgundy
Reflects Purple Duo - Rich sparkling purple
Reflects Very Pink - Sparkling fuschia pink

Liquidlast Eyeliner:

Dress Khaki - Khaki green with yellow pearl
Molten Sol - Rich gold with intense metallic
Powerplum - Deep plum with red pearl
Inskpill - Deep green with green pearl
Inky - Navy blue with low-level pearl
Visionaire - Clean baby pink
Classic Cream - White gold

Looks great, and I can't wait to buy a couple!

Cleopatra Eyes

2008-11-18T12:17:00.007-07:00

I'm home sick today with a beaut of a headcold. I tried to sleep as late as possible, and it's peppermint tea for the throat and Lipton's Chicken Noodle Soup for the tummy. For the soul, it's Days of Our Lives and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Cleopatra (1963).

I haven't watched DoOL in ears, and its just as cheesy-good as ever. Someone is a murderer, and someone else nearly married him, and someone is secretly very ill, and someone is pregnant, and so is someone else, but keeping it a secret from the father... It's comforting that even when the names change, the plots stay the same.

Cleopatra, a four-hour epic, was considered a box office flop because of the cost overruns, but it's a lavish slice of 1960s hubris. I love that the Egyptians are wearing fitted bullet-bra garments. And let's face it; any excuse to see Liz Taylor's remarkable cleavage is worth it. She's sexy, and totally covered up.

I grew up in the generation where Liz Taylor was either a lush or frail from an illness. But this movie reminds me that she was the queen of Hollywood, and at five-foot-two, no one could touch her.

It also reminds me that of the reason she married Richard Burton twice. He was a vital, handsome man back in the day. I always picture him from the interview he and Liz did with Barbara Walters in the 1970s, and it seemed to me that he was a drunkard and kind of sad. But once he truly was a lion among men.

It also makes me thing of the cat-eye makeup look, and how this movie had such an impact on the fashion of the era. It had such impact that it continues to be an iconic look that is adapted every decade. The eyeliner flair may change, and the colour or use of eye shadow differs, but it's always there in the fashion realm.

Admit it, you've rocked the cat-eye in your day!

Teal Time

2008-11-15T12:56:00.010-07:00

For some reason, I'm crazy for teal this year. I don't know why, but it's my favourite colour right now. I've been obsessed with finding the perfect shade of teal; not too blue and not too green. I found a mohair sweater that came close to perfection. I even found a ginormous leather satchel that was a lovely shade that evokes images of deep Caribbean waters.

Imagine how excited I was when my LouLou Magazine Special Edition arrived yesterday, I was stoked to see that some of the handbags for the fall in glorious shades of teal!

Longchamp has "Légende" ($900), a patent calfskin leather bag in "DuckBlue" with a large interior and two outer pockets. The bag has a patent leather handles and wrapped around the base, and shiny, crinkled leather for the main material. There are metal feet on the bottom, so the bag is more protected from dust and dirt. The main bag of the interior contains two zippered pockets and a leather key holder. The overall size is 18 x 13x 8 inches, so there's lots of room for all your goodies.

Coach has a beautiful handbag called "Amanda Satin Mini Satchel" ($298) in Brass/Teal. This a a smaller bag, only 11 x 5 x 4 inches, it has leather wrapped handles and a removable shouder strap. Inside, there's a zip pocket and an open pocket.

There you have it. Two very different shades of teal in different materials. Simply lovely!

Remembrance Day: Wear a Poppy with Pride

2008-11-11T07:23:00.004-07:00

If you haven't been wearing a poppy all week, please make sure to wear one today. I'm working on my second one, and I was checking for tips to keep the poppy from falling out. Most people I know go through about 3-5 poppies a year.

First, try weaving the poppy through the fabric several times rather than just once. This can help anchor the poppy. I've been told that bending the tip of the pin works. I was trying that this year, and it sort of works, but the pins keeps poking me. Another tip I've heard is to push an earring back or a pencil eraser into the end of the pin. The eraser works the best, and if you push it up far enough the poppy will hide it.

I hope you wear a poppy today (on the left side over your heart), and I hope you take 2 minutes at 11 A.M. to remember those who fought and gave their lives for our freedom.

The Canadian Legion distributes around 18 million poppies a year across the country.

Flanders Field

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCra, 1915

Product Review: Carmex vs. Prairie Dawn Natural Lip Balm

2008-11-10T17:57:00.019-07:00

Dammit! I'm hideous again! I have another cold sore!

As sufferers know, sometimes the little buggers come one after another. This one is on the other side of my mouth. I HATE when this happens. I only get cold sores on the left side of my mouth, and this monster tag along is bigger than that last one. I HATE when this happens.

So, since last time (less than a month ago!) I gave you information on cold sores and the treatment I like the best. This time, I'll discuss what to do with the rest of your lips.

Whenever you have a cold sore, it's tricky to keep the rest of your lips moist. You want to lick them because they feel misshapen and dry, so you end up drying them out even more. Wetting your lips and the cold sore dries it out and makes the sore more likely to crack and take longer to heal. So the important thing is to use a lip balm. I tend to choose between two kinds of balm: a balm that tastes bad or a balm that tastes good.

My choice for lip balm that tastes bad is Carmex. Introduced in 1937, it contains methol and phenol to disinfect and cocoa butter to moisturize the lips. Ounce for ounce, I find it works better at softening lips over every other lip balm. The active ingredients are camphor, menthol, phenol, and salicylic acid.

Carmex works well to keep the whole lip soft when the cold sore is healing and doesn't interfere with other treatments. It's not tested on animals, and it works really well to plump your lips while they heal. Best of all, it has no expiration date. I keep a jar marked "CS" just for when I have a cold sore, so I don't mix it up with other jars.

The taste is... well... camphor. It is available in other flavours (strawberry, mint and cherry), but I find that the mediciney taste is still noticeable. I don't mind it so much, but I wouldn't call it good tasting.

Now, for tasty lip balm that works well, I use Prairie Dawn Natural Lip Balm. Listen to this ingredient list:

Jojoba oil (Organic virgin cold pressed & unrefined from the Sonoran Desert in Arizona)
Virgin cold pressed castor seed oil
Alberta beeswax
Unrefined wheat germ oil
Vegetable glycerin
Virgin unrefined coconut oil extracted from the milk of the coconut
Avocado oil
Pure essential oils

This lip balm comes in four flavours:

Sweet Orange
Lime
Peppermint
Black Licorice

Prairie Dawn is really delicious, and it's extra moisturizing. It feels silky and rich on your lips, and because it uses essential oils to flavour, the flavour is completely realistic. Lime tastes like lime, and licorice tastes like licorice. It leaves a nice sheen that isn't too glossy, but lasts for a long time.

So when your lips are really feeling yucky, treat them to something that makes them feel good and fixes them.

Product Review: Canus Fresh Goat's Milk Soap

2008-11-08T20:59:00.006-07:00

I love Canus Fresh Goat's Milk Soap. I admit to being very lazy when it comes to skincare. I only do the minimum when it comes to anything from the neck down.

Mostly, I just feel I shouldn't mess too much with the body's natural systems. It's silly to use a cleanser that strips moisture away only to add moisture back with a lotion that adds other things to your skin that you have to remove with cleanser to prevent clogging pores... it's a vicious cycle that's just silly.

Canus soap is safe for all skin types and is really moisturizing, so I use it in the shower to wash my whole body. This Canadian product is made with entirely natural essential oils for fragrances and doesn't test their products on animals, and the soap is biodegradable and phosphate-free, so I feel guilt-free about the suds going down the drain.

Canus started when a pair of entrepreneurs in Quebec, Canada teamed with a biochemist to create a line of skincare products. The line expanded, and now is marketed in Canada, the United States, France, Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

Goat's milk contains lactic acid (reputed to be a highly effective moisturizer), and caproic and capric fatty acids (which have moisturizing and antibacterial powers). It also contains vitamin A Retinol, caprylic acid (which promotes absorption of emolients and relaxes the skin's surface) and B-complex vitamins. Goat's milk has a pH similar to human skin, and contains natural emollients, vitamins and triglycerides that moisturize the skin.

Canus soap moisturizes using fresh goat's milk concentrate. Fresh milk isn't as easy to preserve as powdered goat's milk, but it does retain its curative properties better than powdered milk.

I find this bar soap and it is quite gentle. The soap is triple-milled, so the bar is hard and doesn't dissolve in the shower the way some soaps do. It lathers up nicely into a silky froth.

Canus has severals lines of products, from cleansers to moisturizers. Their products come in six varieties:

Original Formula - The first and signature products. All the beneficial properties of fresh goat’s milk combined with a subtle, fresh fragrance made from essential oils that is trademark Canus.
Fragrance-Free - This deliver all the virtues of our Original Formula collection, minus the fragrance. This makes them ideal for people with sensitive skin or odor allergies.
Shea Butter - Shea nuts grow in Africa. They look like small avocados. They contain approximately 50% fat. They are used in skincare products because of their nourishing moisturizing properties and skin softening powers. They help maintain the skin’s elasticity. The fragrance is both calming and refreshing.
Olive Oil and Wheat Protein - Olive oil is known for its skin softening properties. Wheat protein helps tone skin, restore the skin’s elasticity and also soften skin. The fragrance is equally charming and invigorating.
Orchid Oil - The orchid is Thailand’s national flower. People in Asia have been using orchid oil for centuries to help repair and protect skin. Orchid oil is recognized as an effective skin moisturizer and softener, and for its antioxidant properties too. The fragrance is exotic.
Marigold Oil - Marigold oil, also known as Calendula Oil is recognized as an excellent antioxidant. Used in skincare products, it is also known for its anti-inflammatory properties, making it popular with people suffering from itchy skin or skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, etc. The fragrance is fresh and tonifying.

Product Lust: Givency Phenomen'Eyes Mascara

2008-11-07T20:34:00.004-07:00

I'm somewhat frugal when it comes to cosmetics, but I spend more on products where I think it makes a bigger difference. I find that eye shadows, blushes, lipsticks, etc. are still decent in quality whether you pay $8 instead of $25. I spend money for high end foundations, concealers, etc. because the money goes into things like finer milled powders, nicer consistencies and better colour choices. I do tend to get excited by new products. You may not be able to build a better mousetrap, but surely you can make an eyelash curler than doesn't kink my lashes like a cat's tail that was stuck in a door? Still, I don't relish the idea of spending three times what I normally pay for products that get the job done. Having said that, I got excited when I saw the new Givency Phenomen'Eyes Mascara. I usually use pharmacy brands of mascara, so the $27 pricetag made my stomach drop. Then again, I hate using mascaras because they tend to be clumpy and spiky on my lashes. Maybe it's time I started spending more money on expensive mascaras to see the benefits.

The Phenomen'Eyes wand looks trés cool with the spherical bulb and the soft-looking bristles. The idea of coating every lash is certainly appealing. I find that long mascara wands tend to catch the bulk of my lashes in the middle but almost none on the corners of my eyes. My lashes are long but sparse, so making them all pop is definitely what I'm looking for in a mascara.

This is one item that's going on my shopping list, and I can't wait to see if it works!

Beauty Tips: Traveling Light

2008-11-05T22:05:00.002-07:00

I visited my sister in the UK this spring for two weeks, and decided to travel super-light, as in no checked luggage. Air Canada, in their infinite wisdom, have allowed for two carry-on bags per person; one bag up to 21.5" long and one bag up to 17" long, plus your purse (up to 10" long-can you say wee?).

I brought the 21" wheeled carry-on that I usually take when I travel. It's old and I often think about replacing it, but it's quite lightweight and durable, and it can be crammed full of gear and still fit inside the airline carry-on measuring cage. Because I wanted to bring my laptop and do some writing, I bought a fantastic backpack from Targus (CityGear Chicago model # TCG650). This bad boy fit my 15" MacBook Pro, camera, my makeup bag, toiletry bag, a change of clothes, and a few other essentials. When I was in London, this bag came everywhere with me, hauled my laptop and snacks and a raincoat.

For clothing, I splurged and took extras:

2 pairs of jeans (light silver-grey and dark blue)
tan cotton chinos
short dressy skirt
long cotton skirt
2 tank tops with built-in shelf bras
2 long-sleeved tee shirts
dressy vest
denim blazer
waterproof jacket
3 pairs of undies
1 convertible bra
3 pairs socks
1 pair stockings
leather clogs
Aerosole boat shoes

Since my goal was to go small, I decided to go light on makeup & beauty items. My sis told me to borrow her shampoo & conditioner. I took only minimal makeup and small, airline-approved tools. The Revlon Beauty-Tools-To-Go was awesome; it was easy to clear through airport security and the curler worked perfectly.

For makeup, I brought:
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner Cover Girl Volume Exact Waterproof Mascara
MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder NC15
MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer NW15
Maybelline Wet Shine Lipcolor in Gem Crushed Merlot
MAC Lipglass Viva Glam VI SE
Quo brow/liner brush
Quo travel powder brush
Quo powder brush

Whadda Bahgain: MAC Little Darlings Holiday Collection

2008-11-05T21:47:00.011-07:00

Free Shipping on MAC Little Darlings Holiday Collection when ordering online. Drool!

Issued as part of the Holiday Collection, these adorable sets come in an orange-red patent cylinder-shaped gift box with a lift-off lid. There are six sets available:

5 Coral Lipglass and Lustreglass ($35.50) Underage, Ola Mango and Pink Grapefruit Lipglass, and Wonderstruck and Budding Lustreglass
5 Pink Lipglass and Lustreglass ($35.50) Fleur Delight, Song and Dance, and Magnetique Lipglass, and Flashmode and Little Vi Lustreglass
5 Neutral Lipglass and Lustreglass ($35.50) C-Thru, Mouthwatering, and Languish Lipglass, and Love Nectar and Beaux Lustreglass
5 Warm Pigments and Glitter ($35.50) Gold Dusk, Gold Mode, Gold Stroke, Melon Pigments, and Reflects Antique Gold Glitter
5 Cool Pigments and Glitter ($35.50) Frost, Quietly, Pinked Mauve, Teal Pigments, and Reflects Blackened Red Glitter
5 Softsparkle Eye Pencils ($35.50) Peacocked, Mint and Olive, and Chocolight, and two Eye Pencils in Black Funk and Fab Orchid

I want the Cool Pigments and Glitter. I've been dying to buy these colours already!

Use offer code DARLINGS at checkout.

FotD: Grey Shimmer Face of the Day

2008-11-05T18:00:00.001-07:00

My first Face of the Day! Not my best effort, but also really the way I show up for work - makeup under glasses. Honesty at its best. I did a black & grey shimmer eye palette.

Here's the look. Sorry the photo is blurry; it's sort of a "Dynasty" filter :)

Here's what I used:

For the eyes:
Physician's Formula Baked Collection in Smokes
Bourjois Paris Ombre A Paupieres in Rose Tentation
Rimmel London Exaggerate Full Colour Eye Definer in Steel
Cover Girl Volume Exact Mascara in Black
Quo Crease Blender Brush
Quo Liner/Brow Brush
Quo Definer Shadow Brush
Avanti Powder Brush

For the cheeks:
Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Blush in Pink Glow

For the lips:
Maybelline Lip Indulgence in Plum Pastry
MAC LipGlass in Viva Glam VI SE

For the Face:
MAC Select Sheer/Pressed Powder in NC15
Estee Lauder Spotlight

Product Lust: Charlescraft Spa Reflectives Floor Stand Mirror

2008-10-30T20:47:00.001-06:00

Confession time: I don't have a makeup mirror. I never used one before, just a mirror and natural light from my windows. I even spent a few years waiting to get to work to put on makeup. It just seemed to make sense to put makeup on in the fluorescent lights where I worked.

Well, I'm finally breaking down and getting one. But my house is small, so I need to keep my furniture and use of counterspace to a minimum. I was looking for a wall mirror, when I found this: Charlescraft Spa Reflectives Floor Stand Mirror ($180).

How frickin' cool is this? The good stuff:

Almost 173 cm (6 ft.) tall
Includes an electrical outlet
Hair dryer holder, glass tray and towel bar
22 cm (11 in.) illuminated mirror is glare-free, fog-free and dual sided (one side is regular, one side is 7x magnification)
Satin nickel finish

I don't know if I want to shell out 180 bones for this, but it's tempting...

Whadda Bahgain: Givenchy at Sephora.com

2008-10-29T17:55:00.004-06:00

Two posts today to make up for not posting yesterday!

Wanting to try Phenomen'Eyes Mascara? Sephora.com has a great offer for Givenchy products that lets you try Phenomen'Eyes and Absolutely Irresistable Roll-On, and get a pouch packed with 4 other samples for $52. The fuschia pouch contains:

Phenomen'Eyes Mascara in Black
Absolutely Irresistable Roll-On fragrance
No Surgetics Wrinkle Reducer
Subli'mine Fluid Foundation
Continuous Color Radiance Lip Gloss
Verry Irresistible Givenchy Sensual

Enter promo code LOVELUXE at checkout.

Product Review: Boots No. 7 Restore & Renew Beauty Serum

2008-10-29T17:45:00.011-06:00

I have loved the Boots No. 7 collection since they first hit Canada at Shoppers Drug Mart. I haven't tried the cosmetics yet, but the skincare products feel and look great.

I have been using Boots No.7 Restore & Renew Beauty Serum ($25). When this was shown on a tv series in the UK (it's named Protect & Perfect there), they confirmed that it lived up to its claims to repair and prevent wrinkles and pigmentation. Sales increased 2000%; one sold every 1.3 seconds. Just like the Nintendo Wii, they'd arrive in the stores and immediately sell out. I had to give it a whirl, and I'm really glad I did.

The lotion comes in a simple tube which is pearl white just like the serum. When you dispense it onto a fingertip, it has this wonderful, rich consistency. It's highly emolient and soaks into the skin quickly, and it feels silky when you put it on. I originally bought it to use under my eyes (to battle the raccoon bags that live there - damned thin skin!), but I use it all over my eye area and as an emolient aid when a product is too thick. It blends with concealer very well, which helps keep it from being too visible on my thin under-eye skin.

The goodies in it are antioxidants and retinol, so I use it mainly at night and always-always use a sunblock if I'm wearing it during daylight hours. I wouldn't swear as to how much it helps reduce wrinkles, but I do find it plumps up fine lines a little and makes the skin very soft and supple.

The Boots website has a great feature called the Skin Wheel, and it's wicked! You drag the wheel to describe your skin condition, and the website kicks out a 'report' of the Boots products best suited to your skin. Great advertising feature if you're unfamiliar with the product lines. I always have trouble sorting out which line will work best for my skin and my needs. It's the whole denial thing: "I don't need to worry about anti-aging products!"

Whadda Bahgain: Clinique at Sears

2008-10-27T18:33:00.007-06:00

It's Clinique Bonus Time again! Sears is offering a gift with purchase from 25 October - 12 November 2008.

For those of you who want to try the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, this is a great way to try a sample. These are also perfect travel sizes.

If you spend $26.50 CAD (before taxes), you receive the following:

Different Lipstick in your choice of shade: Spiced Apple (Nudes) or Rose Aglow (Pinks)
Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo in your choice of shade: Butter Pecan (Nudes) or Chocolate Kiss (Pinks)
Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser
Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
Clinique mirror
High Impact Mascara in Black
Cosmetics bag

Link Luv: Makeup Tutorial from Petrilude - "Frozen"

2008-10-26T21:38:00.011-06:00

Well, after weeks of being told we're having sunny weather and that snow was far away, we've had a dusting of flakes this weekend. Once again, Canucks are thinking about how to make their costumes for Halloween cold-weather friendly.

This Halloween, Petrilude has been proving why he's my hero for the Youtube makeup tutorial. He has outdone himself and created a variety of incredible looks this year. He's done a snow fantasy look called "Frozen" which seems to go well with our recent change in the weather.

Take a look at this tutorial. I love the snow details as a finishing touch!

His explanations are really clear, and his technique makes it look easy. I'm considering doing something like this for my costume. Even though I'm comfortable doing most makeup looks, I get nervous doing really elaborate looks. Still, he makes this look so easy that I feel that even I could do it.

What are you doing for Halloween this year?

2008-10-25T22:07:00.010-06:00

Sephora is carrying the limited-edition Smashbox palettes released in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Young Survival Coalition, an international non-profit network of survivors and supporters dedicated to the issues unique to young women and the fight against breast cancer.

Get pretty for a good cause!!!

The Kit includes:

Pink Power Eye Palette in Celebrate (ivory sheen/ pink champagne shimmer/ olive shimmer)
Pink Power Lip Palette in Inspire (pink shimmer/ neutral pink shimmer/ pink beige shimmer)
1 dual ended eyeshadow applicator and 1 lip brush

Pink Bites: Oakley Ravishing & Enduring Sunglasses

2008-10-24T20:29:00.006-06:00

I love glasses and sunnies, when they have good quality lenses. Oakley always has a lot of sweet colours and awesome looking, lightweight frames. They have released two special edition sunglasses to support the Young Survival Coalition’s mission of action, advocacy and awareness.

Oakley is donating US$20 from each sale of the special YSC breast cancer awareness edition sunglasses to the organization. The YSC’s core purpose is to improve the quality and quantity of life for all young women facing the challenges of breast cancer.

The special YSC breast cancer awareness edition Oakley Enduring™ and Oakley Ravishing™ sunglasses feature lush contours of lightweight O Matter® frame material that is accented with a pink ribbon design. The breast cancer awareness ribbon is also laser etched at the corner of the lens with Oakley’s pure Plutonite® lens material filtering out 100% of all UV rays.

Oakley’s High Definition Optics® takes clarity to the edge of a wide peripheral view with impact protection and is also available with Oakley authentic prescription lenses.

Enduring has a pearl white frame with pink temple sleeves and pink G20 wraparound lenses. The Unobtainium frame was designed for a woman's head, and the adjustable nosepad makes the fit even more comfortable.

Ravishing has a polished black frame with multicoloured print. The shape is a larger, Jackie-O style. The grey lens is perfect for medium to bright light.

Each pair of sunglasses comes with a specially designed pin, an eyewear case, plus a custom MICROCLEAR™ bag for lens cleaning and frame storage.

Oakley retails Ravishing for US$130 (CDN$155) and Enduring for US$160 (CDN$195). That is cheaper than the regular line sunglasses, and they donate $20 from the purchase to YSC.

Easy, Now: De-Stressing Tips for Work and School

2008-10-23T22:22:00.016-06:00

I've been really stressed at work for the last week or so. I've had additional duties at work assigned to me for an undetermined amount of time to assist another department. I'm still enrolled in two courses of night school, and my annual bout of SAD just kicked in, so I'm feeling pretty overloaded right now.

There are lots of things you can do to keep your stress from overpowering your life. I'm doing what I can to keep my mood up. Here are 10 of my tips:

1) Take daily vitamin supplements to keep my B-complex, C, D, magnesium, iron, calcium, zinc and potassium levels up. Deficiencies in these vitamins and minerals have strong links to depression.

2) Eat lunch away from the office at least three times a week. It doesn't mean eating out; I bring a sandwich or a salad. When I get bogged down in work, it's easy to feel chained to the desk. This gives me a chance to breathe and regroup.

3) Don't skip meals. This is one I struggle with because I tend to skip breakfast. Right now, I make sure I eat breakfast, whether it's a bowl of oatmeal or a breakfast bar.

4) Do stretches at work. I make a point of joining the office in the morning stretching sessions which are part of my company's health & wellness program. This allows me a chance to relax in case I was stressing out on the drive to work. It also gives me a chance to have a laugh with the people I work with, since these are light-hearted sessions.

5) If you have to vent, do it before you get home. Don't vent work-stress once you finish the drive from work. I try to say something good about my day once I get home, so I'm not focusing on the negative parts of my day.

6) Treat yourself once a week. When I can't afford something big like a spa treatment or a shopping spree, I give myself a pedicure or take a relaxation bath.

7) Stop for two minutes to laugh and smile. Smiling is proven as a weird biofeedback thing to improve your mood. An eight-hour work day has 480 minutes; laugh for two of them. I set an alarm, but I take two minutes in my busy workday to joke with a friend.

8) Use a massage tool. You don't need to be a pro. Throw it in a desk drawer and use it on your back or calf muscles while you're on the phone. I found a great body massager at Winners for $8 that is double-sided and feels great.

9) Make a list of the tasks you want to get done for the day, and mark them off when you are done. A five minute list lets me see my accomplishments for the day so I don't feel like I didn't getting anything done.

10) When you are feeling overloaded, talk to someone. Try to talk to your supervisor. You don't need to feel like you are whining if you say what parts are dragging you down, and it gives everyone a chance to evaluate the workload. If you can't talk to your supervisor, ask your HR department if your company has an employee assistance program. Companies put these in place to help, not to judge. I used my company EFAP program to get help with treatment for depression one winter when my SAD was out of control.

When it feels like the world is weighing on your shoulders, just remember to breathe. It's important to think about how things will change from day to day. Stress can produce results, so work through it, and try not to be negative to the people around you. Tomorrow is full of possibilities, and things can improve.

If you can't say something nice, say nothing. Negative attitudes at work are contagious. Apart from spreading the cranky around, you may cross the wrong person. As Sigourney Weaver's character said in Working Girl, "Today's junior prick is tomorrow's senior partner."

2008-10-22T17:33:00.010-06:00

Okay, dude... YUM.

I am a coffee junkies but need to moderate my intake. I don't seem to feel more alert from caffeine, but I do get giddy and talkreallyreallyfast when I have too much. My limit seems to be one cup of joe or one can of Dr. Pepper a day (BOO!). If I take more than that, well... it's just bad.

Lucky for me that the coffee houses have decaf when I need a warm, creamy buzz. That way, I'm getting a creamy sugar rush without the jitters! But it also makes me a little obsessive about the smell of coffee. Since I can't drink much of it, I love candles and bath products that remind me of it.

Philosophy The Coffee House ($30) is great for those of us who need a caffeine fix but need to show restraint. The scents are rich, and these really lather up nicely. The Egg Nog and the Cafe au Lait are really nice, but the Caramel Mocha Latte is to die for. The scent wraps itself around you like a fuzzy blanket, and you smell edible all day.

Too good!

Product Review: Rimmel London Eye Twist

2008-10-21T22:10:00.010-06:00

I saw a review of the Stila Convertible Eye Color. I wanted to try it out, but I usually order my Sephora products online for the Airmiles. Recently when I was at Shopper's Drug Mart, I found myself in the cosmetics aisle. I decided to try the Rimmel London version.

Rimmel London Eye Twist is a dual eye liner and cream eye shadow combo pen. It's supposed to be very blendable, and I love that the pen sort of looks like a Sharpie marker.

Well, colour me disappointed. I wore this in Two True, the green shades. I used MAC Paint Pots in Painterly as a base so that it wouldn't crease, which is a problem with my oily eyelids.

The good news was that the colour was quite pretty. The eye liner went on in a thick line, but it did blend beautifully. The bad news was that the eye shadow creased withing three hours, even with the Paint Pot under it. It isn't very pigmented at all, so the colour is quite pale.

Overall, I'm not impressed. I won't buy it again.

Pink Bites: HBC Points Donation

2008-10-21T20:42:00.006-06:00

In support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Hbc will donate your points to CBCF in the month of October.

Shop at The Bay, Zellers or Home Outfitters to buy products that make donations to breast cancer research and awareness. Then, donate your points!

I want to buy the Think Pink Umbrella ($15). You can never have too many umbrellas!

And since I've always wanted an HBC point blanket, I'm thinking about the Hbc Signature Pink Caribou Throw ($150).

Reversible Halloween Costumes: Wickedly Fun

2008-10-20T23:52:00.008-06:00

I'm starting to think about Halloween costumes (late again this year), and I came across a few fun ones online. Because I can design and sew, I feel bad if I buy a costume instead of making something, especially when the quality of the costume is blech. When I was snooping around online though, I found a couple of multi-use costumes that I really like. They are reversible, so you could hit up two parties and have a different look for each!

I really like the Miss Hellenback; when you can't decide if you're going to be good or bad, you can be both! I's made from reversible stretch jersey, one side is white with a ruffle skirt and the other side is black with red flames. The costume includes removable clear shoulder straps, two pairs of gloves, devil horns and a tail, a halo, wings and a wand, and a "Miss Hellenback" name tag.

I like that it's available in sizes 2-20 (S-2XL). and it's sexy with bodice seams to show off your curves. It's short enough to be saucy, but long enough to retain a little modesty while you party your wings or tail off! Sometimes when you get a costume that extends to a plus size range, it's just increased in measurements without thought to how it will appear. The result can be pretty frumpy. The alternative is that the outfit is really sexy and skimpy, and when it is increased in size it accentuates all the wrong things.

Curves on a woman are sexy, but you need things to open in the right places, and make those curves look, well, curvy. These things often are cut in plus sizes so they look dumpy.

The other costume that caught my eye was Buggin Out. It's a reversible dress made from stretch jersey. One side is red with black polka dots and black and yellow stripes. It has clear shoulder straps and a tutu-style hem. With antennae headband and wings, it's an easy costume to put together.

Buggin Out is designed for sizes up to 0-14(XS-L), and it's short enough that you wouldn't want it any larger or it would ride up just walking around. The wings remind me of the kind we made as kids with Mom's old nylons and coat hangers. These ones are nicer though, with sparkly veins across them and a nice harness.

Time is running out, so I have to pick soon if I'm ordering online. Have you picked a costume for Halloween?

Product Review: Avon Line 'n Design Eye Duo

2008-10-19T22:46:00.010-06:00

I'm extremely lazy when it comes to makeup, so I like products that do double duty. I like the Avon Line 'n Design Eye Duo because it acts as a creamy shadow base and matching eyeliner in one compact unit.

The colours are nice, with a hint of shimmer. I have Nectar Glisten and Shimmering Sand. It's tricky to use a creamy shadow as a base at first because they are a little hard to control, but blending patiently really works. The good news is that it doesn't smear as badly as some products I've tried.

I found this was really useful when I went to visit my sister in London this spring. It was one of the things that helped keep my luggage size down.

What multi-purpose makeup products do you like to use?

Pink Bites: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook-Pink Plaid

2008-10-19T22:06:00.002-06:00

My favourite cookbook of all-time is the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook. Everyone knows it as the red plaid cookbook, so named for the slammin' red plaid tablecloth-style cover. I learned to cook using this book under my Mom's instruction, so I naturally bought a copy for myself when I moved out on my own.

They released a new version now called the pink plaid in support of breast cancer. In support of the fight against breast cancer, Meredith Books will make a minimum $250,000 donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

It still has the basic cooking essentials for every aspiring chef: equivalencies tables, table settings, use of utensils and simple foundation recipes. It also has 64-page section devoted to living with breast cancer. I was thinking about buying a new one to get the newer chapters on low-fat cooking, 20-minute meals and slowcooker meals.

I'd held off before because it seemed silly to buy a book I already owned, but I felt completely justified because my purchase add to the $250,000 contribution to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The recipes are a mixture of the originals and new versions.

RIP: James E Reilly

2008-10-18T13:24:00.003-06:00

Okay, it's time for me to come out of the closet. I am a lifelong watcher of Days of Our Lives who has tenuously broken my addiction for the last three years. It's a daily struggle not to set the PVR to Salem, and to avoid the web updates (adding links to this post without peeking was hard!). I can't say its been three years completely free of DOOL, but I try to avoid it every day.

I was saddened to learn of the passing of James E Reilly. The former Head Writer created some of my favourite moments of Salem history, including the ridiculously fun possession of Dr. Marlena Evans Brady and my favourite couple, Jack & Jen.

Reilly even wrote Passions, which was the craziest soap since Dark Shadows. That was some funny daytime TV. This was the piece de resistance, when the best writer on NBC decided, 'sure, let's have a talking mannequin and an orangutan love story.' Awesome!

The best kiss to his work that I've read has been done by the Fug Girls at Go Fug Yourself. Read and enjoy. We'll miss you, James!

Product Lust: Maybelline Go Currant Lipsticks

2008-10-17T21:44:00.006-06:00

One of the standbys in my makeup case is the first dark lipstick I ever liked, Maybelline MoistureWhip lipstick in Go Currant. I'm not that crazy about MoistureWhip lipstick. I find it's very soft, but it fades pretty quickly.

Go currant is a deep, rich red. It's not too bright, and just blue enough for my skin tone to give a rose to my cheeks and always make my teeth appear a little whiter.

Still, I was bummed when they stopped selling MoistureWhip. Luckily, Maybelline carried the colour into the Moisture Extreme line. When my latest tube runs out, I'll have to give it a whirl.

Love my Go Currant colour! Maybelline, pretty please with cream and sugar on top, no matter what lines you introduce or kill off, never-ever-ever discontinue this colour!

Product Review: Nature's Essence Cold Sore Relief

2008-10-16T23:24:00.003-06:00

I'm hideous!

I had a cold sore pop up on Thanksgiving Monday on my lower lip. I only get one or two cold sores a year, either on my right lower lip or midway up my right upper lip. The stupid things drive me nuts because I already have a bad habit of chewing my lips when they are chapped

Cold sores make me lick and chew my lips even more, which leads to the scab getting white, puffy and irritated. Next thing you know, the scab comes off and then the healing takes that much longer, which means that much longer before I can wear pretty lip gloss and lipstick again!

I've been trying not to think about it all week, but I thought I'd share my treatments with you since I've been fixing these little suckers for 20+ years.

Okay, first I'll give you the ugly medical facts and statistics, courtesy of coldsores.ca:

Cold sores are a cluster of blisters on or around your lips and mouth, and (rarely) on or inside the nose, chin and cheeks. They often appear at the corners of the mouth. They are caused by the herpes simplex virus (mouth virus is HSV-1, genital is HSV-2). You can spread infections to other areas of your body (eyes, fingers, genitals).
30-60% of children under 10 years old get infected with HSV-1, usually from family members. By age 50, 80-90% of us are infected.
Some people never show symptoms.
Often you are infected as a child; some children experience symptoms in their throat.
Once you are infected, it never leaves you.
When dormant, it hides in your central nervous system. When it activates, it erupts from the nerves in the skin.
Breakouts are often preceded by prodromal symptoms: tingling, itching, redness or burning.
Stress, sun exposure, menstruation or fever can cause an outbreak.
You can transmit the virus when you don't have an outbreak (asymptomatic shedding).
Cold sores usually reappear in the same location.

My Mom has always told me to try prescription medication for them, but since they're kind of mild, I usually just use over-the-counter medications to treat the cold sore and a lip moisturizer I dispose of when I heal. I have tried nearly every cold sore treatment on the market since I was a teenager, whether it was a liquid or a gel. I've also tried the home remedies: lemon juice and salt paste was the best tasting, but didn't work better than anything else.

My favourite cold sore treatment is Nature's Essence Cold Sore Relief, and it rocks hard. This little 4ml potion is made from essential oils including Tea Tree, Geranium, Bergamot, Eucalyptus, Chamomile and Lavender. These essential oils combine anti-viral, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Most importantly, it keeps the cold sore moist without being too wet. This is really important because if the sore gets too wet, it gets mushy; but if it dries out, it tends to crack, which also takes longer to heal.

As soon as I feel that familiar tingling, I apply Nature's Essence like mad on the first day (several times an hour), and it keeps the site from filling with liquid into a big blister. This is the first treatment I've ever used that consistently keeps the blister from popping up. Every day after, I keep using it to heal the sore fast and keep it moist enough to avoid cracking.

I'm still not brave enough to take pictures of myself for this blog, but on Wednesday a girl at work did a double-take when I told her I had a cold sore. She hadn't noticed it was there. I'm already at the healing stage, and the inflammation is almost gone.

Product Review: Bourjois Paris Ombre à Paupières

2008-10-14T18:14:00.013-06:00

I was in London this spring, visiting my sister. We stopped at a Boots pharmacy during one of the only rainy spells. Since I'd packed lightly, including makeup, I hit the cosmetics aisle to see what was different about makeup in the UK compared to Canada.

It was no surprise that the big boys were all present (Maybelline, L'Oreal, Revlon), and Rimmel London was there, along with Boots brands. But the other large display I saw was Bourjois Paris, and this intrigued me. There are about four Bourjois Paris items available at the Sephora website, but I'd only seen one or two items there and not an entire product line. Sis had bought me a cellphone charm lip gloss as a stocking stuffer last year for Xmas which was a hit, so I decided to take a closer look.

There were all sorts of products lined up, all with cute packaging. I decided to try the Ombre à Paupières, a wet/dry baked mineral eyeshadow (in the UK, they just call it Little Round Pot Eyeshadow). After humming and hawing over colours for about ten minutes (my little sis is sooo patient!), I decided to go with the Rose Tentation, a clear pink with larger gold shimmer. I thought it would match my makeup I'd already brought, but be the pink shadow I was missing. I brought it home and tested it out immediately.

The pot is quite large, and the makeup is baked until it's very hard. I haven't used water on it, but it applies almost like a pot that has already been wetted. The pot is very grainy to the hard and touch, but it goes on smoothly; I don't feel any graininess from the shimmer on my lids. I find that my brush picks it up well, but you have to work it onto the brush.

It's a shame that website really doesn't show how pretty these shadows are, and doesn't show all the cases, because the cases are the actual colour of the shadow inside. The shadows really change with the angle of the light, and it's very sheer colour that builds up slowly. Overall I'm loving it!

Unfortunately, it looks like Sephora is discontinuing the product from their shelves because what they do carry is now on clearance. I really love this line, so I'll have to source them online, or bribe Sis to bring some with her. I'd like to try a few more colours, but I can't choose which: they all look so good! My favourites so far:

Bleu Myosotis (silvery blue with finer shimmer)
Prune Intense (purple with gold)
Rose Peau (pale shimmery pink with finer shimmer than Rose Tentation)
Marron Glace (shimmering dark brown)
Noir Cobalt (blue black)
Rose Perle (iridescent pink)
Turquoise Ensoleille (golden turqoise)

Product Lust: Urban Decay Urban Ammo Eye Palette

2008-10-13T15:39:00.008-06:00

There is definitely a palette of colours I want to try. Urban Decay Urban Ammo Eye Palette (Sephora, $34) has a beautiful range of colours. I like Last Call, an irridescent plummy-purple, and Smog, a deep coppery-bronze.

These are their best-selling colours and they look good. You could use this palette to produce a simple dark smoky eye or a lovely rainbow palette.

Product Lust: MAC Dame Edna Collection

2008-10-12T19:57:00.006-06:00

Shut the front door! MAC is releasing a collection 26 December 2008 inspired by my favourite TV talkshow diva, Dame Edna Everage. Yeah Boxing Day!

I looked at the colours, and they look pretty fun. Corals are not usually my thing, but I might give these a whirl as a compromise for the current orange trend. The blues and purples look fun, and the purple nail polish is called Varicose Violet; sign me up!

Lipstick (LE) - $14.00USD
Kanga-rouge – Creamy dark blue red (amplified creme)
Gladiola – Matte mid-tone blue pink (matte)
Coral polyp – Creamy mid-tone coral (amplified creme)

Lipglass (LE) $14.00USD
Hot Frost – Sheer mid-tone blue pink with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (frost)
Splendid – Frosty pale pinky coral (frost)
Possum Nose Pink – Sheer bright coral with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (frost)

Eye Shadow Trio (LE) - $32.50USD
Royal Tour Eye Trio
Royal Tour – Mid-tone cool lilac (satin)
Dame’s Desire – Frosty mid-tone reddish purple (frost)
Climate Blue – Dark blue violet with pink pearlized pigments (velvet) (Repromote from Cool Heat)

Wisteria Eye Trio
Fineshine - Frosty true-silver (lustre) (Repromote from Lustrevision)
Wisteria – Frosty robin’s egg blue (velvet)
Divine Night – Frosty charcoal with silver pearlized pigments (velvet)

Highlight Powder (LE) - $26.00USD
What a Dame! – Pale orangey pink
Spectacle – Pale soft pink

Nail Lacquer (LE) $11.00USD
Asiatique – Creamy classic red (creme) (Repromote from Ornamentalism)
Varicose Violet – Frost mid-tone pinkish purple (frost)

Images courtesy of bunnybunnybunny at specktra.net Color collection courtesy of Specktra.net

Teardrop Contact Lenses

2008-10-11T13:27:00.002-06:00

Do you ever worry that you'll cry and smear your eye makeup? Nobody wants a raccoon face, right? Well, Dutch designer Eric Klarenbeek has created a contact lens with jewels hanging off them to look like tears running down your cheek.

Okay, I'm taking a firm stance on this and stating that I think this is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. I was an optician for five years (opticians are those friendly folks that help you select your glasses and learn to put on contact lenses), so I get nervous putting eyeliner on my waterline. But this!... Gimme a break!

If you look at this and don't see the potential problems you can get, I think you're nuts. If nothing else, this is just begging for a beauty case of conjunctivitis (pinkeye). Of course bacteria is going to ride up that little medical wire and plop down on your eye. But just picture all the other problems that will happen with this. The designer says that his design is constantly being refined and that they are perfectly safe, but all I'm seeing is something tickling your cheek and irritating you ev-ery ti-me you mo-ve your he-ad. Folks, think twice about this. If you need to look this permanently emo, just pull out a nosehair or two and you'll see the tears.

Whadda Bahgain: Pizza Pizza

2008-10-10T17:14:00.003-06:00

During the month of October, Pizza Pizza is offering a coupon for a free slice of pizza. If you like Pizza Pizza, gimme a hell-YEAH!

Whadda Bahgain: MAC Coupon

2008-10-10T12:23:00.003-06:00

MAC online buyers can get free shipping from 10-12 October 2008.
Offer Code: 3DAY

Whadda Bahgain: Maybelline Great Lash

2008-10-09T19:04:00.003-06:00

It's not my thing, but there are a lot of girls who swear by Maybelline Great Lash Mascara as the only mascara they use. For those who love it, this link will give you a permanent coupon for $2 off discount.

If you love Great Lash, save the link and reuse it.

Pink Bites: One A Day Women's Make Up Call

2008-10-09T15:30:00.007-06:00

If you're like me, even if you try to eat healthy, you fall into the trap that "I'm not doing enough" and take vitamins. I do because I don't always eat as healthy as I want to, so I take vitamin and herbal supplements. My mom's advice was always to take a multivitamin because usually the balance of vitamins is good and it's more of a no-brainer.

One of the multivitamins I've gone back to over and over again is One A Day. The balance of vitamins is good, I trust the quality of the products and I like that they add other things to the mixture for specific needs, like men's formulas and supplements for people over 50.

In honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, One A Day is doing a lot. First, they are donating $200,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation's mission is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime. To learn more click here: www.bcrfcure.org.

Also, how would you like to get a phone call from a celebrity? One A Day Wake Up Call lets you send a call from Ellen Degeneres to someone you love reminding them about their breast health. To test this out, I sent a message to myself through email (you can also send it to a phone number). This was a very cute message from Ellen, funny without being too glib, and was a strong, yet positive, message about women's breast health.

I think this is a great way to remind your friends and family about their own health. Send a phone message to someone you love and remind them to take their health seriously.

Pink Bites: Sony Pink Shopping Affair

2008-10-08T21:46:00.003-06:00

Sony is da bomb, baby! I love their electronics, and have ever since my dad bought me my first Walkman that folded shut the same size as a cassette tape case.

Sony Style is proud to present The Pink Shopping Affair to fight breast cancer.

Beginning on October 1st until the 31st, proceeds from every pink purchase made on sonystyle.ca will support Breast Cancer research in Canada. As a token of our appreciation we will send you a Pink Ribbon Keychain with every pink purchase you make.

Some of the donations are quite decent in size:

Shop Sony Pink to find the cure!

Art & Science Combine: Body Worlds

2008-10-08T21:35:00.002-06:00

I saw the Body Worlds I Exhibit in August; it was amazing and very entertaining. The blending of science and art to express mortality and the expression of the complexity and frailty of the human body was really powerful.

The only way to make it more interesting to see Body Worlds is to see it at the Witching Hour.

Pink Bites: Aveda Hand Relief

2008-10-07T17:40:00.010-06:00

During the month of October, the first 100 guests that mention sweetspot.ca at participating Aveda Experience Centres in Canada will receive a complimentary purse size sample of Aveda Hand Relief.

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Aveda is launching a limited edition pink ribbon Hand Relief.

It has an herbal fragrance that I love, and it's thick and rich. The Hub doesn't have this on his luv list, because he describes it as "stinky and greasy." I wouldn't go that far, but it does take a little while to really soak into your skin, but when it does it feels wonderful.

Whadda Bahgain: Lancome Bonus (Online Only)

2008-10-05T16:25:00.007-06:00

While supplies last, Lancome is offering a bonus with any $50 online purchase.

What you get:

Bienfait Multi-Vital SPF 30 Moisturizer tube, 15 ml
Colour Design Sensational Effects Eye Shadow
Definicils High Definition Mascara in Black
Le Rouge Absolu Lipstick SPF 15 in Champagne
Lancome signature cosmetics case with matching cosmetics pouch

Whadda Bahgain: Estée Lauder Bonus Time at Sears

2008-10-04T19:21:00.008-06:00

Until 11 October 2008, if you spend a minimum of $32 on Estée Lauder products, you'll get a nice gift set.

What you get:

your choice of lipstick shade (warm OR cool)
your choice of eye shades (warm OR cool)
Hydra Bright Skin-Tone Protecting Moisturizer or Resilience Lift Extreme Ultra Firming Creme Soft Clean Tender Creme Cleanser or Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser with the cleanser that works best with it,
2 chic bags

If you spend $75 or more you can add the shiny tote bag to the gift for free!

I especially like that you can pick cool or warm eye & lipstick shades.

Pink Bites: Clinique Great Lips, Great Cause Lipstick Set

2008-10-03T13:03:00.015-06:00

You may notice that I'm posting in pink all month in honour of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Not only are there already lots of great pinks out there in Beauty Land, there are also special edition products that companies release, donating a portion of the proceeds to charities.

One of my favourites this season is Clinique Great Lips, Great Cause Lipstick ($17). The Colour Surge Butter Shine lipstick is a beautiful shade called Ribbon Pink, the case is a pink bamboo shape, and it comes in a nice silver package with a mirror in the lid. Exclusive to Sephora, $10 from each purchase is donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Sometimes with products like this, you read the fine print and find out the donation is going to "Bob's Charity" or the money all goes to administrative fees. BCRF is a good organization: at least 85% of donations goes to research and awareness campaigning, and this October they are awarding over $34 Million in research grants to 166 scientists. Take a look at their website to see some of the work they do and see all their corporate partners.

I'm picking up one for each of the special women in my life as an early Xmas stocking stuffer.

Product Review: Avon mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss

2008-10-02T17:27:00.005-06:00

Lip gloss. Yay! Always something new out there to try. Easy to layer over lipstick for a whole new look. Flavoured so you are sweet and tastier than usual. What's not to like about lip gloss?

Well, lots of them have no staying power, to the point where some are even runny. I'm always trying new lip glosses to find ones that stay put, but my biggest disappointment is when I find a colour I really like and it won't hold. I'm always finding little gems, and since most lip gloss isn't too pricey, it's a way to experiment and stay frugal.

I like Avon products. I can order them from a sales rep and give a girl some side cash, or if no-one I know is selling it, I can order it online. The prices are always fair, and they do a good job of staying current. While some of my friends think of Avon as higher end, I consider Avon products to be on par to drug store brands. This isn't a bad thing (it's not like they're dollar store quality), but they don't compare to high-end boutique products. At these prices, how could they?

I don't have a friend selling Avon right now, so I grabbed a flier at the last women's trade fair I attended and put down the name of a local representative on my online order. I thought it would be nice to gie her the commission. I wanted to bump up to the next freebie level, so I needed to spend another $12. I decided to try the mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss in Crème Caramel. At $7 it seemed like a bargain, and you can combine it with a mark. connector (free with every two purchased) to make a little portable two-piece set. I added the mark. Crystal Shimmer Hook Up Powder (a review for another day) and hit my upgrade level.

The order arrived at my door within a week, complete except for the mark. connector. The lip gloss came in a cute little tube and was a pretty raspberry colour. Not what I consider Crème Caramel, but pretty enough to keep. I was sort of glad since I'd ordered another lipstick that was a mocha colour. This meant I didn't order two similar things.

Well, it was pretty in the tube, and it was pretty on the lips. It tasted like berries and was very sweet. The shimmer in it was nice; bigger flakes but not crazy-big. However, it was really sticky, and it only lasted about 10 minutes before it vanished into nothing. The flavour also turned out to be pretty strong, because I could smell it the entire time I was wearing it; even when the colour was gone. The colour looks nice layered over another colour, but forsuch a dark colour in the tube, it thins out to almost nothing on the lips.

The tube was small and worked without the connector, but at $7 was not the typical good deal you expect from Avon. I called the rep about the connector, but after playing phone tag with her for two weeks I gave up trying to get the doo-hickey. Since I wasn't carrying it around anyway, it didn't seem worth my time.

Overall, it wasn't a great purchase. I won't try Avon mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss again.

Product Review: Avon Glazewear Liquid Lip Color

2008-10-01T13:48:00.011-06:00

I love to wear lipgloss. I like that it makes my naturally thin lips appear fuller, and I find it's the best way to keep from chewing my lips until they are corrugated and sore. I unconsciously think that I'll ruin my pretty makeup and stop chewing. I am a lip-presser, though. I roll my lips and press the colour right off them.

Wearing ChapStick as a kid was my lips' best defense against myself. Mind you, they make such tasty flavours that it almost works the opposite way. When I discovered they still made Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers, I nearly lost my mind.

It's a tricky challenge to find lasting lip colour that doesn't dry my lips out even more. Most of the lipcolours marketed as long-wearing are either really hard to apply or really drying. The opposite end of the spectrum is that products that are shiny are often sticky and feel gross.

Avon has a nice gloss in Glazewear Liquid Lip Color. It's shiny, has decent staying power, and is enriched with Vitamins A, C and E. It has a nice, light cocoa flavour and goes on creamy, not streaky. It starts out a little sticky, but in about five minutes it's set and just has the sheen without the stick.

I especially like the Chic Mauve. It's nearly the same as my natural lip colour, but it gives a rosier hue to them and a little sparkle. Right now they are cheap-cheap: only $2.99 on the Avon.ca website.

Product Lust: ColorOn Eye Envy Appliqués

2008-09-30T18:07:00.034-06:00

As you can see from my 'About Me', I constantly quest for the perfect smoky eye. I was browsing on Sephora.com (because, let's face it, it's pretty much makeup mecca) and found ColorOn Eye Envy Appliqués-Smokey Kit.

I mean, come on! These are perfectly blended swatches that you put on and go. Can you imagine? No blending for ages, and for me, the problem is blending, especially blacks and greys. My eyelid skin is so thin that it grabs the makeup and creates blotches of colour. Blending is a bi-atch, and making a smoky eye using blacks and charcoals usually looks like black-on-grey mosaic.

There are a variety of colour schemes available. The colour blending moves from side-to-side on some, and top-to-bottom on others. Some of the palettes are subtle (Ibiza is taupe-down-to-chocolate), while others are bold (Sapphires and Gold is blue-in-to-gold-in-to-pink).

These appliqués are made from mineral cream eye shadows. They are applied over a concealer base, pressed on, peeled off, and finally a gel set powder is applied to set the appliqué. They claim to be crease-proof. I am a little skeptical that the application would be as smooth as it's described. I have trouble imagining that I could lay appliqué the so the eyeliner is straight and low on the lid. Also, the appliqués apply onto the eye in a pixel pattern, so I think you do need to do a bit of blending.

Still, I'd love to try the Exotic Kit and the Smokey Kit. I think ready-made camoflage or zebra eyes would be great!