Beauty

Lancôme: 20 Bloggers for a Rose

Posted on Friday, May 24th, 2013 at 12:24 pm.

Written by Nicole

Categories: Beauty,Fashion

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been asked to participate in a special presentation by Lancôme Canada at the Luminato Festival next month! 20 Bloggers for a Rose: The Lancôme Virtual Gallery presents a modern twist on the curation of photos from top Canadian bloggers – and I’m so excited to be part of this group!

: Photo by: Dreamcreate for ‘’The Lancôme Virtual Gallery’’

Since 1935, Lancôme’s iconic emblem has always been the rose. The rose embodies femininity, colour and light, freshness and sensuality, birth and maturity, innocence and passion, emotion and seduction all in one. To celebrate this majestic flower, Lancôme has asked 20 of Canada’s top beauty, fashion and lifestyle bloggers to share their personal interpretation in the form of a photograph.

The result will be 20 photos presented in a virtual gallery which can only been seen with a smartphone at David Pecaut Square during the festival. At Lancôme’s installation, Festival goers will be invited to download a free smartphone app (available for iPhone or Android) to view the gallery. Once downloaded, people will be able to view the gallery virtually mounted in David Pecaut Square on their phone through an augmented reality technology, offering a fun and innovative digital experience.

We see the virtual gallery as an opportunity to combine art, with social media and innovative technology, creating truly unique experience for festival goers.
Stuart Leitch, General Manager for Lancôme in Canada.

20 Bloggers for a Rose: The Lancôme Virtual Gallery installation will be presented in June at David Pecaut Square during the Luminato Festival in Toronto (June 14-23). I’ll be going to a special launch event on June 13th and Canadian supermodel Daria Werbowy is going to be in attendance. Hope I get a chance to meet her…she’s stunning!

I can’t wait to see the virtual gallery myself – so many wonderful Canadian bloggers (and friends) contributing to it! If you can’t make it downtown for the festival, make sure you follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for the real time updates and photos.

I totally have Seal’s Kiss from a Rose in my head right now…

Summer White Style with Ann Taylor

Posted on Friday, May 24th, 2013 at 7:07 am.

Written by Nicole

Categories: Fashion

A couple of weeks ago, I shared the exciting news that Hollywood’s girl next door, Kate Hudson, has collaborated with Ann Taylor on her first fashion collection! It’s all about summer white – I’ve been swooning over the ad campaign for weeks and was thrilled when the collection hit stores on May 22. I was even MORE thrilled when Ann Taylor sent me some samples to style!

Kate’s collection features easy breezy apparel in fresh summer white as well as rose gold jewellery and platform sandals. It’s boho-chic meets the Hamptons for effortless summer style that appeals to women of all ages. When I pulled the Whisper Top out of the box, I thought it looked like a really fancy pillow case at first and to be honest, I was a little concerned about styling it! But ladies – the hanger doesn’t do this blouse any justice – you have to try it on!

Blouse: Ann Taylor, Skirt: M for Mendocino, Shoes: Ann Taylor, Clutch: Tristan, Bracelet: Ann Taylor, Necklace: Shop for Jayu, Watch: Michael Kors, Sunglasses: EDIT by Jeanne Beker

There’s beauty in simplicity. Continue reading…

Summer Wedding Style & Beauty Tips

Posted on Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 at 10:41 am.

Written by Nicole

Categories: Beauty,Fashion

Summer wedding season is almost here, are you ready? I have an abundance of dresses in my wardrobe (my hubby would say too many) so for me, it’s just a matter of choosing the right one for the occasion. For others, a summer wedding might mean an expensive trip to the mall and a stressful styling situation. When Fashion Magazine asked the Style Panel experts for summer wedding style tips, I was ready to take on the challenge – dresses are kinda my thing!

Summer wedding season is upon us and while weddings can be fun to dress for, they can also be nerve-wracking in terms of dress-code, location, modesty, colour, etc. What are your tips?

Dress: Modcloth, Shoes: Nine West, Clutch: Danier, Bracelets: Vintage, Sunglasses: EDIT by Jeanne Beker, Ring: Rebekah Price

When dressing for a summer wedding, try to remember the three C’s…

Fresh Collective: Fresh10 Anniversary!

Posted on Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 at 9:50 am.

Written by Nicole

Categories: Fashion

This is a proud month to be a Brand Ambassador for Fresh Collective! For the entire month of May, my friends at Fresh Collective are celebrating their 10th year on Queen Street West and they want you to get in on the fun with the Fresh10 contest!

As a BIG thank you for 10 years of support, Fresh Collective is running a contest until May 29th giving one lucky entrant the chance to win a 10-piece wardrobe!

In honour of the Fresh10 contest, I put together my top 10 spring/summer items from Fresh Collective! Check out my faves, including clothing, shoes and jewellery:

With three stores in Toronto, Fresh Collective carries a unique variety of apparel and accessories from local designers who frequently work in-store! I love the selection of one of a kind and few of a kind pieces mixed in with staple Canadian brands like Soia & Kyo and Yoga Jeans. Everything at Fresh Collective is curated for quality and effortless style.

In addition to giving you the chance to win a 10-piece wardrobe in their own Fresh10 contest, my friends at Fresh Collective have offered an amazing prize for one lucky Dainty Girl reader!

WIN one of TEN Fresh Collective In-Store Mini-Makeover – $100 value!
Learn how to mix and match with confidence, get more mileage out of what you buy and the “rules” to use when looking for shapes, necklines and more (1 hour session with pre-interview).

That’s right, I’m giving this awesome prize to TEN lucky readers!

Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. At a minimum, you must leave me a blog post comment telling me why you’d like to win a wardrobe makeover session from Fresh Collective. You can gain additional entries through social media too! Contest closes on Tuesday May 28th at 11:59pm and the winners will be notified the following day.

Good luck and cheers to another decade of local fashion at Fresh Collective!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dainty Outfit: Ikat Print Harem Pants

Posted on Friday, May 17th, 2013 at 3:15 pm.

Written by Nicole

Categories: Fashion

One of my favourite spring trends has to be the printed pant. I have floral denim, paisley pedal pushers, geo-print trousers and this fun pair of Ikat print harem pants.

What’s IKAT? It’s a tribal print style that lends itself well to summer fashion – I always see lots of ikat print on summer bags, hair accessories and maxi dresses, but I decided to go for it with ikat pants! I’m a big fan of lightweight tapered (or elasticized ankle) trousers for spring, so when I saw this harem style at M for Mendocino I just had to try them on.

I usually shy away from harem pants or “drop-crotch” styles because they have a tendency to over emphasize my hips and bum (or garner strange looks at the office), but this particular pair is only slightly loose in the crotch with subtle pleats that make the harem style a little more dressy.

The black and white print makes it easy to style these ikat harem pants with pretty much anything! I chose to wear a sleeveless black hi-low blouse with metal toe-cap pumps, black and gold accessories and a neon yellow handbag for a pop of colour. Chic neon accessories for spring make it easy to add colour to monochromatic looks or play with colour blocking.

Pants: M for Mendocino, Blouse: Jacob, Shoes: Aldo, Purse: Target, Bracelets: Biko Jewellery, Sunglasses: Joe Fresh

What do you think of my ikat print harem pants? CLICK HERE to see how the other StyleList Canada Style Council members styled the trend! How would you wear it?