Investment Essentials

Dior media preview, post coming soon.

Elizabeth Grant - PROFIT 500

As the temperature changes, so does our skin. We wish we could say that our skin type remained the same all year round; however, it always decides to throw us a curve ball. New skin type, new problems - Elizabeth Grant to the rescue.

Last night, I headed to the Templar Hotel to celebrate the launch of Elizabeth Grant International Inc's newest collection, Vitamin C Hydra-Moist Super Fruit. M and I were first introduced to EG back in September at the Essentials Lounge, so we were excited to see what the ladies had in store with their highly anticipated collection. This new line features an array of products packed with the many benefits of superfruits. I've been using various cleaners from drugstores, so I was thrilled to see that their new Cleansing Mousse was in the goodie bag. As we are in our early 20's, a proper skincare routine is vital for fresh looking skin. The products are priced from $18 - $30, an affordable price for high end skin care. 

Elizabeth Grant was featured in this Summer's issue of PROFIT 500. This issue is devoted to showcasing 'Canada's fastest growing companies.' We can't wait to see where EG will be this time next year! 

heART this

We have been blessed to know so many talented, local designers. Last week, we attended the heART this event at the Walnut Contemporary Gallery to celebrate high school artists and local designers. M and I had the opportunity to model various pieces of clothing and jewellery from some of our favourite Toronto based designers: Dutch Blonde, Global Warming Tee's, Made with Love, and M.Sexton. We started in hair and makeup - my makeup was done by Nelly Furtado. (!!!!)  Bold makeup and edgy hair was the theme for the night. The talented high school students of Central Commerce CI displayed their eclectic artwork and provided the entertainment for the evening. One of the many highlights from the event was receiving a business card from a 14 year old photographer. Watch out, this upcoming generation is one talented group.

Photo by Oliver Salathiel

Photo by Shaffman Photography

Myles Sexton
Photo by Shaffman Photography

Beckie DiLeo
Photo by Saffman Photography

A big thank you to Beckie DiLeo for not only organizing the event, but for also being an incredible mentor to many.

Behind the Scenes - MIN Lookbook

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to shoot the first ever MIN Lookbook. We can't give away too many of the final looks just yet, so here are some shots from behind the scenes. 

The bags are now available at The Minling Pan Studio located at 158 Eglinton Ave West as well as on their online store. The purses range in price from $100 - $200 making them affordable little statement pieces for all fashion lovers.  

Skinnygirl Cocktails with Bethenny Frankel

You cannot go wrong with Skinnygirl Cocktails. No matter what day of the week, Skinnygirl has a drink to turn your dreaded Monday into feeling like a Friday. 

The summer heat goes hand in hand with a low calorie cocktail - not that we are calorie counters by any means. Last week, I made my way to the Rosewater Room venue to attend the Skinnygirl Cocktails Summer Styling Like A Lady event. I was incredibly excited for this event because rumour had it that Bethenny Frankel, creator of Skinnygirl and reality star of New York Housewives (my guilty pleasure), was going to be there. After finally making my way through 2 guest list lines, I entered the main area - ladies wearing accents of Skinnygirl's signature red filled the room. After a couple rounds of Mojitos, you could tell everyone was getting anxious for the Q&A period with Bethenny. Bethenny kicked off the night by answering questions from party planning, to the shoes she was wearing - Brian Atwood, of course.  

Next on the menu, 4 interactive rooms. I started my Skinnygirl experience in the White Cherry Vodka Room. Mike McLean, lead trainer at Mixxit Canada, taught us how to make thee perfect Cherry Blossom Zen. 1oz Skinnygirl White Cherry Vodka, 0.5oz Pomegranate juice, 2oz chilled green tea = bam. 

I then headed to the Mojito Room where Amy Lu, celebrity stylist, taught guests about this seasons' hottest trends. While sipping on Mojitos, we learned how to pair our 5 inch wedges with summer dresses and how to transition a look from day to night. 

The White Wine Room may have been my favourite. Here, Lauren Mozer, owner of ELLE Cusine, taught us how to make herb-encrusted grilled chicken satays marinated in Skinnygirl White Wine and topped off with red pepper chimichurri. It was delicious - definitely giving M the recipe since she is the twin who can cook. 

My last stop was the White Peach Margarita Room. I was pretty ecstatic to see seating at this point, my YSLs were screaming for a break. I enjoyed my last drink of the night while learning how to decorate for a backyard party from Marla Brown, owner of MB Designs inc. 

All of Bethenny's newest drinks are available in stores now for those who simply want to 'Drink like a Lady.' I highly recommend the Skinnygirl White Wine to all of you wine lovers. Cheers!

Minling Pan - First Year Anniversary Runway Show

Last Monday, M and I had the opportunity to walk at the launch of MIN, a private handbag label. We first checked out the line in January at the Minling Pan Studio at an exclusive event prior to its release to the public. On May 6, MIN officially became available to purchase. We had the chance to strut down the runway with our favourite blogger friends while sporting a few of MIN's new pieces. The bags are now available at The Minling Pan Studio located at 158 Eglinton Ave West. The purses range in price from $100 - $200 making them affordable little statement pieces for all fashion lovers.  

We have another project with MIN on the go - stay tuned for details!

Photos by Peter Liang and Anthony Cheung

Spring has Sprung

Exams are officially over so we finally have some time to spend together and catch up on our blogging. Last week, I missioned it to the other end of the city to visit M. We truly cherish the time we spend together as we live quite far apart.  

Now that it is finally getting warmer in Toronto, I decided to go on a maxi dress hunt. We are so petite that it is often a challenge to find maxi dresses that fit. I stumbled across one at Marshalls but ended up passing on it. Of course a few days later I regretted not purchasing it and went back to hunt it down. Naturally, it wasn't there. A few weeks later, I found the same dress on the American Apparel website, lucky me. It's actually not a maxi dress, the Cross Back Knit Dress is supposed to hit just below the knees, but we are so tiny that it falls right to the ground. It's the perfect shopping, dinner date, and work dress. I paired it with a Dior belt and a leather x canvas baseball jacket. This may be my new favourite look for Spring. 

I've been sporting the ombre look for the past few months and decided to get a little Spring makeover. Our friends at Brill Communications sent us the 'The Long Hair Essential Bundle' RAINCRY brushes and challenged us to create a few looks. I've never successfully used a round brush, so M played the role of stylist for the day. Our favourite look was created by using the large Magnesium Volumizing Brush - 55mm. The end result was silky smooth hair with lots of body. As much as we love to barrel curl our hair on a daily basis, round brushing is a healthier option. Now if we only had each other to do our hair every day... 

Climbing with ROXY

We conquered our fear of height... sort of. Recently, we headed to Joe Rockhead's Climbing Gym to test out ROXY's new Outdoor Fitness line - and what better way, than to scale walls! Our friends at Lotus Leaf Communications prepped us with the perfect fitness gear, all pieces from ROXY. We were first introduced to ROXY's newest fitness line a few months ago at their media preview so we were excited to finally get our hands on a few of their pieces. I can't say that I'm a regular at the gym, M on the other hand, is a gym pro. So, rock climbing? Challenge accepted! We both sported the 'Everyday Yoga Pants' with the 'Dawn Run Tee' - yes, matching gym outfits. The pants were a little long on us since we are very petite, so we rolled them up and sported them as shorts for the day. Rock climbing may not be our calling in life, but it was such a unique experience! And now that I have proper gym clothes, I really have no excuse to avoid the gym. I have about 4 years of catching up to do. 

Next on our list: ROXY's seamless sport bras with lace detailing. The perfect sport bra with a feminine touch.

ROXY Outdoor Fitness

Spring is finally here. Although it may not feel like it just yet, we anticipate double digit temperatures soon. We are certainly ready to shed some layers and get our summer glow on. B and I have always been active people. We are petite with a slim build, but this doesn't mean we don't have to hit the gym. Piecing together our daily outfits is something we both highly enjoy, however, our gym "looks" need a little bit of help.

Thanks to ROXY, we have been styled with some great pieces from their new ROXY Outdoor Fitness line. The line features feminine details with lace accents and simple ruching. We are testing out the gear this week as we spend a day rock climbing. Neither of us have climbed before, so we may be a hilarious sight to watch. Stay tuned to read about our rock climbing experience with ROXY!

Walking the Runway - Dare to Wear Love

It seems like just yesterday that we were slipping into our custom Ashtiani dresses for our first fitting, but time flies and on Friday, March 22 we walked in our first ever runway show, Dare to Wear Love. The experience was incredible, to say the least.

 To read about our first time on the runway, visit Flare.com/Fashion

Photo by George Pimentel

M, B, Marlon Moreno from BOLD Magazine, Katrina Taurins

Behind the Scenes - Dare to Wear Love

On Friday, M and I had the privilege to walk in the Dare to Wear Love runway show at the Ritz Carlton. We will be writing a final post for Flare about our experience, so we don't want to give too much away. In the meantime, here are a few backstage madness photos! Stay tuned for our next post with Flare.com.

Dare to Wear Love

Toronto Fashion Week has come and gone. Between school and work, we were only able to attend a few shows this season. Tomorrow, we will be walking the runway in custom Ashtiani dresses in the Dare to Wear Love show at the Ritz Carlton. 

We are still new to the fashion scene. We usually sit in the stands and snap pictures, so walking in the show is a completely different experience than what we are accustom to. From fittings to runway prep, it is all very new to us. To check out our experience so far, visit: Flare.com

GUESS Girl

Last Friday, M and I had the opportunity to guest host the GUESS Girl Fragrance launch and their Spring 2013 runway show at Cube Nightclub. This was our first ever hosting gig on stage - we had a blast! GUESS has a phenomenal Spring collection which is now available in stores. Neons, prints, stripes, and denim, GUESS has all of the major Spring trends covered. M is wearing the Silk Simona Top paired with the Brittney Ankle Skinny InBloom jeans. I prefer more classic pieces so I played it safe with the Rebecca Three-Quarter Sleeve Chiffon Jacket (with a gorgeous long, sheer back), as seen in ELLE Magazine! I paired the jacket with a pair of wicked black and white striped denim pants, the Brittney legging. 

Fashion, music, friends, and photobooth pictures, it was a great night! A big thank you to the girls from GUESS for allowing M and I to take part in such a memorable event. Here is a look into the event: 

Photo by Sarjoun Faour for GUESS

Photo by Sarjoun Faour for GUESS

Photo by Sarjoun Faour for GUESS

Photo by Sarjoun Faour for GUESS

Kicking it old school, GUESS girl style

Photo by Ram Accoumeh

GUESS Fragrance Launch

We are incredibly excited to be hosting the exclusive fragrance launch of GUESS Girl! On Friday, March 15, join us at the stunning Cube venue for a night filled with fashion and music and celebrate the launch of their newest fragrance. We will be kicking off the show at 11:30 pm as the official hosts for the night. 

GUESS will be showcasing this Spring's hottest trends during their 18 piece runway show featuring their brand new collection. Denim on denim, stripes, and prints, see how to style and rock pieces for Spring. 

Put on those heels, slip into your favourite outfit and get ready to party. We will be around after the show taking GUESS photo booth pictures and hanging out with the GUESS girls who will be giving out samples and $20 gift cards. So here is your official invite! We would love to see you there.

See you on the runway! 

FGI - Intro to Shopper Marketing

B and I take every opportunity we have to attend events together. As you may know, we now live at opposite ends of the city. As business and public relations students, we constantly attend networking events because we love to meet and learn from likeminded people. 

Last week, we attended the Intro to Shopper Marketing seminar hosted by Fashion Group International. The 3 hour event started off with cocktails, appetizers and networking with some of the finest in the industry. The panel of speakers included Keith Liu, Adrian Capobianco, Katherine Pudy, and Shawn Smith, gurus who all shared their insight about digital and marketing trends. I am currently taking a course focusing on consumer behaviour, so I found the seminar very informative. 

The Q&A period was also very interesting. It was great to hear hot topics of discussion from both consumer and vendor standpoints. One of our favourite quotes from the night was: "Good customer data is like good personal style. Either you have it, or you don't." -Shawn Smith, SAS Canada

As students, we always learn from Fashion Group International events. There is nothing better than learning from the best of the best in the industry! For more information about upcoming FGI events, visit http://toronto.fgi.org/

Photo by Vengenza Fotografia

Make a Scene with French Connection

A few months ago, M and I headed to the French Connection store to film an episode of Style Me for MuchMusic. As we were picking outfits for our contestant, we stashed a few of our favourite pieces in a change room for us. Isn't that always how it happens? Film breaks = shopping breaks. We ended up buying the exact same dress. Go figure, must be a twin thing.

Yesterday, we received an exciting invite to enter French Connection's newest contest that becomes live to the public March 1st. M and I put together a 60 second film using bits and pieces from their SS'13 campaign video and then chose appropriate music to accompany the video. The winner will receive an all expenses paid trip to the 2013 Sydney Film Festival in Australia. A trip to Aussieland is on our bucket list, so, our fingers are crossed! 

Check out our video here, and then give it a shot! Runner up prizes include $1,000 and $500 shopping sprees, so if you win, promise to take us shopping?

Let those creative juices flow and create your own 60 second film: http://makeascene.frenchconnection.com/  

#makeascene

5 Spring Trends

Are you ready for Spring? We sure are! Recently, FLARE challenged us to style a few of Spring's trickiest trends. We jumped at the opportunity. In need of some inspiration? Check out our favourite pieces at Flare.com

Get Tricky With It

M and I are absolutely thrilled to be in the March 2013 issue of FLARE Magazine! Stay tuned for our FLARE blog post on how to style 5 Spring trends. 

GUESS Summer 2013

While M was soaking up the sun in Cuba, I was able to get my little dose of summer at the GUESS Summer '13 preview at the Trump International Hotel. I think it's safe to say that we are all weary of the frigid weather that Toronto has surprised us with. Although I love the art of layering, I'm ready for maxi dresses, cocktails, and warm nights in the city.

My winter wardrobe consists of leather pants, knit pullovers, and silk tops (not warm, or practical for this weather). So, I was thrilled to see denim on denim, fun prints, and bold statement jewellery showcased at the GUESS preview. It was a much needed glimpse of summer! My countdown to warmer weather has officially begun. 

Keep an eye out for these pieces coming to stores April 1.