Just Cuz I'm a Girl

I Have Moved...

2009-02-25T21:57:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone and thank you for reading my blog over the past year and half! I have decided that it is time to officially close this blog, meaning I will no longer be posting here.

When I started Just Cuz I'm A Girl, the contents and the things I wrote about reflected that particular time of my life. Based on that, this blog developed a specific tone and style with minimal personality.

A little over half a year ago I started The F-word, a blog that better reflects where I am... hope to see you there!

F is for fashion, fashion PR, and my fabulous life.

Cheers,
Melissa

Gap and FASHION Magazine Shopping event

2009-02-04T19:45:00.001-05:00

L'oreal Double Extend Beauty Tube Mascara

2008-12-05T12:37:00.009-05:00

Usually mascara, unless it is Lancome's Fatale, doesn't really do anything for my lack of eyelashes. Because the Lancome mascara is relatively pricey i've almost taken the putting mascara on routine out of my getting ready process every morning.

Recently I was given the new L'oreal Double Extend Beauty Tube Mascara to sample. Having no expectations and not optimistic that it will work on me I gave it a shot.

To get optimal performance out of the L'oreal Double Extend Beauty Tube Mascara I had to do the following:

- put 4 layers of the nourishing base coat on

- then apply 2 layers of the ultra lengthening coat

- and apply 1 layer of Lancome's Fatale for the fullness effect

They were not kidding when they said this mascara is removable with water. I tried removing it with eye make up remover and as it turned out, water removed the mascara better.

If you have used the L'oreal Double Extend Beauty Tube Mascara, share your thoughts:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=dAs2aU15mNArGOQbChtfRg_3d_3d

How SMASHBOX saved my face

2008-10-30T13:07:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make. I totally left work early yesterday and went to Sephora, spent $50 and brought myself the SMASHBOX Foundation Primer. I know, with the financial state i’m in right now, which is a TAD bit of debt (not due to shopping believe it or not) but the whole investing my time into my future career thing, spending $50 on a small bottle of foundation primer is absurd.

But seriously, it is the best thing ever!

My sister was the one who introduced it to me, her logic being, “that is your face, and you will have your face for the rest of your life, so why not pay for one more product that will help you take care of it?”, and so I did.

Because the skin on my face is more on the oily side, I find my makeup (foundation, bronzer and blush) always ends up seeping into my skin. The foundation primer (has vitamin A and E), acts as a coat between your make up and your skin. Not to mention it also makes your skin super soft. I definitely noticed an immediate difference. My skin is not as oily and there is much more make up to wash off at the end of the day.

For $50 (well spent i’d say), SMASHBOX has temporarly saved my face… until it runs out.

The Fall 2008 Clothing Show - Is a NO GO...

2008-09-29T08:41:00.007-04:00

This past weekend was the Fall 2008 Clothing Show at the Better Living Centre down at the Exhibition Place. Usually I tend to find unique little odds and ends like jewelry, belts, and purses for fairly decent prices. But throughout the past couple years I find myself more and more disappointed each time I attend.

For starters, admission to the Clothing Show is $8 online and $10 at the door with the addition of $12.50 for parking. If you make the Clothing Show a shopping excursion with a few girlfriends parking factors out to be nothing, so $8 or $10 even is not a ridiculous price to charge for admission.

According to the press release sent out for this fall's clothing show, it claims to "continue to celebrate the evolving spirit of fashion with over 300 independent designers, retailers and vintage collectors to shop from." But in reality, do not be shocked if you find yourself immersed in a flea market style with a few noteworthy Canadian independent designers trying to showcase and sell their products.

Although there definitely are still boothes worth shopping at, those were few and far in between. I found there to be ALOT of boothes selling knock off Gucci's, LV's, and just plain fake luxury handbags etc. There were also many boothes where I found myself saying, this just looks like a garage sale. All in all, the Clothing Show only took my friend and I an hour to walk through and for the first time in our lives, we didn't really buy anything except for the admission and parking cost. Which border line felt like a rip off for the lack of quality and misleading advertisements by the Clothing Show.

As a frequent and enthusiastic attendee of the Clothing Show, I genuinely believe there needs to be some sort of quality control over who can obtain a boothe at the show. If the time has come where they cannot sell all of the space at the Better Living Centre, then perhaps they should move to a smaller venue. But just having boothes and boothes of people selling knock-off's is unacceptable. They should keep the Clothing Show dedicated to a place for independent designers and retailers to sell and showcase their products and maintain the quality of the show.

When it's all said and done, I think this marks my last visit to the Clothing Show until some changes have been made. On that note, I would like to point out that I am not writing this to put down the Clothing Show in any way because I am a strong supporter of Canadian fashion, retailers, and designers, but I also do believe that it takes a little bit of feedback and constructive criticism for there to be improvements.

Product review - Hello I-Pod meet the Zune!

2008-09-26T08:37:00.006-04:00

A friend of mine who works for a really cool marketing company, Matchstick, recently hooked me up with the new 8 gig, black, Microsoft Zune. She wanted to get my opinion on this supposedly I-Pod competitor. Having previously owned an I-Pod mini here are my thoughts...

Likes:

- It is very light and fits right inside the palm of your hands

- The sound quality is arguably better then the I-Pod

- You can listen to the radio and it's pretty clear

- The Wi-Fi capability to transfer songs between fellow Zune users

- Music syncs much quicker then the I-Pod

- The scroll button is up and down versus in a circular motion, less tiring for the thumb especially if you are scrolling through hundreds of songs

Dislikes:

- IT DID NOT RUN ON MY MAC BOOK, the Zune is only compatible with Microsoft Windows platforms

- It is not user-friendly, it took me 30mins to figure out how to use it, definitely was not plug and play or drag and drop

- In order to upload music unto the Zune, you have to go through a ridiculous process to open all click through your folders one at a time if you didn't want to upload all of them

- There were minimal instructions that came with the box

- It claims that the Zune 8 gig is supposed to have a 24hr audio life, DEFINITELY NOT the case, my Zune only lasted 4 hours..... not impressed

- The scroll button is too sensitive and it is very easy to scroll past what you want

- Navigating within the Zune can be confusing

- It is not user-friendly

- You have to go to their website and are forced to register before you can download the software

- ... and I can go on for another 10 points about what I dislike

Since my two PC laptops have died, I decided to give Mac a chance. Converting over to Mac from a PC was probably the best thing I ever did for myself. Not only was it more user friendly, everything is just more straight forward. Not surprisingly, that also follows through with other Apple products, such as the I-Pod. Microsoft's Zune, like there Windows operating platform is a little more tedious than I would like.

If this is Microsoft's attempt to compete with Apple and their MP3 players, they have some work to do. For anyone debating between the two, I would definitely still recommend the I-Pods.

TRYST Lingerie Sale At Queen On NOW!

2008-09-24T08:44:00.001-04:00

Tryst will surprise you with their wide range of bra sizes from 28 to 52, AA to L. Not only that, but lingerie and sleepwear up to 3X. All Tryst staff are expert fitters as well as very friendly.

Luxual Boutique Online Store - GRAND OPENING

2008-09-17T20:20:00.004-04:00

Brand new online shopping store, Luxual Boutique, officially launched for business yesterday.

Carrying everything from stylish cardigans, tee-shirts, tank tops, to jeans, skirts, yoga wear etc., Luxual is the kind of shopping destination where you find a "fusion of women's high fashion and comfort" and where "luxury and casual meet."

As a celebratory special for the grand opening, Luxual Boutique, is offering readers of this blog a 20% discount good through Oct 31st.

Just type the following code at the checkout: TOBLOG

Also, as an added BONUS, you will receive free ground shipping on all orders shipped within Canada.

Check out this fashionable and chic store yourself and take advantage of their grand opening special!

Style Rookie - The 12 year old fashion blogger

2008-08-14T22:09:00.007-04:00

Yes I haven't posted in a long while thanks to the craziness that is school, but I'm glad to say that that's all over with, FOREVER, and i'm back!

I stumbled upon a blog today that captured my attention for more then 30 seconds. In fact I was so impressed and intrigued by it I absolutely feel the need to share it. Style Rookie is a fashion blog that belongs to a 12 year old girl called Tavi. You are probably thinking, a 12 year old? Are you serious?

Actually, i'm so serious that I highly recommend you check it out.

A little girl who is inspired by creativity, fashion, and her pre-teen musings uses writing and photos to take us into her world and her interpretation of what we call fashion. Her blog is featured in an article by the Toronto Star, which is where I came across it. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be reading the fashion blog of a 12 year old, but the content on her site and the opinions she possesses about fashion will interest readers from all ends of the age spectrum.

Good job Tavi and keep doing your thing!

It's definitely a blog that I will be reading regularly.

FASHION Reporter Search 08 - Cast your vote!

2008-07-10T09:38:00.005-04:00

About a little over a month ago, FASHION Magazine launched a contest to find a style blogger to represent the 10 different regions in Canada. Each contestant had to submit a post on a fabulous shopping find from their respective cities.

The results of the top 20 finalists have been released and now it's up to readers to vote on their favourite posts. The 10 finalists with the most votes wins and gets to represent their city as a style blogger on the FASHION website and out of the 10, the blogger with the most votes wins a trip to New York City!

To check out the different posts, the top 20 finalists, and to VOTE - click here.

My vote is for Connie to represent the Toronto region, what's yours?

Baby stilettos - Fashionably cute?

2008-06-13T10:49:00.006-04:00

I saw this today while perusing through the Toronto Star.

Inspired by the craze of stilettos - thanks to Sex and the City, Britta Bacon and Haydon Porter based out of Washington, are introducing Heelarious. "Tiny baby shoes with soft heels for infants up to 6 months".

My first reaction was OH MY GOSH that is hilarious, but then I was thinking, it is very innovative and different but really now, stilettos on babies?

Apparently these will be available in Toronto at Doll Factory on 1122 Queen St. East next week...

What do you think?

Random thought - Stone Cold

2008-06-04T16:53:00.007-04:00

Sharon Stone is ignorant and uneducated.

After the recent devastating earthquake in China, with an estimated 68,000 civilian deaths, Sharon Stone had that to say.

As she so willingly releases a piece of her mind to reporters on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, I can't help but wonder what kind of individual could make such cruel comments? Stone firmly believes that the death of thousands of innocent people is "bad karma" for the way China is dealing with Tibet. She so proudly stated that,

"the Dalai Lama is my friend and China was not nice to my friend!",

in other words, what Sharon appeared to be saying was those who are not nice to my friends deserve to die. Thanks Sharon, that's great karma you are spreading.

It is disgusting and inhumane that she could make such comments about innocent human beings. But what goes around definitely comes around. In less then 48 hours, Christian Dior, which uses Sharon in their ad campaigns in China, immediately pulled her off their campaigns and embarrassingly apologized on her behalf. Anything Sharon Stone related, has officially received the boot from China.

After offending more than enough people, she did the politically correct thing to do - a public apology. She now has to salvage what's left of her heavily damaged reputation and come to terms with the possibility of an early retirement.

Sharon, you are a real super star!

The shopaholic in me - rk sample warehouse sale

2008-06-04T16:18:00.004-04:00

VIP ACCESS: Thursday June 12 - Friday June 13th from 11:00 am until 7:00 pm (by invitation only, members who hold VIP or Executive Cards also qualify)

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Saturday June 14 - Sunday June 15th from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm and Monday June 16th from 1:00 pm until 8:00 pm

Location: 1100 Birchmount Road, Toronto m1k 5h9 (northwest corner of Birchmount Road and Bertrand Avenue, 2 streets north of Eglinton Avenue - enter through main doors on Bertrand Avenue)

Coat yourself in sweetness - Sugarlime Jewelry

2008-05-29T21:50:00.009-04:00

I attended my first ever Sugarlime shopping martini party today at Hotel Le Germain (30 Mercer Street, Toronto). This was an exclusive shopping event put on by Sugarlime for their customers.

Sugarlime is a wonderfully crafted, trend setting, and high end jewelry line designed by Karen Buder. Based out of British Columbia, all of their pieces are made from the finest "hand-selected semi-precious and precious stones, Swarovski crystals, glass beads and fashioned from sterling silver and 14 kt. gold fill". Her pieces can be seen on celebrities like Tori Spelling, Susan Sarandon, and Steven Spielberg to name a few.

Karen treated all shoppers to cosmos and chocolate covered strawberries making it a fun and enjoyable shopping experience.

Sugarlime Jewelry is only available in BC. Check out their website for available pieces, specific locations, and sign up to be notified when the next shopping party is in Toronto.

FASHION Magazine @ Luminato - FASHION flash mob June 7th

2008-05-29T14:31:00.005-04:00

I thought this was kinda cool! There's a flash mob happening at the Toronto Life Square on June 7th, 2008 @ 11am.

A flash mob is "a group of people who organize on the Internet and then quickly assemble in a public place, do something bizarre, and disperse". Fashion Magazine organized this flash mob in participation of the Luminato festival to promote the city's art and culture.

If you are in and around Toronto on June 7th and looking for something fun and different to do, this would be something interesting to take part in!

Shopping at The Clothing Show

2008-05-05T19:56:00.019-04:00

Last Friday I ventured my way down to the Better Living Centre @ the Ex to check out The Clothing Show. I hadn't really expected to go crazy on the shopping, but had put aside a small budget for spending.

Walking into a large open space with what seemed like a gagillion booths, I was overwhelmed with the abundance of choice. I found that although this is called the Clothing Show, there seemed to be much more jewelry and accessory vendors then there were clothing.

I didn't find anything for my summer wardrobe but managed to buy a purse ($40) and a bangle ($10) from SooS Rocks Accessories for just $50.

I also found a pair of REALLY nice Christian Dior, unworn, vintage sunglasses. They were only $120, but were also regretfully out of my budget. These Dior's were from a vendor that sold specifically vintage frames. They do not have any stores in Toronto, but have one in Montreal and New York (I have emailed him for the addresses and names of their store locations, will post when I receive them).

Other notable finds:

CHULA - a great jewelry line with affordable prices, original, and beautiful pieces

tryst - a unique vintage inspired jewelry line

Melissa Beth Designs - really cool laptop cases

Give away - FREE Clothing Show tickets!

2008-04-28T11:22:00.005-04:00

I am giving away 5 sets of 2 tickets to the Clothing Show this weekend!

Drop me an email at justcuzimagirl@gmail.com by Thursday May 1st, 2008, and tell me what you are shopping for at the Clothing Show.

Winners will be picked at random.

See you at the show!

Passion for fashion - Jeanne Beker's book on careers in style

2008-04-22T16:14:00.010-04:00

After hearing so much about Jeanne's new book, Passion for Fashion I went to pick up a copy for myself.

This is a great book defining the different careers in the fashion industry. It is literally for someone who has absolutely no knowledge of the different roles behind the fashion industry.

Passion for Fashion touches on what each job role entails and gives the reader a brief understanding of what it takes to perform them. With profiles on some famous industry figures, Beker's book gives a realistic look into the sometimes not so glamorous jobs in the fashion industry. But if you are someone looking to get more insight on what you already know about different careers in the fashion industry then I would not recommend this book.

I should also point out that this book was stocked in the children's reference section. Maybe it was just the Chapters I went to, but I didn't think this book was specifically for the under 14 demographic... although that could qualify as "budding fashionistas".

Ford Models open call - Your chance to be the next supermodel

2008-04-22T15:47:00.014-04:00

The Clothing Show - May 2nd,3rd, and 4th

2008-04-22T15:47:00.011-04:00

Shop from over 350 booths of new label, designer, vintage and brand nameclothing and accessories for men & women! This Spring, experience RUNWAY Fashion Shows Friday night & Saturday, the LOULOU Magazine FashionPhotography Competition, a Century of Fashion display, and Art exhibits fromlocal artists!

Be there for the Opening Night Party and Fashion Shows starting at 6:30pm on Friday May 2nd at the Better Living Center. Get there early and shop from 3pm!

May 2, 3, & 4, 2008 @ the Better Living Center, Exhibition Place.
Fri 3pm-9pm / Sat 11am-9pm / Sun 11am-7pm

Tickets $8 on-line http://www.theclothingshow.com/ or $10 at the door

Rags and Mags - A great fashion read

2008-04-04T16:35:00.013-04:00

Just having a link to this fab site on my Interesting Reads column does not do it justice!

Rags and Mags follows the lives of two fictional characters Lucinda McRuvy (a fashion writer) and Max Velosse (a fashion designer), who are both living and working in Toronto. Readers can vicariously experience the many happenings in the real Toronto fashion industry without having to be there!

Written by Toronto Fashion Incubator resident blogger, Carolyn Rohaly and illustrations by Danielle Meder from Final Fashion, this is a clever, fun, and witty read with wonderful illustrations. I promise you will like!

Toronto Fashion Incubator - TFI new labels Fashion Design Competition

2008-04-01T10:00:00.001-04:00

Kicking off the Elle show on Thursday April 24th is the TFI New Labels Fundraising Gala. Watch as four talented, up and coming Canadian designers showcase their collection's on the runway and compete for the TFI new labels Fashion Design Competition title.

Let's join TFI & Elle Canada in supporting our Canadian fashion talent!

VIP tickets $250

wine reception @ 6pm
a catered dinner in The Galleria
reserved seating for the new labels runway show

Guest tickets $50

guest reception @ 7pm
admission to new labels runway show

Get your tickets here or by calling 416-218-3545.

Elle Show - April 25th to 27th

2008-04-01T00:09:00.005-04:00

Elle Canada presents the most exciting Canadian fashion and beauty event yet. For 3 days the Elle Show will be at the Direct Energy Center in the Exhibition Place. You can attend tons of fashion shows, meet the designers, attend seminars, and demos. Be prepared to be entertained, updated about the current fashion trends, and SHOP!

Schedule
Thursday April 24th - Opening Night
Friday April 25th - 11am to 10pm
Saturday April 26th - 11am to 8pm
Sunday April 27th - 11am to 6pm

Click here to order tickets.

Toronto L'oreal Fashion Week - Fall 2008 Collections

2008-03-29T10:26:00.014-04:00

Sorry for such a delayed post re the Toronto L'oreal Fashion week Fall 2008 Collections.

For the second season now, Toronto L'oreal Fashion week has been in a tent, in the heart of the city at the Nathan Philips Square. This season there were a few positive improvements made from last season that I would like to point out.

- ticket sales, pickup and registration were in a separate tent = less congestion in the main tent
- instead of two entrances into the runway room there were three
- there were less sponsor booths set up inside the mingling area, guests had more room to stand around chit chat and sit
- the runway room had organized a designated photographers and videographer section
- there was standing room added behind the last rows of seats in the runway room

Even though I had been swamped with work and left with little time, I was able to see a few shows (unfortunately my PENTAX Optio S5i camera was crap and all my pictures came out horribly):

Evan & Dean - was all about browns, magenta's, blacks, whites, and beige. There were large collars, blouses accented with big bows, and arm warmers.

Lucian Matis - showed a beautiful collection, perfectly designed for the female body, hugging all the right places and accenting all the right curves.

Bustle - suits, suits, suits! It was all about the suits this season.

Andy The-Ahn - never disappoints. His collection was simple but not plain. His main accessory was the collar like neck piece which was lined with fur, and on almost everything. My favourite was the off the shoulder, double breasted, black, suit jacket.

David Dixon - Set the mood for his collection with a backdrop of a beautiful winters day. He had the bubble dress, the suits, the little black dress, and PURPLE PLAID. His collection was very wearable and classic.

All in all, I was quite pleased with this season's fashion week. Looking forward to the next!

Check out other reviews and pictures @ The Star, Torontostreetfashion, Blog TO

VOGUE - Controversy sparked by new cover? Give me a break.

2008-03-27T09:50:00.016-04:00

So... this is the new April cover of Vogue. Different? Yes. In fact my first thought is - for a very popular and well respected high fashion magazine, this cover does not necessarily reflect the contents of the magazine. But that was all.

This month's Vogue cover features Lebron James, an NBA superstar of the Cleveland Cavaliers (who is the first black man to ever grace the cover of Vogue) and Gisele Bunchen, the famous Brazilian and ex-Victoria Secret model. Lebron is photographed in a hunched over pose, with one hand dribbling the ball, his mouth open, with, if anyone watches basketball, his game face on, and holding Gisele's waist with his other hand. Gisele is photographed looking beautiful, graceful, and with a big smile on her face.

This is indeed a rather different and an unusual cover choice for Vogue, but their is no way that this cover should spark the type of controversy re racial stereotyping that it has. Some of the public seem to think that James is photographed ironically similar to a King Kong like pose, looking fierce with his mouth open, and grabbing Bunchen's tiny waist with his other hand. They believe that this cover alludes James (a black man) to a gorilla (King Kong) and Bunchen to the unattainable white woman (Fay Wray).

I think it is absurd that anyone would assume King Kong to represent a black man and a black furious man at that. King Kong is merely an animal with black fur. How is that a representation of a human being? Just because James is crouched in a dribble position with his arms out on either side he resembles King Kong? That's ridiculous. As many have also pointed out Fay Wray looks petrified when being held by King Kong, and Bunchen in the case of this cover, beams a big smile and looks far from terrified.

There is no denial that James is a big, black, muscular, and very masculine athlete and Bunchen is a sexy, gorgeous, and feminine model. They are both polar opposites of each other, career wise and physically, but there is no racist under pinning in this photograph. Unless you are digging for racist implications, really, they are both a representation of two very successful individuals in their respective careers, which was the intended purpose of this cover and Vogue.

This is the 21st century, this is also the first time in Vogue history that a black man, in this case, James, has graced the cover. People should embrace this and not use it as an opportunity to back track society. Granted this may not be the best choice for the cover of a high fashion magazine, as it is not very "Vogue-ish" , but it definitely isn't a product with the purpose of racist remarks.

Take a look at some other shots that were options for the cover.