Getting gorgeous just got easy at Hudson's Bay Beauty Underground!

Hudson's Bay is making it a lot easier to get gorgeous with their new beauty concept shop on the concourse level at the Queen Street location - Beauty Underground!

It' a beauty playground with an edited and curated selection of products, open early (7am during the week, and 9:30 and 10am on Sat/Sun) and closing late (9:30pm during the week and Sat and 7pm Sun) to  make getting beautiful super-convenient for busy people!

Products are all open sell and easy to find by category - so no more hunting through 20 counters to find the perfect pink gloss, they are all grouped together!

The space is made up of 7 vendor counters including MAC, Kiehl's, Clinique, Bliss, Anna Sui, Becca and Vincent Longo - with curated collections at MAC, Kiehl's and Clinique - (you can still mind the full stocked counter on the main floor in the regular cosmetics department);

as well as 5 zones:
1. Skincare Problem Solutions & Anti-Aging - merchandised according to routine - normal skin, dry skin, oily skin,sensitive skin, sun care and self-tan and a high tech Skin Lab;
2. All About Colour - with an eye section including mascara, brows and remover, a lip section with lipsticks and glosses sorted by colour family and trend towers with highlighters, bronzers and cheek/lip stains;
3. Travel & Device - where you will find devices, travel size products, hand & body and bath & body products, and Deceium; The Abnormal Beauty Company featuring a range of brands and exclusive products including AB Crew, Hair is Fabric, Grow Gorgeous, Fountain, Hand Chemistry, NIOD, White RX and Hylamide;
4. Men's Skin & Shave;
5. Fragrances - with a collection of the top ranked fragrance brands sorted by category to make it easy to find your perfect scent.

Of course what I'm excited about is all the new brands I will now have access to at Hudson's Bay including: Bliss, Becca, Vincent Longo, Jack Black, Brow Gal, Sigma Beauty, Teeez, Baby Foot, Evolution Man, King's Crown, Simple Human, Tony Moly, Erborian, Tangle Teezer, Neulash, Eyeko, Marvis Flavour Collection and Juicy Bamboo! Men will be able to enjoy: Rebel Refinery, Jack Black, Billy Jealousy and Art of Shaving.

While you are picking up your products, you can also visit the new location of The Ten Spot for your waxing, manicure, pedicure and facial needs - they won't be doing cuts, colour or blowouts but they do offer 7 signature quickie dry styles for $25!

Can't get to the store? No worries, you can still get the experience at thebay.com!

- Lisamarie -

Celebrate 15 years of Shoppers Optimum with 15 Days of Happy! #15DAYSOFHAPPY

It's hard to believe that my beloved Shoppers Optimum Points are already 15 years old - I have accumulated and cashed in an awful lot of points for an awful lot of great stuff over the past 15 years!

To celebrate my spendy ways, Shoppers Optimum is running 15 Day of Happy - which starting today, and going until October 24th, will be giving away a variety of prizes including 15 all-inclusive luxury sun-filled vacations, 15 prizes of 500,000 Shoppers Optimum Points, prepaid Master Cards and Shoppers Drug Mart gift card through an online game along with in-store offers on select products.

This is also a great time to discover the new digital platform - My Optimum. My Rewards, which includes an enhanced Shoppers Drug Mart app and a digital Optimum card, making it easier to earn additional rewards on the products you love. The platform delivers weekly load-to-card offers tailored to your shopping preferences - including a personalized flyer!  Check out www.shoppersdrugmart.ca for more details.

And if your nails want to celebrate too then you should let them with a Confetti Accent Nail manicure!

- First, paint four fingernails with your favourite shade - I went with Quo by Orly Blue Beat - leaving one accent nail free of colour.
- Apply a nourishing base coat on the accent nail and let dry completely.
- Then using a two sized dotting tool, place dots of complimentary shades randomly on the nail for a confetti effect - mine has Quo by Orly Blue Beat, Live in the Moment and Beach Babe - and seal it with a matte topcoat - voila! It's a party on your fingers!

- Lisamarie -

Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom - Sherway Gardens is determined to take all of my money!

If you haven't been to Sherway Gardens in awhile, you will be amazed at how much it's changed - and the changes that are still coming! Come now and enjoy J.Crew, Topshop and Topman as well as expanded parking.

Coming later, and what excites me the most is Saks Fifth Avenue - opening in spring 2016 and Nordstrom - opening in 2017 - along with Joey Restaurants - opening at the end of 2015!

You'll find Sherway Gardens at 25 The West Mall in Toronto - www.sherwaygardens.ca.

- Lisamarie -

Leaves of Trees offers quality body products with the personal touch!

If you enjoy fine quality skin care; appreciate simple modern packaging that is reusable and/or recyclable; are conscious about your health; and you read labels then the all-natural products from Leaves of Trees are something you need to know about!

Owner, Dr. Roohi Qureshi is passionate about producing the best quality product possible based on organic and fair trade sources wherever possible and her recipes are hand made in small batches so you get the freshest, most natural product she can give you. Leaves of Trees also committed to the Environmental Defence - Just Beautiful Pledge - so no dangerous or harmful substances (parabens, petrolatums, triclosans, etc) are added to the products

Dr. Qureshi describes her products as "modern apothecary with a pinch of Morocco and other exotic flavours. Many of which  are actually based on unrefined argan oil which she gets from a women's cooperative in Morocco. This oil moisturizes without leaving you feeling greasy and is full of anti-oxidants to reduce the skin damage caused by free radicals."

I love the Pink Grapefruit Argan Hand and Body Lotion - 37ml - $10 - which is great for dry skin and packed with unrefined Moroccan argan oil in combination with unrefined shea or cocoa butters to moisturize the driest of skin leaving it silky but not greasy.  Just keep in mind that they only use natural preservatives so the shelf life isn't as long as a drugstore moisturizer - you'll want to stockpile it but don't!

I passed the Lavender Argan Hand and Body Lotion on to my sister which she wore during a mosquito laden trip one weekend and she swears that she didn't get a single bite - yes, lavender is a mosquito repellent!

I also love the custom packaging option they offer on the handmade soaps - such a perfect wedding favour idea!
 
If you're in Toronto you can check out the new flagship store at 177 Queen Street East - or find them online at www.leavesoftrees.com.

- Lisamarie -

Shop The Body Shop and put an end to domestic violence!

Not only can you get some great deals at The Body Shop this week, but they will also be donating $1 from every purchase to charities that work towards ending violence against women in Canada from December 26-29th. The deals you can expect to see include: 

1.       Sale products up to 50% off (example: seasonal ranges and select gifts and discontinued products)

2.       Rest of store (excluding gifts) is buy 2 get 2 free
3.       Gifts 30% off  

By shopping you'll be supporting The Body Shop's Stop Violence Campaign which has been raising funds and awareness for the past 20 years. You might be surprised to know that during the holiday season, domestic violence is especially prevalent. On any given day during the holiday season, 3300 women and their 3000 children will be forced to sleep in emergency shelters to escape domestic violence.

 Doing good while shopping should be the real meaning of boxing day!

- Lisamarie -

Beauty heaven awaits at Hudson's Bay Yorkdale!

Months of construction at the Yorkdale Bay store have resulted in 23,300 square feet of cosmetic wonderfulness that you are going to have to see to believe!

Now you may be thinking - "Why do I need department store cosmetics when I can get all the same brands at Sephora or Murale?" - and being the first to admit what a Sephora-whore I am, I'm in the perfect, un-biased position to say that the problem with Sephora is that while they do have everything, it's all so crowded in together that it's hard to really experience the brand or just wander it and browse. And of course while Sephora beauty advisors can be lovely and very helpful, it's impossible to know everything about every brand, whereas when you go to any of the brands at The Bay, you are getting an advisor for just that company who will know everything about it!

Now come take a tour of some of the counters:

Anna Sui has an exclusive partnership with The Bay and here's the first new concept counter in North America inspired by Anna's own apartment - the whimsical decor ties in nicely with the uniqueness of the product packaging!

Now a little easier to get your hands on now that Bobbi Brown has opened at both Yorkdale and Queen Street Hudson's Bay stores!

Chanel - well do I really need to say anymore than that? I'm especially taken with the gold couch you can see in the right hand corner, I'm going back specifically to sit on it!

Clinique brings you a shopping experience like no other, letting you choose exactly the level of service you want...

Just grab a bracelet and the consultants will know whether you want help or just want to browse - brilliant!

The Elizabeth Arden counter features a custom designed colour wall to display the Beautiful Colour eye shadow shades, available only at Hudson's Bay as well as a "Best Sellers" wall making it easy to find their best performing products!

Estée Lauder makes it easy to shop for foundation with the Beautiful Skin Studio - if you're ever bought foundation only to realize that it's the wrong shade when you see it in different lighting, you are really going to appreciate this!

The Guerlain fragrance display is amazing and the bottles look like works of art, not just perfume!

Remember when British brand Illamasqua was hard to get your hands on in Canada? Not anymore!

No longer will you have to deal with the massive crush that is normally the MAC counter - this one is huge and can be approached on all sides!

The NARS counter is new to the Yorkdale location and has arrived with a bang with a huge sleek and modern looking space - my favourite part is the interactive iPad station with How-To wardrobe tutorials and face charts by NARS Lead Makeup artists.

Origins has a brand new design - "Nature's Laboratory" - with easier access to sampling...

and a sink area make it much easier to give everything a try!

My beloved Philosphy has a beautiful new space with sections for skincare, fragrance and gifting - I especially like the Peel Bar where you can experience the benefits of a micro-exfoliating treatment!

The Shiseido counter offers an interactive 55" multi-touch Discovery Centre as well as a hidden treatment room where you can relax and have a specialized service (or a nap)!

Yves Saint Laurent is looking glamourous in black and gold!

Other counters include: Lancome, Shu Uemura, Armani, Dior and Clarins and other brands available at the Yorkdale Bay are: Tanda, butter London, Ciate, Clarisonic, Decleor, 3 Lab, St. Tropez, Bliss, T3, Hermes Fragrance, Cartier Fragrance, Tom Ford Fragrance and Michael Kors France and Beauty.

Also fun is the fragrance section - where you'll find the 9 most popular fragrance houses with their own little stores each designed to highlight their special nature of their brand - Narciso Rodriguez is dark and sleek...

While Viktor & Rolf is pink and airy -

Other houses included are: Armani, Chanel, gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Mugler and Givenchy.

Time to get shopping!

 

- Lisamarie -

L'Occitane is new and improved for your Bloor Street shopping pleasure!

L'Occitane, a long-time fixture on Bloor Street West in Toronto have revamped their store turning it from just a place to shop for all of your essentials to a sensorial shopping experience!

Right up front they'll show you what's new including the Immortelle Divine Lotion - the perfect step between your cleanser and moisturizer!

Admire the special touch that you'll only find in this store - a homage to Toronto in dried lavender...

then look up to see the hand cream lighting fixture...

and leave the boy in the antique barber's chair in his very own section of the store filled with all kinds of things to make him pretty!

All around the store you'll find wall displays of all the latest and greatest products.

There is a great big sink with foot controls so you can do some serious testing - I highly recommend you give the One Minute Hand Scrub a go for baby-soft hands!

And expect to still find all your favourite products in pretty new displays!

Visit the newly renovated Bloor Boutique at 102 Bloor Street West - and until the end of the month spend over $30 and you'll receive a free gift of a Shea Body Essentials Set.

- Lisamarie -

You're gonna want to check out the Sears Fall 2013 Look! report with Nevada featuring Bar Refaeli...

If you've picked up the Sears Fall 2013 Look! report you'll already have seen the lovely Bar Refaeli gracing the cover - who was also in town lately to launch the Nevada line that she is the face of! Sadly, I wasn't able to attend the event - although tall, glamourous supermodels do prefer that us short little things stay away from them as we make them feel all big and gawky so it's probably just as well that I wasn't there - nothing worse then a jealous supermodel!

Sears was kind enough to invite me to the store and check out the new offerings from the Look! report in person and see what I would choose for myself if I had $100 to spend. To be honest when they offered I thought it would be hard, Sears is not where I think of when I'm looking for trendy and fashionable clothes. If you have similar feelings then you will probably be as surprised as I was to see the new collection - was I able to spend a hundred bucks? Easily!

The first thing I was drawn to was this Pencil Skirt - $49.99 - it comes in 4 patterns and I couldn't decide between the check and the animal print but finally decided I couldn't go wrong with animal print!

The other peice I fell in love with is this Jacquard Wrap Sweater - $69.99 which is so cozy that it will even keep me warm in the meat locker temperatures that they insist on keeping my office at -while still looking cute!

You'll probably also notice a change in the footwear thanks to their collaboration with the Aldo Group's team of designers - so many boots to choose from!

You can check out the Look! report for yourself at:  http://bit.ly/16bGoiN and admire the Pinterest page at: http://bit.ly/1acKDIV and if you prefer to shop at home, everything is available on the website at www.sears.ca.

What do you think, is this the start of a new and more stylish Sears?

- Lisamarie -

Breakfast at the new Bloor Street Tiffany & Co.!

Tiffany & Co. has a new store in Yorkville at 150 Bloor Street West inspired Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York - which is beautiful inside and out!

I recently had the chance to attend a  breakfast at Tiffany's that happened  before the store opened to the public and I have to say it was one of the coolest things I have ever had the opportunity to do - not only did I and a bunch of other blogger have full run of the store - but we were also invited to try on any thing our little hearts desired, even the super expensive stuff that you usually need to look like you really can afford before the salespeople will fork it over!

A few things on my wish list are...

An onyx and pearl cocktail ring from the Gatsby collection.

A great big honking diamond surrounded by pink diamonds.

Or a pink diamond flanked by white diamonds.

I'd have to say my favourite is this yellow diamond surrounded by white and yellow diamonds - it looks damn good on me!

I'm also fond of this emerald surrounded by diamonds.

Of course I wouldn't say no to this diamond encrusted key with butterfly accents either...

My only disappointment of the day - no tiaras - I really wanted to try on a tiara!

- Lisamarie -

Enough prestige beauty to totally blow your mind is available at the new Toronto Eaton Centre Shoppers Drug Mart beautyBoutique!

Looking for 4,000 square feet of beauty wonderfulness? Look no further then the latest and greatest Shoppers Drug Mart enhanced beautyBoutique at the Toronto Eaton Centre. 

Featuring new fixtures, digital signage and all the bells and whistles that will provide customers with a luxurious retail environment complemented by a wide assortment of prestigious brands.

21 prestige brands to be exact including most of my favourites including: Chanel, Guerlain, Darphin, Clarins, Clinique, Smashbox, Stila, Shiseido, Elizabeth Arden, Lise Watier, Purminerals, Bourjois, Anna Sui, L'Occitane, Lancome, Biotherm, Clarisonic and did I say Chanel?!

All the skin care you will ever need in it's own special derm section and is the only place in the Toronto Eaton Centre where you can pick up dermatological brands such as Vichy.

And a vast selection of fragrances displayed in a way that makes them easy to find and sample!

Beauty has gone high tech - starting this fall at all beautyBoutique stores, the Beauty Advisors will be equipped with iPads that they (with your permission) will use to capture customer info regarding preferred brands which will allow them to inform you about upcoming promotions and events that you would want to know about as well as help them keep track of what you have bought or sampled at the store - meaning you will never have to wander around aimlessly again wondering what the heck it was you bought last time so you can pick it up again (or avoid it)!

Best part, I can buy all the boring crap necessary to life like toilet paper and vitamins and redeem my Optimum Points for Chanel - it doesn't get any better than that my friends!

- Lisamarie -