Archive for the 'Beauty' Category

Are you Born to Style?

Everyone has friends who work in fashion and beauty related jobs, and by and large these folks are happier than the people who work at the bank, or have their own stores, or have IT jobs in office towers downtown. Men and women that become personal stylists are usually pretty happy with themselves – they turn into honest reliable friends who are quite fulfilled because they feel satisfied with what they do everyday, which is to help other people look and feel their best. And they can get wealthy too, just like the rest of them – there is a lot of money to be made in this line of work. The truly gifted stylists do indeed feel like they were called to the job from a higher power – they feel like they were born to style.

Born to Style is a video contest that you can enter and perhaps win your entire tuition (about $10K  of high quality education) at one of four different Aveda Institutes across Canada.

Devin is now a professional stylist at Canada’s busiest and most beautiful hair salon, Civello on Queen Street West in Toronto. There is another terrific story on the Aveda Institute Canada Blog, entitled Catching Up With Winnipeg’s #BornToStyle 2012 Winner, Robyn Thompson

The 2013 Born to Style Hair School Scholarship Contest is on again, brought to you by Aveda Institute. The competition is the exact same structure as last year and I should have written more about it here sooner because the open submission window closes March 1st 2012.

This social media contest was created to help talented art students who have just learned hair styling, or perhaps do not even know yet the basics of cutting hair, start bold new careers as hair stylists. The competition is designed to help these ‘undiscovered’ artists find themselves by becoming hair and beauty stylists, and of course there is a very good chance in each and every city in the world that they will also find a satisfying career at the top of the food chain. There are four full scholarships available – one for each of the AVEDA Institutes in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.

AVEDA Institute Canada challenges young people to step up and prove they are Born to Style again in 2013; applicants need to show contest administrators they deserve to be included in each city’s top five finalists group. They need to display on video what they will do when asked to perform in a live hair styling competition in front of important guests, and be judged by celebrity hair stylists in four cities across Canada.

There will be four hair showdowns, one in each city Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver. Stay tuned to the social media channels in each of the cities for the dates.

Follow along on social media,
In Toronto, keep an eye on application updates by liking Aveda Institute Toronto Facebook Page and @Aveda416 on Twitter
In Winnipeg, like Aveda Institute Winnipeg Facebook Page and follow @Aveda204 on Twitter.
In Calgary, like Aveda Institute Calgary Facebook Page and follow @Aveda403 on Twitter.
In Vancouver, like Aveda Institute Vancouver Facebook Page and follow @Aveda604 on Twitter.

If you are thinking about doing this, you might want to look here at the 2012 Vancouver hair school scholarship showdown.

Our skin is one of our most precious organs, and the health of our skin is usually determined by the health of our internal body. With summer on the way we begin to think more about the health and appearance of our skin; as we expose our arms and legs in tanks and shorts we become more aware of how sensitive our outer layer really is, and how our lifestyle is reflected in the glow (or lack thereof) of our skin. Luckily, dermatology today is better than it’s ever been; not only is it possible to reverse the process of aging on the face using exfoliants and wrinkle eye cream, there is also more of an emphasis on the overall health of the body in relation to skincare.

Below are some tips that should help you take care of your skin and promote that natural glow that every woman has within.

-Wear sunscreen. You should always wear sunscreen when exposed to sunlight, even in the winter. Buy a tiny tube of at least SPF 15 and just carry it around with you in your purse. There are many high quality SPF lip glosses available as well. If you’re going to have prolonged exposure to the sun, wear SPF 60 and reapply every few hours. Sun damage to the skin is irreversible.

-Quit smoking. Studies have proven what most casual observers already knew: smoking causes visible skin damage. Furthermore, the repetitive mannerisms of smoking (inhaling the cigarette, squinting the eyes to avoid smoke) cause wrinkles around the mouth and eyes. Even further, cigarettes are very expensive nowadays. Quit smoking and reward yourself with a massage or a day at the spa.

-Consume antioxidants. Antioxidants have been proven to remove toxins that produce aging from the body. These can be consumed in pill or vitamin form, but you can also get them in your diet: green tea, pomegranates, cranberries, berries and fine dark chocolate are all good sources of antioxidants. If you drink a cup of coffee in the afternoon, try switching to green tea.

Here’s an ancient Ayurvedic cocktail for beautiful skin: warm up a glass of milk with half a teaspoon of turmeric and a bit of honey. Light a candle, relax and enjoy. Spend more quiet moments alone in appreciation and stress will begin to visibly leave your face.

Happy new year, everyone! If you read my blog (I thank you) you know that anything involving organics, healthy eating/living, environmental activism and…ahem… saving money are some of my favourite topics. I felt my first post of 2012 was a great time to start talking about Aveda hair school and salons; Aveda is a cutting edge (pun intended) company that is pioneering a new renaissance in beauty care: their products are kept as organic as possible, 100% of the company’s energy consumption is powered by wind power, and their stylists are some of the best in the world.

I have been a fan of Aveda and Aveda products ever since the first time I visited an Aveda salon in Toronto and, on a whim, had my hair dyed bright red! Over the moon about my bold new look, I allowed myself to be persuaded to buy the suggested shampoo and conditioner (also bright red colours) to keep the colour intact, as red tends to fade quickly. It was the first time I had seen an organic product for sale in a salon, and I was intrigued.

Aveda was born after founder Horst Rechelbacher visited India for the first time and was introduced to the concepts of Ayurveda, an ancient Indian holistic discipline that I study. (I have outlined the basic concepts of Ayurveda in a previous blog post). Finally, I thought, a beauty company I can really get behind. I believe that what we see is very important, that it has a direct correlation to our happiness and well-being, so it’s important to surround yourself with beauty and cleanliness and to look your best. Aveda understands this at a deeper level–beauty isn’t just skin deep–and efforts are taken to ensure that the company’s entire process, from manufacturing to power usage, is conducted with the best interests of the environment in mind.

Aveda Hair School Scholarship Video Contest

Since Aveda is running a cross-Canada hair school scholarship video contest, I’m thrilled to spread the word to budding stylists across the country. If you’ve got a flair for spotting up-and-coming trends and/or have ever dreamed of a career as a stylist, this is the opportunity of a lifetime! Aveda stylists are internationally respected; many enjoy careers of glamour and travel, and hair stylists frequently top lists reporting job satisfaction.

Four grand prizes, each at a $10,000 or more value, are being given away. Submit a two-minute video entry explaining why you were ‘Born to Style’ and you could win a full scholarship to: Aveda Institute Toronto, Aveda Institute Calgary, Aveda Institute Vancouver or Aveda Institute Victoria. Complete contest rules and details can be found here. Good luck!