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Shopping: beautyBOUTIQUE Black Friday Deals and Spend Your Points PLUS Event

23 November, 2017 Nelia


1. Avène Tolérance Extrême Set (on sale $27.99) 2. philosophy shimmering snowlace ($22) 3. Filorga Coffret Noël Time ($105) 4. Avène Triacnéal Expert 5. Bioderma Gift With $30 Purchase (free) 6. Benefit Beauty & The Bay ($49) 7. Paul & Joe Cat Lipstick ($21) 8. Avène Hydrance Optimale Rich set (on sale $29.99)

This is not a drill! beautyBOUTIQUE by Shoppers Drug Mart has a crazy number of really great Black Friday deals on offer – from discounts on various products (like my HG skincare brand Avène!) to amazing gifts with purchase. And that’s not all – this weekend is probably my fave time of all – the Spend Your Points PLUS Event, when you can use your hard-earned points to buy presents for your loved ones (or yourself) and get points back at the same time to redeem for more presents later on. It’s just a smart way to shop!

My plan of attack is to stock up on my personal essentials like Avène products for my super sensitive skin (Triacneal Expert, Hydrance, and Tolérance), earn points on these discounted items, and then use the points this weekend to buy pretty gift sets for my friends and family, earning extra points…and then use the extra points from this weekend to buy snacks and candy for our Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Sorry if it’s confusing, but I take my Optimum points very very seriously. Also, if you use the Shoppers Drug Mart app (and if you’re not, you are seriously missing out), there are lots of personalized coupons waiting to be loaded, which of course adds up to more points and more savings. And just in case this sounds sponsored, it totally isn’t…and I’m just a slightly rabid points collector and I can’t even tell you how many free Avène products I’ve redeemed for this year alone!

Are you a crazy Optimum points collector? Share your strategies in the comments and happy shopping!

Beauty, Shopping Avène, Avene Hydrance, Avène Tolerance, Avene Triacneal, Beauty, beautyBOUTIQUE, Benefit Beauty, Bioderma, Black Friday, Black Friday 2017, Black Friday Canada, Black Friday Canada Sales, Filorga, Paul & Joe Beauty, philosophy, Shoppers Drug Mart, Shoppers Drug Mart App, Shoppers Optimum Points, Shoppers Spend Your Points Event, Shopping

TIFF 2017: Beauty and Gifting Lounges

20 September, 2017 Nelia


TIFF can be a pretty stressful time for the media covering the festival, which is why the various beauty and gifting lounges are so helpful during that time – it’s a one-stop shop to get pampered and treated like a celeb when you’re feeling anything but. This year, I was able to visit three of them in between my TIFF appointments, and month-end at work.

1. The Stylist Suite

The Stylist Suite is a celebrity styling and gifting lounge focused on bringing Canadian fashion to TIFF red carpets. Over the past five years, The Stylist Suite has gifted and dressed over 300 celebrities and personalities, including the likes of the Olsen twins, Susan Sarandon, John Travolta, Tatiana Maslany, Kiesza, and many more. The suite had an extensive selection of red carpet pieces from both established and up-and-coming Canadian designers including Andrew Majtenyi, Christopher Paunil, Hendrixroe, Hilary MacMillan, Ryan Alexander, WRKDEPT, among others. I tried on some cool clothes, learned about new Canadian designers (Patricia Wong Jewellery had some really awesome rings!), and had my portrait taken at The Pull Magazine’s Portrait Studio with celebrity photographer Matthew Lyn in support of WE Charity, an international charity that empowers domestic and international change. 

2. beautyBOUTIQUE  by Shoppers Drug Mart TIFF Suite

There are lots of fun parties to attend during TIFF so when beautyBOUTIQUE by Shoppers Drug Mart TIFF Suite offers to get me party-ready, I always jump at the chance. This year, I had my makeup done by a Stila makeup artist, and had my best Star Wars hair dreams realized by PHYTO. By the time I was done, I felt like one of the celebs – glam and ready to hit the red carpet. Oh, and I ran into Judy Greer in the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel, so obviously it was an awesome day.

3. Bask-It-Style

Bask-It-Style is an annual TIFF gifting suite that welcomes media and Canadian celebs to check out the latest offerings from various brands and get a mean swag bag in the process. Bask-it Style gift bags are also delivered directly to various celebs at their hotel rooms. While visiting the lounge, I got to try the delicious beet iced tea from DAVIDs TEA, learned all about the new HP Sproket Photo Printer (perfect for wedding photo booths and for actually printing out your Instagram pics), met author Adrienne Kress (who was promoting her new book The Explorers: The Door in the Alley), and listened to Mindy Kaling’s audio book while wearing VR goggles at the Rakuten Kobo station. The gift bag also included goodies from Pureology, Studio1098, Sharp Magazine, as well as a bunch of snacks (like the yummy Toronto Popcorn Company popcorn and Hungry Buddha coconut chips) that came in really handy on days when there was no time for a proper sit-down meal. And as a random bonus, later on I found out that the girls in my time slot (see first pic in this post) were from Degrassi. Do you know which one of them is the next Drake?

Beauty, Fashion Amanda Arcuri, Ana Golja, Bask-it Style, beautyBOUTIQUE, DAVIDs TEA, Degrassi, HP, HP Sproket, Matthew Lyn, PHYTO, Shoppers Drug Mart, Soma Chhaya, Stila, Stylist Box, Stylist Suite, TIFF, TIFF 2017, Toronto

TIFF 2016: Favourite Moments

22 September, 2016 Nelia

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Another TIFF has come and gone, and all I’m left with is residual fatigue and lots of amazing memories. 30 minutes in the same room as Ryan Gosling? Check. Brunch with Sigourney Weaver? Check (well, kinda). Below are my most memorable moments from #TIFF16!

1. Variety Studio
Always a highlight of my TIFF, Variety Studio is usually located in a pretty small room with a handful of famous people going in and out, where you have to act cool, even when you really want to fangirl like you’ve never fangirled before. I’ve visited Variety Studio as a guest of Moroccanoil for the last few years, and I always walk away with lots of juicy star observations. This year, I breathed the same air as Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, John Legend, Gael Garcia Bernal, Gerard Butler, Gemma Arterton, Bill Nighy, Sam Claflin, Miranda Cynthia Nixon, and the cast of The Eagle Huntress.

Despite being in the same room as Ryan Gosling for nearly 30 minutes, I didn’t actually talk to the Canadian heartthrob. But I did watch him, like a creeper that I am. Ryan was shorter than I imagined, and looked very serious the entire time he was at the lounge (unlike Emma Stone, who was animated and smiled a lot). Strangely, I didn’t see the two interact very much – Emma was mostly with her people and Ryan with his. The only time we got to see Ryan’s warmer side, was when he spotted the star of The Eagle Huntress Aisholpan in her native garb, and went over to introduce himself. After a brief chat, he offered to take photos with Aisholpan and her family. I wasn’t quite sure whether the Kazakh family actually knew who Ryan was, but they were happy to snap a few photos with the actor. At the end of his visit, Ryan took some time to sign a postcard for Airbnb and Make-A-Wish foundation, and while waiting for the elevator, he stood right in front of me for nearly 5 minutes. It took all of my strength not to be that person and ask him for a photo; I played it cool instead…but those were the longest 5 minutes of my life. File this one under #TIFFregrets.

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Just like in prior years, the British actors were my faves. They just seem to have a camaraderie that the Hollywood actors don’t seem to posses. This year, I watched the cast of Their Finest, including Sam Claflin, Gemma Arterton, and Bill Nighy, work the room and charm everyone in the vicinity. Bill Nighy made eye contact with anyone around him and said “hello”, which shouldn’t seem like a big deal, but it really is, because most of the stars don’t even make eye contact with the “civilians”. Gemma looked relaxed and beautiful, as did Sam, who seemed to be in a good mood and looked very friendly. Sam played the Holt Renfrew claw machine and had to try a couple of times before finally winning. It was cute to see how competitive he got. He also came by the Moroccanoil station to learn more about the products and walked away with a goodie bag of his own.

Other lucky guests who took home some Moroccanoil included John Legend (who chose to walk 6 flights of stairs down instead of waiting for the elevator), Cynthia Nixon (who came in looking a bit stern, but seemed to liven up at the sight of Moroccanoil…seriously!), Richard Gere (who popped in for a few minutes and was gone in a flash), and Gael Garcia Bernal (who was just as cute as I remember from back in 2007 when I met him at MTV, but didn’t spare a minute to sign the Airbnb/Make-A-Wish postcard, which was disappointing).

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2. Brunch at Brassaii
Stargazing is a pretty popular activity during TIFF. You can find throngs of fans camping out on King St, in front of theatres, and waiting outside of various hotels, but did you know that you can have brunch at Brassaii, where all sorts of movie stars arrive to attend the Hollywood Reporter Lounge? It’s true! My friend Al and I stopped by Brassaii to try their new brunch menu, and in just one hour, we watched Sigourney Weaver walk in and out (apparently she requested a special vegetarian soup), and saw Felicity Jones in a pretty striped outfit. Had we had more time to hang out, we would’ve also seen Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, Douglas Booth and Bill Nighy, Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac, Pharrell and Taraji P. Henson (who was greeted with a banana cream tart, lemon meringue tart, a white chocolate/dark chocolate brownie, and a Happy Birthday song). It’s so easy – the stars literally come to you, and you don’t have to jockey for position, or stand in lines for hours – just enjoy delicious food like Oreo Pancakes and Fried Chicken and Waffles, while trying not to pass out when Ryan Gosling strolls by.

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Beauty, Celebrity Fashion, Events beautyBOUTIQUE, Bill Nighy, Brassaii, Emma Stone, Events, Felicity Jones, Gemma Arterton, Hollywood Reporter Lounge, Mongrel House, Mongrel Media, MoroccanOil, PHYTO, Ryan Gosling, Sam Claflin, Shoppers Drug Mart, Sigourney Weaver, Stila, TIFF, TIFF 2016, TIFF Celebrities, Toronto, Variety Studio, Where To Find Celebrities at TIFF

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WHO IS NELIA?

Nelia Belkova is a Toronto-based fashion and lifestyle blogger by night and a financial analyst by day. She loves to travel, read gossip sites, eat sweets, and cuddle up to her husband and her cat on the couch. Read More…

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