French Velvet - Incredible Tops & Wraps That Will Revolutionize Your Look & Wardrobe

I am currently giving my wardrobe the big overhaul and what I've come to realize is that for a stylin' wardrobe you need three things:

1. simple pieces that can work in a number of ways

2. stylish pieces that stand out on their own

3. quality pieces that will stand up to constant wear

French Velvet is all of this and so much more.

One of the most essential and versatile pieces you can have is their Traveling Cashmere Wrap from Scotland (pictured above). Whether you're boarding a plane or heading off to a waterside restaurant for dinner, this gorgeous super-soft and sensuous wrap is tres chic and will keep you warm when the evening cools.

It's incredibly lightweight and folds up small enough to fit into your purse or tote, so you can bring it with you without feeling bogged down.

You wear poncho style over the head with the seam running down the right hand shoulder, making it easy to put it on and take it off with ease.

The comfy, cozy feel that the 100% pure cashmere brings is completely addictive and the cut is so stylish and flattering, you'll be tempted to wear it with just about everything.

I got mine in Violet, which really pops against my usual drab wardrobe, and I am genuinely in love.

One of the best and most unique accessories I've ever found are the Handmade Luxury Collars. Instead of just relying on dowdy scarves like you have for the past decades (I bet you can count a handful of woman you know that are almost never seen without a scarf), you've got to get yourself on of these absolute musts. Similar to a statement necklace, these stunning collars slip on and fasten with a single button, allowing you to completely change your look without having to add on another layer like a blazer or cardigan.

Each collar is handmade and individually designed in Great Britain, and there are a great many styles and colours to choose from.

What I love about these is that they dramatically dress up everything from a simple tee or tank to all your plain dresses that nowlook runway worthy. The Betty Shawl Collar in Black and White is so classy, and the Cynthia Collar in Pale Blue Check and Francoise Collar in Cream and Black add tremendous office chic to your wardrobe. And should your clothes be in need of a shock of colour (nothing is more flattering than colour around your face), the Darcey Collar in Hot Pink or Petrol will make you shine. 

My Winnie Collar in Mauve & Grey light tweed is a fashion game-changer that takes my clothes up ten notches. Oh, and it's miraculously machine-washable too. Oh. My. God.

Forget the scarves and necklaces, it's all about the breathtaking Handmade Luxury Collars.

And if you're in need of a sweater that is not only comfortable, but incredibly flattering, it doesn't get much better than the Silk Sweater from JW Paris. It's also a money saver because it's cool in summer and warm in winter, thus working for you year round, so go ahead and get them in different colours - there are so many!

What I especially love about it is it's as cozy as wearing pajamas and yet, the criss-cross front and pulled across tummy gives you a perfect hourglass silhouette, making you look like you've just stepped off the red carpet at Cannes.

Made of 80% silk, 15% polyamide and 5% spandex, guaranteed you'll be reached for this sweater over the rest of your collection.

French Velvet really does have it all.

Shop now.

Sabi - Simple & Stylish Storage Solutions for Your Vitamins

My fella and I take vitamins and supplements every day. I have worked on various systems over the years to keep all of the various bottles together and organized, but I've never been able to streamline it.

Until I found the wondrous Sabi. Then life became so much more organized. Which we both know means happier, less stressful, etc.

The truly awe-inspiring designs of the Vivacity line allow you to keep your meds and vitamins stored properly whether you're at home or on the road.

The Shake easy pill dispenser means that for those crazy mornings when you're still shimmying into your clothes while heading out the door and you've only got one free hand, you can still take your vitamins. And for those nights that you've got dinner finishing on the stove and the dryer buzzer is going, you can still shake out a vitamin. 

Of course, if your life is less chaotic than this one (let's just be honest - these scenarios are ones I live just about every day), who wouldn't rather pop the top and shake out their pills out of a sleek, modern, stylish bottle than have to unscrew an unsightly one from the pharmacy? 

It actually makes taking your vitamins and pills a whole lot more fun.

The Folio is the George Clooney of pill organizers. A handsome, dark cover flips open to reveal a BPA-free plastic container that stores two weeks of pills or a week, if you take some morning and night. A secure elastic band keeps them from ever falling out and scattering across the floor, and rounded sections makes it easy to retrieve your vitamins, even if you're on a cramped plane.

If vitamins, supplements or medication is a part of your life, your life will be so much better with Sabi in hand/ bag/luggage.

Shop Sabi now.

Mad Soap Company - Handmade with Care

I am always on the hunt for fun - and let's not forget useful - gifts for friends and family and I've found it all in Mad Soap Company.

Not only is everything handmade with great care, they've got fantastic flavours and scents that are a helluva lot more interesting that than prepackaged basket - snore! - you end up getting every year.

For example, their Chai Tea Lip Balm is the bomb. Made with all-natural ingredients (candelilla wax, shea butter, cocoa butter, olive oil, vitamin E, chai tea flavor oil and natural sweetener), it goes on super smooth and silky - and makes your lips that way too. It's not only long-lasting, it's one of the best lip balms I've ever tried (I chucked out the one I'd just got at the drugstore in favour for this l'il beauty). Add to that, it tastes and smells like chai tea. 

Sigh.

And while I'm at it, I've got to tell you about their handmade soaps too. Insanely addictive and completely luxurious, yet at such affordable prices, this might just become your favourite one-stop-shop for the next while.

The scalloped-edged Charcoal Soap (pictured above) has such an invigorating, fresh minty scent, you'll find yourself leaping out of bed in the morning to wash up. And removing all those toxins will make your skin luminous again. All with this one simple product. 

If caffeine is your vice, you'll love the Coffee Oatmeal Soap. This gentle exfoliator is made up of ingredients you know and love (distilled water, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, olive oil, castor oil, avocado oil, sodium hydroxide, Fair Trade organic coffee, oatmeal, coffee essential oil, brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg), without any of the jittery side effects. And yes, this one's scent is insanely sumptuous too.

Shop Mad Soap Company now and get fantastic all-natural, handmade skincare that you can afford for yourself and all your friends.

I love you, Mad Soap!

OPI Soft Shades 2013 - Oz The Great and Powerful Collection

OPI’s Soft Shades 2013 collection is based on Disney’s Oz The Great and Powerful and offers a heady mix of tried-and-true classics as well as more dazzling looks.

These six new soft crème and warm glitter shades are made to wear on their own or layer for completely up-to-the-moment manicures:

- Lights of Emerald City features large white and smaller iridescent squares that are perfect for glam-ing up any shade.

- Don't Burst My Bubble  is a creamy soft pink that is extremely pretty and feminine and unbelievably flattering. The formula on this one is gorgeous - no ridges, just smooth sailing.

- Why Monkeys Fly is so opulent with gold hexagons and shimmery pearlesque glitter, you'll feel like you're covered in rich jewels.

-  Glints of Glinda, a surprisingly sophisticated beige-y shade, is so wearable, chances are you'll go through this bottle well before the rest.

- Which is Witch? I'm calling this one rainbow-in-a-bottle, though I did consider disco-ball-in-a-bottle too. 'Nuff said.

- I Theodora You looks bubblegum pink in the bottle, but is pretty in pink from start to finish.

- What Wizardy Is This? is a liquid sand that goes on so smooth and is such a delicious, rich texture and colour, you will be shocked at how often you wear it.

Shop OPI’s Soft Shades 2013 collection  now.

Gifts with Style - Luxe, Stylish Gifts At Prices You Can Afford

Is it just me or is gift giving getting harder to do? It seems like everyone's got much of what they want and what they're still lusting after - boats, cars, vacations - you can't possibly give them.

However, birthdays and anniversaries still come and go and you've got to get something fabulous, but what?

Lucky for us, Gifts with Style has something for everyone. And they've made it extremely easy, thanks to their fantastic Shop By Occasion feature.

If you're looking for a stand-out home gift, this Bugatti Chrome Vera Kettle is simply stunning. And if you're shopping for an eco warrior, check out the uber-chic Bamboo Lexon Titanium Clock Radio. 

For those who want a little eye candy, this Ostrowski Design Modern Small Ring is fascinating. And if you are as obsessed with moving to New York as I am, you're going to need this and this.

To keep your tech stylin', this Blue Luxury Leather iPad Case is a must and for those who like to be surround by luxurous aromas, a Vintage Amber Boujies Scented Candle oughtta do it.

Me, I'm easy to shop for - I love everything Lexon. And Gifts with Style is festooned with the brand's gorgeous designs.

A great buy is the Lexon Take Time! by Mathieu Lehanneur (pictured above). This funky silicone rubber watch is available in 10 colours and thanks to it's inventive loop style, you can wear it a number of different ways - on your wrist, around a bag, from your belt loop, even hanging from your water bottle while you're at the gym!

Most people have a stodgy work watch, but how many have a fun, vibrant watch that stands out? I'm rockin' the red one and absolutely love it - it adds a pop of colour to my otherwise dreary wardrobe.

Shopping for friends and family (and hey, get yourself something while you're at it) just got a whole lot easier, thanks to the amazing Gifts with Style.

Aventuress High Performace Sunscreen Wipes - Protection on the Go

I don't know about you, but I don't like applying sunscreen after I've applied lotion and makeup. It feels like I'm undoing all that work I just put into getting ready to go out.

I know, I know - you've got to wear sunscreen these days. But do I really want to be toting around a big bottle of it when my bag is already filled to the brim (it's ridiculous what I've got in here...)?

That's why I am head-over-heels in love with Adventuress High Performance Sunscreen Wipes SPF 30. These individually wrapped sunscreens are perfect for not only stashing in your purse, but amazing for travel - no more leaky bottles or having to transfer big bottles into travel-size ones! I'm so thankful to leave behind greasy sunscreen hands too.

See, these thick pads come prepped with a perfect dose of sun protection - just swipe on using the little finger glove (the lotion is on the other side of the pad, keeping your hands clean and oil-free) and toss away. It's so easy to reapply while you're out and about now that you don't have to worry about getting your skin and hands all slick with greasy lotion.

And the scent is pretty and light so you can go about your day without reeking like a coconut.

With 24 per box, you've got enough for daily walks around town as well as weekend excursions and  trips abroad.

So whether you're looking for a convenient and portable sunscreen to take to the pool or beach or like me, just want to keep your hands clean and your skin protected from the harsh rays, get Adventuress High Performance Sunscreen Wipes SPF 30.

Whistler Naturals Vegan Skincare - Pamper Your Skin

Now that winter seems safely behind us, isn't it time you left that winter skin behind?

You know what I mean - that dry, flaky, bumpy skin that's been swathed in thick sweaters, scratchy wool pants and puffy coats for the last six months.

Leave that chemical-laden stuff from the drugstore on the shelf and get yourself Whistler Naturals Vegan Skincare.

This amazing line uses bio-active floral waters, oils, extracts & butters. What that means is that these ingredients do more than just cleanse, replenish and renew.  And all thankfully without the use of animal products, artificial parfums or colours, parabens, propylene glycol, phthalates, GMO's, sulphates, petroleum products and formaldehyde. 

Which means your skin is getting exfoliated, moisturized, nourished, firmed and stimulated, each and every time you envelop yourself in Whistler Naturals products.

A good place to start is to slough off that winter exterior with Vanilla Silk Sugar Body Scrub. This gentle, but effective exfoliator is rich with emollients like avocado, coconut, organic sunflower & meadowfoam (vitamin E) oils. This combined with real raw plantain sugar gets rid of that rough top layer and reveals soft, smooth, supple skin underneath.

To further nourish your skin, slather yourself with Naked Apricot Lily Body Butter. The delicate fragrance is perfect for this time of year.  And the light, completely non-greasy formula absorbs instantly, so go ahead and throw your clothes on and rush out the door, if you need to - your skin  is in good hands now. And thanks to organic shea butter, aloe vera, organic sunflower and meadowfoam oils, skin softening oats, natural cocoa and soy butter, your skin is insanely soft and touchable, so maybe tonight's the night to cozy up on the couch...

And because you have been busy doing dishes, laundry, cleaning the house, paying bills (it's crazy how dry paper makes your hands!), your hands need a little pampering too. Rose Geranium Hand & Body Lotion  uses Eco-cert approved preservatives and emulsifiers, natural cocoa butter, rose flower, chamomile, white willow and calendula extracts, hydrolyzed oat flour, and sunflower oil to keep your hands satiny all day long. Even despite all those dishes and hand-washing.

So shop Whistler Naturals now and get back your sexy smooth, supple skin.

p.s. you get free samples with every order.

N.Y.J.O. New York Joe's Onions - Bringing NYC's Corner Dogs to Your Kitchen

There are some things that you just can't duplicate. I can't make a sausage roll as good as the British shop just north of me, and I've never been able to swing that delicate veal sauce I had at a stone inn in Montreal. And it's often the city specific things like Chicago-style pizza or New York hot dogs, topped with onions that you wish you could recreate at home.

But wait, Joe Cachia, creator of N.Y.J.O - New York Joe's Onions - has made it so you can grill up hot dogs at any time and with the addition of his saucy, slightly smoky, tangy onions, feel like you're at the corner of 55th Street and Madison Avenue at a moment's notice.

It's a close-to-impossible feat to recreate such a specific memory. After all, it's not just the taste that you need to get bang on, but it needs to bring you back to feeling the press of hundreds of yellow cabs, the thick heat rising up from the concrete and that over stimulation that only NYC can bring on.

But Joe nails it with his N.Y.J.O's. The texture is bang-on - soft, but not mushy - and how he was able to add tomatoes but not have them overpower the onions is a mystery. That's extremely hard to do and do well. I like that they're a little messy too, because when you're eating a hot dog on the corner, there's no way you're not getting a little juice running down your arm. For me, that's part of the fun.

All Joe asks is that you warm the onions first before adding them to your dog. And really, that's not too much, especially since he's gone to the trouble of creating such a delicacy. It's take just a few moments and it's absolutely worth it. And freakin' affordable too.

Besides, it's the least you can do - Joe has just saved you a plane ticket and the cost of a hotel room.

Buy N.Y.J.O New York Joe's Onions now.