FASHION Magazine

Click your way to exotic bikini body prep » Summer is upon us. It’s time to get you and your body refreshed and prepped for your seasonal debut. If you, like us, are in desperate need of post hibernation body detox (by hibernation we mean months of binging on carbs and refined sugar), then this […]

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After what seemed like an un-ending winter sans wheels, biking season is finally upon us! Freeing urban dwellers from the cramped confines of public transport and high-traffic break lights, the two-wheel form of transportation is often your best bet. However, biking does come with its fair share of obstacles, and both safety and style are at the top of that list (be sure to refresh yourself on the rules of the road before getting started). In honour of the cherished transit changeover, we present our foolproof guide to being a stylish and safe city cyclist.

See our safe and stylish bicycle fashion picks »

Every week our Beauty Fix columnist takes on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more. Have a beauty question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.

Lately, my skin looks dull and tired. How can I make it look more energized?
Fatigued skin looks dull and lacklustre, and that’s usually because it’s lacking proper, restorative rest. If slowing down your schedule to get more rest isn’t an option (it so rarely is!), then make the most out of the sleep you are able to make and try an overnight mask. A substantial layer of a mask such as Lancôme Énergie de Vie Nuit Overnight Recovery Mask ($78, sephora.ca) will work wonders in a short span of time. This particular formula contains hydrating wild yam root extract, rhodiola root extract (helpful for fighting signs of fatigue), and gentiana root extract (radiance-boosting!). A few nights wearing this mask and your skin will appear more energized.

See the shots from Field Trip music festival in Toronto »

Festival season had its official Canadian start this weekend, as the second annual Field Trip music festival hit Toronto with a series of cacophonous bangs. Run by indie label Arts & Crafts, the two-day festival brought together homegrown darlings and international favourites like Interpol, The Kills, Austra, Washed Out, Cvrches and The Constantines. As is a now two-year tradition, local gods Broken Social Scene closed out the weekend with a 46-person set, as the crowd didn’t let the rain spoil the lively mood.

In what had to be the most perfect weather day of the year so far, Saturday’s almost 30 degree high had festivalgoers making use of the skin-baring assets of shorty short jorts, crop tops (with this season’s update: the thin strap) and protective oversized hats. In stark contrast, Sunday’s drizzle had attendees piling on the waterproof layers and creative makeshift ponchos out of colourful woven blankets.

While warmer weather is almost always associated with changing up how you do your makeup, our hair works the same way. With the temperature finally starting to feel like we can finally kiss winter good-bye, spring makes for the ideal season to try a new hairstyle—who wants to wear a top knot in the freezing cold! Whether you’re inspired by the Spring 2014 runways or your fave A-list star, keeping the hair off the back of our necks is one thing we’re most certainly doing this season. But since we don’t have hairstylists on hand, we asked our Beauty Panel members to show us their favourite (and easy to do) spring hairstyles and how to achieve them. Those who think they aren’t talented when it comes to hair can definitely perfect these looks in a heartbeat with these tips.

Challenge 64: How are you styling your hair this season? See the answers now! »

See the best celebrity summer hair »

Simple and fuss-free: two words that come to mind when we think summer hair. While it’s fun to experiment with elaborate updos or dye your hair in every colour of the rainbow, some days the sexy bedhead look is suffice (#wokeuplikethis). But if you’re tired of sporting the same old side-swept hair à la Kristen Stewart, then you’re in luck. With summer sort of in the air, we round up our top 10 best celebrity hairstyles perfect for the hot sunny season. Ranging from casual braids to ponytails to beach waves, you can literally roll out of bed and whip up these summer hairstyles easily. We promise.

Every week our Beauty Fix columnist takes on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more. Have a beauty question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.

My brows are well defined, but they are unruly and gel isn’t doing the trick. What else can I use?
If you’re blessed with full brows and have no use for brow powders or pencils at all, consider yourself lucky! If you’re blessed with brows so full that they verge into unruly territory, you probably consider yourself frustrated when hairs stray from your natural shape. If gel isn’t keeping brow hairs in order, try something more pliable that will really grip hairs and keep them together, like Sigma Beauty Brow Wax ($11, sigmabeauty.com). This pencil format means convenient application. Run it through brows, and your body heat will warm the wax up, allowing you to brush it through with a spoolie into your preferred shape.

Toronto’s super hip Field Trip Festival is taking place this coming weekend, which means music festival season is soon upon us (hello festival fashion!). There’s no question we’re hard core fans when it comes to summer’s popular trend (here’s proof), but with festival style outfits making a coming back every year, you have to admit that the look is getting a little played out. So how do you stand out from the festival crowd amidst the crop tops, flower crowns and fringe-clad outfits? In addition to the street style edition of how-to do festival fashion, this week we challenged our Style Panel to share how they plan to get heads turning with new festival outfit ideas.

Though some versions of festival outfits may not be for everyone, Northern Style Exposure’s Kira Paran proves that there’s a festive outfit for everyone. Mixing a sequined dress with a cool denim shirt, Paran maintains the festival look while feeling comfortable in her own skin. While Sasha Xiao of Sasha’s Satisfashion and Christopher Wolf of Wolf Musings stayed away from the festival fashion dress code adding their own unique personality to their outfits with tips on how to transition from day to night, our newest Style Panel member Emma Walker of With A City Dream, showed us how to work an effortless-meets-practical festival look with this season’s must-have: the backpack.

Question 106: How do you dress for a music festival? Read the answers now! »

Fans of Valentino‘s now-cult Rockstud heels will seriously dig this summer addition. Waterproof, statement-making and hella durable, these neon orange PVC sandals are as perfect for the beach as they are for pounding the pavement. Most important fact about them? They’re 50% off! Valentino Rockstud PVC sandals ($155, net-a-porter.com)

The post Afternoon Delight: Bring your Valentino Rockstuds to the beach! appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Around the white, light-filled studio, flashes of lime green, fuchsia and black Lycra blur as a roomful of people sway together, balance one another overhead, roll around or gently connect palm to palm. We’re at 80 Gladstone—a movement studio in Toronto opened by yoga teacher Diane Bruni—and this is Contact Improv, which involves moving spontaneously for an hour and a half while maintaining a point of contact with a partner. You sweat and gain strength from bracing your core and supporting your weight so you can lift your partner off the ground, if the urge strikes you, but you’re also forced to be present and mindful, as the movement is always changing. “It’s a wonderful metaphor for life,” says Bruni, who also offers classes taught by a Shaolin monk. “His spiritual practice is qi gong and tai chi and kung fu. It’s not praying and it’s not sitting; it’s all in movement.”

The search for spiritual stand-ins is on. “The yoga studio is a modern-day church, in a way. It’s where people go to be with their community,” says Jeff Krasno, co-founder of Wanderlust, a festival of meditation, yoga, movement and more that takes place in 14 cities worldwide—including Whistler (July 31 to Aug. 4) and Mont-Tremblant (Aug. 21 to Aug. 24)—and expects about 120,000 participants this year. “It’s about being around people who share your values and beliefs. [It’s] not religion in the more theocratic sense, but there’s an ethos to live mindfully.” In 2012, Krasno spoke at the Gospel of Sweat, held at New York’s Riverside Church and spearheaded by Lululemon, a company known for extolling the virtues of self-empowerment and inner development to its staff. Yogis and fitness aficionados gathered to sermonize about how a growing wellness-focused contingent is “praying through their pores.”

Meet 5 of summer 2014’s fashion trends »

For better or worse, fashion is a revolving door of must-have items. Each season, a subtle shift in silhouette represents a shift in covetable items—the mini skirt made way for the midi skirt last fall, bringing with it the advent of the flat slip-on, the cropped jacket and so on and so forth.

This season, a few items emerge as must-haves to match summer 2014 fashion trends. Some are retakes on last year’s bets and some are wholly new. Here, we break down what they are, where they came from and how to wear ‘em. For good measure, we threw in some shopping suggestions too.

I already have pretty special feeling for crops tops, so you can imagine how much I love one that does double duty. This adorably feminine ditty by Shoshanna is not merely a crop top, but a waterproof rash guard as well! Wear it while surfing or simply stomach-baring all weekend long. Either way, it gets […]

The post Afternoon Delight: An adorable crop top that doubles as a waterproof rash guard appeared first on FASHION Magazine.