Tales from TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival began last Thursday and by Friday night my TIFF activities had already ceased and desisted.

Thursday night was super caliente when I took in Pedro Almodóvar Broken Embraces – a fabulous film about the making of a film, with  a delicate noir vibe. The costumes and sets are eye-popping in certain parts- namely Penelope’s 90s power suits and her character’s apartment on the film set with its pop art colours and mod mood. 

Penelope is simply riveting when she acts and speaks in her native language. She looks stunning in the film and in person. The first photo is obviously a pap shot, the second I snapped while the Penelope gave a brief intro to the film.

Oliver Parker’s Dorian Gray was less enjoyable, made slightly more bearable by the good-looking Ben Barnes who plays the vain title role. Scenes meant to convey the wild sexuality and escapades that were kept behind closed doors of buttoned-up Victorian England are made laughable with over-the-top orgies and unnecessary gore flashed practically every 10 minutes. The story isn’t thoroughly explained in the film, not to mention the evil painting makes hissing noises that resemble a cheesy horror movie. All together not worth seeing, even if Barnes is not fully clothes for quite a few scenes…

Did you see any films this year? Any fun celeb sightings?

Care to Crawl???

Introducing Aromachology

It's not everyday I get to post about a world-class product created here in Toronto by my very own friends, so I am extra excited to talk about Aromachology - a custom fragrance experience that matches your personality to your very own personalized perfume.

 

Created by Ashlee Firsten and Kirsten Menkes, the former a chemical engineer and the latter a PR whiz, Aromachology makes buying and wearing your perfume an innovative and intimate experience. As a victim of countless department store ladies chasing me with foul-smelling spritzes, I was very keen to learn more about the product and was lucky enough to score a sneak peak of the process.

 

It all starts by filling out a scent profile that asks 10 easy multiple choice questions about your personal likes and dislikes. Your answers place you into 1 of 5 distinct categories: Sophisticated & Sensual Floral, a Totally Edible Gourmand, an Exotic Spicy Oriental, a Clean & Fresh or a Bold & Brisk Woodsy.

Once you have the base, you top if off with 3 out of 15 available notes to complete your one-of-a-kind creation. The notes correspond to classic aromatherapy functions, but are titled using adjectives, rather than the names of the scents. You can top your fragrance off with words such as passionate, sexy, spontaneous, focused, open minded or creative, resulting in a fine fragrance that reads totally you.

Each bottle is handmixed on site according to your unique formula, giving you a sense of empowerment and ownership of the scent -- plus the packaging is totally elegant and glamorous, making it worthy of being displayed on your vanity.

New Yorkers can experience Aromachology with a trunk show at Henri Bendels from October 26—November 2 and at Exhale Spa from November 3— 7.

Torontonians can high tale it now to the Aromachology pop-up perfume bar across from the main lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel  in Yorkville starting tonight until September 19th. I'll see you there!

Does Your Home Look Like This?

or this?

or how about this:

 

If you have a room that resembles the above decor debacles than I urge you to enter the most disastrous photo you have of the sucker in Style at Home’s makeover contest

Two winning entries will receive a $2,000.00 CAD gift certificate to Home Depot and there are 20 participating prizes to be won as well just for commenting and entering!

Submissions are open until Sept. 24 and you can start voting for your favourites from Sept. 25 until Oct. 8

PS- it’s only open to Canadians - sorry my yankee friends!

Battle of the Black and White Fine China

Even though my heart belongs to Margherita, I fully admit this Missoni bianco nero china pattern is stunning. There is an elegant yet graphic appeal with the bold black and white, and I love the playfulness of the mod-ish pattern despite the fact that it is formal bone china.

With my benchmark for fantasy formal china in mind, I nearly did a double take when browsing at William Ashley for shower gifts on Saturday and saw this:

Could it be? Could the go-to for wedding registries finally be caring Missoni? Not so - ‘twas an imposter, otherwise known as Kate Spade’s Dogwood pattern for Lenox.

 

It looks oh so similar, not identical of course- but enough to set my heart aflutter while navigating the traditional patterns I have so often seen.