Hair Pampering with La Biosethetique

Now that my hair is shorter now, it actually seems to grow a lot faster than the glacial pace it used to...which means I'm finding myself in the hair salon more than usual now (meaning more than one a year!). Eco Fashion Week and La Biothetique offered us the chance to try out their services at their Vancouver flagship salon, Black 2 Blond, so I thought I'd gift it a try when it was time to refresh my haircut.

From start to finish, the experience was so much more than just a regular hair cut appointment. Hairstylist Sara Burke walked me through the salon, and sat down with me for a short consultation. A small tray awaited me while I relaxed in a comfy lounge chair- a towel, hydrating body milk, and herbal tea to enjoy. Sara conducted a specialized scalp test to see how dry my scalp was- pretty normal, apparently. If your test showed something more dry or oily, there'd be some specific products she could recommend to combat it.

I always love getting my hair washed at the salon; I'm sure I'm not the only one who could use a good head massage! But what I'm not used to is a super relaxing hot towel on my scalp: seriously, this should be waiting for me when I get out of the shower everyday. After that, Sara gave me the option of two aromatic oils for the scalp: one for relaxing, one for energizing. With a full day ahead, I figured the energizing one would be best. It smelled amazing! Then, just when I was already blissful and feeling recharged, Sara gave me the most awesomely relaxing head, shoulder, and back massage. Talk about a mini spa trip disguised as a hair cut appointment!

Sara even walked me through how to get the beachy wave look myself at home, and suggested a few products that might help me re-create it on my own (because we all know it seems impossible to do that after leaving the salon!). I decided on the La Biosthetique Powder Spray and Styling Spray.

Just when I was happy to head out with my new 'do, the Black 2 Blond team offered to give me a complimentary make-up touch-up. They picked out the perfect orange/red lipstick to pair with my dress, touched up my brows and cheeks, and then I was ready take on the rest of the day!

Leo Awards Gifting Lounge: Presented by Eco Fashion Week

Every girl needs a glamorous night out every once in a while! I was very grateful to have been invited to attend the Leo Awards' Gifting Lounge for the first time this year, and had a wonderful time all dressed up for the annual celebration of BC Film and Television. The awards ceremony was held at the historic Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the perfect venue to hold such an elegant affair. This year's ceremony included industry influencers such as Carmen Moore, Michael Eklund and host Christopher Heyerdahl. If you're a Hell on Wheels fan, you'll know Heyerdahl as "the Swede", and he is fantastic in the role!

The gifting lounge was hosted by Eco Fashion Week and presented by Value Village, so all the products featured in the lounge were either locally made and/or eco-friendly, to fit their sustainable and eco-conscious mantra. It was great to see so many 'green' brands under one roof, especially fashion brands Value Village, Mine & Yours, and Turnabout. As an avid thrifter, I love to see consignment and thrifting being showcased at such a high profile event, encouraging people to give it a try for themselves. With the average person throwing away 68 pounds of clothing ever year, it's more important than ever that we recycle and re-use fashions.

With style blogger Rosalia of Style Love

With style blogger Rosalia of Style Love & President/Founder of Eco Fashion Week Myriam Laroche

In addition to fashion, there were all kinds of other local treasures to be found in the gifting lounge, from Salt Spring Island Candle Co. candles and hand crafted jewelry brand Hart + Stone, both made on Salt Spring Island, to Vancouver-based all-natural Thera Wise ointments and hand made natural soaps from PUKAlily. Nature's Path and Santevia introduced guests to healthy lifestyle products, a perfect fit for a BC-focused event. If you're a coffee lover, both milano Coffee and Smell This! Aromatherapy both featured indulgent and aromatic gifts, from bourbon coffee beans to coffee body scrub. I'm not even a coffee drinker, and I couldn't stop sniffing them! Other products featured in the lounge included coconut chips from be, David's Tea coupons, luxurious creams and gift certificates from Black 2 Blond Salon & La Biosthetique, and even some little flower seeds from Strathcona 1890.

Make sure you're following Vancouver Vogue on Instagram,  because I'll be posting more about the gifting lounge products as I try them out!

Samples of La Biosthetique's Forme-Actif cell-active repair hand care, and gift certificates from Mine & Yours, Value Village, & David's Tea

Santevia: mineralized alkaline water bottles (available at London Drugs)

My first knuckle ring! From Salt Spring Island-based Hart + Stone. And lovely smelling goat milk soap bars from Pukalily

Luxury consignment goodies from Mine and Yours, Aromatic coffee sugar scrub from Smell This! Aromatherapy

Rich 'bourbon' coffee beans from milano, yummy Nature's Path Qi'a superfood bars, and Thera Wise vaporizing rub & acne ointment

be coconut chips (available at London Drugs), Salt Spring Island Candle Co. scented candles, Strathcona 1890 Urban Seed Collections

Left to right: Helen Siwak of THECloset, Dominique Hanke of Hanke Style & Hive Mind Millinery, Rosalia of Style Love

Dress - Betty Be Good | Heels - Army & Navy | Hairband - Icing by Claire's | Earrings - Nobis & Grey

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Eco Fashion Week: Upcycled Kimonos

Think being eco friendly can't be fashionable? Think again!

I attended Eco Fashion Week's media preview last month month, where they showcased the stunning kimonos you'll see below. They're so beautiful and detailed, would you believe they were made from old bed linens from the Fairmont Waterfront hotel?! Seven local designers took on the challenge of dyeing and constructing a kimono from these used linens...and the results are impressive! The patterns were each incredibly unique, and I really enjoyed the individual details, from gold foil to ruffles and hand-crafted flowers.

Unfortunately, I missed the rest of Eco Fashion Week due to work, but you can check out all the coverage, from the 68 Pound Challenge to the Thrift Chic Challenge, on Eco Fashion Week's Facebook Page!

Photo by Alfonso Arnold

President of Eco Fashion Week and Eco Stylist, Myriam Laroche speaking to the media

Photo by Alfonso Arnold

Marc Riese of La Biosthetique addresses the media, announcing their continued beauty partnership with Eco Fashion Week!

Myriam Laroche thrives in her vintage ensembles!

Lexi Soukoreff and Glencora Twigg

Sharon Zhang

Jasmin Dhillon

Bianca Barr

Jules Francisco

My-Linh Tran

Anna Talbot

Happy Styling! xo

~Britta

Nebulous Beauty Event

As I've become much more involved with beauty in the past year, I love it now when fashion and beauty come together at events like this! The Nebulous Beauty event, hosted by Black2Blond, La Biosthetique Canada, and Eco Fashion Week, featured live haircuts by Black2Blond hairstylists Sara Burke and Dylan Beatch and a fashion show styled by Sarah D'Arcey.

There was definitely some serious hairstyling skills being showcased on the stage, and when both hairstyles were complete, Burke and Beatch took off the covers to reveal both models' stunning dresses, both styled by Sarah D'Arcey. It was amazing how well each hairstyle paired with their respective dress. The modern bob looked gorgeous with the open-back Ecote dress, and the retro-inspired 'do was a perfect fit for Evan DuCharme's Coco Silk Evening Gown.

Stylist Sarah D'Arcey gave me a quick peek into the inspiration behind the Nebulous Beauty runway show:

"I went looking for garments that were interesting and spoke to me in the form of shape, texture and colour. I love Value Village to find pieces that are interesting and are (or look) high end. I like working with all the pieces to tell a story as a collection. While each look is different, they all build off each other to create this vision of nebulous beauty. I sourced items for well over a month for this project. I really wanted to present a curated collection with the use of tulle, lace and fabrics that were two dimensional," explained D'Arcey. "I really love using Evan Ducharme's pieces because they are so well constructed and capture every detail. The Cordelia gown is one of my favorite pieces he has done and it really highlighted this fashion story."

I was thrilled to hear that Sara had thrifted a good portion of the outfits, as I'm a huge fan of thrifting myself (in case you didn't already know!). She did a fabulous job of creating a continuous theme amongst the looks, and matching them to the edgy hairstyles by Sara Burke and Dylan Beatch. 

Sara Burke & Dylan Beatch of Black2Blond demonstrating two live haircuts on modela Anya (left) and Devin (right)!

Fashions from left to right, styled by stylist Sara D'Arcey:

H&M top and David Dixon skirt, Topshop, Value Village, Lord & Taylor

Fashions from left to right, styled by stylist Sara D'Arcey:

Lavin for H&M, Evan DuCharme, H&M peplum, H&M skirt

Fashions from left to right, styled by stylist Sara D'Arcey:

Evan DuCharme, Ecote, H&M

In love with these 2 hairstyles!

With Fashion Blogger Rosalia of Style Love - Photo by Santiago Firero

With Fashion Blogger Rosalia of Style Love - Photo by Santiago Firero

Jacket - Judith & Charles (thrifted) | Hat - Aldo | Necklace - Olive + Piper | Shirt - H&M (thrifted) | Jeans - Urban Planet | Purse - JustFab | Heels - Jessica Simpson (thrifted)

Happy Styling! xo

~Britta