Putting on make-up can be a pain during summers. Humidity and perspiration seem to wash off all traces of your compact within a few minutes. Oil-free and humidity resistant make-up is a boon for all of us. That winter pink blush is replaced by tanned skin and uneven spots due to the harsh sun rays.

A rule of thumb is protecting your skin from harmful sunrays. These lead to dark spots, wrinkles and even skin cancer. So, no matter what product you use, make sure you use a good sunscreen. Now, there are sunscreens that only protect you from either UVA or UVB. Chuck them out!

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This is again, way delayed seeing as I got back from Montreal two days ago.  However, instead of raving senselessly about something I’ve seen a matter of hours before posting, I thought I’d better take it slow and try and paint a picture instead.  No, not an ACTUAL picture because my brush strokes are rubbish and you may get an impressionistic mess.  Actually, that might aptly describe the sort of picture I’m going to be painting here because you might think you get a sense of the place you’re in after a whirlwind tour, but there are so many nuances that can be missed and Montreal definitely falls into the category where complexities are rife in its creative scene.  Therefore, apologies if this may seem a bit sketchy for those that have a proper grasp of the city’s fashion scene…

I was there to attend Montreal’s Festival Mode et Design, a public event to effectively ‘entertain’ audiences with fashion.  It featured an array of Montreal’s most prominent fashion designers but of course, the real treats were to be found going around their studios and seeing how they actually work.  I thought it best to start off with these so called ‘biggies’ before I delve into a younger and less-established scene in my next post.  Of course, international ‘biggies’ who have come from Montreal like Rad Hourani and Complex Geometries have made the leap to international prominence but of course with that, comes moving their bases to bigger cities like New York/Paris, so the ones I’m talking about here are ones that are based solidly in Montreal, seeing them flying at differing stages in their businesses. 

All the cities that are yearning to build up their reputation in fashion seem to have quirks that are unique to their own fashion industry but the common denominating problems seem to all crop up.  Not enough international exposure, problems with production, problems with acquiring stockists, not enough funding for young designers… etc etc

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Do these look like Facebook people to you?

What started out as a great way to connect college students has turned into a key marketing strategy for many industries…most notably…fashion. When you think that a bunch of beer keggers were the original sought out members of this non-elite community, one can’t fathom how that changed to the point where now, so many fashion designers are retooling their public relations efforts to reach their audience through such a down-market channel. Most of the people trolling Facebook would otherwise be shunned. You t

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Special to The Plain Dealer Follow Share this story Story tools Enlarge From left, Clara Sayre, Nicki Schneider, Rhiannon Blahnik, and Kristen Burns make up part of the Cleveland Craft Coalition. The women were chatting at Bela Dubby coffee shop in Lakewood. Seeing a need for informal, inexpensive events where they could sell their wares, a few crafters put a few display tables up at their favorite coffee shop in Lakewood. Its success has led to doing such events every month at Bela Dubby and other sites. Full post…

Cheslea Clinton’s wedding dress caused more hoopla than this year’s Oscars.

There has not been this much talk about a dress since J Lo wore that green, Versace scarf number. In case you have been under a rock, I am referring to Chelsea Clinton’s Vera Wang number. The cover of today’s Women’s Wear Daily declares Chelsea’s Moment, but in truth, it is Vera Wang’s. Miss Wang, known mostly for her wedding collections could not have asked for a better PR moment than the Clinton wedding. Her ready

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Andrea Simakis, The Plain Dealer Follow Share this story Story tools Valerie Mayen took this wool coat with leather trim to a casting session for this season’s “Project Runway.” Judges were suitably “wowed.” She’d made a bid to get on the show once before, in Season 7, but just missed the cut.WANT TO WATCH?Season 8 of “Project Runway,” in an expanded, 90-minute format, premieres at 9 p.m. Thursday on Lifetime. Full post…