How to Pull off the Boyfriend T-Shirt Look

I like to dress outside the box, and one of the ways I do that is by letting myself inspired by the right side of my walk-in closet, that is my husband’s wardrobe. In one of my previous stories I shared how I pulled off the Boyfriend Shirt look, and today I am going to show you how I wore the Boyfriend T-Shirt look.

I have some bad news to share, my mom passed last month. I was sad all this time, I am still mourning, and I have been wearing black ever since my mom was gone. I wore black both at work and during the weekends for all of this time, until I feel ready to get back to color. When I started wearing all black because of my mourning, I pulled together all my black clothes that I have in my wardrobe – dresses, skirts, tops, blouses, shirts, pants, blazers, cardigans, boleros. This way, I could also do an inventory of my black wardrobe, and so I discovered that it’s quite numerous. I mean, among my black inventory, there are 6 skirts, 5 blazers, 3 dresses, 3 cardigans, to mention a few. My only excuse to have all of these is that all of them are in different styles, as well as different fabrics. 

Now that it has been more than 40 days since my mom passed, I am transitioning from black to color by wearing grey, so these days I wear grey, all shades of grey, all grey clothes that I have in my wardrobe – dresses, skirts, tops, blouses, shirts, blazers, pants, the same as with the black ones. And so I could do another inventory, the grey clothes this time, and I discovered that they are in just a little bit lesser number than the black ones. Before doing this kind of inventory, due to the fact that a dear one of mine left, I have never thought of how many black or grey clothes I have in my wardrobe, and it turned out to be a curious exercise, to do such an inventory.

During my black days, I also let myself inspired by my husband’s wardrobe, and I wore one of his black shirts to work, in a similar combination as the one that I was showing you in my story about the Boyfriend Shirt look. Just this time, it was all black – black shirt, black pants, black shoes, black purse.

And another time when I let myself inspired by my husband’s wardrobe was last weekend, when I tried on the Boyfriend T-Shirt look. I went out for a coffee with a friend, it was a beautiful day, and I wore a fully black outfit – black Boyfriend T-Shirt, black skirt, black shoes, black belt, black purse. I also wore a similar outfit at work once, a couple of weeks ago. The only color that I allowed myself with this outfit was via some accessories – the jewelry and the tights.

The secret to do it, that is to pull off the Boyfriend T-Shirt look, is to keep the outfit balanced – the T-shirt should be the only androgynous element, and the other pieces of the outfit should be feminine. When I selected this T-shirt from my husband's wardrobe, I chose the smallest one that I could find on his rack, that is an S. Some of his T-shirts are M, some L, but those would have looked baggy on me. The skirt that I wear in this photos is one of my favorites in my wardrobe, and I call it “the almost tutu skirt”, and that’s because it’s made of a fabric that would be normally used for tutu skirts, but it doesn’t have the frills of a tutu skirt, hence the almost tutu.

Another way to sweeten a Boyfriend T-Shirt look and to make it more feminine is via jewelry, specifically layered necklaces. Pile it up around your neck, and there is no chance you will look like a boy, even if you wear a boyfriend’s T-shirt. And indeed, my friend whom I spent that Saturday with didn’t even realize that the top I wore on that day was not an actual women’s top, but a men’s T-shirt. She complimented me on my outfit and she said that I looked fashionable.

The beaded grey and black necklace that I am wearing in this outfit, as well as the two bangles, one grey and one black, are made by ChewBeads, a jewelry maker from New York.

The founders of ChewBeads are Lisa and Eric Greenwald, team of husband and wife, who have two young children. At ChewBeads, it’s a family affair. The idea began in 2009 after their son Benjamin was born. Like most babies, he loved to put everything in his mouth and Lisa’s necklaces were a favorite. Like most moms, she didn’t feel comfortable letting him chew on them. Her main concerns were that they might break or have unwanted chemicals. As a veteran of the fashion industry, Lisa had an amazing collection of necklaces and bracelets. With those as her inspiration, she set out to create soft, non-toxic jewelry that was colorful, chic, and above all, safe. Hence, ChewBeads was born!

As Lisa and Eric’s family has grown, they have been inspired to create safe, non-toxic teethers and toys that babies and parents can enjoy and feel good about. The ChewBeads jewelry are 100% silicone products. They do not contain such chemical components like BPA, phthalates, lead, cadmium or metal. They are dishwasher safe, and soft on babies’ gums and emerging teeth.

In this outfit, I am wearing a ChewBeads necklace and two ChewBeads bangles, all of them made of silicone. My son is six now, and he doesn’t chew on my jewelry anymore, but when he was a baby, I would have loved to have such jewelry like ChewBeads, because he also chewed on everything he could lay his tiny hands on when he started teething. I remember, when Alex was a baby, that many times I chose not no wear any jewelry at all, just to avoid him to chew on it. If I had ChewBeads at that time, I know it would have been a nice jewelry for me to wear, and a safe something for my baby to chew on.

My outfit: 

T-Shirt – husband’s 

Skirt – Sears Tradition 

Sunglasses – Hugo Boss 

Belt – Walmart 

Purse – no name 

Tights – Legs Plus and Bra, Toronto 

Sandals – Pay Less Shoe Source 

Necklaces – ChewBeads, Walmart, no name 

Bangles – ChewBeads 

Photo credit: Victoria West

Refashion -- Rochia mamei

Dragii mei prieteni, am o veste trista, mama s-a stins din viata acum 5 saptamani. A doua zi dupa ce am aflat vestea, am urcat in avion pentru dureroasa reuniune cu familia mea – tata, sora si rudele.

Mama a suferit de o boala de inima pe tot parcursul vietii, care in final a rapit-o de langa noi. Afectiunea de care a suferit se numeste “boala valvelor” in termeni laici, cand cele patru valve care transporta sange la si de la inima nu functioneaza in deplinatate. Cand a ajuns la varsta maturitatii, mama deja suferea de aceasta boala. Istoricul inimii ei cuprinde nenumarate sederi in spital de-a lungul anilor, doua interventii pe cord si un infarct. Cand a avut prima operatie pe cord, era mai tanara decat sunt eu acum. Cea de-a a doua interventie chirurgicala a avut loc anul trecut, la o diferenta de 30 de ani dupa prima. A avut un infarct acum 4 ani, din ghearele caruia a scapat cu mari eforturi din partea doctorilor. Iar cel de-al doilea infarct i-a fost fatal.

N-am mentionat nimic pe Facebook despre plecarea mamei, pentru ca nu m-am simtit in stare, pentru ca durerea din suflet era prea mare, si pentru ca am considerat ca Facebook nu este locul potrivit unde sa fac un asemenea anunt. Am vazut pe altii ca lasa mesaje pe perete atunci cand cineva drag ii paraseste, dar eu n-am simtit ca pot sa fac asta, si lumea sa dea like-uri, nu. Pentru mine Facebook-ul e o platforma pe care o folosesc ca sa-mi promovez scrisul, dar cand e vorba de evenimente personale atat de marcante, nu Facebook este locul unde vreau sa-mi plang amarul.

Am vorbit cu mama la telefon in ultima ei zi din viata, cu patru ore inainte ca inima sa-i bata pentru ultima oara. Nu se simtea bine, si am preferat sa nu o tin prea mult timp in telefon, ca sa o las sa se retraga si sa se odihneasca. Am vrut doar sa-i aud vocea si sa vad ce mai face. Iar cand am aflat vestea, in aceeasi seara, cateva ore mai tarziu, m-am gandit cu (nici nu stiu cum sa definesc acel sentiment pe care l-am avut), ce bine ca am vorbit cu ea azi, ce bine ca i-am auzit vocea, ce bine ca mi-a auzit vocea; daca n-as fi vorbit cu ea, m-as fi simtit vinovata pentru tot restul vietii.

In ziua cand s-a implinit o luna de la decesul ei, adica pe 6 aprilie, am avut o stare de neliniste toata ziua, iar gandul mi-a fost numai la ea. Eram la serviciu, incercam sa ma concentrez pe lucrul meu, si ma gandeam numai la mama. Am avut un atac de panica in acea zi, chiar in timp de lucram, cu simptome fizice pe care le-am resimtit cu intreaga mea fiinta. Am avut senzatia ca inima aproape ca e gata sa sara din piept... Atacul de panica pe care l-am avut a fost atat de intens si palpabil, incat l-am resimtit cu durere fizica in piept.

Parintii mei s-au casatorit in 1968. In doi ani ar fi implinit 50 de ani de casatorie si ar fi celebrat Nunta de Aur. De altfel, mama astepta cu emotie cei 50 de ani, si isi dorea sa aniverseze Nunta de Aur alaturi de barbatul care i-a fost partener de viata. Stiu ca parintii mei isi faceau planuri pentru marea lor aniversare... Din nefericire, nu au mai apucat. Este si durerea cea mai mare a tatei, pentru ca Domnul nu a mai lasat-o pe mama pe acest pamant inca doi ani, ca parintii mei sa celebreze cei 50 de ani pe care i-au petrecut impreuna.

Ziua mamei este in a doua jumatate a lunii mai, iar liliacul infloreste in aceeasi perioada a anului. Am un liliac in gradina din spatele casei mele, si acesta infloreste in fiecare an in preajma zilei de nastere a mamei. In fiecare an aduceam flori de liliac in casa, de ziua mamei mele; si astfel asociez liliacul cu ziua mamei. Tata vroia sa planteze lalele la mormantul mamei. I-am sugerat sa planteze un arbust de liliac, care in fiecare an va inflori de ziua mamei, in luna mai. Si in fiecare an, cand tata va merge la mormantul mamei de ziua ei, liliacul mamei va fi inflorit.

De cand a murit mama, n-am scris mai nimic, pentru ca nu m-am simtit inspirata. Au trecut saptamani, si in acest timp am publicat doar cateva randuri. Am aflat vestea tragica in seara de duminica din 6 martie, iar in acea dimineata programasem articolul de 8 Martie, care urma sa apara live pe blog in dimineata de 8 martie. Ma gandisem eu ca e o idee buna sa programez acel articol din timpul weekendului, pentru ca vroiam sa scriu acele cuvinte de 8 Martie, dar stiam ca voi fi fost ocupata in ziua de marti cand a picat 8 Martie anul acesta, si nu voi fi avut timp sa stau pe blog in decursul saptamanii. La ora la care a aparut articolul pe blog, eu eram in avion, traversam oceanul. Am mai deschis blogul de-abia cand m-am intors la Toronto, o saptamana mai tarziu. Un alt motiv pentru care n-am scris mai nimic in aceste 5 saptamani este ca disparitia mamei mi-a dat o stare de anxietate, iar anxietatea imi alunga inspiratia si nu ma simt in stare sa scriu nimic. Acum in sfarsit am curajul si puterea sa scriu despre plecarea mamei, pentru ca sper ca asternerea cuvintelor pe hartie sa-mi aduca purificare, ca sa pot merge mai departe. Sa las durerea in urma si sa merg mai departe. Inca port doliu; toate saptamanile acestea am purtat doar negru, atat la serviciu, cat si in afara programului de lucru. Iar cand voi inceta sa port negru, voi face o tranzitie de gri spre culoare.

In cele 7 zile pe care le-am petrecut alaturi de familia mea ca sa o conducem pe mama pe ultimul ei drum, ne-am cautat alinarea suferintei strangandu-ne in brate unii pe altii. Am plans, am suspinat, am comemorat, nu vom uita. Iar cand a venit timpul sa ma intorc la Toronto, am vrut sa pastrez ceva de la mama si sa aduc acel souvenir cu mine in valiza. Am adus cu mine cateva poze din albumele familiei noastre, si o fata de perna pentru o pernuta de décor pe care sa o instalez pe canapeaua mea din living.

Am vrut aceasta fata de perna de acasa pentru ca e confectionata dintr-o rochie a mamei pe care a purtat-o in anii ’70. Tin minte rochia in garderoba mamei de cand eram si eu copil. La vremea la care am cele mai devremi amintiri cu rochia verde cu palmieri a mamei, adica in anii ’80 (ca eu atunci am fost copil prescolar), mama nu mai purta rochia, ca nu ii mai venea, dar o pastra in garderoba, cred ca n-a lasat-o inima sa renunte la ea. In albumele familiei noastre exista o fotografie din circa 1975, cu mama, tata si sora mea mai mare care atunci era copil, iar eu inca nu ma nascusem. Mama purta aceasta rochie verde cu palmieri in acea fotografie de familie. Acum, dupa patru decenii de cand a purtat-o mama, rochia a devenit vintage, aproape un heirloom de garderoba. Dar si timpul care a trecut peste ea a afectat-o, si a facut-o nepurtabila; din eleganta de alta data nu i-a mai ramas decat imprimeul frumos. Cand ma uit la acest imprimeu, ma face sa ma gandesc la o seara furtunoasa din Florida.

Nepoata mea, care este studenta la design vestimentar, a reconditionat rochia intr-o fata de perna pentru o pernuta de canapea, si mi-a dat mie fata de perna, cand i-am spus ca vreau ceva de la mama ca sa iau cu mine la Toronto. Cand am vazut fata de perna, am explamat: “Oh! Rochia mamei!” Se pare ca si tata a avut aceeasi reactie, atunci cand a vazut creatia nepoatei pentru prima oara: “Oh! Rochia mamei!” Am adus cu drag fata de perna cu mine in valiza la Toronto, ca souvenir de la mama. Trebuia doar sa-i fac o perna, ca sa o imbrac in rochia mamei, si pe care sa o instalez pe canapeaua mea din living.

De curand am incheiat un curs de croitorie la Whitby (despre care o sa va spun mai multe in unul din articolele urmatoare), iar la acel curs am cusut o pereche de pantaloni de pijamale (mai multe si despre asta, in curand pe blog). Cand am terminat cursul si pantalonii de pijamale au fost gata, mi-au ramas bucati de material de la curs.

Dintr-o bucata din acest material m-am hotarat sa fac o perna pentru fata mea de perna din rochia mamei.

Am masurat cat de mare vroiam sa fie perna, si am taiat o bucata de material pentru cosul pernei.

Am pus colturile impreuna, si le-am fixat cu ace de siguranta, ca sa nu-mi fuga materialul de sub acul masinii atunci cand trag tivul pernei.

Dupa care am cusut cosul pernutei la masina. Una din laturi am cusut-o pe jumatate, iar cealalata jumatate am lasat-o deschisa, sa sa pot umple perna.

Dupa care am umplut perna cu scrapuri textile care mi-au ramas de la reconditionarile mele anterioare. Am folosit toate scrapurile carora nu prea puteam sa le gasesc o alta utilizare decat de umplutura, fie ca erau prea mici, fie ca materialul era prea uzat. Acum sacul meu de scrapuri e mult mai usor, ca am folosit multe din ele la perna. :) Prima oara am umplut perna prea tare, si era tare si grea; am aratat-o lui John si i-am cerut parerea, si John mi-a spus ca ar trebui sa fie mai moale. I-am mai scos din umplutura, cam un sfert, si am facut-o sa fie intr-o forma mult mai buna, mult mai “de perna”, dupa care am cusut acea deschizatura de mana. Iata cum mi-a iesit pernuta la final.

Si iat-o cu fata de perna din rochia mamei verde cu palmieri, care imi aduce aminte, nu-i asa, de o seara furtunoasa din Florida.

Pernuta mea va sta in living, pe canapeaua de piele. Mama e langa mine.

Mama e langa mine

Mama la 17 ani. A fost dintodeauna fotografia mea preferata cu mama.

Si iata cateva poze de familie, acum ca am rasfoit din nou albumele familiei mele. Sunt poze din anii '60, '70, '80, cand parintii mei erau tineri si noi eram copii.

Tata cand era student, anii '60

Nunta parintilor mei, 1968

Primii anii de casatorie ai parintilor mei

Eu la 3 ani

Eu la 5 ani

Photo credit: Victoria West

Wax Away: My Experience at Allure Body Bar, the Waxing Salon from Danforth, Toronto

When it comes to beauty treatments, I always try to use the most efficient methods available; and when it comes to hair removal, my favorite method is waxing. In today's story I will share about my most personal and intimate beauty treatment of them all, the one that I have never written about -- Brazilian waxing.

Yes ladies, today we'll be talking about Brazilian.

I had my first Brazilian experience ten years ago, when I finally mustered the courage to go for one at my usual beauty salon that I was visiting at that time. The salon was located mid-town Toronto where I lived, and I was going there for my hairdos and some beauty treatments, like leg waxing.

Before I introduced myself to Brazilian, I tried on all the other intimate hair removal options -- shaving, Veet creaming, electric epilator. And I have long learned that beauty comes at a high pain cost. It's like invest and return, the higher the level of pain, the higher the hair removal efficiency. Same stands for the other way around -- no pain no gain, and if you shave or Veet cream, it won't hurt, but you'll have to do it again in three days.

I like it squeaky clean (squeaky hairless that is), and so does my man. When it comes to intimate hair removal, I think women don't do it (just) for themselves, they also do it for the man in their life. Saying otherwise would be just a little bit hypocritical, don't you think? And I will be honest here and admit that I do it for both myself and my significant other. I like it, he likes it, and it is more enjoyable for both of us. I also appreciate him to do it (no Brazilian waxing though, but Veet creaming), and just like me, he does it not only for himself, but also for me.

Back to ten years ago, when I had my first Brazilian, I still remember the new to me beauty experience at that salon mid-town Toronto -- it was painful to death, and I was screaming on that beauty table like hell. But I wanted to do it, so I bravely went through it. Never regretted it. The esthetician, Rita, a Chinese girl, did a pretty good job. I came back to Rita for a new Brazilian the next month, and I wrapped up my mind around the fact that although painful, it's a necessary thing to do, and that from now on I will do it once every four to six weeks, for the rest of my life.

However, I didn't necessarily want to settle with Rita. She was my first (Brazilian waxing specialist that is), and I couldn't help but wonder, are there other, more skilled waxing estheticians out there, besides Rita? Why should I assume that Rita is the best, just because she happened to be my first? At that time I was working at a bank downtown Toronto, at Adelaide and York, and I was looking for a beauty salon nearby my office where I could go for my next Brazilian. I found out that a nearby Yves Rocher store was also offering beauty treatments, including waxing, so I made an appointment with them for a Brazilian. It was not a bad experience, and it felt like at Rita's, more or less. I kept looking. Next time I stopped by at another beauty salon, also located close to my office, and I inquired about their waxing services. I made an appointment with them for a Brazilian, and so I met Junita.

And Junita turned out to be the Goddess of Waxing. Yes, finally, I found you! Finding the perfect waxing esthetician is like finding the perfect partner, or the perfect apartment in New York, it may take years. Lucky for me, it didn't take me years to find Junita, it only took me a few months and a few tryouts at three different salons in the city of Toronto. But from now on, I was ready to commit to Junita, for a long-term beauty relationship. All of this was happening in 2006.

I was happy to have finally found a great and skilled esthetician. Her secret was doing it fast, with the least possible amount of pain. It still was painful, but just more bearable. And I continued to see Junita for my usual Brazilians (but also for leg waxing) over the next few months, without even thinking to try other salons or other estheticians. I was hoping to develop a higher tolerance to pain associated with Brazilian waxing over the years, if I kept doing it regularly, every four to six weeks.

However, the next year I changed jobs, and I started working at another financial company located in a different area of downtown Toronto. Junita's salon was not so conveniently close anymore, although not very far away either. One time when I was supposed to get my next Brazilian, I was so swamped with what was going on in my office, that I made a compromise -- instead of making an appointment with Junita in a timely manner, that is a few days in advance, I called another salon, the closest that I could find near my office, where I could make a quicker appointment.

Junita was very good at what she was doing, her services were always in high demand, so if you wanted her to be your esthetician, then you had to be vigilant to make an early appointment with her; otherwise, you either were in the position to go to another salon, or wait until Junita was available again and could see you. So here I was, unable to get a same day appointment with Junita, but I didn't want to wait until I could see her, so I thought, ok, this time I'll just go to another salon, close to my office, and next time I'll go back to Junita.

So I went to this new salon at Yonge and Queen for my next Brazilian. It wasn't bad, but still it wasn't as good as Junita, and I was convinced, one more time, that Junita was definitely the best. And so, I never went to another salon again, and from now on I always made the effort to get a timely appointment with Junita, and the best waxing services possible. I was happy with Junita, and for the next 7 years she was the only esthetician who has done all waxing for me.

Then one fatidic day, two years ago, I got "the call". It was February 2014, and Junita called me to let me know that the salon she worked at, the one from Adelaide and York where I had been going for my waxing for the last 8 years, was closing down and she was out of job. She was calling all of her customers to let them know that she would be unavailable for the next while, until she found a new job, and then, once she found a new job at another salon, she would call us again with her new location. I was heartbroken to hear this sad news. My favorite waxer, the best in the city, was suddenly unavailable, and now I had to look for another waxer esthetician for my Brazilians. Remember, it may take years. Could I find another one as good as my skilled and talented Junita? Time would have shown that. I wished her good luck in her efforts to search for another job, and I also suggested to leave my name and my phone number to potential employers as a reference, as I was more than happy to provide a good reference for her to interviewers. And of course, I urged her to call me back as soon as she found a new job.

Junita never called me again, and it's been more than two years since we had that last conversation. Within the next 12 months since we last spoke, I kept hoping that one day she will call me back, and we could be together again for my beauty treatments. And then, when I saw that time passed and she didn't call me back, I lost hope to ever hear from her again. One of the two things could have happened. She never found another job in Toronto, which is pretty hard to believe, since she was such a good waxer and a master of the Brazilian. I bet my last penny every salon in this city would have been happy to have her on board, since she was so amazing at what she was doing. The other possibility, which I find more plausible, is that she went back to her home country, India, where I knew she still had family. Or maybe she moved to another city far away from Toronto, and never bothered to call her old customers from here, since it would have been inconvenient for them to travel a long distance for waxing appointments.

Whatever the case, I was heartbroken that my awesome waxing esthetician was not part of my life anymore, and I had to move on. Years ago I used to subscribe to two Canadian fashion magazines, my favorites, Flare and Fashion. I still keep many of those issues since the days I was a magazine subscriber, and I still have dozens of magazines from 2012-2015 in my house, part of my fashion magazine collection. I remember reading a story about Brazilian waxing in one of those issues, but I can't possibly remember whether it was in Flare or Fashion. I only vaguely remember I read it sometime in 2012. When I was writing the story that you are reading now, I pulled my entire fashion magazine collection from where I keep it in my office, and I tried to locate the story. I wanted to re-read it, to refresh my memory, and also I was hoping to get some inspiration for my own story about Brazilian waxing. For some reason, I thought I had read it in the February 2012 issue of Fashion magazine, so that was the first issue that I checked out. I didn't find it in there. Then I checked the next Fashion issue, the one from March 2012, and again, no luck. Then I scanned a number of other issues, both from Flare and Fashion, and again, I couldn't find that particular story about Brazilian. In the same time, I didn't have the patience to scan every single issue that I have in my fashion magazine collection (dozens of them), so after a few attempts I just gave up, and I decided to finish writing my Brazilian waxing story without reading that old story that I had read in a fashion magazine years ago.

The author (let's call her Lena, as I can't remember her real name either), was sharing about her Brazilian waxing experiences. Just like me, she had had her own Junita, a great waxing esthetician in Toronto who was taking care of her Brazilian waxing needs. And then her beauty lady left Toronto to move somewhere else, and she left a heartbroken and devastated Lena uncovered in terms of waxing services. At the time when I read this story in that fashion magazine years ago, I was thinking: "Look, I have a great waxer myself, just like Lena who wrote this story did, what if my Junita ever leaves me uncovered like this, how am I going to find another good waxer? There are plenty of waxers in this city, but not necessarily all of them are really good waxers." Then, after a while, I went on with my usual day to day, and I stopped thinking about Lena's story that I had read in that fashion magazine. And now, when my own Junita left, I realized that I felt exactly like Lena -- devastated and heartbroken, because how am I going to find another great waxer in this city?

There came the day when I had to accept the fact that I would never hear from Junita again. It was time to look for another salon, and another great waxing specialist. I found a local salon close to my home sometime during 2014, and I started going there for my Brazilians. It was ok, but honestly, not as good a Junita. I kept going to that salon for the convenience of the location, and the waxing itself was pretty good, comparable to Rita, my first waxer from 2006. But last time when I went there, in the summer of 2015, there wasn't the same waxing esthetician that I knew from my previous visits at the salon, it was a new girl. That made me wary at once -- ok... let's see how it goes...

It was terrible -- that girl was so brutal, that I just hated the whole experience. I never went back to that salon again, because I just couldn't bear to have it done so brutally by that waxer, and it seemed that she was the only waxer who worked there at that time, there wasn't anyone else. So yet again, I found myself in the position to look for another good salon and another skilled waxing esthetician, for my monthly Brazilians.

Recently I received an invitation to try on waxing services at Allure Body Bar, a waxing salon and beauty spa located in the Greek town of Toronto, at 735 Danforth Avenue. I have heard about these guys before, and it was only good things that I've heard about them. Honestly, they were sounding really great. I keep in touch with their PR team, and they introduced me to Allure a few months ago, when they sent me some information about a line of Allure body care products -- body lotions, scrubs and salts, and I published a story about these products on Examiner.com, where I write a fashion & beauty column. But also, this is when I found out about Allure waxing services, and they sounded so good, that I became curious about them. Allure's signature waxing treatment is the quick Brazilian, or Quickzilian, and they call it like that because they do it really quickly -- in 15 minutes or less. Pretty impressive, eh? In my previous experience, a Brazilian took an average of 35 minutes, in all the places where I have ever done it in Toronto. Junita was really great, but she was doing it in about 35 minutes. Which was never an issue per say, it just never occurred to me that there are waxers in this city who can do it much faster than the average of 35 minutes. And this is not all. They also do it for men. Yes, you've read it right -- Brazilian waxing for men. Can you believe it? Before Allure, I have never heard of anyone ever doing Brazilian waxing for men. They call it Manzilian at Allure. I did know about waxing services for men, even Junita was doing it (guys used to come to her salon to wax their back), but never Brazilian waxing for men. And that's because I have never heard of a man being brave enough to take a Brazilian waxing. Only when I think about it, it hurts me, let alone them, the guys. No secret why -- the skin in their intimate area is so much more sensitive, that it's nearly impossible to think that there is any guy out there willing to do a Brazilian waxing. Yet Allure Body Bar from Danforth does that for men, the Manzilian, which only means one thing -- if there is a spa in this city doing that, then there are men in this city willing to go for it, as impossible as it may sound.

Back to my Allure invitation, I was really excited when they offered to try on and review their waxing services, and I gladly said yes to a Brazilian, that is a Quickzilian, their signature beauty treatment. I made an appointment with them, and before going there, I read a few Allure online reviews from occasional and constant customers, and basically all of them were saying that they have been happy with their Allure experience(s), Brazilian or otherwise, and that they would go there again.

I had a 2 PM appointment with Allure on a Monday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, but I arrived there a little bit earlier. I was glad that they could see to my session right away and they didn't make me wait until 2 PM, just because I had the appointment scheduled for 2 PM, which saved me a little bit of time. Great! Autumn introduced herself as the waxer esthetician who would do my Brazilian, and she took me to the waxing room to let me get ready for my session. Autumn -- the name was already familiar to me, as I had read those reviews online, before going to Allure, and customers were saying good things about her. The room was clean and spacious, and honestly, this was the most spacious waxing room that I have ever been in. This was another good thing that I had read from the reviews about Allure, that the whole place is clean and spotless, and the waxing rooms are spacious, and it was true, now I could see it for myself.

When I was ready for my session, Autumn came in. Another thing that I wanted to see for myself -- do they really do it in 15 minutes or less? I put my phone beside me when I lied down on the waxing table, and when Autumn started waxing me, I discreetly looked at my phone -- 13.51. When she was done, I looked again -- 14.07. 16 minutes. Not bad -- just one minute more than they say it takes, but it still was great, and I was perfectly ok with that, and it still was the fastest Brazilian waxing that I have ever had in these 10 years since I have been doing it. My usual Brazilian has always been an average of 35 minutes, regardless of the salon where I did it. And, aside from the time matter of 15-16 minutes or less, it was a good and efficient waxing. It wasn't without pain, but then which Brazilian is? My bad was that I forgot to take an Advil pill a couple of hours before my Allure appointment, which would have helped. This is something that Junita taught me -- she used to tell me to take an Advil before my Brazilian appointment, and the pain will be more bearable. I won't forget that when I do my next Brazilian though.

While Autumn was waxing me, I asked her about the Manzilian. I simply was curious -- how are the guys doing it? Autumn admitted that they are being big babies about it, but the secret is to talk them through it. Just ask them about their jobs, and you will see -- they love-love-love gabbing about their jobs, you keep their mind off the pain, and before they know it, they are done. Truth be told, Autumn did exactly the same to me -- she talked me through it, and before I knew it, I was done.

All in all, it was a good experience and I would go there again. It's like I got my Junita back, and I am happy. See, I was right, finding the perfect waxer in Toronto is like finding the perfect partner or the perfect apartment in New York -- it may take years. I was lucky enough to find Junita in just a few months, back in the days, but it did indeed take me years to find Allure the second time around, after Junita left (they have been around on Danforth Avenue for about three years now). And not only Autumn, but also the other estheticians from Allure have got very good reviews, like Alaa, Luba or Christina. I haven't met them, but everybody says good things about them in online reviews, and happy customers call them "very skilled estheticians". You can see it for yourself, if you google "Allure Body Bar reviews". The place is called "a gem in the city", which is something, isn't it?

Have a look at the Allure website to learn more about their services, they are definitely worth trying. Also, check out their Waxing 101 page, with very good tips for before and after your Brazilian waxing, how to get ready for a Brazilian, how to cope with the pain, etc. And don't forget to take an Advil (or even two, if you're more sensitive) when you get your next Brazilian, a couple of hours before your appointment. Wax away!

And this is how the place looks like.

Photo credit: Victoria West