All posts filed under: Geekiviews

geekiviews: Love Beach Flip Flops

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Flip flops are utility shoe for me. They have their place in my public life and that’s at beach or in a gym shower. Flat leather sandals are my preferred choice for summer footwear. I have no rugs, hardwood floors and two cats at my place so I wear flip-flops instead of wearing the cute knit slippers my cousin made me for Christmas. The knit skippers would just be a dust and hair magnet. The random swag flip-flops I’ve collected over the years were all not very comfortable. I received an email about reviewing flip-flops that had some support features and I said why not. Bonus is that they are Canadian. Love Beach is a Ottawa based company. They are striving to make the perfect flip-flop that can be dressed up or down. The fashion aspect of the shoes didn’t really interest me but the claims of “Gentle arch support, Gel cushion heels for optimal wear-ability, Triple layer EVA soles for softness and durability, Nice “huggy” fit – no floppiness, Supple TPU uppers help minimize …

geekiviews: Bring It On: The Musical

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I was in LA when I first found out that a there is musical based on the movie Bring It On. While driving to the Getty Museum, I noticed little Bring it On: The Musical flags attached to streetlights. How long this will take to migrate north, I thought starting out the window. Well, Six months is the answer because Bring it On: the musical is now playing in Toronto thanks to Mirvish. I’m not a fan of the teen movie genre. I avoid watching as much as possible. Of course, I enjoy a few like The Breakfast Club, Heathers and Pretty in Pink. So when I sat down to watch Bring it On for the first time I thought I would hate every minute. I hadn’t yet jumped on the Kristen Drunst bandwagon yet and she was just that kid from Interview with a Vampire grown. Bring it On was great to my surprise. The musical isn’t the same story as the movie but follows a lot of the themes and adds crazy ensemble …

geekiview: Simons Online Shopping

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A few weeks ago I received an email from a web consultant that was working with Quebec based Simons. He asked me to write a review of the shopping experience and would provide me with a $50 gift certificate to get started. Simons has always been a must visit on my trips to Montreal. I accepted his offer and hence this post. The gift certificate came to me via email which I thought was excellent considering a physical card really didn’t serve a purpose in this situation. The Simons.ca website has a clean, simple layout and lots of white space. I hate websites will lots of bells and whistler or ones that use flash and play music automatically. It shouldn’t take the user many mouse clicks to get product into a shopping cart and I tend to give up on sites with lousy user interfaces. The Simons.ca user interface provides all the search functions I expect: colour, brand, price and date added. I purchased the Trompe-l’oeil plunge-neck sweater and a large cowl neck striped tunic. …

geekiview: The Pillow Boot by Cougar Boots

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Last year, I reviewed some boots on the site. I made a flippant comment about not caring about Cougar because the don’t make my childhood pillow boot anymore. I was completely wrong. I learned at a preview that the classic boot was coming back for Fall 2011. The anticipation for the Cougar Pillow Boot has been building for months. I’m a such a sucker for some of these retro trends and thankfully Matchstick send a pair over to me. In 1976, a Canadian classic was born. A tan leather, calf-high lace up with its famous red lining took an entire generation by storm. This fashion icon is the inspiration behind the new Cougar Pillow Boot. Made with soft, supple leather this next generation Pillow melds a decidedly vintage look with a modern twist, while still giving you the option to romp through the deepest Canadian snow.(source: Press release) The weather isn’t conductive to a functional review but I’ve been wearing them around the house and they are very comfortable boots. I like the updated design. …

geekiviews: CND Shellac Manicure Part 1

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I decided to put aside my fears of gel manicures as a TIFF experiment. High View Communications and CND invited me to Shellac SpaManicure Day where guests would be treated to a Shellac manicure and meet CND president and founder, Jan Arnold. The event was just in time for TIFF and I liked the idea of CND reps doing my nails. There are a couple of things that make me wary of these types of manicures. I like to change my nail polish up a lot. I worry about being bored with the one colour. The colour palettes aren’t as extensive as regular polish I’m pretty good at doing my nails myself. I don’t get a lot of manicures during the year I have a large amount of nail polish colours Hmm, I need to return to the salon to remove this stuff. UV lamps, pure acetone and protective masks Nail recovery horror stories The CND team setup their manicure pop-up in the Hazelton Hotel. I browsed the CND lookbooks while waiting for my nail …

Geekiviews: Rockport with adiPRENE by Adidas

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Earlier in the summer I was sent a pair of Rockport sandals to test out. Rockport isn’t a brand I would normally wear but Adidas has partnered with them and have added the adiPRENE technology to make shoes more comfortable. I’ve had a passing interest in technology like this and wrote about Nike and Cole Haan’s collaboration efforts in the past. The technology has two parts: adiPRENE absorbs shock during walking in the heel and adiPRENE+ pushes on the ball of your foot to create a spring in your step. The selections of shoes presented to me were definitely not my style as they were too tame and too uninspiring. I don’t look at this as a problem for Rockport because I’m really not their target market. The look of shoe usually trumps any comfort aspirations I have. I’m willing to suffer for fashion in many instances. There are many women who can’t wear the heels I do and are looking for something comfortable but not ugly. While I find Rockport’s adiPRENE selection a little …

geekiviews: Cougar Boots

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Matchstick sent me two pairs of Cougar Boots to review. One pair of rainboots and one pair of winter boots. There were a few styles to choose from and I was lucky to get my first choices. I was getting pretty bored of my Hunters so I was thinking of buying a new pair of boots. I’ve been looking around and thought about a big obnoxious yellow or purple pair. When I saw the Regal rainboot from Cougar, I needed to own them. They are rubber with a polar fleece lining. They are comfortable, warm and rated from 0°C to -24°C. I’ve only used them in above 0°C situations so I can’t comment on how they work in that weather. They are a sturdy boot, better made than my hunters. Most of all I love the motorcycle boot style. They look great. Regal’s retail for $85. The winter boot I selected is Ringo Star. I haven’t worn them outside since we have no snow yet. I can’t tell you about function but I love they …

geekiviews: Zi8 Pocket Video Camera

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I received the Zi8 Pocket Video Camera just in time for LGFW this year. I’ve used the HD video feature on the Olympus E-PL1 so I was curious how these dedicated video cameras function. I guess the Zi8’s main competitor is the Flip video camera. I’ve never used the Flip camera before but I’ve held it. The Zi8 is a bit wider but they are very close in size. The camera has the following features: Capture video in 720p HD at 60 fps, or 1080p HD at 30 fps holds a up to 32GB SD/SDHC card External microphone jack takes 5MP 16:9 Widescreen HD photos built-in image stabilization 2.5 colour LCD screen Internal USB connector, no extra cables Includes HDMI cables so you can hook it up to your HDTV Included KODAK Li-Ion Rechargeable Digital Camera Battery Compatible with PC and MAC Includes video editing software The Kodak site has a great video that explains the features that the Zi8 offers. In perfect lighting the Ki8 takes some great video. It packs a lot of …

geekiviews: Hudson Jeans

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Over the last few years I’ve seen Hudson Jeans infiltrated many denim bars in the city. The papers were talking about the death of designer denim but Hudson seemed to be thriving. It started in Los Angeles in 2002. It brings premium denim material from the best mills in Europe and Japan. The denim is constructed and hand finished in Los Angeles. The head designer and creative director of Hudson Jeans is Benjamin Taverniti who joined the company in 2007.  Hudson’s trademark is their fit and fabrics. There is both men’s and women’s lines for denim but they are also expanding into tops, dresses and jackets for women. Hudson has a huge celebrity following. If you look at any of the denim blogs you’ll see celebs in Hudson Jeans. I just assumed it was a denim line for skinny girls. Now before you say “Anita, you are a skinny girl”, let me explain. I’m skinny, but my history as an athlete doesn’t give me your stereotypical skinny body. My thighs and calves are muscular and …

geekiviews: Cromwell and Cruthers Shaving Oil 2010 Redux

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This post is part old and part new. I had my friend The Grumpy Owl review Cromwell and Cruthers Shaving Oil back in 2009. It’s an awesome review which is reproduced in it’s entirety below. Cromwell and Cruthers have re-branded the product and I like the new slick look. I also like that Philip Sparks and Mackenzie James are involved in the advertising campaign. I have behind the scenes footage. geekiviews: Cromwell and Cruthers Shaving Oil Originally Published: 2009/01/02 This edition of geekiviews features a guest blogger, The Grumpy Owl. He’s a guy and the Cromwell and Cruthers Shaving Oil is for men. So it made sense that he review it instead of me. I hate oiling up my body. It’s the sort of the thing that one should have a person for. Preferably young, buxom and foreign. So, when Geekigirl gave me a plastic vial of Cromwell and Cruthers Shaving Oil, I viewed the product with some trepidation. Oil is bad enough but shaving is worse. The last time I combined the two, I …