Giveaway: attend RUDSAK’s fall/winter 2012 runway show at Toronto Fashion Week

With just less than a week to go before World MasterCard Fashion Week (aka: Toronto Fashion Week) starts it’s time to announce another great fashion giveaway to one of my lucky readers.

The generous team at RUDSAK has donated two tickets for you and a friend to soak up the excitement of fashion week and get the jump-off of what’s to come from the Montreal retailer’s fall/winter 2012 collection. Check out this video from the RUDSAK’s 2011 runway show to get a taste of what to expect.

Do you like what you see? Yes you do! Then this is how you enter to win the tickets...

How to enter:

1. Like the Facebook pages of The Souls of My Shoes and RUDSAK.
2. Leave a comment on this blog post by clicking on the “Response” button below and tell me where in Canada was RUDSAK founded? Be sure to fill in all the fields including your e-mail address.

Giveaway closes on March 11, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. and I will announce the winner in this entry, as well as e-mail them. Good luck and thanks again to RUDSAK!

RUDSAK runway show date: Thursday, March 15, 2012
Show time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: The Tents, David Pecaut Square, King Street West, Toronto (between John Street and Simcoe Street)

** Note: this giveaway is open to Greater Toronto Area residents only. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator.**

Blog entry update (March 11, 2012): the winner of the RUDSAK ticket giveaway is Nina Bozic-Masic! Congrats on winning the tickets Nina. I’ll e-mail you shortly to coordinate delivery of it to you.**

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Giveaway: KORRES skin care package

Guess what? I have another giveaway for one of my lucky readers! This is the last of my holiday giveaways and is also the first time I’ve been provided with a wealth of products all at once due to the generosity of companies who like my blog – yay! This last holiday giveaway is courtesy of the great team at KORRES Canada (pronounced: kor-ez).

Now, I’ve always been interested in trying out KORRES’s products but never had the opportunity to look into or sample it until recently, when they sent me several of their items to try. In my KORRES package I received (prices in CAD):

The first thing I learned about KORRES is that it’s an established brand from Athens, Greece, whose roots originate from homeopathic practices. They have a range of skin and hair care products made from natural ingredients using extracts from plants such as cinnamon, rose, and oak. Their products are absent of mineral oil and its derivatives, such as paraffin and related petrochemicals, and propylene glycol which is linked to the cause of many allergies.

In the Beginning from KORRES Canada on Vimeo.

KORRES is also a company with a conscious, environmental and sustainable business practices are at the core of their business. This, in addition to their products they create, makes them a very well liked and award winning brand.

The Scientific Method from KORRES Canada on Vimeo.

Now, I’m not going to go into minute detail about all four products because that will take too long. However, I will lay out several key factors for when I try new beauty products and what I experienced when using KORRES:

• Look – I’m not a fan of over packaged products, it’s wasteful and harmful to the environment. KORRES’s packaging is all recyclable, outlines how to use each product, lists its ingredients and to top it off, looks pretty and sophisticated.  

• Feel – all four products allow for smooth application to the body and face, quick absorption, hydrating and is, of course, not oily. The Wild Rose Face and Eye Serum is so light weight and hydrating that you don’t need to add moisturizer on top of it.

Smell – the non-scented products such as the night cream and anti-wrinkle eye cream doesn’t have the medicine odour like some others I’ve tried in the past; the body butter and eye serum have a gentle and clean scent.

Effect – I have sensitive skin and am very hesitant when sampling new products; too often when I try a new cream or cosmetic my skin gets irritated, breaks out into a rash or turns dry and flaky. Before cracking open a bottle of KORRES, I made sure to do my research and was pretty much convinced from what I learned that I’d be okay trying their stuff out. I’m in love with the body butter (perfect for dry winter skin) and the face and eye serum.

KORRES skin care giveaway 

If I’ve won you over with my review of KORRES then you can find their products in your nearest Sephora store and select Shoppers Drug Mart locations. However, if you want to try your festive luck out enter the KORRES skin care package giveaway and win the four great products I just reviewed, valued at over $100. To recap they are: 

How to enter:

  1. Go to the KORRES Canada Facebook page and “Like it.”  
  2. Leave a comment on this blog post by clicking on the “Response” button and tell me what makes a great beauty/skin care product. Is it the look, smell, feel or effect and why? Be sure to fill in all the fields including e-mail address.
  3. For an extra entry tweet, “I love #KORRESCanada and I want to win the skin care package @kimberly_lyn is giving away on her blog” and the link of this blog entry.

Giveaway closes on December 28, 2011, and I will announce the winner in this entry, so make sure to check back then. Good luck and thanks again to KORRES Canada!

** Note: this giveaway is open to Canadian residents only. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator and the items will be shipped to you early in January 2012.** 

BLOG ENTRY UPDATE (December 29, 2011) - the winner of the KORRES skin care package is Alex! Congrats on winning the package Alex. I’ll e-mail you shortly to coordinate delivery of it to you.**

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 Videoes courtesy of KORRES

Giveaway: Vogue fashion package from Amazon.ca

By now, most of you are well aware of that I love collecting fashion books and documentaries – a few months ago I added the YSL: L’amour Fou DVD and Christian Louboutin book to my library.

Learning about designers and the history of fashion is a subject I find absolutely fascinating. However, it’s not always easy to find these types of books and movies in stores. A lot of times I often go online to seek out those hard-to-find titles. Straight-up, Amazon.ca is my first go-to website for these items; therefore, when they contacted me about hosting a giveaway on my blog featuring a few items from their stock I nearly jumped out of my heels.

I’m so excited to be hosting this giveaway courtesy of the generous team at Amazon.ca. One lucky reader will be able to begin their own fashion book and movie collection, and these items would get you off to the perfect start:

Nostalgia in Vogue (2011) – this hardcover book was published by Rizzoli in October, contains over 280 pages and consists of “Vogue’s famous ‘Nostalgia’ columns and the stunning photographs that accompanied them.” Retail $34.65.

The September Issue (2010) – you can’t get more behind-the-scenes with American Vogue and its Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, than with this film which had fashion lovers lining up at the theatres in droves last year – I have this DVD in my collection and it’s a must-have. Retail $19.99.

How to enter:

  1. Go to the Amazon Canada Facebook page and “Like it.”
  2. Leave a comment on this blog post by clicking on the “Response” button and tell me about a fashion movie that you’ve seen, and why you liked it – be sure to fill in all the fields including e-mail address.  
  3. For an extra entry tweet, “I love #AmazonCanada and want the Vogue fashion package @kimberly_lyn is giving away on her blog!” and the link of this blog entry.

Giveaway closes on December 22, 2011 and I will announce the winner on this blog post, so make sure to check back then. Good luck and thanks again to Amazon Canada!

** Note: this giveaway is open to Canadian residents only. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator and the items will be shipped to you early in January 2012.**

Just one more thing...

Amazon.ca has a lot of other products such as electronics and home items if you’re doing some last-minute shopping online. They offer free shipping for orders over to $25. For urban centres, you can place an order on Wednesday, December 21, and still get the item before Christmas morning. How convenient is that!

** BLOG ENTRY UPDATE (December 23, 2011): the winner of the Vogue fashion package giveaway from Amazon Canada is Septembre! Congrats on winning the package Septembre I’ll e-mail you shortly to coordinate delivery of it to you.**

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Images courtesy of Amazon.ca

Giveaway: Benefit Comestic Canada’s Glam Bag

‘Tis the season to be merry and give, and give some more! Yesterday I announced my first holiday giveaway, the Luxembourg handbag by Nella Bella, and today I’m happy to write about another exciting opportunity presented by the team at Benefits Cosmetics Canada.

First off, I’m a lover of Benefits Cosmetics and own a bottle from their Crescent Row fragrances called, Gina. So when they contacted me to offer some products to my readers I was all in!

They’re offering a Benefit Glam Bag which retails for over $100; inside you’ll find full size products (prices in USD):

How to enter:

  1. Go to the Benefit Cosmetics Canada’s’ Facebook page and “Like it.”
  2. Leave a comment on this blog post by clicking on the “Response” button and tell me about your favourite beauty product and why.
  3. For an extra entry tweet the following, “I love @BenefitCanada and want the Glam Bag @kimberly_lyn is giving away on her blog! #glamgiveaways” and the link of this blog entry.

Giveaway closes on December 15, 2011 and I will announce the winner on this blog post, so make sure to check back then. Good luck and thanks again to Benefit Cosmetics Canada!

** Note: this giveaway is open to residents of the Greater Toronto Area only. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator.**

Just one more thing...

Benefit is really into the spirit of giving this year and has stashed free gift bags full of their products around the City of Toronto. These Benefit Glam Bags can be found hanging with Benefit posters shown in the picture just above. Every day this week you could walk away with a free Benefit Glam Bag, but only if you spot the posters around Toronto, including the intersections of:

  • Ossington Ave and Queen Street West
  • Queen Street West and Beverly Street
  • Bloor Street West and Avenue Road

...and dozens of other secret locations around the city – so keep your eyes peeled!

You can also increase your chances even more by texting Benefit to 89863, by following @BenefitCanada on Twitter or by liking Benefit Cosmetics Canada’s Facebook page.

** BLOG ENTRY UPDATE (December 17, 2011): the winner of the Benefit Canada glam bag giveaway is Tara! Congrats on winning the glam bag Tara, I’ll e-mail you shortly to coordinate delivery of it to you.**

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 Image gallery #1 courtesy of Benefit Cosmetics Canada. Image gallery #2 by David Cyr (froghammer).

Giveaway: Luxembourg handbag by Nella Bella

Just in time for the holidays, my good friends at Nella Bella have generously provided one of their beautiful handbags for a giveaway to one of my wonderful readers and you could win it!

I had a personal hand in choosing this handbag for this latest giveaway and would like to present the Luxembourg from the company’s summer 2011 collection.

Nella Bella’s Creative Director, Tarek Al-Azbat, told me that the Luxembourg’s design came about while he was watching a TV show that featured a hot air balloon flying over the country of Luxembourg. His attention turned towards the balloon and realized when you flip this aircraft upside down it resembles a draw-string bag; therefore, the Luxembourg bag was born. Pretty neat huh!

Product description:

  • Colour, caramel
  • Dimensions, 13 in × 5 in × 15 in
  • Retail value, $99

How to enter:

  1. Go to the Nella Bella’s Facebook page and “Like it.”
  2. Leave a comment on this blog post by clicking on the “Response” button and tell me how you would wear the Luxembourg bag. For example, to work with a black pant suit or to bunch with a pair of dark skinny jeans and a colourful top – be creative!  
  3. For an extra entry tweet the following phrase, “I love @NellaBellaBrand’s Luxembourg bag! @kimberly_lyn is giving one away on her blog” and the link of this blog entry.

Giveaway closes on December 20, 2011 and I will announce the winner in this blog post, so make sure to check back then. Good luck and thanks again to Nella Bella!

** Note: this giveaway is open to Canadian residents only. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator.** 

BLOG ENTRY UPDATE (December 21, 2011) - the winner of the Luxembourg handbag by Nella Bella is twit_twit_twoo funny name but it works. Congrats twit_twit_twoo! I'll be contacting you shortly to arrange delivery of the handbag to you!
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Images courtesy of Nella Bella

Review + Giveaway: Luxe Box by Loose Button

Fashion and shoes are not the only secret obsessions I have in my life; I’m also an undercover beauty junkie. Compared to other beauty obsessed people, my habits are pretty mild but when I do shop for cosmetics I go all out and by the time I’ve finished at the make-up counter I walk away with more products than I originally set out to buy.

Obtaining beauty samples are my preferred choice when trying out new products, its allows you to take it on a test drive before committing to a 100mL bottle of cleanser or shade lipstick that you end up either loving to death or disliking with a passion.

I was contacted by the team at Loose Button to review their service and product offerings. Loose Button operates a monthly beauty subscription service that delivers three to five beauty samples inside a Luxe Box straight to your door-step. Samples that appear inside the Luxe Box can range from skincare to cosmetics and fragrances.

Inside the September Luxe Box:

The phrase, “it’s all in the details” can be applied to the moment I opened my Luxe Box. The packaging, personalized greeting and welcome cards on high quality paper were such a pleasant surprised that it made me feel special and part of an exclusive members club.

Inside the September Luxe Box there are four product samples, all from well-respected brands such as Moroccan Oil and Laura Mercier, and provided at very decent sample sizes. Out of the four products, I’ve only ever tried the Moroccan Oil and it’s already a permanent staple within my hair care products so I’m super excited to have the opportunity to try-out the remaining items.

I’m so impressed at Loose Button’s delivery and product offerings that I’m going to be signing up shortly to get on this monthly beauty action. I’m even considering of gifting it to a few close friends, they’d absolutely love it – not sure if this is possible but I’m sure it can be coordinated some how.

If you’re wondering about cost, Loose Button has a few plans you can choose from either $12 monthly or $120 yearly. More information about the Luxe Box and how to sign up can be found at http://loosebutton.com/.

Interested in trying out a Luxe Box? See the giveaway details below.

The Luxe Box giveaway!

For all of those undercover or not-so-undercover beauty junkies, the generous team at Loose Button is offering one free Luxe Box to my readers. How to enter:

  1. Go to the Loose Button Facebook page and “Like it.”
  2. Leave a comment on this blog entry by clicking on the “Response” button below and tell me about your one favourite beauty product and why.
  3. Be sure to fill in all the comment fields and provide your e-mail address – I’ll need this to contact the winner.
  4. Contest closes on October 7, 2011.
Good luck and thanks again to the Loose Button team!

** Note: this giveaway is open to Canadian residents only. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator and will be announced on this post with an update to this entry. The winner will be sent the October Luxe Box from Loose Button which will arrive around mid-month.

** BLOG ENTRY UPDATE (October 10, 2011): the winner of the Luxe by Loose Button giveaway is Andrea B.! Congrats on winning an October Luxe Box Andrea, I’ll e-mail you shortly to coordinate delivery of it to you.**

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Information and image gallery #2 courtesy of Loose Button

Giveaway: Dr. Martens 1461 shoes

The very generous crew at Dr. Martens are kicking off the shoe season this spring by giving away one free pair of 1461s through The Souls of My Shoes valued at $140. The 1461 is one of Dr. Martens’ classic footwear styles being offered in colours such as pastels, cherry red and forest green.

How to enter:

1)   Go to the Dr. Martens Toronto Facebook page and “like” it.

2)  Tweet the following phrase, “I want a pair of @DrMartens 1461 shoes through @kimberly_lyn’s fashion blog!” and the link of this blog entry.

3)  Contest closes on April 13, 2011 and the winner will be announced over Twitter.

Good luck!

** Note: this giveaway is open to residents in the Greater Toronto Area only. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator and will be provided with a voucher for a pair of Dr. Martens 1461s of their choice to be picked up at the Dr. Martens store located at 391 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2A5.

BLOG ENTRY UPDATE: taking a page from my friend’s, Sharon of Backseat Stylers, method of tabulating the winners of her giveaways, I’m inspired to do the same on my blog. Therefore, without further delay, the winner of the Dr. Martens 1461 giveaway is @christinallison. Congrats Christina! I’ll e-mail you shortly to arrange the delivery of the voucher for you to choose a pair of 1461s from the Dr. Martens store.

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Images courtesy of Dr. Martens

Giveaway: the Kimberly clutch designed by Jessica Jensen

Take a closer look at the title of this blog entry... oh yes, you read it right. Canadian handbag designer, Jessica Jensen named one of her fabulous designs after me!

There are countless examples of designers naming their works after people who have inspired them such as the Birkin bag, named after actress and singer Jane Birkin, designed by luxury retailer Hermès; and the Blake shoe named after Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, designed by Christian Louboutin.

The story of how the Kimberly clutch came about is very straight forward; I visited Jensen during her holiday pop-up shop last month and was totally drawn to the over-sized zip clutch and its multiple interior card and cash pockets. Jensen told me how she developed the design and then offered to name it after me. How cool is that!

Handbag specifications:

  • Outer, Italian vegetable tanned goatskin or embossed ostrich on Italian lambskin
  • Measurements, 12.625”W x 6.5”H x 1.25”D
  • Colours – charcoal, dusk grey, mauve, mud, chocolate and pink embossed ostrich

You can purchase the Kimberly clutch from Jensen’s online store which is currently priced at $99 (original price $298) or enter this giveaway to win one in plum pictured below.

How to enter:

1)    Tweet the following phrase, “I love my Jessica Jensen @kimberly_lyn clutch” and the link of this blog entry.

2)    I’ll choose the winner at random and announce it over Twitter.

3)    Contest closes on January 19, 2011.

Good luck!

Update: winner of the Kimberly clutch is @JacklynM. Congratulations!

Gallery #1, image #1 from Jessica Jensen