swerve for spring

direction and styling by leah van loon, leahvanloon.com

photography by colin way, colinway.com 

hair and makeup by teslin ward, teslinward.com

it may seem like it's spring but it doesn't feel like it yet in my neck of the woods. depressing a little, the emotions are running wild with every sighting of a little sunshine. everyone else is ready for spring though so the local magazines are also taking part in the festivities. this week we were featured in the herald's weekly swerve magazine. enter leah van loon, stylist l'extraordinaire (i am fully unsure whether this is even a correct use of this word). for full credits and clothes list you can check the whole story out here or get a copy of your own in today's paper.

smashbox for spring

i found some new smashbox goodies in my mailbox a while back. it's always fun opening beautiful new products, something about an untouched palette of eye shadows that makes you think of candy. smashbox is going to the calgary women's show on april 14th-15th (click here to buy tickets) where you will be able to find exclusive kits & offers not available anywhere else. the calgary smashbox team is fantastic and the ladies will be more than excited to see all of you there. until then here is a preview of what they have for you in the coming spring season. fom left to right: bourjois volumizing clubbing mascara, 3d effect gloss, which is a relaunch of their 3d gloss in new colors with a new improved formula, rose exclusif lip gloss, which adapts to the level of hydration in your body to create the perfect shade of pink (all bourjois products available at shoppers drugmart) & smashbox be discovered limited edition eye palette. i will also be posting some photos from the smashbox master class at the southcenter murale that was happening on march 9th with shawn hlowatzki so stay tuned. xoxo

inside

ever since i painted my place i have been obsessed with white interiors. these are just some images i found online. the hospital feel really appeals to me. it can almost be any style as long as everything is white, my eye is drawn to it. moving has become this much harder as everything that is being put on the market has by now achieved a yellow tinge and everything that is being built is generically painted beige. i am still waiting for the perfect space *sigh*. xoxo

stampede style-off 2012

STYLIST #1: ania b.

STYLIST #2: karleen samson

STYLIST #3: kara chomistek

what a day friday has been. i showed up to the shoot early, the keener that i am, to make sure that my pull was complete and that i had all the items i needed in place. there was a lot of set up, in the end it worked out perfect that i came when i did. we started with hair and makeup, got robyn (imodels) dressed and got to work, there was two shots for every look, one straight on and one lay-down (for the winner's billboard). it was a pleasure working with the whole team. my outfit, for those of you interested in an early taste (top photo): judith & charles leather top, guess by marciano silk patterned blouse, true religion jeans, nine west shoes, colar tips and bolero from lammles and cuffs from michael kors, all of course, from chinook centre. the common item we all had to use was a scarf from scotch & soda (not the bandanna we all originally predicted) which made it tricky to style. what threw me off was planning my outfit without considering the scarf, when i later had to come up with a way to use it, i was stumped, the size of the thing made it impossible not to make it a substantial part of the outfit. i ended up tying it around robyn's waist as a skirt, creating additional layers, karleen put hers around the models' neck and kara stuffed it in the bag she used.  the day flew by. karleen and kara got their looks all in and now it's up to the people to decide the winner. of course what kind of a full day at the mall would it be without an amazing find. i scored a black leather mini dress (like the one robyn is wearing in karleen's look), on sale at the gap for only $99! a pat on the back is in order. you will be able to start voting as of march 28th on the chinook facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/chinookcentre so make sure to check out all our interviews and looks (of course i am sure to also remind you, a million and one times). 

meanwhile, visit MY facebook page for the complete behind the scenes of the stylists' looks and more photos.

tomorrow @chinookcentre

yes, stampede is a good couple of months away still, yet tomorrow you can come have a little taste of it at chinook centre at the grand court (ie directly across from abercrombie & fitch *disclaimer: this is NOT an ad for abercrombie & fitch and i am not trying to make it one by repeatedly typing 'abercrombie & fitch'*. it has been a couple of weeks since the last style-off and it's time to make good use of all these new store arrivals again. i am super pumped (yes totally just said pumped) for this event tomorrow. we get an amazing team comprising of colin way (photographer), teslin ward (hair & makeup) and robyn urlacher (model) to work with us throughout the day. there will be three of us styling including myself, kara chomistek from park and karleen samson who works with aritzia, so all together amazing people and a great time. i should also say that at first the concept of stampede style scared me until i realized that i actually regularly obsess over all things cowboys and indians, after looking around for some inspiration i don't think i could have landed on a more perfect theme <3 the shoot will be open for the public to see throughout the day so make sure to check out the following times and come cheer us on:

STYLIST 1: Hair: 10.30am, Wardrobe: 11.15am, Shoot 12pm

STYLIST 2: Hair: 2pm, Wardrobe: 2.30pm, Shoot: 3pm

STYLIST 3: Hair: 4pm, Wardrobe: 4.30pm, Shoot: 5pm

p.s. i may or may not be stylist #1,  also watch for regular updates from the day on my instagram (@aniab) and twitter (@ania_boniecka) accounts

butter IS better

today i spent all day at the studio. which leaves me feeling inspired, which i'm grateful for. i enter these lulls where nothing seems to take me in the right direction. things just seem so blah! but if everyday could be like today than i am in business. we were shooting for the new beauty bar opening in calgary, butter. we had a group of eclectic girls shooting different looks for their website. the whole team from alicja wilkosz for makeup to jereme bokitch (owner of hedkandi and now butter) to the ever so talented (and super sexy) jason eng behind the lens... there's a shout out for you! stay tuned to see the finished product before the end of march for the salons' official opening. while we are all waiting i thought i would also share with you the call to butter. if you have an interest in working for a great salon with an amazing team in an amazing environment, who have all become like a family to me over the years check out the contact at the top of this post and join the beauty revolution... that's right i said it! also make sure to follow butter on twitter @butterbeautyyyc and use their hashtag #butterisbetter. there is a ton of exciting things happening in the city in the next month or so. next up is my post from the park show. i can't wait to tell you all about it. seriously, this year upped the ante big time. calgary better pay attention because these guys are getting pretty serious <3. xoxo

shoes

will have a ton of updates after this weekend. totally shopping on a budget these days. picked up these gorgeous sandals at the la zara, didn't have to sacrifice my size or anything. on the bright side of things it's spring again (for now) except i'm sick of short hair already and i just cut it two weeks ago... hindsight... xoxo