Intelligent imaging

Next time you’re at the doctors office, whether for a dental procedure or cosmetic enhancement, check and see if your doctor is using Intel3D. The 3D animation and imaging program is designed to help better patient education and understanding of the procedures they are about to undertake.

“Patients want to do research but there’s lots of garbage on the web,” explains Pamela Purdy, business development manager for Intel3D. “Our animations are accurate, created by industry consultants and endorsed by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.”

The program, which features step-by-step descriptions in text and audio of various procedures, is housed online and therefore cuts time for doctors who don’t have to mess around with cumbersome imaging software, explains Purdy. “It can be used in consultations with patients, images can be printed out as brochures or they can be embedded into the doctor’s website for patients to educate themselves.” Most patients these days do not head into a procedure with no understanding of the process, she says. “This helps tremendously with informed consent—patients will know more of what to expect.”

Energize Your Afternoon

It’s 3:30, you had a big lunch and the prospect of a George Costanza-esque nap under your desk doesn’t seem like such a far fetched idea.  The afternoon wall of tired doesn’t have to be such a hurdle if you have a plan of action to fight against it!  Here are a few tricks you may not have heard before to help you perk up and stay productive.

You don't have to crash in the afternoon, if you have a plan.

1. Breathe Easy

If you suffer from allergies, or the re-circulated air in your office building has your sinuses blocked, it can make you feel more tired and cranky. As well, you are probably not sleeping as well as you should be, because of breathing troubles.  Check with your doctor or pharmacist about an over-the-counter allergy medication to help stop your stuffiness, so you can sleep more soundly and be more alert and active during the day.

2. Wear Bright Colors

This trick is based on how you project yourself to other people, and how that effects the mood they project towards you. If you wear dark colors you project a dark, somber attitude, and people will pick up on that and respond in kind. If you wear bright, happy colors like yellow, red and orange you’ll project a more positive, open energy and have that projected back to you, which will boost your own mood and energy levels.

3. Get your Vitamin C

Getting your daily dose of citrus or a vitamin C table in the morning will help keep your energy levels steady throughout the day. Studies show the connection between citric acid deficiency and chronic fatigue.  In addition to the Vitamin C, the smell of citrus (like grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime) can promote a feeling of alertness. So chew some citrus gum, slather yourself in lemon lotion or squeeze some lime into your water.

5. Decide What Is Important

Having a ridiculously long to-do list can immediately bring your energy levels down.  Knowing that you cannot possibly accomplish everything just makes you feel unproductive, annoyed and tired.  Decide what on your list is of absolute critical importance for today and what can wait until tomorrow, or later in the week.  Then you can delegate those tasks, move them into tomorrow’s list, and decide what wasn’t really worth while on your list.  Simply by shortening your to-do list, you’ll feel better about what you have accomplished and will feel more positive and upbeat.

6. Roll With It

Rolling up and down on the balls of your toes beside your desk stimulates your circulatory system and delivers oxygen and glucose (body fuel) throughout your body. You’ll be more energized and on task. Do this a few times a day, when you are on the phone or washing your hands and you’ll keep your energy from falling.  It can also help you improve your balance.

7. Eat eggs.

Eat your eggs for energy

Eggs are mostly protein so having them for breakfast gives you more energy and helps you eat less at your next meal, compared to a breakfast of all carbs like a bagel or toast. Protein makes you feel full, and provides a steady stream of energy for your body (versus the quick high and subsequent crash of carbohydrates). Have your eggs for breakfast, or in your salad at lunch to tide you over until dinner.

-Lindsay Newton

Vancouver: get moving!

Want to get in shape and have fun? The new fall term of Cuban dance classes by Latidos Productions starts Sept. 23 in Vancouver.  Latidos’ owner Chen Lizra recently spent four weeks in Cuba and is bringing back four new programs from the best dancers in Cuba: Reggaeton for couples, Cha Cha Cha, Sueltas for women, and Rumba for women.  This term will focus on female styling, but Latidos’ regular programs such as Reggaeton for women, Cuban Salsa, and Afro-Cuban Movements will be updated.

Latidos Productions was the first company to put Reggaeton on the map in Vancouver, teaching people of all ages and dance levels how to move seductively and flirt with their partners. The results have been transformational.

Cuban dance is becoming even more popular with the emergence of Latin dance on TV dance shows like So You Think You Can Dance (Tabitha and Napoleon D’Umo’s group Reggaeton routine in Season 5) and Afro Borike on America’s Best Dance Crew.  Despite the recession, the demand for Cuban dance continues to increase in Vancouver. In response, the number of Latidos dance classes will double for the Sept. 2009 term.  Lizra also teaches workshops internationally.

For more info, head to latidosproductions.com

Our Women’s Day in the Courtyard Experience

I just wanted to let everyone know how our day went last Wednesday, when we attended Women’s Day in the Courtyard, at Yonge & Dundas Square.

A sampling of Elevate staffers (aren't our Tee's cute?)

I have to admit, we weren’t feeling to positive about the whole thing when we showed up to a heavy drizzle that morning, but we all stayed positive that the weather would get nicer, as promised by the weather man!  By 9AM it had stopped raining, and by the time the event actually started at 10AM, the sun was even peeking out!  The people from Exclusive Mall Media, the company that put on the event, were so good to us! They took pity on our soggy table and provided us with a tent, so we (and our 1,550 magazines) could stay nice and dry.

The day started off relatively calm, but by noon it was packed!  (Any of our blog or twitter follows make it out to see us?)  There were huge lines at every booth to get free samples, and watch the live demonstrations.  The people at The Pampered Chef put on a live cooking demonstration, and Chum FM provided great tunes for us all day long.  We wandered around all day giving out free copies of Elevate, and letting people know about our raffle.  We gave away every copy we had brought along!  Wow.  I hope everybody liked Elevate’s new design.

It was great to walk around and have a look at all of the woman-friendly options out there.  Basically, it was a way for women to look at different things to incorporate into their lives, all in one convenient place.  Booty Boot Camp, Tupperwear, Dermalogica, Intuition Razor, Glade, Lipton and all the other companies who had a booth helped to introduce you to new products and services that can make being a girl better, or at least more fun!

There was a huge fuss all day long for these great pink swag bags filled with loot from all of the different vendors.  People were waiting in line for an hour just to get their hands on one.  We gave away six prizes to six lucky winners, including gift certificates for microderm abrasion, an eyebrow procedure, a laser conturing session and some great gift baskets full of anti-aging products.

All the staff that went had a great day, we got lots of great free swag (I don’t think I will have to buy razors or gum for the next 6 months!), and met a lot of great women.  I hope the 2010 show is just as good!

Our lovely booth!

- Lindsay Newton

Size Matters!

Apparently size does matter—at least to the readers of Glamour magazine. In its September issue, the magazine featured a story about feeling comfortable in one’s own skin. And to illustrate the point, Glamour ran a photo of a plus-size model sitting in just her undies. The woman looks healthy, happy and real—meaning we see her non-model-size belly.

Since running the photo, the magazine has been flooded with mail commending the coverage of such a normal-looking woman, proudly flaunting her normal-looking physique. One reader said, “This beautiful woman has a real stomach and did I even see a few stretch marks? This is how my belly looks after giving birth to my two amazing kids! This photo made me want to shout from the rooftops.”

We’re curious what you think. Check out the photo at:

http://www.glamour.com/

—Kellie Davenport

Toronto event: Women’s Day in the Courtyard

Join us this Wednesday, August 26 at Yonge and Dundas Square in Toronto from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Women’s Day in the Courtyard. This event is going to be the one-stop place for you to find and enjoy all of the things that us girls love but don’t always have the time to seek out: fashion, makeovers, and health and fitness advice. Women’s Day in the Courtyard is in it’s eighth year running and wants you to be able to pick up free samples of new and interesting products, take in inspiring fashion shows and, best of all, unwind with a complimentary massage.

We’ll have a booth set up as well where you can subscribe to our magazine, enter into a draw to win a free gift basket or just stop by to say hey! Looking forward to seeing you in the sun!

Buzz: Spa Week coming soon to Toronto

Keep your eye on spaweek.com for news of the bi-annual beauty event that sees participating spas offering up full service treatments for around $50! Details for the west coast event have emerged today, and the east coast (when Spa Week will run October 12 to 18) should have deets up shortly! We’ll follow up as soon as we find out.

Are you Addicted to Beauty?

I just heard about an interesting new show premiering on the U.S.-Oxygen Network (lucky you, satellite users!) called Addicted to Beauty. Described as a “workplace dramedy” the show is expected to offer a revealing, humourous behind-the-scenes look at Changes Plastic Surgery and Spa in southern California.

Would you watch this show? I’m curious as to how it’ll be received. We’ve already had shows like Nip/Tuck and The Swan bring cosmetic enhancement to the mainstream, but it would be nice to see a more human side of the experience.

The Cellulite Challenge: weeks 4 to 6

By week four of my eight-week cellulite challenge, pretty much everyone I know has heard me go on about VelaShape. I talk about it at work; I talk about it at home; I talk about it at the gym; I talk about it with my girlfriends. I start worrying that I could be getting too caught up with my treatments. Then I start wondering how long the effects will last once my 8 weeks are up.

I figure the only thing I can do at that point is to keep exercising, eating well, drinking lots of water and try not getting too obsessed with “my improvement.”Nevertheless, I add some extra butt-targeting exercises to my gym routine to help Vela a bit from the inside out.

On week six I officially get re-measured by my esthetician. I learn that I’ve lost 3 centimetres off my right thigh and two centimetres off my left. Not bad for just laying on my belly getting massaged, I think. Moreover, by this point I’m so used to VelaShape that I’m requesting more heat and massage pressure and even dozing off during parts of the session.

So as I approach week seven, the question really becomes about maintenance. What do I need to do to keep these results? Will the summer patio and barbeque season undo all this good work? Will I lose my butt-targeting momentum at the gym when I stop my regular Vela sessions? Or, on a more positive note, will finishing my treatments finally force me to shut up and stop talking about my butt to anyone who cares to listen?

My Adventure In Brows

I have an obsession with eyebrows. If you’ve been following my blogs you know I have LOTS of obsessions, but this one is a biggie. I never had to pluck my eyebrows, they were always just naturally nice. Then I started plucking them (silly, silly girl) and before I could say “ouch”, they were all wonky. I have been growing them out for the last little while, and today I had an appointment at Benefit’s Brow Bar in the Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street. The website says that you don’t even need an appointment, you can just waltz in and be taken care of (we’re busy girls, right?) but I made one just to be safe because I was going on my lunch break.

I love Benefits, it’s so girly and everything has a cute name, and best of all- their products really work! I have heard good things about their Erase Paste concealer ($26), and I love their Benetint lip and cheek stain ($28). I’m curious about their Powderflage light diffusing powder ($28) as well, if you’ve ever used it, let me know! Going to the counter is always a treat.

Guide To Brow Shape

A little wax (it smells like coconut, and don’t worry, it’s not painful. Just a quick little pull.), a little plucking and we were done. She explained to me about how a nicely placed arch helps to pull up your whole face, brightens the eye and makes it look much larger. She also used an angle brush to apply the brow zings eyebrow powder($30), filling in the sparse spots of my brows. Tip: when applying the powder, start at the arch not at the beginning of your brow other wise you’ll end up with an angry look. Good to know.

Lastly, a little bit of speed brow($16), a clear gel that holds the hair in place for the whole day and voila, the perfect brow!

My perfect brow!

I didn’t need to stock up on any of the brow products, so it only cost me $21 total. I had to try my hardest not to go on a Benefit’s shopping spree, and i’m in the clear (brow-wise, anyways) for a month or more.

Has anyone else been to the Brow Bow? What was your experience like with them?

- Lindsay Newton