Category: Blog

Meet Carly! After beginning her career at our flagship Mission store, she now runs frilly lilly Aspen. She’s been a part of the family since almost the very start.

What is a beauty product you can’t live without?
My Bare Minerals foundation in medium tan. It’s super easy to blend very light while still evening out my skin tone.

What is your current favourite fashion trend?
I think right now I’m really loving the statement collar necklace. It can add so much to a simple outfit.

What is your favourite cocktail?
Summer time is definitely Prosecco, and if I feel like kicking it up I’ll add a hibiscus flower. Delightful!

Who is your style icon?
I always love what Jennifer Aniston wears, she’s always classic but still on trend. Her style tends to be a bit safe, but really you can never have too many Little Black Dresses!

Where is your favourite place to shop?
Right now I’m loving a boutique in Aspen called Mariah. It carries a lot of designers I’m into right now.

What is your all-time favourite item in your wardrobe?
I love a great fitting pair of jeans, but I’d have to say my all time fav would be one of my Mackage leather jackets. I feel like I love them the older they get.

Where is your dream vacation destination?
I love any gorgeous beach, I would love to go to the Maldives.

What is your favourite thing to do in your city?
I love date nights with my girlfriends. We try to get together every month and try a new restaurant each time.

What do you always bring as a hostess gift?
I try to get away from wine or flowers. I recently discovered this great store called Blue Door that sells only infused olive oil and vinegar. They have a great sampler pack that makes the perfect gift.

Each month we feature a new frilly lilly Beauty Ambassador to bring you tips, tricks and exceptional expertise from the most outstanding ladies we know. 

Meet Tai! She’s a globetrotting event planner who now calls Vancouver home. Originally from Brazil, her career path has touched on many continents and cities around the world. The one constant in her life? An airplane ticket is never far from her inbox. Air travel can take a serious toll on the body, but Tai has some mile high tips to ensure you arrive at your destination looking and feeling more fabulous than you did at takeoff.

“When it’s time to jump on a plane and fly for fun or for business, there are some essentials that I can’t go without. Packing my handbag is as important as packing my suitcase. My must-haves: lip butter, lotion, facial moisturizer, a good concealer, a pressed powder and a light blush. The recycled air in a plane is your worst enemy and will dry your skin right out. I reapply the lip balm, hand cream and facial moisturizer a couple of times during the flight. As soon as the brakes hit on the runway I know I’ve got the perfect amount of time to do one last application and makeup touch-up before we reach the gate. 

Hydration is key both outside and in. My mom is a nutritionist and always taught me to drink coconut water before, during and after a flight. We’ve been drinking this in Brazil as long as I can remember. Beating jet lag is the last part of your battle, and your diet matters most here. Avoid consuming dairy and wheat the day of your flight and the first day at your destination. These are especially hard for your body to digest, making it more difficult to adjust to your new environment. Ease into your regular diet with light meals, and you’ll be feeling fab! 

Bon voyage!”

Airplane Photo credit: My Daily Sublime / Foter.com / CC BY-ND

Each month we feature a new frilly lilly Beauty Ambassador to bring you tips, tricks and exceptional expertise from the most outstanding ladies we know.  

Meet Jody. She’s the founder of Emery Lifestyle Management, an on-call personal assistance firm. Her average day can include anything from running errands to planning events to coordinating travel itineraries. In short, she’s moving a mile a minute. As a business owner, projecting a professional image is key, and this means keeping up a beauty regime at a very fast pace. How does she do it? 

“When a hectic schedule means planning my day to the tee, a streamlined beauty routine is a must! For those days when I just can’t seem to come up for air, I like to follow a simple rule of thumb and KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid). Here are my favorite KISS routines:

1. Stress isn’t pretty and neither is crusty, runny, day-old makeup. So no matter how tired I am, I always wash my face and apply a moisturizer. If I am really tight for time in the AM then I can usually get away with skipping another face wash and adding a bit of moisturizer before foundation. 

2. Some people say you can know everything about a person by their shoes, however I think it is by their nails. If I am really pressed for time and can’t squeeze in a full mani, then I’ll at least make time for a quick polish change.

3. When my day-old hair is looking more like it’s on day 3 or 4, my new best friend becomes dry shampoo. I just sprinkle a little in my roots and roll my hair up into a ballet bun and it looks completely refreshed.

4. Keeping in line with my KISS theme, I like to keep my puckers perfectly pouty. Lining my lips with a neutral toned lip liner before applying lipstick makes everything look bigger and better. This also works because I don’t have to remember to change anything in my to-go makeup bag.

5. Last but certainly not least, smile. As the saying goes, “Fake it till you make it”. So even when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or just don’t feel like dealing with the day to day I always remember to put on my smile. It takes 2 seconds and at some point in the day I find a reason to put on my real smile.”

Each season we love looking at the Pantone Color Trend Report. These folks know what’s up when it comes to color, and their picks rule the runways around the world. This spring is all about subtlety and femininity. The vibrant neons of 2012 have been replaced by a much more subdued palette.  

Our favorite for spring is Linen. This color adds a charming and demure feel to a mani or pedi and has a versatility that can be dressed up or down. With hues slightly warmer than nude, this colour still stands out to provide a touch of class to your look. 

frilly lilly has 3 colors in our polish line that work within the Linen palette. Now that spring has sprung, Bambino, Respectable, and Pure (pictured above from left to right) can warm up the look of your nails perfectly. 

Happy spring! xo

It’s hard to believe we first opened the doors to frilly lilly Santa Monica three months ago today. Our first foray onto chic and sunny Montana Ave has been a dream come true! We’ve adored getting to know our lovely new clients and getting caught up in the fast-paced and glamorous LA lifestyle. 

We’ve quickly learned that people in this town love to talk, and lucky for us, we’ve been receiving some fantastic buzz from some of LA’s beauty media elite! 

– Spaphile said our Butter Cream Body Butter was “YUMazing!”
– Daily Candy had “no more stubble trouble” after their visit.
– Lacee from Groomed LA wrote about her bikini wax and said “It didn’t hurt. At all.” 
– Fab Fit Fun thought we were “oh-so-luxe.”
– LA Story said our accessories are “spot on-trend.”

We feel so at home in the Santa Monica sunshine, and we owe a big thank you to our new clients, partners, neighbors, and friends for making our first few months so delightful! 

The crafty and creative frilly lilly estheticians have been having fun keeping their clients on trend with accent nails. This sassy addition to a manicure has been growing in popularity over the past couple years and is giving girls an extra bit of glam to go home with. A few tips from our experts: 

– Keep it subtle, using only one or two fingers on each hand. We recommend the ring finger or the thumb. 
– If you’re sticking with a solid color, accent it with either a contrasting shade in the same family, or a complementary color.
– Try a texture or pattern, like a cute polka dot. 
– Go big with some cute nail art for the occasion. Think hearts for Valentines Day, flowers for spring, or bling for a big night out.

Prices vary depending on the complexity of the design. When booking your appointment, chat with our receptionists about ideas so that we can book your appointment accordingly. 

Since Oprah only comes out with her favourite things once a year, I’m always on the watch for great finds to share with my family and friends. From flea markets to Rodeo Drive, here are the things that have been making my life just a little bit more lovely: 

1. Couture Prairie and Flea Market Treasures by Rachel Ashwell – The latest book from my ‘shabby chic’ style icon (available September)
2. John Frieda Ceramic Hair Dryer – An essential post-beach tool.
3. J Crew Men’s Irish Linen Shirt – One of my favourite women’s looks that exudes effortless style.
4. J Crew Metallic Foulard Capri – Just the right balance of sass and style.
5. Miu Miu Metalic Sandals – Life is too short for boring sandals.
6. The Cross – My favourite store in Vancouver with the most elegant and rustic housewares.
7. California – One of the most beautiful and exciting places in the world.

xo,
Debra Van Dyke
President and Founder

There’s something new on frilly lilly’s shelves: Empowered By You underwear. This NYC brand caught our eye as the cutest and most comfortable panties we’ve seen in ages. 

The best part? This company is doing serious good in the community. A significant portion of their sales go to microfinance loans that help underprivileged women get on their feet and start businesses of their own. Their goal is to contribute $1 million in microfinancing by 2015. That’s something that our behinds can get behind. 

We’re giving away 5 pairs of Empowered By You underwear. To enter:

*Update: We have selected our winners and notified them via email!*

– Leave a comment on this blog post (1 entry)

and/or

– Tweet the Following (1 entry):

“I entered to win a pair of @empoweredbyyou underwear from @frillylilly http://ow.ly/jFRHN”

We will draw 5 winners on Friday, April 5 at 12pm PST. Winners will be notified via email or Twitter. 

Good luck! xo

Every couple of months, Lisa Colley, one of the creative forces at frilly lilly HQ, gets to dream up the next sensation that will pop up in the window displays at our boutiques. The frilly lilly brand was dreamed up to be whimsical, feminine, and fun, and there’s no shortage of ideas that let us flaunt our girly side. This month’s inspiration? Old fashioned soda shoppes and ice cream parlors. 

For this creation we spent some time with our graphic designer, poking around flea markets, and, of course, rolling up our sleeves for some good old fashioned arts and crafts. 

The result? Welcome to… 

We wanted to take a trip back in time to the sweet and colorful 30’s and 40’s where the ice cream parlor was the neighborhood’s hottest spot and pin-up girls held all the power.

We used antique bowls and jars, pink twine, adorable vintage straws and other vintage finds. Don’t be fooled though, these indulgent displays of our tub-side treats won’t taste as good as they look.