Archive for May, 2012

En Francias SVP | LA VIE ME SOURIT

Tout a commence lorsque j’ai quitte mon ile aux fleurs, après mon BAC, pour vivre a 8000 km de ma famille et mes amis en direction de la France pour poursuivre mes études.

Vous me direz sans doute que je suis inconsciente de laisser le sable blanc, les cocotiers, l’eau turquoise et un soleil intercalant toute l’année.

Certes, je vous l’accorde, mais je ne suis pas si depaysée que cela, car mon nouveau chez moi ce trouve a Nice. Et oui! Sur la Cote d’azur! Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas, c’est dans le sud de la France, a 1h de Cannes ou se déroule le fameux Festival de Cannes.

Donc qu’en pensez-vous? Je suis toujours farfelue? Personnellement, je pense que non !

Arrivée a Nice, J’ai intégrer mon école de Commerce International, j’ai emménagé dans ma nouvelle maison et bien sur je me suis fait des journées shopping.

Il faut bien s’équiper pour les quatre saisons!! Tout se déroulait comme sur des roulettes.

Mais l’aventure ne s’arrêta pas la, car lors de ma rentrée une nouvelles changea ma vie. Mon départ pour Toronto pendant 2 mois pour travailler dans l’incroyable agence Brill Communications en tant que stagiaire.

Franchement, il n’y a pas mieux, que de travailler dans cette agence quand vous aimez la mode et l’événementiel, et l’ambiance y est a son comble.

Cependant, il y a aussi le plaisir. L’une de mes premières visite a été la ‘’CN Tower”. Cette tour est incroyable. Arrivée au sommet, nous avons une vue majestueuse sur toute la ville. Je vous conseille d’y aller si votre destination est celle ci, vous ne serez pas déçu.

Sur ce, je vous promets que l’aventure continue et puis pourquoi pas rester ici.

Brill Picks | 50 shades of Grey

Kate, our resident book-junkie is always making sure that we’re on top of the latest trends in must-read fiction. But no recommendation of hers has been as enjoyable, steamy and kept us in the know at as many out-of-office convos, as her suggestion (i.e. forceful push) for us to read “Fifty Shades of Grey”. For those of you who live under a rock, the erotic fiction trilogy is a #1 New York Times Best-Seller and is now in talks to be made into a movie. Naturally, that got the Brill ladies talking about who we think should be cast as the infamous Christian Grey.

Here’s who we think could fill the role:
Matt Bomer

No shades of grey here – we all unanimously agree he’d be a shoe-in. Square jaw, light eyes and the first picture we find is all CEO-looking in a suit?! Coincidence? We think not.

 Eric Winter

With a darker-do than he normally sports, there’s no doubt he has the charm, and incredibly good looks, to embody Mr. Grey.

Ian Somerhalder

Young? check. Smoldering gaze? check. No stranger to rocking a suit? Check, check, check.

 Colin Eggelsfield

Okay, he’s got the look. But are his acting chops up to the challenge?

Armie Hammer

He’s got the businessman look about him for sure, but there was some office discussion (Lisa) on whether he’s bad boy enough.

Jesse Williams


Okay, so this may be Michelle’s personal fantasy but with all that money maybe Christian Grey just came back from vacation. And boy does he look good in a suit.

Tweet us your top Fifty Shades of Grey cast picks, and let us know what you think of ours @brillcomm.

Till next time,

the brill team

 

 

ECCO shoes hit the Airwaves

Here at the Brill Building we are constantly talking about music, songs we love, songs we can’t stand, songs that remind us of those special moments in our lives that we never want to forget.  So imagine our surprise when listening to the radio we hear our client ECCO shoes mentioned in Grammy award winning band Train’s new single “Mermaid”.  Way to go ECCO you’ve made it to the airwaves!

Want to check it out for yourself?  Listen around the 2:00 minute mark you’ll hear dreamy Patrick Monahan croon “I love ECCO sandals on ya”

YouTube Preview Image

Until next time,

-the brill team

Brill Travels | New York City | Michelle

My recent weekend jaunt to The Big Apple got the Brill office chatting about why we really love NY. Even with all of us being repeat visitors, there never seems to be a shortage of things to do in the city that never sleeps…

If you’re travelling with someone who’s never been like I was, a desire for sightseeing is understandable. Something that even frequent visitors may not yet have seen is the 9/11 memorial site. This piece of history pays homage to the men and women who lost their lives, and is home to twin reflecting pools engraved with the names of everyone lost in the attacks. Times Square is an obvious must see – it’s free, fun and offers retail therapy options. Plus, you never know who you’ll bump into – for us, Taye Diggs. Swoon.

Food and hotel can make or break any trip, but our accommodations at the W on Lexington did not disappoint. Beautiful suite, central location and complimentary Bliss Spa products (yay!) had us considering staying an extra night. A hop and a skip away from the hotel is Lexington Brass which offered a great eggs bene brunch, and Café Duke is a small lunch spot that provided a quick break from Soho’s amazing shopping. Most notable, and worth a short trek to Brooklyn, is Grimaldi’s Pizzeria – supposedly the best pizza in New York. Let’s just say, we weren’t mad that you can only buy by the pie. Brooklyn’s Ice Cream Factory isn’t far off, and while you wait you can get a great photo-op of the Brooklyn Bridge. But you probably won’t want to leave it until right before your flight like we did because you can bet you will be waiting.

Lastly, what girls’ weekend is complete without a little nightlife? Stops at the Gansevoort Rooftop (gorgeous) and a few other spots around the Meat Packing District were trip highlights. Greenhouse housed our last-night-in-town fete, and with fellow party goers Rihanna and FloRida we were in good company.

 

What’s your favourite weekend getaway destination?

Tweet us @BrillComm and let us know.

Until next time,

-the brill team

Brill About Town | Toronto | La Societe

New to the Mink Mile of the Bloor strip, La Societe has made a name for itself, not only because of its exceptional decor, cuisine, and drinks- the ambience, staff, and owner all lend to the success of the restaurant. Charles Khabouth’s upscale French bistro can lend the sense of being in Paris or can serve the sole purpose of some good people watching.

The restaurants boasts more than 300 seats and during the warmer months the two patios add more space for sit down meals or after work drinks. Once inside, it’s hard not to be impressed by the hand crafted stained glass ceiling installed during the pricey renovation. The black and white tiled floors against the deep burgundy booths with brass finishing are truly reminiscent of Parisian bistros.

With an expansive menu of traditional French fare, such as steak frites, lobster bisque, oyster platters, and duck confit, it is difficult to settle on what to pick, but the servers give their honest and helpful opinions on what to choose according to our moods. Beside the focus on seafood and meat, they have several vegetarian options that were all fantastic. Even with the large crowd, our servers were quick to fill our table with food and drinks. Several people at the table ordered truffle macaroni and cheese along with sides of glazed baby vegetables and herbs or sweet beets with aged balsamic. The rest of us focused on meat and seafood, and to say the least we were all pleased with our lamb, scallops, and steak tartar. Overall, the staff was very helpful: quick to see when our glasses were empty, when plates needed clearing, but not hovering in our booth.

With their fantastic brunch, dinner, daily specials, and wine list, La Societe will keep us coming back for more>

Have you been to La Societe? Tweet us @brillcomm and let us know.

Until next time,

-the brill team

Summer Trend – The High-Low Skirt

One of the hottest spring/summer trends of 2012 is the high-low skirt. With a hemline that’s higher in the front than it is in the back, many have begun referring to this hot trend as the “mullet-skirt” as the style seems to mimic the 80′s classic business-in-the-front-party-in-the-back hairstyle. Available in a variety of lengths and fabrics, the high-low skirt is not only perfect for spring and summer, but these skirts are also extremely versatile and make for great transitional pieces all the way into Fall.

Our personal favorite is the maxi length, where the hemline is brought up just enough in the front to show off the cute shoes you’ve decided to pair with it. This look is great with a stylish, slouchy summer sweater and flats or booties, providing a chic and casual day look. These skirts can just as easily be dressed up for evening by throwing on a pair of hot heels and trading that sweater for a cute tank and some chunky accessories.

We have yet to pick which one (or 5) will be our high-low skirt of choice: will it be a maxi length? A midi? Lace? Crochet? Solid ? Patterned ? With so many choices and varieties, it’s going to be a difficult decision, but luckily, it looks as though this skirt trend isn’t leaving any time soon!

What do you think about the high-low skirt trend?  Tweet us @brillcomm and let us know.

Until next time,

-the brill team

Fashion Bulletin: Met Gala Best Dressed

The Met Gala: considered by many to be the Oscars of the fashion world and arguably one of  fashions most decadent events of the year.  This year’s theme was “Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations” featuring the works of the legendary Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada.  Most celebs brought their A-game making it incredibly difficult to pick our faves but somehow we managed.

Here are our picks for best dressed:

Desia: Hostess Anna Wintour in Prada

Lisa: Karlie Kloss in Jason Wu

Kate: Giselle Bundchen in Givenchy

 

Michelle: Emily Blunt in Calvin Klein

Jessica: Eva Mendes in Prada

Stephanie: Camilla Belle in Ralph Lauren

Who did you think was best dressed last night?  Tweet us @brillcomm and let us know.

Cheers,

-the brill team

 

Win a handbag a day with DANIER

Starting May 7th DANIER is offering the chance to win a handbag a day (a dream come true ladies, am I right?)  All you have to do is visit www.danier.com everyday to see which of the season’s  stylish bags is up for grabs and enter for your chance to win.

Good Luck,

-the brill team

 

En Francais SVP | Trouver un appartement dans une nouvelle ville

Comme vous le savez, je suis nouvelle à Toronto et jusqu’à présent, je n’avais pas encore songé à me trouver un appartement. J’habitais chez des amis. Mais maintenant que la situation est plus stable, je suis présentement en recherche intensive d’un chez moi. Je dois dire que ce n’est pas de tout repos.

Premièrement, quand on est dans une ville qu’on ne connait pas beaucoup, il est difficile de vraiment savoir ce que l’on veut et surtout ou chercher.

J’ai alors commencé à regarder plusieurs quartiers tels que la Petite Italie, Trinity Bellwoods, Lakeshore, Yonge & St-Clair ou encore mon endroit préféré, le St Lawrence Market.

J’avoue que j’ai encore beaucoup de chemin à faire avant de trouver la perle rare mais au moins, ça me fait découvrir la ville et toutes ces immenses rues que je ne connaissais pas.

Voici en photos les différents quartiers que j’ai pu découvrir lors de ma première chasse aux appartements.

Si vous avez des suggestions, n’hésitez pas J

@Brillcomm