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True story: I once got effed by someone on craigslist selling what I believed at the time to be an authentic designer handbag. I paid $300 and when I found it was a fake, I tried to return it to my shady seller, but found myself face to face with her scary boyfriend, who told me that I “got what I paid for” and it wasn’t his fault I couldn’t afford a real bag. Needless to say, things got messy and I ended up broke and feeling like an idiot.

Judging by all the teenage girls toting obviously fake Louis Vuitton and Chanel Cambons around downtown, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who this has happened to, so I want to share my tips for not getting screwed out of your cash when looking for a new summer bag.

If you’re thinking of buying a purse online, here are a few things to watch out for.

- Claims like “I got this as a gift” and “It’s my sister’s and I’m selling it for her. She has so many bags!” are red flags. First of all, who turns down a designer gift, and second, this allows the seller to claim ignorance on the authenticity of the bag. “I think it’s real. I got it as a birthday present.” LIES.

- If the seller straight up tells you they are unsure if the bag is fake or not, it is, and they know that.

- If the price seems to goo to be true, it probably is. Designer bags don’t go down in value. A Chanel 2.55 that was $2500 5 years ago is still going to be worth $2500 today. Even if a bag is for sale for $300, be wary.

- Request a serial number and run it against a list of known fakes. “Serial number on tag matches one on card” does not guarantee the bag is authentic.

and finally…
- “100% authentic leather Fendi handbag” What’s wrong with this sentence? It says “authentic leather” and not “authentic Fendi.” This is a nasty trick I’ve seen on a few craigslist postings. Watch out.

Have you ever been tricked into buying a fake bag?

I’m not one to complain about the personal hygiene of others. Myself, I have been known to oh, forget when my last shower was, or say, sleep in my clothes after a full day’s wear and then wear them again the day after.  But let me stress that this is rare, and despite my tendencies, I’ve never been mistaken for a homeless person.

Today, a young woman toting several plastic bags and a bird’s nest of a do stumbled on to the bus and sat down next to me. I hate riding the bus for this specific reason - homeless and or crazy people sitting next to me. They smell and they stare directly at you. I was uncomfortable.

Then she pulled out an iPhone. Crap. Hipster! This was no hobo, it was a well-off, poorly dressed, unwashed West Side hipster. I hate this town sometimes.

So my tip of the day? Please wash your hair so you don’t look like a homeless person. AND onesies are for babies, wear some freakin pants.

West Coasters know, Cowichan sweaters are hot or more precisely, warm.  The current Vancouver uniform consists of these, American Apparel leggings and a Coach hobo swung over your shoulder.  They’re stylish without being frumpy, and unlike their authentic counterparts, the Vancouver based TNA made in China variety fits great, flattering all figures.  But there are a few things you need to know…

1. Don’t ever wash wool.  It stinks, like badly.  Have you ever gotten a hug from a wet sheep?  Well it’s pretty much like that.  If you spill on your Cowi, suck it up and take it to a dry cleaners.

2. Don’t put it in the dryer.  Wool shrinks.  Who knew?

3. If you accidentally washed your wool sweater and now it stinks like ass… let the sweater dry flat.  Then give it a few sprits of extra strength Febreze all over.  Next, you’re going to stick it in the dryer for a maximum of 10 minutes, no more.  This should let the Febreze dry into the fabric and take out most of the stink.

Save time in the morning!  Expholiate your lips with your toothbrush while you’re brushing your teeth.

I live at home, but I spend most of my nights sleeping at my boyfriend’s apartment (okay its the spare room in his mom’s basement).  Usually I head home in the mornings before I go to work or go run errands to wash up and put on my makeup, but sometimes I just don’t have time.

So what I decided to do was pack up the good makeup that I don’t wear anymore (usually just because I bought some new stuff) and keep the stash at my boyfriend’s pad for those days when I just don’t have time to come home first.  I try to keep it light with just some Chanel powder foundation, Benefit Thrrrob blush, theBalm concealer and Benefit Bad Gal Lash.  I also keep few perfume samples over there as well.

If you’re nervous about applying liquid eyeliner, try applying it over top of pencil eyeliner.

First apply the pencil liner and smudge it a bit to thicken it up as well as soften it.  Then apply a thin line of liquid liner over top very close to the lash line.  The softer pencil liner will hide any visible unevenness and shakiness in the liquid and also provide a cool and very flattering soft gradient effect around your eye.