Have you heard about the new social network called Tsu?
Based in New York they launched on Tuesday and have already raised $7 million. This is an invite only social network that will help users get paid to be social. It’s brilliant! Considering the hours spent every day on social media networks, why shouldn’t we get paid for it? We are bombarded by advertisements everywhere and now users can get comfortable and see the worth in viewing those ads. Time will only tell if everyone moves to this social network or at least gives it a try. Some experts are calling this more of a content monetization platform than a social network. It definitely won’t be easy to get people to completely leave their established go-to networks, even if it means getting paid.
So how do you get paid?
Most social networks keep ad revenue for themselves. However, Tsu is saying we want to give to our users. Founder Sebastian Sobczak says Tsu will take 10 percent of the ad revenue it generates and give the other 90 percent back to users. The ad revenue Tsu makes in one day is distributed to users based on how many organic post-views they get during that 24-hour period. The more views and engagement you generate as a user, the larger portion of the pie you get. Celebrities will definitely take majority of the pie but king/queen content creators still get something. Bubblews is a similar platform. Also, think about this, if I earn money from a video I posted and I joined Tsu through you, than you earn one-third of the revenue after Tsu takes a cut.
The platform looks and sort of feels like Facebook, so if you’ve used Facebook before you’ll know how to use Tsu. Don’t worry, you don’t have to juggle all your social networks. Tsu allows you to post to Facebook and Twitter simultaneously, when you post to your Tsu profile page.
“One year ago today I turned on my laptop and decided I was going to share a piece of my world with YOU.”
Our time on earth, well.. we don’t know how long we have. I know, that’s deep of me to say. But think about it. What are you leaving behind? What do YOU want to leave behind? Your knowledge, a product, an invention or an idea? This blog was just the beginning of something. Something that may grow into anything I want it to be. Anything YOU want it to be. If you want, you can look at my blog as an avenue to stay updated to Social Media Marketing, get some style inspiration out of my ‘outfit of the day’ posts or get a chuckle out of how silly I can be on camera talking about beauty products or doing a challenge. Whatever it may be, YOU are the reason my blog is where it is today. YOU motivate me.
It’s hard to believe that my blog has hit that one year mark since I wrote my first post. After launching my blog and hearing great feedback from subscribers, social media followers, friends and family, I thought to myself, I really wish I had created this blog a long time ago! The events I went to, the beauty products I got to try way before the public even knew about them during my beauty advisor days and managing my start-up would’ve made for great posts and knowledge to pass on to my readers. However, aside from the could’ve, should’ve, would’ves this is one of the best things I ever decided to do.
I’ve been blessed with a ‘writer’s block’ free year, and instead a year full of opportunities, collaborations and ideas. I have met some wonderful people who know me through my blog, Instagram or YouTube (you know who you are), and it has motivated me to put out posts that you love to read. I’m confident the second year blogging will be full of kick ass content. So join me and subscribe, follow for updates of whatever I concoct and put up on the web next!
I love them because you have all the colours you need in one organized palette. That’s not always the case, but your go to palettes do have that quality. I have way too many, but I’ve rummaged through them all to pick my TOP 5! They’re in no particular order and I love them all equally. I apologize in advance that 2 out of the 5 you won’t be able to purchase but I had to include them in my TOP 5 or else I’d be lying. Without further ado, let’s get started!
NAKED2
This palette had been launched soon after NAKED1’s success. I personally love NAKED2 more than the first one. I travel with this one every opportunity I get! I feel confident that it won’t break in transit because of the tin case and it has all the colours I would need on a trip. I usually keep my make-up to a bare minimum on trips and use more contouring and highlighting colours from this palette. For an evening look I smoke it up with the matte black.
[Tweet “Naked4 – The Wet and Dry Palette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eelsk3Wt9AQ”]
CARGO – Plant Love
I’ve had this palette for awhile but never opened it and used it. It was like finding treasure! This line of make-up by CARGO has:
No dyes
No Parabens
Not tested on animals
This palette is an all in one. I believe it was never made for retail and was only for the official CARGO make-up artists. During my time with CARGO when they were situated in Toronto I had the pleasure of taking this kit home. How many of you would love a kit like this? It has eyeshadows, blushes, bronzers and pressed powder!
Smashbox Full Exposure
This palette is beautifully divided into two different rows of eyeshadows. One for matte shades and the other for shimmer. What I love about this kit is that it comes with an “eye shape” guide to show you based on your eye shape how to apply the different shapes. You can also learn from this Smashbox video: here
Here’s the swatch of the essential neutrals that can be worn everyday and the shimmers to take you into the evening: (I promise to do better swatches in future reviews!)
QUO
QUO is a Shoppers Drug Mart exclusive brand. Some people usually steer away from drug mart brands but this is one you should definitely give a chance. It’s not in the luxury end of products but some of their products like this eyeshadow palette are a bit more expensive. You pay for the quality that you get! These eyeshadows have so much pigment that you won’t be using much to get its true colour. On a side note, I would be careful with these half spheres, because if you press too hard with your brush or finger the shadow will break. That is the only downfall of this palette.
CARGO – Catwalk
This is a palette that CARGO or another cosmetics company needs to jump on this idea. Palettes with themes are great for seasonal. We see them every season. Summer, winter etc colours all in one palette. What about themes like this for any time of the year?
This catwalk palette has quilted blushes and cute buttons for eye shadows. The magnetic book is perfect for storing and the shadows have rich pigments.
Between Bathurst and Spadina, South of Queen Street is graffiti central.
Living and growing up downtown has given me appreciation for the hustle and bustle of the fashion district. Lunch period during middle school days were spent getting lunch and window shopping. Getting groceries from chinatown was a regular day routine and then Sanderson library. So many memories. The fashion district name derives from this area of downtown Toronto being home to clothing manufacturer businesses back in the day. Just take a look up when you’re shopping in this area and notice the old victorian like roofs on top of most of these stores. Especially standing at the corner of Queen and Spadina.
Other then wholesale, limited edition, vintage and designer shops along this south side stretch of Spadina Ave, you can also take a walk down graffiti central where you’ll see work by Deadboy, Poser, Spud, Fdoe, THINGS and Gregory Alan Elliot to name a few.
Just another day downtown in the neighbourhood I know best.
Social Media has a global reach and trust me when I write this, but there is no room for poor etiquette. Unless you would like to purposely rub your social media image in the dirt. Creating accounts for every popular social media application or website and leaving your accounts dormant, why? Many people do this. They think they need to be on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest and make their accounts, only to never open them again. If that sounds like you, both do your research and learn about each one and their benefits for you personally or your business so you can start using the application to your advantage, or simply just delete the account that you never use.
Some people fail to realize that having a social media account that hasn’t been watered and nurtured into an increasing amount of followers and content can be noticed by your next employer as lazy, careless and forgetful or lack of knowledge for that particular social media program. If you’re in the social media marketing field, then this is a really bad look for you.
Follow these social media etiquette tips and you’ll be on your way to having stellar online manners:
Facebook
[Tweet “#DidYouKnow Canada is the most active country on #Facebook? #SocialMedia”]
You should always Facebook message private matters instead of posting them on a Facebook wall. To some this may be common sense, but common sense isn’t very common to others unfortunately.
It’s okay to update several times a day, but keep at least a few hours of space between each post.
Respond to all comments, especially the rude ones in the nicest manner possible.
You don’t need to like and comment on every post your friends post. You may wander over to ‘stalker status’ in their eyes. Avoid that by being selective of what you like and comment on.
Yes Facebook hashtags do work but they’re not as popular on Facebook as they are on Instagram and Twitter. Limit to one or two if it’s a personal post. Posting to a business page? If they’re relevant hashtags then 4 is a safe number. More than 4 and you risk looking like you’re farming hashtags and don’t really know what the heck you’re doing. This isn’t Instagram people. However, a study done by Edgerank checker in June 2013 showed that posts on Facebook without hashtags were doing better than ones with. Because Facebook hashtags are still fairly new, I would use your own judgement and A/B testing to see what works best.
The number of ‘friends’ you have on Facebook doesn’t mean you’re popular in real-life. It may be true if you actually stay in touch with all 2000 of your facebook friends offline (which would be pretty impressive), but adding strangers doesn’t count. If you know someone through a business relationship then it is always best to add them on LinkedIn where you can keep things professional.
Use the 80/20 rule. 80% information, fun and entertaining posts, 20% of posts geared to a sale or a promotion.
Only ask people to like or share your post if you’re doing a poll.
Use first person plural when posting from a brand/business Facebook page.
Twitter
[Tweet “#DidYouKnow 46% of Twitter users use Twitter at least once a day? #SocialMedia”]
Hashtag was born on Twitter. Use relevant and popular hashtags on Twitter and you’re on your way to looking like a pro. Don’t use too many hashtags. (Side Note: A hashtag immediately expands the reach of your tweet beyond just those who follow you, to reach anyone interested in that hashtag phrase or keyword.)
Respond to comments and questions on Twitter right away. Twitter is a Social Media site that moves really fast in real time. Your answer may not matter in a few hours or tomorrow.
Don’t be afraid to favourite tweets you really like. Especially the tweets that you wouldn’t want to re-tweet because it’s not a tweet that your audience would really engage or relate too. If you’re managing a business/brand Twitter page then be careful what you favourite. Sensitive subjects like war, politics or competitor tweets can anger or confuse your followers.
Avoid sharing too much personal information. In recent studies it was shown that more recruiters are using Twitter to find talent and to find more information about you. 69% HR departments use Twitter and to assist with the recruitment process.
Check out this video from 2012. Social recruiting has become a lot more popular with more brands that have jumped on board in the last two years with recruiting twitter accounts like BCBG (@BCBGcareers), Disney (@TWDCjobs), Google (@Googlejobs) and more.
Don’t use all 140 characters. You still need room for people to re-tweet and add comments if need be.
You don’t have to follow back every person that follows you. Follow back if you actually DO want to follow their tweets. What do they tweet about? Is it something you may want to re-tweet or gain information from? Which brings me to my next point, don’t follow people to gain follow backs. When you do unfollow them, they will unfollow as well.
Google+
[Tweet “There are 63% Male users on Google+ and 37% Female. #SocialMedia “]
Always +mention users when commenting under their posts. This will allow for them to receive a notification and it will also direct your comment to the right person. It can get confusing when there are so many comments under the same post.
When you like something, like a comment someone made: +1 it.
Hitting the +1 on someone’s comment is a good way of saying, “I Agree”. You can +1 your own posts as well. Of course you love your own post, than why else would you post it? I feel most comfortable doing this on Google+ but I definitely wouldn’t like my own personal Facebook posts or Tweets. It just doesn’t feel right.
If you’re sharing someone else’s work, mention them in your post. Everyone wants to be appreciated or thanked for their work.
After you have +1’ed something, if you want to engage more, then add a comment. You may get into an interesting conversation and make a new friend. Yes, it’s okay to add someone who isn’t your real-life friend on Google+. The beauty of Google+ is that you can put them in circles (groups) that don’t share personal posts that you may only want to share with friends and family.
When you share a post, always add your own commentary to it first.
When someone shares your post, thank them.
If you’ve made mistakes in your post or forgot to add something then make sure you go back to edit it QUICKLY. This way, people aren’t sharing your posts with typos or missing information.
You can format your posts on Google+, so take advantage of that and make your posts intriguing by bolding or underlining words that will make your post stand out.
Add hashtags to your post. They are also automatically added to your post based on your content. (smart program). You can also add hashtags in your comments as well which is great!
Instagram
[Tweet “Instagram is about sharing a story. Create your own theme and stick to it. Consistent content.”]
If you’re a business, don’t use hashtags like #tagsforlikes, #doubletap, #likeforlike etc as it can look very unprofessional asking people for likes.
Posting with hours gap, minimum 4 hours is perfect for Instagram. Don’t over-gram, because no one wants to see their feed filled up with one users posts. That’s what Facebook photo albums are for.
If you want more engagement with your pictures, then you need to engage more with other peoples images. It’s only fair. If someone likes your picture or takes time to comment, it’s common courtesy to reply to the comment and take the time to check out their Instagram story.
[Tweet “#DidYouKnow interactions are highest on #Instagram posts with 11+ hashtags?”]
Quit using #too #many #hashtags! It’s not okay if your hashtags are exceeding a paragraph. Which also means it’s not cool and doesn’t work when you hashtag every other word in your caption.
Using unrelated hashtags under your image is confusing. Use hashtags that are related and save that #justinbieber tag for when you actually post and image of him.
The long hashtag can be funny or done totally wrong and not be readable because it’s all in lower case and just way too long.
#walkedthecattodayandsawanothercatthatlookedlikemycatandthoughtholycatmans or #IdenticalCatSoTrippy (along with the two cats side by side pic) See.
LinkedIn
[Tweet “#DidYouKnow there are 120 million users using #LinkedIn daily?”]
There’s an option on LinkedIn to update your status with images, links etc. Kind of like Facebook. But for LinkedIn keep it professional and only post things that are ‘industry specific’.
Recently I’ve been noticing a lot of ladies complain about being asked out on dates or asked questions through in mail for their email addresses because the male ‘professional’ is ‘interested’ in them. I’ve experienced this myself and quite frankly it’s messed up. LinkedIn is a professional networking site where you can connect with similar industry people. It’s a site to help you get up the career ladder, find jobs, connect with recruiters. It is not a dating site.
If a connection who has worked with you in the past recommends you. Take the time to write them a recommendation back. Same goes for when you’re endorsed for a skill.
Don’t obsessively look at someone’s profile, it’s very unprofessional and they can see that you’ve looked.
Starting your message to someone with “I see you viewed my profile..” is not a good idea. Sending them a personalized connection request is fine.
If you have any etiquette tips please leave a comment.
Watermelon isn’t only made up of water and sugar. It also provides a high amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
What better way to say farewell to the summer weather in Toronto then with a smoothie like this. What a short lived season we had, but that’s not new for us Torontonians.
One evening I had a really bad headache and truth be told, I don’t like taking any kind of medication for it. Instead I did some research on possible causes and solutions. BINGO! Dehydration is a major cause of headaches and this fruit is a great solution since it’s 91% water.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup of watermelon
1 frozen banana
1 peeled green apple
Purée watermelon in blender. You can strain the slush or leave it as is. Add the watermelon back into the blender with the banana and apple. Blend.
It’s been a great weekend with wonderful summer weather, but before this weekend I bet you couldn’t help but notice the leaves falling off trees. Fall is coming close and the summer season is ending in Toronto. This is the perfect fall inspired recipe for French toast. I think of Fall with the mention of apple pie, apples dipped in caramel, baked apples. YUM!
Did you know French toast was not invented in France.
French toast was around before France even existed. The exact origin of French toast is actually unknown.
French Toast
Ingredients
2 gala apples, peeled and sliced 3 eggs 4 tablespoons brown sugar, divided use 1 cup of cream cheese 2 ½ tablespoons powdered sugar; extra for sprinkling over top 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla emulsion (or extract) 2 tablespoons butter a pinch ground cinnamon ½ cup whipped cream Maple-Syrup 4 slices of Italian multi-grain bread (or whatever bread you prefer. The thicker the better)
*This will feed 4 people if each person is having 1 slice of bread.
Prep cream cheese filling:
Add cream cheese, the 2 ½ tablespoons of powdered sugar and ¼ teaspoon of the vanilla emulsion to a bowl and using a hand mixer or kitchen aid mixer, blend until creamy.
Caramelized apples:
Place a large frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter has melted, add apples and sauté them for 3 mins. Apples should be soft and light brown. This is when you can add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Sauté them for another 2 minutes. Add water as desired for a more syrup like texture. Put into a bowl and keep them warm. Maybe in the microwave.
French toast prep:
Whisk together the eggs, whipped cream, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and the 1 teaspoon of vanilla emulsion until well blended.
Place a large frying pan over medium heat and rub a stick of butter in the hot pan. Dip a bread slice into the batter and coat both sides. Add it to the hot buttered pan and allow it to brown for about 3 minutes per side. Keep each slice when done in the oven so it stays warm until you’re done all the slices.
Putting it altogether:
Place one slice of French toast onto a plate, spread on a couple of tablespoons of the cream cheese; add caramelized apples over the cream cheese. Put another slice of French toast on top and add a dash of powdered sugar on top with your preferred amount of maple syrup.
This is the easiest and most delicious salmon you’ll ever make!
I bought my salmon with it already sitting in marinade which made the process of putting together this recipe a lot faster. I bought mine from Loblaws. If you’d like to try your own home made marinade then try this quick recipe for jerk marinade: here. Rice and vegetables are the best sides for this main dish as the fish can be very filling on its own.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Brush fish evenly on both sides with olive oil and salt and pepper on the flesh side.
3. Place fish into pan, flesh side down and allow to cook for approx. 5 mins. Flip fish to the skin side and put into preheated oven. Cook for about 12 mins.
During the weekend if you don’t have anywhere to go that calls for formal, semi-formal or even business casual then believe me, I’m going towards an outfit like this.
Easily transformed into dressed up and to walking down town Toronto streets. With a change of shoes I was ready for both in my black and white swizzle wear.
Don’t let the height of these wedges fool you. They’re really comfortable! I would suggest if you’re purchasing anything from this on-line store, purchase half a size or one size up. They’re not true to size and fit a bit snug. I’ve always found wedges to be a lot easier to walk in than skinny stilettos. It’s just a matter of finding the right design. As most wedges are not very..erm…fashionably pleasing?
Sweatpants Jogger Cut – UB, similar here
Shirt – HM
Wedges & Purse – Shoedazzle
Necklace – Forever21
Sunglasses – Marc Jacobs
