Screen handle:  Toronto Beauty Reviews (TOBeautyReviews)

Website: www.torontobeautyreviews.com

Where are you based? Toronto

Why did you start your site?

I first started a petite style site to get advice from other petites.  I then started a beauty reviews site to help my (Avon) customers and to share my love of all things beauty.  I decided to merge the two in Spring of 2011.

How long have you been blogging?

Just over a year!

What kind of impact do you think bloggers have made in the style industries, if at all? 

I think bloggers make a big impact on their readers, who, afterall are consumers.  The industry seems to be paying attention since some companies such as Coach and MAC have collaborated with bloggers.  There also seems to be regular features on bloggers in main stream magazines such as LouLou here in Canada.

Have you seen changes over the past few years? 

I can’t really say if I’ve seen changes to blogging or the industry in the past few years since I’m relatively new to the blog world myself.  In the past year I have seen bloggers just enter the scene and “explode” in popularity which I find amazing!  Wendy of Wendy’s Lookbook comes to mind.

Who influences you the most in style? 

I would have to say that other bloggers and regular people I see out on the street influence my style the most.  I don’t really relate to fashion magazines – I think they are too fashion forward for me!  I enjoy seeing clothes and outfits styled by “regular” people and not by editorial stylist and models because the clothes I wear have to work for my lifestyle.

What piece of clothing/beauty item can’t you live without? 

I don’t think I could live with out a cardigan or a blazer.  I get cold really easily and a cardigan/blazer is perfect for keeping warm but also for dressing up any outfit.  As for beauty item, I would have to say mineral powder with good coverage.  I unfortunately do not have perfect skin and a simple product like this really helps to even out the skin tone.

Online shopping or brick-and-mortar stores? 

This is tough.  Probably just over a year ago I would have said brick-and-mortar but online shopping is just so convenient and stores usually have more size options available online.   I also used to love shopping but now that I’m pickier about what I buy shopping just seems overwhelming and it takes up so much time!  The exception to this is when I’m on vacation.  I love setting aside a couple of entire days just for shopping!

If there’s one thing you can change about the “real” industry, what would it be? 

I would love to see more diversity in models in terms of not only ethnicity, body shape and height but age as well.  I get sad when I see a 15 year old made up to look like she’s in her mid 20s and seeing 20 year olds that are “too old” for the business.  As I get older I would love to see more women that look like me! It’s all about who I can relate to, and for me personally that would be someone who is Asian, in her 30s with adult acne prone skin and petite in height and frame!

Anything else you’d like to add? 

I believe it’s important to speak out about the lack of diversity in the fashion industry however I think it should also be done in a positive way.  The fact is that change is always slow to happen and I think the key to getting people to start paying attention and listening is get them to see that the market for diversity is…well…diverse!  There will always be people out there that don’t see certain issues (example height) as a problem but I hope bringing attention to these issues is always done in a positive manner.  Often, aggressiveness and negativity can cause people to look the other way thus making the change and awareness even slower to occur.