All Posts By

Kelsey Dundon

Beauty | Painting Leopard Print Nail Art, Step by Step (Oooh Baby!)

A manicure by Christina Culver at Beauty Mark isn’t really a manicure at all — it’s more like watching her transform the tips of your fingers into tiny little canvasses. Here, the nail artist takes us step by step through vibrant leopard print nail art, which is something you just might be able to replicate because the whole point is to get all Jackson Pollock-y.

So how does she do it? These four easy(ish) steps…

1. Like any manicure, start with a base coat (you have no idea how long it took me to realize that this is the key to long-lasting nail colour — I use Revlon’s Quick Dry Base Coat at home). Then pick your bright. I chose Butter London’s Come to Bed Red, but a bold pink or blue would look smashing too.

2. Start your leopard spots, painting them randomly on each nail — two on one nail, three on another, four on another, etc. They trick is to make sure you vary the size and shape of the spots so you avoid a matchy-matchy look (“There are stickers for that,” Culver says). The silver she used is Tart with a Heart.

3. Layer more colours in the same family, like West End Wonderland, Diamond Geezer, and The Full Monty. Again, make sure you vary the size, shape and number of the spots.

4. Transform the spots into dots with thin sweeps of black polish, like Union Jack Black.

Add a top coat (I love Deborah Lippmann’s Addicted to Speed Ultra-Quick Dry Top Coat) et voila! Juicy nails!

Thanks again, Christina!

P.S. Put those beautiful nails to the test and follow The Anthology on Facebook and @TheAnthology.

P.P.S. You know what I did after Christina painted my nails? Climbed a via ferrata and they didn’t even chip(!).

August 15, 2012 by

Art & Design | Play of Sunlight

I love this shot, taken in Ukraine by fashion photographer Aleksandra. And the more I looked at it the more I realized it reminded me of something.

Play of Sunlight, a bromide print by American photographer Louis Fleckenstein circa 1912, at the Museum of Photographic Arts. The mood of each shot is so similar, no?

They make me want to put on an ankle-length dress and go chill in a field with the sunlight in my hair. Want to come with?

August 14, 2012 by

Pinstagram | Flower Power, Poodles and Monarchs

The Anthology’s Pinstagram column brings together highlights from Kelsey Dundon’s Pinterest and Instagram feeds. In other words, the dream and the reality.

Flower power on my desk + a flower-powerful fashion editorial.

Bedazzled earrings from H&M + a bejeweled poodle.

Criss-crossed lights at Phantogram’s recent Vancouver show (love them!) + a criss-crossed dress.

An anchor befitting the navy (shot near Vancouver’s Waldorf Hotel) + a navy blue-clad monarch.

My summer reading (nerd alert! I’m currently working my way through Game of Thrones) + a summer reader.

Windswept trees on the side of the Sea to Sky Highway (en route to Whistler) + windswept hair.

P.S. Follow Kelsey Dundon on Pinterest and Instagram, or if you prefer a more traditional route, follow The Anthology on Facebook and @TheAnthology.

August 13, 2012 by

Trippin’ | Climbing Whistler’s Via Ferrata

I’m no rock-climber, but when you scale a via ferrata you don’t need to be. What you do need to be is willing to face your fear of heights. I climbed one with Whistler Guides the other weekend (read my recap on Vitamin Daily riiiiiiiight here.) and although this route wasn’t quite as terrifying as the via ferrata I climbed in the Rockies last summer, it seriously tested my resolve to reach the peak without taking the chairlift.

Boy, does it make you feel hardcore. See that pole falling sticking out of my backpack in the photo above? That’s an ice axe.

P.S. You know what else I had in my backpack? My tweet machine so follow The Anthology on Facebook and @TheAnthology.

August 13, 2012 by

Workspace | Justine Brooks, Jewelry Designer

The Anthology’s Workspace column takes us inside the creative spaces of some very creative people.

A Torontonian turned Vancouverite turned world traveller, Justine Brooks searches far and wide for inspiration for her jewelry, which she crafts by hand out of gold and silver. In her own words, the award-winning jewelry designer shares her workspace, her works in progress and her favourite places to work very, very remotely…

1. My torch. This is where all the magic happens. I love working with the flame, especially watching the solder (which bonds the silver/ metal together) run. The jeweler’s torch is very precise and  I love how specifically you can focus the heat. [Ed – you’ll find her seahorse necklace on Etsy.]

2. A lot of my favourite things/inspiration actually come from outside the studio. For my Jb Rocks beaded line, I spend a lot of time travelling the globe buying precious stones.

3. The big red tumbler (which polishes jewelry) is also a favorite. I love how shiny things are when they come out. It’s like magic. You put something in with a matte surface and within a few hours it’s as shiny as can be!

4. Fall’s new Dragon Fly necklace in progress and in its finished form.

By the way, the designer, who has a serious case of wanderlust, uses the wunderlist app (fitting!) to keep track of her to-do list on her iPhone.

P.S. I think you’ll like Justine’s nature-themed jewelry. Take a look.

P.P.S. Check out the first post in the Workspace column and find out how Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess smells when she blogs. Click through the second post to find out where Anya Georgijevic of I’m the It Girl started her footwear obsession. And find out how Kumiko Ide of Tribal DDB keeps her workspace fresh to death.

August 8, 2012 by

Diary | Trekking Through the Kelowna Wine Trails, part deux

The Vibrant Vine isn’t your average winery. For one thing, they hand you 3D glasses the minute you walk in their tasting room. For another, their grape-pickers double as lunchtime musicians. And — my personal favourite — they have a vineyard frisbee golf course, where a few of my errant shots trimmed the vines.

At the Vibrant Vine, we shot part two of the Wine Trails series I hosted for Tourism Kelowna and Vitamin Daily (you’ll find a behind-the-scenes recap here). When we were taping the final scene of my psychedelic trip, proprietor Tony Lewis donned an, um, vintage costume (wine pun!) and I had NO idea.

Still had no idea.

Finally turned around and found out just how seriously they take their wine at the Vine.

Watch the clip to see how it all played out. Bonus: you’ll also find out how many Ogopogo puns you can fit into one Kelowna-themed video…

Thanks for having me, Tourism Kelowna, Vitamin Daily and Vibrant Vine! Thanks again, Bent Matter Productions!

P.S. Put on your 3D glasses and follow The Anthology on Facebook and @TheAnthology.

P.P.S. Watch the first instalment of the series at Summerhill Pyramid Winery here.

August 7, 2012 by

Trippin’ | Sunning Myself on BC’s Sunshine Coast

White sand beaches are nice and all, but I’d take a rocky coast any day. I love the dramatic waterfront of Hvar, Croatia, Antalya, Turkey and, a little closer to home, Egmont, BC, where I spent the other weekend on a cliff overlooking a fjord (that’s the view from my balcony in the photo above).

My favourite thing about the West Coast Wilderness Lodge where I stayed (aside from the fact that I was the first person to stay in my brand new room)? No cell reception, no internet —  just huckleberries that match my nail polish (Trout Pout by Butter London) and a nearby bake shop that serves killer freshly baked cinnamon buns.

Oh, and also the photo booth that was brought in for the wedding I attended there (congratulations Nadia and Jamie!). Like stunning coastlines, I can never get enough of those things.

P.S. While you still have an internet connection, follow The Anthology on Facebook and @TheAnthology!

August 2, 2012 by

Thank you | Indulge Magazine

Thank you, Indulge Magazine, for calling yours truly “Vancouver’s favourite fashionista.” I’m a big fan of yours too!

You’re the best, Sarah!

August 2, 2012 by

Diary | Vintage Chanel at Secret Location

Photographer Trevor Brady snapped some gorgeous shots at Secret Location’s vintage Chanel party. Like the one above where I’m concentrating so hard on that little photo I’m snapping I didn’t even notice he was snapping one of me. (Snap out of it, Kelsey!)

My perforated leather dress is by Literature Noir, suede shoes by Elizabeth and James, hairband by Deepa Gurnani (at Libertine), my eel skin clutch is vintage. On my ladyfriend Laura (on the left) is a pleated drop-waist dress by Rag and Bone and shoes by Alexander Wang.

Thanks, Michelle, for sending these shots my way!

[Photos by Trevor Brady]

P.S. Snap to it and follow Kelsey Dundon on Instagram.

August 1, 2012 by