I’ve been off my workout game for more than a year. Except for about a week in which I managed to hit the gym three out of what was supposed to be five times, I’ve essentially hit atrophied mode. So am I going to jump out of bed at the crack of daylight for out-in-the-open pushups, planks and running led by a barking-orders fitness drill sergeant? No freakin’ way. I need to hide my wimpy self in the safety of the small gym I’ve been paying for the last 13 months. But my friend Lesa, Beauty Editor at Fashion, is bolder than I am. She enlisted in the Best Body Bootcamp to whip her post-baby bod back into shape. Tracking her progress makes me think maybe… maybe.

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The new recruit
Forget thighs or butt—post-30, my battle is with my paunch. I’m like an old man—every ounce of excess immediately heads there to squat. I know I can beat it—two years ago, I totally kicked its ass. Then I had a baby. Amazingly, the calories I expended from breastfeeding (500 a day—yes!) got me down to a size that was slimmer than my pre-pregnancy shape. But when I returned to work and weaned my daughter, that blissful burn waned. Oh, and I’ve never really met a chocolate chip cookie I didn’t like. Welcome back, belly.

Now that I have a toddler, the only choice I have is to work out at lunch. And while I’ve been successful in getting there a few times a week, I feel like my efforts are in vain. You know those articles aimed at moms that say even picking up toys or doing housework counts?  It doesn’t. At least not enough. So when our health editor, Rani Sheen, mentioned how after a friend of hers signed up for Best Body Bootcamp (bestbodybootcamp.com), which offers sessions across Toronto, she had increased energy and her ass started to lift, I was ready to sign on the dotted line. Best Body Bootcamp, I’m ready for you to help me get mine….

Week one

Monday: It’s freezing, making the fact that I’m up and at a park at 5:30 a.m. even more torturous. Today the focus is on measuring and assessing our current (pathetic) state. Most people hate this kind of thing, but I’m all over it. I want to know where I stand. It’s also essential to record these numbers for comparison at the end of the four-week session ($225). Our coach, Michael, is so not a drill sergeant. Quite the opposite—he’s super laid back, and seems almost fearful of upsetting the all-female group at such an ungodly hour, especially since we’re being weighed. He tells us we don’t have to measure anything we don’t want to, but dammit, I need to know. When it comes time to weigh in, I’m probably the only one suitably bummed that the body fat percentage feature on the scale isn’t working. Weigh-in is followed by a fitness test, which assesses our strength by making us hold certain positions until failure. When all is said and done, there’s about 20 minutes left and we do a small workout. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to be done by 7a.m.

Wednesday: The grass is slick and there are jerks who don’t pick up their dog’s poo, so I have to keep an eye out when we’re made to run laps around the park. Today the focus is legs, interspersed with bursts of cardio. After a series of exercises, Michael tells us to run a lap to “cool down,” which sounds counterintuitive. I’m just sayin’. The next day I confer with my friend Katherine, who’s just reached the four-week mark in her own boot camp. She’s lost a total of 11 inches. I feel hopeful, in spite of the fact that I still have a muffin top. She relates that she didn’t notice any changes until week three. Patience…

Friday: Using resistance bands, we focus on shoulders and back. Easy enough. The harder part is all the variations of push-ups Michael makes us do: prison cell, military, and staggered-hand/stacked-foot. You can’t help but say “omigod” after he demonstrates each one. Seriously, they look insane. I manage to make it through them, always envisioning a slimmer me for motivation. The whole workout seems to fly by and, even better, our instructor has managed to get the scale working so I can finally find out my body fat: 23 per cent. Not as bad I thought. But the overhang above the waistline of my pants still tells a different story.

For Lesa’s accounts of weeks two, three and four, visit her Boot Camp Diaries at fashionmagazine.com. Image courtesy of Best Body Bootcamp.

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Chronically dry hands have a hometown hero in McBlooms Skin Therapy Extremely Rich Cream ($15 CAN). With its roots in helping gardening-rough skin, McBlooms launched Extremely Rich several years ago, then a fragrance-free version; both have become cult hits for the Canadian brand.

Formulated with glycerin, aloe vera, and green tea, rosemary and thyme extracts, and Vitamins A and E, Extremely Rich is popular with gardeners, of course, and folks in the healthcare industry, especially nurses and other staff who wash their hands a lot. The cream soothes and softens parched, cracked skin, and protects even through washing. Especially in cold, mean-to-hands weather, I like to keep a mini tube ($2) of the original cream in my bag (I love the subtle scent, which McBlooms calls “green, mossy and flower-shop fresh).

Tip: best to apply hand cream to slightly damp skin, so rinse hands and pat away excess moisture before lotioning up.

McBlooms Skin Therapy is available at select boutiques, Indigo Books and mcblooms.com, 1-877-79-bloom.

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Hey, Vancouver readers, your friendly neighbourhood TheStyleSpy.com is hosting a shopping extravaganza for you in Yaletown this weekend.

Against a backdrop of music and an outdoor beer garden, on Friday July 17th from 3 pm to 9 pm, you’ll score wicked discounts and special treats from more than 40 retailers. Plus, you have chances to win great prizes and enjoy refreshments, and if you’re one of the first 250 on the scene, you’ll score a swag bag that includes covetables from Benefit Cosmetics, CoverGirl, Vera Wang Look and more. (Pssst! A few random swag bags will contain a surprise pair of J Brand Jeans.)

The biggest prize up for grabs is “A Sweet Summer Night,” which includes an overnight stay at the Opus Hotel, dinner for two at Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club, makeovers at BeautyMark, hair blowouts at is.Salon, and two $100-gift certificates from Boudoir.

If you want to attend as a contender for one of those 250 swag bags, RSVP to the Yaletown Summer Shopathon at http://shopyaletown.wordpress.com/ and print out the coupon as directed (no coupon, no chance!). Other than that, no admission fees required.

Happy shopping!

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Staff thinks I’m making a crack about the danged garbage strike holding Toronto hostage right now, and maybe I am. You see, instead of hitting all my happy citrus buttons, my newest shower-gel obsession smells simply, delightfully, freshly clean.

Lightly fragranced with marine notes and ylang ylang, Bella Pella Le Grand Bleu Shower Gel ($15.95 CAN) makes me think of sun-drenched morning sky, pale sand dunes, white-washed fences, cool water lapping at the shore, and bright white sheets fluttering lazily on the drying line (sweet of Ryan to take care of the laundry for me, yes?). The corresponding body lotion ($15.95) sinks in quickly and leaves the barest trace of scent, so skin smells just-out-of-the-shower clean, not fragranced.

A Québec-based boutique line of handmade bath and body care as well as home scents and candles, Bella Pella is made with natural ingredients, including pure essential oils. The company makes a doggy line of shampoos/conditioner, too, formulated to deodorize and condition your four-legged friend’s coat.

Also in the Le Grand Bleu family is a bath bomb ($4.95) with sea-salts in the mix. Surf’s up at my next bathtime.

Bella Pella is available at Bella Pella boutiques in Montréal and via bellapella.com. Image courtesy of Bella Pella.

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EASY SUMMER FACE I so hope this isn’t news to you: The most important step to any beauty regime is sunscreen. Apply SPF before moisturizer. Other options include moisturizer, primer, tinted moisturizer or foundation with SPF, at least 25 or 30. Keep in mind that anything over SPF 30 blocks only a fraction more UV, and any sunscreen breaks down significantly within three hours of application.

One of the best options for melt-proof blush, especially for oily skin, is a lip and cheek stain such as Benefit PosieTint, which our pretty model Marina wears in this clip. A swipe of Quo Lip Tint SPF 15 ($12) protects lips under a topping of gloss, and a sweep of Quo Sun Kissed Bronzing Powder ($20, left) across Marina’s forehead, cheekbones, bridge of her nose and on the chin adds summer warmth as well as a subtle sheen that highlights her bone structure.

As shown on camera by makeup artist Aniko, eyes can shine in just a few strokes of Quo Cooling Gel Shadow Pencil on lids and under lower lashes, plus two coats of GOSH Amazing Length’n Build Waterproof Mascara ($12). It’s still that simple with the next few steps you couldn’t see: Aniko also stroked Extreme Art Eyeliner in Aqua along Marina’s upper lashlines, and ran a Velvet Touch Waterproof Pencil in black along the inner upper rim of her lids (that’s always been my fave trick for making lashes look thicker). If you need a little brow definition — and most of us do — try Quo Cashmere Brow pencil ($13).

EASY SUMMER HAIR Even if you have naturally wavy hair, voluminous beachy hair starts with shampoo and conditioner to help get the look.

Tame frizzy hair with moisture. Try a hydrating shampoo and conditioner such as GOSH Damage Control ($9.99 each) or Pantene Moisture Renewal ($5.99 each). Follow with a defrizzer such as GOSH Rescue Me Repair N’ Shine Serum ($9.99). If you need more frizz control, try a defrizzing cream, such as John Frieda Frizz Ease Secret Weapon Flawless Finishing Cream ($12.99). I get good results from Sally Hershberger Style Primer and Finishing Cream for Wavy Hair ($11.99 each).

If you have thinner, straighter hair, start with Sally Hershberger Shampoo and Conditioner for Normal to Thin Hair ($11.99 each). Follow with Style Primer for Normal to Thin Hair ($11.99), and rough-dry hair with your blowdryer. To boost style hold, spritz with either Shagg Spray ($11.99) or Fekkai Coiff Oceanique Tousled Wave Spray ($30, right), then, as Aniko does in the clip, use a curling iron on random sections of hair and in different directions. Be quick and imprecise — that’s what I meant by “really, really fast,” actually.  Loosen with fingers; spritz with a humidity-blocking hairspray such as John Frieda Frizz Ease Moisture Barrier Hairspray ($12.99).

If your beachy waves are falling a little flat at the end of the day, Aniko suggests teasing small random sections by holding ends in fingertips of one hand, lightly pinching the same section with other thumb and forefinger and smoothing up the length of your hair, then fluffing at the roots.

A braid à la Lauren Conrad is easier with the tiniest extra bit of defrizzer (as in just a trace in your palms) smoothed down the section of hair you’re about to braid. For Marina’s look, Aniko pulled the braid back, tucked it under some hair and secured it with a hairpin. Again, you don’t have to be too precise — summer is all about easy. For more celeb-braid inspiration, click here.

By the way, that’s Ombrelle Face SPF 45 I’m holding at the end of this “ET Canada” clip. Did you know Ombrelle is a Canadian brand, now owned by L’Oréal? I don’t have to tell you Quo is Canadian too, do I? Oh, and that’s Toronto-based cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Lisa Kellett talking Botox for sweat control at the top of the segment.

See? Simple summer beauty — it’s no sweat at all.

For more from Dr. Kellett, visit DLKonAvenue.com. Benefit Cosmetics are available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Holt Renfrew and 1-877-SEPHORA. Pantene, John Freida and Ombrelle are available at drugstores and mass retailers. Quo, GOSH and Sally Hershberger are available at Shoppers Drug Mart. Images courtesy of Shoppers Drug Mart. Clip courtesy of “ET Canada.”

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