June 2014 editor's letter: A few of my favourite things

I’m just going to say it. I am a beauty junkie. It started when I was in grade 7. My mother refused to let me wear makeup (“not until you are in high school”) even though Sue Oliver and her crowd were all wearing blue and pink eyeshadow and their feathered hair was sprayed so stiff you could lift the sides like pieces of cardboard. For months I saved up my babysitting money and then sneakily headed to our local drugstore to get my contraband. I’d spend hours looking at all the pretty powders, nail polishes and lipsticks. I remember my first perfume (Love’s Baby Soft), my first lipstick (a rollerball lip gloss that tasted sticky-sweet) and my first indispensable blue eyeliner (rimming the inside of my lash line, of course). Every morning I happily put my little stash in my backpack and headed straight to the girls’ washroom at school to apply it. I’d remove it before heading home, until the inevitable day when I forgot. . . . All these years later I still feel guilty for deceiving my mom.

It was the arresting image on page 33 with its instructions for a “sultry summer evening look” that triggered my makeup memories. With summer just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to update your look. Be sure to read the suncare story on page 45 too; our editors have rounded up the newest and best products to keep your skin safe. I love every feature in this issue, but some of my favourites are “Beachside Picnic” (page 80), the sugar-detox package (page 127), our annual running shoe guide (page 143), Leah McLaren’s look at the Duchess of Cornwall (page 159) and our delectable cover burger (page 175). And check out the best burger tips from our kitchen and the Chatelaine team’s personal tips on our masthead (page 14)! But I really want to hear what you think: Please write to us and let us know what you love and don’t love and what else you’d like to see in Chatelaine.

P.S. Happy Father’s Day to all the awesome dads out there.