5 reasons to spend more time in adult stores

Sexy Sunday talk: Sex shops! I am pretty sure most of you have been to an adult store before, if not then it’s okay, you probably will after reading this.

The first time in an adult shop is like the first time you make love. It is confusing, we don’t really know where to go, what we can touch… So yeah, not the best experience. Like sexuality, you need to practice to make it feel better and be more confident about it.

It's very likely you will end up doing what 99% of people do: go once, feel weird and you won't try again because you will just rehash that first experience. I personally do not go often, but when I do, I aim for the classy and friendly ones.

Before giving you the reasons why you should embrace your curiosity and take this step, let me tell you about my first time there... when I was 4. Yes, you read right. I actually had to ask my mother to remind me this story, as you know, your memory is not the sharpest at that age.

My mom, my godmother and the four-year-old me were walking downtown Paris, in les Halles area (if you're familiar with Paris!) after our casual Toy Story moving outting. We turned into a street full of sex stores and peep-shows at that time. Because I was very curious, I could not stop asking my mom about those “shops”. She thought it would be a good idea (because of Toy Story) to tell me they were selling toys for adults. Oh mom...

I was just staring at the windows, while my mom and godmother were talking. And suddenly, I just crawled under the curtain (for people who never been to les Halles, lots of those peep-shows don’t have entrance doors per se but velvet curtains instead).

My mom had to go in, get me out and the young salesman was too surprised to catch me while I was running towards the dildos. It was such an awkward moment for the clients who ended up leaving the store because they felt too embarassed to stay. Talk about cockblock.

It took only 2 minutes to my mom to take me out not without bumping into a gentleman going in. He became as red as a tomato and pretended he was going in the wrong store.

I apparently created a big mess that day!

I went back years later with my friends, when I was a teenager. I have lots a great memories about laughing and making jokes at the products.

Here are 5 reasons to spend more time in sex stores:

An other world

I am always amazed to see the diversity of products you can find for sexuality and desire. It is open for all level, either you are looking for something sensual or erotic: massage oils, dildos or silicone vagina, you will find something for you. They have amazing and high quality pieces, like those colorful glass sex toys, they are captivatingly beautiful.

Body-positivity

Sex stores are part of this category of few places where you are free to be yourself. No judgement and everybody is welcome: young adults to older people, women and men, straight or LGBTQ community… No one cares about the way you look or your career, the money you have or the places you are going to. 

Educational

Believe it or not, you can learn very interesting things. Lots of sex shops organize different workshops, from learning how to do a blowjob to communicating your desires to your partner or even getting prepared with your next challenge (being half naked in front of a camera) with a boudoir photography workshop. Oh wait, the last one is done by us!

Personally, I found pretty interesting ones like: “Bigger, better, multiples: orgasms for every body” or “compassionate communication: crossing the bridge to connection”. If you feel attracted by those workshops, Good for Her has great ones.

Amazing lingerie

Oh ladies, the lingerie they have is marvelous and so tasteful.  I am in love every time I am going in a sex shop. Bras, panties, bodysuits, jumpsuits, tights, stockings, thongs, sexy, fancy, with straps, lace, leather… Disneyland for women! Prices are affordable and you have lots of choice.

Great people

Why are adult stores great? Not just because of the products they have but also because of the people who work in those places: open minded, professional, friendly and knowledgeable. They will guide you, answer your questions, show you the new arrivals and make you have a great experience. But no worries if you prefer to not talk to anybody, they will leave you alone.

The time of creepy and crappy places is over! We love clean and friendly stores.  For our scandals who live in Toronto, BlogTo did a great article about the best Sex Shops in town.

It is now your turn to tell us your first experience or best memory from those adult stores!

With love

Fancy a personal shopping session?

Scandaleuse is not just about a boudoir shoot. We pride ourselves to create a full experience and make it unique to your sexy self. If you are having a blast, then so are we. That's why we just teamed up with Ashley, the lovely advisor from Seduction, downtown Toronto, to help you pick outfits and kill your shoot.

What's the deal?

Upon booking your shoot with us, you can schedule an appointment with Ashley for an hour long personal shopping session. The good deal? On top of the great lingerie selection that Seduction has, you get at 10% discount on your purchase at the shop. This deal is available for any of our packages.

Now, Scandals, meet Ashley:

Who are you?

Hello Scandaleuse World! My name is Ashley.
I would describe myself as an old soul, who marches to the beat of my own drum. I would also say that I’m maybe a little bit of a workaholic… but when you love what you do, it’s easy to let it take over.  I’ve been working in the Adult Retail environment for 5+ years and honestly, it’s been a lot of fun. In my spare time, I’m also a freelance model, a netflix binger and a book worm.

Let's talk about your job at Seduction:

I’ve been with Seduction for just about 3 years now, and I keep myself busy in all things creative around the store. While I spend a lot of my time on the sales floor, coaching couples and singles on how to keep their sex lives interesting, I organize and style photoshoots for advertising which can be found in newspapers, online or even posters around the city. last but not least, I’m also a main contributor to our social media.

Why should our models go to you before their session?

I believe that everyone deserves to feel sexy in their skin. What you wear says a lot about who you are, or what you want to represent. Fashion, to me, is an outlet of creative expression. What I wear on a day to day basis makes all the difference in how I feel. During photoshoots, especially boudoir, it’s important that the models are comfortable, and confident in what they’re wearing. I want to make you stand out because you are beautiful and deserve to be noticed. When I accomplish that with a new client, it makes me that much more proud of what I do.

What can our Scandals expect from an hour with you?

We want you to feel special, so when you book an hour with me, you’ll get an hour of undivided attention. I want to get to know you. Asking questions will allow me to get a better sense of what kind of style or vibe you want to go for, and that will help me select outfits that will be appropriate. After the question period, we’ll walk around the store together collecting a handful of items that might be of interest, and then you’ll spend time trying the outfits on to ensure that you look and feel good for your photoshoot. When we’re done, you’ll walk out knowing that you made the right choice.

We don't know about you guys, but we are hooked. Check out our selection of lingerie and accessories we found when we met Ashley for her headshot.

Find Seduction:

• 577 Yonge Street Toronto, On, M4Y 1Z2

• 493 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M5V 2B4

Scandaleuse gave up on meat

Bonjour bonjour our vegetarian, vegan and meat lover scandals.

For those who eat meat, have you ever asked yourself what life is like for people who gave it up? Have you ever been curious about how they can still be healthy? Have you ever heard this little voice in your head saying: “come one…Try it, you might love it!”? I'm sure you know what I am talking about…

Well ladies & gentlemen get ready, Scandaleuse will demystify all of the meatless urban legends!

Why and when?

About a year ago, Juliette and I decided to stop eating meat. But we didn’t do it at the same time (believe it or not, sometimes we do take our decisions separately, we are not always Thomson & Thompson).

Juliette was first. She started decreasing the amount of meat in her diet, after reading a few blog posts about how it is not necessary. She tried it for a couple of weeks and now and she doesn’t want to go back!

Concerning my experience, it was an article on a french online magazine called “Mademoizelle” that was the trigger. It was about the founder who stopped eating meat right away after watching Cowspiracy.

Two days later, here I was, in front of my computer, with my pasta dish and my boyfriend Ivan, watching this famous documentary. Let me tell you, we both got slapped in the face big time! We looked at each other and knew we had to stop eating meat. All we cared about (sustainability, deforestation & global warming) was right in front of us and we were able to change things starting with our plates.

The decision was easy to make but educating our brain wasn't…

How?

While it is not complicated to give meat up, it is not easy either. It takes time, knowledge and willpower. Our brain is a little evil, it can make you crave something you don’t need and this is the toughest part!

I never really ate a lot of meat except things that people don't enjoy such as liver, veal tongue, duck gizzards and of course chicken, ham, prosciutto... (well I am gonna stop here cause now I am craving Italian ham!). But truly, when you are strong enough to fight for what you care about and you can see your actions lead to results, this is a damn good reward!

Take your time, you don’t need to stop meat or animal proteins in one day. Start with beef because it is the worst for our planet, then remove the chicken. And please don’t listen to those people who try to rush you. Like in politics, they can be too extreme.

If you are thinking of becoming vegetarian, pescetarian or vegan, you need to know why. You need to have a solid reason to be able to go through it. Is it because you want to be healthier? Do you care about animal cruelty? Do you want to change the way we act on our beautiful planet? Finding your own purpose will make it much easier.

If you feel ready or want to satisfy your curiosity, check the Cowspiracy website (they have lots of great articles, videos and tips) and of course watch it. For those who are worried about seeing blood and disgusting slaughterhouse scenes, don’t worry you won't. This documentary is full of datas, interviews & facts but no awful footage.

 Meatless urban LEGENDs:

-Did you force your partner to give up on meat? Yes totally. Every night I handcuff Ivan at the bed, feed him with broccoli and order him to call me his Green Mama!

 -You don’t eat meat! How can you be so healthy? I grow this magical plant on my balcony which is perfect for baking little muffins. It gives me wings and makes me indestructible! No let’s be serious, I just make sure to replace all of the animal proteins I don’t eat by a plant-based diet. And I still eat a bit of fish, eggs and cheese.

-Ok you eat fish but don’t you know it is also animal cruelty, fish have feelings! Yes you are right but my first reason in this choice was not animal cruelty, it was sustainability. I never wanted to think about animals suffering in slaughterhouses when I was eating meat. But since I stopped, I now care about it.

I am not against hunters, farmers or meat itself. I am against industrialization, big factories and against all of this waste of energy we consume to produce meat. Oh and also palm oil, but this will be an other topic.

-No meat? Cooking must be sooo boring!!! I am actually having more fun than before. I love transforming regular meal into vegetarian/vegan ones. You have so many way to be creative while cooking. And I feel lucky to live in Toronto because Canada has lot of options for non-meat eaters.

 -I am a man, a real one, I will never stop meat! Good for you my friend… but you’re right we never know... A vagina could grow between your legs if you become vegetarian! Starting a plant-based diet or just being careful with your consumption is not gonna make you less of a man. Lots of male athletes for example don’t eat animal products, does it mean they lost their testicles on the road? Of course not!

I have a friend who told me once “Fanny I will never ever give up on meat, I love it so much!!”, then guess what: he doesn’t eat meat anymore. Please gentlemen, don’t let your fears stopping you from trying. I promise you will still look handsome.

-I truly don’t give a damn of our planet! Well no comment but one day you will change your mind…

Voilà folks, it was just an introduction. We promise to write an other article with more details, tips, advice and recipes (but only if you have been good followers, Green Mama is watching you!)

 With love.

Fanny

The day we spoke in public

Last week, Fanny and I did our first workshop. And since we never do things half-way, we chose to do it at the easiest place on the planet for regular people: the Oasis Aqualounge.

If you were to remember only ONE thing about us, it's that we believe that you should be able to do whatever the hell you want with your body, as long as you are not putting yourself or others in danger. We pride ourselves to be respectful of people's choices even though they might be different from ours. In case you are not familiar with the Oasis, it is the only high end sex club downtown Toronto. Meaning that you go there with or without a partner and you do or don't do things. No it's not dodgy, and yes it's safe (and clean).

Now that we cleared the air, you must wonder why we ended up here at the first place.

We actually contacted them. It's that simple. They were pleased with our body positivity approach and the diversity of our models, and offered to give us a timeslot during their monthly event. We saw an opportunity to talk to people directly and took it. However, here is the difference between this specific adventure and a regular workshop: people pay the entrance ticket to the place, not to your speech. It is available to them if they feel like it. Meaning that people came or left half way through.

We had NEVER spoken in public before, especially in English. We had no idea what to expect. I seriously had notes with me that just said "SPEAK" so I remembered.

How do you practice for an event that you know no one is coming for specifically? You can't introduce yourself multiple times if new people show up. What happens if it's boring and people leave in the middle of it? To be honest, all of these thoughts kept me up at night.

If you don't follow us on Instagram, you should. We love stories!

So here we were, a few days before the workshop, rehearsing in my living room, and timing our speech to keep it short and sweet. We got frustrated by our accents we think are too thick. We changed our speech 20 thousand times. We rehearsed for 6 hours non-stop one day. Again, again and again. 

The day of, we grabbed two glasses of wine, generously offered by the Oasis, took a deep breath and stepped on the stage, in front of strangers. "Picture people naked" they say. Well they already were. Surprisingly, after 3 minutes and a second glass of wine, we didn't even notice it. We did our speech - with technical difficulties and our awkward English - and we started asking for volunteers to take pictures of.

Then something pretty cool happened.

Instead of having one couple and one woman volunteering like we planned initially, we had 6 couples. We managed to make people trust us even though the first thing they said before listening to the workshop was "I don't want my picture taken". Our short intro did work. We even had to turn people down because we were out of time (and releases).

We met amazing people. All shapes, age and gender. The connection they share with their partners is unbelievable. We only had a few minutes per person and yet, we got amazing images. We saw the trust, the love and the complicity between two people and we were so honoured to be given a chance to capture it.

A lot of things didn't go as planned. We messed up quite a bit, we stuttered, we made jokes no one laughed at, saw people leaving when we were speaking, and had tough lighting conditions to shoot in. But we did it. We. Freaking. Did it. Because at the end, all that matters is that:

Some people stayed
Some people laughed
Some people were excited to have their pictures taken
Some people sent us nice emails
Some people believe in what we do.

Mission accomplished. To the next workshop!

Behind-the-scene - The Scandaleuse Logo

Your logo is the face of your business. It needs to be smart and strong. It needs to illustrate perfectly your quality of work. After all, it is the first visual aspect of your branding people will see and, hopefully, remember.

While we can do many things, drawing is definitely not one of them. We then had two options: try designing something by ourselves and have something completely messed up OR find the person that already had the talent to do it for us. Needless to say we thought about this for exactly… 2 seconds. Why wasting time and end up with a sketchy (pun not intended) logo that will follow you forever (oh the internet) when you already know a wonderful, talented soul who could help you make your logo dreams come true?

This is when Deanna appeared like an angel, her and her magic fingers.

Deanna Colosimo is an illustrator based in Toronto and she also turns out to be one of our Scandals! We have had the opportunity to work with her on multiple occasions and we always came back over the moon with the results.

Fanny and I already had a fairly precise idea of what we were looking for. We wanted something hand drawn, edgy and sexy.

It took one phone call with Deanna to found ourselves with a few differents sketches the next morning. Talk about being efficient.

Because, of course, on top of being talented, Deanna works fast. She is seriously an illustration ninja. We could never thank her enough for standing by our sides when we were debating the amount of freckles or when the nose needed to be changed by a few millimeters. Over and over.

Do not underestimate the power of having talented people around you, little Scandals. It is not about competition, it is about building amazing things together.

Thank you Dee.

Find Deanna
Her website | Her instagram

More than just a parade

Hello our little scandals and happy Canada day!

Today’s blog post is about Pride. One more fabulous year, full of happy people, colors, fun and most importantly: love

A month ago we received an inquiry for a boudoir shoot, from one of our customer who was wondering if we were open to homosexuals and same-sex couples. We are always surprised to see in 2017, some people still have anger towards the gay community and refuse to help or serve people who are different. It always breaks my heart when I hear stories about homophobia but even if those people are making it difficult, it is important to focus on the ones who fight against that.

We enjoy the Pride because it is not just about homosexuality anymore but about us, Human beings. It is about the right to love whoever you want. It is about owning your body and sexuality, about welcoming the difference with open arms and a warm heart. It is about freedom!

We all deserve to live the life we want and it starts with being ourselves.

Bonjour Monsieur Trudeau!

We were at the pride parade this year and found a great (and tiny) spot to enjoy the show. We danced, laughed and yelled for 2 hours. We caught some gifts and we got wet (take your mind out of the gutter, it is not what you think!)

Budlight had a pretty sweet setup!

But it was not the best part. You know the French have a reputation to naturally be kinky right? Well, we decided to own up to it.

We went down the street in the village, and we asked strangers to kiss while we were taking pictures. Kisses. Kisses everywhere! We only have one thing to say, you guys were brave! Believe it or not, kissing in front of two photographers you meet for the first time is though (and there was no foreplay).

Some couples were passionate, others were shy but they all were beautiful. It was few hours of pure love and this my friend, is more important than all of those frustrated people who can’t understand what being Human means.

Thumb up for our lovely Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, always nice to see him in the parade. This guy is amazing.

Love you all!

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Show Us Your Tats - Liana

We bumped into Liana's instagram profile completely randomly and our hearts skipped a bit when we saw her beautiful elephant piece on her thigh. One "hi-hello-please-model-for-us" later, we were talking about going to Chinatown for something edgy, neons lights and rock'n'roll. Liana is a brave soul. She walked around half-naked in public places for a solid two-hours.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Liana Lewis, I’m a Toronto based dancer, singer and actor. Originally from Calgary, Alberta . The arts have always been a big part of my life

Let's talk tattoos

I have 11 tattoos. My first tattoo is the one on my back. Two dance figures on a turntable they represent the urban and contemporary styles of dance, I identify with both.
My “Believe” tattoo and the one behind my ear which says LiLi with the Trident from the Barbados flag were done by Jay McKay at Adrenaline - he now has his own shop Unique Ink in Barrie, ON.
The “Believe” a simple reminder to never loss hope, that whatever I set out to do is possible. The one behind my ear is my family nickname it also represents my Bajan heritage. If all of my ink had to speak for me, they would tell the story of who I am, what I love or how I move in the world. It would reveal inner beauty, strength, love, empowerment, authenticity and the importance of music, dance and family. Those are the things that make me me.

The “Elephant” and “Love Conquers All” was do by Alanna Mule at Adrenaline, she now has her own shop Bellwoods Tattoo. I love what elephants represent: strength, loyalty, power, patience, good luck, pride, happiness, reliability, confidence and wisdom. There's many other symbolic meanings, I found those qualities I identify with the most. I had it shooting musical notes because music has been a big part of my life, even before I was born.

"Music is a second language to my heart." - Mara Arps

“Rose” tattoo - by Janice at Chronic Ink.

The lips with “be your own kind of beautiful” written in lipstick by Rags at Black Cloud Tattoos. It’s a dedication to my Love Letters Cabaret family, the lips is our logo we’re all about “poom poom power” empowerment. Being your own kind of beautiful is what poom poom power means to me.
The sternum and finger tattoos are by Prairie Koo at Ink and Water Tattoo. Both pieces are his own designs. I was looking for new ink inspiration when I came across Sara Golish (a Toronto based artist)  "Moon Dust" series, the "Black Gold" print it spoke to me. To me she represents strength, uniqueness, inner beauty and empowerment. She reminded me a lot of myself especially the persona I take on Petra "Queen of the Nile" with Love Letters Cabaret. This was done by Roumen Kirinov at Toronto Ink.

The tribal piece on my right thigh was created and done by Petra Hlavackova in Berlin at Toe Loop Tattoo. I just love her work, happen to be in Berlin at the same time, was very happy to be able to get some ink done by her. Such a beautiful spirit. And her name is Petra which is also the name of my alter ego, it was very serendipitous.

What was the time and budget allocated for each piece?

The smaller pieces were around $100-150, The rest was from $200-500

Is there something you wish you had known before getting tattooed?

Not really, I waited till I was really ready and knew exactly what I wanted. I did lots of research on artist and shops making sure I had the right person for each piece.

Any reactions from your immediate circle?

My friends love my ink and aren’t surprised with how I now use ink as another way to express myself. Both my parents said once I'm 18 it's your own body you can do whatever you please with it. They don't disapprove or are unhappy they just come from a time where tattoos were sorta taboo, they don't get it. I know my dad secretly loves the one behind my ear.

The Deets

Alanna Mule - Bellwoods Tattoo - 104 Ossington Ave www.bellwoodstattoo.com | @alannamule @BellwoodsTattoo

Prairie Koo - Ink & Water Tattoo - 1303 Bloor St West www.inkandwatertattoo.ca | @release852_inkandwatertattoo @inkandwatertattoo

Rags - Black Cloud Tattoos - 276 Carlaw Ave Unit 209 www.blackcloudtattoos.com | @blackcloudtattoos

Janice - Chronic Ink - 252 Eglinton Ave E | www.chronicinktattoo.com |  @soso_ink @chronicink

Roumen Kirinkkov www.roumenkirinkov.com - Toronto Ink - 580 ½ Danforth Rd | www.torontoink.com | @roumenkirinkov @torontoink

Petra Hlavackova www.petrattattoo.com | @petratattoo | www.toe-loop-berlin.de | @toe_loop_tattoo_berlin

Find Liana:

Instagram | Facebook | Love Letters Cabaret

Will be performing in the Toronto Fringe Festival (July 5-16)

Why do a boudoir shoot?

As you all now know, boudoir photography has been around for quite a while. One of the first question we get when we talk about Scandaleuse is "why the heck would a lovely lady (or gentleman!) ask for this particular photography session?"

Whether you are hesitating about booking your session or just curious about who we work with, we have gathered some pointers for you little Scandals!

Reason 1: Just because you want to.

We might as well start with our favourite excuse to walk around half-naked followed by a camera. You may have woken up one day feeling ready to immortalize your beautiful self or you may have worked really hard on a new you. Or maybe you always wanted to do it and you now gathered the courage to start your google search.

Reason 2: You have another person who will enjoy it.

Doing it for yourself deserves two thumbs up,but sharing your photos with your special someone takes the cake. (and god knows we love cake. We’re French, don’t blame us)

Why not giving a little peek to the person who makes you heart shake so you can brag one more time about how good you look?

Reason 3: Because you are working so hard on that body of yours

All of those hours squatting at the gym with the litres of sweat involved are a good enough reason to get a shoot done. Let's face it, if you have a 6-pack or a booty Brazilians would kill for, you might as well show it.

Reason 4: A teeny tiny soon to be big mush of love is coming!

You are expecting a major change in your life and it is now or never to capture your body changing. Scandaleuse loves big bellies. For real. We are amazed by why the human body can do.

Reason 5: Gooooing to the chapel…

..and we’re gonna get maaaarried. Forget the standard cufflinks as a wedding gift and spice it up with yourself instead. Need more details? Hint: it involves a veil, rings and I do’s. And a sexy honeymoon.

That’s it for today lovely Scandals. Just know that whatever reason you pick, we have your back! (or your front. Or... well you got it.)

You have any other reasons? We are all ears!