We caught up with Canadian actress Shenae Grimes-Beech earlier this summer when her role as the brand ambassador for Annabelle Cosmetics brought her home to Toronto.
The actress, who now lives in Los Angeles, is known for her roles on Degrassi: The Next Generation and 90210 – but also for her style.
Naturally, we wanted to find out what was in her bag…
Tell us something about your bag…
“I made the bag. For Coachella I wanted to have an easy shoulder bag, a little boho… but in my punk rock version of boho. And I wanted one of those Native American-inspired saddle bags. I saw pictures of them online, and I was like, I could probably do that. So I bought some leather and spent the entire day doing that and I’ve worn it practically every day. It hasn’t fallen apart yet!”
Have you been doing that for a while?
“Not at all. I don’t know why I’ve gotten so into using my hands lately. I had been making handmade jewelry for my husband’s company and that’s now turned into me drawing designs that are being manufactured. And we’re launching our clothing and accessories line this July. Leather-making and crafting has become a new fascination of mine, so that’s probably being incorporated into the brand as well in the future.
What’s in your bag? What are the essentials you wouldn’t leave home without?
Annabelle cosmetics:
“My number one that I’ve been raving about is the Eye Ink pen, their liquid eyeliner pen. I use that every day for the perfect cat eye. I recommend it to everybody. I love my sheer glass; it’s pretty but it’s also on par with my natural lip colour. Normally I’ll wear nothing on my lips, but this is as close to my natural lip colour as possible. It just adds that little extra sparkle and shimmer, which looks great when the light hits it.”
Samsung Galaxy 5s:
“I was a first-time iPhone user for a few months. Everyone obviously loves them, but they’re just way too fragile for me. My husband’s nickname for me is “Spilla” because I just spill everything and I drop everything that’s in my hands. My iPhone died recently and I got the Samsung Galaxy 5s, which is awesome. So many applications, and yeah, it’s huge, but I don’t care – it’s amazing. It has a living app on it that has a magazine, so it updates articles every day. You can add the articles to your own zine so when you’re bored and hanging out, you can read about things that you care about.”
Louis Vuitton change purse:
“I’ve had a big Louis Vuitton wallet forever, and I’ve stuffed so much into it that it won’t close anymore. And all the bags I’ve been wearing as of late have been too small, so for my birthday this year my husband got me a little Louis bag. I’m not a huge wear the brand on my sleeve kind of person, but when it comes to classic monogram Louis Vuitton, I’m a total snob. I love it.”
Business card:
“I’m excited about this – it’s for the new clothing line.”
Cliff bar:
“I’m such a snacker. I’ll eat meals, but when I eat at a restaurant I’ll usually order like five different appetizers or side plates. I really like variety. I like picking at stuff, so snacks on the go are my favourite thing.”
Flash drive:
“I have my little flash drive, which I take everywhere. I’ve been doing so much for the blog so I’m constantly meeting up with my editor, dumping stuff on it, dropping stuff off.”
Ray Bans:
“You can’t go wrong.”
Jewelry.
“I usually carry a couple of pieces of extra jewelry. I’m constantly switching looks around.
Ice Breaker mints.
“These are always in my bag.”
Sounds like you have all the bases covered for jam-packed days. Speaking of, what are your favourite Toronto spots that you have to hit when you’re in town?
“Cafe Crepe, Aritzia, and I always go to Kensington Market even though it’s not the same as it used to be. Just for nostalgia, I love popping by there. I always want to find an excuse to go into the old MuchMusic building because that’s where I interned, so any time I get to go back there it makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. I spend a lot of time at my mom’s house in Forest Hill Village.”
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