May our fingers always be warm and able to operate our touch screen.

Having to choose between texting and frostbite is something we will never have to do again with Echo Touch gloves. The gloves have a special fabric tab in the index finger and thumb that work with touch screens to let you type or scroll. The gloves also look lovely with styles made from knits, boiled wool, cashmere or leather in colours that range from classic black to hot pink.

It’s always a win when fashion and technology work with each other. —Jaelyn Molyneux

$35 to $85 at Purr, Scotia Centre, 700 2 St. S.W., Calgary, 403-266-7587, www.purrclothing.ca

Calgary’s +15 walkway system is the largest of its kind in North America. A fun stat that is only useful if you know how to navigate the maze.

I aspire to be one of the downtown regulars who in the dead of winter know the 16 kilometres of indoor walkways so well they can keep their cute ballet flats on at lunch instead of changing into outdoor shoes to brave the elements. My aspiration is made easier by the +15 app that maps the pathway system and pinpoints your location using GPS. It colour codes based on access hours and pinpoints major buildings.

Now I can leave my parka in the car and walk confidently through the hamster cage that is downtown Calgary. —Jaelyn Molyneux

www.calgaryplus15.com

Finding the perfect gloss is a quest that requires dedicated product testing.

A few years ago I worked my way through dozens of lip gloss options looking for one with just the right amount of shine and staying power. Bobbi Brown came out on top and her lip gloss in petal got a prime spot in my purse. Petal is a pretty neutral that plays it safe, but gloss is an easy way to go a little wild.

Bobbi Brown just released a trio of bold shades that add a sheer shock of colour sure to knock our lips out of the winter doldrums.

Citrus, cosmic pink and ultra violet are part of the Neons and Nudes collection meant to pump up lips while downplaying eye makeup or vice versa.

Choosing one feature to be bold is always beautiful. —Jaelyn Molyneux

$27 at Murale, 205 8 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-261-3703, www.murale.ca

The magazine that transports us from our couch to far away locations gets a little more real.

From the page to the stage, the Epcor Centre hosts National Geographic Live,  a four-part speaker series that has the explorers behind the famous magazine talking about their discoveries.

The series starts Tuesday, January 17 with underwater photographer Brian Skerry who dives deep to get images of ocean life that include remote waters in the South Pacific and under the iced-over surfaces of Antarctica. As he talks, his pics will be projected on a big screen over the stage of the Jack Singer Concert Hall. The series continues February 2, March 13 and April 25 with a different speaker each evening.

The lecture series lets us be armchair adventurers. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Tickets $19.99 to $49.99. Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts, 205 8 Ave. S.E., Calgary, 403-294-9494, www.epcorcentre.org

Sometimes the best travel companion is the perfect bag.

Enter EG Forge’s messenger bags, duffels and backpacks designed by Eric Goodwin.

Designed to fit into airplane carry-on compartments and be comfortable when packed to the seams, Goodwin’s bags will help get your gear where you want to go. The well-worn patina of waxed canvas, oil-tanned leather strapping and brass clasps make each bag look like it has been hauled on more than a few adventures and lived to tell the tale. Choose a handmade bag from the studio walls or work with Goodwin to design a custom carrier.

Getting the bag puts you one step closer to giving in to your wanderlust desires. —Jaelyn Molyneux

EG Forge, Art Central, 100 7 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-457-1161, www.egforge.com

Saturday morning cartoons turn high art at Watch Me Move: The Animation Show.

The exhibit is 111 works of moving art covering two floors and five galleries starting with slides and prints created in the 1800s breezing through 1960s and The Flintstones and taking us right up to Lord of the Rings with visits by Betty Boop and Snow White along the way.

This largest survey of animation work ever mounted explores the medium that invents superheroes, deftly provokes social commentary, and constantly pushes the limits of technology. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Until December 24 at the Glenbow Museum, 130 9 Ave. S.E., Calgary, 403-268-1400, www.glenbow.org

Coco Chanel once said, “you live but once; you might as well be amusing.” She was also the designer who championed simple, elegance. So it is no surprise that the style icon’s fashion house would take the metallic make-up trend that when handled poorly can lean toward tacky and instead make it classy.

Chanel’s Illusion d’Ombre’s jelly-like cream-gel eyeshadows come in twist lid pots with an angled brush. The six shadow shades have various levels of shimmer from frosty white to black with subtle chunks of sparkle. Go intense with dark liner or lighten it up with soft sweep of all-over colour.

Either way, wear your make-up the way Chanel lived her life, with an elegant twinkle in your eye. —Jaelyn Molyneux

$37 at Holt Renfrew, 510 8 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-269-7341, www.holtrenfrew.com

Sometimes a book is a paperback you buy at the grocery store, devour at the beach and donate when you are done. And, sometimes it is a souvenir to prop up on your shelf and flip through when you want to revisit an old friend.

Dottie Angel is the latter. The second volume of The Suitcase Series from Uppercase is Tif Fussell’s pictorial ode to her crafty alter-ego Dottie Angel, a mother of eight who favours pompoms, custom aprons, crocheting and all things DIY.

Each book is personalized with a scallop-edged card machine stitched and glued to the cover. And it comes with an envelope filled with a swatch of vintage fabric and buttons, Dottie Angel thread and a lucky bunny postcard.

See, one can be both bookish and beautiful. —Jaelyn Molyneux

$35 at Uppercase Gallery, Art Central, 100 7 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-283-5318, www.uppercasegallery.ca

As January fitness resolutions turn into February reality, even the most motivated can use a little pink-me-up.

Joe Fresh Style's new 42-piece health and wellness collection, Jogi, comes in a peppy pink-and-grey palette and has plenty of pieces to keep us sweating till spring. For the all-around athlete, the cardio kit has push-up bars, weights and a jump rope ($25), while posers will love the non-slip hot yoga towel ($25) that goes over yoga mats to wick away moisture.

Although a cute workout ensemble is not included, it is just an aisle away.

At Real Canadian Superstore, www.superstore.ca

After a VitaminDaily.com subscriber and serious hiker (she’s a Machu Picchu and the West Coast Trail veteran) couldn’t stop raving about Smartwool socks (from $23.99) we had to try out the snazzy styles.

A combination of merino wool, nylon and elastic, the company’s everyday socks are comfortable, come in a variety of fun patterns, and most important, keep your feet dry and warm whether you're hiking in the mountains or running around the city in the snow. And for more advanced activities, the PhD socks are the crème de la crème of footwear.

At Atmosphere, 817 10th Ave. SW, Calgary, 403-264-2444, www.atmosphere.ca