Filed In: Special Occasion
My dinner with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann of OPI
I recently had the pleasure of being invited to Toronto for a very special event – a private dinner with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, founder of OPI nail lacquers, and presently Executive VP & Creative Director. Along with key members of the host PR firm and two associates of Suzi’s, there were 8 bloggers in attendance, one of which was none other than yours truly.
Upon arriving at the venue, CIBO Wine Bar – an unpretentious eatery in the heart of downtown Toronto, I was almost stunned into incoherence upon learning that I was to be seated next to Suzi – what an incredible honour!
Cocooned in our private dining room, with what seemed like endless trays of food going around the table family dinner-style (I’m sure I must have rolled back to my hotel later on), the conversation flowing, and sets of the upcoming holiday 2013 Selena Gomez for Nicole by OPI lacquer sets in front of us, the night could not have been more perfect … unless you count going back to my luxurious king suite at the Soho Met, an über-chic boutique hotel, with heated marble floors in the palatial bathroom (I want to move in) and Molton Brown body care products. Or maybe the topper was my getting the chance to meet Suzi again the very next day where I was given the opportunity to interview her … but that’s best kept for my next post!
My travel companions …
Aerial view, approaching downtown Toronto
Advantages of sitting alone: being able to stretch out
The Soho Metropolitan Hotel, my home for the night
Stunning Murano glass sculptural ceiling over the entrance to the hotel
Meant to be: Flight #416, room #416, Toronto area code 416 — a message perhaps?
Room details: king suite, bathroom with heated marble floors and Molton Brown luxury body care products
Time to kill: ready to hit the town and take in some sights
Toronto landmarks: The CN tower (left), and the Rogers Centre (right)
CIBO Wine Bar
CIBO Wine Bar foyer – I’d like a wine cellar stocked like that!
The wall niches in CIBO’s foyer displaying Crystal Head Vodka – made by Canadian Dan Aykroyd in Newfoundland, Canada
Larger than life Nicole by OPI banner welcoming guests to the dinner
A view of our private dining room
Artful display of Nicole by OPI beauties: the Gumdrops Collection and upcoming Holiday sets
Table setting: mouth-watering menu & a Nicole by OPI Holiday set
A mini-montage showing just a small sampling of the feast we enjoyed
Decadent desserts presented on a slate slab – I did NOT say no to any of them
Dinner companions part 1: That’s me on Suzi’s right – I’m still pinching myself!
Dinner companions part 2
Suzi Weiss-Fischmann and yours truly
with the President of the host PR firm
I must confess that meeting Suzi Weiss-Fischmann was definitely something I can now cross off my bucket list; engaging, down to earth, as well as humble – along with being funny, incredibly intelligent, and honourable, are just a few ways to describe this woman. It was my complete honour to have been able to spend this quality time with her, something I’ll cherish forever. A massively huge THANK YOU to everyone who made this dream possible! ♥
Stay tuned for my next post, as I detail my interview with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann.
The prettiest gift bags to end a most amazing evening
*Disclosure: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
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Happy Canada Day … with a little help from CHANEL!
In preparation for a post to honour my country’s birthday, I began rummaging through my makeup collections for inspiration – and came up blank … until my eye fell upon 2 items that I had inadvertently placed side by side: Joues Contraste Powder Blush in ‘Rouge’ (from the Limited Edition Collection Byzance Fall 2011 – swatched here) and Joues Contraste Powder Blush ‘#78 Délice’ (from the recently released Limited Edition Les Délices de CHANEL Collection 2013 – review coming soon). Red and white, the colours of our flag – perfect! To round out the little tableau, I also added Glossmer #151 Aragonite, a pearly lipgloss with iridescent particles that looks amazing on everyone (working on my 3rd tube of it as we speak), and Rouge Allure Lacque in #75 Dragon, an intensely powerful and long-lasting blue based red lip gloss, that is sadly now discontinued – a fact that I don’t understand, as this formula is beyond stellar. Still, it makes me happy that I can show my patriotic pride in such a chic way — in true beauty blogger style!
HAPPY CANADA DAY! ♥
All CHANEL – from left: Glossimer #151 Aragonite, Joues Contraste Rouge, Joues Contraste #78 Délice, Rouge Allure Lacque #75 Dragon
Rouge Allure Lacque #75 Dragon – lusciously red, glossy, and deliciously long-lasting
WMCFW 2013 – A Cinderella experience …
This past March 21st, I was privileged to receive a day of fashion and beauty pampering at one of Canada’s most prestigious events of its kind, World MasterCard Fashion Week Toronto (WMCFW). This story began with a coach limo ride to the airport, a quick flight to the heart of Toronto, then another coach limo ride to the WMCFW tents – massive, heated & chandeliered structures. From the minute I arrived, I was treated like visiting royalty, being personally met & escorted at the door to be then whisked off towards the inner sanctum: backstage.
The heart and soul of these types of events, “backstage” is where the magic happens: hair, nails, makeup and finally, the shows – experiencing just a day of the chaos & madness that takes place before a show, gave me new-found respect for the incredible effort and teamwork I witnessed from all involved, most notably the various PR whose job it is to ensure that figurative fires are put out, all needs met, and that everything runs smoothly and on time. Hats off to you guys – seriously!
My first stop was at the Redken hair station (the official hair sponsor of WMCFW), where my usually straight hair was given beach-y waves – I totally loved it, and the style seemed to only get better as the day progressed. PS: Thank you Rose, Adam & Tracy; a picture I took of us seems to have gone AWOL …
I was then taken to the Essie station (the official nail sponsor of WMCFW) , where it was my personal thrill to meet Essie’s lead nail stylist, Rita Remark – talented, gracious, funny, eloquent and drop-dead gorgeous – who then proceeded to give ME a manicure, recreating one of the looks she developed for an earlier show. Oh. My God.
But it gets better; Rita then asked me to unveil the nail look she created for Rudsak, a show I was to attend later on. Honoured (and dying) to rip the paper off the nail board, was a “moment” – made me feel personally connected to it all. Thank you so much, Rita! ♥
Once my nails were done, it was off to makeup, where one of the Maybelline artists (the official makeup sponsor of WMCFW) added some dramatically thicker liner to my upper lids. Actually, she mentioned that she wasn’t sure if I needed anything done, as she thought I looked “perfect” — words a beauty lover such as myself, never gets tired of … lol!
Fangirl moment #2 came when I was given the opportunity to meet Grace Lee, Maybelline’s Lead Makeup Artist, and watch her in action as she gave a step-by-step demonstration of the look she created for the Rudsak show. An incredibly talented lady with a unique vision, and just so rocker-chic!
Time for the show …
How fitting is it that I, a beauty blogger from Montréal, attended a fashion show by a Montréal designer? Meant to be, right? Rudsak, the line created by Evik Asatoorian featured edgy outerwear that exemplified function, form, and beauty; suffice it to say that apart from the men’s pieces, I lusted after every single item I saw come down that runway.
Ending my day on a high note, I was then ushered into the private Sponsor’s Lounge for a celebratory glass of bubbly, accompanied by Carly (from NKPR) and Rita – and thus, my evening was complete.
A huge THANK YOU to Natasha Koifman’s team at NKPR – you guys totally rock! A special mention to Bunmi, who I did not get to meet (this time around) but has always been so incredibly supportive (and funny as hell), Katie – gorgeous, warm & so totally welcoming (we need to do lunch!), and Carly for not only “babysitting” me the entire time, but for being my show buddy! Thank you to Micah as well, for all your efforts in the planning stages.
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Also, my deepest gratitude goes out to ROI Relations, Redken, Maybelline, and of course, Essie for being a part of my Cinderella experience!
a coach for a modern-day Cinderella
Team Redken hard at work transforming my hair – loved the beach-y waves!
top 2 photos: rows upon rows of Maybelline cosmetics at the makeup stations
bottom left: a view of the hair stations, sponsored by Redken
bottom right: Essie lead nail stylist Rita Remark’s kit – be still my lacquer-beating heart!
I was so honoured to be asked by Rita to be the one to unveil the nail board, showing the look she created for the Rudsak show (in case you’re wondering: 2 layers of Essie’s Mink Muffs with a layer of Matte About You on top)
Having a total fangirl moment as Rita applied the look on my nails that she created for the Line Knitwear show: Essie’s Armed and Ready as a base which served to outline one coat of Penny Talk, with a layer of Matte About You to finish – so edgy and avant-garde!
PS: check out Rita’s jewelry – to die for!
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with Rita Remark
Holding court at her own personal station, Maybelline lead makeup artist Grace Lee explains the look she created for Rudsak upon on of the models for the upcoming show
Check out the nails the model is wearing in the bottom left photo – Rita’s creation!
Bottom middle photo: a soon-to-be released new dual-brush mascara by Maybelline
bottom right: the simple, clean & flawless finished look
with Grace Lee (unplanned motorcycle jacket twins …)
Getting all primped out, thanks to my makeup artist, Kat
top left photo showcases some brand new & some upcoming Maybelline releases
the Rudsak show
bottom left photo: Take a look at the hordes of media!
bottom right photo: media work stations – getting the word out ASAP!
Two of my fabulous “fairy Godmothers” – with Katie (left), and Carly (right) of NKPR
So totally could not resist my own moment against “the wall”!
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The Essie gift bag, filled with upcoming collections & amazing goodies, all in signature purple neon
The Maybelline gift bag
2 new ColorSensational Vivids from Maybelline: Vibrant Manadarin and Vivid Rose, as well as the new Master Smoky pencil (to be released in June)
Capping off the day with a glass of bubbly at the Sponsor’s Lounge
Some of the gorgeous gowns on display for the 4th annual ‘Dare to Wear Love Fashion Gala’ that closed Fashion Week – creations made from African fabric by 25 top Canadian designers, and modelled by influencers, celebrities and performers alike, in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation to help eradicate the AIDS pandemic in Africa
Goodbye, Toronto …
A tired, but so very happy beauty blogger!
Last word: What an adventure! It was totally amazing to watch how a fashion show comes together, and seeing firsthand how the various departments – hair, makeup & nails, all work in tandem to ensure that no detail is overlooked, was eye-opening, to say the least. My first time seeing a live fashion show (the ones I participated in as a model when I was younger, don’t count!) was an extraordinary sensory experience: music, clothing, beauty, flashbulbs! Before I knew it, I was on a plane headed back home and left wondering if I had dreamed it all – but I have the pictures to prove I didn’t. The only problem? I want to do this again!
Once again, thank you to everyone involved for making this happen – giant panda hugs!
… hello, Montréal!
*Disclosure: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
Happy New Year 2013!
Another year has come to a close, and my thoughts turn towards what’s to be – but I can’t help but be filled with a sense of anticipation, which makes no sense, as ultimately it’s just another day, right? And yet … some habits are just ingrained, I guess.
Because of all you fabulous people that take the time to stop by and read my little slice of the beauty world, I’ve managed to hit another personal milestone: over 2 million visits to date – a stunning result that truly humbles me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for making me feel so appreciated.
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I have tons of plans and dreams for 2013, but as I’m not really a “resolutions” type person, I’ve decided to not bother with listing a bunch of things I probably won’t end up doing anyway, and spend more time in refining my personal blog style – finally putting into action all the ideas racing through my head. I also have a couple of projects that I’ve been quietly working on for several months now, and early in the new year, I’m planning on a big reveal … fingers crossed!
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Therefore, I raise my glass to you all and leave you with wishes of great health, peace of spirit, and joy in all you do. Massive panda hugs! ♥
Cheers and a truly Happy New Year!
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All Hallows’ Eve 2012 …
I’m not one for complicated nail art, but every now & then I like to try my hand at something outside of the box — at least as far as my tastes run. In honour of the pagan holiday “All Hallows’ Eve” which we all know & celebrate today as “hallowe’en”, I once again turned to a shade from one of my most beloved brands, a-england’s ‘Lancelot’ (previously reviewed here) – a shade that straddles the line between deepest onyx and blood red, accompanied by ‘Goldeneye’ from OPI’s ‘Skyfall Holiday Collection’ (previously reviewed here) – the most brilliantly luxurious gold. All swatches are with base & top coats.
The look:
- once the base coat was dry, I applied 3 thin layers of ‘Goldeneye’ over the entire nail, waiting approximately 2 minutes between coats to avoid any dragging
- making sure to leave enough of a border around the nail to show the base colour, I then carefully applied 1 coat of ‘Lancelot’ down the center of the nail
- a final layer of top coat sealed everything in and served to amplify its already intense shine
I am so happy with the way this turned out, with the deeply burnished gold of ‘Goldeneye’ under ‘Lancelot’ almost making it seem to pulsate like a beating heart – an unexpected thrill, and one that made the entire look that much more seasonally appropriate – in every sense of the word!
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in sunlight
in sunlight/alternate
indirect light
shaded light
with flash
mattified & in sunlight
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Final thoughts: I’ve stated often enough that I’m a “colour purist” and tend to lean towards dark hues, although I confess to being so attracted to shiny things as well – a contradiction, but one I can’t deny. My inspiration for this look was drawn from antique Venetian masks: luxurious, mysterious, and darkly seductive, and to that end I wanted to try and recreate that feel with nail lacquer – I absolutely love how it turned out! Now if I only had a masquerade ball to attend …
Happy All Hallows’ Eve!
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*Disclaimer: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
