Week-End de Toute Beauté. November 7th, 2014. Part Two.

When my sister and I got back from our late lunch, we found the convention center filling up with people just getting off work. A few new installations had been set up and people were slowly gravitating toward the main stage. 

Our very own Guylaine Tremblay spoke about some of her red carpet experiences, throwing in a few personal anecdotes that made people chuckle. Geneviève and I really like her and I'm hoping I'll get the chance to hear her talk about her personal and professional triumphs and challenges, one day, but this segment was all about glamour and dressing up for the red carpet. 

This was followed by a fashion show put on by Le Chateau but I must say that, at this point, I had been battling a rather terrible cold and I had already been out and about for eight hours. It was time to for me to go home and hide from the world.

On my way out, I was asked to sample and review a series of products. I did so and was given a large bag filled with full-sized versions of what I had just tried. I've been trying these out and will soon be posting reviews on each of them.

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Pause. Old Montreal. November 7th, 2014.

My sister and I took some time off from Le Weekend de Toute Beauté, to grab some lunch, stroll around Old Montreal and to sit down and chat over some Starbucks. Here are some photos I took (and posted to Instagram) with my old camera phone. One more post to go before my photos improve!

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Week-End de Toute Beauté. November 7th, 2014. Part One.

On November 7th, my little sister and I headed out to day one of le Week-End de Toute Beauté, a convention addressing all things beauty and fashion related, at the Montreal Congress Centre. My sister, Geneviève, is 16 and about to start her own lifestyle blog and we thought this would be the perfect opportunity for her to get going on that.

We kick-started our tour with some shopping at China Glaze. I usually stick to OPI, Revlon, Sally Hansen and, thanks to wantable, Spellbound but my sister convinced me to try this out.

Once we'd purchased a few bottles, we found out that China Glaze was about to give a demonstration, or "banc d'essai" of their product and that we'd get to keep whatever colour had been assigned to us. Gen got the colour she had planned on buying next and I swapped what I considered to be a gaudy teal with massive glittery bits in it for a beautiful silver a stranger was all too happy to give away. One coat is all it takes with China Glaze. It dries stupid fast and one dip of the brush covered the nails of one hand. I'm definitely adding these guys to my list of regulars.

We arrived relatively early, on a weekday, and were therefore able to visit every kiosk without having to wait in line and to have our pick of seats for talks and presentations.

From body scrubs to facial cleansers to weight loss programs to hair styling on location to designer dress rental services, beautifully presented kiosks lined the aisles and friendly, enthusiastic beauty representatives answered our questions and offered us samples and literature.

A large section was set aside for locally designed garments and I rather enjoyed getting to see and touch clothing I've seen walk up and down runways, without having to visit nine different boutiques in one day. 

My favourite part of the afternoon was when we sat down to listen to two talks given by two successful, down to earth women. First up was Iris Setlakwe, whose SS15 collection I had viewed a few days prior, at the Défilé Logis Rose-Virginie. As an emerging designer who always allows herself to feel the weight of time when it comes to her career, I really appreciated hearing Iris talk about how she started out and about how she did that at my age and with way less resources than she currently has. Despite the nasty cold I was fighting (and losing to) and the immense pile of work that loomed ahead, for the sample-making of my aw16 collection, I felt stronger and rather motivated after hearing what she had to say. 

The next talk did nothing but amplify these feelings. We had the absolute pleasure of hearing Chantal Fontaine talk about her life as an actress, a mother and an entrepreneur. I often caught myself nodding along and smiling at my sister as Chantal spoke about the different chapters in her life. She positively radiates and I found myself wishing I knew more uplifting and ambitious people in my life. Take a moment to see what she's been up to, during the last few years: http://accords.ca/ 

After this, it was time for a late and well-deserved lunch and some fresh air in Old Montreal. 

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Beasts of Fashion Gala. November 6th, 2014.

On November 6th, I made my way to the Corona Theatre for the first ever Beasts of Fashion Gala, where over $100 000 was raised for the Montreal SPCA.

It was a pleasant event, with snappily-dressed people enjoying tiny morsels and free-flowing wine. I watched from the balcony as the show started and, within ten minutes, was crying openly, as we were told the story of a dog who had been badly beaten by her owner. After being shown images of the poor dog, our tears turned to those of joy as a now healed and joyous pup strutted across the stage to hearty applause and whoops of joy.

In addition to the silent auction being held, a live auction raised over three thousand dollars for a week-end getaway and a jersey signed by the entire Canadiens team. After the auction, the fashion show kept us all on the edges of our seats and awwing loudly. Several of the models walked out with a rescued dog, melting my heart each and every time a new one came out. I, of all people, had a hard time focusing on the clothing and I now barely remember any of the pieces but, dog-lover that I am, I'm one-hundred percent okay with that.

I never usually use pictures by taken someone else but my old phone simply could not handle the lighting for this event and so I've borrowed images from www.montrealrampage.com. They were taken by Magali Crevier. Please visit the site for more!

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