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. 

Posted in: accord bar a vin,beauty convention,chantal fontaine,china glaze,iris setlakwe,montreal beauty,montreal fashion,palais des congrès,weekend de toute beauté