With Folklorama officially ending tomorrow night I knew one of the last pavilions I just needed to go to was the Korean one.
I went to the Korean pavilion last year and although we just went to it because it was convenient (the venue, JB Mitchell School, was near a bunch of other ones we were checking out), this one ended up being a highlight for me. They did the most incredible martial arts that had everyone on the edge of their seats, and they had a big selection of Korean beauty products.
South Korea is known for a lot of things. K Pop, tae kwon do, and a huge beauty market. In fact, they take beauty there so seriously that they are the plastic surgery capital of the world. Koreans seem to idealize western norms, making eyelid surgery the number-one form of surgery they get. They also like the look of white skin, so their beauty market offers tons of skin brightening and whitening products (there were even whitening masks for sale at the pavilion).
Ironically, Korean skincare and makeup trends have been slowly making their way over to the western world here. You know the whole BB cream craze a few years back. That was based on a Korean makeup trend. Face sheet masks are also super popular, and you know the store The Face Shop? They opened a location here at CF Polo Park last year I believe and it’s a Korean brand. Sephora even carries some Korean brands like Laneige and Boscia and even has a whole landing page on their website dedicated to Korean skincare. The Korean beauty industry is huge and us North Americans are just loving it.
Although there was a table of Korean beauty products to indulge in (I bought five sheet masks for $10 and two lip masks for $5), the actual show was just as good as the products they were selling. From the glow-in-the-dark fan dancers to the drummers to the amazing nail-biting tae kwon do presentation that finished off the show, this pavilion is worth making a stop at before the week is out.
Since I was so inspired by Korean beauty trends, I went with a flawless face via the Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Foundation with a hint of blush to round out the skin. Korean makeup is more about looking porcelain, almost like dolls, rather than sculpted cheeks and the extreme contouring we often see here in North America. For the eyes, I went with a champagne pink colour on the lids and a little bit of black in the crease to darken it up. I finished it off with a small winged liner and a pink ombre lip (also a Korean beauty trend that we’ve been seeing over here.. Maybelline Color Blur Matte Lip Pencils, anyone?). I paired my look with this black and white cat dress from H&M via a few years ago and my kitty moccasins from Charlotte Olympia.
With only two days left (if you count tonight), I would seriously consider making a stop at this one. Come for the beauty, the show, and the cute, albeit comical, emcees that will have you captivated by this amazing pavilion. Plus, they also teach you basic Korean… sa lang hae! <3.
What final pavilions are you going to see?
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Week two of Folklorama officially started yesterday and I couldn’t wait to hit up a couple of my favourite pavilions from last year.
First on the docket we just had to go to the Cuban pavilion, which is held at the RBC Convention Centre. If you’re a fan of Dirty Dancing, then you’ll love this. You know how in the movie, Baby is culture shocked by all the scandalous dancing happening while she’s on vacation? Well this pavilion doesn’t hold back, although we’re more accustomed to the amazing dance moves that these troupes are performing now that we’re in the year 2016.
After the Cuban pavilion (seriously, this one is a must!), we went to the Punjab Cultural Centre to see the UK pavilion. This one was also a favourite of mine from last year, not so much for the entertainment, but more for the cultural display. They had palace guards to meet you at the door (although I guess we weren’t on the same page for keeping a straight face apparently…), they have the Tardis from Dr. Who (which I don’t actually watch, but I know how popular the show is), they have a 007 martini bar and an English tea room. There’s a sorting hat and cutouts of Prince Harry and Daniel Craig. Oh, and there’s also nightly sheep herding (yes, you read that correctly, and yes, they’re real sheep). Although there are tons of British things to look at, the pavilion actually celebrates England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
For this look I channeled my inner Amy Winehouse and Adele and went with an exaggerated cat eye. I feel like the cat eye is so iconically British, with Twiggy first making it popular and then Kate Moss rocking it on the runways. I tried to use as much British makeup as I could, which is easy since we love UK beauty over on our shores (Rimmel London and Makeup Revolution London, anyone?). For the outfit, I went with black jeggings, a white tank top, my black and white Alexander McQueen Skull Scarf and my sparkly Kate Spade x Keds sneakers. For a country well known for their punk music, I wanted to do something grungy with the outfit.
There’s so many great pavilions happening this week that it’ll be hard deciding which ones to visit. I definitely recommend placing these two high on your list though.
What pavilions will you be visiting during week two of Folklorama?
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In 2007 I was lucky enough to travel to Israel and experience all the beauty that the country has to offer. Fast forward to this past Wednesday where I got to experience it all over again.. kinda.
This small country in the Middle East is home to many things. Aside from religion, Israel also boasts a major tech scene (they invented the cellphone), as well as the Dead Sea, where you may be familiar with the salt scrubs that come from the area. Long story short, the country boasts some of the best skincare products in the world, all made with this magical Dead Sea salt.
Keeping skincare in mind, my friends and I headed out to Shalom Square at the Asper Jewish Community Centre for the Israel pavilion on Wednesday. The Israeli pavilion is one of those pavilions that occasionally takes the year off, but whenever it’s in Folklorama, there are usually big lines to get in. It may be because of the magic of the country, or maybe because of the talented internationally renowned Sarah Sommer Chai Folk Ensemble. Either way, you’ll get to experience all the country has to offer.
We didn’t get the chance to dine at this pavilion, although their food offerings looked so amazing (think falafel, hummus and pita, latkes… okay I need to stop), but instead chose to focus all our energy on the entertainment, the displays, and the overall culture that the country and region emulates. Oh, and also Snapchat; this pavilion had their own geofilter, so we made sure to upload a few snaps to our stories (follow me – apopofcolour).
Since Israel boasts so many skincare products, I chose to keep it all looking natural and made my skin centrestage. I used a light dewy foundation (Tarte Rainforest of the Sea) and filled in my brows using a powder to make them more pronounced. I used a little bit of concealer under my eyes (Maybelline Super Skin Better Stay Concealer) to open them up, then just let my eyelashes do the talking. For the cheeks, I used a bit of bronzer (MAC Refined Golden) to contour and give me that middle eastern glow, and for blush I used Benefit LolliTint for a peony-coloured glow. For the highlight (oh so important) I used the cream highlight from the Make Up For Ever Pro Sculpting Face Palette and for the lips I used MAC lipstick in Hot Chocolate from the Vibe Tribe collection. Since Israelis tend to have tanned skin due to the sun, I made sure to apply some Vita Liberata tanning mousse prior to showtime.
For the outfit, since it gets so hot in Israeli I went with something light and airy. Both the black slacks and floral tank are from Nordstrom. The tassel necklace is from BaubleBar (via Nordstrom Ottawa). The floral sandals are Prada.
After the Israeli pavilion we made our way over to the Serbian Kolo Pavilion at the St. James Civic Centre where we dined on Serbian desserts, cabbage rolls and stuffed peppers. Our last show of the night was the South Sudanese pavilion, which celebrates the youngest country in Africa. South Sudan found their independence in 2011 and we watched as the performers did an amazing job on stage (and definitely the happiest looking bunch out of any pavilion i’ve been to so far).
Week one wraps up tomorrow night with week two starting Sunday. There’s still a few more shows I want to catch before the shows change up, in particular the Russian and Chilean ones.
Which pavilions did you see? And which ones are you excited for next week?
Also, don’t forget to enter my Genuine Health giveaway, I’m giving away a tub of their new fermented Greek yogurt proteins+ powder and bars!
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