I’ve been to Toronto many, many times.

As a kid, I would always visit the 6ix to see family, but since they lived in the suburbs of the city, I would be lucky if I got to spend a few hours in the GTA.

In the past few years, I’ve been fortunate to travel to Toronto mostly for my blog, which has given me the opportunity to stay right downtown, where all the action is. I’m actually flying home to Winnipeg today, but I’ve been in the area for a week, first in TO for the Grammy’s viewing event for P&G Beauty, then off to Niagara Falls for work, then back to Toronto for a night before visiting my boyfriend’s family for the weekend outside the city.

Since we had Friday to basically live it up before moving on, we wanted to make the best of it. We checked into the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, located at 100 Front Street West (directly in front of Union Station, making it convenient to get to and from Pearson International Airport due to the UP Express train). Although Toronto is home to many hotels, including some of the most expensive in the country, the Royal York is an institution. First opened in 1929, the 28-floor historic hotel houses an impressive 898 rooms. Since I’m a huge fan of the Fairmont line of hotels, I knew the service and amenities would be top notch.

We ended up staying in one of their luxury rooms, which were recently remodeled (definitely more my style, but they also have some classic-style rooms as well). The most important feature for me at any Fairmont establishment are the beds and robes. I’m a sucker for high-end hotels, and since Fairmont is a brand, you can expect the same amenities at each hotel. Plush, comfy robes and beds that will make it hard for you to get up in the morning. It’s unbridled luxury at its finest.

After checking in, my boyfriend and I (aka I dragged him) on a 10-minute walk to The Bay on Queen Street West to check out the brand-new Saks Fifth Avenue. If you have never been to Toronto before, I highly recommend checking out The Bay here since it’s huge (big enough to fit a full-size Saks in it) and the selection at this particular store is amazing (they boast that they are Canada’s largest shoe store – which if you have seen the second floor, you’ll have to agree). They also have many other brands, especially of the designer lines, that are only available in a few stores across the country (the Queen Street West store obviously being one of them).

After checking out Saks (I didn’t buy anything as I already did enough damage last month at Nordstrom in Vancouver, as well as earlier in the week shopping around Queen West), I headed back to the hotel to get ready. I took my time in the giant walk-in shower, then wrapped myself in a plush robe and comfy Fairmont slippers before taking my time doing my hair and makeup.

From there we jumped in a cab (this location, as well as many other Fairmonts, offer a BMW towncar for President’s Club members – which is free anyways – that will take you anywhere within reason in Downtown Toronto. The membership also gets you free WiFi – a total plus – as well as bikes to tour around the city in – some locations, I used this service in Vancouver last month actually when I stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront) and headed to Fring’s, Drakes restaurant in collaboration with restauranteur Susur Lee. After, we went out for more drinks before retiring in that oh-so-comfy Fairmont king-size bed.

The next morning we took our time packing up before checking out and enjoying the beautiful nine-degree C weather.

The Fairmont Royal York Hotel also offers six dining and lounge options, a spa and fitness centre, as well as all the other luxurious amenities that Fairmonts are known for.  You can find out more information and book a room online.

Have you stayed at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto?

Please note, the Fairmont RYH graciously hosted me for the night in exchange for a review.

Like what you read?  Check out these related posts.

• Rockin’ Romance at the Beauty United #MusicGlam Grammy Party
•  A trip to Toronto with P&G Beauty United!
• Snaps from Toronto part 1
• Snaps from Toronto part 2

Greetings from Toronto!

So I’ve been in Canada’s largest city since Monday. I was actually heading out this way anyway for work earlier this week but then I got an invite for a Grammy’s viewing party this past Monday.  Obviously I just couldn’t say no!

P&G Beauty were so gracious to fly me out from Winnipeg and host me at a hotel in downtown T.O. to attend the event at 2nd Floor Events in the Entertainment District. I went to a similar event two years ago at the Thompson Hotel, also with P&G, so I knew it was going to be an amazing time.

This event was in collaboration with Shoppers Drug Mart and features activation stations with Crest, CoverGirl, Pantene and Olay. We got our photos taken, our makeup and hair touched up, and we got to fill up on all the new CoverGirl products (and lots of candy and popcorn). For the actual awards show (cause you know, that’s why we were there…) we watched the Red Carpet broadcast and talked about beauty trends. The talk was hosted by ET Canada entertainment reporter Sangita Patel with CoverGirl makeup artist Veronica Chu, Pantene Pro-V Consulting Stylist Justin German. We talked about who we loved the most on the carpet (Selena Gomez was my fave) and we got you guys involved at home via Twitter and the hashtag #MusicGlam.

I had so much fun taking photos, seeing other bloggers, and watching the show. Enjoy the photos :).

What were your favourite Grammy’s beauty looks?

Last two photos courtesy of MSL Group.

Disclosure: I am a #BeautyUnited blogger. As part of my affiliation with this group I receive products and special access to P&G events. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Like what you read?  Check out these related posts.

• Rockin’ Romance at the Beauty United #MusicGlam Grammy Party
•  A trip to Toronto with P&G Beauty United!
• Snaps from Toronto part 1
• Snaps from Toronto part 2

It may still be -40 outside (okay, only in Winnipeg??), but it’s that time of the year when you’re going to start seeing spring fashion and beauty making a comeback.

I love springtime because I love all the things that go with it. Florals, pastels, colour! If you’ve been to your local salon or Hudson’s Bay, you may have seen OPI’s spring/summer 2016 collection has now hit stores and it’s full of fun hues.

OPI seems to love basing their collections around different places across the world. This time, the nail giant takes us to raging New Orleans.  From the Café du Monde all the way to nightcaps on Bourbon Street, your nails will be in style. The collection, which launched this month, consists of 12 colours in cremes, shimmers, and metallic formulas.

When I first laid my eyes on this collection I wasn’t too impressed by it.  The colours were nice, but nothing that really stood out to me.  Once I got to swatching them though I really started to appreciate the shade range and really like how vibrant a lot of the colours are.  There definitely are some shades I would skip in this collection, but a lot of them are winners.

All the colours went on really opaque after two coats, except for the shimmery colours, like Humidi-Tea, Le Me Bayou a Drink, and Show Us Your Tips! The colours I loved the most were Spare Me a French Quarter?, She’s a Bad Muffuletta!, Suzi Nails New Orleans (it’s like a Barbie pink, what’s not to love?), Rich Girls & Po Boys, and I’m Sooo Swamped!

I will note that although this collection is based off of New Orleans, and hello, we’ve all heard of Mardi Gras, there’s surprisingly no glitters in here.  I don’t really mind this because glitters to me are more holidays, whereas spring colours should be more solids, hence the cremes. There are some pearlescent shimmers in here, so that’s where you’ll see more of the festive colours, if you will.  The cremes in this collection are so bold and bright though that the lack of glitter in this collection is not even noticeable.

Once applied, these are definitely more playful and bright than they look in the bottle.  Also the shade range and formulation range is really nice and diverse, just like New Orleans.

Did you pick up any shades from OPI’s New Orleans collection?

Like what you read?  Check out these related posts.

• Rockin’ Romance at the Beauty United #MusicGlam Grammy Party
•  A trip to Toronto with P&G Beauty United!
• Snaps from Toronto part 1
• Snaps from Toronto part 2