Being a beauty blogger in Winnipeg (smack dab in the centre of Canada) can be a bit rough sometimes.  I get tons of invites for parties, events or workshops, but since I’m not in close proximity to Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, I have to (sadly) decline the offers.  Instead, I’m left home on Instagram seeing all my Toronto and Montreal beauty blogger friends living it up and having fun (#winnipegbloggerproblems).

With that being said, I love blogging and there are tons of perks of doing it, and heck, I’ve even had companies fly me out to places to attend their events, but they don’t come that often (it’s still really cool to get the invites).

A couple months back, the amazing Cynnamon Schreinert, who does the PR for London Drugs, was in town and sent me a message to meet.  We chatted over all things beauty at Starbucks and she mentioned the annual event that London Drugs puts on every year that is apparently the event of the year. For those of you not familiar with London Drugs, it’s a Western Canada-based company that has locations throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.  Manitoba actually has only one location, located at St. Vital Mall, which is about a 10-15 minute drive from my house.  The store carries everything from food to pharmacy, home goods, electronics, and of course, cosmetics. It’s like a one-stop-shop with everything you would possibly need, and best of all, the prices are always really great.   Since the closest location (and the only one in Manitoba) is quite a trek from my house, I don’t go there that often, but whenever I’m in the mall, I love to stop by and check out what they have in store.  They differ from Shoppers Drug Mart or Wal-Mart because they sell products and lines that other drugstores don’t carry.  They have a wider selection of NYX than Target, as well as prestige cosmetic lines like Cargo, Lise Watier, Marcelle, etc.

Anyways, back to the story at hand, Cynnamon mentioned that they were having the event in Vancouver and said she could fly out a blogger from Winnipeg, as well as Edmonton, so obviously I was so excited to attend.

This takes me to last Wednesday when I arrived in Vancouver (well, technically Richmond), and hit up the event practically as soon as I got off the plane (I had 50 minutes to do my makeup and I was out the door).  I met up with Edmonton-blogger Janis from Dress Me Dearly and we hitched a cab to the London Aviation Centre where the event was being held.  Because we were staying in Richmond we didn’t get to be flown in via helicopter like the other Vancouver media and bloggers, but heck I shouldn’t complain since they flew me all the way from Winnipeg to Vancouver (still though, how freaking cool is it that the Vancouver people got flown in via helicopter?  Like, who does that?).

As soon as we walked in the event we were handed books with all the brands and products featured at the event, as well as name tags and a large tote bag for our goodies.  The goodies given out at this event were actually ridiculous.  Each vendor had a booth and you walk from booth and booth and they explain what’s new, show you a demo, and then give you products. Seriously, it was like beauty blogger Halloween. You always get swag at events but the stuff given away here was on another level.  There were vendors there that everyone knows, like Revlon, Sally Hansen, St. Tropez (we got a bottle of their tanning mousse and the applicator glove), Conair, Essie, Garnier, as well as lesser known brands that will be making their way into London Drugs soon (Chella brows) and Canadian lines like Lise Watier, Annabelle, Cargo, and more.

I would have to say that my favourite booths were the Roc booth, where they had a lady doing caricatures (I was probably the most excited about my photo as opposed to anything else I got), the Revlon booth (which was packed), Lise Watier, and Red Carpet Manicure, where I got a gel mani with the hottest neon pink (their colour selection is so fab!).  I also won a laser hair removal kit from Silk’n, which I’m so excited to try out.

The event last four hours and it basically took all that time to get fully around the room.  I think I hit the Lise Watier booth, which was last, at 9:20 p.m.  They were super fun and gave away a ton of stuff, including their fall 2014 Feline eyeshadow palette, their Lift & Firm 3D Duo Serum, the 24Hrs Glam Eyeshadow, the Feline Eyeliner HD in brown, the Feline Velvet Lip Lacquer, and the Double Definition Automatic Brow Liner, all of which hits London Drugs stores in August 2014.   A lot of booths had products that are late summer launches, including Tweezerman, who was showcasing their new Brush iQ line, where we got to choose one brush to take home with us.  I also mentioned that I’ve never tried their tweezers (which have quite the cult following) and the guy let me take home a pair.  Seriously guys, when Cynnamon said this was the event of year, she meant it.

There was too much stuff given away that could fit in a single photo (thank God I listened to my friends last minute and brought a big suitcase as opposed to a carry-on size), but I’ll be blogging about the products and incorporating them into future posts.  I also want to send a HUGE thank you and shout out to fairy godmother Cynnamon and the Hartley PR team, as well as London Drugs for having me and for throwing such an awesome event.

Enjoy the photos!

With Gerry from The Bunnie Hole (a fellow #BeautyUnited blogger!)

Also, don’t forget to enter my #GottaTurnItUp glam makeup giveaway!

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Confession time.  As much as I love going out on a Friday or Saturday night, my favourite part of the night is the getting-ready time.   I don’t hit up the clubs much anymore, but I still love the glam time.  The hair, the makeup, the outfit, I love it all.  Play the Putting On Your Party Dress playlist on Songza while sipping cocktails is the perfect night.  Honestly, I’ve said it many times, if I could just have the getting ready part and then the obligatory McDonald’s nug run at the end of the night, I’ll be a happy camper.

I’m more of a “let’s go for drinks!” kinda girl now, so it’s not as bad as putting up with a sweaty dance club, but if I’m feeling it, I’ll go all out when it comes to getting ready.  And obvi it’s not the same if there isn’t your fave gal pal there to get ready with you (and dogs.. there has to be dogs too)!

For this #GottaTurnItUp challenge we were to show our best glam look. I’m a huge fan of going heavy on the eyes and then nude on the lips so I don’t often stray from my tried and true.

For this look I used CoverGirl Tru Blend foundation and concealer with the Olay and CoverGirl pressed powder over top.  For the eyes, first I put on CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil in Melted Caramel Flame then layered CoverGirl’s Flamed Out Shadow Pot in Melted Gold on top.  In the crease, I used CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pot in Molten Black to smoke-out the look.  For liner, I used Benefit’s They’re Real Push-Up Liner and for extra bold lashes I layered CoverGirl Clump Crusher and Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. For the cheeks I used CoverGirl Cheekers blush in True Plum.  To contour, I used CoverGirl Spices bronzer. To finish off the look, on the lips I wore CoverGirl LipPerfection lipstick in Creme (love this!).

My bestie Jess chose to go with a bold lip (she can pull it off way better than me).  On her eyes she’s wearing CoverGirl EyeEnhancers 4-Kit Shadow in Pure Romance and CoverGirl LipPerfection lipstick in Bombshell, a beautiful fuchsia pink.

For the hair, I did a full blow out, but first washed my locks using Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner for soft and shiny hair.  Then, while it was still damp, I applied Herbal Essences Set Me Up Mousse before blowdrying it with a round brush.  With an S-wave curler I curled my whole head then sprayed it with Herbal Essences Set Me Up Max Hold hairspray.

For the outfit I’m wearing a tank from Marshall’s (only five bucks!), Lululemon tights and Valentino pumps.  To be honest though, we didn’t actually go anywhere as it rained all weekend :(.  Instead, we got burritos and slurpees and watched a marathon of Extreme Cheapskates on Netflix (oh the magic of blogging…).

Now the fun part! Have an upcoming event that you want to get glam for?  Well lucky for you, I’m giving away the following P&G products:

• CoverGirl Tru Blend Liquid Foundation
• CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pot in Melted Gold
• CoverGirl Cheekers blush in True Plum
• CoverGirl LipPerfection lipstick in Bombshell
• CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss in Show Stopper
• Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner
• Herbal Essences Set Me Up Mousse
• Herbal Essences Set Me Up Max Hold Hairspray

To win, enter in the Rafflecopter below. Contest is open to Canadian residents of the age of majority in their province.  Contest ends on June 30, 2014!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to enter my other P&G giveaways! The #GottaTurnItUp five-minute face giveaway ends tonight and the summertime SOS giveaway is still happening.

Good luck!

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.

If you work in an office like me, you’ll know that +30 weather (Celsius, not Fahrenheit for my American readers) means that you are glancing out the window every 10 minutes wishing you were on a patio somewhere instead of cooped up at a desk.

Since I work in a popular place in my city, my coworkers and I often hit up the neighbourhood Starbucks and sit outside and chat (AKA talk about guys) during our lunch hours. You’ll never know who you’ll run into, so having some products at hand makes this a must (we always have to look our best, right?).

Although I don’t get all glammed up for a quick skinny vanilla latte during my hour-long lunch, it’s nice to have some stuff on hand to make sure that my hair and makeup looks fresh because there’s only so much hiding that a large pair of sunglasses can do.

I was sent a summertime SOS beauty kit for the office from my friends at P&G that includes all the essentials that I need to look polished.  Lunchtime Starbucks runs aside, what if a friend calls you up and wants to grab a crepe or drink after work?  There’s no time to go home and redo your makeup, so having a few items on hand is a must.

P&G Beauty (Herbal Essences, Olay, CoverGirl, Secret) have put together a few different summer SOS’s for a variety of scenarios. Wanna hit the beach? Heading to the cottage? Rainy day? Click the images below to find out the essentials you need on your list to make any emergency outing beautiful.

Need some colour to your pout?  Slap on CoverGirl’s LipPerfection lipstick which gives you a nice dose of colour and moisture (I’m using 325 Spellbound).  Need to look energized?  Grab Olay Total Effects Eye Brightening CC Cream and apply it under the eyes to brighten up the area.

I wanna get you patio-ready this summer (or cottage ready or beach ready if that’s more your jam), with a $50 gift card to Wal-Mart to pick out your very own SOS beauty kit.  Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.  Contest is open to Canadian residents only (at the age of majority in their province).  Giveaway closes on June 23, 2014 at 9 a.m. CST.

Also, don’t forget to enter my #GottaTurnItUp five-minute face giveaway, ends Friday!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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.