Last week I spent a couple nights in Toronto to attend the VIP reception for the opening of Roses By…a gallery of work by 20 world-renowned photographers which featured their interpretation of the rose. I got invited because I participated in Bloggers for a Rose, the Lancôme Virtual Gallery, which featured 20 bloggers from across Canada and their interpretation of the rose (see my full post on it here).

I was in the T-Dot from Thursday to Saturday with a friend, and considering we were only there for three days, we jam-packed our trip full of stuff. The day we got there, we checked out Viktor & Rolf Dolls at the Royal Ontario Museum, then stopped by Blo Blow Dry Bar to get blowouts for the big event that night.  A couple hours later, we made our way to the VIP reception for Roses By…, which was at First Canada Place, and had Daria Werbowy (Lancome spokesmodel), Canadian Bachelor Brad Smith and his fiancee Bianka, Canada’s Next Top Model judge Stacey McKenzie, Elmer Olsen from Elmer Olsen Modelling Agency, Fashion Television, eTalk, and so many others.

The next day, we headed to the MMVA #Turnitup Beauty Bar then over to the L’Oreal Paris nail bar at the TIFF Bell Lightbox for manicures, and back to David Pecaut Square to view the virtual gallery.  On Saturday, our last day there, we shopped for a bit at the Toronto Eaton Centre, then made our way over to the MMVA Soundcheck where we got a backstage tour of the building and got to see the sets of MTV Canada, MuchMusic, eTalk, and more, as well as the MMVA Red Carpet and an up-close performance of Psy and his dancers rehearsing the finale from the MMVAs.  We ended up the trip by stopping at a few shops on Queen Street West, a visit to the Nivea HAUS, and then making our way all the back to Winnipeg.

Considering we were only there for 72 hours, we did a ton of stuff, so much that we literally could not feel our feet by the end of the trip (and a lot throughout). Toronto was amazing and it’s a trip I will never forget. I met so many wonderful people and I owe a huge thanks to the crew at L’Oreal Professional, Crowd Optic and Lancôme, especially Ekaterina, Hugo from L’Oreal Paris Canada, and Arianne from The Glitter Geek.

Enjoy the photos!

Luminato Hub at David Pecaut Square

Here are some images taken with my iPhone as well.

Jess and I on the pink carpet at the Roses By… VIP reception.

Just a few of the photos from the Roses By… exhibit at First Canada Place.

Daria Werbowy and I.

Lora Spiga (Lancome Canada’s official makeup artist- she was so nice!) and I.

Dress – Rachel by Rachel Roy; clutch – Chanel Timeless WOC; shoes- Christian Louboutin Decollete; bangles – Forever 21

Getting our nails done at the L’Oreal Paris Nail Bar.  Thanks Hugo for the gifts and for letting us skip the line :). Stolen from @eeenricaaa’s Instagram.

With Jessica from Beautezine. We ran into her all three days we were in Toronto, she’s so nice!

Check back Friday for shots from the MMVA Soundcheck and #Turnitup Beauty Bar!

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• Chanel WOC information