Breakfast Event with Make Up For Ever & Gina Brooke

As many of you know, last week I spent a few days in Toronto (oh how I love that city!) and one of the reasons was to attend a breakfast event with Make Up For Ever and celebrity makeup artist Gina Brooke, to celebrate the launch of their new Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge ($24 USD / $27 CAD) line… in particular, shade Nº8 Iconic Red, the shade that Gina helped create.  I already posted my photo diary from my point of view… but here are a few more details on the event itself! Oh right… did I mention that Gina is Madonna’s makeup artist? Yeah, let’s not forget that tiny detail.

Having collaborated with the legendary singer on three of her world concert tours, music videos and endless magazine spreads, Gina was incredibly down-to-earth, kind and totally driven. She explained how she launched her career as a celebrity makeup artist (it was anything but easy, let me say that) and she was just a total open book the entire time… and yes, I made sure to pick her brain about all of her favorite products (namely Cle de Peau concealer, a huge favorite of hers, which I need to try now).

She was wearing the Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge in Nº8 Iconic Red, and it looked perfect the entire event, even through coffee, breakfast, chatting and countless napkin-kissing demonstrations.  She was truly a fan of the product, and you could tell that she was really proud of the universal shade of red that she said “magically works on every skintone“.  The two-step liquid lipstick is waterproof, smudge-proof and transfer resistant… you can top it off with the glossy top coat, or leave it with a matte finish (that’s the way Gina liked to wear it)! I was lucky enough to take home the gorgeous shade, but if you want to check it out, it’s available at Sephora!

The breakfast was held at the beautiful Hazelton Hotel

Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouges… in shade Nº8 Iconic Red, of course!

The stunning Gina Brooke

Face Charts!

Can you spot my name peeking out?

Getting ready for breakfast!

Chatting it up with Gina!

Listening to all her wise words and advice!

A peek at the 3-course breakfast… so delicious!

Being a good blogger, tweeting and instagramming!

Some fantastic beauty bloggers!

Of course, playing with makeup is always appropriate at a Make Up For Ever event!

Myself with Gina Brooke

Goodie bags, each with Gina’s top 5 favorite Make Up For Ever products inside!