Grammys 2014 and BeautyUnited Event

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of watching the Grammys in the swanky Thompson Hotel, courtesy of the lovely folks from BeautyUnited and PnG Beauty. I was surrounded by some of the most awesome Canadian beauty bloggers, including (though certainly not limited to) our host, the ever-effervescant Arianne of The Glitter Geek, Christa of Perilously Pale, Eugenia of Ommorpia's Beauty Bar, Ellie of My Beauty Box, Alexa of Stealing Beauty, Kristelle of Crystal Candy Makeup and Chloe of Fashion Red Fox. 

We noshed, we boozed we imbibed like the ladies we are, and we dished, both amongst ourselves and on twitter. If you were following along with us with the #musicglam hashtag, you may have been one of the lucky 6 winners of some stellar PnG Beauty prize packs. Otherwise, you were probably as fixated on the dresses and hair and performances as we were. 

My personal favourite looks were: Cyndi Lauper, who looked like her usual Technicolor, ageless pixie urchin self, Beyonce, who maybe an actual goddess, and Taylor Swift, who just looked perfectly pretty.

My favourite performances were: Pink, because she was SO awesome, she made everyone in a 50 foot radius that much more awesome simply by the sheer force of her awesomeness, and Macklemore, BECAUSE MACKLEMORE. Also, there was that whole thing where Queen Latifah married 33 couples. No big.

Photo credit: Bellasugar

Katy Perry, who is also a Cover Girl spokesperson, wore one of the most flattering looks - a fresh, pretty and modern take on a 50s debutante/ballerina. And MY GOD HER SKIN. I suspect someone has been making deals with a crossroads demon, because that skin is just unreal. Her look was created by MUA Jake Bailey.

Products used (all Cover Girl): 

Skin - Olay Regenerist Luminous Tone Perfecting Cream, mixed equal parts  CGsmoothers BBcream and TruBlend Liquid Foundation, TruMagic Sunkisser and Luminizer, COVERGIRL + Olay Pressed Powder.

Eyes - Bombshell Intensity Liner, Bombshell Volume Mascara, Bombshell Shine Shadow in Gold Goddess, Flamed Out Shadow Pot in Blazing White. COVERGIRL TruMagic Sunkisser and Luminizer.

Lips -  LipPerfection Lipstick in Heavenly

As part of the night, we were asked to pick the makeup and hair looks that we enjoyed the most. There was a lot of debate, but we settled on a combination of dark eyes, pastel lips and an unstructured take on the classic french chignon, inspired by the updo sported by Paris Hilton (NOT my fave, I preferred the similar and more touchable style worn by Sarah Hyland) and the makeup worn by Rita Ora (which I think looked fantastic).

Photo credit: Bellanaija

Paris went a little too "Dynasty" for me, but Sarah look feminine and chic and casually beautiful.

Photo credit: Popsugar

I love, love, LOVE the sparkly purple on Rita's eyes. 

These two trend looks was then re-interpreted by the consulting stylist and makeup artist for Pantene and Cover Girl:

Photo credit: Arthur Mola

Hair Look by Justin German, PANTENE PRO-V Consulting Stylist

First, prepare by washing hair with the new Pantene Pro-V Damage Detox Weekly Deep Cleanse Purifying Shampoo. Blow-dry with a round brush and pin in clips, like you would rollers – this will give you a great foundation for this updo. Set hair with Pantene Pro-V Stylers Anti-Humidity Mximum Hold Hairspray.

After a few minutes, remove clips and shake out curls. Spray in Pantene Advanced+ Keratin Repair KERAGLOSS Oil Mist to relax the look and build texture.

Now, part the hair in two sections. Start by collecting hair from temple to temple and pile it in a knot on top of your head. With the remaining hair, gather and put into a ponytail just below the crown. While the sides are tight to the head, they are not slick. We want an undone look! Backbrush the ponytail, while misting with hairspray.


Next, twist the ponytail downward and pin into the head all the way down. Finish by tucking in the ends with a few bobby pins at the nape of the neck. Undo the top section of hair and backbrush with a few spritzes of the Pro-V Stylers Anti-Humidity spray.

Then lift hair at the front, creating tons of volume, roll and pin into the top of the hair roll that was created with the bottom section of the hair – connecting the top and bottom into one.

For the final touch, using your fingertips, pull out a few pieces of hair from the front, lifting and spraying for even more volume and texture. Finish with a few sprays of KERAGLOSS for extra shine.

Justin makes it look so easy.

Princess pretty with a rocker edge.

Makeup Look by Amélie Ducharme, COVERGIRL Makeup Pro

To keep focus on the eyes, skin must look flawless. Create your base with COVERGIRL Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation with a foundation brush. Even out any dark circles by applying COVERGIRL + Olay Eye Rehab CC Cream with a concealer brush. Apply in a triangular shape under the eye - from corner to corner and down toward the nose.

Next, lightly apply COVERGIRL Clean Sensitive Skin Pressed Powder under the eye to set concealer. Also apply on forehead, nose and chin for a natural yet matte skin finish.

With your finger, apply COVERGIRL Bombshell Shine Shadow in Ohh La Lilac all over the mobile lid up to the crease and along the bottom lashline with a flat shadow brush. Using a shadow brush, apply COVERGIRL Flamed Out Shadow Pot in Molten Black to the outside corner of the lid and then from the inside corner, blending toward the center of the eye, connecting both sides in the crease. To create dimension, apply the plum shadow from the COVERGIRL EyeEnhancer 4-Kit Shadow in Prom Queen to the middle of the lid, just below the crease.  Also, sweep this plum colour under the eye.

Then, rim the bottom of the eye, tighter to the lashline, with the Shadow Pot in Molten Black, blending slightly wider toward the outer corner of the eye.

Next, line the entire waterline with COVERGIRL LiquiLineBlast Eye Liner in Black Fire. To intensify the look, use this pencil to trace over the shadow on the outer corners of the eye and blend out and up using the sponge tip on the other end of the pencil. Using a shadow brush, connect the shadow from the top and bottom lids just beyond the outside corner, lifting up and out toward the temple, elongating the eye. The further out, the more dramatic the look!

Using COVERGIRL Bombshell Intensity Liner in Pitch Black Passion, trace along the upper lashline starting from the inner corner and creating a thicker line as you move to the outer corner extending just beyond the lash in an upward movement.

Coat lashes with COVERGIRL Bombshell Volume Mascara in Very Black. Start with multiple coats of Step 1 for extreme volume, then apply Step 2 for a pitch black glossy finish. Finish the eye look by applying the silver shade from the Prom Queen palette under the brow.

For this smoldering look, you want to create a thick, strong brow. Fill in brows with COVERGIRL Brow & EyeMakers Pencil one shade darker than your natural colour. To contour the face, use COVERGIRL Clean Glow Bronzer in Spices. Starting with the darkest shade of the palette, apply just under the cheek bone at the temple. As you move toward the apple of the cheek blend the middle and lightest shade.

Finally, prep lips by applying moisturizer topped with a thin layer of your foundation to cover any redness around the mouth. Then, fill in your pout with COVERGIRL LipPerfection in Yummy – a great pastel pink! For a more matte finish, apply a light dusting of Clean Pressed Powder.

Amélie smoking it out. 

Eyes in progress.

All in all, it was a super fun night! Thank you again to BeautyUnited and PnG for making it possible. :)

So did you guys watch the show? What stood out for you?

(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.)