On Tuesday night the C5 Lounge at the ROM hosted the exclusive Mix, Mingle, and Make-up event with celebrity make-up artist and style guru Paul Venoit. The dim lighting, sleek furniture and decorative accents paired with beautiful rose arrangements and candles created the perfect setting for an incredible evening.

Toronto’s most fashionable PR maven (as named by YYZ Living Magazine) Gail McInnes looked like a glamorous starlets from the roaring twenties as she graced the stage to kick off the night by introducing the brand and the speakers.

First up was Michael McDougall from Afexa Life Sciences who gave us a short info session about cold sores. Although a lot of people get them (30% of those being under the age of 10) many of us are still don’t realize that cold sores are not sexually transmitted. One of us actually suffers from cold sores once a year during the winter, and it was nice to be there having both perspectives!

What we want our readers to do is get smart! If you don’t suffer from cold sores that’s great, but a lot of people still do and all of you can do your research to find out why they happen, how to avoid them, and what to do if in fact you ever get one. One thing that will be on the market soon to help better than anything else you can find is Cold Sore FX!

Cold Sore FX is a part of the Cold FX family and is made with natural ingredients and unbeknownst to us, is a Canadian brand! This amazing little tube of cream not only helps even after the symptoms have started but it also cuts down the healing time by four days, which to anyone with a cold sore is great news! The best part about it is that it even though just like with any other “med” it will need reapplication, it will still work once you coat your pout with lipstick.

Next on stage was celebrity make-up artist Paul Venoit who gave the crowd a few tips and tricks on how to conceal cold sores and other blemishes and how to bring focus to other parts of your face. Here is what we learned:

• Conceal any blemish with a very light hand. The softer the application the more natural it looks and the better coverage you get. Make-up is buildable so you can do several light layers instead of globbing on a thick layer. This trick also works wonders with foundation – we’ve tried it and love it!
• If you have a cold sore avoid wearing bright lipsticks or colours that match that annoying red dot. You don’t want the attention to be on your lips.
• Play up your eyes, cheeks, or brows to really move the focus from your mouth.
• Paul said that although fashion trends may come and go, “…clear skin is ALWAYS in!” and that “there are no ugly women, but there are lazy ones” – so do everything you can to take care of your health! This doesn’t mean you need to even wear make-up, but at least don’t neglect your beauty – maintain it!

We got to snap a pic with the famous beauty guru and have a chat too. Everyone has a story of where they began their career, however, not many knew at a very young age what they were destined for! Paul grew up with nine sisters who he always observed during their beauty routines which inspired him to begin his career before he could even apply for a SIN card. Paul’s first clients consisted of family and friends who would pay about $20 to get their make-up done, hair styled, and outfits tweaked. Talk about getting bang for your buck! Now Paul spends just as much time in front of the camera as he does behind it, with his show “Look-a-Like”, as well as working with Rachel Ray, judging for Canada’s Next Top Model, and being the beauty expert for CityLine! He was truly a pleasure to speak with and an inspiration!

Before the lovely evening came to an end, we got make-up touch-ups and we were given a tube of Cold Sore FX (which will be hitting stores this summer), a cute little make-up bag, and the most awesome pen/USB ever in the shape of a lipstick! We had a fantastic time and we’re so happy to be able to share this with all of you! Some of you get cold sores and Cold Sore FX will definitely help to not only heal them, but to speed up the process and bring your confidence back up to 100%!

photo by Theresa Kim of YYZ Living Magazine

the coolest pen/USB shaped like a lipstick

S.W.A.K.

Ally & Dani

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