Blogging continues to be a very rewarding project for me, and there have been moments when my eyes have watered up, thinking about the kind and talented people I’ve gotten to know and all the doors that have opened as a result of sticking to this since 2010.
On Tuesday October 1st, I attended a media luncheon where Suzi Weiss-Fischmann (the Executive Vice-President and Artistic Director of OPI) unveiled the new Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood Collection that’s hitting stores in January 2014!
I posted some sneak peeks during the event on my Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
If you’ve followed my blog for some time, you’ll remember that I met Suzi at 2 other events for a blogger dinner showcasing the Nicole by OPI Selena Gomez Collection (the 1st time) and for a media luncheon unveiling the OPI San Francisco Collection (the 2nd time).
For a nailphile to have met Suzi once alone is already a dream come true, so for me to have 3 opportunities seems so unreal! Each time, it’s inspiring!
Keep reading this blog post as I take you along the journey with me and show you photos.
Plus, you’ll want to read until the very end because I have a worldwide giveaway for a special nail polish autographed by Suzi! You won’t want to miss out!
Edit: Congratulations to Suzanne! She won my giveaway for the OPI Pure 18K White Gold & Silver Top Coat signed by Suzi! (She has 48 hours to reply to my e-mail to claim her prize.) Thanks to everyone for participating. Please stay tuned for my next giveaway.
It all started with the surprise invitation I received on September 4th from Maxine, one of the lovely ladies at Langton Communications, a PR firm that represents OPI as well as other prestigious brands!
(I’ve blanked out the contact information for privacy.)
The venue was held in the entertainment district in downtown Toronto at the chic Buonanotte. It was the first time I’ve ever been to that restaurant.
I rarely get the pleasure of enjoying the cuisine at fancy places like this, so it was a treat that I fully appreciated.
The decor had an urban, chic vibe, and the dim lighting made the dining experience feel like it was the evening, despite it being held close to noon. I thought that was really cool!
They also extended the opportunity for me to receive a free mini manicure at the restaurant, for which I also RSVPed.
Since I’ve only ever had my nails done professionally once (at a previous OPI San Francisco media luncheon), I was thrilled to have the chance again! I quickly pencilled myself in for a 1 pm manicure.
The entire place catered to this event, which really made it feel like a VIP experience!
There was also a bartender who was making a special cocktail inspired by Carrie Underwood. You can see him in the bottom right. (Hehe, I didn’t intend to get him in the shot, but I hope he doesn’t mind making an appearance on Swatch And Learn.) 😉
Did you see those swag bags? Look how bold they look!
And did you look up at the globe-like lighting fixtures?
Once I entered, I saw 3 tables set up with nail polishes from the Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood Collection. (There are so many great shades and finishes. Variety is always nice to see because it means there’s a chance that there’s something for everyone!)
There were also large posters featuring the 2005 American Idol winner, and as usual, she looks lovely, rocking light shades that make her look angelic!
It’s pretty impressive to see how far she’s come since competing on the reality TV show. (I watched her from the audition right to when she won the whole thing.) Since then, she has won 6 Grammys and (as of 2007), she is the 2nd country artist to win the award of Best New Artist in the 54 years that they’ve been giving out the Grammy Awards!
Here’s what the restaurant and set-up looked like.
The clear pedestals make the polishes look so dainty and like they’re floating.
Here’s a different poster. This dress is so pretty!
When you first step in, on the right are these sophisticated white lounge sofas with another display of the fabulous nail-polish collection.
There was interesting wall art, so I snapped a photo of it. The gold script looks elegant in the forefront of a man’s side-profile.
You may have spotted that there was a smaller photo of Carrie Underwood with a sparkly, gold nail polish. Here’s a closer look at it:
Yes, that’s Carrie Underwood’s signature! 🙂 And in that photo, she’s wearing Nicole by OPI Sweet Daisy.
They had some swatches of all the colours:
If you’d like to see my Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood Collection swatches, bottle shots, and the official press release, click the link!
Check out the floral arrangements that were put together by Stephanie, one of the PR ladies at Langton Communications:
Now, look up – that’s what I tend to do when I go to a new place. You’d be amazed by the cool ceiling designs you’ll see when you do so.
All along the ceiling were these bronze, metallic strips forming an artsy, grid-like pattern.
Two long tables were set up:
Check out the cool wall mural:
Closer look at the place setting:
I was the very first attendee to arrive, and when Suzi Weiss-Fischmann (aka the First Lady of Nails) came in, I was able to steal a few precious minutes with her. I didn’t get a chance to take a photo with her, but that’s okay. I asked her to autograph a limited-edition nail polish that I brought along with me! 😉 (Check the bottom of this post for how to enter my giveaway for your chance to win it!)
Suzi Weiss-Fischmann was interviewed by Cityline, and I saw it all go down, which was exciting!
(Click here or on the image below to see the short video clip of it that I posted on Instagram. You can’t hear too much just because there were lots of other people around, and everyone was talking. But it’s still neat to see how poised Suzi is during her interview, even with such a blindingly bright light shining on her!)
She proudly showed off her manicure for the segment.
(This was also taken with my smartphone, so the quality wasn’t the best in the dim lighting.)
When we had taken our seats at the table, Suzi spoke to us about the new Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood Collection.
It was really nice to hear her speak about the importance of social media and blogs to spread the word. (There was a mixture of people who attended – a few bloggers and some editors.)
(Maxine from Langton Communications is looking chic in the bottom left. Her peplum top was so cute!)
After all the excitement, it sure did build up an appetite. Here’s what was on the menu! (This time, before the servers removed the menu, I saved it as a souvenir!)
The appetizer:
For my main, I opted for the Maccheroncini Freschi:
Then, for dessert, I had the tiramisu – yum! It was so fluffy and light.
Since it was a daytime event, I decided to wear my floral peplum top (from H&M a couple of years ago), faux pearl-and-knit necklace (several years ago from Forever 21), blue jeggings (Garage), and my favourite nude ballet flats (Dexter Dexflex). I also wore a beige open-front cardigan (Garage), but took it off for photos.
You may remember that I posted a photo on Instagram showing you what I wore:
Here’s a better photo of the top:
These are my favourite ballet flats. They’re very comfortable because the insoles have a lot of cushioning. The bonus? They fit my narrow women’s size 5 Cinderella feet! 😉
After the lunch, the nail technician painted my nails. Since I could choose more than one shade, I went with Nicole by OPI Love My Pups, Carnival Cotton Candy, and Goodbye Shoes.
She showed me a bunch of different designs, so I chose a cool colour block! She made it look really easy, and I may try to replicate it with other shades. 🙂
Of course it looked great right away, but afterwards, I hung out with Marta from Chit Chat Nails and Eugenia from Ommorphia at the local Starbucks. During that time when I left the restaurant and went for a Pumpkin Spiced Latte, haha, I dinged my manicure!
But, even though there are nicks, I’m still going to show it to you because I think the design is neat.
Michelle (awesome PR lady from Langton Communications) was nice enough to take photos of me, Marta, and Eugenia. The one on my camera came out looking awkward, but thankfully Marta was nice enough to send me the one Michelle took on her camera.
Here we are!
What an incredible event! I really appreciate all the work that went into planning, organizing, and executing everything. A very heartfelt thank you goes out to Suzi Weiss-Fischmann and Donna-Lee Langton plus her incredible PR ladies at Langton Communications! Being able to attend this media luncheon was so much fun for this little nailphile! 🙂
It’s Time for a Worldwide Giveaway for My Loyal Readers!
You all mean so much to me, and since I couldn’t bring you with me, the least I could do was bring a little piece to you!
Remember when I told you earlier that I had a brief chat with Suzi? Well, I asked her to sign a sealed box containing the limited-edition OPI Mariah Carey Pure 18K White Gold & Silver Top Coat that I brought to the event!
Suzi Weiss-Fischmann autographed it here on the side! 🙂
Giveaway Details:
- Starts: Now
- Ends: Friday November 2 at 12:00 am Eastern
- Who Can Enter: Everyone! (This is open worldwide!)
- Prize: One sealed, autographed-by-Suzi box of the limited-edition OPI Mariah Carey Pure 18K White Gold & Silver Top Coat
- How to Enter: Fill out the Rafflecopter form and leave a comment on this blog post about anything you want. This will give you 1 entry. There’s the possibility to gain an extra 6 entries, for 7 entries in total. You can tweet once every day to score more entries! (See Rafflecopter for details when you enter.)
- Selecting the Winner: Sometime on November 2 or 3, I’ll notify the winner (chosen by Rafflecopter) via e-mail. I’ll also announce it on some of my social-media platforms. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to my e-mail to claim the prize. Failure to do so will force me to randomly draw another winner. After the winner sends me the mailing address, I’ll mail out the prize as soon as possible. (Please add swatchandlearn@gmail.com to your Safe list so my e-mail doesn’t accidentally go to the Junk folder.)
Please Support Me on These Social-Media Platforms!
Facebook / Twitter / Google+ / beautylish / Pinterest / BlogLovin’
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Feel free to tweet about this giveaway, blog about it, and help me to spread the word! 
Good luck, and thank you for being awesome readers!
Stay tuned for more Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood Collection posts, as I continue to update this section.
There’ll be “Quick Look” posts first. Then, in January when the polishes are available for sale, I’ll have my usual in-depth reviews and more swatches!
- Carrie’d Away (Quick look post with swatches)
- Lips are Dripping Honey
- Southern Charm
- Sweet Daisy
- Carnival Cotton Candy (Quick look post with swatches)
- Goodbye Shoes
- Sing You Like a Bee
- Party Bus
- Love My Pups (Quick look post with swatches)
- Color Me Country
- Some Hearts
- American as Apple Pie
- Fisher Queen
- Backstage Pass
So cool! Love your top and necklace!
What a great oportunity!!! We don’t have so much fun in Argentina 😛
Fernanda recently posted: Goodbye Sober Day – Gloss ‘n Sparkle
I love hearing what a great experience you had! I definitely makes me see companies in an even better light knowing they put this much effort in!
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I think this is so awesome you got her to autograph that bottle. Love that you have met her more than once & shared with us!!!! Thanks for the opportunity.
Wow, this event looks amazing! And I think I actually prefer Carrie as a spokes..nail(?) for the NOPI line, I like that she’s a little bit more mature than the average model/tween celeb de jour. Shows us gorgeous nails clearly has NO age limit and that noone can wear too much bling; at least on their nails.
What a great event, it looks glamourous and fun at the same time. Also how lovely for you to get to hang out with Marta and Eugenia, whose blogs I love as well! Good luck in the giveaway everyone!
Great post!
Every time you attend an event like this I feel the emotion when I read the story on your blog 🙂
You are so lucky! Thanks for the fantastic giveaway 🙂
This looks totally awesome! And I’m in love with your top.
I would love to goto an event like this! How awesome! I love this white gold! I am a white metal girl and I would love to win this!
Stunning polish! Thank so much for this great Giveaway! Xx
Ooooh an international giveaway! I almost feel bad entering- I’d be too timid to use the polish, it being signed and all! But still, me wants.
That is so awesome! What a great experience to meet the one and only Suzi! I’ll definitely be entering the contest. Thank you for sharing not only your nail art, but also your experience knowledge of nail care!
I would have chosen the same things from the menu 🙂 I love that you took so many pictures, seems like a very nice event. You looked great and your giveaway is awesome!
I wish we could’ve traded places for that day or else you could’ve put me in your pocket and taken me along! You’re so lucky to have been at this wonderful event and so kind to share it all with us!
WOW!! You are so lucky Mary!! You look gorgeous, and the event looks like it was so much fun! I can only imagine the bartender thinking “man, these women are NUTS about nail polish!! Absolutely NUTS!!!” LOL!
I’m glad you had a great time!
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What a beautiful venue for a fabulous luncheon!! I am ALWAYS early for everything & see, it pays off!! 😉
What a fantastic experience and the setting!
I love the way you write. It makes me feel like I get to you with you! Happy Halloween!
What an amazing opportunity! Thanks so much for the giveaway too.
Looks like you had lots of fun! I am super jealous
I am oober jealous that you got to meet Suzi more than once! I love your blog and your style. <3
Sounds like a great experience. Thanks for sharing!
Your top looks so pretty and I love the restaurant! Looks like you had a wonderful time 🙂
GlamourGirl80 recently posted: Herbstimpressionen Teil II
Looks like it was a really neat event! 🙂
I need to find a pot of gold somewhere, because I have SO many nail polishes on my wish list:) I can’t wait for this new line to hit stores!!!
What a great post! Thank you!
This looks really fun!
Awesome! It was just like I attending this event the way you wrote this post (and all those lovely pictures). What a fab opportunity – you’re so lucky!
Margo recently posted: Squarehue October – Moto Collection
You 3 look fabulous in this photo! I love the idea of you all hanging out at Starbux sipping lattes talking nails. THis, to me, is even better than the luncheon. Power trio of bloggers! and OPI really does get it that the blog swatches are their bread and butter. Fantastic! I wish other companies realized this as well. No one wants to spend hard earned $$ on sight-unseen polishes. The hard work of blogger review and swatches help guide consumer to smart purchases, leaving us with more $$ to spend on another bottle from a brand we love.
I really enjoyed reading about your experience at this event and love the top you are wearing. The pictures of Carrie Underwood for campaign are beautiful and love the colours and the names. The tiramisu looked so yummy.
Awwww, you are so lucky!!!! (But you deserve it, haha)
Thank you very much for this international giveaway! Love rucula salad!
Beautifull all you 3.
I just love the colors from the Carrie Underwood NOPI collection! I think it’s the best collab yet! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us! 🙂
Awesome Giveaway!
Great giveaway!
Gosh this is an amazing prize!!! Thanks for doing this great giveaway!!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience!! Looks like it was very swanky and cool!! I can’t wait to get my nails on some the this collection (or should I say this collection on my nails!!!)
Thanks for the awesome giveaway!!!
WOW! Those are some beautiful colors, I usually only buy regular OPI, but I saw a couple of must haves. Thanks for your peek
I love all the pics and it looks like so much fun. I follow Chit Chat Nails too. And yum, that salad with the apple slices on top and the curls of cheese, it looks delicious.
Great photos and report! I love reading about your meetings with Suzi and OPI:)
lol Any comment? It’s funny (and sad) how your comments section absolutely explodes when you’re hosting a giveaway. You’re an awesome blogger and deserve this kind of feedback ALL the time!
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The event looked gorgeous, Mary! And the food looks delicious! 🙂
Awww, thanks for thinking of us, Mary! 🙂
I’m so happy you were able to have a chat with Suzi.
I really love that you showed the menu. I was already picking what food to eat, before realising I wasn’t actually there… ;D The answer: the beef striploin and the tiramisu. The appetizer also really looks gooood.
I think Sing You Like A Bee might be my favourite from this collection… Can’t wait to see swatches.
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I like the entire collection, especially Sweet Daisy. The party looks beautiful & the food delish, would like to go to something like that!
Thank you so much for putting together such a thoughtful review of the event. You’re so lucky to go to these events, but it’s a post like this that explains why; you take your readers “with” you every step of the way. thanks for all the awesome pictures! I can’t wait to see more detailed pictures of all the polishes and especially the opi holiday collection!
I am excited to see the Carrie Underwood collection. I love her 🙂
Looks like a great time in a beautiful setting, appropriate for such a pretty collection!
The event looked like so much fun! The collection looks fabulous!
Such a cool prize!! Thank you so much for the giveaway!!
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What an amazing opportunity, congratulations!
Erin (Paint Those Piggies!) recently posted: OPI DS Opulence: Swatches and Review
Looks like it was a super cool event! Thanks for this amazing giveaway! xo
I love the pink flowers.
I found you by looking for swatches of Zoya – Evvie & am so glad I did! I just started blogging & it’s great to see other bloggers succeed.
The event sounds amazing & I am looking forward to seeing Carrie’s collection hit stores!
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I always love reading about these special events you attend, so thanks so much for the detailed post and many photos! 😀
Looks like the event was really cool, and the polishes also seem to be pretty interesting.
I am very jealous lol. Looks amazing! I like looking at ceilings too 🙂 xx
What a great opportunity! I’m looking forward to seeing all of your swatches of the collection!
The event looked amazing, i cant wait to buy the carrie range
I wish OPI had some sort of frequent buyers club that we could subscribe to. I usually end up buying entire collections. I am so grateful that I have all my fingers and toes.
Suzi Weiss Fischmann looks so normal! I expected her to be dressed a lot fancier, with heels and she just seems so down to earth. I’m excited they’re doing something with Carrie Underwood, I love her! I haven’t tried NOPI before, but I’m going to have to try these 🙂
awesome giveaway and nice blog post 🙂
I love your site and it inspires me to strive to become even better blogger! I come here often before purchasing polish.
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Love reading your blog! And thank you for the giveaway!
Sounds like such a fun event! Love the photo of you, Marta and Eugenia…three of my favourite Canadian bloggers in one place! Am dying for this topcoat…I loved the gold leaf one from last year so, so much. If I don’t win it I will likely buy it!
I love your outfit! By the way, you are so lucky to meet Suzi for a third time.
So painfully jealous!! That must have been an amazing event!!
Amazing event, great photos!
Cute outfit! Loving the colours from the new Carrie Underwood collection!
I really like your swatches!!! All of them are professional!
By the way l am looking forward about your opi holiday collection swatches:-P
It looks like you had a wonderful day, that food looks delicious and that tiramisu even better, love your outfit it looks good on you, saw those swatches too a shade i liked was fishers queen. Btw Which color are you wearing on your nails in that picture?
Mary, your descriptions of parties make me feel like I’ve been there and also make me jealous I wasn’t actually there!
Congrats on another PR party. 🙂
woo! Thanks for the giveaway. This one is definitely on my wishlist and I haven’t seen it in stores yet!
Looks like a great day! Amazing giveaway too!xx
great opportunity!!
Thanks again for sharing another event where you got the chance to meet & greet with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, I’m so so jealous!! And THANK YOU for hosting this awesome giveaway, all of my fingers are crossed that my name gets chosen 🙂
Love your blog and love this new Carrie collection!!!
I simply adore these kind of posts & all the lovely pictures!
Thank you for making such a great prize available to readers! The event looks so fun too, I really enjoyed reading about it.
I love O.P.I. and They know how to roll out product!
Awesome giveaway, Mary!
White gold sounds interesting :0
What a great opportunity for you! Also, the food looked delish 🙂
Thank you for the chance! I am entering !
Thanks for this giveaway! You were so lucky to meet Suzi. By the way did she tell you about the future selling of Nicole by OPI polished in France? I’m desperate to see all these amazing shades and not being able to buy even one in my country…I definitly have to move to Canada!
what a great giveaway!!!
i love opi nail polish
I would love to go to a thing like that! You looked great. The polishes are really nice, I love party bus!
Great post! Now i really wish that Nicole by OPI was more available where I live.
I would love to meet Suzi Weiss-Fischmann. She seems like such an awesome person. Thank you for the great giveaway.
Ooo international giveaway! Thanks 😉
Love the shades in this collection 🙂
I am so jealous of you! This event looks like it was awesome!
Love the blog post, it make me feel like I was there myself. I can really feel your excitement! The food looks super delicious.
Oh what fun! I may be a little jealous!
What a wonderful recap, Mary – I felt like I was living the experience all over again! You took some amazing photos (I think my brain must have stopped at one point, because I really missed the boat on so many photos I SHOULD have taken, lol!)
Meeting Suzi was a thrill beyond words, but I must say that getting the opportunity to finally meet you & Marta face to face, made it all even sweeter — thanks for the mention, my friend!
And yes…your outfit was the cutest!
What an event! I’m sure you’ll remember this for a very long time. The swag bags looked awesome. Wish I could have peeked. Thanks for the opportunity to win your giveaway. Good luck to all!
You have all the fun…great giveaway by the way fingers crossed for me 🙂
This is pretty awesome! Hmm anything at all? Well as it turns out, I am addicted to pumpkin donuts and pumpkin spice lattes at the moment :p
That’s so great to be invited to an event like this! Can’t wait for these colors to be released. I’m really loving the glitters.
that picture of the tirimisu you had is making me crave dessert!
Wow, what a fantastic opportunity! 😀
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I just found your blog and I’m loving it!
Thank you for this awesome giveaway!
Attending this event sounds like a dream come true 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Looks like a wonderful time and the polishes also so gorgeous! The textured polish looks aweeeeesome! 😀
Great event!!! Love NOPI
Looks like it was an amazing experience!
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while.
You are really helpfull.
Thanks for what you are doing!
I like your outfit so much! You’re showing how classy a simple pair of jeans can be!
You looked lovely! As always, thanks for sharing those moments with us.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Looks like you had a fabulous day-mmm food and goodies!
Hehe, on my mind right now is nothing else other than I hope to be able to meet up with both you and Marta one day! 😀
Great post, sounds like you had lots of fun!
I love the photographs you took. It makes me feel as If I was actually there to experience it with you! Hope you had a great time!
That sounds so fun! I haven’t been commenting as much lately since I’ve been kind of busy, but just know I’m still here reading it :).
How very exciting for you to meet the lovely Suzi. I had the pleasure of meeting her when I worked for OPI as a educator. Very kind and gentle lady.
Keep up the good work on your blog! I am just learning how much effort it takes to blog!
Best regards,
Shannon
<3 your blog! Thanks for the giveaway!
Awesome post and awesome giveaway!! thanks
Wow what a fab event!! I never knew they hosted things like this in Toronto! I live about 30 minutes away so I’m super jealous!! My mom works in the district where the event was held that’s crazy! I can’t wait for this collection it looks so nice
Hello Mary,
A fantastic blog entry I especially enjoy these exclusive sneak peeks 🙂
I’m sure the bartender didn’t mind ( he might even be an avid reader of your blog) 😉
Keep on swatchin’ I’m certainly learning.
Great post ! I look forward to see the rest of the collection on your nails !
Thank you for such amazing giveaway
love your shoes!!!