First Time to the Show

I was in New York this weekend, attending a cosmetics trade show known as The Makeup Show. It was a totally amazing experience. I shared a room with Product Girl; I borrowed topcoat from All Lacquered Up; I had dinner with Retrodiva, Older Girl Beauty, and Kraseybeauty. It was pretty much the coolest thing ever. (My only regret: there were so many more people there that I wanted to meet. I definitely needed more mixing and mingling time.)

I’ll try to break the weekend up into manageable sections. The Makeup Show was crazy!  It was like the mall right before Christmas. I went thinking I might get some swatching done — that didn’t happen.  I did see some new-to-me brands, and I did bring some stuff home to swatch and give away.

Who was there? MAC, Make Up For Ever, Becca, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Stila, Smashbox, Temptu, Korres, Three Custom Color, Crown Brushes, Inglot, L’Oreal, Alison Raffaele, Cinema Secrets, Graftobian, Korres, Mario Badescu, Mehron, Shu Uemura, Yaby, Youngblood, Eve Pearl, and a bunch of others — I told you it was crazy.

There were displays and demonstrations, body painting, crazy special effects transformations — though I think the discounts were probably what attracted the crowds. I didn’t ask about pricing at every booth, but most seemed to be offering 40% off.

There were throngs of people at the booths of the biggest name brands, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw any elbows. But I was rewarded with the chance to spend some one-on-one time with some smaller brands — some I already knew about, some I didn’t.

I got to talk to Chad Hayduk, one of the founders of Three Custom Color (it was a fantastic conversation, I have to save it for a separate post).

I also discovered the most luxurious brushes in the world: a Japanese brand called Hakuhodo. Their display stopped me in my tracks — I could tell by looking that their brushes were going to be insanely soft (they did not disappoint).  Their display was extensive, and I was impressed by how perfect every brush head’s shape and size was.

I checked out their website (hakuhodousa.com) — their product offering is huge. I feel like you’d have to shop for these in person; the choices are just too many. A random brush I picked up (powder brush, I think), made with blue squirrel hair was $180 (but it was magnificent. I’m adding it to my list of things I’ll need when I’m a millionaire). That was definitely the high end — other brushes on the website start at $11-17 (for the eye brushes).

I suspect Hakuhodo also makes brushes for other brands, but I don’t know anything for sure.

I also stopped at the booth for Rouge Makeup Studio — a boutique makeup brand based in New York. They offer a full line of color cosmetics, but they also specialize in lashes. As you may or may not know, I am an idiot when it comes to false eyelashes. I have never successfully put them on myself. But lured by the promise of a professional to put them on me, I picked out their Lana lashes.  (Okay, I said I wanted something natural and they recommended Lana.  It was an excellent recommendation.)

My makeup artist made application look SO easy — she’s clearly a professional — and I thought the lashes looked amazing. Check out Rouge Makeup Studio’s webpage, and if you’re in NYC, go see them!

One last thing: obviously there were tons of makeup celebs at the show, and I was a giddy fangirl.  I achieved a major life dream: meeting Beau Nelson (makeup artist extraordinaire and the creator of the inimitable Beaute Cosmetics).

I feel obliged to tell you: I almost never wear my glasses, but the morning of the show, I ripped a contact lens in half — and I didn’t bring any spares because I thought, “Oh, I’m only going to be there for the weekend.”

Anyway, within 30 seconds of meeting Beau, Soul Lee of Shu Uemura walked by. I’m sure she had no idea who this very excited person was, but she is endlessly gracious, and agreed to a photograph. Awesome bonus detail: this photo was taken by Beau Nelson. (What did I tell you? Greatest weekend ever!)