Preview: The Makeup Show LA 2018!

Let’s be honest–it takes a lot to get this Orange County girl to venture beyond the confines of my safe little orange bubble. Especially into Los Angeles. Orange County residents get it. But one event that I never miss up in Downtown LA is The Makeup Show.

The Makeup Show takes place November 10-11. It is an annual conference, trade show, and educational event for professional makeup artists. From brand new students to seasoned pros, The Makeup Show has something to offer everyone, including a chance to learn from and network with the best of the biz. Attendees can soak up knowledge from keynote speakers including Pati Dubroff, Jordan Liberty, Damone Roberts, Miss Fame, and even YouTuber and industry professional, Stephanie Nicole. And if that isn’t enough to get you jumping out of your chair, there are a ton of intimate talks and demos from many other artists, hands on workshops with artists like Danessa Myricks and Bethany Townes. It’s kind of a big deal.

While The Makeup Show places a large emphasis on education and career betterment, let’s not forget about the brands themselves. The shopping experience at TMSLA is second to none. It’s one thing to be able to see and touch your favorite brands’ products (including new launches) in person, but to also have expert artists, often including the brand owners themselves present to talk about their lines…that’s priceless!

There is an extensive list of brands exhibiting at The Makeup Show LA 2018. Some exhibitors I’m especially excited to see and play with are:

Bdellium Tools – The B is silent! Bdellium Tools has been a longtime favorite of mine. Their brushes are beautiful, functional, and very affordable. I have one brush from the Golden Triangle collection, and may end up bringing a couple more home with me.

Clarins – I am pretty sure this is Clarins’ first time to The Makeup Show (at least in LA), and to be honest, I haven’t been checking for Clarins. I really want to stop by their booth just to see what the newest offerings from the brand are, because while I’ve heard the name for years, I’m not very well acquainted. Oops. Sup Clarins, let’s talk.

Danessa Myricks Beauty – Danessa Myricks is the shit, okay? She is insanely talented and creative, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about her line. I can’t wait to check it out in person. Also, p.s. if you aren’t following her on Instagram, your loss. SO inspiring!

Frends Beauty Supply – The Mecca of makeup shopping, Frends Beauty Supply is a must. The people are great, and they always bring a tempting selection of goodies from the brands they carry. I don’t think there’s ever been a Makeup Show where I didn’t grab something from Frends.

Miss Fame Beauty – When I heard the always flawless Miss Fame was launching a makeup line, I knew it would be something beautiful. I can’t wait to check out the new line of lipsticks. We’ll see if one or two end up coming back to Chez Alyson. Don’t be surprised.

Muse Beauty – Another makeup shopping pillar of the professional community, Muse are the creators of Esum (it’s muse backwards!), which is one of my favorite brands for brushes. They are top notch quality, and shapes I don’t necessarily see everywhere. The Muse booth is also where I’ll find the good folks of Viseart and their parade of pretties. Last year I definitely spent some coins there, and had a really nice chat with their team.

Rude Cosmetics – New friends! I’ve never seen Rude Cosmetics before, and I know nothing about the brand other than what I’ve seen briefly skimming their website, and ooooo I want more. Color-shifting duo chrome shadows? Yes please.

Smith Cosmetics – I’m a woman on a mission. I’ve been interested in a few of the Smith eye brushes (they have such unique shapes!) and they’ve been sold out on the Beautylish site for what seems like forever. Maybe this weekend will be the time when they’re no longer my “one that got away.”

 

As with every year, make sure to follow me on Instagram to follow along as I scurry around the show floor. This year has their first ever Trend Report for the rest of 2018 and beyond. I can’t wait to share what I see!

The Countdown’s On: The Makeup Show LA 2016

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The Makeup Show is coming soon! This multi-city event hits LA this coming March 19th and 20th. The Makeup Show LA is by far my favorite makeup event of the year. Professional makeup artists and other industry professionals gather in LA to learn, network, and of course shop, all under one roof. Some of the best brands in the business will be there, often with the owners on-site just waiting to have their brains picked about what makes their products tick. It’s often an event where brands launch new items for the first time, too. Who doesn’t love getting their paws on something before everyone else does?

The Makeup Show is founded on education, and this year is no exception. The lineup of keynote speakers and forum leaders reads like a who’s who in the industry. There are also hands on workshops on topics such as Bridal Makeup, Color Theory, Eye Makeup, Complexion, and more. The workshops are an additional fee, but well worth the price if you are wanting to expand your craft and learn from some of the best!

This is the 10-year anniversary of The Makeup Show, and with that they are celebrating with a huge gala. The gala celebrates 10 years of The Makeup Show and iconic women in the industry. Join the makeup artist community in honoring Susan Cabral-Ebert, president of The Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild, IATSE Local 706. Tickets are available for purchase to this special event here. A discount is available on gala tickets when they are purchased in conjunction with your Makeup Show tickets.

I’ve already started making my shopping list for this year’s show. Sorry, not sorry. Many brands that I would otherwise only be able to shop online (or by driving up to LA to the pro shops) will be present, and I plan to take full advantage of having everybody all in one place. So many things to swatch, brushes to fondle…you name it. Yeah, I fondle brushes. Again, not sorry.

Want shopping ideas? Here are some of my picks from the exhibitors at The Makeup Show LA, and what I’m excited to possibly pick up for myself…

Bdellium Tools

First of all, the b is silent, people! Pronounce it Dellium Tools, haha. If you want brushes that are excellent quality and a very friendly price point, check out Bdellium Tools. Bonus: they come in fun colors. My personal faves from the range are the 957 Precision Kabuki and the  785 Tapered Blending brushes, but they have a ton of great shapes you will love.

Beautylish

Beautylish is a great site for the beauty lover. They carry brands you can’t get anywhere else, or hard to find things. I love it. At The Makeup Show, you’re never quite sure what they’re going to have for sale. Previous years have been things like Wayne Goss brushes and Bioderma. But whatever it is this year, it’s going to be worth checking out. I’m kinda thinking this year it will be Natasha Denona. I hope so, because her stuff is so dang expensive (but beautiful) that I’d feel pretty lucky to swatch before buying. And from what I’ve seen on Youtube and Instagram, I’ll want to be buying.

Dante Disposables

Bulk bags of low-lint facial cottons and latex free sponges might seem boring to you…well wait, if that stuff is boring to you, you’re probably in the wrong place. Dante is a longtime trusted name in makeup artistry essentials. They have a clear, unscented brush cleaner that I’m curious to try. It’s incredibly cheap at only $7 for a 4 oz bottle. As an added bonus about Dante, many (if not all?) of their products are made in the USA. Hooray.

Embryolisse

No visit to The Makeup Show is complete without a visit to Embryolisse. Even if you aren’t going to buy (what’s wrong with you?), you should go talk to them because they’re incredibly nice people. But their products are where it’s at. There’s a reason the Lait-Creme Concentre has been an industry staple for over 60 years. I keep their Radiant Eye balm stick in my desk at work, which is wonderful for adding moisture throughout the day because you can use it over your makeup if you like. Southern California gets some hella dry weather and it’s a godsend.

Frends Beauty

I’m going to go into more depth about Frends in another post soon because I’m visiting them up in LA tomorrow, but their booth at The Makeup Show is always on my list to check out. Frends carries a gazillion and one amazing makeup brands, hair brands, skin care brands, and also carries tools for artists as well. They also have a lovely in-house brand called Stilazzi, and there’s just never any shortage of cool things to spend my money on there, and their team is the best.

Hakuhodo

Want to spend your whole paycheck on makeup brushes that will make your face feel like it’s getting kissed by little baby angels? Go to Hakuhodo. Also, they have a showroom open now in Torrance, CA! See their website for more details. Bring money. Lots of money.

Kat Von D Beauty

Hnnngggggg. I have an unhealthy addiction to KvD Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks, and the Shade & Light Contour Eye palette is my boo. So of course I’m going to stop by their booth and probably pick up more lipsticks. KvD has some upcoming new products launching soon that I have a hunch will be on display at The Makeup Show, also. Can’t. Wait. Crossing my fingers they have Bow ‘n Arrow, since it’s always sold out.

Make Up For Ever

MUFE has been knocking it out of the park with their launches since…oh always, I guess? Last year at the show I snagged a couple mini tubes of Step 1 Hydrating Primer, which I love. And now I’m trying to decide if I want to re-up on that primer, or grab the smoothing version, or maybe the matte version too so I can mix and match depending on what my skin is doing that day (yay combo skin!). I’m also intensely curious about the new HD stick foundations, and if I end up purchasing I will 100% blame NikkieTutorials. :) And even though I’m still very in love with my Urban Decay concealer, I want to check out the new Ultra HD concealer as it is rumored to the bomb diggity.

Mario Badescu

I had a chance to get a personal consult and new regimen designed by Mario Badescu last year and it has done amazing things for my skin. I still use MB products daily, and consequently I need to repurchase some things I have run low on, such as the Enzyme Cleanser. The Enzyme and Keratoplast cleansers are some of the nicest cleansers I’ve ever used. And so economical for the amount of product you get. Either one of those used in tandem with my FOREO Luna face cleaning device and I’m good to go. That is what I refer to when people say I have great skin. Sure, genetics help, but I also have great skincare. 

NYX Cosmetics

Now it’s not like NYX is that hard to get a hold of. I live near a pair of great Ultas that always have most anything I could want. However, a.) show specials and b.) much lower chance some dumb cow has opened a product and used it when it’s not a tester. Those 2 things you can’t usually get at Ulta.

Urban Decay

Oh hey there Urban Decay! It’s their first year at The Makeup Show LA, believe it or not. Time to stock up on crack water aka their amazing B6 prep spray, which I’m pretty obsessed with.

Now by no means is that a comprehensive list of all of the amazingness of The Makeup Show. There are many more amazing things to be seen! You’ll most definitely want to be following me on Instagram and Snapchat (glossmenagerie for both) to follow along if you can’t come in person. For a full list of exhibitors, click here.

For tickets and more info, visit The Makeup Show LA.

PHAMExpo 2014 Is Coming!

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I’m extremely pleased and excited to announce that I will be attending and covering PHAMExpo 2014! PHAMExpo stands for Professional Hair And Makeup Expo.

PHAME was created to fill the void left in the summer lineup after IMATS LA moved to January. Like IMATS LA it takes place in late June at the Pasadena Convention Center. 2014 will be the 2nd year PHAME has been held. If you’re unfamiliar with PHAME or not sure it’s worth making travel arrangements to attend, etc. let this post be what convinces you. You need to go!

#1. Get Your Idol On

Some of the biggest names in the beauty world will be at PHAMExpo dropping knowledge on you. People like Damone Roberts, Sam & Nic Chapman, Sam Fine, Michael O’Rourke, and Donna Mee.

#2. PHAMEous Nail Competition!

Love amazing nails? Come check out the newly launched PHAMEous Nail Competition and watch competitors compete for fame and glory in the world of nail art. There’s still time to enter, too. For more details check here.

#3. Hands On Workshops

As much as soaking up knowledge from the speakers will transform your life (no joke, hearing these mega talented people give their tips has changed the way I do my makeup ever since!), some people like to get their hands dirty and learn by doing. Grab your kit and your model and sign up for a master class! More details here.

#4. Shop Til You Pop

Duh. There’s an amazing array of vendors lined up for PHAMExpo just waiting for you to show up and shop. For a full list of vendors, click here. There are a lot of brands that are normally online only, so this is a great chance to ogle things in person that you normally would have had to guess about!

 

PHAMExpo 2014 takes place June 28th & 29th at the Pasadena Convention Center. Get your tickets here! I hope to see you at the show.

2014 Makeup Show LA Shopping List

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My favorite of the beauty trade shows, The Makeup Show, has its LA stop this coming weekend. A week from today I will be immersed in my favorite beauty brands, along with some of my favorite people! As much as I gush about the fantastic educational experiences and getting to hang with my fellow beauty blogging babes, let’s get real– the shopping is amazing at these events! Some brands are even debuting brand new products at TMSLA. So what’s on my shopping list? Keep reading.

The very first thing I will do is probably make a beeline for the NARS booth. I pretty much always have a NARS wishlist as long as my arm, and right now is no exception. Any time I can get my paws on some NARS at a discount, and all bets are off. I can’t wait to swatch the new Matte Multiples and to nab the new Satin Lip Pencil in Timanfaya (seen below in use back stage during NYFW at Creatures of the Wind SS’14). I love the Satin Lip Pencils and I highly recommend them if you’re looking for suggestions for your own shopping list.

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After waiting in what is sure to be a crazy line at NARS (worth it!) I will head over to booth 909, Billion Dollar Brows. You guys know what a brow freak I am. A lot of the stuff I will be picking up at TMSLA this year is brow-related. To me, eyebrows are like foundation, except where I would leave the house w/o my foundation, I wouldn’t like to leave without my EYEBROWS.  Anyway…

I am obsessed with my BDB brow brush. I’ve used it *exclusively* for my brows for the last 4 years. I just want to pick up another one. If there’s some sort of show special I’ll grab another brow powder too. I’ve had my BDB brow powder for as long as I’ve had the brush, and I’ve made a pretty significant dent in it. I’m sure it could go another few years, but it’s always good to grab a backup if it’s a good deal, no?

bdbduophoto from Billion Dollar Brows

After BDB I will mosy on over to the booth #1000, Breakups to MakeupAngelique’s Etsy shop has the cutest tees and accessories with makeup-obsessed themed phrases on them. I’m particularly fond of “I Would Cry But My Mascara Is Designer”. How friggin’ cute, right?

mascaradesignerphoto from Breakups to Makeup on Etsy

Then I can’t wait to go stare at the gorgeous vintage-inspired makeup at Besame Cosmetics. Everything is made in small batches here in LA. The packaging and attention to detail of this line makes every piece a work of art! I have never owned anything from their line, but maybe it’s time? ;)

Next I’m off to do more brow-related shopping! I want to go check out the new Dipbrow pomade by Anastasia. I haven’t decided if I will actually buy this, but it looks pretty cool and I want to check it out. However, I’m very sure I want another Sketch-a-Brow pencil from Senna Cosmetics! I used mine up completely, and I miss it. GIMME.

Also on my list to check out…the tinted moisturizer from OCC. I want something with a little coverage that looks skin-like, and is less heavy than my BB cream. I don’t really need much, just evening out the redness on my cheeks and around my nose.

The Makeup Show is also the best time to stock up on staples like makeup wipes, sponges, brush cleaner, etc. I am on the hunt for a large sifter jar to decant some of my Ben Nye Neutral Set powder into. It comes in a huge bottle and it’s kinda hard to use it by pouring a little onto the teensy cap.

A post about TMSLA shopping would be incomplete without mentioning brushes. If you want brushes, THEY GOT BRUSHES. You can pick up brushes from all of the best lines in the business: Bdellium Tools (the b is freaking silent, people), Crown Brush, London Brush Company, esum (find them at the Muse Beauty booth – AMAZING), oh and a little line by the name of Hakuhodo. Also, a special treat – Beautylish will be there along with the Wayne Goss brush collection! Some of those brushes look really cool from what I’ve seen on Youtube, so I look forward to getting to play with them in person.

Speaking of brushes, Stila will be at TMSLA and several of their brushes are longtime favorites of mine. The #5 all over shadow brush, the #7 precision crease brush, and the #9 all over blend brush are all fantastic brushes. I have like 4 of the #7 brush, that’s how much I like it. You really can’t ever have too many brushes. ;)

As far as other things at the show, I will see what strikes my fancy. You never know who is going to have some super cool new thing, or what’s going to be on a ridiculously awesome show special price. Plus, and this happens to me all the time, you’ll see a product you didn’t think you wanted and a makeup artist will show you a different way to use it that CHANGES EVERYTHING. That’s the best part about shopping at these events. Often, you’ll get to talk to the people that developed the product and get to hear their thought process, and gain such amazingly helpful insight into the products themselves.

The Makeup Show LA (#TMSLA) is March 1st & 2nd in downtown LA. Tickets are still available ($48 for 1 day, $68 for both) with various discounts available for students etc. You do have to be a professional (or studying to become one) to get tickets. More info about all of that is here.

See you at The Makeup Show!

By the way… if you are as crazy about eyebrows as I am, follow my Pinterest board “Hey, Nice Brows” for lots more eyebrow love.

BeWell Expo Preview

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This weekend I will be attending BeWell Expo for the first time! BeWell is the Beauty & Wellness Expo. The idea of this particular show is to bring together all the tools to improve mind, body, and spirit. Exhibitors at the expo range from beauty to yoga, with an emphasis on natural ingredients.

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Cosmoprof North America 2013 RECAP

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This past week I attended the biggest (easily) beauty trade show in my usual lineup: Cosmoprof North America. Literally hundreds of vendors from all over the world gathered together to meet with buyers, educators, salon distributors, and of course – ME. [Read more…]

Cosmoprof Q&A With Top Beauty Brands

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This weekend Mr. Boyfriend and I are packing up the car and heading to Vegas for Cosmoprof! This will be my second year attending and I am so excited. Cosmoprof is unlike any of the other trade shows I cover here on the blog. It’s much more formal, closed to the public (!!!) and many brands bring out their unreleased goodies to show off to retail buyers. It’s a tremendous opportunity for me to get one on one with representatives from some of the top brands in the beauty industry, as well as get insider information. Sometimes they even give me information I’m not allowed to publish yet! It’s always such a challenge to keep quiet when they give me something good that I have to sit on, but it’s so much fun anyway. ;)

I have one on one sessions scheduled with some of the greatest beauty brands in the industry, and I want to know from YOU guys, what do YOU want me to ask? I want to give you the insight and answers you crave. I created an account on ask.fm, for those of you who want to ask Cosmoprof questions! You can find that here: http://ask.fm/glossmenagerie.

If you don’t have ask.fm or you’d just rather comment below, you can do that! You can also tweet me @glossmenagerie during the next few days if something comes to mind.

I am meeting with or talking to reps from…

AGEbeautiful, Ardell, Body Drench, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Color Club, Conair, Cricket, Derma Earth, Essie, Fruitique, Gelish, Gigi, Gorgeous Cosmetics, Jessica Cosmetics, Jordana, KareCo, LA Girl, Layla, Macadamia Natural Oil, Milani, NYX, Orly, Precision Nail Lacquer, Royal & Langnickel, Ruby Wing, Seche, Swoon, The Balm, Tweezerman,  and Zoya!

There will also be MANY other brands there…over 900 brands attend Cosmoprof, that I can go pounce on if you are interested, but those are the ones I’m for sure getting face time with. More info on the other brands there can be found here. If you see someone on the list that you have a question for, I will do my best!

So what do you want to know?!

Top 10 Things To Do at PHAMExpo 2013

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PHAMExpo is coming!!!! The Professional Hair And Makeup Expo is this coming weekend, June 29-30th! If you don’t have your tickets yet, they are still available (and will be more expensive at  the door), so go getcha some tickets! It’s open to the public, but there are discounts available for professionals (as well as some pro-only hours so you don’t have to fight the unwashed masses while you shop!).

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New Blog Feature – Events Calendar

bigbighairI didn’t really have a visual for this, so here’s a picture of some big hair that I really like. ;)

The beauty world and blogger world both have TONS of events going on, so I am introducing my new EVENT CALENDAR feature. It details all of the events where I will be so that we can meet up and connect! Whether you’re a brand, a reader, or a fellow blogger, I welcome you all to check it out and take a look!

Here it is ———-> EVENT CALENDAR

That’s all for now! :)

Generation Beauty 2013

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This past weekend I attended and worked at the first annual Generation Beauty event put on by Ipsy. I have posted a ton of pics on Instagram and Twitter (if you aren’t following me on Instagram yet, why the heck not? Get to it… my name’s glossmenagerie as you can probably imagine…) so I don’t want to picspam the blog with the same photos unless you guys really really want me to, lol. Comment below. ;) Otherwise hit up my Insta.

Anyways, a lot of people have been asking me my thoughts on the event itself, if it was worth attending and how it compares to other beauty events…so that’s more what this post is about, from the point of view of someone attending the event (since most of you won’t really relate to my thoughts as an exhibitor – if you’re a brand wanting to know about THAT, please contact me directly).

Generation Beauty provided a lot of educational content. There were loads of little mini seminars that they called “content sessions”. Topics included things like how to pick a channel name, how to balance school & your youtube channel, and how to deal with creepers on the internet (that was my favorite – very practical advice from AndreasChoice). The content was really heavily geared towards those who either are on youtube, want to be on youtube, or really admire youtube beauty gurus and want to gain insight into their ‘world’. There were also a lot of meet & greets with various youtube personalities. GB was supposed to have been also a blogger event, but I felt like there wasn’t much, if any content available that was blogger-specific. A lot of the youtube-related advice can be applied to bloggers though (we ALL deal with creeps on the internet, issues of balancing life vs. your beauty hobby/job, etc.) so it wasn’t useless info.

The crowd that attended GB was almost entirely female (shocking I know) and skewed very young for the most part. But I didn’t feel out of place there by any means. Unlike other events I’ve been to, everyone seemed very open to talking to other people (not just the brand experts or youtubers). There was a genuine positive energy and a willingness to discuss ideas, opinions, and our love for the beauty world. I made friends in line for things, sitting around taking a breather, and later on Instagram by talking to other people posting things. Michelle Phan said that was her number one goal for the event, to bring people together who love beauty so they can meet and network. I think the event definitely made that possible and it worked well in that regard.

As a blogger or youtuber, especially one just starting out, the representatives from the beauty brands there were very easy to approach about working together. I have been to events where I asked about talking to someone who works on PR and was met with dumbstruck stares. Not at Generation Beauty! The brands were well-prepared and came ready to talk about media lists and collaboration. That was a REALLY nice thing to see.

Like any beauty event, the brands had their latest and greatest around to talk about and show off. And yes, there was swag. Lots of swag. ;) What’s a beauty event without swag, right? haha. More about that later. That’s not what this post is for!

Would I recommend attending? Yes, if you can afford it and it’s not geographically prohibitive. However, I don’t think both days are completely necessary. I think it was the kind of thing that they probably could have squeezed into one day. If it weren’t for getting double the swag, I’d say most people could just pick either Saturday OR Sunday. I’m not sure if they offered 1-day tickets though. It’s something for them to consider in the future if they don’t. Remember, this is the very first year of Generation Beauty.

It’s important to also remember this was not a show marketed as a pro event. Yes there were many makeup and hair artists in attendance, but if you are looking for the place to learn the latest cutting edge body painting technique for example, this wasn’t the show for you. This was designed as an all ages social event for people who love beauty to come together, learn something, and make a new friend. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed myself! Since I haven’t been blogging in a while, I really needed this. It reminded me why I love what I do. :)

If you’re reading this and you’re one of the people I met at GB, thanks for being a part of what was a really great weekend!