Beauty in the Big Apple \\ A Recap of The Makeup Show NYC 2013

*This post is months overdue and I’m sorry touring NYC and starting a new job right after got the better of me. But well, better late than never! Enjoy.*

As if planning for a month-long vacay to the Big Apple wasn’t exciting enough. I stumbled upon the pro-only Makeup Show NYC event happening May 5-6, 2013 and signed up immediately. The prices were US$55 for a one-day pass and US$75 for a two-day pass; of course I had to go with the latter. Having not been to any pro-makeup shows before, I didn’t know quite what to expect except that I’ll be spending two full days there, taking in all the guru advice at different talks and demos, and doling out cold cash at the mercy of exclusive deep discounts.

In order to make sure I catch all the interesting talks and demos, I planned my two-day schedule by the hour, slotting in programmes that interest me. Now this is a very crucial step because you really don’t wanna be flipping through A4 sheets or programme booklets while wrestling with the crowd toting giant shopping bags. The best way to go about this is to set up a 9am to 5pm/6pm schedule, detailing all the demos you MUST CATCH. Whatever time you have in between will then be shopping time. And as for shopping, I also made a MUST-BUY list according to brands because trust me, it takes a lot of discipline to stop yourself from swiping that plastic carelessly (everything is so cheap!!!). So with my MUST-WATCH and MUST-BUY lists sorted, I entered the Metropolitan Pavilion, at 125 West 18th Street, and started Day One.

The show is separated into two levels, but I spent most of my time on the first. Here are some of the talks I attended. Getting a seat gets more difficult by noon so another tip is to arrive early (15-20 mins before the next showcase) and standby.

9:45 – 10:30
Makeup Not War – David Stella for Ellis Faas

11:00 – 11:45
A/W 2013 Back Stage Trends – Courtney Tichman and Valerie P. Hernandez for OCC Makeup

12:30 – 1:15
The Art of Contour – Lijha Stewart for Make Up For Ever

3:00 – 3:45
NARS: Modern, Audacious, Iconic – Cindy Rodriguez for NARS Cosmetics

4:00 – 4:45
Brushes 101 – Orlando Santiago for Crown Brush

What I have here is not even half of what went on that day, but time will pass so fast (add to that the swatching, selecting and queuing to pay plus quick lunch and snack, pee breaks etc) that before you know it, it’s time to leave.

So because I missed out on making some purchases (mostly those on level two), I made extra sure to hit the second floor first on Day Two, just to get a good look-see, before I start. Here are the talks I attended on Day Two.

10:00 – 11:30
Humanizing Glamour – The Art of Transformation with Mathu Andersen

12:00 – 1:30
Impact – Social Media and the Internet in the Beauty Business

2:00 – 3:30
Behind the Scenes – Dick Page

On this day, my main objective was to catch Dick Page in person (he is the Global Artistry Director for Shiseido), and to listen to online media experts as they dish out tips for online branding and marketing. The panel included Nils Johnson, CEO of Beautylish – one of my favourite websites, who spoke alongside Felicia Walker Benson from ThisThatBeauty, and Lianne Farbes from TheMakeupGirl.

Awesome makeup discounts and two whole days of beauty fun aside, I really appreciated the opportunity to meet these beauty experts up close and hear them drop pearls of wisdom, be it about artistry or on the future of beauty online. I wish the Singapore beauty trade show would take a leaf from this! But regardless, this is definitely one event that I would love to be a part of again in the near future. And if you are a beauty buff, I suggest you check it out too. For a detailed haul post with all my discounted buys, click here.

Now for the best part, photos!!!