Despite an uncharacteristically rainy weekend in downtown Los Angeles, Jenn and I had a great time on our first trip to the Make-Up Show LA event. Although we had little idea what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised with what we found and ultimately neither the rain nor the moderate crowds managed to dampen our spirits.
After picking up our registration packets we navigated the crowds and went booth-to-booth looking for anything that piqued our interest. Inglot immediately caught my eye, as it was one of the brands that I had been most looking forward to seeing. Other brands of note included Smashbox, Stila, and Make Up For Ever. Makeup artists were everywhere, and we even had the chance to interview a few. There were also a number of panels and seminars scheduled throughout the day, covering topics such as The State of Airbrushing, and HD for All.
Here are some brands that that caught our attention:
Temptu Pro
We attended the ‘State of Airbrushing’ seminars presented by Jori Jenae, Dancy Gilmore, Lori Madrigal, and Cory Bishop, sponsored by Temptu Pro. One of the points emphasized by the presenters was that as professional makeup artists they don’t have the luxury to spent hours on any one person. Airbrushing makes it possible to complete a look in about 30 minutes. Furthermore, airbrush systems like Temptu can achieve the natural, dewy finish that traditional foundation very often cannot achieve. According to industry experts, airbrushing is ideal for mature skin. Traditional foundations and powders can set in into fine lines, emphasizing unsightly wrinkles. As skin matures, it loses its color and glow and airbrushing can bring that back without having to cake on the products. Temptu Pro’s S/B Primer is an ideal solution for priming mature skin because it is a silicone-based primer that helps fill in fine lines and wrinkles.
Make Up For Ever
Make Up For Ever’s booth sported the longest line at the expo, and the line was visible long before we actually reached the booth itself! We grabbed Gianni Charvari, a student at Santa Monica College school of cosmetology, to answer a few questions for us. When asked what which of Make Up For Ever’s products she was most looking forward to she replied without hesitation how excited she was to get her hands on their new HD Foundation.
To our delight, Make Up For Ever sponsored a seminar called “HD For All”, hosted by David Hernandez of Make Up For Ever. Make Up For Ever’s HD Invisible Cover Foundation took eight years to develop, and is the winner of two Allures Best of Beauty Awards. It comes in 25 tones, from pink to deep ebony, and it is a silicone-based foundation. It is advertised as “an oil-free medium-to-full coverage liquid foundation which covers skin imperfections, while remaining invisible on-screen and in real life.” What caught my attention in this seminar was when David pulled out the For Ever Make Up HD Primer. It comes in six shades and one transparent shade, and its color pigments are meant to be “absorbed by the skin for invisible correction.”
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
The first thing of notice upon reaching The Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics booth was a sign reading, “100% vegan & cruelty free.” They have a wide range of powder pigments that one can mix and match to create the perfect shade. One thing that stood out at the convention for Jenn and I was the use of airbrush. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics also have their own line of airbrush makeup. They have 24 shades that can be mixed and matched to create the perfect foundation.
Bdellium Tools
As a makeup brushes fanatic, Bdelliun Tools had me drooling. Their brushes are beautiful, soft, and affordable. Bdellium Tools brush series are not just beautiful, but also eco-friendly, hypoallergenic, and 100% cruelty-free with “all sustainable bamboo handles and all vegan soft synthetic bristles with an anodized aluminum ferule.” I love their Green Bambu’s line but ended up purchasing the Yellow Bambu lines because they have the basic brushes I use on a regular basis.
Personally I think one can never have enough basic brushes so I ended up purchasing #776M blending, #765 small angled shader, and #768s round dome shadow brushes. Bdellium Tools has quite a large selection of brushes and everything I could want from other brands. There are a couple of basic features I look for when purchasing brushes specifically for the eyes. The brushes must be soft–blending brushes in particular–because the area around the eye is very sensitive. I prefer it to pick up color well and set color appropriately. I’ve seen brushes that pick up a lot of color but do not disperse them well on the lid – I can tell after I’ve cleaned my brushes and there’s a lot of color left on the napkin. I prefer blending and shadow brushes to have a domed shape so that I can get right into the crease. I would use the #768s for packing on color and the #776M for blending the edges for a more diffused look. The #765 is perfect for contouring your crease. Another key feature I search for in brushes is longevity but unfortunately I won’t be able to judge that aspect of my new Bdellium brushes for another few months.
Around 6pm is when Jenn and I finally headed home – we’ll post another entry containing our q/a with the different people we met at The Makeup Show LA, so look forward to that! I think Chrissy will have a great time at The Makeup Show NY in May. We’re also looking forward to IMATS NY, just a couple weeks away – Chrissy will be there with her press pass, and Anisha will be at IMATS LA in June – So if you’re going to be attending any of these events, comment below and let us know. See you there!
Were you at The Makeup Show LA this year? Tell us what your highlights were in our comments below. You could win a Sugarpill Cosmetics Burning Heart Palette! Read about our March Comments Contest here.
