My First Makeup Artist Trade Show

September has been a month filled with so many amazing experiences and memories!  One of the things I am still so happy I was able to do was go to my very first makeup artist trade show– The Makeup Show Orlando.  This day was a bit surreal for me, because I was walking into an event where you had to show professional credentials at the door–I actually have professional makeup credentials (yay!).  Just a year ago I was debating back and forth on if I should try to work as a makeup artist, and now here I am going to an event where everyone was asking me about my makeup career!  It felt amazing just to be able to go to something like this.

This event travels to other cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, New York) and it’s a chance for makeup lovers to come together, check out new products, get professional discounts, and partake in seminars provided by people in the industry that we look up to.  Basically, I felt like I was in heaven!  There are makeup tables as far as the eye can see, and everyone is swatching, playing with new products, and literally just talking about makeup the entire day.  In between all of the browsing, I was able to listen to two keynotes.  The first one I went to was given by Kevin James Bennett, an emmy-winning makeup artist who has worked in the same realm of TV & Film that I am currently trying to further myself in.  While I will say that Kevin’s name is brought up in a lot of drama with beauty influencers on YouTube (which I am not a fan of), he is a talented makeup artist, and I was really interested in his “Makeup Kit Breakdown ” lecture.  I learned so much and I really enjoy seeing what other artists feel are necessities to bring on set.  You always learn tips and tricks and what products they love.

Next, I got to see Danessa Myricks apply makeup to a model live!  If you’ve ever seen her work, you know it is an actual masterpiece and a true work of art.  It is no different in person!  Even under a time crunch, she was able to create a beautiful combination of texture, shading, and glow.  She has done makeup on Madonna, Britney Spears, Ciara, Chris Brown, and more, so getting to see her in action was incredible.

The look created by Danessa Myricks at the Makeup Show Orlando

I also wanted to share the products that I picked up while attending the Makeup Show!  While there were so many amazing products and brands, a lot of which were new to me, I bought just a few things that I wanted to add to my kit and personal collection.

I picked up some liquid latex from Alcone because #1, I can never have enough for FX and #2, I was so happy that this one is clear!  I have a lot of “flesh” tone, but I have been wanting a clear latex for a while so I was happy to find this one.

I got 2 eyeshadow singles from Stilazzi for free from their booth.  I’m not too familiar with this brand, but I was really happy with the swatches of these shadows.  They will go perfectly in my Z Palette of fun colors!

I finally own Bioderma!  I have heard SO many people talk about this, and it was such a good price that I had to finally try it.  From what I hear, this stuff will remove any makeup and is perfect for sensitive skin.  You can even use it around your eyes for that stubborn waterproof makeup.

After seeing Danessa apply makeup and hearing her talk about the brand she created specifically with makeup artists in mind, I was so excited to check out her booth and see what products I could add to my kit.  These Vision Cream Cover Wands are about to be one of my favorite items I bring on set.  They aren’t called foundations or concealers, they are just this perfect hybrid of both that Danessa uses to sculpt, shape, and define the complexion.  They are extremely pigmented, and provide very full coverage.  The reason I am personally so excited about these is because she said they can be used for tattoo covering in seconds.  With one swipe of this little pen (that will barely take up room in my set bag) I can cover up the background talent’s tattoos!  This is a process that usually takes me around 5 minutes per person, and that time is about to be cut down to next to nothing, so excited!  I got 3 shades–a light (N2), medium (N4), and dark (N8)–because I felt like I could mix these together to create any shade I need on set, and also because I could play with these as perfect base, highlight, and contour shades.

I stopped by the Mehron table and picked up a Paradise Makeup AQ in the shade “Storm Cloud”.  This is a cake makeup, that is activated by water and provides a really great opaque color payoff.  I specifically got this for an upcoming film I am working on, and I can’t wait to test it!

Top: Smoldering Satin Bottom: Twig

I think that the Stila liquid eyeshadows are the best on the market.  The colors are amazing, they last all day, and they are so easy to work with and blend.  I was really excited to pick up one of the new products from them, the Shimmer and Glow Liquid Eyeshadow in the shade “Twig”.  The “Shimmer and Glow” line is different from their past “Glitter and Glow” products because these ones are now very opaque.  I swatched both of my Stila shadows for comparison, but you can see that the “Glitter and Glow” shadow on top is a little more transparent, can be used alone or as a topper, and it has a lot more shimmer to it.  The newer product is an intense all over color.  I am obsessed with using this all over the lid, buffed out to create a deep smokey eye that’s perfect for fall.

I have seen Melt Cosmetics online for a few years now, but I have never owned anything from this brand.  I have been blown away by the pigment when I see it used on YouTube tutorials, but it’s a pricey purchase for something that I could never swatch and see for myself.  When I finally was able to play with their products at the Makeup Show, and I was able to get a discount, I was sold!  I had a hard time deciding which stack to start with, but I decided to go with their newest product, the Baby Girl Stack.  First of all, how unique is this packaging!?  The pans are magnetic and can come together for one tall stack, and then can be laid out for use.  Worried about this not being very travel friendly?  Don,t worry, they sell magnetic palettes so that you can have these in a more traditional format as well.  Also, these pans of shadow are huge.  In a typical eyeshadow palette, you get somewhere around 0.75 grams per shadow.  In these pans, you get 2.96 grams per shade!  Most importantly, these shadows are extremely pigmented and blend like a dream.  You barely have to dip your brush in, and you get the full color payoff.  Overall, I love that I was able to try another new Indie brand of makeup that isn’t as “well known” and find something that I am happy to have in my collection!

My day at the Makeup Show Orlando was sooo fun!  I’m so happy that I was able to attend, meet new people, learn from other artists, and explore and play with makeup for an entire day!  If you ever get the change to go, I highly recommend it!