The Makeup Show LA March 19-20, 2016 – Event Preview

The Makeup Show Los Angeles 2016 is happening this weekend March 19th – 20th at the California Market Center and I’m thrilled to be able to share a sneak preview of some items that will be available at the show! For those new to The Makeup Show is a pro-beauty event open only to those in the beauty and fashion industry including makeup artists, hairstylists, estheticians, cosmetologists, agents, models, stylists, photographers, industry insiders and anyone that works or studies in under the umbrella of beauty and fashion. It typically happens once a year in Los Angeles – they travel nationwide to other cities like New York City, Dallas, Chicago and Orlando.

Tickets are available for purchase online or at the door (they are cheaper if you buy ahead of time online). There are 1 day or 2 day passes available. Since this is an event for professionals you will need to show some credentials at check in (full listing of qualified credentials on the ticket page).

There will be approximately 60 different booths including individual beauty brands, beauty retailers and educators attending such as Make Up For Ever, MustaeV, Hakuhodo, OCC, RCMA, Beautylish, Urban Decay, Sephora Pro (full list of exhibitors here). To see last year’s feature check out this post here on The Makeup Show 2015.

A closer look at the color items below starting with the face products. I first tried the Bésame Brightening Face Powders last week in store at Sephora. I tried Violet which is a color corrector for light-medium skintones designed to correct yellow and red (it’s brightening). I was thoroughly impressed by the finish – it’s truly transparent yet brightening and left no white or purple cast on the skin. (I did decide to wait on purchasing it though.) I received Vanilla Rose from The Makeup Show which or light-medium tones, color corrects green and blue tones in the skin. It has a transparent finish as well with a subtle finish. Overall I prefer the effect of the Violet on my face for all over but Vanilla Rose is good for setting the undereye area for me.

Next up is the Scott Barnes Multi Media Liquid Makeup. This is a bi-phase liquid that separates once it settles much like the Armani Glow Foundation. I received the shade Cafe Au Lait which is too dark and too peach for my skintone so it was hard for me to tell how it really performed with such a mis-match. I hope to check out the other colors in person at the show. If I find a match I will be sure to let you know.

From MustaeV is the Lustrous Cream Base which is subtle shimmering opal cream product. It has a similar concept to MAC’s Strobe Cream but the MustaeV has a more emollient moisturizing formula. The finish is also a bit more transparent in finish so the glow cast is more subtle on the skin. You can use the MustaeV as a base under foundation, mix it in with foundation for a glow effect or use on top to highlight any area you want a glow. If you’re interested in a full review let me know.

Swatches on bare skin, note the items are swatched heavily to show the color. When applied on the face with blending the Cream Base and Powder both disappear into a translucent finish.

For lips The Makeup Show as quite a few bold and super edgy colors. From OCC are two grey lip color items. The Cosmetic Colour Pencil in Sebastian is a grey taupe. It’s for both lips and eyes, I can see myself wearing it on the eyes. On the lips – I just don’t pull off grey well. There’s a new Lip Tar in Indrid which is an opalescent violet pink shimmer. The pigment and finish is excellent. The color is not something I would ever wear. For both of these shades I didn’t swatch the entire lip – part of the center isn’t touched up so you can see a bit of my natural lip color underneath.

From Make Up For Ever there are three items in the Lip Fever Passion Pink Collection including Artist Lip Balm #920 Flushed Cherry, Artist Lip Blush #921 Exalted Rosewood and Artist Acrylip #922 Electric Fuchsia. You can find all three at Sephora now. I received the Acrylip #922 which is a high pigment liquid lipstick. It’s a lightweight formula that covers the lips entirely and has a glossy finish. At this time I do not know if more colors in these formulas are coming out – I hope they do because as far as a liquid lipstick goes, I am really liking the shiny finish (most liquid lipsticks are either too opaque or matte which makes them look so flat).

The last color for preview is the Bésame Sweetheart Glaze in Caramel which is a glossy nude. It’s described as a luminous lip protectant with moisturizing ingredients. It has a medium to strong vanilla scent and offers medium smooth coverage which I find really good. Often times cream nudes can settle into lip lines but this one does not. It does have a moisturizing finish – if a gloss formula does not have any moisture-added properties my lips are dried out by the next day – with this one, no peeling or dried out  lips so I give this one a thumbs up.

Kat Von D Beauty always launches new items at The Makeup Show. Last year this time the Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette made it’s debut (I still don’t own it but I think I need it in my life). For those who like the concept but want something non-neutral there are four Shade + Light Eye Contour Quads launching. I have a preview of plum which features all matte shades. The colors are in the plum and pink color family which make for a softly contoured eye look. The texture is very powdery with a lot of kick-up but finish is really good. It’s like skin but better with no powdery finish on the eyes – it’s like the product melts into the skin. I played with this a few ways and found that the synthetic brushes were the best tools for application. The Shade + Light Double Ended Contour Brush is excellent in quality and super soft. It applies matte shades very well and blends colors to create a nice gradient. 

Also new is from Kat Von D Beauty is the Lock-It Color Correcting Eyeshadow Primer. I was sent Fair but I suspect the next shade up in Light would be more ideal for my skintone. There are a lot of mixed reviews on this one. I’m in the batch that likes it – I smudge it on the lids direct from the tube and blend with a finger. It evens out the lid nicely without looking cakey or flat and truly did make the matte eyeshadows from the Shade + Light Eye Quad last all day long without fading or budging. I have yet to try it with other eyeshadow formulas but first impressions are overwhelmingly positive.

A quick eye look I took a few days ago. This is shown around 5-6 hours after initial application. Colors looked pretty much the same as when I first applied – do note I did a very subtle wash of all four colors layered together.

Last but not least is the Pur Cosmetics Eye Polish in Caviar. This is described as an all-in-one primer and shadow product. It comes with a silicone applicator which I wasn’t able to master. I did try applying this with other detail brushes and found it to be an extremely glitzy highly metallic black gold. I think it will take some practice to figure out the layering and blending – but I will say that the lasting power is quite impressive. I do like a good shimmer eyeshadow but I found this one to be more glitzy than the Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Shadows so for me would be better suited for going out versus everyday.

To recap, the event in Los Angeles is happening this weekend March 19-20th at the California Market Center. All the event details, location, hours, exhibitors, special speaker events are on their website www.themakeupshow.com/la. You can purchase tickets ahead of time online here or also at the door (they are cheaper if you purchase online). Follow them on Instagram @themakeupshow to get more sneak peeks of what’s launching at the event.

Items provided courtesy of The Makeup Show team as a preview for the LA 2016 Event.