The Makeup Show 2008 held in New York City on May 18 and 19 was a perfect occasion to check out trends as well as new concepts and innovative products. The high number of companies present was impressive as was the quality of products offered.
The showroom was filled with many well known brands adorning the floor and newcomers eager to make a difference in a highly competitive market. The booklet available at the entrance listed no less than 71 brands having stands or booths. It also offered high quality workshops and seminars equally interesting to the professional as well as the clients eager to know more about tips and methods to achieve a well sought result: unblemished beauty.
Keynote and business forums were plentiful, with, for instance, Sandy Linter presenting on behalf of Lancome “A Career in MakeUp” (Sunday May 18). Hands-on workshops were also offered each day. Dominic Cruz for Kryolan conducted on Monday a workshop related to “Makeup for the Mature Skin”. Renowned makeup star Linda Mason offered valuable tips and techniques to achieve her famous “eye candy” look.
One of the more interesting workshops was the one conducted by Sarah Lucero for Stila Cosmetics that covered what the trend in makeup is all about for the fall of 2008. Ms Lucero said that lipstick is finally back in rich luscious colors such as coral and deep hued pink with a neon twist, a memento of the eighties. As to gloss lipstick, it is bound to take a back seat for the upcoming season. Skin should look natural (hurray!!) and blushes play a major part with highly pigmented colors such as cherry. As for the eyes, it is all about matte, shine, glitter and sparkles are left in the past.
Between the brands present and the workshops and seminars, it was a whirlwind of makeup everywhere and accessories such as professional makeup cases, brushes, even wigs that allowed just about everyone, professionals and shoppers to find something worth having and/or knowing about. The big players were there as well, with brands like Mac, Cover Girl, Stila Cosmetics and Lancome showing appealing stands displaying well known and favorite products. Makeovers were offered here and there, making the whole thing a very enjoyable experience.
A number of booths were offering airbrushed makeup products and the necessary machinery to achieve what is often touted as an impeccable result. Companies like Graftobian Make Up Co. showed an impressive and complete array of products geared at just about everyone. From enabling one to create a unique design (as illustrated by a model standing at the booth with only airbrush make up covering her body with beautiful swirls of colors) to achieving outstanding results for every day makeup.
Although the appeal for most is obvious, the covering of just about every inch of the face with airbrushed makeup products raises a question: what is next? Isn’t it already enough that many of us are willing to use cosmetic surgery and other methods to look young; do we want now to look like the wax models of Mme Tussaud’s museum? The popularity this technique has gained in a short time illustrates how obsessed our culture has become with the impossible concept of everlasting beauty.
Although airbrush techniques can create a vision of flawless beauty, the charm and free spirited abandon that can be expressed through minimal makeup is completely lost with the use of such techniques. The airbrushed face seems somewhat stiff and overly covered with what could be coined as being some type of “camouflage”.
Closer to traditional makeup, brands like adesign stood out with beautiful makeup brushes of the highest quality. Offered in many different sizes and shapes, they each have specific uses. The famous Kabuki brushes were omnipresent and showed all the signs of high-end products.
Artist (oil painting on glass), makeup artist and hair stylist Hagen Linss was offering her services to retouch photographs. And array of “before and after” photos was displayed on the wall. Miss Hagen Linss is a very charming and worldly person that displays great artistic skills in many different ways.
Another interesting find was Nurturing Force, a New Jersey based company that offers high quality blotting papers for the skin, among other things. Unlike many other competitors that come with inferior products that can leave an undesirable film on the skin among side effects, Nurturing Force’s products are touted (by the company itself) as being the best in that segment of the market: it won’t remove or smudge makeup while it absorbs shine with an instantaneous result: a dry and shine free skin.
The company has many professionals using its products, a sure sign of quality in itself. The company’s vice president, Ms Linda R. Rothstein-Sosnick took time to explain to me all the qualities the paper has. I personally favor their lavender scented paper: made with the science of aromatherapy, it exudes a delicate and very pleasing fragrance in a dispenser that is most innovative. Instead of paper leaves in an envelope, Nurturing Force has come up with a most ingenious container that holds a roll of paper — one can simply roll out and cut as much paper as it needed each and every time.
The best of it all had to be a newcomer on the market and a very successful one in just a year: ColorOn Professional is an amazing product: packs of the product contain 10 leaves of papers that have makeup pressed up, each box being of a specific color as well as a specific shape. One has to apply the paper with the makeup color on each eyelid and simply pull out the paper gently. The color stays on the eyelid, a perfectly done eye makeup in no time. Color on is unique and a great product that is so easy to use, with great and long lasting results. The Florida based company is World Cosmetics, and its charismatic CEO, Edward Eberts, was there to promote this outstanding product.
– Muriel Geny-Triffaut
