Older Girl Beauty Blog

What a WEEK...whew!

oldergirlbeauty — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:44:50 -0500

It's that time of year again - time for The Makeup Show in NYC. It's a trade show of makeup vendors open to the public and pros alike. Last year was my first time to go and I was excited to go again this year.

I have lots of photos, video & info to share with you. However, my kiddo broke his arm, here in Oklahoma, the Saturday night I was in NYC (*I just touched down today and immediately grabbed my liquid love before I even left the airport!). He'll be fine, but he needs doctor visits & surgery on Thursday. So....I might be a bit busy this week before I can give you the full report. Just know, this was another great event that allowed me to talk to so many experts and see so many neat and innovative ideas. I can't wait to tell you all about it.

MAC Cosmetics at The Makeup Show - NYC

oldergirlbeauty — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:02:00 -0500

MAC Cosmetics was definitely representing at The Makeup Show - NYC. I took this pic early in the morning, because for the rest of the day, it was at least 5 people deep to get to the counter.

Not only did they have a booth, they also did a keynote session over "Trends", given by VP of Makeup Artistry, Gordon Espinet.

In addition to talking with his hands, Gordon has the most melodic accent. (*I swear, he could have been reading a physics book and I would have sat thru it, just to hear him speak.) He gave a great presentation talking about what was happening in makeup on the runways from around the world. One slide in particular caught my attention:

Now, in this slide you are supposed to pay attention to the gorg reverse smokey-eye. But, I was immediately drawn to this lovely lady's freckles. That you can see. That are not masked by foundation. And I swooned. Audibly. I turned to the delightful Ms. Heather Park, MAC's Manager of Global Communications, who was attending the presentation with us and asked ever so sweetly - okay, gasped forcibly, to please see if she could find out what was used to get that beautiful finish. (*She was kind enough to get back with me after the show and let me know she had found out that it was Studio Sculpt Foundation applied with a damp 187 brush for an almost airbrushed finish. I thought for *certain* it was going to be Mineralize Skinfinish.)

*On Heather's recommendation that I would get similar results, I was able to try the Face and Body Foundation. Oh lawd, did the Angels sing when I put this on. Not even playing. It disappeared, along with my redness around my nose and cheeks. And still left my pretty freckles shine thru, without looking cakey or masked.

If you want to try any of these foundations to get this no makeup look, or to try that reverse smokey-eye, MAC is having a Friends & Family 25% off sale (online only) right now thru June 18th - just use code SUMO at checkout.

CoverFX at The Makeup Show - NYC

oldergirlbeauty — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:25:00 -0500

Before I went to The Makeup Show I had been chatting with the super Melissa from CoverFX, and she mentioned that I needed to make sure and see her coworker, Wanda, who would be representing CoverFX at the show. You better believe that I did! In addition to getting to meet her, I got to watch while she did a makeover on the wonderful Sarah, from StyleItOnline.com.

Also, I got to do "Da Bump" with Celebrity Makeup Artist and CoverFX Pro Artist, Nathan Johnson. Once again my "vast" knowledge of makeup artist giants came in handy (*sarcasm) as I had no idea this fun guy is who he is, ie. Project Runway MUA, multitude of tv show work and off-Broadway shows, too. Gawd. So, yeah, I didn't really get any deep info from him except he and I could rock out dancing all night long. Which, really, sometimes is more important to me than what TM to wear. Ha.

*Thanks to Melissa I was able to try SkinTintFX tinted moisturizer. I gotta admit, it scared me when I first got it, because it looked *SO* dark when it came out of the bottle, I thought there was NO WAY this was going to work on me.

Boy was I wrong. This TM glides on so easily and the color is so sheer, it isn't too dark at all. Just gives me a hint of sun color, without looking orange or muddy. It is also so light that it doesn't make my face look matted down or heavy, which is a huge plus for me. And, unlike other mineral products, this doesn't make my face itchy when I wear it. So nice.

Smashbox Cosmetics at The Makeup Show - NYC

oldergirlbeauty — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:26:00 -0500

Lori Taylor, Smashbox's Professional Artistry Relations Manager, was being Pro and showing off all of the great Smashbox products in their booth at The Makeup Show - NYC. I swear, you can NOT stump this lady - which is really great.

In fact, she is so good at it, that she gave a presentation at the show over what she called "Needed Basics".

Seriously, she knows what she's talking about and even if you think you had everything, it's great to hear about something you might have missed. Now, as much as it was compelling to watch Lori tell us the basics, it's hard not to ignore these FIERCE shoes she was wearing:

She told me that she had comfy shoes under her table she was putting on after her presentation, so she wouldn't be rocking these babies all day long. I woulda done the same thing. Oh wait, I wore Chucks. I couldn't have managed those in the *first* place. Ha.

*My fav Smashbox product is the Waterproof Shadow Liner in Hollywood, which is a bronzey color, that when put on with the Smashbox #30 brush is like a great smudgey liner in a second. But, I gotta say, I got a Fusion Soft Lights in Sunset from Lori, and I have used it almost every day since. I don't do bronzers, but this has a soft yellow in it that I use on top of my cheeks and it gives me a gorg glow. Love it!

MAKE UP FOR EVER at The Makeup Show - NYC

oldergirlbeauty — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:25:00 -0500

Let me tell you a story - because that's what I do. ;)

When I was checking in for the Beauty Blogger Preview at The Makeup Show, there was a man who popped up to the table, kissed the guy and gal at the table and made a dash for the door. Well, me being me, I said, "Hey, wait a minute - I'm right here. How could you not kiss me?" So, the gentleman came back up the steps, gave me a kiss on the cheek, a big hug and told me how great it was to see me. Now, I had no idea who this man was, I was just cracking up that 1) I said that and 2) that he came back.

Well, as I was soon to find out at the preview, it was none other than MAKE UP FOR EVER's Director of Pro Business Development & Artist Realtions, Kevin-James Bennett. (*Oh, and did I mention multi-Emmy Award winning make-up artist.) Yeah, I didn't know any of that until after the fact.

At the actual makeup show on Sunday, I got to see how the MUFE artists were showing off how the products can be used for much more than lining your eyes. They were working on "painting" the model to the side of the booth:

(*Isn't that model giving me "Fierce"?)

So, while I am on the side of the booth, who should come around but Kevin, and he has a jacket on and a worried look on his face. Now, me being me again, asked him what was wrong. He said, "I feel like a kid that just became a Sr. in High School and is suddenly popular.", as he looked at the line to get into the MUFE booth, that was wrapping down the wall of the room. I stepped up and started to reassure him that it was all great, they were here to see him (*which he quickly corrected me to say they weren't here to see him at all), so I rephrased it to "see MUFE, of which he is a huge part of getting to where it is now". At this point I am holding his lapels and reassuring him it was going to be okay, it's a going to be a great day and basically, giving him a "Go get'em, Tiger" boost. Yes, I am pretty much out of my body freaking out that *I* am giving Kevin Effin' Bennett a pep talk. Just goes to show that everyone can get a case of the nerves, no matter how many shiny things are on the mantle.

*My fave MUFE (of which I have only one thing, so it wins by default, but is freakin' awesome anyway) was actually a Christmas gift last year: MUFE Aqua Eyes Collection. It was my first really bright eyeliners and I have to say I just love them - they stay in place and just make my eyes pop, I will be sad when my nubs die.