This past Sunday marked my 3rd year attending the Makeup Show in New York City. For those in the business who have never attended a Makeup Show, it is a must!! Aside from the amazing vendors and their discounts (Crown Brushes, Makeup Forever, Ives Saint Laurent, Stila, OCC cosmetics, Dinair and Smashbox cosmetics to name a few) you are able to connect from artists all over the world, meet beauty bloggers (Pursebuzz, Encore, Queen of Blending, Scandalous Beauty, Yummy 411 and Makeup by Renren ) and listen to amazing keynote speakers and participate in classes.
I'm not sure of what to write of first, the amazing events or the bad. Hmm, lets start with the bad and just get it over with! The Makeup Show was at the Metropolitan Pavilion and began at 9am. My train ran a smidge behind. Upon my arrival to the show, I was greeted by a long line and waited approximately 30 minutes to get signed in (I pre-registered.) Also, as the Makeup Show becomes more notorious and successful, it seems as tho the Metropolitan Pavilion is no longer the ideal location for such an event.
There were TONS of people, just tons and it was difficult to maneuver thru the crowds, to shop, to have assistance and to look at products and test them out.
Please do not equate my thoughts above into thinking that I had an awful day, because I did not. I just believe that as the success of the Makeup Show grows, that it needs a new home to house all of the eager artist that attend each year. One improvement this year was having two floors of exhibitors as well as more places to sit, relax and grab a snack. Onto the good stuff..
I was eager to get into the Makeup Show to see the creator of Makeup Forever, Dany Sanz. Unfortunately, I missed her last appearance. This year, I had two encounters with her at the elevator. The first encounter involved me squealing and looking shocked. The second encounter involved my having an actual conversation with her.
Dany is from France and her accent is just beautiful! Dany and her assistant Ludo create each new product in her kitchen. Her line initially began as a Pro Only line for makeup artist. She wanted to create colors for all, because she had students from all countries in her makeup school and needed to be able to provide products for all their needs. That need to provide for all provided Dany with the opportunity to place her products in more than 50 countries and in Sephora stores across the world.
Dany talked with us about having fun with makeup, but allowing the makeup to be nice, elegant and chic. She wanted us to understand how makeup can be different in a good way as sometimes when we have fun with color, the makeup application can look amateur. Check out the final results of her creation! Dany utilized her HD foundations and primers, aqua cream shadows and liners as well as her new uplight highlighters, glitters and starpowders.
It was unfortunate that I missed Makeup Artist Sam Fine due to being in a long line at Makeup Forever, but I was able to attend Billy B.'s keynote and to hear him speak was worth my admission to the Makeup Show! Billy was there to talk about the good, bad and ugly of celebrity makeup.
Billy is known in recent history as being the man behind Lady Gaga's makeup for "Born this Way" video as well as the performance at the Grammys. However, he is most notable for his work in music videos. He did Missy Elliots makeup for the mind-blowing "Shes a Bitch Video" as well as Pink's music video for "Stupid Girls." He has worked with icons such as Mariah Carrey, Jennifer Lopez, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige and Christina Hendricks. He is also responsible for transitioning the Dixie Chicks look from country to pop radio. You can find some of his recent work on Esperanza Spalding in the May issue of InStyle magazine, he has been re-signed for a second year as a judge on RuPauls Drag Race and he is currently working on a project with Dolly Parton.
He grew up in Mississippi and as someone who is gay and dyslexic (tho he did not know it at the time) had a difficult time. He ran way to NYC in his early 20s and lied to get a job in makeup. While working in a department store, he recalls not being able to find many shades for skintones of African American women whom he practiced his craft on and learned to perfect his craft with.
He is beyond humble, he himself said that he didnt feel worthy of speaking to us (a crowd that LOVES him and gave him a standing ovation) and that he constantly is trying to validate and prove who he is and what he does. He truly believes that the beauty business is where the freaks go as we have all been bullied in some way and look to prove the bully wrong.
It was also surprising to hear Billy say that it never gets easier. That with more money comes more problems. It was also surprising to hear him say that there is no money left in music videos and that despite all of his celebrity work, he still does work for JC Penney catalogs and for the no-named rich Beverly Hills wife. In addition, he has never been able to do work for American Vogue magazine, is exhausted by his travel and because of his work has no life. He has no regrets as he believes the regrets should be something you learn from. He also notes that even as a celebrity artist, you are in no position to negotiate rates and quite frequently are paid less than your starting rate, but he does the work because he loves it and needs the money.
Some of Billys advice was to never get comfortable, to reinvent yourself and move with the times and make a niche for yourself. He also said to pinpoint what part of the business you excel at and make it your goal to be the best you can be at it to be successful. He also spoke highly of being humble and asking for help. Billy doesnt do airbrush and has had assistants that airbrush his clients. Billy has also assisted other makeup artist. He believes its important to build a team to work with as well of photographers, hair stylist and models. Billy has worked for free for the passion of his craft and the experience it has provided him. He also recommends managing any bitterness that crosses your path so that it doesnt destroy you.
Phew, can you tell how enthralled I was to hear Billy speak?!?He was full of such great advice, very similar to the advice Kelly Cutrone provides in her book. He is amazing and I just hope he realizes how amazing he is and how grateful I am to have heard his words of wisdom.
To sum up my Makeup Show experience, there were long lines and amazing keynote speakers and it was worth every dollar spent!
Check out my review and haul
here!!
