#MakeupMonday – PHAMExpo 2013 Wrap Up

As a pro makeup artist I try to be out and about at as many industry related events as possible…

because – believe it or not – folks will not know who you are via living behind a computer screen. LOL! You’ve got to go out and be visible.

As I mentioned in my pre-show article, I love Trade Shows so I was excited to attend the inaugural PHAMExpo Trade Show. PHAME – which stands for Professional Hair And Makeup Expo – has the goal of bridging all of the elements of the beauty biz under one roof as opposed to being just a hair show or just a makeup show. While there were some nods to hair both on exhibition and in education, makeup was definitely much more prominently featured than hair. I would also wager most attendees were makeup artists or “combos” (like myself) as opposed to true salon hair-stylists. Therefore on the one hand, it was hard to say what exactly distinguishes this show from the shows already in existence, particularly Powder Group’s The Makeup Show. There were elite platform artists/hair educators and hair stylists amongst the education – which The Makeup Show does not do – so hopefully overtime the hair community will become more involved. One other thing I would change is the “Pro Hour”. The first day was one hour and the second was a half hour. That is not even enough time to walk the floor ONCE much less see everything and have time to really TALK to vendors, etc. Ideally, it would be great to have a whole separate afternoon/evening for the Pros, but if they are going to set aside time in the morning it would be great to have enough time for it to be really beneficial.

All that said, PHAMExpo was a very good show: Excellent production, excellent staff, excellent facility (Pasadena Convention Center, same location as IMATS-LA) and a good overall selection of exhibitors and education. Now in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to preface my Sunday review by saying that the morning I was attending the show I had one of the WORST mornings personally I’ve had in years. YEARS. So needless to say my day was thrown off a bit. BUT I did make it, as did my partner in crime Delia Jimenez Owens, and we were able to take some of the show in. Here’s what stood out

As indicated in the photo above, I did do a bit of shopping. In addition to the fact that I already have too much makeup, I had just attended two beauty PR events right before PHAME (I will be posting about those events next Monday). Therefore I did not need much, but I did get a few things anyway (translation: all I really needed was Parian Spirit, but I went shopping anyway). A Word About Pricing: As this show is open to the general public, they had a lot of great product at great prices including pro and prestige brands that consumers would normally pay full price for. If you are a non-Pro Makeup to Go! reader, bear this in mind and plan to come shop next year. 🙂 For the pros, however, I did notice that some things were higher than our pro discount. This is actually true of all of the trade-shows. Vendors may offer “show” discounts that are not the same as the full Pro discount price, so bear that in mind also as you shop.

Morphe Brushes is a new supplier located quite local for me in Burbank, CA. I purchased a few of their brushes all of whom I utilized later that evening on a client. The brushes held pigment well, blended evenly, and felt good in-hand. The brushes are quite affordably priced and Morphe is offering a 20% discount using the code MORPHE2013. They are definitely worth checking out. The eyeshadows pictured are also from Morphe as they were generously giving bloggers a “build your own” sample eyeshadow palette. More on that after I have a chance to use it.

Sian Richards was there live and in person representing her brand London Brush Company. If you are not familiar, Sian (pronounced “Sean”) is a makeup artist of the highest caliber, working primarily in film. She was responsible for Halle Berry’s transformations in “Cloud Atlas” amongst other amazing work. Needless to say meeting and speaking with her was a treat. Sian’s father was a makeup artist who left her his brushes and her brushes are manufactured to that standard. I know exactly what she means: Old makeup brushes were MUCH better made than they generally are now. Her brushes are more expensive but if you can swing them they are worth the investment. I already have a few of her brushes, so I was intent on purchasing some of her solid Brush Shampoo. Of the various makeup-specific solid brush cleaners (so not including Master’s Brush Cleaner which was definitely first but was developed for the fine art world), London Brush Company’s was the first I was aware of and by all accounts it is sheer brilliance. I have not tried it yet, but I will be doing a comparison between three of the solid makeup brush cleaners currently available on the market soon! Super Cute Side Note: Sian’s daughters were hanging out at her booth and they are already exhibiting signs of carrying on the family tradition of makeup. 🙂

Yaby Cosmetics and my girl Liz Yu were in the house for the PHAME show. I was excited to see Liz just because, but she also had one of the most innovative and interesting product I saw at the show. Yaby Cosmetics now has a series of small, interlocking palettes which can be purchased filled or empty, with various inserts or “freestyle”. See the photo to see what I mean; the possibilities are endless! These can be used as “actor’s kit” for film/tv artists, a touch-up kit for us photographic artists (particularly if you send an assistant for touch-ups and you want them to use what you used), a Bride Kit for bridal artists, make your own personal palette for yourself…. Endless Possibilities. Cannot wait to own and use these!

If you’re in the Toronto, CAN area, do not forget Liz just opened Toronto’s first Pro makeup shop in nearly a decade. Visit Blur Makeup Room and buy these palettes in addition to all of your other Pro makeup needs (NOTE: Blur sells most major pro brands in addition to Yaby).

On the speaker’s side I didn’t see much. I saw a bit of the nail talk. Those ladies really knew their stuff and are way way into nail art, so that was good to see at the show. I tried to see Scott Barnes, but the PHAMExpo videographer moved his camera in front of a table where several of us were seated and next thing I knew all I could see was the back of his head and camera. 😐 Señor Barnes was going to demonstrate his legendary contour/highlighting technique and hair maestro Frank Galasso was demonstrating how to use extensions to create a moire hair effect. For folks who could see it, it was probably great. Next I stopped by Maurice Stein’s talk. I have taken classes at Cinema Secrets and I have seen Mr. Stein speak a zillion times so I know his technique. What I’m trying to figure out is how I have used Cinema Secrets foundation for well over a decade and not known it is a SILICONE based foundation! Goes to show you learn something new everyday! In any event I knew it is not oil based and that’s why I like it and keep it in my kit. Lastly, I checked out Star Walker’s talk on Personal Branding. I went on a Personal/Business Branding learning spree a couple of years ago so most of the information I was aware of, but I was extremely happy to see that the class was well attended.

PHAMExpo was definitely worth supporting. I am glad I was there and I look forward to being there again next year, schedule permitting. If you were not there this year, add it to your Biz Calendar for 2014!

ALSO: I didn’t get to go on Saturday because I was working. Did you go? If so, tell us how it was! 🙂

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