International Beauty Show 2012 Las Vegas

This years International Beauty Show (IBS) held in Las Vegas was filled with an abundance of booths, classes and workshops in hair, makeup, nails and business. It also included a barber and nail competition. In addition, my ticket included entry to the International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Show (IECSC).  Tens of thousands of beauty professionals attended this years show to see the new and upcoming trends, including myself.

Entering into the IBS exhibit hall was like walking into a giant party. Bright lights, samples galore, music and beauty/hair experts attracting exhibitors to their booths with in-booth education. Vendors at both shows cleverly brought in eye-catching talent like a women on stilts (At Enzo Milano) and a hip-hop violinist (Brandon Summers at Serene Professional Skincare at the IECSC). Did the women on stilts attribute to the purchase of my 13mm clipless curling iron? Well, yes she definetly helped entice me into their booth but I actually do love my new curling iron. I found it amazing how dynamic the nail industry has become. Just booth after booth of trendy nail polish colors, nail shapes, Shellac, nail kits, nail competitions and so on. Beautiful nails are by far the most popular beauty trend I noticed at this show.

The IECSC show was similar although a lot calmer and more serene. The same in-booth education and samples were available minus the loud, blasting music. I made my rounds to the Cailyn booth, which by the way makes some of my favorite products. 2 years ago I cleaned house on their entire mineral eyeshadow collection and this year I was introduced to their new Cailyn gel eyeliner with a built in brush. I was really impressed with the how smooth and precise the liner was. It also lasted all day and I had no reason to reapply.

Another booth that made an impact on me was named ‘What’s your virtue?’. This company was started by three friends that wanted to send a message to women of all of the simple and virtuous things in life. They created Lip Bliss, a hydrating lip gloss made with castor, cranberry, peppermint and safflower seed oil. I was hesitant to try Lip Bliss’ Simplicity over my bright coral lipstick but glad I did because it created amazing shine and lasted for hours. I’ve used it alone as well and loved the luminous shine it provided. Big thanks to Sara, Amy and Molly for taking the time to tell me about your fabulous lip glosses!

All in all, the show was an amazing time. The trends that stuck in my head were those that provided long lasting results like gel nails, long lasting lipglosses and eyeliners. Even more important were those beauty products that were cautious of their ingredients. I’m interested to see who will draw my attention at next years show…