Exploring the best of beauty at The Beauty Show Live

ad gifted- I received a VIP ticket to The Beauty Show Live in exchange for my honest review.

Sponsored by Marie Claire, The Perfume Shop and British Beauty Council this Autumn’s The Beauty Show Live was one not to be missed. Hosted at Islington Business Design Centre the show featured free beauty bars, over 25 celebrity and expert speakers and over 50 beauty and fashion brands to try and enjoy.

There were three levels of entry available, with both Standard and VIP getting an exclusive goody bag to enjoy after the event.

I was lucky enough to receive a VIP ticket which got me access to the VIP lounge, early access to the event and an a awesome goody bag worth £365 (you can see what I got in my VIP goody bag below:).

I had my eye on this event for months so I was excited I got the opportunity to go.

Free treatments

Everyone at the event got to enjoy one free beauty treatment. You could book on the day, or if you had a VIP ticket you could pre-book. Treatments included:

• Hair Express treatment bar with Melanin skincare
• Skincare Express Treatment bar with CellDerma
• Brow Define Express Treatment bar with MUA
• Lash Express Treatment bar with London Lash Pro
• Nail Express Treatment bar with Miss Dolla
• The Shade Bar with Sculpted by Aimee
• K18REPAIR Service bar with K18
• The Makeup Bar with Urban Decay
• The Makeup Bar with it Cosmetics

As I’m always looking for the perfect foundation I chose the Shade Bar class Sculpted by Sculpted by Aimee.

During the class I had a full makeover and the makeup artist demonstrated how hydrating the products are which is great for dry skin. The products she used were:

• Second Skin foundation in Dewy 2.0
• Brighten up in beige concealer
• Bare Basic palette in Peony

The foundation was a good match, and felt really light on my skin.

I also took away some fabulous tips like tapping on a second layer of foundation to avoid smudging the first layer, and tapping the powder on so it really sets your makeup.

Shop till you drop

For those who love shopping, the Beauty Show Live was like a dream come true. There were over 60 stands to explore with beauty brands including MUA, it Cosmetics, Goo Goo Cosmetics and so many more.

There were a lot of brands I’ve never heard of before, so it’s a good way of discovering what smaller brands had to offer.

There were various freebies available but for most of them you had to win them. Some of the contests involved spinning a wheel or picking a prize using a crane. This was a fun idea but the queues were pretty ridiculous. Often the prize would just be a discount voucher on products they had for sale, but there were one or two big prizes on offer.

I didn’t buy anything as I’ve spent far too much on beauty products lately (make sure you check out my reveal of the Cult Beauty 2024 advent calendar), but I was tempted by the Amory London straighteners. The straightener is made with titanium so it glides down the hair shaft without burning, and can create curls that last up to three days. I did get a demo of the straighteners, and the curls did look fabulous. I’m not sure they’d last three days though!

Free beauty masterclasses

There were three stages at the show including woman & home stage, the main hair and beauty stage and the Marie Claire stage.

There were lots of free classes to enjoy on the different stages including a Urban Decay Makeup Masterclass, Build beautiful hair, MUA Makeup Masterclass: New season trends to suit everyone, Curious about Tweakments and lots more. I loved the variety of the shows with everything from makeup masterclass to how to keep your skin and hair looking healthy.

My only real gripe with The Beauty Show Live was that a lot of the classes were spaced quite far apart, for example there were no shows from 1-2pm. Whilst this is fine if you’re with someone, hanging around on your own for an hour can be a bit boring. I did manage to capture one or two classes before I headed off though.

You could also explore The Salon by Who What Wear with Face the Future. At The Salon you could try your free treatments, hear insights from the experts, try new trends and innovations and meet like minded beauty fans.

The Beauty Show Live was a great way to trial new products, learn some tips from the experts at the masterclasses and try new products you may never have heard of before. Check out the highlights of the event below:

The beauty bag was a great addition as well, with even standard tickets getting a bag worth £189!

If the show is on next year make sure you put it on your calendars.

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