Last month I went to Beauty Expo Australia, the biggest beauty industry event in Australia each year. For the past couple of years, the International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour was being renovated and the Expo had to be moved to Glebe Island, which is an absolute pain to get to (there were complimentary buses and ferries, but as you can imagine it wasn’t efficient at all!). This year it was back in Darling Harbour, ten minutes’ walk from Town Hall Station. There were 21% more people this year than last year, and 45% more floor space, so the move back has been a resounding success!
The main drawcard for me are the presentations and education sessions. There are free shows on all day on all aspects of the beauty industry. This year there were four stages at the “Hub”: anti-ageing, make-up, grooming and nails. There are paid education sessions as well, which are longer and more in-depth. The sessions included microblading, peels, skin firming, men’s grooming, eyelid-enhancing make-up, brow shaping lessons, social media marketing, and nutrition. Being a beauty science nerd, I went to as many of the technical talks as I could. While there were a couple of dubious claims (one speaker claimed that shallow breathing and high GI fats caused acne), there were also a lot of really fantastic talks – Rae Morris always gives excellent make-up advice, and I really enjoyed the presentation from Ultraceuticals founder Dr Geoffrey Heber too on the delivery of actives through skin.
My other favourite thing about the expo are the expo bargains, of course! This year there were over 200 exhibitors and a 45% increase in floor space, with more bargains and interesting displays than you can wave your credit card at (tip: bring cash, some exhibitors don’t have EFTPOS). There are lots of interesting displays as well, like a free mask-making station where you can mix your own DIY mask with essential oils and clays, and a station from Pure Fiji where you can get your feet massaged while being serenaded.
There are also live demos of the latest hi-tech equipment, and some super cheap treatments like teeth whitening and hot stone massage. There’s also the Face2Face Makeup Awards and Nailympia competition where the artists do all their work in the open, so there’s a lot to take in!
You can check out more info on the Beauty Expo website. Beauty Expo will be held 8-9 September next year, so mark it in your calendars!
I received a media pass to cover Beauty Expo this year. For more information, see Disclosure Policy.
Sounds interesting. I may check them out next year.