Irish Beauty Show Review 2018
The sun was shining when the doors finally opened to the 2018 Irish Beauty Show in the RDS, Dublin. The show, of course, was originally scheduled for March, but had to be postponed due to the chaos caused by Storm Emma and the Beast From The East. However, this gave us the opportunity to make the show even better
than planned, and so it was rescheduled for the 8th and 9th of April. And it seemed that we weren't the only people excited for the show to begin – the crowds waiting outside made sure that the first day started with a real bang!
Once again, we offered attendees the opportunity to register online, both as visitors and VIPs (with codes from exhibitors). We also offered a self-verified system offering free entry for those in the beauty industry – by uploading valid certificates or insurance documents, beauty professionals could register in advance for free tickets. So from the very first minute of the show, the hall was packed to the rafters with industry professionals wanting to learn all about the latest products and techniques!
It was a busy two days in the RDS. We welcomed back the National Nail Tournament on the Sunday, and added to it our new National Makeup Tournament on the Monday – more on both of these later in this Show Review special. We also had a busy schedule both days on the demo stage, with everything from the latest in nails to makeup to tanning to brows being demonstrated by the experts on the big stage. Many stands hosted demos of their own over the two days, creating plenty of excitement throughout the day. This year we also welcomed CIDESCO Ireland to the show, who hosted a special seminar series on the Saturday – more later in this special.
Once again, we'd like to thank all the exhibitors and the brands for their continued support this year. We are already working on making next year bigger and better than ever – the dates for your diary are 10th-11th March 2019.So without further ado, we invite you to make a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy our Show Review special – we hope you
enjoy it!
This year we welcomed back our Demo Stage with a full schedule over both Sunday and Monday – and once again it proved a massive hit with attendees eager to learn all about the latest products, treatments and techniques courtesy of the experts – and some famous faces!
Creative Academy were on hand on both Sunday and Monday morning to demonstrate the revolutionary Gelish PolyGel dip system, while The Eyelash Emporium demo'd the features and benefits of their Gravity Defying Lashes system. Image Skillnet was officially launched on the
big stage, while a whole host of familiar faces showed off their makeup skills too – Mrs MakeUp and Sinead Cady, aka The Makeup Chair, were in attendance for Blank Canvas, while Mmmmitchell and Jeyanney were demonstrating looks with Crown Brush. The Beauty School also took to the stage to showcase Bellamianta spray tan and HD Brows, while Lucy Fitz showed off BBold Tan and Sophie Murphy created ultimate eyes with BPerfect cosmetics. Finally, Sally's was on hand to showcase the
latest trends and quick dip launches.
Many stands also hosted demos of their own throughout the two days, ensuring that no matter where you went or in what direction you looked, there was something to see and learn – and plenty of excitement in the air.
On Sunday, CIDESCO Ireland hosted their first seminar series at the show. First they welcomed Caroline McEnery, Managing Director of the HR Suite, to talk about GDPR and maximising your business in 2018; then makeup sensation Jimmy C took to the stage to discuss his career and offer valuable tips on succeeding in the industry; and finally Emmy Award-winning former CNN correspondent Gina London told us about the importance of confidence from within to ensure career success. Each talk was enjoyed immensely by the enthusiastic audience. Thanks to CIDESCO Ireland for hosting the seminar series – we hope this will be a regular event at the Irish Beauty Show.
The Irish Beauty Show certainly made waves on social media – before, during and afterwards. Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram were abuzz with pictures taken with the celebrities in attendance at the show, visitors showing off their purchases, and of course the Nail and Makeup Tournaments. This year we also used Facebook Live to showcase many of the talks and demonstrations from the show, all of which can be found on the Irish Beauty Facebook page – catch up on www.facebook.com/
IrishBeautyShow. We also live-streamed the results and showcase from the Nail & Makeup Tournament.
The calm before the storm...
Our social media team kept
everyone up to date before,
during and after the show.
Instagram-ready! Many
visitors took advantage
of our selfie wall for a
quick snap or two!
Shop ‘til you drop! And finish it all
off with a glass of prosecco at the
VIP stand!
The buzz on social
media meant that the
Irish Beauty Show was
the ideal spot to launch
a new initiative, like
Image Skillnet, to both
show attendees and
the beauty industry as a
whole.
Exhibitors used the trending
#irishbeautyshow to show off their stand
and offerings to visitors on their way to
the show.
Suzanne Jackson
created quite the stir
on her SoSu stand at
the show - as captured
on her social media
accounts.
Did Lisa Jordan wish for her own stand at
Irish Beauty this year? The birthday fairies
were only too happy to oblige!
Glitter, glitter everywhere! Why waste some
beautiful face glitter on just the people around
you, when a selfie with #irishbeautyshow
could get the attention of thousands?
Makeup sensations @mmmmitchell and @
jeyanney drew a crowd where ever they
went.
Creative Academy invited
visitors to show off their
stunning Gelish nails to the
world...
Social media makeup stars, such as Lucy
Fitz with bBold Cosmetics, proved hugely
popular with visitors to the show
This year saw the return of the hugely popular National Nail Tournament, which seems to be growing year after year. This year proved no exception, with over a hundred nail techs taking part this year. Competition Director Denise Wright once again was blown away by the sheer talent and dedication on display from all the techs taking part, commenting that the standard seems to rise every year. This
year's theme was Disco, and it seemed to really inspire everyone taking part, both students and professionals
Luckily, Denise had a team of experienced judges to help her with her difficult task, all of whom are extremely experienced respected in the world of competition nails. Thanks to all our judges for their time and effort in this year's tournament.All competitors received a goody bag worth €100, thanks to our sponsors. Once again, we'd like to thank our
wonderful sponsors for their generosity and their help to make the 2018 National Nail Tournament so successful.
Next year's theme is Caribbean Carnival – so get practicing those sunny, bright and tropical looks now!
This year we introduced a brand-new feature to the Irish Beauty Show – the National Makeup Tournament. Following in the footsteps of our hugely successful National Nail Tournament, the National Makeup Tournament aimed to find the most talented makeup artists in the country, both in the student and in the professional categories.
Our competition director was Debbie McQuillan, who over saw the
tournament. Each category was judged by a panel of independent judges: freelance makeup artist Michelle Anderson, Kiara & Jen from Matte to Metallic, and Donna from Makeup Forever. All judges praised the standard of the work by the competitors, which they said was extremely high and reflected the level of talent in Ireland today. The judges also offered individual feedback to each competitor, making it a valuable educational experience for all our up-and-coming artists.
“Well done to all the winners and entrants,” Debbie McQuillan commented. “This year was the first tournament, and we hope that next year will be even bigger and better! It's an amazing opportunity and platform for makeup artists, not only for the chance of winning, but also for the chance of being part of a community, to learn and be inspired by the other competitors.
”We would like to thank GlamDoll, who provided all the mirrors used by the artists in the competition area, as well as sponsoring the Professional Bridal Category – thank you for your generous support of our very first makeup tournament.
