Tag: beautyCon

BeautyCon LA 2014

Posted on August 23, 2014 by

BeautyCon rolled through Los Angeles for the second year. I had high hopes for this conference after last year’s debut drew such a crowd that me and hundreds of other beauty enthusiasts were met with an overcapacity mob scene and there was no getting in. After moving the event to a – somewhat – larger venue, I hoped for a little more organization to handle the massive crowd who shows up to see mega Beauty YouTubers including Kandee Johnson, Bethany Mota, Meg DeAngelis, Gigi Gorgeous.

The minute the elevators doors opened to the 2^nd floor of the LA Mart, you could hear the volume of hundreds of excited beauty fans. I stepped into the scene and it was instant insanity. Girls were already pushing through the too-narrow isles with giant shopping bags and lines wrapped throughout the venue to try to get in to the see the panel discussions. It was a beauty zoo! And while it was fun to be among my fellow beauty lovers, I found the setup to be exasperating. I could barely see what beauty vendors including CoverGirl, NYX, and tarte had to offer. It looked like the majority of the booths were offering quickie makeovers (which you had to wait in line for) and had very little product on display.

The demographic in attendance was very young, we’re talking tweens and teens, many there with their moms to see their beloved Beauty Vlogger. Let’s just say the running, pushing and screaming got a little trying. Perhaps I’m not the target audience here but I was also there to see some of the vloggers I’ve admired and while I had a VIP pass, there was no getting near any of their appearances without fighting mob scenes and lines. No thanks, I’ll stick to watching them on YouTube in the comfort of my home.

But it did say a lot about the draw and influence of these new self-made stars. They are the new celebrities. But just a note to BeautyCon – get a bigger venue, these YouTubers have millions of fans who subscribe to their channels and are going to show up to see them in person. Do the math. Remember BeatleMania? This is BeautyMania!

Stay beautiful,
Kastle

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Tags: beautyCon

Tag: beautyCon

BeautyCon Los Angeles 2013

Posted on September 3, 2013 by

BeautyCon hit Los Angeles for the first time, bringing together YouTube Beauty Vloggers, Makeup Brands and their fans. In what could easily be the bigger story than the event itself, is the number of fans who showed up at Hollywood’s Siren Studios trying to get into meet their favorite beauty guru. Beauty YouTubers such as Kandee Johnson have hundreds of thousands of subscribers so you do the math at how many people were trying to get in. When I arrived the line was already around the block and the temperature outside was inching up to 90-degrees. Despite my VIP blogger status, I did not get in due to the fact that the venue was at capacity. Some determined attendees, I read on Facebook, finally made it in after a FIVE-hour wait!

However, I did make it to the Thursday evening Industry Night at YouTube’s studios and was treated to a VIP tour of the facility. YouTube offers an amazing opportunity for aspiring videos stars who have over 100K subscribers to come film in their studios, have full access to makeup rooms, Foley sound rooms and several stage settings as well as full edit bays, post production and consultation from on-hand production assistants – all for FREE! The goal is to help people make good content – the more views, the better for YouTube and their stars – everybody wins. Get the full details on how to participate in their programs on the website: http://youtubespacela.com

Following the tour, I stepped outside where beauty brands had set up to promote their products, talk about the benefits and offer giveaway samples. I picked up some great products from LORAC (blog post coming soon), Bare Minerals (see the look I created in a previous blog post), Lush, Jurlique, Joico, Lightenting Whitening, Neautrogena and Revitaliash. Plus, BeautyCon put together a fantastic goodie bag for those who posted about the event on Instagram. So many great new items to try out!

Then the main event began, the panels featuring some of the biggest names in the Beauty space.

Panel 1 “SuperGuru Q&A” included: Elle and Blair Fowler, AndreasChoice and Kandee Johnson.

Panel 2 “Day Dream to Dream Job” included: Leslie Blodgett (bareMinerals), Alisa Gould Simon (Pose), Mandana Dayani (Rachel Zoe, Inc.), WendysLookBook, Mr. Kate, Sophia Bush and Christina Milian with moderator Kandee Johnson.

The panelists were impressively down to earth and forthcoming with tips from their experience both as YouTubers and brand entrepreneurs. Here’s what I learned:

When making a video, a lamp is not lighting!

Guard your privacy when putting yourself out there on YouTube or a blog, several shared experience of stalkers and the Fowler sister’s parents had to move because someone posted their address all over the web. Don’t state publicly where you live, where you will be or about your personal relationships.

Social media helps you make career happen for yourself.

If you are passionate, have common sense, this is your chance to have ownership in something.

It is hard work! You have to be willing to work your ass off. It’s not regular office hours and you never get a day off.

One failure won’t define you. Keep going.

All successful people live with fear, use it to push you. Take risks!

While you want your videos to look as good as possible many found their fans liked it better when they kept it real, left in bloopers, such a dropping brushes and flubbing lines. Keep a little raw realness in and people will connect with you.

Haters gonna hate but love always wins. Trying reaching out to haters and seeing why they are so angry. You might find you’ll make a friend. Try to appreciate someone every day.

Thanks to all the ladies on the panel! So inspiring!

See photos from the evening:

Elle and Blair Fowler

Carol Shaw of LORAC Cosmetics

Marina Curry of BeautyCon

Kandee Johnson

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS! >>

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I have some YouTube videos to make!

Be the star you are,
Kastle

Tags: Alisa Gould Simon, AndreasChoice, bareMinerals, beautyCon, Blair Fowler, Christina Milian, Elle Fowler, Kandee Johnson, leslie blodgett, Mandana Dayani, Mr. Kate, Sophia Bush, WendysLookBook, YouTube, YouTubeSpace

Tag: beautyCon

bareMinerals: BeautyCon Look

Posted on August 30, 2013 by

At BeautyCon last weekend I was excited to see Leslie Blodgett, creator of bareMinerals, a unique makeup line I’ve tried off and on, and recently began re-incorporating into my beauty routine as I’m trying alternatives to talc-based products. She offered her words of wisdom, admitting that at age 50, she was older than the other YouTube Gurus she shared a panel with and had plenty of advice from her years in the beauty biz. She and the other panelists discussed taking your day dream to a dream job and encouraged beauty entrepreneurs of all ages to stay true and work hard and be grateful for every opportunity to work your passion. The one thing she said was that she’s always loved communicating with her customers, which she has done since the chat rooms of the ‘90s and now with social media.

It’s clear, because bareMinerals offers some beloved products and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take home a BeautyCon goodie bag of bareMinerals products*. I had been wanting to try their eyeshadow compacts since I’ve been loving their face products (particularly the “Warmth” powder and “Mineral Veil” finishing powder.)

Here’s a look I created from my goodie bag gifts:

Products include:

READY Eyeshadow 4.0 in“Serendipitous”, “Magnetism”, “Fate”, “Apropos”
READY Blush in “French Kiss”
Marvelous Moxie Lip Color in “Hot Shot”

Stay tuned for a full report of BeautyCon’s Industry Night!

Kastle

*Makeup samples provided by bareMinerals. See disclosure

Tags: bareMinerals, Beauty, beautyCon, Cosmetics, leslie blodgett, Makeup, mineral makeup