Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend – Day One

Can you believe it has been well over a week since the Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend (ABBW)?

As mentioned in my previous post IMATS Sydney; the ABBW kicked off with four hours of beauty shopping nirvana at the International Make-up Artist Trade Show however, this was only the beginning of the amazing weekend that was in store for 85 of Australia’s best beauty bloggers organised by Kimmi from The Plastic Diaries and Jacie from You’ve Got Nail.

Following IMATS was a seminar hosted by Beauty Directory which showcased three unique beauty brands Pure Therapy, Trishave and Lapurete as well as an informative insight into building relationships with Public Relations (PR) from Beauty Directory Managing Director, Jackie Maxted and a panel of experts including Eleanor Pendleton, beauty editor of Instyle and Kimmi Nissen of The Plastic Diaries. 

Some of the great PR tips picked up from Jackie included:

• Keep PR companies informed of your blog
• Create a professional snapshot – know your purpose, content and audience
• Ask for samples but also be prepared to justify why you would like to review the product
• Always RSVP to events (even if you are unable to attend) and be prepared to justify your presence at an event
• Ask for information packs or media releases (Beauty Directory is also a great place for product information)

We also broke into group table discussions in which my table discussed challenges faced at events which was very interesting to hear different opinions from both established bloggers and those who are starting out (like me).  

The seminar ended on a high with champagne and canapés and we were provided with a very generous amount of beauty gifts from the amazing sponsors of the ABBW – who I cannot thank enough!

The excitement did not stop there, in the evening we were whisked away to The Establishment in Sydney for spectacular Gala Dinner hosted by Maxted Thomas PR. The event was beauty sensory overload as we were greeted with champagne, networking and samples from amazing brands such as Burt’s Bees, Coty Australia, NIVEA, ORLY, Remington and Sebastian Professional.

Mark Jacobs - Oh Lola (My new favourite)

During the delicious three course meal, I also had the chance to mingle with fellow beauty bloggers on table 12 including Angela from [Beauty] Blogged, Melissa from Missmakeuplover1, Tegan from Teganias Thoughts, Alice from ArsyParsy and Amanda from Thai Tales.

Although I was exhausted, I left the event feeling very inspired and could not wait for what was in store for day two – stay tuned post coming soon.

Images taken by Liz Giacco for The Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend, and are not to be reproduced, republished or reused without inclusion of this credit. Images remain the property of The Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend.

IMATS Haul

As mentioned in my previous post, last weekend I attended IMATS as a part of the whirlwind weekend that was ABBW.

Of course, I went into IMATS with a plan to see as many amazing industry professionals as I could during the scheduled shows however, that plan went out the window when I got caught up in beauty shopping mania.

My IMATS purchases…                                

Inglot Freedom Palette

Eyeshadows: AMC Shine 35 (white), DS 483 (Navy), AMC Shine 15 (Coral), AMC 51 (Orange).

Illamasqua Cream blush in Tart

SLA Colour Extreme Lipsticks

L-R 44, 77, 74

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) Lip Tar

L-R Momento and Grandma

Designer Brush Cleanser

Eyelash Applicator – I’m very excited to see if this will improve my false eyelashes technique.

Various Eye, Lip and Face brushes from the Royal and Langnickel S.I.L.K range

The UNI Palette - This will come in handy to house my Stila eyeshadow duos.

As an extra special surprise for ABBW attendees Royal and Langnickel were kind enough to present us with a 12 piece brush set from their S.I.L.K Green Line collection.

And from the gorgeous girls at SLA, we were each given a surprise lucky dip of an item from their professional and organic makeup line – I was lucky enough to receive one of their Crystal Eyeshadows which contains crushed mother of pearl – very beautiful.

Sportsgirl's Pout About It in Fuchsia Splash

Don’t ask my why I have purchased more make-up on the eve of IMATS and The ABBW but since I’ve started this blog I have developed an obsessive/compulsive need to own a ridiculous amount of make-up so one more little lipstick isn’t going to hurt anyone, is it?

From Sportsgirl's new lipstick range, let me introduce you to Pout About It in Fuchsia Splash.

An amazing matte fuchsia pink that is vibrant in colour and very long lasting. It may be a little on the dry side but tolerable for a matte lippie.

The packaging is sleek in black with a clear bottom which displays the gorgeous bright pink and reminds me a lot of the packaging of NYX Round Lipsticks.  

For only $9.95(AUD) it’s a steal and can be purchased online or in-store at Sportsgirl.

If you haven’t had a play with Sportsgirl’s cosmetics range, do check it out. For the price range it is pretty good quality and colours are always on trend.

IMATS Sydney

Last weekend I attended my very first International Make-up Artistry Trade Show (IMATS) held at the Sydney Convention Centre. Being a beauty lover I have heard many great things about IMATS from international bloggers/vloggers and was very excited to attend my first show in Sydney and as I was attending as part of the ABBW, I was lucky enough to receive a sponsored entry.

Show Highlights

One of the highlights was sharing the IMATS experience with 84 other beauty bloggers from the ABBW. That being said, I send a huge shout out to my shopping buddy, Priyanka from Twinxntrax.  

When I first arrived I made a dash for the Inglot stand which had all their gorgeous vibrant eyeshadows from their Freedom System on display. I didn’t go to IMATS to purchase another Inglot palette but the colourful, pigmented and buttery eyeshadows were too hard to resist (plus their 30% off IMATS special, I may never purchase them at a better price).

I was also wow’ed by the Illamasqua stand which had product on sale for as little as $10!! – Yes it was chaos as you could imagine.

Although I didn’t actually get to see Elessa from Pursebuzz in full force (I was actually caught up in the Inglot craziness at the time) I did see her around the show and it was so inspiring to see someone who has come so far through beauty blogging – good on her :)

As a special surprise from makeup brush powerhouse Royal and Langnickle (who were a major sponsor of IMATS and ABBW), all the beauties from ABBW were treated to a special VIP room complete with refreshments and nibbles, express manis and make up pampering which was amazingly generous. It was a much needed space to sit, relax and refuel before heading out for some beauty shopping.

Just before I had to leave I made a dash to see MACs Senior Artist, Nicole Thompson present Body Art Trilogy which featured three very amazing and unique body art creations.  Although the tips and techniques shared were not necessary those I would use from my every day make up looks, it was great to see makeup used in a way to create living art.  

My first IMATS was a huge success and I look forward to attending many more in the future. My only regret was getting too involved with shopping and missing out on a lot of great speakers and of course the man of the moment – Napoleon Perdis.

Did you attend IMATS last weekend? What were your highlights or lowlights? Stay tuned, haul post coming soon.

IMATS and The ABBW

This weekend (24 & 25 September) 85 Australian Beauty Bloggers are invading Sydney to celebrate IMATS and a weekend packed full of beauty fun that is the Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend (ABBW).

The first of its kind, the ABBW will be a weekend full of beauty shopping, media events, master classes, PR and brand networking and much more – basically a beauty bloggers delight. 

After almost turning green with envy from all the Twitter buzz under the hashtag #ABBW2011, I joined the wait list with my fingers crossed and was thrilled to receive a last minute invite.

Now with only a few days until the weekend, I’m making last minute preparations (Blog Business Cards..check, Hair Appointment…check, Spray Tan Appointment..check) and I cannot wait to meet some of my fave beauty bloggers and share my experience on Beauty Soiree.

For those beauty lovers that will be in Sydney this weekend make sure you make a bee-line for IMATS (International Make-up Artistry Trade Show) which will be held on both Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 September at the Sydney Convention Centre.  The event will include an array of beauty exhibitors: Illamasqua, Inglot, MAC, MUFE, Napoleon Perdis (just to name a few) and will be host to amazing speakers including Napoleon Perdis, Elessa Jade of Pursebuzz.com and Nicole Thomson of MAC.

This will be my first time attending IMATS and I’m so excited to be able to share it with fellow beauty lovers.

Also want to give a huge thank you to Kimmi from The Plastic Diaries and Jacie from You've Got Nail who are the brain child's behind the ABBW and have put an amazing amount of their personal time into making this weekend possible.