Cosmoprof
Cosmoprof Sneak Peek – Orly ‘Tis The Season
Greetings from Cosmoprof! I’m going to be live blogging from the show to bring you my finds from the show.
My first stop-in-my-tracks moment was at the Orly booth where the Tis The Season collection is on display. The sparkle is amazing & there are minis!
Stay tuned for more news direct from Cosmoprof in Vegas!
Nails Inc Kensington Caviar 45 Second Top Coat Review
 Twitter followers may remember my overzealous tweets about the Nails Inc. Kensington Caviar 45 Second Speedy Dry Top Coat (that’s a mouthful) while I was in Vegas for Cosmoprof. You can’t give a girl like me a product with such significant claims like a 45 second dry time and expect me to wait to try it out.I was very skeptical of this whole “45 Second” thing but they aren’t kidding. Even over multiple layers of polish, I’ll explain that in a second, it dried my CND layering project to the touch in under a minute. Crazy, right? Now I could just say it dries in 45 seconds and expect you to believe me but wouldn’t it be better if I showed you?I put the Kensington Caviar Top Coat to the test for all of you. Not only did it get my standard 5 Day Wear Test but I also shot a VIDEO to show you how fast it really dries. See the results after the jump! |
COSMOPROF Day 2 Recap
 Fanatics, Vegas can really suck the life out of you. I returned on Tuesday and slept for almost the next 24 hours after. I woke long enough for the boyfriend to drag me to dinner and that was about it. So now that I’m recouped and somewhat back on track, here are the highlights from Day 2 at Cosmoprof.
I’m sure my fellow China Glaze fans will be uber-excited by what I have to show you. Lots of great goodies are on the way from one of my fave brands. Let’s take a lookie loo, shall we? |
We started our day attending an education class for brands on how to retail their products online. Beth Mayall, Editor In Chief of TotalBeauty.com, was speaking on the tools brands can use to gain online exposure including blogs, like ALU.
Next stop was the Entity Beauty booth. I’ve seen Entity’s products on TransDesign.com but I haven’t tried them before. I couldn’t help but be drawn to their sleek bottles and fun colors. So far they only have the two color collections and a set of french mani colors but if these do well, they may release more in the future. Any Entity fans in the house??
Of course, my trip wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the AII Beauty booth, parent company of China Glaze. I met up with my pal Anne to check out what’s coming next from the fanatic fave.
Created for the Japanese market, China Glaze is releasing a set of 50 glitters/chromes in mini sized bottles here in the US. There are sparklers in a range of shades and glitter sizes. There’s a pink glitter that reminds me of Good Witch? on crack. ***Edited to add: Apparently the minis won’t be available here, the glitters will be full size in the US.***
Instead of jumping on the matte bandwagon, which is sure to burn out, China Glaze is launching a set of Fall metallics called Khrome. Think, Romantiques in shades more appropriate for the season. Though I’m told they are much less streaky than the Romantiques. Yay for that!!
Folloing Khrome comes the return of Emerald Sparkle for Holiday. This time it’s being packaged with a new gold glass flecked polish, 5 Golden Rings, in addition to Tinsel and Ruby Pumps from last year’s Sleigh Ride collection.
Dark Secrets is this year’s Winter collection and I’m so drooling over the purple, teal and gray. I can’t WAIT to try them out.
And as my Twitter followers know… the Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection is making a triumphant return. A long, long time ago I sent swatches of my original WOOA polishes to China Glaze to help them recreate the collection. It was originally slated to release this year but was pushed back to Spring 2010. It’s been so hard keeping my yap shut on this one. I know news of it leaked a bit on MUA but nothing had been publicly confirmed until now. So those of you who have been lemming Dorothy Who?, Good Witch?, C-c-courage, Cowardly Lyin’ and The Tan Man, your wait will soon be over. Can you even contain your excitement??
Now I wish I could show you pictures of what Essie and OPI have cooked up but they keep their polishes under lock and key away from spying eyes and cameras. With so many manufacturers in one place, all competeing for our attention, is it any wonder?
We finished our day at the show with a lovely relaxing dinner at Zeffirino in the Venetian. Being that my red eye flight home was already delayed and time was on my side, we decided to indulge ourselves. We had a gorgeous view from our table of the Canal Shoppes and gondolas below as we dined on delicious fish (all of us went the fish route) and yummy wine. We even witnessed a couple getting engaged on a gondola. How sweet!
And what dinner is complete without a decadent dessert? We all tried something different so we could share. Mine was the pyramid shaped confection. It was a cappuccino creme covered in a creme brulee-esque toasted chocolate shell with raspberry sauce. Perfection! Though the pear filled, caramel covered creme and cannoli were delicious as well.
It’s a shame drama with my plane’s auxillary power had to ruin the night but it didn’t wreck my trip. I had an absolute blast with my fellow blogger Phyllis and the ladies from Total Beauty. It was great getting to see some of my blogging pals and my fave nail brands. I’m already counting down to Cosmoprof 2010!
btw, Phyllis has some pics of the CND Colour & Effects polishes she brought home on her blog. Check them out!
COSMOPROF Day 1 Recap
 Day 1 of CosmoProf is over and I’m exhilarated, tired, giddy and dying to share the deets on everything I saw. I’ll be going in depth on some of the amazing things I came across when I get home but I wanted to update you all with a quick recap of the goodies I spotted on the show floor.
If you’re not familiar with CosmoProf it’s an annual salon trade show with exhibitors showing off their products in hopes of getting distribution. Because they are unveiling some of their latest and greatest products, press (including bloggers) are invited to cover the event. Now some of the brands are revealing collections that will release next Spring/Summer so to avoid being copied I’m only able to photograph fall/winter/holiday launches. But I can tell you, there are some EXCITING colors on the horizon. Check out my Day 1 redux, after the jump! |
My first stop was the Discover Beauty section of CosmoProf. It’s an area with new, emerging brands looking for US distributorship. When I saw Nails Inc. listed on the show map, I made an immediate beeline to their booth. Fanatics, let’s hope, hope, hope that they get picked up by someone like Sephora or ULTA or some other online/chain store. We NEED Nails Inc. in our lifestyle like ASAP. The color line is amazing, the packaging is so so chic AND they have a 45 Second Top Coat that has me in utter disbelief. They were giving a sneak peek at their holiday blinged out polishes and I MUST have one in my collection come December. The perfect stocking stuffer, no?
Within the Discover Beauty section, Total Beauty manned the Beauty Blogger Central booth. As a guest of Total Beauty I was invited to vote for the best of the Discover Beauty section. I voted for Nails Inc., natch. Granted there are a lot of unique new brands represented but Nails Inc. stole my polish loving heart.
On display in the Blogger Central booth is Total Beauty’s Top 10 rated products of the brands exhibiting at the show. I’m DYING to try the magical Morroccan Oil I’ve heard so much about.
One booth that made me stop in my tracks was KleanColor. Their display of colorful Nail Lacquers drew me right in. And I was beyond flattered that the rep for the brand actually reads ALU. Now I just need to track down where I can order the polishes from. If anyone has a KleanColor hookup, give me a shout!
One look at these bottles and you’ll understand why I was drawn in to Np2′s booth. Talk about a unique shape! And the color range is uber-chic. There are some vampy greens, blues and purples that I can’t wait to get my hands on. According to the rep for the brand, the formula is will knock Essie & OPI out of the water. They’re hoping to launch in Sephora soon so keep your eyes peeled.
As I wandered aimlessly trying to figure out the long winding ailes of booths, I came upon Essie, THE ESSIE! It’s like spotting a rock star. I also ran across Suzi of OPI, Jessica Vartoughian of Jessica and celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves, creator of HairDo. He’s so adorable and pocket sized!
I had to stop by the Color Club/Art Club booth to check out Wild At Heart. That purple and teal green will be MINE!
Next up, the SpaRitual/Orly booth. There are some incredible colors coming down the pike from both brands including two luscious greens for Spring (can’t wait!). First let’s talk SpaRitual. They too are releasing a matte collection called Mind Body Spirit only they formulated a base coat to apply underneath and extend wear. The rep I spoke with was wearing the purple, Spirit and it’s totally gorg. There is also a Fall colllection that I’m bringing home with me to show you.
Out now for fall, the Orly Once Upon A Time collection comes with adorable fairy tale themed charms on the bottles. Enchanted Forest, Pixie Dust and Mirror Mirror are immediate faves.
For holiday they will introduce Femme Fatale and collection of festive reds.
For Spring/Summer 2010 there is a candy colored collection with matching mini lipglosses, a colorful vivid floral inspired collection called Bloom that includes the green I mentioned.
Finally, the true highlight of my day was attending the CND Colour & Effects launch party. CND’s own Jan Arnold greeted us warmly, wearing yet another killer ensemble. That woman has such amazing style I can’t even stand it. She remembered meeting me backstage at the Barbie show during fashion week and it totally made my day.
I have so much more to show you and say about this amazing revamp of the CND line but I’ll just give you a quick rundown. Basically, CND has completely changed their game. Being that they are all about customization at fashion week, creating custom blends for designers all over the world, they have now brought that concept to all of us.
The Colour consists of 50 perfect cremes in a range of shades that will satisfy any addict. There are true primary and secondary shades, sheers, neutrals, pinks, reds, vampies, etc.
The Effects are 15 opalescent pearls, shimmers and glitters that you can layer over the Colour shades to customize your color. They may look similar in the bottle but once you start to play, you really see the difference.
Jan invited us to play at the colour bar and can you guess where I plopped myself down? In front of the “me” colors of course. I went to town swatching different Colours and testing them under the Effects. I was in heaven!
Being the kind, generous woman she is, Jan invited everyone to take home their favorite Colour & Effects combos but when she saw my bag with just a few bottles (I didn’t want to be greedy) she sent me back for more saying, “You’re All Lacquered Up, that’s not nearly enough!”
Oh and I didn’t even get to the bottles. They redesigned the shape of the bottles to be more ergonomic with a soft rubberized cap. And the BRUSH, wow on the brush. It’s now flat but THIN flat, very pinky nail friendly, and the bristles are triangular and clear, a first in the industry. I actually did a little playing back in my room and they apply phenomenally! I can’t wait to show you.
Well that’s pretty much Day 1. We finished the night with a cocktail party at The Mix in The Hotel and dinner at Strip Steak in the Mandalay Bay. The food was so spectacular I regret not taking pics for the fellow foodies out there. Next time, I promise!
Also, I’m attending the show with Phyllis from Makeup For Life so be sure to visit her blog to see the products that she discovered.
Greetings from Vegas
 I made it to Vegas for the CosmoProf show safe and sound. I’m all checked in to my room at the Mandalay Bay and it’s lovely.
I was told I had a pool view but that doesn’t even begin to describe the “beach” at Mandalay Bay. Isn’t is gorg?? There’s even more than I couldn’t fit in the shot, like a lazy river. Too bad it’s like 180 degrees outside and my skin will probably fry like bacon. But if I get time, I just may have to indulge. |
So for the next few days I’ll be at the show checking out what all the salon brands have brought to exhibit and unlike the saying; what happens in Vegas… shows up on ALU. I’ll be live blogging, tweeting and twitpic’ing from the event so be sure to check back for updates throughout the weekend and Monday!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend Fanatics!!
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
