Salon Melbourne’s first foray into a combined hair and beauty showcase last weekend proved a successful combination of fashion and fun, while pushing the boundaries of science to offer innovative new products/services and inspiring speakers, seminars and workshops to stimulate creativity.
Event director, Lauren Ebbeck was excited by the encouraging response from exhibitors and visitors in relation to the first combined event and said: “We’ve tried to pile in as much inspirational stuff onto the floor to ensure that visitors are getting the most out of their visit. We look forward to making next year’s event even bigger and better.”
On stage and on the stands, beauty, hair, makeup and nail brands showcased cutting-edge innovations to inspire and entertain visitors.
Many companies chose Salon Melbourne to release new products. Caron Laboratories launched its self-heating paraffin wax hand treatment, while Pelactiv launched its self-administered teeth whitening product. Marketing manager Belinda Frizza said: “We noticed from our own salons and stockists that there’s a huge emphasis on teeth now.”
Alpha-H launched Liquid Gold intensive night repair serum. “It’s like a 28-day boot camp for the face and firms, lightens, brightens and retextures the face,” said Executive Assistant, Aida De Demko.
There were new mineral makeup launches, with ASAP Skin Products debuting its new mineral makeup, ASAP Pure; in response to customer demand for a product that complemented the skincare range.
Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics launched its new Mineral Moisture Tint, a hydrating tinted moisturiser. Youngblood makeup also featured in fashion and hair showcases at the show.
Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics
OPI launched its quick-drying suede nail varnish range, which was used in all the catwalk shows at Salon Melbourne. With six high fashion colours, the product has a unique texture mimicking the feel of suede. The Minx Nails stand was busy, with visitors checking out the range of adhesive pre-cut veneer nail designs that are applied and removed by heat. Xtreme Lashes’ “Lash Lounge” attracted a lot of attention, with Marketing Manager Louise Weston saying they were fully booked during the show and were overwhelmed with the response to their medical grade eyelash extensions.
Minx Nails Xtreme Lashes
Spray tanning brands were out in force too, with plenty of gorgeous models in tanning booths turning heads. Alexandra Lugsden of Mancine Professional said their salon-applied spray tans were a big hit for them.
St Tropez launched its new tanning booth at the expo. Karon McKendrick, Director of Education of International Beauty Supplies, said the new booth is compact, lightweight and easy to clean. It allows customers to tan without breathing in fumes.
Demonstrations from industry icons like makeup artists Rae Morris and Natasha Severino proved popular. Natasha’s top trend tip was about “a more polished makeup look in reference to the return of the curvaceous and womanly, hour-glass silhouette”.
Rae Morris Natasha Severino
Rae advised expo visitors to stay up to date via the internet. “Most hair and makeup trends come from the international catwalks, and if you want to be cutting edge and know of these trends the minute they happen, you need to jump on style.com to stay updated.”
Rae also held an exclusive three-hour Advanced Class, covering Inspiration, Bridal Makeup and career paths in make-up. Some of her specific makeup tips were:
1. Ask your client what kind of skin texture they want before you begin so you can meet their needs (show them pictures so they understand the difference).
2. To make lips look bigger for photo shoots, apply a gold highlight to the top of the lip to give the illusion of volume.
3. Get rid of your pink-toned foundations, you’ll never need them as no client/ model wants to draw attention to their pink colourings.