By Virginia Muzik
The 2009 Melbourne International Beauty Expo closed another successful show on April 5, judging by feedback so far from exhibitors.
Products on show included spray tanning, teeth whitening, skincare, mineral makeup and various types of skin, body care and cosmetic surgery equipment. The sizeable Nail Area was busy both days with the re-introduced Nail Awards an obvious attraction.
Exhibition Director, Lauren Ebbeck, said it was a fast-paced two days. “It was great to see so many people milling around the expo floor. The seminar rooms were buzzing, the workshops were sold out and Rae Morris drew the biggest crowd I have ever seen around the stage. It was really great to see so many participants in the newly re-introduced Nail Awards; we’re happy to offer a platform for artists to showcase their talent,” she said.
On Saturday, leading international makeup artist, Rae Morris shared some pearls of wisdom, some of which would prove useful in Sunday’s and future makeup competitions. She highlighted the importance of creating an entire look; extending the makeup to the décolletage, and arms or body if they are on show, and carrying the theme through to the last detail if you are creating a themed look to incorporate costumes, fingernails, etc. Among her bridal tips, she recommended that makeup artists charge by the hour for bridal trials so that the bride doesn’t take up too much time using it as a personal makeup lesson for herself.
As usual, the makeup competitions were well attended. Hosted by Marie-Lyne Morant and sponsored by Atelier Australia and blinc cosmetics, the Broadway musical-inspired fantasy show on Saturday and the Bridal competition on Sunday created much buzz amongst visitors. Elisa Lago proved a firm favourite with the judges, scooping the winner’s prize for her Broadway look and the runner-up prize for her fresh-faced bridal look.
Inspired by her favourite show, Cats, Elisa created a dramatic yet pretty look for her model, Mia. The show cat was theatrical and striking and executed to the final detail with her model dressed in a cat outfit and fur neck ruff. Runner-up, Shona Scott, chose a Moulin Rouge-inspired look. She took her initial inspiration from a beautifully made-up pair of eyes in a fashion magazine and applied this technique to her look with green, gold and turquoise sequins, sparkles and shimmer to accent her model’s peacock-style headdress and fringed show-girl corset. Another stand-out look was Rita Abi khalil’s “green witch” look inspired by the show Wicked. On Sunday, Elisa again wowed judges with her dewy, less-is-more bridal look for which she won the runner-up prize. Winner, Melissa Von Stanke, created a radiant bridal look on her dark-haired model which accented her eyes and gave her skin a subtle golden hue, perfectly complimenting her off-gold satin dress. Contestant Heidi Yi created a stunning traditional Korean wedding look, injecting some colour to the proceedings with her choice of shades and the model’s traditional costume.
The expo’s popular Education component saw noted speakers including Paul Carbis, Michelle Cullen and Lisa Ezzy from Your Coach, delivering seminars on topics including marketing, training, health and hygiene and customer service.
Paul Carbis said that the rooms were filled to capacity for his seminars, How good business ethics can earn you money and Marketing 101 – marketing techniques to grow your business.
Lisa Ezzy presented Success Leaves Clues: The impact of communication on customer service. Ezzy said it is important to embrace education, learning and development in this economic climate. “If I can impart any of my knowledge to help someone grow and develop themselves and their businesses that makes me very happy,” she said. “I had really good energy from the audience. I did activities that got them interacting; it was fun as well as informative for them.”
Ezzy said she received positive feedback, with attendees saying they learnt some very valuable information that they can all use in various aspects of their businesses, in particular, communicating with their staff and clients.
Although Ezzy said she heard from some visitors wanting to attend her Saturday seminar that they couldn’t because the Rae Morris makeup demonstration ran late.
Sold-out workshops were presented by Elly Lukas College of Beauty Therapy and included Indian Head Massage and Hot Stone Facial Massage.
Among the exhibitors, Viv Simmonds, from VIVid Nail and Beauty said she had a great weekend at the expo, “being able to show off the newest nail shapes to hit the industry internationally – The Pyramid/Edge and Stiletto Edge – and being able to showcase them for the first time in Australia using the new range of Nfu.Oh colored powders and glitters! My only regret is that it all came to an end too soon – we had so much to show in just 2 days!”
Simmonds, who also coordinated the Nail Awards, said that they provided an excellent opportunity for contestants to hone their skills for the grand competitions in Sydney later this year. “Our competition floor varied from our regular talented competitors to some Novice students that have not even completed their training as yet!”
Clinic Care exhibited, and demonstrated treatments with, their Dermaroller, a skin-needling medical device. National Sales Manager, Sean Abel, said, “Having acquired our TGA listing [for the Dermaroller] in January 2009, we were very keen to launch [it] in Melbourne at the International Beauty Expo. Launching a unique medical device into the beauty market made the Melbourne Expo a valuable experience. Our interest was very high and the impression we made, even higher! Exhibitors were down on numbers, but attendance up, so we would say it was worth the effort.”
Clive Smith, Managing Director (Australia) of Payot Paris, an expo sponsor, said: “The Melbourne Beauty Expo gave us the opportunity to preview our new sun protection range, Les Solaires – due for mid-year launch. It also enabled us to get important feedback from our customers on the sell-through of our two fastest growing product ranges: [anti-ageing] Les Correctrices and our now famous AOX anti-ageing crème. We’re delighted to report that sales – both into salon, and via our salon owners to their clients, have exceeded all expectations.”
“Our customers also tell us that our partnership with Qantas has resulted in more men visiting salons. This is because men are experiencing the complimentary treatments at the spas in the Melbourne and Sydney First Class Lounges and then want to continue the experience via their local Payot salon and spa stockists. Increased sales of our Optimale [men’s] range validate this.”
Smith added: “We are always impressed with the excellent standard set by Reed Exhibitions and believe that this face-to-face connection with our VIP customers is exceptionally important.”
For full Nail Awards details and a list of the winners, see the Nails section of this website.
To compete in future expo Makeup Awards contact Marie-Lyne Morant: marielyne@ateliermakeup.com Phone: (03) 9538 7001.
The 2010 Melbourne International Beauty Expo is slated for May 1 to 2, 2010.