The Makeup Show Chicago Experience

My friends/coworkers who went with me to the show! 

Hi ladies! I was fortunate enough to attend one day of The Makeup Show in Chicago yesterday. This was my first time attending this event, but I've been meaning to attend for a few years now. I had a rough idea of what it was gonna be like from watching many TMS Makeup Hauls and knew what I wanted to do once I was there. 

For those of you who are not aware, The Makeup Show is a trade show and networking event for artists in the beauty industry. To be able to attend, you have to show proof that you work as part of the beauty industry, usually by showing a valid business card and other credentials. (More details here)

What makes this event attractive to many makeup artist and makeup enthusiasts alike, is the fact that most of the makeup vendors that are exhibiting are selling their products for a discounted price to the attendees. Also, many smaller professional makeup artist brands that are only usually available online or at beauty emporiums in bigger cities (Alcone in New York or Naimie's in California) like Mehron, Graftobian, Temptu, etc. also have their own exhibits and kiosk which makes it easier for people to explore, test and purchase their products.

Before I begin to review my experience in attending this event, let me start off with giving you a few useful tips prior to attending:

1. Purchase your ticket online because it is cheaper than doing so on the day of the event.
2. Unless you plan to attend the Makeup Seminars/Workshops that they have scheduled, I think a one-day ticket will suffice.
3. Attending the first few days of the event and going in earlier in the day is better because products will most likely be in stock. The longer you wait to attend the show, the higher the chances of "hot" products getting out of stock. 
4. Each attendee is allowed to bring one guest for free. If your going with a friend from the industry, just buy one ticket for both of you and make one of you the guest, that way you can split the cost of the ticket. Very important: You must add your guest's name when you are purchasing the ticket. There will be a spot to fill this out when you're checking out.
5. If your main goal is to take advantage of the makeup brand exhibits, then it would be wise for you to look at the exhibitors floor plan and study it. Decide which brands you really want to visit beforehand, so you at least know where they are and can optimize your schedule. 
6. It can get crowded in there and there are some brands that have a long waiting line not just to pay, but also to even browse their products. I suggest strategically planning how you're going to visit your must-see brands, so that you are not wasting your time in line. 

With that said, I decided to come to the show on a Sunday. I was going with a few coworkers who were also off that day and we all carpooled going there. We actually arrived at the venue around 10AM and it took a little bit for us to find a parking spot. There was a line to get in, but it went by fast. Also, make sure you have your professional credentials ready to show, to make your entry goes smooth and quick. Now, while I had a few brands I knew I wanted to visit, I didn't have a fixed list of what to visit first  because I came with a group of friends and wanted to keep an open schedule.

A picture of us on the main exhibit floor. 

When we first got in, there was definitely a good amount of people already, but it wasn't crowded yet. It did eventually get really busy and crowded by lunchtime. I found that there was a lot of people ready to help out in each makeup brand exhibit to answer questions and help test out products. If you work in the beauty industry in Chicago, you will definitely bump into a few friends from the industry, which was quite fantastic! The whole testing/buying experience for each exhibitor is pretty standard from what you'd expect from a regular visit at a makeup store. Like I said above, certain brands will have longer lines, and so, I recommend prioritizing which brands are must-visits for you and going there first to avoid the long lines.

As for the discounts, different brands have different discount rates, and some are not as discounted as you'd expect them to be. The discount at Anastasia, for example, was different for every product type, however, overall I would estimate the discount to be roughly 15-25% off. Pretty standard and nothin special, especially if you tend to take advantage of the the Sephora VIB Sale. The discount rate that I really took advantage of was at Make Up Fo Ever which was at 40% off. To me, that was a really good and encouraged me to buy more, although because I went on the last day of the show, there were a few things I wanted that were out of stock. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the whole experience and would love to attend the next one! Although, for next time, I must admit that I'll be  taking a look at my kit and compiling a list of products I need to add to it  and also products I just really want to try out . I also want to attend some of the seminars and workshops that they offer. There were some really cool SpecialFx Seminar I was interested in that I was just not able to attend because of schedule conflicts.

If you have any question, let me know below!