Here’s What I Learned After Attending Beautycon LA for the First Time

Beautycon—A magical place where all the top gurus and brands come together to celebrate all things, well, beauty.

This past Saturday, I attended Beautycon LA at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the first time in my life. And it was as every bit amazing as I expected it to be.

I rolled up to the convention center around noon and made my way into the expo hall where all the glorious booths were waiting to greet me.

Walking into Beautycon was like walking into a wonderland. Everywhere you looked, there were makeup products and fashion items galore.

It was certainly a bit overwhelming, especially for someone like me who isn't too up-to-date on what's going on in the beauty world. But onwards I marched to discover all that this event had to offer.

As I roamed the hall, I couldn't help but notice how striking every single booth was. Definitely got plenty of inspo on how I should upgrade my room with some interior design accessories.

My favorite booth, simply based on overall aesthetic, was Soap & Glory's grand setup. Designed in pink and white– Sweety High's fave colors–their kiosk had it all together.

While everyone else was stoked on the quick makeup touchups being offered, I was obsessing over the photo opportunities Soap & Glory provided. I sat in an adorable little cut-out bathtub and snapped a pic. Do it for the Instagram, amirite ladies?

Next I hit up the Splat hair color booth to add a pop of color to my mane with some hair chalk.

The shade didn't show up too well in my hair, but you can see it somewhat on the tips of my strands.

I then made my way over to the L'Oreal Paris booth to get my lips did. Their design was chic as can be. I was thisclose to taking one of their lanterns home to adorn my room.

I opted for the reverse ombre, which looked so sick. This picture seriously doesn't do the work of art justice. Also, ignore the awkwardness of this photo.

The last and final booth I visited that is certainly worth noting was Touch In Sol's. They were giving out these adorable headbands that not a single person wasn't rocking throughout the entire convention. While I waited in the rather long line, I got a glimpse of their products and was taken by their display in none other than some slime. S'cute!

Of course I have to share a pic of the headband I received from them. I'm actually never going to take this off my head. And, yes I'm aware of the fact that I stick my tongue out far too much in my selfies. Deal with it.

And just like that, my time at Beautycon came to a close. I left with an extensive list of brands to keep on my radar and a plethora of sample products to try out.

So what exactly did I learn from taking part in this extravaganza? Quite a few things that will help all of you who are planning on attending the event next year:

1. Waiting in long lines is inevitable. With all the booths passing out free samples and other fun stuff, it only makes sense that you'll have to wait for your chance to finally grab something. But don't let that discourage you. The lines move relatively quickly and it won't take up too much of your exploration time, especially because the event lasts for eight hours. And you're getting FREE items you would otherwise have to pay for. Worth it!
2. Get there sooner rather than later. You want to make sure you can get all the free samples and makeup products you can. Some booths ran out of free things before I made it to them and I was a little bummed.
3. Take full opportunity of the photo ops you're given. Tons of booths had sections dedicated to taking selfies or full-length photos. I definitely took more than I'll need, but I had to make sure I had the perfect one to post to my Insta.
4. Don't forget about the panels. One thing I really regret is not being more aware of when my favorite beauty gurus and YouTubers were speaking about various topics. I caught glimpses of some chats, but I was so enthralled with the booths that I didn't pay attention to their actual start times and I missed out on some serious advice.
5. Make sure your phone is fully charged at all times. In order to get all the sweet swag, I often had to post a pic to Insta or follow a brand on their socials. This takes up more battery than you'd expect, so make sure when you get to Beautycon your phone is at 100 percent. Bring a portable charger, if you have one, so you never run out of battery.

 

My first experience at Beautycon was rad, but it was just one of many things I experienced for the first time this year. Back in March, I traveled to Alaska all by my lonesome and THIS is what I learned from my adventure.