Beautycon 2017 L.A.: My Experience, Review and Haul

Our Festivals represent high-energy IRL experiences around the world for creators, traditional celebrities, brands, and fans to come together and celebrate their common interests – beauty, fashion, style, and staying true to yourself. – Beautycon

Wow. By far, Beautycon 2017 is the best Beautycon ever! I have attended Beautycon events since 2015 and I have experienced the worse, the good and the best. They are improving every single year and I am  glad that I did not pass on this one because it is epic!

I did something different this year. I arrived at the Los Angeles Convention Center an hour and a half early before the doors opened. The past two years, I came at exactly 12 noon but this time, I got in line at 10:30am.  I was fairly surprised to see that the usual mile-long line wasn’t there. In front of the Hall, there were just about a little over 150 people patiently waiting in serpentine line wrapped around by the escalator.  The doors opened at 11:30AM – 30 minutes earlier than the planned opening.

Beautycon DJ and Stage

Panels and Interviews

The hall this year is larger compared to last year. Believe it or not, the lines were also better. Perhaps because the event lasted for 2 days and the attendees had the option to purchase tickets for one day or both days. I guess that is the reason why it was not crowded.

Patrick Starr at NYX Booth - Meet and Greet

It was very smart for Beautycon to offer different kinds of ticket to fit the needs of each attendee. There was a full access ticket granting early admission, brand experience, panel participation and swag bag. The Haulers Ticket - for hauling. It gives an hour early admission, a swag bag and brand experience. The GA ticket is the cheapest of the bunch but it is definitely not a downer. This ticket gives access to brand experience which is really what I want- FREEBIES! Honestly, I am not interested in the panels. My goal is to get as much product as I can without shelling off tons of cash.

Cantu Booth

Soap and Glory Booth

Revlon Booth 

Cover Girl Booth

There were a few amazing and empowering things that I saw at Beautycon.  First, the welcome sign. This sums it all. All the craziness, disparity and hate going on in the world, I am glad to see a sign as inclusive as this one.

Another add on to this year’s Beautycon is a meditation/prayer room. In respect to different religions, Beautycon added a facility for attendees to calm down, re-center and pray.

There were also plenty of cellphone charging station, water station and several Almay make-up remover towelette stands available for everyone to use. 

As for the brands, there were plenty! Here is a rundown of all the brands that participated:

Most brands were giving away free stuff but there were also several that were only selling their products at heavily discounted price.

As always, part of the exchange is the social media aspect. Before getting freebies, brands would usually ask to be followed on Instgram, Twitter, Snapchat or Facebook. Others would ask for selfies to be posted with their respective hashtags.

My Shameless Selfies

If there is one thing that is huge this year, it is My Little Pony. These little cuties were everywhere! 

My Little Pony at Pur Cosmetics

My Little Pony at China Glaze

Now, for the big reveal…the sole reason why I went to Beautycon: My Haul. Note that everything in these pictures are free. I did not buy anything. Remember, my ticket is the GA - the cheapest one. 

A lot of brands gave away full sized products. Some newbies gave sachets (sorry but BOO!).

There were a few brands that were insanely generous. Sally’s Beauty gave out a bag half filled with assorted goodies from Clairol, OPI, etc. Cantu gave out a bag filled with deluxe sized samples. Absolute New York, Pixi, Pop Beauty gave out multiple full sized products.

Sally's Beauty 

Perhaps the most insane thing that ever happened was when the event was about to end. Revlon handed out lipsticks without even asking for a ‘follow’ or post. Chaptick gave out products by the handful. Same thing happened with CND and L’Oreal. It was insane!

All in all I had a great time at Beautycon. The products I got are worth more than the value of my ticket. The venue is huge and spacious - it was not crowded at all. For sure I will go back again next year.