Ipsy's Generation Beauty 2017 Review

The annual Generation Beauty (or better known as GenBeauty) was held at the Event Deck of LA Live last Saturday, January 21 and Sunday, January 22.  This year's GenBeauty was definitely bigger compared to the previous one - With what I suppose brought together around 2500 -3000 attendees. The tickets were already available for purchase since mid October for a pioneer rate, eventually increasing into a costly price as the event drew closer. Luckily, I was able to buy my ticket early, costing me about a little more than $80. The pass offers a 2 day access for the event, a grab bag for products and other goodies, plus the opportunity to stock up on freebies and experience various brands. 

Since this is my 3rd year as an attendee, I already have a pretty good idea about the event program and flow of activities. Unfortunately, a lot of outside and perhaps unforeseen instances happened during that weekend which affected the success of GenBeauty.

Saturday, January 21 - traffic was bad and public transportation in Los Angeles was terrible. 750,000 people made their way to Downtown LA for the Women's March. My mom, my daughter and I  were supposed to ride the train to Downtown Pico but it was just impossible to get into the train. It was jampacked. People were everywhere. Good thing my brother in-law was on his way to LA and we were able to hitch a ride. I am sure that a lot of attendees had a hard time too.

In all fairness to Ipsy, they sent a mass email to all attendees regarding the rally and the possible heavy traffic.

First Day- Happy Day

Typical question: Were the lines LOOOONG?

Yes, it was really long and quite time consuming, specially the line for the entrance. But once you're in, the booth lines were pretty much do-able and the continuously moving. Some booths were just handing out their goodies in exchange of the stub, while others would require a little activity such as a quick make over or social media posts.

Around mid-day some of the brands were already out of products. However, all of them said that they would definitely restock for the next day.

 Sea of Beautiful People at Gen Beauty LA :)

Hoarding and Hauling Goodies!

                                           NYX color matched a foundation fit for my skin. Love it!

  NudeStix gave out a lippe, a lippie case and a sharpener. 

It is not GenBeauty without any social media post requirements. Here's my mom and my daughter tagging along with me at Soulful. We got a lot of beauty masks from this booth.

Absolute New York gave out cotton candies and pastel color eyeliners. 

My daughter loved the cotton candy! Thanks, Absolute NY! :)

Fun Stuff at Gen Beauty LA

Celeb Sightings.

Agua Por Favor 

One little observation, I hope that next year Ipsy would put several water station. Most events offer water for free. I do not see why Ipsy can't. It doesn't have to be bottled - it can just be in one huge jug plus some disposable cups.

Good thing some brands offered water. High five to NYX and H2O! Kudos to Absolute NY for the free cotton candy too!

FoodTrucks

Just like every other year, there were several food trucks located around the venue. I'm glad that this time, it was in the LA Live garage which is easier to access. Also, on the second day, there were 2 trucks that came in early. They sold coffee! Yay!

Second Day - Deluvio.

Oh boy. Where do I begin?

It was a rainy Sunday for LA.  In fact there was a HUGE storm hovering above the city and it did cause quite a commotion among the attendees.

Immediately after getting in the event tent, the guards started yelling,"Get Out!". I thought it was a bomb threat. Everyone was confused and frightened, so most started running straight towards the exit. An announcement was later made while we were being evacuated due to safety reasons - the tent must be inspected.

Long story short, ALL OF US were made to stay for two hours in the garage. It was terribly cold and we had no idea what was going on. Ipsy tried to be as organized as possible but I guess this incident caught them by surprise too. They weren't prepared for any of it.

Wet, wet, wet!

After all the waiting, we were ushered back in to the venue. Most brands were already packing up and were quite upset about what had happened. I remember going to the Ciate booth and the lady told me that they were not coming back anymore. Tarte, Make Up Forever and Smashbox were some of the booths that immediately closed way before the end of the event.

Rectification

A lot of people were angry. Understandable, right? But I would still have to offer kudos to Ipsy for keeping everyone safe - at least - even though it was not in the most comfortable way. Ipsy even sent an email last January 24 addressing the inspcident.  Here's what it said:

Hi Jo, 

Thank you for attending this year’s Generation Beauty LA 2017. It is our goal for Generation Beauty to always be a positive, exciting, and enriching experience for every attendee. 

We sincerely apologize for Sunday’s interruptions due to the inclement weather. Your safety as an attendee is always our top priority. As wind conditions worsened, the Fire Marshal asked us to evacuate the venue to re-inspect the structure. As soon as the inspection was completed, everyone was readmitted. We are sorry for everyone who had to wait in the venue’s parking garage during this time and appreciate your patience. 

We aim to provide every single attendee with an outstanding event experience. If we didn’t meet that standard for you due to Sunday’s interruption, we want to make it up to you. Please reply to this email so that we can hear your concerns and remedy your situation. 

Sincerely, 
Generation Beauty by ipsy 

I responded to the email.  I wrote to them about my experience and my concerns. Here is the answer that I got:

Hi Joav,

Thanks for getting back to us. We're so sorry for the disappointment! I know Sunday must have been frustrating, and I'm so sorry for the unexpected disruptions at the event. 

While the tent was evacuated at the request of the Fire Marshal, we had volunteers and staff going along the lines to communicate what we knew about timing and what had happened. As you can imagine, the parking garage was not set up for PA announcements. I'm so sorry for the confusion that resulted, since it was hard to hear what was happening. Thank you so much for your patience during the waiting period as the tent was re-inspected. 

We've already determined that Generation Beauty LA will take place at a new location going forward. The weather was worse than expected, as LA is getting historic rain this year. While we worked hard to keep water from entering the tent, the floor did get wet in some places. I'm sorry about that!

Your ticket price includes admission for the whole weekend and the Generation Beauty goodie bag. Getting to redeem every ticket isn't guaranteed in your ticket price, but I completely understand that it must have been frustrating to see some brands leave early on Sunday. Your attendee gift bag is filled with wonderful products from each participating Generation Beauty brand - I hope you enjoyed everything that was inside!

I've issued you a 50% refund on your order for the disruption on Sunday. You'll receive a confirmation email from "The Ticket Fairy" within 48 hours, and the funds should be returned to your account in about 5-7 business days. 

Please accept our sincerest apologies for the trouble. We wanted you to have an amazing time and we deeply regret it didn't turn out that way on Sunday. 

If there's anything else you need, please let me know. 

Best,
Kristy 

Not Bad right? 50% Refund. Pretty generous.

I got to hand it to Ipsy, they may not have been able to manage the evacuation process in an organized and cautious manner, but their customer care and grievance system is top notch.