Samantha Lennon Blog of Makeup & Beauty: May 2012

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Makeup Show NYC 2012, A Real Money Sucking Machine

Ahhhhhhh, The Makeup Show in NYC. A makeup artist, and makeup lover's paradise. Or is it?

This business concept is brilliant, and extremely profitable...kudos to the Powder Group!

A Haven for makeup professionals featuring live makeup demonstrations and seminars conducted by the industries most known and loved makeup artists. There are almost 100 different makeup brands present, and all competing hard to sell you their products. Most brands offer a discount of 10-40% (generally 20%) which is nice, but with the $50 cost of the ticket you definitely need to buy a good amount of product before you break even.

I am telling you, some people go waaaay overboard in their spending there. I see it. Tons of credit cards being used. Ouch. This business was designed to be a money eating machine, so be careful!

To makeup artists, freelancers, or aspiring makeup artists, a bit of advice to you before you set foot in the Makeup Show 2013. First figure out what you want to get out of it. Do you want to utilize the show for its discount to stock up your kit? (You should have discounts already with a ton of brands, they all offer a HIGHER discount than the makeup show generally), do you want to learn from all the seminars? (I think this is a great idea if you are into the artistry of it all) do you want to go to the career fair? Do not just go blindly into this place, of you might be like a kid in a candy store and come out bankrupt.

Overall, I like it. I don't think I will go every year but I certainly will every 2 years or so. I like to see new things that come out, try to find little hidden gems, and just see packaging, get business ideas etc.

Set your budget ($100-$200) and bring CASH. This should include your expenses including travel, lunch etc. These kind of habits for freelancers are crucial to allow a successful career in freelancing.

Thanks for reading,

Sam

I did love this brush area, brushes for $2 and up, a steal!

One of my besties, Christina Vega

What the seminars look like

I was very impressed with this brand, Ellis Faas lip glosses!

Inglot was a big hit

Random demonstrations on the floor

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Bronx Zoo

I have been going to this Zoo since the day I was born, and as a Bronx native, it was a measly 15 minute walk from my house... lucky me! I feel nauseous when I see people only visiting places like Times Square and Brooklyn where there is so much more to NY than that. Takes the Bronx for example, no one wants to come here and yet, the north part is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL of all the boroughs. Yea, I know that takes some balls to say, but its true :) We have Van Cortland park, the Bronx Zoo, NY Botanical Gardens, Arthur Ave (the only REAL little Italy left) and more.

VISIT UP HERE GUYS, YOU WONT REGRET IT!

Enjoy some new and improved photos, provided by me, and instagram :)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Four Generations of the Rockefeller family - A Visual of Kykuit, Hudson Valley

The House

First off I know this might be weird I am posting this on my makeup blog, but hey, I don't have a personal one and I might do more of this stuff because it does involve art and beauty :)

Secondly, my husband and I have this really weird fascination with mansions, specifically ones built in or around the Gilded Age. A few extremely notable families include The Rockefeller's, The Vanderbilt's, J.P Morgan, & The Astor's. There is no rhyme or reason as to why or how it happened, but I'm hooked on visiting every one of them across the country. All of these families just so happen to have numerous mansions lining the beautiful Hudson River. I live along the Hudson River as well. Working in and around the city, and being a New Yorker that drives has its serious advantages. These places are only like a 30-60 minute drive out the city... no big deal!

Just a little part of the property

Anyway, to me even more so than anything makeup related, I think this form or art is true beauty. Its actually a combination of numerous forms of art such as architecture, paintings, sculptures, tapestries, carpentry, cloth, nature, history, and money to make it all happen. The experience is just something I cant explain. Walking into these fortresses, you can only imagine what you would do if you lived there. The detailing in these houses- the immense thought that went into custom designing every tiny little aspect, just blows my mind. Style has changed since then, I think true beauty has been diluted, and things are so cheaply made for mass production. Back then there was also no IRS so people kept all the money they made. It was the most prosperous time in the history of the United States, and about 5 families had all the money. Literally, all of it. Imagine if money were not an issue for you, and you could build the most ostentatious house you can dream up. These were old school cats from European decent, so they had the style, but during a time of prosperity in America, where we do everything BIGGER, and BETTER, these masterpieces came out of it, to try and outshine one another.
Such an amazing ceiling, most had similar ones

I am very lucky, because normally there is no photography allowed in these estates, so I always just get the property, house from the outside, etc... this time I was beyond thrilled to learn we could take photos (and I am happily in love with instagram) and this wound up being one of my favorite estates we have ever visited. I am warning you, there are alot of photos, but I do this stuff for me, and I can stare at them all day :)
Small part of China collection

This hilltop paradise was home to four generations of the Rockefeller family, beginning with the philanthropist John D. Rockefeller. I use this word "philanthropist because these men really were. They gave a combined amount of I'm sure billions to non for profits they believed in, started, charities, education, medical history, etc. Sure things are corrupt everywhere, but this was the real deal. Their love of life is proof in their legacy, and I am surprised at so many people who don't even know the story. Its pretty interesting, so if you mustered up the strength to sit through this, than there are some cool visuals below. Enjoy.