When I left my corporate job at MAC in 2002 and set out on the journey that has been The Powder Group, I knew a few things about my new path were certain. I knew I was going to do my best to fill a void or two in our industry. I knew that I was going to have to work harder than I had ever worked. I knew that I wanted to launch a new magazine that celebrated the art of makeup. I knew that I would create The Makeup Show.
But as we are all aware, “knowing” these types of things and accomplishing them are two very different things. Little did I realize that the amount of time it was going to take to get my business in a strong enough place financially to launch such a project was going to take me a little further down the road than I had anticipated. Even with the support of so many of my good friends and clients in the industry, this was one of my plans that had to be pushed back a bit – or at least that appeared to be the case until the Fall of 2005.
Enter Metropolitan Pavilion owner Alan Boss and vice-president Shelly Taggar. I had the good fortune of connecting with these amazing partners as they began putting the finishing touches on one of the first of their own internal produced events – a holiday shopping event that a friend had suggested I be a part of. It was during that fateful meeting about The Powder Group’s involvement in that event that I took one of the biggest long shots of my career. I told them about my plans to produce The Makeup Show at their space and asked if they would be interested in partnering with me on the event. They said we should talk about it — and the rest is The Makeup Show history.
Truth be told, I didn’t expect anything big to happen from that conversation — but it certainly did. I also didn’t expect quite the resounding cheer in the industry when we began approaching potential vendors to participate. But, it seemed everyone had been thinking the same thing – “Why is there no makeup artist trade show in New York?” From my perspective, it was also a question of why there wasn’t a trade show for our industry that truly celebrated the art of makeup and beauty in a way that is focused on the artist as the core of their business and that gave an energy of joy and passion to an event of this type.
I was personally so humbled by the reception the idea received. First to jump on board was the amazing and inspirational Maurice Stein with his legendary company Cinema Secrets, then came MAC, Temptu, Face Atelier, Make-up Designory, MAKE UP FOR EVER and on and on. When it came time to kick off our first show and open the doors on that incredible Spring morning in 2006 – the anticipation was running high — as were our nerves. But when I turned the corner onto 18th Street and from a distance I saw a line of enthusiastic pros already waiting for the doors to open, all of the nervousness melted away and the butterflies I was feeling disappeared, leaving me with only the feeling of pure and true excitement. In fact, that pretty much describes the last ten years for me whenever The Makeup Show is around the bend.
We had a great show that year. Our vendors, our educators and most importantly the thousands of attendees who joined us for the start of this incredible journey loved what the show brought to our industry. While the launch event was not without it’s hiccups, the overwhelming emotions that we were left with after the show was that joy and excitement.
What other feeling could we have had when so many industry leaders had taken a chance on us and a new event — and it worked! We were blown away that more than 50 exhibitors joined us that first year along with a keynote roster of industry legends including Billy B, Sam Fine, Eve Pearl and Ve Neill. We broke down education in a way no show had before with a series of hands-on workshops featuring the inspirational ways of Tobi Britton, Johnny Lavoy, James Vincent and Daniel Sandler and seminars from the likes of Carolyn Cowan, Maurice Stein, Charles Porlier, Roque Cozzette, Chantel Miller, David Klasfeld, Nick and Brian Wolfe, Jinny, Sylvia Pichler, Paul Thompson, Myles O’Reily and the one and only Linda Mason. Looking back it blows my mind that such a collection of icons all came together under one roof to support the launch of the show. Thank you again to each and everyone one of you.
Ten years and more than 25 shows later, The Makeup Show has traveled to Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Orlando, Berlin and Dallas, and has made an indelible mark on the pro beauty industry along the way. Thousands upon thousands of pros have been inspired, informed and shown the power of community around the world thanks to the hard work of The Makeup Show team and all of the shows vendors, sponsors and supporters.
While I sold the show to my partners Alan and Shelly five years ago, it will always hold an important place in my heart and in the history of The Powder Group. It will always be one of the things I am the most proud of in my career – and in my life.
So a huge happy anniversary to The Makeup Show and an even bigger thank you to everyone who helped to make it possible along the way. Congratulations to Shelly, Alan, Amanda, James and the entire The Makeup Show team on continuing to make such an impact on the lives and careers or so many. Here’s to many more years of the most incredible — and joyfull – trade show on the planet!
Words Michael DeVellis
Photos Nadav Havakook