This whole thing was a hot mess.
Last year, my sister and friend attended Beautycon and came back with so many goodies; I totally regretted not going. They brought back so much free makeup, samples and totes. This year I decided to join in on the fun and go with them. Not only was I, a general admission attendee let down, but so were VIP attendees who paid triple what I did. I had high hopes of a beautiful venue filled with dozens of brands giving away freebies and cool photo-ops. Instead, I was filled with absolute disappointment. While no event is perfect, some aspects of Beautycon were totally unacceptable.
- Overload of cleaning products and lack of makeup
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I arrived at the Javits Center at around 11 am and waited for the doors to open at 12 pm. Our plan was to go to our favorite brands first, then walk around and check out other brands. While looking at the festival map, my sister noticed that there weren’t many legacy brands such as MAC, who attended last year. The wait to enter wasn’t too bad but like any popular event, the booth lines were ridiculously long. You’d think the wait would be worth a cool product or freebie but in reality, most brands were giving out small tote bags with nothing in them. Some brands even forced attendees to follow the brand’s Instagram in order to get a free sample sized item.
Aside from the lack of gifts, there were only four photo-worthy booths. Although I had a below average first experience at Beautycon, I saw many other beauty lovers that were even more outraged. Some attendees paid $200+ for early access, beauty insiders, extra goodies (hauler bags) and meet + greets. Some that paid for these perks were not even given early access. They still waited on long lines and didn’t have to opportunity to go to meet + greets. As for guests who paid extra for the hauler bag, little to no makeup goodies were given.
- Panels starting way too late & VIP’s didn’t get seating
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The biggest letdown at Beautycon was Cardi B’s extremely late arrival. The panel was originally supposed to be a 2:05 pm, but she didn’t arrive until 5:30 pm. I didn’t come with the intentions of going to the panel but went anyway because we finished going to all the booths. We saw multiple people fighting the security guards. People that paid the extra amount of money were not allowed to sit in the front as they were promised. Many were in shock with the disrespect and verbal behavior that the security guards had towards guests.
Although I left early, guests who did stay to see Cardi complained about her informal advice and continuous jokes about her wealth, men and her stripper days.
After Beautycon ended, Cardi B and Moj made a quick Instagram video stating they would give a special gift to those who express their concerns through email via support@beautycon.com.
Beautycon was unorganized, unprofessional and frustrating. At the end of the day, I came home with more empty totes than freebies. The hype was not worth it at all. Many loyal Beautycon fans stated this was “the worst year ever”. Although it was only my first time, I totally believe it.