Olympia Beauty 2013 visit and haul

Last weekend I met up with the lovely Alice from Bright Town Girl for a trip to Olympia Beauty. Olympia Beauty is one of several big beauty trade shows that happen each year, aimed mostly at salon owners and beauty workers to showcase new products, and give an opportunity to stock up on supplies at discounted prices.

It took place at the Olympia exhibition halls in London and I have to be honest, I’ve never seen so many people all get off one tube! It was a little hectic when we arrived mid-morning, but soon made our way into the halls to check out the stands from Essie, OPI, NYX, Inglot and more.

The Nailympics

We headed to Elemis first who had 20% off all products, so I used it as a good opportunity to stock up on their Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm, White Flowers eye makeup remover and Apricot toner, all of which I’ve just run out of.

Next stop was Essie, where I bought the new Fall mini collection – For The Twill Of It looks so pretty! It’s top of my list to get on my nails. I also bought some polishes from Nubar, a brand which I haven’t tried before and a limited edition polish from China Glaze which has a matt, sparkly finish.

Scratch magazine had a stand, and although the magazine is mostly aimed at nail professionals, they also had an amazing nail art book created by Helena Biggs the editor. I’d been lusting over this on Amazon for a while so decided to take the plunge and buy a copy. There are some amazing designs in there, most of which are far beyond my capability, but fantastic for inspiration.

The last of my purchases came from Inglot, a makeup brand I’ve always wanted to try but have never found myself near one of their stores. After much swatching, I bought a 2 eye shadows and a palette to hold them, plus one of their AMC cream blushes. I could easily have gone a bit crazy on that stand, and will definitely be going back for more.

I thought there was a really good selection of stands this year – there are a lot of gel nail polish and fake tan brands as these seem to be most popular in the salons, but it’s also good for picking up certain brands such as OPI and Essie at good discounts. These stands tend to be very busy, so do go early if you can, but it’s well worth the wait. The only thing I was disappointed with was the Colour Club nail polish stand. At Pro Beauty earlier this year the prices were very reasonable, however at Olympia, everything was virtually double the price, which meant I didn’t buy anything – TK Maxx has them cheaper!

Upstairs, there was a selection of industry talks going on from nail and beauty experts, as well as the Nailympics nail competition. I’ve never seen so many people having their nails done at once before, and in the most amazing designs.

I’d highly recommend a trip to Olympia Beauty next year, or if you can’t wait that long, similar trade show Pro Beauty in February. Both are designed for trade, but bloggers are also welcome to register for a free press pass. I’m looking forward to next year already!