This past weekend I attended the International Salon and Spa Expo (also known as ISSE) in Long Beach. Yes, just 1 week after IMATS! Trade show madness! It was my first time attending this show, which is pro-only (targeted towards salon owners and workers…hairstylist, nail techs, and estheticians). I’m sore to say the least, because this expo is HUGE. I had a fun time hanging out with Stephanie, Alyson, Krissy, and observing the madness. I only attended Saturday and Sunday…I was beat by Monday. I wasn’t planning on purchasing anything but I just couldn’t help it! The deals there are insane. I just wanted to post a few photos today and will continue with a few more posts highlighting the best of the show that I saw for hair, skin/makeup, and nails!
I visited AZATURE, who you may remember launched black diamond nail polish worth $250,000. They had it locked up in the glass case you can see in the photo (pics will be in my nails post). Behind him are his much more affordable $25 black diamond polishes, with the new color diamond collection that they just launched.
CND brought their new spring shellac line (will feature later) that mostly sold out! I love this ad they had at their booth…oxblood lips and bold brows!
There were so many nail polish brands…even ones you may not know about. I saw this brand, Dare to Wear, at Le Chat’s booth. I’ve seen them on many blogs so I just had to take a photo! What pretty colors!
G Body Art Professional had fun glitter tattoos…I can’t wait to share mine with you! Can you guess which one I got? And what color? 😉
Another nail polish brand I’ve seen on many blogs was Jessica Nails. I lusted after their Gelato Mio collection from summer 2012, and couldn’t resist taking photos of them at ISSE! I hope to try some of their polishes someday.
ORLY has my favorite base coat (bonder), so I grabbed a professional refill at a great price. I also snagged some photos and minis of their new Spring 2013 collection called Hope & Freedom Fest that I can barely wait to show you! Think Coachella.
And lastly, I had to stop by Seche to grab more of my favorite Seche Vite Top Coat…it was a great deal. Slightly bummed that I just purchased their clear base coat and restore thinner from ULTA when I could have gotten a better deal at ISSE! They launched a color collection last year that includes a bunch of shades that only need one coat!
I know that’s not too much to share, but I wanted to split my posts so they wouldn’t be to photo-heavy. But, to tide you over…here is what I purchased…just from my Instagram!
On Day 1 I didn’t buy anything because I was overwhelmed. But, Dinair was incredibly kind and gifted me an airbrush compressor (newly redesigned). I’m so excited to use it in tutorials to review for you guys. Airbrushing isn’t just for makeup artists, ladies! I’m also excited to try my Amika and Moroccanoil samples that were handouts at the show.
On Day 2 I pretty much bought the whole show out…I got everything but the brushes and a hair oil with my own money…yikes! A few polishes (including the new ORLY), nail and haircare, and a TON of professional face masks. I’ll try to review everything I can that’s available to the public. Stay tuned for more ISSE photos in the next few days!
**This post contains products that I have received for free– for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**
Ooo how fun!! It seems to be like HBA here in NYC (and I think they go to other cities too) but HBA also has packaging companies. Love CND!! They always do amazing things on the runway for fashion week 🙂
It definitely is similar to HBA. I went there last year. It pretty much is the same aside from packaging and manufacturers! CND definitely does do some cool things during fashion week. Can't wait to see the makeup and nails for all of the shows coming up!