Olympia Beauty Show

For those of you that don't know, Olympia Beauty is the trade beauty show of the year in the UK and on 22nd September I was very privileged to attend it with one of my best friends Lauriane. We had such an amazing day among the hundreds of companies that came out to show nail technicians and beauty therapists the products and services they had to offer.
It also happened to be the place where for the third time in a row, the annual Nailympics took place so I was very excited about that. It's the competition where nail techs from all over the globe gather to battle out who is the best at eight different categories such as gel manicure, mixed media and salon nails.

We walked in and I was overwhelmed by the amount and variety of stuff going on, there was just not enough time (or money) to go everywhere and do everything. I managed to get my eyebrows threaded, have a henna tattoo, eat a skewer of chocolate covered marshmallows, have my make up done on top of all the nail stuff that I got up to.

Me stuffing my face with marshmallows!

Lauriane trying out a power plate...

... and getting her make up done

Nailwise, there were the big brand companies like OPI, NSI, The Edge and Salon Systems and lots of smaller companies starting out with interesting business ideas, there was a company that would make bespoke nail jewellery out of a metal of your choice - very decadent. I found an amazing nail accessories shop that was basically a poundland for nails that sold all sorts of things like gems and feathers and nail art brushes. I got 5 pots of dried flowers for a pound! There was a stand that re-introduced me to nail stamping, I forgot how simple and quick it is to get such a finely detailed print so I've ordered some plates to get back into it. Basically anything that could be done to your nails was represented. Here is what they did to my nail, which I'd already painted white myself:

We looked all over the place and eventually found the Nailympics at the end of the day where there were still some nail techs working away but it had mostly finished by then (boooo). We couldn't get very near to them because there was a giant barrier, I guess so we didn't distract them, but it was amazing to watch how the best in the business work and to see them create their masterpieces.

These are the nail stations going off into the distance

The nail techs working away on acrylic tip and overlay (little bit blurry!)

I managed to take a few photos of the fantasy category which I think is the most exciting because they create a look for the whole person to provide a background for the nails.

So, did I go round all day and not come home with anything? Of course not! Below is all of the stuff that I managed to acquire throughout the day. I was particularly pleased with my subscription to Scratch magazine and the awesome free gifts that came with it (two pairs of eyelashes, nail glitter, OPI pedicure set, pink nail varnish, matte top coat, two nail files, cuticle cream and cuticle oil). I also got these striper (not stripper) pens for 50p each - bargain, 5 pots of dried flowers and nail glue. All of this equals one happy Emma :)

I obviously had to get something from OPI and I came away with this gorgeous red shade called Big Apple Red - swatch to follow.

Wow, long post, congratulations if you've got to the end and haven't got bored!