Beautycon Festival 2017 took place at Olympia National in Kensington, London on Saturday 2 December. It featured YouTubers Em Ford, Samantha Maria, Grace F. Victory, Lewys Ball, and many more.
Guests attending the event were treated to a beauty-packed day of panels featuring industry experts and the very best YouTube beauty creators, as well as the opportunity to shop and sample products. Throughout the day, attendees were also provided with free makeovers from large beauty brands, such as Nip+Fab and Pixi Beauty.
Once the doors opened, attendees had an hour to peruse the stalls before the events on the main stage kicked off. Opening the stage was a fireside chat with beauty entrepreneur Maria Hatzintefanis, who shared how vital the beauty community on YouTube is to her brand.
The first panel, Tech For Good, included Em Ford and Samantha Maria, and discussed the ever-changing world of tech and how it could be used in a positive way. Em spoke candidly about acne and the response to her viral video YOU LOOK DISGUSTING, while Samantha focused on the importance of opening up on issues, such as anxiety and postnatal depression.
Next up was the In My Skin panel, featuring Danielle Peazer, Ruth Crilly, Lewys Ball, and Grace Victory. Female empowerment was front-and-centre, with a strong focus on self-care and finding the right balance between work and life. Ruth shared the highs and lows of being a mother within the industry, while Grace discussed therapy and how being herself has allowed her to shine both professionally and personally:
“I spent most of my twenties [focussing] a lot of my time on work and didn’t really focus on myself,” she said. “This year has been all about me, and I thrived, baby!”
Finally, the Beyond The Stitching panel occurred, discussing fashion, finding your own style, and expressing your individuality, with the likes of Nia Pettit and Shirley B. Eniang. Nia revealed how embracing her wild locks has led them to become her favourite fashion accessory, while Shirley spoke to the audience about her love of the Chloé brand and how she uses classic pieces to stand out in a crowd.
Between panels, we wandered around the floor, stopping in to watch a masterclass from London Makeup School. The session showed us how to create the perfect Christmas look with a dazzling gold glitter eye.
There were also meet-and-greets with creators such as Lucy and Lydia Connell, Danielle Mansutti. and Jordyn Woods, while over on the pink carpet the Pixiwoo sisters, Sam Chapman and Nicola Haste, made an appearance to share beauty advice and take selfies with fans.
Shanay, who attended the event, said, “I mainly came to see the YouTubers. I actually really liked today, it’s been really cool.”
The event closed with some insightful words from the editor of Glamour magazine, Jo Elvin, before we whipped around the floor one last time to grab as many floral and sparkly Instagram pictures we could muster!
Want more?
Read about Em Ford revisiting YOU LOOK DISGUSTING, or check out the highlights from HelloWorld.
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