Riga, my love! The visit to Baltic Beauty 2012, part 1

Baltic Beauty is the biggest beauty trade show in Latvia. The organizers claim, it's the biggest in whole Scandinavia, but I'd take that statement with a pinch of salt :P. This year it was held from 2.-4. November in Kipsala Exhibition centre Riga. It was my first time at Baltic Beauty: I wanted to go last year already, but then I had no time. This year, in spite of many unhappy events beforehand, I was finally there and felt like I deserved some fun and play! 

About ten minutes before opening on Sunday morning. The crowds start to pur in. 

This year, Baltic Beauty was said to be especially big with a record number of participants: 300 companies from 37 countries around the globe. Though, I must mention that there were mostly local Latvian representatives of the beauty companies present plus a few companies from Estonia and Lietuva. 

Some images of the halls, getting ready for the day.

Siberika girls, all nice and neat, ready for the crowds.

The exhibition consisted of two halls, one of them was filled with skincare, makeup, nail stuff, beauty salon equipment and health goodies, the other was dedicated mostly to haircare, but also had some cheap blingy jewellery, tights, gloves and such things. As always on these kind of events, there were lots of special shows, lots of great deals and discounts and a vast number of greedy-faced women lurking around :) 

Peggy Sage had a rather small booth...

...bur rather good deals on some items (these eyeshadows cost 10 euros originally).

Apart from that, these two exhibitions were very different. Firstly, there were less companies present at Ilu Sõnum/Beauty Word in the beginning of October, but overall Baltic Beauty seemed a bit smaller, as the stalls and boothes were not as big and fancy as they were in Estonian exhibition. I'd even say they were rather on the small side mostly, causing a lot of elbowing and toe-stepping, as by Saturday afternoon the event became very crowded. I spent a good 4 or five hours browsing on Saturday, after that I was too tired for any sensible decisions. I went back for some final pictures and purchases on Sunday morning (the advantages of a press pass, don't ask :P).

Pure Elements, natural cosmetics from Germany.

Da Vinci brushes.

Secondly, although Tallinn and Riga are only some 300 kms apart, shopping experience at Baltic Beauty was totally different from shopping in Ilu Sõnum/Beauty Word. There were so many brands, both professional and consumer products, that are not sold in Estonia. 

Inglot

Make Up For Ever

Kryolan

SLA Professional Cosmetics

There were very many salesmen and women, who couldn't speak any English, only Latvian and Russian. Let's just say that my vocabulary that consists of some very basic Latvian words like 'sveiki', 'labas dienas' and 'saldejums' was not nearly enough. At least I could understand one word 'akcija' very well :) Card payment opportunities were rare too.

There were also a lot less natural products and mineral makeup offered than in Estonian exhibition and only a few things from local Latvian beauty brands. In that sense, situation seemed a bit better in Estonia. 

Latvian bath salts and soaps.  

Riga souvenir soap.

Thirdly, it was funny that so much space was taken up by haircare, hair styling and hairdressing tools companies. It was probably due to the fact that there was International Hairstyling Festival going on during the fair. And again, many haircare brands – oh dear, probably most of them! – were completely unfamiliar to me and I guess they are not sold in Estonia. 

Farouk, at least that's in Estonia too.

Must be some very precious hair stuff :)

Salons24.eu from Estonia had as good deals as in Estonian trade fair...

... but less products were available. 

All in all, the trip to Riga for Baltic Beauty was tiring, but completely worthwhile. I had amazing time there and needless to say, bought quite lot of stuff :P I shall share some more exeptional moments from the trade fair in my next post, so be sure to check back! 

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull 

Just a random beautiful model.

For my lovely Estonian ladies: 

Riiaga seoses meenub mulle alati üks vana laul Vennaskonnalt: Riia, mu arm (kuula näiteks siin). Seekordse armastuse põhjuseks oli lätlaste suurim ilumess Baltic Beauty, mis toimus 2.-4. novembrini ehk siis eelmisel nädalavahetusel Kipsala messikeskuses. Ma polnud varem Baltic Beauty'l käinud, aga meie oma Ilu Sõnumist erines see nagu öö ja päev, nii korralduse kui ka pakutavate kaupade poolest. Väga palju ruumi oli pühendatud kõikvõimalikule juuksekraamile, müüdi brände, mida Eestis ei ole ja pakuti ka siinmail täiesti tundmatuid teenuseid.

Üldiselt julgen seda messi soovitada, kel võimalik, käigu järgmisel aastal ära. Arvestada tuleb aga, et kaardimaksetega sealmaal eriti ei arveldata ja kui vene või läti keele oskus puudub või on nigel, siis tuleb käte-jalgade abil asju ajada :)

Siiralt teie,
Tolmu Rull 

Ilu Sõnum/Beauty Word 2012 and Estonian beauty bloggers 15 minutes of fame

The first weekend of October is always reserved for beauty fair Ilu Sõnum/Beauty Word. At least for me, for many years already. Basically, it's our local IMATS, an event you simply can't miss.

This year, it was bigger and better than ever, with 272 companies showing their stuff!

Also, there was a massive – and I mean massive! – advertising campaign going on before the fair. Whenever I opened FB or a magazine, turned on the telly or even walked on the street: beauty fair ads where everywhere.

10 minutes after 10 AM: quite a lot of people already!

Well, it must have paid off, because the fair gounds were pretty packed by 11 AM and by 2 PM it was getting quite impossible to move around and there were more people waiting in a que to get in. I went on two days and the situation was pretty much the same in Friday and Saturday. 

Ontic Minerals team is ready for the day :)

One of the prettiest makeups I saw...

I did most of my beauty shopping in Friday (I'll show you the haul pictures pretty soon!). As always, there were some great deals around and you must not underestimate the mingling: beauty fair was a perfect chance to meet up and chat with some dear old friends and to make some new ones. 

Some colourful body art.

On Saturday, we had Estonian beauty bloggers meet-up and a small group interview, that was broadcasted all along the trade fair grounds. Six beautiful ladies participated and Liis from Beautyfromliz was behind the whole idea. The interview that should have lasted for an hour was actually over in 15 minutes. We all had our chance to say what we are blogging about and why we do it and whether Estonian women are beautiful or not :) I must say the interview thing made me pretty nervous, but I guess it went well after all. I don't believe very many people had real interest or patience to listen to us, but it was still kind of nice being called one of the top beauty bloggers in Estonia or something like that in public. Yeah, really :P

Some works from the makeup competition that was held during the show.

After the interview, Angelika had her makeup done by Grete, while we others toured the trade fair together, staying at each others heels like a row of ducklings :)

Angeelika is ready for her makeup at Peggy Sage. 

While Angeelika was ready, we joined our forces to get a good deal on haircare products. At the end there was 19 products in our basket and I am so sorry that I haven't got a picture of this massive hair care haul! 

Random girls haggling over some haircare products at SalonPlus  :D

By then, it was afternoon already and I started to feel a bit tired from all the crowds, noise and shopping decisions. I must also sadly note that my falsies wanted to come sort of loose on one eye during the day because my eyes watered so badly. I think it might be the glue's fault that somehow irritated the eyes. Whoever wants to be left with only one eye of falsies in a beauty fair where every other woman looks like a supermodel??? No, not me. 

Liis K is testing some classic fragrances by Dzintars from Latvija :)

So it was adieu for this year and I am already looking forward to Ilu Sõnum/Beauty Word 2013!

In the meantime, I shall turn my greedy eyes in the direction of the beauty trade shows abroad :)

Yours Truly,
Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies:

Nädalavahetusel toimus viimaks see kuulus ilumess Ilu Sõnum 2012, mille reklaame me söögi alla ja söögi peale juba mitu nädalat vaadanud ja kuulanud oleme. Ma olen ilumessil käinud mitmeid kordi, kuid nii suurt ja võimsat messi kui tänavu ei mäletagi. Osalejaid jagus tervelt nelja halli ja müügiks pakuti kõike juuksetoodetest ja küünelakkidest kuni ehete, sukkade, pesu, villaste kinnaste ja magnetkäevõrude, käsitööseepide ja aroomisooladeni. Otse loomulikult olid paljud tooted “messihinnaga” ehk siis palju-palju soodsamad kui tavaliselt. 

BeautyPro booth was crowded at all times.

Mõned pakkumised on juba traditsioonilisteks saanud. Näiteks BeautyPro, mis pakub juba mitmendat korda vanemaid China Glaze küünelakitoone võileivahinnaga ja SalonPlus, mis igal aastal üllatab eriti hea hinnaga shampoonide-palsamitega Tigi'lt, Rich'ilt, Joico'lt jne. Minu suur lemmik on juba mitu aastat ka Pilgrim Outlet, kust leian alati soodsa hinnaga ehteid ja kellasid. 

Lisaks soodukatele teeb ilumessi minu jaoks eriti mõnusaks asjaolu, et messile tuleb oma suletud kontoriuste tagant välja ka vähemtuntud meigi- ja nahahooldussarjade maaletoojaid, kelle asju igas supermarketis müügilt ei leia. Suur osa sellest kraamist on üldse proffidele mõeldud, aga messilt saab neid asju osta igaüks. Mulle meeldib!

Peggy Sage had a huge booth with lots of selection.

Ka tänavu olid messil väljas mitmed ettevõtted, millest ma olin küll kuulnud, aga veel polnud saanud võimalust järele proovida. Minu jaoks suurimateks üllatajateks Peggy Sage ja NYX: viimase kohta ma isegi ei teadnud, et seda Eestis müüakse, aga tuleb välja, et müüakse ja koguni kahes kohas! Mõnusad avastused olid ka eriti hea hinna-kvaliteedi suhtega (loe: odavad) Bella Oggi ja lauvärvisari Film Maquillage, mõlemad Itaaliast. 

NYX lip glosses and palettes.

Võrreldes varasemate aastatega oli messil märgata rohkem mineraalmeiki ja muidu looduslikke/ökotooteid ja vähem küünekaunistusi ning muud maniküürimudru. Sellise suundumuse vastu pole mul üldiselt midagi :) 

Ahjaa, ja siis oli mul koos teiste ilublogijatega võimalus messil nautida oma viitteist kuulsuseminutit, sest messiraadios tehti meiega väike intervjuu, kus saime öelda, miks ja millest blogime ja mida üleüldse arvame Eesti naise ilust :D Ma eriti ei usu, et keegi meie loba pingsalt kuulas, aga no tore oli ikka. Millegipärast on palju raskem olla intervjueeritav kui intervjueerija :)

Kokkuvõttes jäin messiga väga rahule. Kui eelmise aasta mess tundus veel veidike "masumessina", siis sel aastal oli üritus küll täies purjes. Järgmisel aastal jälle!

Siiralt teie,

Tolmu Rull

Estonian beauty trade show haul, part 2

It's time for Black Friday hauls already, but I still haven't posted the other part of my big Estonian beauty trade fair haul – haircare and makeup items. Shame on me, I know … I'll try to fix the problem now.

Tigi Love Peace The Planet is Tigi's eco-friendly line free of parabens, sulphates, artificial colours and fragrances. Unfortunately the shampoos from that line were sold out, so I got two conditioners – Walking On Sunshine meant for daily use and Eco Awesome that should be a bit more moisturising. I haven't tried these yet, so I can't really tell about the effects. We'll see, but the green tubes look very promising and fit well to the color scene of my bathroom. I think they were eur 5 each.

I had more luck with the Some Like It Hot heat and humidity resistant line and got both the shampoo and conditioner. I've been wanting these for some time now and could have really used them at summer. The SA was a bit ironic and asked whether I was going to a tropic vacation soon. As far as I know of, I'm not, but no worries, I shall use them next spring and summer. Tigi discontinues their products quite quickly, so there's a fair chance that these might not be on sale any more next summer. It was only wise to buy them in advance with such a discount, right? Don't remember the exact price, but I think the discount was 50 % from the regular price.

On to the styling products. I have tried Freak of Nature volumizer and thickener a lot already. It's great! Another review to come! I havent't tried Save The Earth Straightener and Defrizzer yet, but I expect it to be as good as Freak of Nature. Control Freak Straightener is an old friend of mine and a repurchase, so naturally I have a high opinion of this. These products were 50 % off, so eur 8 each. This is a total bargain, because Love Peace & the Planets are eur 16.50 and Control Freak is eur 17.90 normally.

Eco Freako Texturizer was THE bargain of the fair. It was only eur 2 a pot, while it's normally eur 16.50! I got two, planning to use the other in a giveaway or as a gift to a friend. I have tried mine and this is good too.

Finally, the make up I got from the fair – Palladio products from Tradehouse. These are Baked Shadow Trio in Pop Idol and eye shadow quad in Tantalizing Taupe. These seemed very pigmented and promising when I swatched them in store. I think the quad was 5 euros instead of regular 8 euros and baked shadows had some kind of discount too.

Palladio Shadow & Liner pencils are my old favourites. They are easy to use, waterproof and stay on very well. So I collected some new shades: Olive, Black Pearl, Silver Bells and Eclipse. I wish there were more shades in the range. 5 euros instead of 7 each.

In case anyone missed my first post about Ilu Sõnum haul, I must say that it is a really good spot for discounted beauty products. You can see the first part of my epic haul here.

Sincerely Yours,

Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian ladies: 

Teie ees on hiiglasliku ilumessi-hauli teine osa. Siirad vabandused, et pole viitsinud seda varem üles panna. Kõiki tooteid pole veel jõudnud proovida, aga olen leidnud uue lemmiku Tigi Love Peace The Planet ökosarjast: Freak of Nature volüümikreemi. Loodan, et sarja ülejäänud tooted on sama head. 

Viimasel pildil on ka natuke meiki Palladio toodete näol. Shadow & Liner pliiatsid on ammused lemmikud oma hea püsivuse poolest. Lauvärvid on alles katsetamisel.

Siiralt Teie,

Tolmu Rull

Estonian beauty trade show haul, part 1

That big colorful pile is the stuff I got from the beauty trade show Ilu Sõnum 2011 :)

You probably think I must be a really ugly person to need so much beauty products! I assure you, I just have enormous passion for them ... and I promise NOT to do any decent hauling in the near future (ha-ha!).

Besides, October is really good time to do beauty shopping in Estonia, as there are a lot of discounts and special offers available. Besides Ilu Sõnum there are Hullud Päevad (Crazy Days) in Stockmann, Osturalli (Shopping Race) in Kaubamaja, discounts in I.L.U shop and Ideaalkosmeetika and so on. And if all that is not enough for you, you can go to Helsinki to the Finnish beauty fair Kauneus & Terveys.

On to the products. As it is a big haul, I've divided it into two parts and speak about the nail polishes first. I haven't had a chance to try them all. These are my first impressions. I try to add the prices when I remember them, sorry for possible mistakes.

Spa Ritual nail polishes are usually very good, but expensive. Seeing them discounted made me treat myself to some. The colors are (L to R) Crystal Waters, Treasure, Dreams Becoming Reality and Emerald City. Two of them cost eur 8.90 each and another two eur 4 each. Usually they cost eur 11 or 12 per bottle. The samples were for free :)

More nail polish from OPI. The colors are (L to R) Out of This World, It's Not Rocket Science and Bailamos. The first two are from the Cosmic FX collection that was launched fall 2010. Now I have only Galaxy Girl missing from this collection. I got these three polishes for eur 13 (if you bought two, the third was free). Usually these cost around eur 10 each.

It's convenient I got myself a big bottle of Sec'n Dry quick dry top coat, as I just dropped my Seche and of course it broke to pieces. Don't remember the price.

On to China Glaze. Yep, these are China Glaze Crackle Glaze metallic shatters! I saw these metallic shatters at the trade show for the first time and decided to get me some, (L to R) Latticed Lilac, Oxidized Aqua and Tarnished Gold. I love-love-love crackle polish and have received lots of compliments for my crackle manicures. You can create a lot of gorgeous effects with these metallic shatters, but they're somewhat tricky to use. Eur 4.20 or 4.50 each, don't know the retail price.

The Essie shades were from the discount bin. I don't know what made me buy these, probably the fact that I absolutely adore bright pink nail polishes and lipsticks! The shades (L to R) are Infatuation, Orchid Oasis and Catwalk, all good pedicure shades. I think they were eur 2 or 3 each, the retail price is around eur 9.

And then the set in the background. Actually I was interested in the blue Sexy in The City shade that I have been admiring for a while, but the whole set cost eur 6 (!). So naturally I decided to buy the set. Usually you can get only one polish for eur 6 from BeautyPro, I don't know the retail price.

Some Ardell falsies have also crept to the picture. Eur 4 each. Haven't got to try them yet, but they're said to be the best ones, so I'm curious to try.

That's all for now. If you want to see some swatches, please ask. I'm going to do another post on hair care products and makeup bought from the trade show soon. Needless to say I'm ridiculously happy with my trade show haul and am looking for the next year!

Sincerely Yours,

Tolmu Rull

For my lovely Estonian beauties:  

Selline on minu ilumessi haul :) Päris suur, mis?

Oktoober on iluostude mõttes eriti kreisi aeg, sest lisaks ilumessile on Osturalli ja Hullud päevad, kus on alati palju kosmeetikat soodsamalt. Mujalgi on tohutult soodukaid ja eripakkumisi, põhimõtteliselt vist igas endast lugu pidavas kosmeetikapoes, niiet rahakotid värisege! Ja kui sellest ei piisa, siis kuu keskel toimub Helsingis soomlaste ilumess Kauneus & Terveys :P

See on üks päris suur haul ja kõiki tooteid pole veel jõudnud põhjalikult proovida, seepärast jagan peamiselt esmamuljeid. Selles postituses vaid küünelakid, aga tulekul on ka teine postitus ülejäänud ostudest. Kui meeles olid, panin ka hinnad juurde, et näeksite oma silmaga, et mess on iluostudeks hea koht.

Ma ei hakka kogu teksti uuesti eesti keeles kirjutama, vast saate nimedest ja hindadest ka inglisekeelses versioonis aru. Kui kellelegi jääb midagi segaseks, siis küsige kommentaarides!

Siiralt teie,

Tolmu Rull