BK Brushes Review

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Hi everyone! 

Today I wanted to do a review/ranking of my BK Beauty (affiliate) brushes, especially since they’re having an anniversary sale through August 10, 2025. I have managed to amass six different brushes and wanted to share my thoughts on each one and help guide any decisions you might make.

In the past I have preferred natural hair brushes since most of my collection consisted of powder makeup with only a few cream and liquid products. Over the years I have added more and more cream products, especially check products, which have necessitated good synthetic brushes. I was skeptical of shelling out money for synthetic bristle brushes but BK Beauty is one of the exceptions. I am much more willing to invest in their brushes because of their innovative shapes, brush density, and quality of the bristles and it was hard to overlook the immense number of positive reviews for their 101 and 109 brushes in particular. Like I am not that willing to pay high prices for a shape I could get from Real Techniques or Morphe you know? 

Half Caked Night Show Liquid Shadow Swatches and Review

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Hi everyone!

Today I wanted to share my video and my thoughts on the Half Caked Night Show Liquid Shadows (affiliate). These are a water based silicone-free liquid eyeshadow. Most of the range of Half Caked Makeup is silicone free so they're a great option for anyone who is sensitive to silicones. Anyway these liquid eyeshadows have been brilliant when I want a one shadow shimmery eye look.

Saying Hi and Syncing this Blog with TikTok

So it's been a while yeah? Though I haven't been posting on my blog as frequently I've been much more active on my Instagram and most recently my TikTok. I love TikTok for the short form content but it's a bit...volatile to say the least and I want to be able to have a place to share the TikTok but provide more context/reviews/thoughts etc so I'll be embedding some of my older TikToks with more information so it's not just reposting it here. One of the things I've been doing is posting more makeup looks so here's one I did for Valentine's Day. Hope you enjoy and I am striving to be more active here!

@mthy.ly The pink in the @Shellwe.Makeup x @freya86 Somber Garden is doing the heavy lifting in this pink look for Valentine’s Day. Rest of products used: @Alamar Cosmetics Mauvete from the Desnudeas Exotica palette Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy @Judydoll US Ultrafine liquid liner in Deep Brown @e.l.f. Cosmetics Wow Brow in Dark Brown @Beauty of Joseon tinted SPF in MY210 (PR sample) @Sigma Beauty Powder in Vanilla Bean @Persona Cosmetics Dreamstick in Carmel @Half Caked Candy Paint Highlighter in Sugar Cookie @Jason Wu Beauty Lip Liner in Adored (use my affiliate code MAITHY15 on their website for 15% off!) Half Caked Lip Gloss in Cake Baby #jasonwucrew #halfcakedcosmetics #alamarcosmetics #shellwemakeup #beautyofjoseon #pinkmakeup #valentinesdaymakeup ♬ supernatural - Ariana Grande

Glossier Skywash Matte Eyeshadow: Swatches and Review

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Hey everyone!

Obviously it's been a long time since I've updated the blog. Life, being a parent, etc takes up a lot of time but I realized that I set myself up for failure by feeling like I have to post consistently vs. posting when I want to. So here I am to say I haven't abandoned the blog, but will just post when inspiration strikes. I have a backlog of half finished posts (including a bunch of Glossier reviews) so I hope my inspiration stays for a while.

For today I have a review and swatches of four Glossier Skywash Matte Eyeshadows. These are liquid-to-powder eyeshadows for a sheer matte finish on the eyes. I'll admit that I was enticed by these eyeshadows because I really wanted something similar to the Wet n Wild matte liquid eyeshadows. 

I picked up four of the seven, Echo, Palm, Terra, and Valley. The other three colors included a Lawn (grass-lime green), Pool (pale blue), and Pebble (taupe). I knew I wasn't going to wear the green or blue so I immediately passed on them and the taupe seemed a bit too light. These colors were inspired by the Southwestern landscapes and I totally see the inspiration.

Click through to continue reading my review and see swatches!

Meet Leo

Hello everyone, it's quite overdue but I'm happy to introduce someone special to the world. My little Leo arrived a little over two weeks early on a Sunday in October. 

As you can see, he wasn't very enthused about the Christmas photos.

I was due in early November and spent the week leading up to giving birth talking about how I was hoping not to give birth in October because I didn't feel ready to give birth to an October baby (since I'd drilled the idea of a November baby in my head). Baby clearly had other plans and my water broke at 10am on Sunday.

I tried to be calm when I told my husband about my water breaking, see if you can spot when I told him based on his heart rate monitor.

Twelve hours later with an epidural that I only benefitted from for less than 2 hours, I gave birth at 10pm. All things considered, I know I had a relatively easy birth since it was 12 hours from start to finish but it definitely didn't seem that easy while I was in the thick of it.

The COVID restrictions were tough, I was only allowed one companion who could not leave during my stay. That meant only my husband could be with me while the rest of my family had to wait. We wore masks during the process, though my husband and I were allowed to take them off while we were alone in the room. While I had been dealing with the restrictions during the entire pregnancy (my husband wasn't allowed at ANY of my prenatal appointments), it seemed more difficult not to share in the moment with my family there.

The beginning was also rough because he had jaundice, a tongue tie that was revised, poor latching despite the revision resulting in me exclusively pumping, and now torticollis (tight neck muscle) which contributed to a flat spot on the left side of his head. Leo's almost four months old but I'm feeling like it's only now that I feel like my head is above water and I have time to do more than just feed him, change him, and put him to sleep.  It's all too easy to feel like I'm losing my sense of identity beyond just being a mother, especially as a first time mom but I'm thankful for the support I've been able to have. 

Sometimes I'm in disbelief that they let me go home with him but it's really been worth the hard nights (and poo diapers!)

How have you all been? I still have trouble writing and typing 2021.

Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lip Colours: Swatches and Review

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a long overdue review on the Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lip Colours in Velvet Fawn and Velvet Muse. I've been watching Lisa Eldridge for many years now and I felt so keen to support her/her launch. I'll be honest with myself and admit that a majority of the appeal behind these lipsticks are because they're by Lisa, because they're rather expensive and can be harder to get since they only restock in Autumn/Winter so I wanted to get this post up before the restock/preorder (and new launches) tomorrow October 3rd at 1600 GMT (or 8am PST/11am EST if you're in the Americas) with both the lipstick and new Gloss Embrace shipping on the 19th.

I know talking about traditional lipsticks while we're still wearing face masks seems out of place but honestly the downtime from both the pandemic and my pregnancy gave me a ton more opportunity to wear makeup at home, even when I'm not going anywhere or needing to be on any kind of online meeting.

Still, I wanted to share my thoughts especially since they're an expensive purchase! 

Belatedly Sharing Some Good News

If you've been following me on social media, then this news isn't new but I realized I didn't share it here. I'm expecting a special someone (boy) in November 2020 (assuming they come right on time and not too early!!).

It's been quite a trying time managing my pregnancy while also being in the middle of a pandemic. I don't quite know how much more of my pregnancy I'll share here on the blog (likely it'll be on social media) and also not sure of how much I'll be sharing of the baby. I hope to continue writing more blog posts, a few are in the works!

Black Friday/Christmas 2019 Makeup and Skincare Haul

I Purchased This Gift

Hey everyone!

For my first post of 2020, I thought I would share the items I got from Black Friday and for Christmas. I used gift cards for pretty much all of my Black Friday purchases so it was much easier to justify and they were items I had been thinking about but waited for the sale + gift cards. I also took the time to make repurchases on products I already knew I liked.

Makeup

From Persona Cosmetics, I purchased the Identity eyeshadow palette (after hearing great things from Mandy Everly), an Eye Pencil in Bronze, and a Lipgloss in Shortcake (I've loved their gloss formula). From Colourpop I got a single eyeshadow in Come and Get It. From Glossier, I got the Brow Flick in Brown and Pro Tip eyeliner. My big indulgence was from Victoria Beckham Beauty with the Lid Lustre in Mink (a hybrid cream-powder eyeshadow). I got the Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eyeshadow in Smoke (so beautiful!!) and the Kaja Beauty Lookin' like a Snack gift set of four products as Christmas gifts.

Skincare

In terms of skincare, the majority of items were from Fourth Ray Beauty (Colourpop's sister skincare brand) in addition to Peach and Lily and Glossier (not pictured). From Fourth Ray Beauty, I got the Later Hater Spot Treatment, Soak It Up face mask, and The Big Detox face mask (a repurchase). From Peach and Lily, I got the Super Reboot Resurfacing Mask. I purchased two back ups of the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser but couldn't be bothered to put it in the photo. I'm all about the masks lately and was happy to stock up on The Big Detox, try out the Soak It Up mask as like an overnight mask, and the Peach and Lily to help with skin texture.

I've already tried most of these things out and hope to share some makeup looks or thoughts on the products!

What did you get for Black Friday/Christmas/during the Holidays?

Saying hello again.

Hey everyone,

It's been quite a while since my last blog post. I had a lot of plans this year for the blog (especially in terms of consistency) that didn't really happen. There were a lot of reasons but the simplest answer is that I've been in a funk and I just needed a bit of a break from makeup and blogging in general plus I started going to the gym/focusing on my health (which eats up a lot of time of free time if you're going several days a week after work). 

Honestly this post by Bad Outfit, Great Lipstick is spot on why I stepped away from blogging (feeling less creative, acknowledging the impact of fast makeup/consumerism, changes in readership, etc). A big factor was also that I stopped shopping as much and so it felt hard to write without "material". I'm not quite at a place where I want to give up blogging, but I definitely think I needed the time to think about my hobbies and what I want to enjoy doing. Blogging has changed in the years since I've started and I'm not exactly sure where I fit in as a result.

I probably would have continued ignoring the blog if not for two major life events. First, I ended up moving to a new apartment. While the apartment is in the same complex, that still meant I had to pack my belongings/makeup in order to move. 

Secondly, right before I was moving, my dad ended up going to the hospital and required heart surgery over Thanksgiving weekend. It was the best and worst time for stress shopping because I definitely wanted to do shop to cope while all these companies were doing sales. My routine felt incredibly out of wack since I took time off work to spend time at the hospital. When I was at home and I started to unpack, looking through my things helped me rediscover what I did like about makeup and feel like just doing my makeup could give a sense of control over something in my life. 

My dad's better now but I know things are going to be different for a while due to his health so I feel like my makeup will be a nice comfort for me if only because I can wear what I want and also remove it at the end of the day. 

So this is me saying hi again. I don't know when I'll be writing again but just to say that I hope to have more words down in the future.

Thanks for reading.

EM Cosmetics True Gloss in Magic Hour and Secret Blush: Swatches and Review

I Purchased This

Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of the EM Cosmetics True Glosses in Magic Hour and Secret Blush. I first heard about these glosses from EmilyNoel83 and she absolutely raved about them. I mentioned recently that I'm way into glosses over liquid lipsticks (the comfort!!) and these seemed up my alley.

I had to chance to go to one of their Pop Up Shops so I was able to swatch the colors I was interested in in person and I got these two which are their more "neutral shades"; I'm hoping they will expand the range since it's really geared towards brighter reds and pinks. I feel like the brand interests me in the same way that Persona Cosmetics does; they do smaller releases on a slower schedule so the entire brand feels very curated.
 

I have more swatches and a review of the colors...

Glossier Brow Flick vs. Ardell Stroke a Brow: Review, Swatches, and Comparison

I Purchased This Affiliate Link

Hey everyone!

Today I have a review and comparison of the Glossier Brow Flick to the Ardell Stroke a Brow. I learned about the Ardell Stroke a Brow from Katie Jane Hughes and seeing how well the product worked on her. Soon after I got the Ardell, I found out that Glossier was going to be coming out with their own liquid brow pen though it was unclear when it would actually launch. Considering Ardell Stroke a Brow was a staple product of Katie Jane Hughes and how she collaborated with Glossier with Brow Flick, I thought it'd be useful to compare it to the two.

I have the Ardell Stroke a Brow in Soft Black and the Glossier Brow Flick in Black.

I tried to be as in depth as possible and have included swatches, compared the packaging, pricing, and tested the wear. Continue for more information...

Persona Cosmetics Season One Lip Gloss: Swatches and Review

I Purchased This Affiliate Links

Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of the Persona Cosmetics Season One Lip Glosses in Peach, Honey, and Toffee. Persona Cosmetics is a brand that was founded by Sona Gasparian, a Youtuber and Beauty Blogger. I remember being introduced to the brand by Mandy Everley after she praised their Identity Eyeshadow Palette. I thought the brand was particularly interesting because many of their products are geared to flatter brown eyes. Of course you can use their products regardless of your eye color but it's rather nice to think of a brand recognizing that brown eyes don't get as much love.

I rather like their release schedule and how they take their time between launches so it feels like a very curated brand. I think it's easy to get lost when brands are releasing a new product every week so seeing how Persona has adding and expanding their range is rather refreshing. The Season One Lip Glosses are the first set of lip glosses that the brand has released. I'm hoping that by calling it Season One that they'll release more colors in the future. 

I'm really feeling lip glosses lately and so many other brands are too. Gone is the popularity of long lasting but uncomfortable products, I'm happy to see a renaissance of lip gloss even if it's not long lasting. I was really drawn into the colors and the formula of these glosses.

Continue to read my review and see swatches!

Wet N Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Creme Eyeshadow: Swatches and Review

I Purchased This Affiliate Links

Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of Wet N Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Creme Eyeshadows. I made a big purchase on Wet N Wild's website after seeing a whole bunch of their stuff reviewed by Bailey/DailyBaileyB on YouTube. I haven't been keeping up with Wet N Wild but their website makes it way easier for me than in the old days where you'd have to go to multiple stores to find the product range. This launch in particular really caught my eye because while there are lots of shimmery liquid eyeshadows out there, there aren't that many matte cream shadows at an affordable price.

Did these live up to my expectations? Click through to read my review and see swatches!

Glossier Play Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate in Pale Pearl: Swatch and Review

I Purchased This Referral Link

Hey everyone!

Today is part two of my Glossier Play review with my thoughts on the Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate. I'm not surprised that they came out with a liquid highlighter yet I also feel like it was quite a safe decision for a brand that decided it had to create a whole new side brand for their brighter color cosmetics. I get a real 70s disco vibe from Glossier Play though I do feel like the type of products released seem boring despite how cool and colorful the brand imagery is.

Still, I wanted to see what the highlighter was all about so I picked up the lightest shade, Pale Pearl. I figured it'd be interesting to see how it compares their stick highlighter Haloscope.

Click through to read my review and see swatches on the highlighter!

Glossier Play Colorslide Technogel Eye Pencil: Swatches and Review

I Purchased This Referral Link

Hey everyone!

If you're familiar with my blog, you'll know that I own and have reviewed a ton of Glossier products. Boy Brow is my staple brow gel and I've gone through more bottles of Milky Jelly Cleanser than I can even remember. Glossier is well known for their effortless no-makeup makeup vibe so it's not a huge surprise that they would create a side brand, Glossier Play, for their more adventurous makeup launches.

Glossier Play is described as a brand of "dialed up beauty extras". In hindsight, I should have realized they were planning to venture into brighter color cosmetics after they launched their Milky Oil makeup remover. After all, not much in the original Glossier line required heavy duty makeup removing but the Glossier Play line has more colorful products.

I have lots of thoughts on Glossier and Glossier Play as a concept but it would take up way too many words in this blog post so I'll keep my thoughts to myself for another time. Today I have a review on two Glossier Play Colorslide Technogel Eye Pencils. Let's get to it!

Click through to see swatches and read my review!

Project Pan/Reverse Rouge Progress and Empties: January 2019

I Purchased This

Hey everyone!

Today I wanted to go over the progress I've made with my Project Pan/Reverse Rouge and show any empties I've used up in the month. A bunch of my fellow beauty bloggers/Youtubers are also doing Project Pans so I've linked to their posts also. Feel free to check them out! 

After my first post, I realized I forgot to show you how I plan on tracking my progress. I am borrowing a tip I saw from Kaily Baute to use a sharpie to mark on the sides of the bottle or packaging and it's an easy visual cue to mark progress.

I haven't made much progress on the four items I picked, so I decided not to take a new photo to mark. Here are my empties of the month though and how much they added towards my Reverse Rouge (goal of using up $1000.00 worth of beauty products.

Bath and Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand Soap: I got this on sale during a deal, I believe 5 for $23.00 so finishing one is worth about $4.60.
Glossier Boy Brow. Though there's still product in the tube, I'm considering it an empty because it's old and has gotten too goopy to use. $16.00
L'oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Waterproof. This is past the three month mark and needs to be tossed. $6.69 since I bought it at Target
Clean and Clear Persa Gel $4.99 since I bought it at Target.

All told, I used up $32.28. Only $967.72 to meet my Reverse Rouge goal! It's not much in the grand scheme of things but I'm happy to see myself actually use up products.

Be sure to check out my fellow beauty bloggers/Youtubers' posts and videos on their empties/project pans!

Beauty Info Zone - http://beautyinfozone.com/beauty/what-does-marcia-actually-use-up-an-empty-post-of-sorts/
Confessions of a Makeup Addict - https://www.nikmakeupjunkie.com/2019/01/project-pan-2019.html
CosmetopiaDigest - https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmetopiadigest
Glamorable - http://www.glamorable.com
Honeygirl's World - https://youtu.be/1mmQ278RVKI
Laugh, Love, Contour - http://www.laughlovecontour.com/2019/01/the-great-purge-and-project-pan.html
Never Say Die Beauty - http://www.neversaydiebeauty.com
Polarbelle - https://youtu.be/spO6oivPWtI
Southeast by Midwest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kTTKWq1Ys4

Are you participating in a Project Pan or Reverse Rouge? If so, how much progress have you made?

Glossier Generation G: New vs. Old Formula Swatches, Review, and Comparison

I Purchased This Affiliate Link

Hey everyone!

As the title suggests, I'm going to be talking about Glossier's latest reformulation of their Glossier Generation G's, their sheer matte lipstick. This is the third formulation of the Generation G's and along with a tweak to one of the shades (Leo), there's been a long asked for update to the packaging and formula. I have the second formulation and packaging and got the new formula to compare.

Interested in reading the comparison? Click through to read more!

Project Pan/Reverse Rouge Challenge 2019: Introduction and Staying Accountable

I Purchased This

Hey everyone!

I hope you had a great New Years! To start the year off right and to be more aware of my consumption, I'm setting a Project Pan/Reverse Rouge Challenge for myself. If you're not familiar, a Project Pan is a challenge to "pan" or finish up products (the term comes from using a product up until you see the silver pan at the bottom of the packaging). Reverse Rouge is a project that can coincide with a Project Pan where the goal is to use up $1000.00 worth of product (a play on Sephora's VIB Rouge status achieved once you BUY $1000.00 worth of product). Credit goes to Elle S for coming up with the Reverse Rouge concept.

I've started thinking about consumerism and sustainability in terms of my makeup collection and consumption so that inspired this challenge. The overabundance of plastics, single-use products in non-recyclable packaging, etc is something I'm hoping to reduce from now on.

Click through for more information on what items I'm using in the Project Pan!

Cirque Colors Rose Quartz Nail Polish - Swatch and Review

I Purchased This

Hey everyone! 

I hope you had a wonderful time during the holidays with your family! I wanted to share my thoughts on Cirque Colors Rose Quartz Nail Polish that I bought during Black Friday. I was growing out my nails for my wedding and during the process I started getting back into nail polish. I'd been following Cirque for a while but never bought anything so Black Friday seemed like perfect timing.

Cirque Rose Quartz. This is described as a "sheer milky pink nail polish with sparkling holographic flakes". Cirque says this is opaque in 2-3 coats. I have a longer free edge so I find it's mostly opaque at three coats due to the sheer formula, it'd probably be look more opaque if you have a shorter nail. The holographic flakes add a wonderful depth but some of the larger flakes don't always lay flat so you might need to use the brush to encourage it to lay down. The nail polish does dry semi matte so it benefits from a top coat to add back the shine. It's a thin formula that levels fairly well, I also get excellent wear time from it but I tend to with my longer nails.

I will admit that I didn't realize how much smaller the bottle is compared to other brands. Cirque doesn't list the size on their website (unless I'm not looking in the right place) so I assumed it was 15 mL/0.5 oz like most brands. It's actually about 3/4ths the size of your usual nail polish bottle (11 mL/0.37 oz). Regardless, it's a beautiful formula and I've already worn it for several weeks straight.

The polish is $12.00 from Cirque Colors. They do have other vendors if you don't want to buy directly from their website.

What nail polish have you been enjoying lately?

The Makeup Show LA 2018: Announcement, Exhibitors, and Show Features

Hey everyone!

First off, Happy Halloween! I hope you have a wonderful time if you're celebrating the holiday.

It's that time of the year again for The Makeup Show LA! This trade show open for professionals and aspiring artists working/studying in the beauty, hair, fashion, and photography industry. Credentials are required. The show is from November 10th - November 11th.

Advance ticket rates are one day tickets for $45.00 and two day tickets for $62.00. Ticket prices at the door are $55.00 for one day tickets and $72.00 for two day tickets.

Show Features

Education

The entire list of keynotes, workshops, and seminars are available online but here are some highlights of ones that I find really interesting. The keynotes and seminars are included in your ticket while the All Day Hands on Workshops are extra and allow for a more intimate learning opportunity. I also love that there are workshops in Spanish to meet the needs of the industry.

All Day Workshops

Friday November 9 features three hands on workshops only, the show itself does not start until November 10th. November 10th and 11th mixes in workshops, keynotes, and seminars within the trade show.

The workshops require you to bring their own brush set and the cost is in addition to your ticket price.

Some workshops available are

• The Perfect Bride: Friday November 09 from 10:00am - 6:00pm with Bethany Townes. $300.00. This workshop is for those interested in learning about and perfecting bridal makeup artistry. 
• Elementos Esenciales del Maquillaje: Friday November 09 from 10:00AM - 6:00pm with Paloma Romo. $300.00. This workshop is an introduction to the professional makeup artistry. It focuses on all aspects of makeup application and be able to practice their techniques. This workshop will be conducted in Spanish. 
• Red Carpet Beauty and Beyond: Saturday November 10 from 1:30pm - 4:30 pm from Yvonne MacInnis $140.00. This workshop is focused on special event makeup and the art of having makeup be long lasting while looking good on camera and in person. 
• Beautiful Skin of Color: Sunday November 11 from 1:00pm - 4:00pm with Danessa Myricks. $140.00. This workshop provides education on the skills needed to work on different skintones and complexion, foundation matching, color matching, and overall how to meet the needs of clients of color.

Keynotes

There are many keynotes available during the show, here are a few that I thought looked particularly interesting

• Beauty Mark: Making An Impact in Artistry: Saturday November 10 from 12:00pm - 1:30pm with Miss Fame. 
• Image Influence: Saturday November 10 from 1:45pm - 3:15pm with Jordan Liberty
• A Beauty Career: Sunday November 11 from 2:00pm - 3:30pm with Damone Roberts 

Seminars

There are too many seminars to choose from, definitely check out the list online!

Exhibitors

There are over 75 brands attending the show giving you the opportunity to try out many brands you might only be able to find online. Here are some picks: Ardell Lashes, Besame Cosmetics, Bioderma, Danessa Myricks Beauty, Hakuhodo, Hourglass, Miss Fame Beauty, and Smith Cosmetics

Icon Gallery

In honor of Maurice Stein, founder of Cinema Secrets and a formidable makeup artist in his own right, The Makeup Show LA will have a gallery of his work from different periods in his life.

Shopping Hour

On Sunday November 11 from 9:00am - 10:30am, The Makeup Show will be having a "First Look" viewing and doorbuster pricing from the exhibitors! Brands will be having a special deal so it's worth checking out each booth on Sunday!

Talent Casting

The Makeup Show will be hosting its first ever talent casting for The Look: All Stars. The Look: All Stars is a reality competition TV Show where makeup artists, fashion stylists, and hairstylists work together to create makeovers. The show premiered last year and they are looking for more talent for the next season! The casting is both on Saturday November 10th and Sunday November 11th from 11am to 4pm. If interested, attendees are required to bring their bio, headshots, and portfolio showcasing their work to the lounge area of the show.

I'll be attending the show on Saturday November 10th because the next day I'm getting married!!! I hope you have a great time if you're able to attend the show.