Bubblegum Spring Makeup & Giveaway

It's been such amazing spring-like weather here recently, so I was in the mood to create a really fun and colorful look for the upcoming season. Somehow these colors remind me of candy or bubblegum! You be the judge...

Keep reading to see more, and watch my video tutorial how to achieve this look!

Kryolan Re-Launch in London

Last week I attended the Kryolan re-launch event in London. If you've never heard of Kryolan, they are one of the few left remaining brands made specifically for the professional makeup artist. Their products cater to a variety of needs: fashion, beauty, theater, special effects, body painting, and film and TV. They are largely unknown to the end-consumer, as their brand is not marketed as commercially as other brands, which are geared more toward consumers. Hopefully this will change!

The brand has existed for over 65 years, and offers over 16,000 products. Yes, you read that correctly - everything from nailpolish, to fake blood, liquid latex, eyeshadows, lipsticks and more. Their products have now been newly repackaged, their first redesign since 1995, and finally a worldwide online shop and new homepage is set to launch this November.

You can see my video from the event and my escapades in London below.

Some more pictures from the event. Photography credit here goes to David Short and Gary Nunn.

The last picture is of the new packaging, which is honestly not a massive change and I'm not sure if I even like it all that much. The actual products are still packaged the same, I think they changed more the cardboard boxes. So the actual "redesign" was a tad underwhelming, as hyped up as it had been.

At the event we were shown some promotional videos about the brand and it's specialties, and the founding family Langer gave some insight into it's new slogan "Makeup is a Science". The idea behind it is that their makeup is created by scientists, who are always striving to make improvements on a scientific level to the products. Then models circulated the room, each model showcasing one of their strong-points, such as theater, film, etc.

I have to say the event was a tad underwhelming. I like Kryolan products very much, but the actual presentation to the media and press lacked the "wow" factor. As a Blogger I've attended many events like this one, and from a prestigious brand like Kryolan I expected a bit more. It would have been great to see the artists in action on a model, to see how the products actually performed. Maybe a live body painting? (The picture of the body painting was taken before the event was open to the media.) Or a demonstration of some basic steps taken in the lab, something that I've always wanted to know more about - how is a lipstick actually manufactured? Or an eyeshadow? The actual presentation was a bit short, and also no mention was made at all of the launch of their new website. We had to find that out on our own.

However, I do think the products are really good and moderately priced, so hopefully the new website will make them more accessible to the public. Especially to those of you who have always asked me where to buy Kryolan, since I use their products in my videos. Apparently their online shop will offer worldwide shipping of their entire catalogue of products, so it will be a lot easier to get your hands on the products, which used to be a bit hard to find, depending on where you live.

Have you tried any Kryolan products before? Let me know in the comments!

Kryolan.com

Kryolan Spring / Summer 2012: Tangible Goddess Collection

Kryolan has quickly become one of my favorite makeup brands as of late. Their line is focused on professional grade products that can be used for photo shoots and on a consumer level. Their packaging is simple, no gimmicks, nothing fancy, just user friendly and easy to use without a lot of bulk. Just the way I like it. The only thing I find confusing is their labeling and color names - some have names, some have numbers, which makes no sense.

Here are some of the pieces from their spring/summer Tangible Goddess collection. Corals, oranges and peaches are a strong trend for the season.

Clockwise from top left:
Professional Eye Shadow Trio Set Matte "Goddess" (Colors Bamboo, F 06, Flamingo)
Lipstick LF401
Eyebrow Powder Medium
Cream Lines in Ebony
Eyelash Adhesive
Lashes TV5
HD Micro Foundation Cache 200
Dermacolor Light Mascara in Black
HD Microsilk Powder MSP11

Here are some swatches and further products:

The eyeshadow trio contains three colors (beige, orange, pink) and all are very well pigmented and have a matte finish.

Matte Blush in Color 926 is a medium beige-peach tone.

Eyebrow Powder in Medium

Lipstick in LF401: a natural rosy peach in a satin finish that goes on very creamy and feels nice

I haven't tested all the products yet besides swatching, but am looking forward to seeing how they perform and look in my videos. I can definitely see myself reaching for the lipstick color often, as it's such a wearable and flattering shade. The blush also looks really beautiful and perfect for fair to medium toned skin.

The question I get most frequently when I show Kryolan products is: Where can I buy it? This is the hardest question to answer because Kryolan has made it fairly difficult for end consumers to easily purchase their products, something I really wish they would change. As Kryolan is a German brand, it is more easily available there and they have some Kryolan stores in larger cities (I have shopped several times at their Berlin store near Ku'Damm), but if you live in other countries, you best bet is to check on their website and see the contact details for their distributor and find out from there where it is sold in your area. There is no universal website where you can order from online. Kryolan is sometimes sold in beauty supply stores or stores that sell professional lines, and at makeup trade shows. One reliable USA shop I know is camerareadycosmetics.com, otherwise you will have to find local suppliers in your area.

Products sent for consideration by Kryolan.