The Beauty Show 2024

The 20th and 21st of September brought the arrival of The Beauty Show Live to London. Packed with special guests and products galore it was the perfect event for all beauty professionals and enthusiasts. 

Thanks to Marie Claire Who What Wear and Woman&Home magazine, I received a VIP invite on Friday the 20th, and as a beauty writer and product junkie, I couldn’t say no. 

The Business Design Centre, London, was the perfect venue for this event. Its grade 2 open-plan design meant you could explore everything the beauty show offered. As well as the 3 main stages for talks and presentations there were stacks of skincare, cosmetic and lifestyle exhibitors to visit. In addition, we were offered a complimentary treatment of our choice, a free glass of bubbly, use of the VIP lounge and a VIP beauty box packed with products worth £365! 

As a 40-plus woman, I was delighted to find that the show had so much to offer to a woman of my age. The entire event allowed me to feel seen, and this was refreshing. So much of the beauty industry, especially online, seems targeted at younger women and of course, younger women need that space too. 

Beauty and skincare legends like Caroline Hirons and Nadine Baggot shared their expertise during insightful talks at the Maire Claire mainstage and although I’m already an avid follower of both, I learnt so much more about the industry and the best products on the market. 

When Caroline Hirons took to the stage, she was warmly welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd of skincare lovers of all ages. As the founder of Skin Rocks and a fully trained advanced aesthetician, what Caroline doesn’t know about skincare isn’t worth knowing. Caroline has worked in the beauty industry for over 35 years, written two books on the subject and gained an Instagram following of over 750K.  

Caroline’s no-nonsense approach to skincare shone through as she chatted about her journey, myths about skincare, product knowledge and recommendations. As one of the beauty industry consumers, I’m often overwhelmed by the amount of information available. Caroline explained that 

Additional skincare tips from Caroline included:

• Don’t smoke - the effects of smoking can last a lifetime on the face as well as the body.
• Stay hydrated.
• Invest in good quality products with active ingredients that you can include mid-routine, 
• Never save excellent products for best. In her words ‘get them on your face!’
• SPF is your best friend when preventing wrinkles and, ageing and cancer. 

Shortly after we had listened to Caroline Hirons, Nadine Baggot joined the main stage with a personal haul of budget-friendly product recommendations. I’ve followed Nadine’s work online for many years, and I love her scientific and evidence-backed approach to skincare. 

Nadine explained that everything you need can be found in high street chemists like Superdrug and Boots, and you should never be putting skincare products on your credit card - simply because there is no need. She agreed that most people feel that the market is now saturated with products and making decisions on what to buy is challenging. The joy of listening to Nadine recommend products is that she not only knows what works, but why. Helping skincare lovers make informed decisions. 

Nadine's product recommendations included:

• Cerave Cleansers 
• The Ordinary Glycolipid Cream Cleaner 
• Geek and Gorgeous Vitamin C-Glow 
• Naturism Retinol Complex Serum
• No7 Future Renew
• The Inky List Bioactive Ceremide Moisturiser 
• Eucerin Factor 50 or 100 SPF

Nadine welcomed questions at the end of her talk, of which there were plenty. The audience wanted to make the most of her knowledge! 

Ateh Jewel, Dr Jason Thomson and Sophie Van Ettinger hosted an event from And Begin which I found particularly interesting, especially as a former user of Skin and Me. I was aware of the brand via social media but had no idea it was the sister of Skin and Me aimed at women with more mature skin. This prescription skincare is the way forward for those who not only want to use a product specifically for them but it eliminates the need for multiple products.  

I also found myself at a talk from The Perfume Shop, and although perfume isn’t a huge personal interest Rebecca Reynolds and Gergely Markus from The Perfume Shop gave us an informative overview of ‘What’s New in Fragrance’. Although fragrance isn’t an area of particular interest to me, I learnt so much about the elements that make a good fragrance, what’s popular and how to layer fragrance for it to last longer.  

The Beauty Show is set to return next year, from the 19th to the 20th of September 2025. With more celebrity skincare chats, free treatments and of course, a beauty box. I’m looking forward to seeing what The Beauty Show has to offer next time around.