Make-up artists gather to hone the craft, offer a peek into fall trends

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The International Make-up Artists Trade Show at the Pasadena Convention Center over the weekend was a celebration of makeup in all its art forms, from the art of applying lipstick in front of your bathroom mirror to the art of creating fantastic creatures for film, such as Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter in ‘Alice in Wonderland.’

If Capt. Kirk himself had been beamed into the show’s center aisle, he would have found 10-foot-tall blue Avatars to befriend, strumpet cyborgs, brooding catwalk models, a 1980s perfectly over-the-top bride replete with tri-color neon eyeshadow and gargoyles ready for hand-to-hand combat.

While professional makeup artists attended classes and discussed hot topics (such as techniques to use when making actors up for unforgiving high-definition TV), throngs of people cued up in lines that wound down and around aisles to buy makeup products at a discount, and some of the biggest crowds were at the MAC, Makeup Forever and NYX tables where people bought products by the basketful.

Emmy Award-winning make-up artist Michael Key created Makeup Artist magazine in 1996 and founded the first annual International Make-Up Artist Trade Show in August 1997. “It’s a celebration of all things makeup,” Key said. The shows are held in several cities around the world, and he estimated that more than 9,000 people attended the Pasadena event. Professional makeup artists were there in full force, but so were non-professionals looking for the latest trends. “In part because of the growing popularity of YouTube makeup videos, the number of non-professional beauty junkies in attendance has soared,” Key said.
They got some peeks into fall/winter 2010 makeup trends. A hint as to what you’ll be wearing come holiday season? Think luxe. Bye-bye neutral gloss, hello rich, red lipstick and skin as sumptuous looking as an expensive cashmere sweater. Even if you can’t afford a rich, extravagant lifestyle, on planet makeup a $1 pair of false eyelashes and mastery of just the right blush technique buys entry to this fantasy or any other fantasy of your choosing.

-- Alene Dawson