Temperatures averaging 112 degrees may put off less-expert humans on the effects of humidity to one’s beauty regimen. But, for the tens of thousands of executives descending upon Las Vegas between July 28 and August 1 to attend the 16th edition of Cosmoprof North America, frizzy hair—don’t care! CEW landed in Sin City this past weekend to observe and report on the country’s largest beauty trade show, to share Who We Saw, What We learned and, yes, Where We Ate. Here, a day-by-day digest of what Andrea Nagel, VP of Content; Landree Bower, Senior Development Manager; Britney Turner, Marketing Assistant; and Jessica Caixiero, Events Assistant, saw, learned and consumed.
SATURDAY, JULY 28, 2018
Who We Saw
Cosmoprof kicked off per usual Saturday evening with not one, but two welcoming receptions. CEW attended the VIP version, held at Libertine Social within the Mandalay Bay Hotel, and our crew of four held court at a centrally-located cocktail table to view all guests coming and going. Attendees were a mix of new and familiar faces, including CEW Board member Daniela Ciocan, Director of Marketing for Cosmoprof North America, who was busy making introductions among the 300 or so guests. Also seen were Barbara Zinn Moore, whose said her Sunday morning educational panel was sold out and needed to be moved to a larger venue; Ada Polla, CEO of Swiss skin care brand, Alchimie Forever; Danya Klein, Vice President, Brand Relations & Partnerships, Preen.me, (who looked amazing despite being fresh off a plane from Paris via a connection in Detroit); Nadia Yousif, Brand Strategist; Marcia Gaynor, Consultant; and Katerina Larden Yoffe and Nisso Larden, Founders of Hey Honey. After an hour of air kisses and hellos, we were off to our next appointment: dinner.
What We Learned
Honestly, no one was talking shop yet. The welcome reception was more about “net-mingling” – seeing old friends, making plans to connect with those you didn’t know were attending the show and well, the outrageously valuable vouchers various airlines offered up since so many NYC-to-Vegas flights were oversold due to Cosmoprof. Case in point, one airline on early Saturday morning was offering a $4,000 voucher to three people willing to get into Vegas the following day. Viva Cosmoprof!
Where We Ate
In honor of the late Anthony Bourdain, CEW ventured off the Las Vegas Strip to Lotus of Siam, a well-known destination and restaurant in the city. It was one of the late chef’s favorite Sin City haunts, recognized for its authentic Northern Thai cuisine. After a 20-minute wait—despite reservations—our helpful waiter made several suggestions, including what was most popular, what we needed to try and what had been featured on Bourdain’s 2015 visit to the venue. Ultimately, dinner consisted of a mix of classic Northern and standard Thai fare, including Nam Kao Tod (crispy rice with sour cubed pork sausage), Nam Prik Noom (a spicy green chili dip), Chicken Sa-tay, Crispy Duck Penang, Garlic Prawn and Seafood Fried Rice. We were too full for dessert, so we headed back to the hotel, driven by a super friendly Uber driver, who joined in on our conversation/debate of how to best sweeten matcha tea without it becoming a 1,000 calorie beverage. Talk about an exciting kickoff to what lies ahead during the next few days at Cosmoprof!
