Key takeaways
- Celebrity makeup artists emphasized finesse and product knowledge as the core of professional makeup application across different styles and skin types.
- K-beauty dominated booth experiences with hydration-focused masks and targeted cleansing formulas, attracting repeat visits from attendees.
- Brow shaping and hair technique require specific principles: darker pigment on brow ends and strategic claw-clip styling for professional results.
- Dermatology expertise became integrated into the beauty event, from Botox and filler consultations to on-site microdermabrasion treatments.
On October 18, 2026, Allure’s fourth annual Best of Beauty Live brought approximately 1,500 attendees to a Lower Manhattan venue near the Financial District. The event spanned from 11 a.m. through evening sessions, with editor in chief Jessica Cruel opening the programming. Despite overcast weather and muted outdoor tones, the day celebrated color and innovation across skincare, makeup, hair, and fragrance, sending guests home with four separate gift bags filled with award-winning products.
K-Beauty Innovation Takes Center Stage
Korean beauty brands commanded significant real estate and demonstrated why they have become essential in contemporary routines.
Hydration-Focused Formulas
Laneige led with Robby Ramsarran’s “Meet Your Milky Hydration Match” session, highlighting the brand’s eye mask collection alongside a new lip mask that allowed color swirling—an interactive element attendees appreciated for its texture and playfulness. Several guests kept Laneige eye masks on throughout the day as an unofficial badge of honor.
Targeted Treatments and Cleansing
Beauty of Joseon offered hands-on shade matching for its Tinted Mineral Dayscreen while distributing the Best of Beauty-winning Ginseng Cleansing Oil. The brand’s approach combined color consultation with product sampling to help attendees understand fit for their skin.
Community-Driven Experience
Amazon’s K-Beauty Experience provided trend exploration, skin analysis featuring editors from Allure Korea, and professional guidance. Multiple attendees cited this booth’s skin analysis among their day’s highlights, and the layered approach to discovering new products felt less transactional than typical vendor booths.
Celebrity Makeup Artists Share Techniques
The makeup sessions attracted crowds eager to learn from professionals who work at the highest level of the industry.
Creating Looks for Night
Makeup artist Marcelo Gutierrez, fresh from a Madonna shoot, demonstrated fall makeup during a Salon session. He created smokey-out lids sealed with the 3D Hydra Lipgloss—a sultry finish designed for nights out. Gutierrez brought levity to the teaching: when attendees tapped excess product off brushes in unison during the demo, he laughed and noted the collective sound amounted to “great ASMR.”
Longevity and Professional Setting
Jerry Johnson led “Set Your Look,” teaching makeup-setting techniques using Laura Mercier’s translucent powder and setting spray. Johnson’s instruction included targeted under-eye application—essential for anyone planning evening events who wants makeup to withstand hours of wear without creasing or fading.
Eyeliner for Multiple Styles
Makeup artist Karol Rodriguez, who has collaborated with Ice Spice and Ciara Miller, demoed Wonderskin’s 1440 Longwear Eyeliner during “Longwear Eye Looks, Two Ways.” Rodriguez emphasized that makeup artistry isn’t gatekept: “Makeup artists are no different than regular people. We don’t hold a pencil any differently than you do. We just really know how to finesse.” She showed how the eyeliner formula adapted to different makeup aesthetics and application methods, making it accessible to attendees of varying skill levels.
Saie’s head of artistry, Shain Kish, introduced “The Signature SaieGlow” with a personal story about replacing teenage Britney Spears posters with grizzly bears before walking through a glow-focused base makeup tutorial modeled on Allure content director Sophia Panych.
Dermatology Meets Aesthetics
Professional skincare stations and medical consultations occupied significant floor space, reflecting growing interest in informed aesthetic choices. SkinSpirit providers offered consultations for Botox and Juvéderm lip filler, with many attendees receiving their first neuromodulator treatment during the event. DiamondGlow provided on-site microdermabrasion on hands, allowing guests to observe immediate texture improvements.
EltaMD hosted a game-day-themed booth featuring board-certified dermatologist Dustin Portela, DO, who offered personalized skin consultations and makeup reapplication tips for staying camera-ready throughout events. La Roche-Posay emphasized dark-spot correction with its Mela B3 line, including the Double Dose Discoloration Treatment, allowing guests to understand targeted approaches to hyperpigmentation.
Hair Expertise and Brow Mastery
French Twists and Strategic Clips
The Hair Edit transformed strands into French twists and chignons using the award-winning Gilded Ellipse Flat Lay Claw Clip. Wella provided Ultimate Repair 5-in-1 Leave-In and color touch-ups, while Rizos Curls offered textured-hair consultations paired with product demonstrations, including the Heat Protection Multivitamin Leave-In that left one guest exclaiming about its scent.
Brow Shaping Principles
Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills, shared brow-shaping techniques during “Mastering the Perfect Brow.” She offered a specific principle: eyebrows should be darker on the ends than at the front—a detail that changes the entire impact of a face and is applicable across all skin tones.
Supermodel Blowouts
ColorWow’s Giles Robinson demonstrated the Dream Coat Supernatural Spray for instant defrizz before walking attendees through achieving runway-ready blowouts. By the session’s end, the demo model appeared polished enough to walk down a runway, and Robinson brought high energy throughout the class.
Fragrance, Nails, and Interactive Stations
Octavia Morgan Fragrances featured its Best of Beauty-winning Vanillin Supreme, offering fragrance-layering consultations where guests could engrave personalized bottles after exploring different scent combinations. Glamnetic provided professional press-on application tips and fresh manicures for attendees’ hands and gift bags. Rose and Ben Beauty, led by 2026 Allure Readers’ Choice Top Beauty Creator Rose Siard, demystified color correction—the essential step for neutralizing skin undertones before base makeup application.
Allure’s Community Celebrations
The Allure Red Carpet, positioned beside L’Oreal Paris booths offering touch-ups, provided professional photography opportunities with other attendees. An Allure Beauty Box activation featured a Wheel of Fortune-style spin for free yearly subscriptions, paired with exclusive cream-colored canvas totes featuring red accents. At the Allure Winners: Pick a Card counter, oversized playing cards corresponded to product quantities, adding chance and surprise to the giveaway experience.
BeautyStat founder Ron Robinson, making his first Best of Beauty appearance, observed the depth of attendee engagement: “You see people going up, asking what ingredients are in the products, what the latest innovations are. So it feels richer in dialogue than a traditional beauty convention.”
As afternoon shifted to evening, attendees departed with four separate tote bags—evidence of the day’s breadth—their hair teased, lids sparkling, and lips lacquered. The event delivered on its implicit promise: color, education, and community connection amid Lower Manhattan’s typically austere architecture.
Source: Allure
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where did Allure's Best of Beauty Live 2026 take place?
Allure's fourth annual Best of Beauty Live was held on October 18, 2026, in Lower Manhattan, drawing approximately 1,500 attendees to a subterranean venue near the Financial District.
What specific brow-shaping principle did Anastasia Soare share at the event?
Anastasia Soare advised that eyebrows should be darker on the ends than at the front—a principle that changes the overall impact of the face.
Which makeup techniques did Marcelo Gutierrez and Karol Rodriguez demonstrate?
Marcelo Gutierrez demonstrated smokey-out lids sealed with 3D Hydra Lipgloss for nighttime wear, while Karol Rodriguez showed how Wonderskin's 1440 Longwear Eyeliner adapts to different makeup aesthetics and application methods.
