One of the longest lines of the day began at the feet of Danessa Myricks, the makeup artist and 2023 recipient of Best Blush (Cream, Compact). “I saw some of these faces a few weeks ago,” she said, fresh off of a retailer’s beauty event. “But the vibe is different here. There’s an intimacy.” She looked around, wordlessly acknowledging the irony of an “intimate” gathering of 1,000 strangers, but almost all of them were tightly engaged in conversation with someone else, smiling, laughing, maybe about cream blush. “Spending a day with the Allure community IRL is a dream come true,” said Allure editor-in-chief Jessica Cruel. “The Allure team is so passionate about bringing our audience the best — the best expert advice, the best products, the best reporting on the most complicated beauty questions — and to see that passion reflected back at this event feels magical.”
Another room hosted a range of discussions throughout the day, with names like See The Science (transformative hair makeovers with Nexxus and hairstylist Lacy Redway) and Beautiful As You Are (brought to you by AARP). Along with Cruel, LOVED01 founder John Legend and dermatologist Naana Boakye shared an engaging conversation about the future of inclusive skin care; later, Cruel chatted about the stigmas surrounding injectables on the Xeomin Beauty On Your Own Terms panel. “When I was coming up as a beauty editor, it was all about getting someone else’s face, like, ‘Make me look like J.Lo.’” Cruel said to the audience. “These days, it’s not a look, but a feeling.”