Generation Beauty 2017 (vs. 2016)

General Information

• Generation Beauty Attendee Tickets retail for $169 CAD, though tickets are much cheaper early bird deals and coupon codes. Tickets include a gift bag, brand sampling and access to exclusive discounts. 
• Attendees and creators are given the option to purchase  $40 CAD "early access" to visit booths starting at 10AM instead of 11AM. 
• Friday pre-registration starts at 5PM.
• Gift bag pick up was Saturday morning starting at 9AM.
• All attendees are provided with a lanyard, map and brand sheet. Each brand is crossed off by volunteers/exhibitors when you visit a booth. 
• Meetups occurred at several of the brand booths. Meetup lines are separate from product lines. 
• Sponsors are split between Diamond, Gold and Silver. Generally, Diamond sponsors had the largest line ups (30+ mins) but this was not indicative of the size of the sample. 
• Several (if not all) brands, had product for sale at a discounted price.
• Several (if not all) brands required some sort of social media follow or post for swag.

• Complimentary Creator Passes are provided to select members of IpsyOS.
• Friday "Creator Day" was held at a separate location with additional brand representatives and panels focused on content creation/influencer related content.
• Friday night cocktail party at the Thompson Hotel - the swag bag is received on this night.
• Saturday/Sunday concierge program - similar to last year, this is a tour featuring various brands which gives you the ability to jump the line and meet public relations and marketing reps for selected brands. 

• More organized.
• More informed volunteers.
• More brands. 
• Less waiting time.
• The North Building, instead of the South Building at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The North Building has more natural light, which is better for photos. 
• Michelle Phan attended both the creator and the general attendee days.
• Absence of some larger brands - i.e. Too Faced, Tarte, Make Up For Ever.
• The Qless app was supposed to be used for virtual line ups at Diamond Sponsors (MAC, Ciate, NYX, CoverGirl, Luxie, Smashbox) and meetups, but due to technical difficulties, it was not utilized. 

Product Gifting

To be conservative (and for simplicity's sake), I have applied a value of $0 to sample products. I was also lazy and did not convert some USD prices to CAD. Note that this only includes the booths that I visited (I missed out on some of the larger ones MAC, Luxie, 

The Swag Bag ($213 value): 

Brand	Wait Time	Product	Size	Retail Value
Absolute New York	N/A - did not visit, always long	? + cotton candy	?	?
Benefit	1 minute	BROWVO! Conditioning Primer	Mini	-
Briogeo	20 minutes	Don't Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Mask	Mini	-
Ciate	20 minutes	Fierce Flicks Precision Tip Eyeliner	Full	23.00
Covergirl	20 minutes	Total Tease Mascara	Full	10.00
Derma-E	15 minutes	Vitamin C Concentrated Serum	Foil Packet	-
Dirty Little Secret Cosmetics	N/A - did not visit, ran out of samples	?	Foil Packet	-
Dr. Belmeur	15 minutes	Daily Repair Soothing Gauze Sheet Mask, Foam Cleanser, Ato Salt Cream, Toner	Full + Foil	6.00
Essence	N/A - did not visit	?	?	?
Eva NYC	5 minutes	Purse Perfect Hair Towelette	Foil Packet	3.00
GlamGlow	1 minute	Mud to Foam Cleanser	Mini
Goomee	1 minutes	Hair Tie	Full	2.00
IGK	2 minutes	Beach Club Texture Spray	Full	35.00
Luxie	N/A - did not visit, always long	?	?	?
MAC	N/A - did not visit, always long	?	?	?
Marc Anthony	N/A - did not visit	?	?	?
Nudestix	5 minutes - first brand visited	Magnetic Matte Lip Colour	Full	28.00
NYX Cosmetics	5 minutes	Stobe of Genius Palette	Full
OGX	N/A - did not visit	?	?	?
Physicians Formula	5 minutes	Butter Blush	Full	13.00
Pixi	N/A - did not visit, always long	?	?	?
Pop Beauty	N/A - did not visit, always long	?	?	?
PUR Cosmetics	15 minutes	Fully Charged Mascara	Mini	-
Pur~lisse	15 minutes	Blue Lotus Essential Daily Moisturizer	Full	73.00
Royal & Langnickel	N/A - did not visit, always long	?	?	?
Skinfix	15 minutes	Lip Repair Balm + Inked Tattoo Balm	Full + Foil	5.00
Smashbox	15 minutes	Photo Finish Primer	Mini	-
Soo'AE	5 minutes	Donkey Milk Skin Gel Mask, Purifying Black Charcoal Mask, Purifying Brightening Peeling Gel	Full	15.00

Booth Gifting ($168 value):

Brand	Product	Size	Retail Value
Absolute New York	Cotton Candy Liner	Full	10.00
Benefit	They're Real Mascara	Sample	-
Briogeo	Roscaro Milk	Sample	-
Ciate	Liquid Lipstick	Sample	-
Covergirl	Melting Pout	Full	10.00
Derma-E	Vitamin C Concentrated Serum	Sample	-
Dirty Little Secret Cosmetics	Lipgloss	Full	14.00
Dr. Belmeur	Daily Repair Soothing Gauze Sheet Mask	Full	6.00
Essence	Get Big Lashes Mascara	Full	4.00
Eva NYC	Hair Oil	Sample	-
GlamGlow	Volcasmic Matte Glow Moisturizer	Sample	-
Goomee	Hair Ties x 4	Full	7.00
IGK	Rich Kid Hair Coconut Oil Gel	Sample	-
Luxie	237 Blending Brush	Full	-
MAC	Lipstick	Full	21.00
Marc Anthony	Coconut Oil Hairspray	Sample
Nudestix	N/A	N/A	N/A
NYX Cosmetics	Butter Gloss in Crème Brulee	Full	5.00
OGX	Coconut Milk Shampoo	Sample
Physicians Formula	Eye Primer Duo	Full	16.00
Pixi	Endless Silky Eye Pen	Full	22.00
Pop Beauty	Kajal Pen	Full	10.00
PUR Cosmetics	Blending Sponge	Full	12.00
Pur~lisse	BB Cream	Sample	-
Royal & Langnickel	Complexion Brush	Full	8.00
Skinfix	Daily Lotion	Full	18.00
Smashbox	Be Legendary Liquid Lip	Sample	-
Soo'AE	Purifying Black Charcoal Mask	Full	5.00

The Verdict? If you're a general consumer looking to try a few new beauty products, it is absolutely worth it to purchase a Generation Beauty ticket. Though I only attended one day, the event was organized and the gifting was generous (stay tuned for a giveaway on Instagram -  instagram.com/stephh_lau). If you're a creator/blogger/influencer looking to expand your network of creator friends and brand contacts, Generation Beauty is also a wonderful opportunity to do so.