Olympia Beauty 2023 unites industry at first ExCeL show
For the first time under the Professional Beauty umbrella, Olympia Beauty opened its doors to the industry on October 15-16, running alongside Salon International 2023 at ExCel London.
The two-day event brought together 13,305 professionals for two days of learning, networking, competing, and discovering the latest launches and innovations, including 4,149 visitors crossing voer from Salon International, which ran alongside the event.
Key exhibitors from the beauty and aesthetics industry, including skincare, aesthetic devices, nails, make-up, lashes, spa and more, were in good company, and visitors were treated to exclusive education sessions, live competitions and demonstrations while being able to experience the latest launches and innovations first-hand.
Co-owner of Dali Artistic, Emily Ferguson said: “It’s been well worth coming. Most of our customers are in the North, so it’s good to come down to London and introduce ourselves here as well.”
Managing director of Willow Academy, Tori Hennigan, added: “It’s been our biggest show yet, we had lines of customers and met loads of colleagues.”
“To be able to show people the product, do demonstrations and talk about our education, it’s just invaluable.”
Director of OPI, Georgina Lewin said: “It’s been a tricky few years for our industry, not just in nails, but beauty as a whole. It’s wonderful to look around and see these kinds of shows coming back to life.”
When asked what his highlight of the show was, sales manager of Scult Pro Aesthetics, Paul Simister said: “Definitely meeting people and getting the chance to show them our machines in the flesh – it’s priceless.”
The event also hosted the National Massage Championships, in partnership with Kate Tora of CityLux Massage, Carl Newbury of Massage World Magazine and sponsored by the IMA and Massage Warehouse. Here, crowds gathered to watch qualified massage therapists and bodyworkers compete in six categories.
Leading nail industry competition Nailympia also took place over the weekend, with a whole host of categories from French Twist to Fantasy Complete Look. This year’s competition saw a new level of creativity and technique across the board.
Click here to see who won.
Some of the industry’s leading experts were invited to Olympia Beauty to deliver exclusive workshops and education sessions across two stages: Health and Wellbeing, and Advanced Beauty, as well as Nail and Brow Workshops from some of the industry’s most talented techs. These allowed visitors to expand their knowledge on a range of beauty and wellness topics, and take part in practical demonstrations.
Key sessions across the weekend included learning about the benefits of structure gel with Gelish, working with hema-free gel with Glossify and perfecting the "glazed doughnut" nail trend with Lecente.
Visitors also learnt from Dr Sabika Karim, Slav Marino and Claire Howard, who took to the stage to share the latest innovations from exosomes to lasers, wellness strategies and nail techniques. To see the weekend out, Antonia Burrell talked to visitors about diverse and inclusive beauty, and how to treat all skin tones with confidence.
Special thanks to the stage hosts; Kirsty Meakin, Charlotte Parma, Diane Hey and Jazz Sidhu, as well as stage sponsors Treatwell.