Working in NYC for a global beauty and grooming company definitely has it’s perks. Tonight I had the opportunity to live a girl’s dream. I was able to get one of the few available “golden tickets” to the 2010 CEW Beauty Awards Product Demonstration event at the Metropolitan Pavillion. This 2 hour annual event allows CEW members to preview all the nominees by testing the products, smelling the scents, and learning more about the products via their beauty consultants and demonstrations. The event in one word was.. OVERWHELMING!

When we arrived at 6pm there was a line a block long filled by the best of CEW’s members all dressed to the nines and showcasing this season’s hottest bags, heels, and bags. It was definitely a show not to be missed. Women were squealing as they saw long lost friends and coworkers, twittering via Blackberries, and getting excited about the coveted swag bags.

As we entered the space we were quickly greeted by half naked men giving out roses ala Bachelor. It was hilarious because they were representing Veet hair removal. I was so tempted to look at these men and see if they were faithful Veet users themselves. I must say, the roses were gorgeous and mine is now in my beloved Simon Pearce bud vase. We then proceeded around the room visiting table after table of mass and prestige beauty products which ranged from Olay, Glowelle, Veet, Ahava, Lubriderm, L’Oreal, Chanel, MAC, Philosophy, and more!

Towards the back we found the bar and enjoyed a glass of red wine while people watching. We then proceeded to hunt out all the new products and the few sponsors who were giving away things like cute clutches, shopping bags (thanks Nordstrom), and other freebies not included in the goodie bag. After about 45 minutes in the main room we meandered over to fragrance where are brands were represented among at least forty others! This was a great opportunity to check out the competition, product designs, fragrance, and even blotters! I can’t believe that they put fragrance in the smaller, warmer room. It was an instant headache unfortunately. I feel horribly for my friend Lauren who was representing our Avril Lavigne fragrance, Black Star, all night. She must have had the worst headache due to all the fragrance! While in the fragrance area, I even had the great fortune to run into Grace who I hadn’t seen in ages! If you have the chance, hop over to her blog. It’s hilarious, well written, and has some great tips/ideas!

This event is known for the amazing samples you get at the end. Historically, each vendor had samples at the table but a few years ago they learned this was not a reasonable method as people would hoard the samples and take more than one. Therefore, they moved to the method of giving everyone one goodie bag upon their departure. Let me tell you, this goodie bag is like nothing i’ve ever seen before. It weighed at least 30 lbs and included over 50 full and small size samples. In fact, after going through and grabbing a few of my must have products such as Crest White Strips, L’Oreal eye cream, some great DDF eye cream, Revlon mascara, and more I still have a full Allure bag to give away on the blog next week which includes over 25 product samples including shampoo, conditioner, lipstick, eyeshadow, concealer, eye cream, fragrance, and more!