I was invited to the Stylefixx NYC event by a friend - I'd never heard of it before, but it sounded like fun. Well, all I heard was "free bag of stuff" and that's all it took to convince me. I didn't know much about what the event entailed, but it was only $15, and I'm always looking for new, interesting things to do.
It reminded me of a craft fair, except instead of crafts, there were clothes and jewelry (think Etsy sellers). Most of the clothes sellers claimed they were selling expensive designer items for a low price (big signs saying
"$120 only $30!"... you get the idea) but none of it was really nice or even expensive-looking! Lots of cheap polyester club wear and imported clothes you can find in Chinatown. Some of the handmade jewelry was quiet lovely, but I didn't buy anything.
Included in the entrance fee was 4 drinks. I think the idea was to get everyone drunk so they would buy more stuff. They had 3 bars in the venue, 2 of which had only beer and no lines, and 1 which had delicious rum-based cocktails and EVERYONE in line.
It was an awful mob and we ended up standing in line for a good 20 minutes - twice! But the drinks were very good - the two they offered were mojitos made with cranberry juice, and pina coladas made with coconut water.
Along with the sellers, they had a couple of booths doing demonstrations of their products. One makeup brand was offering makeovers at the cost of $20 or $30. The hair brand Jose Eber was letting you try out their curling and straight irons - with a catch. They did my hair in lovely ringlets, but on one side only!
They only did your full head if you bought the product, which they claimed was discounted from the original price of $300 for the low-low price of only $125! Umm... Well... I got nearly the same hair iron at TJMaxx (complete with the original $300 price tag, which I assume is a sham, because where have you ever seen them for that much??) on clearance for $20. And what do you know, a quick look on Amazon when I got home told me that yes, the curling irons only sell for $40~50 new!
Let that be a lesson - just because they SAY it's a bargain, doesn't mean it is! I'm sure hundreds of people left that night spending way more money than they would have if they just did a quick search online.
It is a really nice curling iron though, it's one of those new clipless ones that doesn't leave dents in your hair and is really easy to use, even for someone completely inept at hair styling like I am (it includes a heat-proof glove so you don't burn yourself!). I just might buy it with Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks, since I have a ton.
So... what was in the bag?? A REALLY random assortment of stuff!
Lots of semi-healthy snacks, including Luna Bars (I was excited about these), a beer glass, a nail file, tanning lotion and tanning goggles, the latest issue of New Beauty magazine (which is mostly about plastic surgery, boo), hair spray, iron supplements, sample sizes of Udder Cream body lotion, a Freeman clay mask (most excited about this!!) and some other various things.
I heard that this year was a lot less impressive than previous years, which had been bigger and better. I'm not sure if I'd make the trip to go again next year, but it was a fun experience and I'm glad I checked it out.
