Each contestant is given three minutes to present and two minutes for follow-up questions. People are shaking. Some have arrived in turtlenecks — it's 90 degrees outside. Anything for the glam, honey. I observe roughly 75 percent of the presentations, and it seems that if you finished your presentation and had minimal questions from the judges, you probably knocked it out of the park. It's not clear if the winner will actually get their product made or series green-lit by the brand; this seems to be a focus group Benefit has curated to develop products and ideas for the future.
I initially thought if you didn't do well at Arch Tank, you probably weren't moving on to the top 12. But as I mentioned, it's more about the actual makeup skill than the presentation or idea, which behooves many of the contestants. They might have killer makeup skills, but Mark Cuban would have eaten many of them alive.
Arch Tank was insightful for the brand, and frankly for myself as a reporter — we learned what consumers think is lacking in the brow marketplace. The overwhelming majority of contestants presented a brow pencil even thinner than Precisely, My Brow. I don't know (or truly understand) the laws of physics, but it feels like an impossible ask. Many wanted to create a product that was waterproof and sweat-proof and that created three hair-strokes at a time to mimic microblading. Bippity Boppity Brows, the brainchild of Seals, is a watercolor brow pen that looks like a brush. It sounds similar to how They're Real Gel Eyeliner works, with product being pushed up through the packaging. The ink won't bleed because the cap has a flat bottom, so you can store the product upright. (She would later tell Bailey that the name is available for trademark.)
Safai Kelly waltzed into this competition like a boss: articulate and with an entertaining presentation about a social series that she would ultimately want to pitch to Netflix, with teases on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Jose Rodriguez introduces his idea: an eyebrow quad, similar to a palette, that's portable and comes with a detachable mirror. Zackary Vang, a bubbly makeup artist from Vegas, pitches the "Graphically Defined Brow," inspired by an animated look.
After all presentations have come to a close, it's time to get our drink on to take the edge off and enjoy a night by the campfire with s'mores.
