So Saturday I attended my first IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) show and let me tell you it was an awesome experience. We bought our tickets well in advance online so they were $30 each, the biggest advantage for having pre purchased was that both days ended up being sold out several weeks before the show, so thank God I did that!
The doors opened at 8:30AM and we arrived around 8:45 and took our place in line which was long but not horrible. We waited a total of around a half hour I'd say. When we got inside there were more lines but they went quickly. The first setup when you first went into the actual show were special fx props that were beyond amazing, there was a head of the character Phil Leotardo from The Sopranos then there was a super realistic half body of Jake Gyllenhal sleeping which I didn't get a pic of, stupid me!
When you went upstairs there were all the vendors booths and the first booth I spotted was OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) this name just about sums me up! LOL Anyhow, the OCC booth was hopping and I spotted Lauren aka Queen of Blending, she was super nice and took a pic with me, her makeup was right on point! I picked up two lip tars because I've been dying to try them forever, they were well worth the wait, I wish I bought more!! I picked up Hush which is a beautiful nude pink color and Grandma which is a gorgeous coral, the texture of them is like nothing else around, they go on almost like a cream and they are super duper pigmented, you need the tiniest amount, less than a pinhead amount. They're not sticky at all either. Well worth the $13 they charge, I paid $10 each at the show.
There was a huge Inglot booth with the longest line which never seemed to go down so we didn't even get onto it at all. I will check out Inglot next time I'm in the city.
I knew JulieG713 was going to be at the Jessie's Girl booth so that was my next spot, Julie was so nice and really pretty in person. My sister picked up 5 loose shadows in varying colors, those were 5 for $20, not a bad deal. Jessie's Girl cosmetics can be found at Rite Aid. They're a good product for the money.
I was in search of a really high quality face/powder brush so I headed straight for Hokuhodo and sure enough the brush was the most amazing quality I'd ever laid my hands on, unfortunately, the price was reflective of this. There was no show discount being offered so I passed on these. If you can afford $80 for a blush brush then definitely check out their website! So, my search continued for a high quality face brush... then... my fabulous sister found the London Brush Company booth and wow, beautiful beautiful brushes! I picked up their #13 which is a blush/all over face brush and OMG its softer than a baby's bottom! The brushes are all made by hand and the one I got was squirrel hair. There are now a bunch of tailless squirrels running around the UK. :(
There were so many great vendors there, Stila for one, and they were offering 25% for everyone and 40% for MUA's. Eve Pearl, Naked Cosmetics, Mehron, Yaby and many more. Here is a picture of an AMAZING makeup application, this was at the Mehron table. I love love love the work this woman did.
My niece Jaime got her glitter on from a company called Lit Cosmetics. They make a really nice range of eye safe glitter made with all natural ingredients and prides itself in being water based, alcohol free , paraben free, and Propylene Glycol free. Their color choices are endless! I got a small bottle of their mixing medium to try. Below is a shot of Jaime getting her glitter on.
Here is everything I bought, I couldn't go as crazy as I wanted to but I got some good stuff nonetheless.
So, overall, I absolutely loved the experience, I spoke to the owner of the show when I was there and he said they'll definitely return to NY next year but at a bigger venue, thank God because this one was too small! Next year I'm definitely taking alot more money and my video camera!
Let me know if you have any questions about IMATS or what I bought. :~)
Ciao for now!
xoxo
Michele
