I wanted to tell you all about my first experience at IMATS. For those of you who don't know what IMATS is; IMATS stands for International Makeup Artist Tradeshow. This event takes place in several cities across the globe. The cities are London, Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, Vancouver, and Sydney. I believe those are the only cities, but don't quote me on it. You can always check out Makeup Artist Magazine for more information. My daughter and I attended the IMATS Toronto show on November 6th. Toronto is only about 3 1/2 hours from where we live in Michigan. My daughter thought it was the coolest thing ever to cross the border to Canada!
To tell you a little bit about IMATS, the tradeshows are set up in such a fashion that you can purchase makeup and skincare products from several different companies at a discounted price. Each company/vendor has its own booth with a display of items they are selling. You pretty much walk from booth to booth and purchase what you like. There are some brands sold at IMATS that you may find at your local department store, such as NARS, Stila and MAC, but overall, the companies that are represented, are companies that aren't commercialized (is that a word?). These companies may be smaller companies or companies that are specifically targeting makeup artists...or MUA wannabe's like me! LOL!!!
While all of the shopping is taking place, there are also seminars/workshops going on at the different stages/rooms. There are many different topics that are covered. Some of the topics covered on the day I was there are: Complexion Perfection, Runway Trends, Airbrush for Runway, etc. Some of the speakers/attendees you may know from youtube: EnKore, Pursebuzz, Kandee Johnson, Eve Pearl, etc.
So let me just tell you...when I walked in, I felt like I had just walked into heaven. I heard harps playing and angels singing. OH MY WORD!!!! There were just lots of booths...makeup, brushes, etc. just everywhere. I really thought I had died and gone to heaven! Okay, I am exaggerating a little! HA!
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| NYX booth! I think it was the BIGGEST one! |
I tried to get into the Youtube Q&A that Kandee Johnson was doing. It must have just started when I got there. It was so crowded, so I moved on. I did get a pic of her on stage. Here it is!!
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| I think I need to adjust my camera...the date was actually 11/6. |
So the first stop I made was at the Crown Brush station. It was a huge booth. I've never seen so many makeup brushes in my life...and get this! The majority of the brushes were between $3 and $9 AND they are great quality!! Can you believe that? I picked up several brushes and paid about $27. That's how much I paid for 1 of my MAC brushes. Here's a pic of what I got!
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| The one on the far right is a great dupe for the MAC 217 |
While I was back at the Crown Brush booth, my daughter and I had the opportunity to meet Koren from EnKore Makeup and Elessa from Pursebuzz. They were both so nice and sweet...just like they are on youtube. Here are some pics!!
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| Koren (EnKore Makeup) and Me |
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| My daughter Taylor, Pursebuzz and Me |
I tried to stop at every booth, but couldn't really get in to see much because there were SO MANY PEOPLE there. I really wanted to check out the Obessive Compulsive Booth, Yaby and some others, but again, there were so many people there, and I'm not one to push my way up! It's just not my style! I'm too nice I guess!
In addition to the brushes I mentioned above, I picked up a few Ben Nye Items, Face Atelier Foundation, and NYX eyelashes. I was on a very tight budget that weekend, so unfortunately that's all I got. I will start preparing for next year!! I'll be coming home with suitcases full of makeup.
Ooh....last but not least, I had an opportunity to meet Kandee Johnson. If you guys haven't watched her videos on youtube, please go check her out. Not only is she a super talented makeup artist; she is one of the sweetest, most kindhearted individuals on the face of this planet. Anyway, there was a GINORMOUS line of people waiting to meet her and there is no secret as to why? She's amazing!! My daughter and I waited for about an hour...maybe longer. Kandee was super sweet. She told me that I don't look old enough to have a 12 year old daughter! Um...I love her even more now! Here's our pic!!
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| Taylor, Kandee and Me |
Until next time...
Jackee
