BEAUTY BOX

IMATS 2012: The Goods

Hello from JFK airport in New York, I’m blogging while I wait for my flight to Frankfurt. We had to check out of our hotel at 4pm but our flight isn’t till 10pm so I’ve plenty of time to blog about…IMATS!

I really didn’t know what to expect and followed some of the advice that was given in past reports on other blogs. I brought cash and made sure I got there early. I had a pretty late night out the previous day (I watched Hunger Games – yay!) but I was determined not to sleep in.

I was there at 9am (it started at 830am) but there was already a long line to get in. I was thankful for my media pass so I could go straight in…

I’ve to say I was surprised that some famous Youtubbers/bloggers paid for their way in. Maybe they didn’t know that there was option to be media and I actually found out about how relatively straightforward it was to get a media pass from Sprinkle Of Glitter who went to IMATS London earlier is year.

Even at 9am, the crowd at the NYX stand was just overwhelming and it got much worse later. I watched Chica Chew’s IMATS vlog and her husband lined up for 30 minutes on her behalf – what a sweetie – and I was glad I didn’t do that because I really hate queuing.

Ingot was worse and it was impossible to swatch or browse. Can you believe this photo was taken at 9am and it got way worse in the afternoon…

This was as close as I got to the Inglot products – I squeezed my hand through two other people who were lining up around the stand to capture this photo.

I looked longingly at the Inglot nail polishes but my transparent cosmetics bag was just maxed out and I cannot buy anymore liquids for the rest of my trip.

Anyway, in this crazy crowd situation, it would seem really easy to fall prey to buying a shade or two you may not like because it was just too hard to swatch anything. It’s better to go with specific products in mind so you can just tell the staff to locate what you want. I was never an Inglot fan so I didn’t feel like I missed out.

To be honest, I thought IMATS would have many more mainstream brands so while it was very crowded at certain stands, other lesser known brands had only a handful of people browsing at any one time. However, I think IMATS is first and foremost an event for professional makeup artists so that’s why there were more pro-brands than consumer brands.

Bdellium is an eco-friendly anti-bacterial brand of brushes I’d never tried but have heard of from other blogs so I bought a few brushes that I don’t have in my collection. I did haul a few things but will show you that later.

There were brands which I did look at but didn’t purchase anything…

Hakuhodo was one such brand. I never got up the guts to browse them in Japan simply because SAs at department stores jump on you the second you cast your eyes their way. They will keep talking and talking so any “fondling” is simply impossible. So this time I had a good feel of Hakuhodo brushes and was very impressed but the prices made me think twice. Furthermore, I’ve accumulated my essential makeup brushes from MAC last year and it would take a lot for me to purchase an expensive brush I don’t need at the moment…

Naked Cosmetics was very interesting as a mineral makeup brand.

The colours were just so arresting and even more vibrant when swatched with a wet Q-tip. The staff were so friendly and informative and I very nearly bought a set from them. You can use their pigments not just for eyeshadow and blush but as lip gloss too. They provide a balm for you to mix the pigment with but you can substitute it with Vaseline too.

But seriously, I can’t deal with pigments as they are not time-friendly. I also recently tossed out a bunch of mineral makeup that i hadn’t touched in over a year and was just taking up so much precious space in my makeup drawers.

I was happy to spot Kryolan at IMATS because I’d heard so much about this brand from Misschievous. It’s an affordable brand for professional makeup artists with a wide range of shades, especially if you need crazy bright colours.

Another brand that was intriguing was Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics which is a vegan airbrush brand. They have blush and eyeshadows as well but I think they are primarily all about their air brush technology.

Eve Pearl really caught my eye because of its amazing plethora of foundations and you know I’m mad about them but I had to really decide what could fit into my luggage. Their selling point is that they cater for every skin type and colour out there. Even though I didn’t get anything from these brands, I was glad I went so I could broaden my horizons in terms of brands…

And finally, the moment you’ve been waiting for….

My haul! I got some Stila lip glazes just because they have been a constant star product of the brand (plus a free one they slipped into my bag when I paid up) and their new In The Garden eyeshadow palette. I honestly only have one green eyeshadow which is part of an Esprique palette so I’m really looking forward to playing with different shades of green.

I nabbed several Bdellium brushes which were so affordable, USD5-10 each, and I got those which are nice to have but not necessary in a basic brush set. I got two different eyeliner brushes, a small buffing brush for liquid foundation, and a big flat top kabuki brush for liquid and powder foundation.

And lastly, I bought the Matt Eye palette by Too Faced. They didn’t have a stand but a makeup store, Naimie’s Beauty Centre, carried it.

So that’s my small haul but I’m very happy with it. You wouldn’t believe this but I’ve got a second IMATS post coming up…Stay tuned!

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16. April 2012 by yuming
Categories: Bdellium, Personal, Stila, Too Faced | 6 comments