Disclaimer: Product featured was provided for review.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting my first
IMATS convention. For those of you that are unfamiliar, IMATS (
International Make Up Artist Trade Show) is an yearly event that takes place in various cities in North America, UK, and Australia, and it allows professional makeup artists to network and get insider tips and makeup fanatics to get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes and stock up on their favorite makeup products. I personally am not interested in stage/special FX makeup so my mission was solely to scout out new and exciting products to show you guys. Did I find anything special, read more by clicking.......
The IMATS goers ($45 for one day pass, $75 for weekend pass) were provided with a
list of vendors prior to the event, along with schedules of live demonstrations and seminars. Going into the event, I knew there weren't going to be many of the highly anticipated vendors (MAC, OCC, Stila, Lime Crime, NARS, for example) often found at IMATS New York or some of the bigger IMATS. The only brands I was familiar with was Make Up For Ever, Ben Nye, and Crown Brushes.
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Top: Naked Cosmetics, London Brush Company
Bottom: Lid Cosmetics |
At the event, all the vendors have booths set up and the place felt very much like a makeup market. I went at around 1pm and by then there were no line-ups and the place was fairly busy but not too crazy. Whitney from
Macaron and Mischief and I took a stroll around the place and visited a couple of booths. She picked up some brushes and a super affordable eyeshadow palette while I left empty-handed. I noticed most vendors carried either brushes, lashes, or palettes and the product offering overlaps quite a bit. Everything is at a good price though, that I have to admit (with the exception of a couple of fancy brush vendors). Make Up For Ever even had a 40% off deal which is quite amazing.
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| Ben Nye Blushes |
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Top: Royal and Langnickel Brush
Bottom: Jewelry Vendor, Hakuhodo Brushes |
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| Amazing Shine Nails Eye Lash Selection |
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| Some "sculptures" from the mini museum of special FX. |
Overall, my first IMATS was underwhelming. I think for professional makeup artists, the convention had a lot more to offer (live demonstrations and the opportunity to talk with other professionals in the business). But for the average makeup consumer, the vendor selection was rather disappointing. Will I go next year? Probably not to the Vancouver IMATS, but I definitely would visit one in a bigger city's if given the opportunity!
Have you been to IMATS before, share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
