Toronto IMATS + Haul

The International Makeup Artist Trade Show is a yearly event that makeup artists and makeup enthusiasts look forwards to every year. Held at different times and locations throughout the year, IMATS offers a place to be around others with a similar interested while offering some great discounts or access to brands that you might only be able to purchase online.

This year's Toronto show (at the Metro Toronto Convention Center) was held on September 26 & 27 as opposed to the usual November. That meant that I spent a lot more money in 1 month than I wanted to. Oops!

 I went on the Sunday, and if like me, you arrived before the doors open, you probably realized that things weren't the most organized. It seemed like the first 100 people or so were able to go up the escalator and wait on the proper floor to be let in (once they got their stamp), while the rest of us were actually stopped at the escalator and told to form a new line. I was the 3rd person in that line, so to see all the other IMAT-goers that were able to get by was a little disappointing. The security guard didn't seem to do that great of a job either. There was a University Fair going on as well and they were able to go (which was fine), but he wasn't asking people where they were going, he was just asking if they were going to the University Fair. The young kids with their parents were obviously going, but there were a few girls that played along and went up, and you could tell they were there for IMATS.

When we were finally allowed up (about 10:15; the show started at 10), you ran for the first booth you really wanted. For me, that was NYX as I really wanted the Highlight & Contour Pro Palette. Luckily for me, they said they only had 1 left and it was slightly damaged. I looked at the damage and didn't even hesitate. That thing was coming home with me!  I paid $25 for it (which is how much it is in USD), and I don't know what the Canadian price for it is. So, not too bad. The rest of the booth was too busy to try to look at, so I just passed on anything else.

Inglot only had a small portion of their shadows, blushes, etc, and only offered 10% off. So a $10 eyeshadow was now $9. Honestly, I love Inglot and think the price is beyond worth it, so the price didn't bother me.

Lineups for Make Up For Ever wasn't too bad when I finally got around to it around 11:30. As the last 3 years that I've gone, (or is it 4?), they're 40% off everything. I knew what I wanted (and had it written down!), so I double checked that they had it, gave in my paper/order and waited with about 25 other people to pay. This year, instead of going by name, they gave you a number. I loved this SO much more; it gives you an idea of how long it's going to be since it's in sequential order. While it went fairly quick (the whole thing was maybe 20 minutes for me), I did take a look around some other booths.

If you've read my IMATS or depotting posts in the past, you know that I love my blank Yaby palettes. This year was a huge disappointment with their price. The first year I went, they were only $14, which was amazing. This year, they were $19. Still lower than their full price, but knowing that the Z Palette was about the same price and actually has a bit more surface space, I stepped away from Yaby.

I ended up purchasing the last 2 Z Palettes from Frends beauty for $20 each. They didn't have the plain black, so I have zebra print. Not my favourite, but at least it wasn't hot pink. While there, I also picked up 8 eyeshadow pans from Stillazi at $3 a pan. Yes. $3!!!

The OCC Lip Tars (RTW) were $15 instead of $21.99 from Blur Makeup Room.

 I regret not buying anything at Benefit since they were 35% off! (Got home and realized I'm low on Puff Off and Gimme Brow)

The lineup for Morphe was just crazy.

I feel like Royal and Langnickel tried to copy Real Techniques a bit with their Moda brush line (PS - they currently have a sale on their website for those who couldn't make it to IMATS)

MAC apparently doesn't tend to have good deals. They also didn't have many options and encouraged people to go to a nearby location (excuse me, but people paid to be here, and paid for transportation to get here and parking to get here, they don't want to go through that hassle).


Haul!

Swatches & reviews to come!