IMAT 2012 Weekend

This weekend I went to the IMATS with a couple of friends. I had never been before but I heard a lot of good reviews about it from an American friend of mine, who said it was a big thing in the States.

IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) is for people involved in the makeup or creative industry, it is however also open to the public so anyone can go, they hold it once yearly normally towards the beginning of the year here in the UK and takes place all around the word at different times. It is most definitely a make-up lover’s dream event. There are a host of high end and in most cases designer makeup brands on show with many giving up to 75% discount on products. It is also a great opportunity to meet others in the Makeup industry, see live demonstrations of new products and to get your hands of some much sought after products.

I spent a lot of money , an absolute fortune some would say, but it was well worth it! Once I came home I realised I paid 1/5 of the price for all my products had I bought them all full price, and it is an event I will definitely be going to again. The show allows you to build your makeup collection with key essentials and you can definitely get some items that will last you a long time.

Now if you do ever decide to go, you do need to be prepared for queues! The event opens at 8:30am however queues begin from 7am and inside people always flock to the most sought after brands such as Illamsqua, Make Up For Ever, NYX, IGLOT amongst others.

You can swatch products at your leisure, try products on and there are always plenty of makeup artists to help you out. The infamous and renowned makeup artist and founder of highly acclaimed makeup brand Eve Pearl was also there demonstrating hands on some of her makeup:



See below for my haul of goodies which I got:



The first place I headed was Make Up For Ever, I had heard a lot about the Make Up Forever(MUFE) HD foundation and really wanted to get my hands on one, MUFE does not retail widely in the UK and you can only order it online so it was one of the first stalls I went to. HD foundation is £28.99 so it’s quite a steep buy, at the IMAT’s however it was being sold for £18.99, nearly half price! A definite bargain. I also read a lot of reviews on their liquid blush and uplight - a dewy glow cream for your cheeks, so also got those, cant wait to try them out, will update on whether they are worth it.



Other purchases which I was extremely happy with were those I got from Illamasqua which was 75% off most products and was probably the best stall. All foundations were at £7.00 a bargain from the rrp of £21.50! All eye pencils were £2.00 again a great bargain, I also got a cream blush and eye base.


I had never purchased from Iglot but had done some YouTube research before and they have similar items to Make Up For Ever's liquid blush for a fraction of the price, I decided to get one of these also to wear as an everyday blush and use the MUFE on on special occasions. I also purchased a bright pink blush which can be toned down with the right brush.


Lip Tars- I had read so many reviews on these little beauties by OCC and was so happy to get my hands on some of the most popular colours, They are great because they leave a matt look on the lips and can last for up to 10 hours, also a little goes a long way and you need less then a dot to cover your lips, be careful to moisturise your lips well before as they can be quite matt.

Did you go to IMAT’s, what did you get your hands on? If not, let us know what you think of the review!