Sparkled Beauty

If you have been reading the blog for a while, you know how I feel about IMATS - the International Makeup Artist Trade Show. I was crazy about it last November in Toronto, and was crazy about it again back in June for LA. Crazy enough to book tickets, pack my bags, fly over for it. Just check my IMATS posts again if you don't know what I'm talking about lol.

Although I am 95% sure I won't be able to make it this year to Toronto, I am still crazy about it. True fan, am I not? If you have a chance to go (or can afford to go), do it, you won't regret.

IMATS holds a special place in my heart, as it is a firm confirmation of how crazy I am about makeup. And mind you, it's not just all about shoppping. I am kinda emotionally attached to it :)

Last IMATS Toronto, I met some of my fellow bloggers for the first time, whom I talked to every so often on the blog and twitter but never met IRL. They are a great bunch of friends I'm so happy I have. And IMATS LA, I had great company, also a fellow blogger. Believe me, being at the show with someone who could understand why you want to be there is priceless.

So I am here blogging about IMATS Toronto which is a week and 3 days away now. A little sad for myself not being there but happy for my friends being able to have a great time together.

If you haven't already, check out the Floor plan - hoover the mouse over the booths to see the company names. There are great ones participating this year, lots of them we don't normally have access to in Canada. They move the show to a bigger location this year, which means you will have more to see and do there :) And there's even free shuttles to get you there from downtown. How thoughtful!

Make sure you spare some time from shopping to attend the classes. Lots of tips and tricks to learn there, plus it's a great opportunity to meet the gurus (Kandee Johnson, Koren, Pursebuzz) and other well-known MUAs.

And like I said, make sure you go with a friend or meet up with like-minded ladies at the show. If you don't know anyone yet, make sure to check in with the Toronto Beauty Bloggers. Come to the meet-ups or just call them when you're there. They will make you feel at home, it's always fun to have a show buddy or ten :) To see what other bloggers' thoughts about IMATS are, see the Media coverage page. My blog was featured on there last year :)

Have fun at the show, my lovelies. And if you are not going this year like me, make plan to go next time, doesn't matter which city. I am hoping to be able to stop by IMATS NY when I go visit the bf next year. There's always hope, right?

As promised, here are a bunch of pictures taken at IMATS. I wanted a separate post for them, just so the haul posts weren't too long to read through :)

This is Pasadena Convention Centre where IMATS LA was held.

I took this picture at the end of the second day when we finally had some time to breath, lol. It was a beautiful sunny day. Naz and I went to get some smoothies and walked back to sit in the sun, waiting for my friend to pick us up.

It was fun people-watching there, and when the show was over, the exhibitors left the building with tons and tons of stuff in their traincases or rollies. It was fun.

And these are the palm trees, viewed from the side of the building. They were so tall and grew straight up to the sky. At the lower right corner, you can see a bit of the roof of the building, just to imagine how high the trees were.

Not the scene we would normally see at home for sure. And they were everywhere we went. Naz was fascinated by them, and the mountains that we saw while walking on the street. They reminded me of Vancouver, mountains on one side and ocean on the other.

We only booked the hotel in Pasadena for 1 night (Saturday). We got away with Saturday by dropping off our luggage at the front desk in the morning (check-in was around 2pm and we would be at the show at that time already). Sunday was harder, cause check-out was 11am. We had to lug our suitcases with us the whole day, not an easy job with a hall full of people. Next time, we would probably book an extra night, just to rest and recover before going anywhere else.

Here is me, at the "Blogger Hot Spot" (complimentary wifi) right in the hallway near the place where people lined up for tickets. See how my head fit right at the "O" spot, so I'm a Hot Spot alright, lol.

This was a treat to people with iphones in the building. Thanks to this, Naz had fun tweeting live about what we were doing at the show, with pics :)

Surprisingly wifi didn't stretch over to the rooms for classes around the corner from the main hall, so no tweeting at the Guru Summit, lol.

First batch: The gurus.

This was at the Guru Summit. It looks really dark cause there was no direct lighting for the stage. I was sitting at the third row, but my flash wasn't strong enough.

Anyway, here are xparkage, QueenofBlending, JulieG713 and Pursebuzz answering the audience's questions about how they started the channel, what their youtube names mean, how youtube changes their lives, how they deal with haters and advices for newbies who want to start their own channels. It was a lot of fun.

The gurus were really friendly and spoke from the heart, with funny stories to tell too. Pursebuzz arranged some giveaways (company sponsors) for the audience but we didn't win anything, except for the freebies at the door I mentioned in the IMATS Day 2 post.

Also, there were a lot of gurus attended the show but we didn't take pictures with anyone, except for Pursebuzz. She had her heels on while we had flats (well, it was the second day of the show and nobody could wear heels for long), which explains the height difference, lol.

It was a lot busier at this IMATS, so it wasn't easy to just stop someone for a picture. Everybody was busy shopping or chatting with friends, we felt bad to interrupt.

I was so looking forward to meeting a few of my favorite gurus but couldn't find them. The hall was full of people and I didn't end up at the same spot with them at a certain time of day, I guess.

This is Rae Morris, the awesome Australian MUA who was invited in for an interview session on stage.

We enjoyed her story very much. She was so genuine and helpful with advices to the audience. Can't deny her lovely accent too, lol. During the interview, they put up a slideshow of her work, and it was beautiful.

Everybody seemed to own her first book - Makeup: The Ultimate Guide already but she is in the work for 2 more. Impressive :)

And you all know who this is - Kandee Johnson.

She was smiling, saying Hi out loud and hugging everybody at the little meetup she arranged for her fan in front of the Urban Decay booth. We didn't know about it but happened to walk by at the right time. Kandee was surrounded by fans, cameras and flashes the whole time, like a movie star :) We couldn't squeeze in for a picture, so this is a zoomed-in shot of her, lol.

Like we all know, Kandee is so bubbly and full of energy everytime we see her (on youtube, that is). And she is exactly like that IRL. Love her makeup, and the Hello Kitty bag she carried (didn't show very well in this pic, sorry).

I heard she had her Glaminar at the hotel on Sunday too. If I weren't too busy at the show, I might be curious enough to check it out. Wouldn't you?

Second batch: The art work which took hours and hours to finish.

I went to a few classes, as they were also a fun part of the show. This was from the "A Century of Hollywood Brides" class done by MUFE. A fashion show format worked well for the illustration.

It was interesting to see how bridal makeup was done since the 1920's, but naturally, I liked the looks from the 2000 period the most. The makeup was probably on point but I didn't know about the dresses lol.

And a bonus picture that brought a lot of laughters to Naz and me.

This was my dinner left-over that I brought in the second day for lunch. Forgot to take another shot with the boxes opened so you can see the food - kimchi fried rice with chicken. Yum!

You probably remember me mentioning that the food portion at the restaurant we went to was so big that we had to pack the main dish to go. Check out the movie-style Chinese takeout boxes - we called them the "Mother and Daughter" or "Father and Son", lol. The regular sized box was a bit too small, so they gave me a smaller one. Don't they look perfect together? These were just my "takeout", 2 other boxes for Naz, same sizes. We laughed so hard while packing the food in the boxes and I am still laughing now looking at the picture again :)

Day 2 was equally exciting at IMATS. I was so glad we got to go both days, as 1 day was obviously not enough with the number of exhibitors and classes the show offered.

First thing we went to in the morning was the Guru Summit, we wouldn't want to miss the chance to see our favorite youtube gurus.

Koren and Pursebuzz, we already met at IMATS Toronto, but not xsparkage, JulieG, and Queenofblending. And certainly the stories they were going to share would be interesting too.

These items came in the freebie bag:
- Urban Decay TSA-compliant Travel bag. This would replace the boring clear plastic bags we get at the airport :)
- Urban Decay eyeshadows in Uzi (intense glittery white/ silver) and Stalker (glittery pinkish purple)
- Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye pencil in Mildew
- NYX Triple shadows for Sexy Babe's Eyes Only in Ceramic - smoky black/ dark silver shades
- Beauty So Clean Cosmetic sanitizer wipe samples.

I really enjoyed the summit, hoping it would carry on in all other IMATS shows. I'll have pictures of the event posted up in a separate post.

Now on to what I called the best purchase at the show - bdellium tools Professional Antibacterial Makeup brushes. I learned about this brand from Pursebuzz and was excited to learn that the brushes have an anti-bacterial protective coating to prevent mold and bacteria growth (proved to be 100% effective up to 40 - 50 washes).

I was shocked to see the brushes at the show because the handles are YELLOW! Omg, I never saw any brushes with yellow handle before! So happy to be able to get them at IMATS, as right now online shopping is not available on their site yet while Amazon sells these brushes with markups, of course.

First up, I got the Basic 7-pc Travel Brush set, $25 (Amazon price: $39)













From L-R: #964 Blush, #948 Foundation, #942 Slanted Contour, #785 Tapered Blending, #777 Shadow, #540 Precision Liner and #763 Small Angle Brush. Also pictured is the brush roll.

I also got the Mineral 10-pc Travel Brush set, $35 (Amazon price: $55)













From L-R: #955 Finishing, #942 Slanted Contour, #957 Precision Cheek, #964 AP Blusher, #945 Contour, #776 Blending, #765 Small Angle Shader, #769 Angled Contour, #781 Crease and #755 Smudger Brush, and the brush roll.

I opted for the travel sets as the short handles seem to work better with my small hands and they are great for travel. The Studio line version has longer handle but the same brush head size, sold at the same price as the Travel line at the show. By day 2, the Mineral 10-pc set (Studio line) was already sold out. There was the humongous 24-pc set ($85, Amazon price: $127) but I decided I didn't need all those brushes, so I passed.

I asked the owner to consider bringing their brushes to IMATS Toronto so more Canadians could have a chance to check out these gorgeous, super soft brushes. Let's cross our fingers :)

Almost forgot Beauty Treats. Their booth was quite colourful with different products.

We were drawn to the Makeup Remover Cleansing tissues. They were scented in like 6 different scents, and after a little smell test, I opted for Green Tea - 30 wipes per pack, 2 packs for $5. Great price eh? I'll have to see how well they do their job, but for the price, I wouldn't complain much if they fail :)

They also had nail polish and nail art bottles at 2 for $5 and some makeup items too.

There were certain products that I regretted not getting at the show - like the Model in a Bottle, Eye Kandy glitter set, etc. but, all in all, I am really happy with my little haul. I planned to "raid" some drugstores while in California too so I didn't want to go crazy at IMATS. Maybe next time :)

Finally, I got some time to sort out pictures and draft up this post about IMATS LA. I gotta say it was the best IMATS experience I have had, for a few reasons.

First, it was the biggest IMATS in history. According to Makeup Artist Magazine, 9,000 people attended the show this year (compared to 6,000 last year) and 119 exhibitors (vs. 85 last year). When we got there, the line of people to pick up their tickets was so long that it wrapped around the front lobby to the side. We were just lucky to have press passes to bypass the line. And through the door, we saw 8 isles of booths and tons of products, we were overwhelmed at first sight.

Second, the companion. I was with Ms. Naz, the lovely blogger with whom I shared the love of makeup. I couldn't imagine going there by myself, and the trip wouldn't happen if she didn't agree to come along. While in California, we stayed at a friend's and were driven to and from the show. They took good care of us.

Third, the shopping, interaction with the exhibitors, and the classes were all awesome. Nothing like seeing someone face to face, talk to them, hug them. And the specials brands offered at the show were just amazing. It took everything for me not to buy more.

And now, let's re-live Day 1 of the show :)

As almost everybody who came to the show, first thing we did was lining up at Makeup Forever booth. We came in at 9, and the line already wrapped around their booth and stretched way pass a few neighbour vendors.

It took us 3 hours to get to cashier to pay, we were just so glad we were done with it.

I got:
- HD Micro Finish Cream blush in #6 (Quickie, a salmon pink), $15 (reg. $25)
- Aqua Cream in #21 (Turquoise) and #5 (Peach, peachy pink with gold flecks), $13.20 each (reg. $22).

Swatching was such a hassle, cause everybody wanted to do the same thing as I did, lol. And then we had to narrow down the list to avoid huge bills at the end. But I am really happy with what I got. Don't know I'd want to line up again though as it would take basically the whole morning for that. And we didn't even have time to have breakfast :)

We went to Purely Cosmetics next to grab their Diamond Perfect Finishing Powder, fearing it would be gone.

And indeed, they were flying off the display and sold out by the end of the day. Show price was $15 (reg. $18.50).

I also got Mint, an LE eyeshadow. It looked prettiest on Naz's hand when she swatched a few. It was $5 (reg. $6.50).

NYX booth was really busy too, as the discount was good (about $2 or more off regular price, minus shipping cost). I got:
- A Chrome pigment in Beanie, $3.50
- Single eyeshadows in My Favorite Color and Dune, $3.50 each
- Jumbo Eye pencils in Black Bean and Milk, $2.50 each.

They had almost every product there, except the round lipsticks and nail polish. Bummer!

We were starving at this point. The healthy option (salad) was all gone, so I had a burger and a bottle of water. Can't say I was a big fan of the food.

I was happy to see LA Splash had a small display of nail polish besides their makeup products. The deal was 5 for $15, so I certainly got 5 shades to try out.
- Charcoal, shimmery black
- Fabuluxe, glittery magenta
- Sparkling Ocean Spray, glittery teal
- Sparkling Silver
- Sparkling Stratosphere, glittery blue.

There were cream polishes too, but I was more into their glitters :) This brand hasn't made it to Canada yet, unfortunately.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around, planning for day-2 purchases and checking out classes on stage. Pasadena Convention Centre was so big that many classes were held in big rooms outside the main hall. It took us a while to find the class with Rae Morris, the famous MUA from Australia. Really enjoyed her session.

Another highlight of the day was the freebies at Nailene.

Naz and I walked by their booth to say hi, just to realize that they were giving away their products for free. The staff was so nice and friendly.

So I grabbed 2 different sets of nails (a pretty bridal-ish flowery pattern and a black French), a French Tip Pen kit and some nail glue. Still can't believe they were free :)

Migi Nail Art was offering sets of 8 colours for $25. They sold out too quickly, so then offered free shipping to anybody who ordered, and free refills for life. Naz and I both picked the Original set as it had black and white, the most basic colours we need for nail art. I am still waiting for the product to get here, so no picture of it just yet.

Other fun offers at the show:
- Clarisonic offered the Pro set for $100, free US shipping, $12 Canada shipping
- Lots of brands at Naimie's offered 20 - 40% off - Lise Watier, CoverFX, Eve Pearl, Bobbi Brown, Beauty Blender, etc.
- A few false lashes brands had them for $1 a pair
- Zuca had 25% off, and free US shipping, etc.

I missed some of my favorite youtube gurus at the show. I know they were there but didn't see them anywhere. Now I just have to wait for them to post up their IMATS videos, lol.

Naz and I stopped for dinner at an Asian restaurant on the way back to the hotel. We each ordered an appetizer and an entree, just like we normally do in Canada, without realizing that the portions in the US are a lot bigger. We were full after the salad (for Naz) and the soup (for me) and had to pack the entrees to go (for lunch the next day, and still couldn't finish them then). So, certainly made a note on that one, lol.

Stay tuned for Day 2, when I made my best purchase of the whole show :)

It's almost fly time for me, ladies. I am packing up to leave for LA this afternoon.

If you missed the announcement post, I am talking about IMATS LA, happening this weekend. Not any less excited than I was when I wrote that post, now I am getting more anxious looking at the floor plan and class schedule. So many brands are going to be there, so many classes offered, and so many youtubers to meet in person. And they said this is the biggest IMATS in history. I'm so blessed to be able to make this trip.

This year they introduce the master classes on Friday (today, the day before the show) and Monday (after the show). I was not aware of this when I made travel arrangement, so I won't be able to go to those, but 2 full days of makeup is overwhelming enough.

And one thing I wouldn't want to miss is the Guru Summit Sunday morning. The 4 well-known youtube gurus (Pursebuzz, Xsparkage, Queen of Blending and Julieg713) are up for beauty discussion on stage, with EnKoreMakeup as the moderator. How cool is that?

I tried to scribble up a list of brands I want to see and products from those brands I "might" want to get, but it's almost impossible. Too hard! I might just swing it there and then, lol.

Koren posted up very helpful recs for the show, so check them out.
Brands from A to I:


Brands from J to N:


Brands O - Z:


Feel free to leave me comments for your recs too. I hope they have some good food and drinks there. As I pretty much camp out at the show till it closes for the day, I do hope the food is nice. We shall see :)

I have a few scheduled posts going up while I'm away. I might not be able to get back to your comments as quick as usual, but I will eventually. Wish me luck with the show!

I am very excited to finally tell you that I just finished making travel arrangements to go to IMATS LA end of June. It took a lot of me to believe that I actually am going. I never dream I could, but I did it. Woo hoo!

I trust most of you can probably understand my excitement.

First, IMATS (The International Makeup Artist Trade Show) is the bomb, the must-attend show of all time to any makeup addicts, bloggers, youtubers and more. My very first IMATS was in Toronto last year and I enjoyed the experience a lot. To indulge in beauty products and fellow bloggers (some I hadn't met before the show) was nothing but amazing. Check out my IMATS posts for more fun read.

Second, LA is the only IMATS show in the US, EVERYBODY will be there. Just the fun of meeting, talking to, taking pictures with and above all, learning from all the gurus and favorite brand reps could already make it all worth going.

Third, I have never been to the US, ever. How awesome is it to go to the US for the very first time for IMATS? I certainly take a few days after the show to tour around, shop and eat, but certainly IMATS was the main reason for this trip.

Forth, the fun multiplies by two because I am not going alone. I will be in great company of Ms Naz, a fellow Canadian beauty blogger and youtuber. We have never met but we both love makeup, how hard is it for us to become friends? Not at all :-) Naz once mentioned on twitter that she wanted to go to IMATS LA, and when I start putting some serious thoughts in travel planning, I certainly dragged her on board. And I'm so glad she did. What could be better than going to IMATS? It's going to IMATS with a friend who shares the same passion/ addiction, lol.

Yesterday after booking my flight tickets, I was shaking. Still couldn't believe I made my dream come true, couldn't believe I am going to IMATS. If any of you have been to Pasadena (or live there), please share some advice for shopping and stuff. And for those who had been to IMATS LA, do tell me about it so I can prepare myself. It's gonna be a crazy experience and I certainly will share my experience with you on this blog. I am so looking forward to it.

Photo credit: makeupmag.com

Today is the second day at IMATS, I stayed the whole day (minus about half an hour at the beginning and half an hour at the end). It was exciting to meet more beauty bloggers, see their faces and talk to them in person, lol. I know that might sound silly, but it's nice to put names to faces. And what even better is we all share the love for makeup :-)

First, the classes.




















The classes today were fun. Koren talked about building a brush kit (and someone in the audience won a big huge brush set that everyone there wish they did too), and Elessa showed us a holiday makeup look using the brushes in different ways, and tips and tricks. It was fun sitting in to listen to them, and talking to them afterwards. I do hope they enjoy their stay in Canada.

I didn't get to see Norma Hill-Patton's session, but saw her by the IMATS booth at around 2:30 with the 2 "New Moon" looks that she recreated.

The models weren't as gorgeous as the movie characters but I really loved the vampy looks. I haven't seen New Moon but I'm sure people would love the makeup Norma did in it too. Vampire is so trendy right now, and makeup plays an important part to that :-)

I did get a picture with her, just as one of the things to remember IMATS with.

On to the haul. One thing I didn't realize yesterday was that companies didn't split their stock for 2 days, and it was first come first serve. It is a disadvantage for people who went the second day, as lots of stuff was sold out and they missed out on MUFE, OCC, Naked popular products.

I started slow, as I wasn't sure what I wanted after browsing roughly yesterday, but once I started, it was a point of no return, lol. Here's what I got.

From Auraline Beauty:
I got an empty 15-well blush paper palette (magnetized) and filled it up with mineral lip stains and mineral brushes. Show special price: CAD40, I saved about CAD8 compared to individual price.

I also got a 15-well empty shadow palette (CAD5) and 4 mineral shadow pans (CAD10 for 4). The colours were quite pretty, and I couldn't resist the price.

The 2 little fold up purse-like items on the left hand side were actually my surprise finds. After the bloggers left late afternoon, I wandered around by myself and saw them at Auraline. What do you think they are?













Yes, they are brush rolls. I actually wanted the rolls only, but they cost CAD10 each when come empty and CAD20 with brushes, so I thought I might as well get the whole thing. Couldn't decide which pattern was better, so I got them both, lol. The "Bambi" one is fuzzy and the plastic inside is very soft. The "Tiger" has a tougher look, and the plastic is firmer. I love them both.

This brush set was also a fun find. They were tied together by a little ribbon and placed in a little basket which wasn't very visible to me.

A blogger found out they were only CAD5 a set (7 brushes, awesome price huh?), and we all tested them out. Almost everyone ended up with a set, lol.

They were decent brushes. The lighting and the flash made the handle look black but they were actually light gold colour, very different from other brushes sold at the show. I'm happy I got them.

At Crown Brush:
There were different brush sets, but I only wanted this one. The brushes are extremely soft, I am so in love with them.

They are travel sized, but I actually preferred it than the full sizes as they fit right into my hand. And the grey colour is kinda different from the skunk look of the duo fiber brushes, or the typical black or red.

The set was CAD25, not the greatest price, but I gave in anyway.


After listing to Koren about brushes, I went back to get a few eye brushes.

After like 20 minutes walking back and forth to test out brushes, I ended up getting 2 regular, 2 angled blending/ crease brushes, and a pencil brush. Some with red handles, some with black. Not all of them had names or codes on, which I found a little inconvenient.

Good thing I didn't get any face brushes, as after I paid for these, I found the brushes at Auraline, lol. I'm telling you, there weren't too many booths at the show and I was already lost, didn't know what to buy and where. I always found some better deal after I already paid for something similar :-)

The price for these ran between CAD3-CAD5, I believe.

And lastly, my little kabuki brush from Royal Brush, with the IMAT catalogue as props, lol.

Its official name was Tri-Color Nylon Angle Kabuki brush. All kabuki brushes were CAD6 (regardless of sizes), except the Golden ones (redish brown colour) were CAD4. I wasn't interested in Royal Brush until Elessa talked about their brush in her class. The gurus are such bad influences to our wallet, lol.

The class was at 3:30, so by the time I went check out the booth, most of the kabukis were gone (especially the golden colour). I grabbed the last one in large, again in the same colour family with the travel set I got at Crown Brush.

Elessa also mentioned Royal Brush's fan brush, as one of her favorites. I found it a little rough to my face, so it didn't come home with me.

I did get to talk to CoverFX and FACE atelier at the show. They were really nice people and I was so glad to see Canadian brands doing so well, and I appreciated the fact that they talked about beauty bloggers with respect. Despite the fact that some bloggers were in it for free stuff (as mentioned by the companies), they still value bloggers' neutral and honest view on makeup products, and that made me happy.

I left the show at around 4:30. A few booths already started to pack up. All in all, it was a great time meeting my fellow bloggers (whom otherwise I wouldn't have a chance to meet) and getting to know more about different products and the companies' PR strategy. And of course, if was a great opportunity to stock up on things that I have been curious about.

I'm thankful that IMATS made it to Canada for the very first time and look forward for many more shows to come.

It was a long day today, but an interesting day indeed. IMATS was fun, as a chance to see some hard-to-find (to me) brands, see the MUA students in actions, the gurus, the classes, and fellow bloggers.

I didn't get to the show until almost 2pm, but could feel the exciment in the building. There were a little fewer than I expected, as booths were a bit small and close together. However, the ladies managed to get what they came to the show for, so they were happy.

It could be a bit better if more brands decided to offer discount at the show instead of just showing the products (Ben Nye), or selling them full price with the display smaller than one at Sears or the Bay (NARS). MUFE, Crown Brush and OCC seemed to be the most popular and certain products were sold out quite quick. So if you know exactly what you want, get to the show early and line up to get them.

I didn't have a chance to visit the Canadian brands (FACE atelier, CoverFX or Yaby), as I was busy spending time with other bloggers. They were there since the morning, so they had done their part of shopping already :-) IMATS was such a nice opportunity for makeup lovers to get together, shop and chit chat.

One interesting find: around 3pm, Crown Brush was trying to getting rid of the last few 88 palettes and the mixed palettes of blushes and shadows (reg. $15 at the show) by selling them for $10 (the ones with broken shadows or hinges were $5). If I didn't already got 2 palettes from Coastal Scents, I definitely get a palette or two.

There were supply stores selling Ben Nye, Mehron palettes, empty palettes for shadows and blushes, etc. There wasn't any noticeable discount though, as you could probably imagine already.

I sat at Koren's class about pigments, with Elessa as the model, it was very cute of them together. They were very friendly when we came up to talk to them after the show. Love them! We saw the student competition too, interesting.

The food at the show was overpriced, so if you plan to stay all day, it wouldn't hurt to pack some lunch - healthier and more wallet friendly. After the show, I hung out with the bloggers, and 2 of us ended up going to the mall checking out a few things, and had a fun dinner. I really enjoyed the time at the show with you all ladies. Lovely to meet all of you. Appology for my creasing shadow, I didn't check myself in the mirror until I got home, lol. I didn't use my regular primer on the lids, and it showed, embarassing!

I am still not sure I want any MUFE to show up first thing at the show to line up. What to do?

As you have heard from me enough, IMATS is this weekend (woo hooo!), so just want to do a summary of highlights from IMATS website, and from browsing around the net. I also spent a few hours watching IMATS LA videos on youtube, just to know what to expect. So here goes.

The Exhibitor list has been updated with the latest addition of NARS (I'm excited about this one) and the Bay. This year, MAC will only be teaching/ presenting at the show, so no MAC shopping.

For Canadian brands, they'll have Cover FX, FACE atelier and Yaby. I was hoping Pandora's Makeup Box also joins this year as they have become quite popular recently and they are Canadian. Not long after juicystar07's video about their products went live, the website crashed due to extremely high traffic. Impressive huh? Pandora's cannot confirm whether they'll be at IMATS Toronto at this time yet, so the chance of seeing the brand is not high.

MUFE will be 40% off at the show. The line at IMATS LA was crazily long - the wait was anywhere between 40 minutes and 2 hours (yikes)! allthatglitters21 said people passed along a note about things they wanted when they first got in line, and the stuff will be ready for them when they got to pay. As the result, people in line wouldn't know if the stuff was sold out or not.

According to My Daily Grind on Beauty, besides individual products at the show, there are some HD sets as well. The company told me we don't have to rsvp, just pick them up at the show like anybody else.

The best seller sets:
- 4 Must Have HD Concealers (305,330,355,370) $80
- 4 HD foundation set WARM (117,128,177,185) $115
- 4 HD Foundation set COOL (115,155,175,180) $115
- HD Powder & Kabuki Brush $50
- Perfect Primers (HD Elixir, HD Primer N0, All Mat) $85
* taxes included, plus a black MAKE UP FOR EVER bracelet with the purchase of an HD set.

Would you be interested in any of the sets? If not, what are some good MUFE products you suggest me to check out?

OCC offered 20% off at IMATS LA, I don't know it would be the same in Toronto.

Another brand I want to check out is Naked Cosmetics, as I saw a few pretty pigment sets people bought at IMATS LA. Some people mentioned next time around, they would spend their mony on a stack of Naked Cosmetics' pigments instead of a shadow or two at MUFE, so I'm very curious.

And there're the hard-to-find brands (at least to me) like Ben Nye, Kryolan, Eve Pearl - heard raves about her foundation and salmon concealer.

Brushes would be a big thing at the show, many brands, many product choices. Auraline, Crown Brush, Hakuhodo and Royal Brush would sure keep us busy. Auraline also has empty palettes for cheap (could fit MAC shadows), but the minimum order on the site is $50. There shouldn't be any minimum limit at the show, so shop away. Hakuhodo is a high end brand above others (about $25-30 higher than MAC's range), just so everyone is prepared.

Also, they do take credit cards at the show, so you don't have to bring cash, lol. It works better for their benefit, don't you think? Just watch your budget and don't blow it too far, lol. If we could gather 10 people or more, there's "group discount" for 1 order all together. It doesn't sound practical, considering how busy the show might be and people are scattered all over the place. Can you keep 10 people at one place to put in one order?

In terms of speakers, if I could pull myself away from the goodies, I would want to see Eve Pearl, Koren, Pursebuzz, and New Moon's MUA Norma Hill-Patton.

Advanced tickets are available until 5pm EDT, November 19. Tickets at the door would be CAD40 (1 day) or CAD70 (2 days), and CAD20 for children under 12. Note: you can change the date of your tickets by 5pm, November 19 by emailing jennifer@makeupmag.com. Tickets are not refundable but is transferable.

Also, the Afterglow party for IMATS participants is going to be at the Brazen Head Irish Pub, 6pm on Saturday. Anybody going?

Hope it's gonna be fun time for all who decide to attend. And it'd also be a meetup among us, bloggers. See you there!

EDIT: beautygeeks is giving away a pair of IMATS tickets. Hurry over and enter, if you haven't got your tickets already or want to bring a friend.

Photo credit: imatsshow.com

Just have to pop in for a reminder again. Tickets to IMATS Toronto this November will go up by CAD5 (one day) and by CAD10 (both days) tomorrow, Monday, October 26.

When buying tickets online, choose "Will call - pickup" option to save on shipping cost.

The exhibitor list is certainly longer than last time I looked, which is a good thing. Still no MAC though :-)

IMATS is less than one month away. Are you excited yet?

EDIT: The sale price has been extended until October 26, so you guys have a bit of time to buy your tickets :-)

Just a quick reminder to all of you who plan to come to IMATS Toronto this November.

Tickets right now are CAD30 for 1 day and CAD50 for both days, but will go up to CAD35 and CAD60 accordingly this Friday, October 9. So, if you haven't got your ticket, go get one ASAP.

Shipping charge for tickets is $10 for within US and $35 to Canada (which is crazy), but there is an option for "Will call - pickup" (i.e. picking up your ticket at the show the day of) with no fee, so make sure you choose that option.

Surprisingly, MAC isn't on the exhibitor list at the moment (and they are Canadian brand). However, I see Ben Nye, Crown Brush, FACE atelier, Hakuhodo (I believe this is the brush brand that MissChievous raved about), Kryolan, MUFE, OCC, Yaby, etc. Hoping it's gonna be a fun time.

I am planning to meet up with several lovely fellow bloggers in Toronto, so if you are around, let us know so we can meet up (at or outside IMATS). Cheers!

By this time, you probably all heard about IMATS Toronto happening at the Heritage Court on November 21 and 22.

I just booked my ticket flying home with a stop over in Toronto so that I could go to IMATS and visiting my best friend as well. I have been bugging my Torontonian bloggers to see who are going and what day, so I can meet up with them. This would be my first show ever, and I'm excited.

According to the ticket site, I have until October 30 to get a one-day ticket for CAD30 or both-day ticket for CAD50. So this is a shout out to my fellow bloggers - Please let me know if you are coming to the show. Love to meet you all!

Photo credit: imats-toronto.com