IMATS Toronto 2011: Haul + Experience! (Super Pic Heavy)

On a lovely Saturday morning, my Mommy Bear and I decided to venture off to the Toronto Congress Centre for IMATS! It's my first time going this year and it was pretty different from what I expected. Unfortunately, I went a little bit later so I didn't see too many familiar faces! But heck, it was still awesome. The venue was huge, completely stuffed with people and I almost felt a little intimidated by the obscene amount of people inside! I met some really nice people, but not without some with pretty bad attitudes. The sale prices were rather luscious, especially Makeup Forever at 40% off! Overall, I had quite a nice time and will definitely return next year! Did you go to IMATS? If you did, I wanna see! Link me to your blog or tell me what you got in the comments below!

I took a ton of pictures! I chose a few good ones to show you how the experience was!

At the front outside the show! I felt so awkward taking this photo because there were two other girls right next to us! But anyways, the venue was huge and took a while just to see all the booths!

This is the Crown Brush booth, and honestly, I wanted to buy some nice inexpensive brushes but really did NOT want to wait in line for ages just to pay! Also, despite the fact that Crown Brushes were good quality, I didn't really see something I was dying to have. Oh well!

At Dinair Airbrush Makeup, the cutest model was getting airbrushed! I knew I wanted to make a purchase here, so I stood for a good 10 minutes watching her get her arms did! The airbrush is super cool and she's really sweet, so she let me take a bunch of pictures of her makeup. Can you tell the pattern on her hair is AIRBRUSHED? Wow!

This is the NYX Booth, and OMG... I could not even get close to those products. By the time I was there, the line up to pay was already wrapped around the ridiculously huge booth! They had their full range there so I guess that's why people were going crazy. But NYX isn't expensive to begin with, and Cherry Culture always has discounts so that's why I didn't bother!

My Mom getting her lips done by one of the ladies at Dinair! They chose a nice coral nude colour and it looked awesome.

Eve Pearl showing us her full makeup kit! Can you believe that's all she takes on set? She really emphasized on how important it is to condense your kit, ways to better organize palettes, and what essential items to have in your artist kit. I stood there watching her up front for a good 45 minutes! Out of all the booths, I actually learned a ton from her. She doesn't win Emmys for nothing!

Eve was showing us how to reverse contour. Did you know that switching the dark and light color positions actually reduces the cheek? I didn't believe it either until she did it and it looked great.

Here's she's showing us how to match skintones, and what colours/textures you should use for undereyes, redness, blemishes, etc!

This lovely lady's name is Sandra (sorry if I got it wrong!); and she got made over by Eve Pearl. I think the difference is quite lovely! She's got really nice skin to begin with, and Eve made her look younger, fresher and fierce! I watched her makeover from beginning to end, and the whole thing (with tons of talking) took only 25 minutes!

Here's the Naked Cosmetics Booth, they had some really nice selections of glitters and pigments for quite a cheap price, but I felt like I have too many already. Maybe next time!

Koren's airbrushing a model at Temptu Pro! I didn't even know you could airbrush a ton of wacky colors onto hair! Dang, I wish I had blonde hair now, haha.

This has got to be the most unflattering photo of me ever, but heck, it's with Koren! I'll admit, I felt a little star struck to see him, but I didn't hesitate and asked for a photo. He's such a sweetie! I was like... "Koren!?" then he just came and gave me the biggest hug and took a picture with me even though he was super busy!

Here's Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, and it was one of my favourite booths! Yeah, there was a ton of people. However the makeup artists really seemed to know their stuff, showed me a few BEAUTIFUL combinations, and handled things quick!

Here's Makeup Forever, and like NYX, the line was enormous and wrapped around the booth twice! The samples for the products were on display at the side, and you write the products down on a sheet of paper for them to pack it up for you. The most hyped up product must've been the HD Foundation, but I've already got mine and it's my love!

A bunch of cool looking makeup on models! Man, my skills are so mediocre in comparison.

Dinair Airbrush System:

I've been wanting to try this for so long, and even debated ordering it online! However, I'm glad I waited to purchase it here because I saved a ton from shipping and handling, plus learned a few airbrushing tips at the show. My Mom actually purchased this for me as a birthday gift! It came with 5 shades of foundation, a moist and dewy primer, the cleaner, compressor, airbrush gun, and a sample of their AWESOME concealer. Review to come!

OCC Lip Tars in Memento and Pageant

These are seriously pigmented! I'm sure you've heard it before, but it's true. I tried these today and literally used half a drop to cover my entire lip. Awesome! Also, they're great for mixing so I'll definitely buy some more outrageous colours next time!

Bdellium Tools Brushes in 958, 953 and 780

These brushes are to die for. I originally wanted Crown Brushes, but these ones are better! Trust me! Nothing at Crown Brush really surprised me since as a makeup junkie, I already have lots of brushes. But these are literally the same brush as the MAC ones! I know both the dual fiber brushes are identical to the MAC 130 and 131. The pencil brush is literally the same as the 219!

Makeup Forever goodies! I wanted everything from the hardcore waterproof Aqua line because I hate runny eye makeup!

MUFE Aqua Cream in #2 and #5

Man, I've wanted to try some Aqua Cream since they came out! I visited my local Sephora on Friday afternoon with my friend just to swatch these and see which colours I liked. I applied #2 on my hand at 4pm, and it was still there by the next morning, after a hot shower!

MUFE HD Blush in #14

This gel/cream blush is a light peachy colour and has a really smooth texture. I was debating between this and another pink, but peach is my way to go!

MUFE Aqua Smoky Lash

Okay, who hasn't heard a gazillion raves on this mascara? I've also heard that Aqua anything from Makeup Forever is pretty hardcore in the waterproof department. Also at $17, I couldn't justify NOT buying it!

MUFE Full Cover Concealer

Concealer is one of my most crucial makeup products because my terrible dark circles make me look not so attractive in the morning. What does this promise to give? Full coverage? AND Waterproof? Whoppie! I'm sold.

I'm super excited about my smaller but significant haul and can't wait to use these products. Did I disappoint? Haha!

That's it for today's post! Hope you enjoyed :)