It’s nearly time for one of the most loved events for all makeup junkies – the International Makeup Artist Trade Show! This year the LA show is taking place in January instead of June like previous years, which actually makes more sense. The reason for the change is LA traded show dates with London. Gee, when would you rather be in London, January or June? Yeah. LA is nice in both months, so it was kind of a no-brainer.
This year’s show takes place on January 18th through the 20th. Unfortunately due to the scheduling change, several brands weren’t able to attend. Since I work for a beauty brand I totally understand. Attending a trade show of this magnitude is a huge expense, and making the show 6 months sooner really throws a wrench into budgeting, especially for smaller indie brands. So that’s kind of a bummer, but there’s still loads of brands that will be very exciting to see! I’m compiling my shopping list and my “check this out” list already. Want to peek?
My IMATS LA 2013 Shopping & Browsing List
Embryolisse Purifying Milk Wash – I loveee Embryolisse Lait Creme moisturizer, so I’m very interested in trying this cleanser. I think I might have a sample of it somewhere that I will try out before I purchase a full size this coming weekend though, so this may or may not end up coming home with me.
Sigma Precision Brush Kit – Ummm because you can never have too many nice synthetic brushes, and I’ve seen way too many Youtube videos and blog posts talking about how awesome these are not to give them a shot. This is actually something I’ve been thinking of purchasing for a while, but was hoping to get a deal on a show special (and not have to pay shipping). :) I’m going to check out other brushes at the show too. You all know I’m a total makeup brush hoarder and I love them all. Some of the best names in brushes will be at IMATS and you know I will have to check them out! I will be visiting with Crown Brush, Royal & Langnickel, Bdellium Tools, Morphé, and Hakuhodo. That’s not even all of the brushes that will be there! IMATS is really a brush mecca.
I’m definitely planning on checking out some of the new goodies from Stila! Stila has a ton of new stuff out including the Color Balm lipsticks (which sound like they’re similar to Revlon Lip Butters & the other similar products that I love), and their new skin care line! Booths I always have to drop by include Senna Cosmetics, Eve Pearl, and the enormous bank of booths from Naimies! The Naimies booths always include all kinds of fun goodies like Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown, Lise Watier, and many more.
There are a few lines I’ve never heard of or never seen in person that will be at IMATS, and I look forward to checking them out. I will be familiarizing myself with…
– Act 5 Cosmetics
– Gorgeous Cosmetics
– J.Cat Beauty
– City Color Cosmetics
– Motives
– Veil Cosmetics
– Snog Cosmetics
Also, making their IMATS LA debut will be Makeup Geek! I’m so excited for Marlena and I can’t wait to see her and her line at the show. Years ago at my first IMATS I actually met her, back when she just did videos on Youtube. It’s so cool to have been able to watch her shine over these past few years. Similarly, I am excited to see Elessa at her Pursebuzz/Elessa Jade booth. She always has such cute accessories, and she’s a delightful person. Speaking of delightful people, I’m going to meet Phyrra, who will be at the Beauty From The Earth Cosmetics booth! VERY EXCITING! We’ve been online blogger buddies for a long time, but since she lives across the country I haven’t been able to meet her in person.
That brings me to my favorite thing about these trade shows– the PEOPLE! I love learning about the latest new things from a brand from actual employees. At IMATS you often can talk to the people who actually developed the products you are trying out! There’s no better source when it comes to finding out what’s going on with your favorite lines. For example, at the last IMATS I met David Klasfeld of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, and he showed me the brand new concealer himself! Not only was that educational, it was a total makeup fangirl moment. ;) I’ve had the pleasure of meeting people like Eve Pearl, Eugenia Weston, Kevin James Bennett, James Vincent, Michael DeVellis, and Sarah Lucero at these events. It’s also a chance for me to meet up with a bunch of other beauty bloggers, which is always a great time! I have made such wonderful friends through the experience of being a blogger. Meeting and making friends people I respect and admire so much is a big part of what keeps me motivated and loving what I do! It’s an entire weekend filled with people who all live and breathe this industry, which is a really exciting and inspiring environment to be in. I can’t wait to absorb it all!
Who else is excited for IMATS? What are you most interested in seeing?
If you aren’t able to go, what do you want to hear about most? What would you go see first if you could??
It feels so weird to be going to IMATS again when we just went 6 months ago. I think it’s also going to be a bit of convention overload since ISSE Long Beach is the weekend after plus The Makeup Show in March and potentially LuckyFABB in April. I’m excited to see more indie brands at the show though, it’s great to see companies you’ve been following since their conception achieve so much success that they’re able to showcase themselves at such a massive trade show
Hope to run into you again! If not, The Makeup Show! WOO! Can’t wait to find some goodies.