Over the January weekend of 15 to 18, my boyfriend and I traveled down to SoCal to attend IMATS LA that Sunday (the 17th).
For those who don't know, IMATS stands for International Make-Up Artist Trade Show and there's one in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Sydney, Vancouver, and London. It is pretty much a make-up convention where many brands sell their products at a discounted price and there are also classes you can attend during the convention. It is a great place to network in the beauty community since everyone there shares the love for makeup.
IMATS is on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday is open to only pro card members, so if you're a professional artist, you can sign up on their page to get access to Friday's show. I believe pro members get a bigger discount on some brands than regular admission does. Then Saturday and Sunday are open to the public. Unfortunately, Saturday was sold out when I bought tickets (late November), so I only got the Sunday ticket to IMATS. Which was a good thing for me because I don't think I would've had enough money to spend on both days!
My original IMATS list:
I bought a lot of stuff and I spent over the budget I set for myself. Whoops! Haha, I have no regrets though. The experience and products I got were worth every penny. I got some stuff for my friends as well.
OBVIOUSLY, I did some major damage hehe.
First of all, the convention started at 10 AM and ended at 5 PM. I arrived at the Pasadena Convention Center at 9:15ish and the line was crazy long already. That was just to get in! After we got in, we rushed straight to the Morphe booth in Hall Three. I knew it was going to be a long line and products might run out so I made sure that was first. The line was already out the door for the booth, so my boyfriend waited in line while I made my way to Violet Voss and House of Lashes, which were in the same hall as Morphe.
At Violet Voss, I wanted to try their new liquid lipsticks I've heard so much about, their famous glitters, and their dramatic lashes. The glitters were 4 for $30 (retail for one was $9) and it came with a free glitter adhesive (retail $14). They were out of the glitter in Champagne Kisses that I really wanted, so I picked out Unicorn Party, Champagne Bubbly, Copperella, and Venus.
Their liquid lipsticks were 5 for $50 (retail for one is $12), so I picked up two in Excessive (one for a friend) and three in Flirt (two for friends).
I also wanted to try their lashes and they were 6 for $45 (retail for one is $10). I got three in Eye DGAF (one for a friend) and three in the style Vamptress.
I also picked up their new highlight palette for my friend. It was on sale for only $20!
All together, I spent a total of $145 at Violet Voss with no tax.
After Violet Voss, I went back to my boyfriend who was STILL in line for Morphe and kept him company for a bit. I then left again to House of Lashes and tried to limit myself from buying a lot of lashes (even though I really wanted to splurge...).
I loved how organized this booth was. They passed out their product menus while you stood in line and when you get to the counter, you hand them the menu and ask them any questions you may have. Then you stand in another line to pay while other employees get your purchase ready. It was super fast and efficient.
I picked up a bottle of their white adhesive for $5.60 (retail $8), a 3 pack of Iconics for $21 (retail $30), a 3 pack of Noir Fairy in Black for $21 as well (two for a friend and retail is $30), and a pair of Siren for $6.30 (for a friend, retail is $9). I really wanted to buy Boudoir but I knew I was going to throw a lot of money on Koko Lashes later that day so I decided not to. Every purchase came with a cute free tote bag and a free HOL necklace! How awesome! OH YEAH, the person I stood next to in line told me that at Limecrime, you get a free lipstick with your purchase fyi ^^. Who doesn't love free makeup?!
My total for House of Lashes came out to be $58.21 with tax included.
I went back to the Morphe line and in total, we waited about 1 hr and 53 minutes to finally get in the booth, not to pay, but to enter the booth (and yes exactly that time because my boyfriend kept track... LOL). That's how crazy the line was!! I picked up so many things. My friends wanted some brushes as well. I'm happy I made a list beforehand of everything I wanted because I was pretty fast. I actually handed my list to the employee and she got all the brushes for me, which was so much faster than me searching for all the brushes.
I went a lil cray on brushes hehe.
The discounts were:
After that long line, I hopped into another long line, Dose of Colors. The line was about 40 minutes I think. When I got near the front of the line, the employees asked if anyone didn't want to swatch and was ready to purchase, so I took that opportunity and saved probably 20 minutes. That was when I thanked myself again for making a list because I knew exactly what colors I wanted.
Their liquid lipsticks were on sale for $15 each (retail $18) and their regular lipsticks were on sale for $13 (retail $16).
I got Bare With Me, Kiss of Fire, Stone, Mood, and Desert Suede. Sadly, they were out of Truffle and Brick, which were the two I really wanted.
My total was $105 for 7 liquid lipsticks (I got two for a friend) with no tax.
After Dose of Colors, my boyfriend and I exited Hall Three and went to the main hall, which was super big compared to Hall Three. We went to our next booth on my list which was Lady Moss.
QUEEN Bs WERE SOLD OUT T_T
The thick Koko Lashes were 4 for $20 (one retails for $7). I picked up 15 pairs altogether: Diva, Bella, Risque, Goddess, SoHo, and Misha.
My total came out to be $87.20 with tax.
After that, we made our way to Kat Von D. The line was really long as well and an employee informed the line that they were out of their Shade and Light Bundle, which included the eyeshadow and contour palette as well as their face and eye brush. They were also sold out of just the Shade and Light Eyeshadow palette, their liquid lipsticks in Lolita, Double Dare, and Bow N Arrow. The only thing left on my list was the contour palette for myself and an eyeliner for my friend. I decided to leave because the line was way too long for just two items. The employee that informed us that those items were sold out gave everyone who wanted that specific item one voucher for 30% off the item on their website and provided free shipping! That was really sweet ^^ We then made our way towards Anastasia Beverly Hills.
Their booth had a pretty long line too but it wasn't too bad since it was already around 3:30 PM. While we waited, I left to a close-by booth called Naime's. They sold a lot of known brands like MUFE, Beauty Blender (they were on sale for $16 each), Laura Mercier, Lorac, and a few others that I don't remember. I went to their Girlactik booth and bought their matte bronzer in Cabo for $15.60 (retail $26), their face glow in Natural for $15 (retail $25), and their lip paint in Posh for $13.80 (retail $23).
My total at Naime's was $48.40 with tax. They also gave me a 20% off coupon for an in-store purchase valid until Feb. 15 (one month after IMATS).
I returned back to the ABH line and picked up some eyeshadows, a dipbrow promade in medium brown, contour singles, and a lip gloss. Their glow kits were not on sale nor their liquid lipsticks. They also ran out of Sepia and Catnip anyways.
I bought 5 eyeshadows and it came with a free super cute 4 shadow case. They were $11 each (retail $12). I also got contour singles in Banana which were $11 (retail $14).
I picked up two Brow Definer for my friends for $20 (retail $23), the original contour kit for $33 (retail $40), and a lip gloss in Glided for $10 (retail $16).
My total here was $174 without tax.
After that, my boyfriend and I took a break from all the standing and walking and ate some of the snacks we brought.
I returned to the main hall and went to Z-Palette's booth.
For those who don't know, IMATS stands for International Make-Up Artist Trade Show and there's one in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Sydney, Vancouver, and London. It is pretty much a make-up convention where many brands sell their products at a discounted price and there are also classes you can attend during the convention. It is a great place to network in the beauty community since everyone there shares the love for makeup.
IMATS is on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday is open to only pro card members, so if you're a professional artist, you can sign up on their page to get access to Friday's show. I believe pro members get a bigger discount on some brands than regular admission does. Then Saturday and Sunday are open to the public. Unfortunately, Saturday was sold out when I bought tickets (late November), so I only got the Sunday ticket to IMATS. Which was a good thing for me because I don't think I would've had enough money to spend on both days!
My original IMATS list:
I bought a lot of stuff and I spent over the budget I set for myself. Whoops! Haha, I have no regrets though. The experience and products I got were worth every penny. I got some stuff for my friends as well.
OBVIOUSLY, I did some major damage hehe.
First of all, the convention started at 10 AM and ended at 5 PM. I arrived at the Pasadena Convention Center at 9:15ish and the line was crazy long already. That was just to get in! After we got in, we rushed straight to the Morphe booth in Hall Three. I knew it was going to be a long line and products might run out so I made sure that was first. The line was already out the door for the booth, so my boyfriend waited in line while I made my way to Violet Voss and House of Lashes, which were in the same hall as Morphe.
At Violet Voss, I wanted to try their new liquid lipsticks I've heard so much about, their famous glitters, and their dramatic lashes. The glitters were 4 for $30 (retail for one was $9) and it came with a free glitter adhesive (retail $14). They were out of the glitter in Champagne Kisses that I really wanted, so I picked out Unicorn Party, Champagne Bubbly, Copperella, and Venus.
Their liquid lipsticks were 5 for $50 (retail for one is $12), so I picked up two in Excessive (one for a friend) and three in Flirt (two for friends).
I also wanted to try their lashes and they were 6 for $45 (retail for one is $10). I got three in Eye DGAF (one for a friend) and three in the style Vamptress.
I also picked up their new highlight palette for my friend. It was on sale for only $20!
All together, I spent a total of $145 at Violet Voss with no tax.
Top lashes are Eye DGAF, the other ones are Vamptress. Liquid lipstick in excessive is on top, then flirt, then the glitter adhesive.
Swatches of flirt (top) and excessive (bottom)
From top to bottom: Venus, Copperella, Unicorn Party, Champagne Bubbly
After Violet Voss, I went back to my boyfriend who was STILL in line for Morphe and kept him company for a bit. I then left again to House of Lashes and tried to limit myself from buying a lot of lashes (even though I really wanted to splurge...).
I loved how organized this booth was. They passed out their product menus while you stood in line and when you get to the counter, you hand them the menu and ask them any questions you may have. Then you stand in another line to pay while other employees get your purchase ready. It was super fast and efficient.
I picked up a bottle of their white adhesive for $5.60 (retail $8), a 3 pack of Iconics for $21 (retail $30), a 3 pack of Noir Fairy in Black for $21 as well (two for a friend and retail is $30), and a pair of Siren for $6.30 (for a friend, retail is $9). I really wanted to buy Boudoir but I knew I was going to throw a lot of money on Koko Lashes later that day so I decided not to. Every purchase came with a cute free tote bag and a free HOL necklace! How awesome! OH YEAH, the person I stood next to in line told me that at Limecrime, you get a free lipstick with your purchase fyi ^^. Who doesn't love free makeup?!
Iconics (top and left), Noir Fairy (right), and the necklace they gave out with every purchase
Free tote bag to hold your purchases :-)
House of Lashes Adhesive
House of Lashes IMATS prices
My total for House of Lashes came out to be $58.21 with tax included.
I went back to the Morphe line and in total, we waited about 1 hr and 53 minutes to finally get in the booth, not to pay, but to enter the booth (and yes exactly that time because my boyfriend kept track... LOL). That's how crazy the line was!! I picked up so many things. My friends wanted some brushes as well. I'm happy I made a list beforehand of everything I wanted because I was pretty fast. I actually handed my list to the employee and she got all the brushes for me, which was so much faster than me searching for all the brushes.
The 35O palette was on sale for $19 (retail $23). I was so happy this was still here on the last day of IMATS! These were always sold out online so I was so excited to see this in stock :-)
Top to bottom: E18, M432, E22, E36, M433 (x2), M441
Top to bottom: E4, E3, E34, M527, E8, M438, M523, M439, M459
I went a lil cray on brushes hehe.
The discounts were:
- E3 - $14 (retail $17)
- E4 - $14 (retail $14)
- E8 - $10 (retail $6, THIS WAS NOT ON SALE!)
- E18 - $4 (retail $6)
- E22 - $6
- E34 - $14
- E36 - $4 (retail $5)
- M321 - Didn't write the price, sorry :-(
- M432 - $2
- M433 - $6 (retail $6, NOT ON SALE)
- M441 - $6 (retail $6, NOT ON SALE)
- M438 - $8 (retail $10)
- M439 - $12 (retail $14)
- M459 - $8 (retail $12)
- M501 - $9
- M523 - $14
- M527 - $12 (retail $16)
- G14 - $6 (retail $7)
- G24 - $6 (retail $8)
After that long line, I hopped into another long line, Dose of Colors. The line was about 40 minutes I think. When I got near the front of the line, the employees asked if anyone didn't want to swatch and was ready to purchase, so I took that opportunity and saved probably 20 minutes. That was when I thanked myself again for making a list because I knew exactly what colors I wanted.
Their liquid lipsticks were on sale for $15 each (retail $18) and their regular lipsticks were on sale for $13 (retail $16).
I got Bare With Me, Kiss of Fire, Stone, Mood, and Desert Suede. Sadly, they were out of Truffle and Brick, which were the two I really wanted.
Top to bottom: Bare It All, Stone, Desert Suede, Mood, Kiss of Fire
My total was $105 for 7 liquid lipsticks (I got two for a friend) with no tax.
After Dose of Colors, my boyfriend and I exited Hall Three and went to the main hall, which was super big compared to Hall Three. We went to our next booth on my list which was Lady Moss.
QUEEN Bs WERE SOLD OUT T_T
The thick Koko Lashes were 4 for $20 (one retails for $7). I picked up 15 pairs altogether: Diva, Bella, Risque, Goddess, SoHo, and Misha.
My picture got featured on @kokolashes Instagram! Go check the picture out and their page for some inspo :-)
My total came out to be $87.20 with tax.
After that, we made our way to Kat Von D. The line was really long as well and an employee informed the line that they were out of their Shade and Light Bundle, which included the eyeshadow and contour palette as well as their face and eye brush. They were also sold out of just the Shade and Light Eyeshadow palette, their liquid lipsticks in Lolita, Double Dare, and Bow N Arrow. The only thing left on my list was the contour palette for myself and an eyeliner for my friend. I decided to leave because the line was way too long for just two items. The employee that informed us that those items were sold out gave everyone who wanted that specific item one voucher for 30% off the item on their website and provided free shipping! That was really sweet ^^ We then made our way towards Anastasia Beverly Hills.
Kat Von D IMATS Prices
Their booth had a pretty long line too but it wasn't too bad since it was already around 3:30 PM. While we waited, I left to a close-by booth called Naime's. They sold a lot of known brands like MUFE, Beauty Blender (they were on sale for $16 each), Laura Mercier, Lorac, and a few others that I don't remember. I went to their Girlactik booth and bought their matte bronzer in Cabo for $15.60 (retail $26), their face glow in Natural for $15 (retail $25), and their lip paint in Posh for $13.80 (retail $23).
Face glow, bronzer, and lip paint
I take the worst swatches... I am so sorry LOL
From left to right: Lip Paint in Posh, Bronzer in Cabo, Face Glow in Natural
My total at Naime's was $48.40 with tax. They also gave me a 20% off coupon for an in-store purchase valid until Feb. 15 (one month after IMATS).
I returned back to the ABH line and picked up some eyeshadows, a dipbrow promade in medium brown, contour singles, and a lip gloss. Their glow kits were not on sale nor their liquid lipsticks. They also ran out of Sepia and Catnip anyways.
I bought 5 eyeshadows and it came with a free super cute 4 shadow case. They were $11 each (retail $12). I also got contour singles in Banana which were $11 (retail $14).
I picked up two Brow Definer for my friends for $20 (retail $23), the original contour kit for $33 (retail $40), and a lip gloss in Glided for $10 (retail $16).
Left to Right: Eyeshadows in palette: Fawn, Orange Soda, Fudge, Sienna. Morocco is on top along with the dipbrow in Med Brown. On the right we have the Light to Medium Contour Kit (powder) and their lip gloss in Glided
My total here was $174 without tax.
After that, my boyfriend and I took a break from all the standing and walking and ate some of the snacks we brought.
I returned to the main hall and went to Z-Palette's booth.
I picked up their XL Palette for $22 (retail $28) which came with magnets, and I also picked up their depotting spatula for $10 (retail $12).
Afterwards, I couldn't help it but stop at the Mac Pro booth. Sadly, they only accepted card and I told myself that I wasn't going to touch my bank account but.... it was mac... hehehehehe.
Mac IMATS Prices
I picked up a few items, but sadly they were out of some stuff I really wanted or they didn't carry it at IMATS. I got two shaping powders for $13.60 each, one in Lightsweep and one in Accentuate (retail $17). A large pro palette for $6.40 (retail $8) to store the powders as well as some that I have at home. I also bought 5 lipsticks for $13.60 each (retail $17).
Sorry that the swatches are the other way from the picture.
Left to right; Whirl, Yash, Velvet Teddy, Peach Blossom, Japanese Maple
My total at Mac came out to be $110.74 with LA's tax of 9%. For all the items they didn't have, they gave me a 20% off voucher to use at their store down the street but it was only for that day before 7pm. After Mac, I was pretty broke so sadly I couldn't go :-(
My boyfriend and I finally left around 4:30ish because I legit didn't have any more money in my budget to spend LOL.
So would I go to IMATS again? HELL YEAH! Many employees told me the Sunday is not as hectic as the Saturday of IMATS so next year, I will probably do the same thing and go on a Sunday.
Advice on things to do before going:
- Try to buy tickets when they first release or at least two months in advanced
- Make a budget on how much you are willing to spend altogether
- Withdraw cash in case some booths don't accept card
- Research and make a list of what you want to buy from each booth
- Write down retail prices of items you want on your list to make sure you don't buy something that is overpriced or the same price as something you can just get back home
- Have an agenda of which booths you want to go and rank them from "I really want to go" to "I don't mind if I don't have time for this booth"
- Have a good nights rest so you are energized for the event
- Eat breakfast!!!
Advice when at IMATS:
- Wear comfy shoes (heels are not your friends when you're standing for long periods of time and rushing to booths)
- Wear a small bag. There is a lot of people you'll bump into on accident, your big bag will be very annoying.
- Bring water and food to prevent paying a ridiculous amount of money on the convention food. Also, the Starbucks around the corner overprices their drinks (even water) because they KNOW you'll be thirsty. Eat around the area! We walked to Sushi Stop where plates were only $2.75 and it was so delicious!
- Be ready to carry heavy bags of products
- If you are bringing your boyfriend, bring a portable charger for him LOL
- Talk to people around you in line. This is a great chance for you to exchange social media information and/or business cards. Keep in mind that many people travel from far away to attend this event.
- Have fun!
Think of this as Black Friday but for makeup. The lines and the soreness of your legs are on par. IMATS is such a great experience and a great opportunity to save some $$$ and see really cool makeup! Take lots of pictures with the awesome backdrops and with new people you meet. If you made it this far down, thank you! I hope this post was informative to you and have fun if you're going next time! :-)
