My IMATS Experience in Pictures

Yesterday I trotted off to Alexandra Palace for my very first trip to IMATS. I had a fantastic day and spent much of it wandering around with my lovely friend, Sparklz and Shine. I met up with old and new faces, attended talks (more of that later) and took in as much of the atmosphere as possible. In terms of shopping, I was a bit of a failure having bought only one item. I'm still kicking myself about this now. I had fully intended to go back this morning to rectify this until I started panicking about the snow that fell overnight. Rather than dwell on it, I thought I would share my day in pictures.

David Horne mucking in at the Illamasqua stand with the rest of the team.

Illamasqua were offering some incredible discounts and attracted crowds all day long. I made several attempts to get close to the counter but I'm lacking in the necessary shopping skills for this kind of action. I made up for it by having a lovely chat with Hayley from Illamasqua over lunch.

You will be unsurprised to learn that I made a beeline for Hakuhodo! It was amazing to be able to see and touch so many of their brushes. If money had been no object, I could have racked up a huge spend. Unfortunately, they were not offering a discount for IMATS so the prices were the same as those on the www.hakuhodousa.com website. The advantage of buying at the show, of course, were that you did not need to factor in shipping costs or the worry about customs charges. I bought one brush and wrestled with the idea of buying a few more. I actually spent a while looking at the numerous other brush makes on offer at the show, and I have to admit that buying Hakuhodo has rather spoiled me. I'm ashamed to admit that I turned a snobby little nose up at many of the alternatives. Champagne tastes and beer money as my Mother would probably say!

Louise Young

Louise Young at the PAM stand sharing some of her expert tips with a small crowd, including myself, Sparklz and Shine and The Make Up Fairy. Louise used her own Essential Eye palette and her brushes as you can probably see. It was a thrill to get such a personal audience with Louise and I took away many tips. Although the show is primarily aimed at makeup artists, I think you can gain plenty as a makeup consumer and general enthusiast.

Hopefully this picture will give you a general idea of the crowds at the show. It was busy everywhere as I arrived (around 10:30 on the Saturday) and I'm told this is pretty much peak time. Most of the stands were still accessible with the exception of Illamasqua and MAC Pro which were several people deep throughout the day. Many of the stands were also offering excellent show discounts. Having said that, I was quite disappointed at the Embryolisse discounts (I had planned to re-stock) as their prices still seemed to be higher than the cost of buying in France.

An array of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics pigments and their famous lip tars

Helen swatched a number of the OCC lip tars and the pigmentation is amazing. I love the colours but I confess, I am a little nervous of them. I'd love to know if you think I missing out on a must have here?

The Real Techniques stand seemed to be attracting quite a bit of interest, especially with their IMATS discount. The brushes are beautifully soft and I toyed with the idea of getting one of the sets but none of the shapes really grabbed me enough to make a purchase. 

Artist and models getting ready for the Student Competition

 This year's theme for the student competition was 'Wild Kingdom'.

This was one of the many items on display in the museum area and I was really taken with the detail on the face. From the crows feet to the slight stubble on the neck: I think it's these realistic touches which stop it from looking too cartoon-esque.

A very pretty skull design, if that doesn't sound too contradictory!

Koren Zander aka Enkore Makeup engrossed in some 3D bodyart

Koren had attracted a little crowd that were all wearing 3D glasses when I took this photograph. I confess, I was most mesmerised by the Hello Kitty brush belt.

This is Vincent de Monfreid for Makeup Atelier Paris working magic on his extraordinarily professional (and presumably very cold) model!

The model and artist above were stationed at the Mistair Ltd & Stageline Professional stand. I thought the shirt and tie detail on the model were amazing.

IMATS was a great experience and I'm already turning my mind to 2013. Of course, next year I will definitely be armed with a list!

Disclosure: I received a press pass for the event so admission was free. I paid for my own transport to the event.