IMATS London 2013: The Haul

I can't believe it's been a week since I went to London ahead of my favourite weekend in the makeup world! Now that you've seen some of what IMATS had to offer in my 2013 post, it's time to see which goodies I bought!

I think I was quite restrained this year. I didn't buy everything I laid my eyes on. I didn't buy things I wouldn't use. I bought some essentials and a few whimsical pretties to tide over the magpie in me. I'm pretty chuffed with myself that I didn't exceed the budget I'd set for myself. That would be a first!

Make Up Forever

MUFE was absolutely rammed this year, particularly the base section. After patiently queuing I did manage to swatch a few foundations and I settled on Mat Velvet + in 15. It's probably the lightest shade they do (or that I could see) but with a good pink undertone and I was interested to see in how it stands in the mattifying stakes. I've tried it and so far, so good. I'll keep testing it and post a review if you fancy? Whilst I was at MUFE I had a look at the powders and I just happened to pick up the HD powder and I popped it over my foundation swatched arm. The finish it gave was incredible so I made sure it went in to my basket. I've been applying it over the bases I've been using this week and I have to say girls, it's HG material. Amazing. Whilst I'm here I'd like to say another thank you to the super kind girl who gave me a make up wipe to remove the ridiculous amount of swatches I had on me at the time! I had a quick look at the MUFE lip products and nothing really took my fancy although I did pick up a Aqua Lip pencil in 8C which is a beautiful red which I'm eager to try out.

NARS

I can count the amount of NARS products I have ever used on one hand. And I don't even need all 5 digits. It's not a brand that I'm overly familiar with because its not stocked anywhere near me at all. Saying that, what I have tried has been good and I was intrigued to see them exhibiting at IMATS for the first time. When I got wind of them having a whopping 60% discount I made a beeline for the stand. I was really disappointed because the products I knew I wanted were there for everyone's swatching pleasure, but weren't being sold. Bit of a waste of everyone's time to be honest. However they did have some bundles for £30 and a stand of mostly cream based products, lip products, blushes, and nail polishes on the discounted section. I picked up two Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils in Frivolous and New Lover. 

Inglot

I really wish there were more Inglot stores in the UK. Their products are amazing quality at such fantastic value. I didn't go crazy and buy any freedom palettes, although I was tempted. But I was afraid I would get duplicate shadows like Leanne ;) Instead I tried some new products and I picked up a gorgeous hot coral lippie in 231, a body pigment powder in 181 which is a pretty frosted cranberry with a hint of taupe, and two beautiful liquid liners, 28 which is a shimmery purple and 41 which is a stunning colour that is described as silver but reminds me a lot of Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Epatant.

Royal & Langnickel

It would have been rude not to visit one of the sponsors of the show, and after loving the two brush sets I got last year (I reviewed the Silk Line Pro range here) I wanted to pick up another C490 Eyebrow brush and I also decided to grab a C402 Mini Flat Smudge brush.

Crown Brush

By the time I managed to take time out to visit Crown, it was super busy. Think elbows at dawn. I didn't really need any more brushes anyway but I did pick up another C425 Tapered Concealer Brush.

Louise Young

I was desperate to pick up another LY24 Liner Brush because they're amazing to use with gel liner. The brand were discounted at PAM so I bought that together with the LY29 Lip Brush which I find convenient for popping into my handbag for fuss free touch ups on the go.

Naked Cosmetics

Naked is a brand I've seen at IMATS for the past couple of years and I've always admired the beautiful pigments on display but hadn't to date bought any. This year they had some much better deals and this year I picked up a beautiful taupey stack called Cabernet Blush with a matte 'shadow base' which is actually a mixing medium after seeing a demo by their super friendly staff.

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I haven't managed to properly swatch anything but I'm planning to as soon as the sun comes back! Is there anything you're desperate to see? Let me know if you'd like me to review anything you've seen here and I'll do my best to pop that up as soon as I can :)

FOTD: Singapore Sling

Lately I have been opting for a simple look of black eyeliner and a statement bright lip. It's quick, it's easy and I love it. In a recent Makeup Shakeup post, I aimed to use the Sleek Curacuo Palette from the Caribbean Collection. Teamed with my trusty Illamasqua Sealing Gel, I used the hot shimmery pink Singapore Sling to create a pop of colour on my upper lash line above my beloved Maybelline Gel Liner.

My base consisted of Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream which quite frankly I cannot recommend highly enough, Illamasqua Brow Cake in Gaze through my brows, Topshop's Brighton Rock on my lips and my peepers are finished off with Illamasqua Vow pencil on my waterline and lashes have two coats of Rimmel's Scandaleyes Flex Mascara.

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What's your current favourite go-to make up look?

IMATS London 2013

It makes a pleasant change to be writing this post in the summer. Previously both IMATS I have attended in 2011 and 2012 were in January/February which involved a lot of snow! For 2013, IMATS London moved from January to June along with a change of location from Alexandra Palace to the Olympia National Hall in Kensington. Cue a very early start on Saturday at Leanne's (5am - I think we're borderline insane?!), a journey from East to West London and some added transportation issues (cheers TFL) before we could gain access to one of the make up world's biggest events.

As usual, all the stands and stages were on one level and there was lots of space between stands for all the visitors to mill around in. The balcony section of the Olympia housed a small cafe area, the preparation area for the Student Competition and the Make Up Museum.

Make Up Museum

Lincoln created by Kazuhiro Tsuji

And some familiar faces!

Daniel Craig as James Bond

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow

The IMATS Experience

Saturday was by far the busiest day for me, taking in the artistry, watching the Student Competition, attending the Power of Social Media talk and of course shopping! IMATS is certainly a great experience but I feel its definitely better if you have a plan. Bicky, Leanne and I knew which stalls we simply had to get to before it got super busy. I bought the things I really wanted and I spent Sunday treating myself to some impulse purchasing!

Lime Crime and Sugar Pill at Love Makeup

PAM

Charles Fox

Pigment Stacks at Naked Cosmetics

Inglot

Bobbi Brown Pro

Make Up For Ever

Mehron

m•i•a by Einat Dan

Student Competition: Battle of the Brushes

This year, the beauty/fantasy competition was on Saturday. It's always a must watch for me because I love to see the results after we've had a sneak peek of the preparation area! I find it fascinating to see what the artists create in their two hour time limit. The 2013 theme was The Elements, inspired by—but not limited to—the four forces of nature: earth, wind, fire and water.

Michael Key, Make Up Artist Magazine Publisher and Heather Wisner, the IMATS Student Competition Director about to announce the winners.

Third place - Valko

Second Place - Laetitia Saren

First Place - Ya-Sui Tseng

The Power of Social Media

Being kept highly entertained in the Apex Room by (L-R) Ruth from A Model Recommends, Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter, Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup and Caroline from Beauty Mouth

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Another brilliant IMATS weekend is now over. I had a great time and it was lovely to see a few familiar faces and meet a few more in the form of the very lovely and funny Grace from All That Slap! Especially as she convinced us to go to Pizza Express. Because you know, the trains were cancelled. And it was inside the Olympia. Would have been rude not to, right? ;)

Did you go to IMATS? Was it your first time or are you a bit of a pro now? I hope you all had a great time. Stay tuned for my haul post, coming soon.

Makeup Shakeup #3

The warm weather is making a come back this week, so I've decided to adopt a summery theme to my makeup. Hello shimmer!

♥ Benefit Sunbeam Golden Bronze Complexion Highlighter ♥

I love using a highlighter to accentuate and I've had this sample tucked away in my stash for such a while, I thought it was about time I dug it out and put it to use. Powder highlighters are well within my comfort zone so a liquid version is something I'll have to work with. Sunbeam is gorgeous and I can't wait to use this with my foundation for a subtle glow.

♥ NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Natural ♥

I raved about these when I first got my hands on them many moons ago with my first Cherry Culture order. The NYX cream blushes were my first foray into the medium and I loved them until I discovered the Topshop cream to powder formulas which are now my absolute favourites. There's something so undeniably pretty about this shade that gives me just the right amount of subtle colour on my cheeks.

♥ MAC Melon Pigment ♥

Another product I've had for an absolute age! I remember being obsessed with this and wore it to death when it arrived. I've got a little left (these samples from Makeup Geek go a loooong way) and I think its perfect for warm weather. A shimmering eye with a complementary blue or purple eyeliner works wonders on me, which handily brings us on to my next product...

♥ Illamasqua Powder Eye Shadow in Inception ♥

Unfortunately I mislaid my favourite purple gel liner so the next best thing is Inception eye shadow mixed with some Illamasqua Sealing Gel for a rich, deep violet liner. Perfect!

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Do you adapt your makeup with the weather? What's your go to look on a sunny day?

Makeup Shakeup #2

This week I have decided to let the sun and an awful lot of online shopping inspire me. Bright, rich shades and striking patterns have me lusting over colour of all forms. And lots of sunshine calls for lots of colour - eyes, lips, cheeks, nails, you name it, this week there'll be colour all over it.

This week I am rediscovering:-

♥ 17 Blush & Glow in Peachy ♥

If I'm going for a bright eye or a bright lip, I'll keep the cheeks fairly neutral and having a rummage through my ridiculous blusher collection, I unearthed this beautiful blush duo from 17. Divided into two halves, it has a lovely shimmery peachy coral blush on one side and a shimmery, dusky rose gold shade on the other. I'll swirl my duo fibre cheek brush in both colours, tap off the excess and apply on the apples of my cheeks, heading upwards towards my hairline. It gives such a natural glow to the skin. Perfect for summer.

♥ Sleek Curacuo Palette ♥

As you can probably tell, this is one of the palettes in my collection that hasn't had much use before. I bought it because it was bright and pretty. Oh and it had nice packaging. But its barely been touched. I'm determined to get lots of use out of it this summer. I'm not 100% sure I can rock bright eye shadow but if I use it in conjunction with my next product, I'll certainly be attempting coloured liner again!

♥ Illamasqua Sealing Gel ♥

I recently rediscovered this in my makeup collection - its a must for a perfectly defined, long lasting brow. However you can use this with pretty much anything for a smudge proof, waterproof finish. I'm planning on using it for some colourful liner looks.

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Are you loving colour in your makeup routine for summer?

Listening to: Bo Bruce - Before I Sleep