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.

♥ ♥ ♥

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 :)