It’s hard to believe IMATS has come round again (and left us). A year ago felt like a few months when last weekend we were standing in the forecourt, about to enter the lair of cosmetics beckoning us.
After last year’s troubles, organisers took heed and promised to deliver on putting on an organised show that ran efficiently and effortlessly.
We arrived an hour and a half after doors had opened (strangely enough the same time as last year) and were met with very short queues and a tame crowd inside. It’s not certain how many were put off after last year from returning but it was noticeably quieter and less ‘showy’. Last year there were queues snaking around the foyer, frustratingly moving slowly.
Last year, costumed models walked in between crowds, painted to perfection. This year, despite being in the same exhibition hall, there was more room for brands to pitch their products, some for the first time. The crowds were well behaved but determined and excited nonetheless, judging by the tweets that came up on our timelines.
Vowing to restrain ourselves and focus on what we wanted rather than needed (or should that be the other way round?), we paced ourselves before swooping down on Inglot’s stall, which was closely situated near the entrance.
It was a delight to see Polish (as in ‘Poland’) brand Inglot debut at this year’s IMATS. They have only one store in the UK (in London’s Westfield shopping mall) and I am a personal fan of their Freedom palettes, which they were shifting fast. Pick and mix an assortment of eye shadows, blushers and lip glosses/stains to create your very own customised palette. It’s brilliant – you get what you want and all for incredibly good value and quality.
With a 30% discount, the temptation was too much for Helen who parted with cash for *cough* – 10 – *cough* nail polishes (coming soon) whilst I settled for a couple of nude lip glosses, which are packaged beautifully in test tube shaped, er, tubes.
Illamasqua had been granted a bigger stall than last year (about four times bigger) and were running great offers such as four lipsticks for £20. Helen nabbed a quad of eye shadows, which she will be reviewing on this blog soon.
Sleek was another debutant and not surprisingly, was overrun with excited young girls, keen to snap up their bargains. We didn’t get much of a look-in, so we moved on.
One stall we stopped at was NYX. I caved into a couple of their nail polishes (£5 each) – a stunning molten red and a sparkly cranberry shade. Helen snatched their Charcoal Pearl as well as a palette of cream glitter eyeshadows for only £10.
We both melted for Face Atelier’s pigment eye shadows but controlled our urges and only bought two apiece, which were discounted to £13 each. It’s not a brand I’m familiar with but I’ve picked up on the vibe surrounding it via the wondrous world of Twitter.
We were, however, after more brushes, and were sad that A Design were not putting in an appearance this year, and that we couldn’t get anywhere near the Crown brushes stall, which was rammed with buyers. By chance Helen spied some brushes displayed on a small table which were from the London Brush Company. We’ll be reviewing these fully in due course but first impressions are absolutely excellent – I think we have found a real gem there.
So, purchases in hand, with increasingly weary feet, we made our way home from another IMATS, pleased that we’d discovered some new brands, bumped into some of our fellow bloggers, and feeling like we’d happily spent a couple of hours on board the mothership.
We both felt this year’s IMATS was dramatically different – in a good way. We only attended the first day of the two-day event but found there was more time to focus and enjoy the experience this time around, and leave relaxed and contented. Thank you to the organisers for listening to people’s experiences. We look forward to London IMATS 2012.
Sheenie
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