…by Helen, aged 30 (and a bit more).
So, after the weekend I’ve had, it’s a wonder I’m not sitting in a darkened room with a cool flannel on my forehead having someone peel me grapes. But I am relaxing to University Challenge, whilst eating a raspberry doughnut and sniffing at my Neom Tranquillity candle (more on that later). I’m also typing this as fast as I can before the boyfriend comes home and wants to watch Glee. Not that he’d tell anyone that.
So, for those of you who haven’t been reading UK bloggers’ slightly hysterical tweets, or checked your Blogger dashboard of late, you won’t know that IMATS rolled into town this weekend. The International Make Up Artist Trade Show, in long.
Sheenie and I were lucky enough to have been offered press tickets to the event, which meant that not only did we not join the half hour long queue, we also didn’t have to pay £45 on the door. Now, in my opinion, that is a LOT for any trade show. I know you could register and get £35 tickets in advance but still – I didn’t spend enough to make £45 pay for itself if I’d had to pay that to get in. Hmmm.
So, after from feeling bad for everyone in the ticket collection queue, we made our way in. The first thing I clocked was an awesome stiletto heel belonging to none other than Adam from Illamasqua, so we made that our first port of call. And I am glad we did. Not only was there a good discount on the products, it was nice to catch up with everyone from the team, especially Halimah, who is doing my wedding make-up for me!
Sheenie and I didn’t have a proper plan of attack and actually that served us quite well as we enjoyed pottering about and seeing what was there. Next, we stumbled upon OCC, where I managed to cover my entire hand (fingers and all) with Lip Tar swatches. And I tell you what – that stuff does NOT come off. My lips are really chapped at the moment but I am looking forward to trying them out. I didn’t know a lot about the Lip Tars, but thankfully Charlotte from Lipglossiping rocked up at just the right time, told me what I “needed”, to which I replied “baaahhhh” and handed over my cash in a very sheeplike manner.
We also spent a bit of time at Guru MakeUp, looking at the Make-Up Forever range. Very nice. I second what Sheenie already said about people hogging the front of a display with no real aim or purpose and that was annoying. Equally annoying was the fact that many stands seemed to have testers on display but none of the actual items in stock. Had they sold out? Or were they even there in the first place? Very wrong.
What else? I did not manage to get anywhere near Crown Brushes which was a pain. I tried three times. There was a woman in front of me with the most razory elbows and she was not letting anyone in for love nor money and she also had about two of the assistants fetching stuff for her. I don’t care how much money you’re spending – move along a bit! Actually, it worked out for the best as I ended up getting some awesome brushes from @design, and I’m thrilled as so far they are exceeding my expectations.
Something that upset me about IMATS was that people were unbelievably rude. Not the salespeople on the stands, but the other punters. Now, I am a veteran of trade shows, and I even survived the Wedding Show at Earls Court last year, but this was horrendous. I’ve always been one to queue patiently (whilst gnashing my teeth and rolling my eyes) and sneak in to a space when someone moves on. Not here. I was bashed with handbags, had my feet stepped on, and was barged out the way, mainly by big groups of students who could barely believe their luck at being in such a treasure trove. I admire the precision and strategy with which my fellow bloggers moved around, but the pushing, general hysteria and sheer grabby greed of some of the other attendees left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
The things I really enjoyed were, believe it or not, nothing to do with testing products or shopping. Alex Box (Creative Director of Illamasqua)’s interview with the editor of Make-Up Magazine was great – insightful and thought provoking and once again leaving me in no doubt that she really is an inspiration for doing things her way. The movie and special effects prosthetics were mindblowing. I could watch that stuff for hours and I loved the fact that every time we did a circuit of the hall, the models being made up as aliens were looking more “alieny” every time we passed them.
I also loved the Alice in Wonderland competition for the student make-up artist of the year contest. Please check out Sheenie’s photos if you haven’t already done so, as they are mindblowing. Such talented artists.
IMATS was really thought-provoking for me, actually. I thought the greed on display was a bit unsettling. I hated the way people were rude and pushy. I loved some of the talent on display. I loved bumping into my fellow bloggers as we walked around. I liked seeing products we can’t readily get in the UK, but it would have been nicer to see more Brit brands as well. There was barely any nail varnish in the entire room, making me think it’s still make-up’s poor cousin. I now know I definitely don’t want a career as a make-up artist. But I find the concept of working as an agent very, very interesting, and this is certainly something I want to look into in more detail.
So, after all of that walking around, feasting my senses and colouring in my hands (and wondering yet again what all the fuss is about MAC), I had a great time. Would I go again? Absolutely. I’d like to thank Make-Up Magazine for arranging the press tickets for Sheenie and I – see you next year!
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