IMATS London 2013

Last Sunday I made my very first visit to the International Make-up Artist Trade Show better known as IMATS in London.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I was certain that I’d spend far too much even after a whole year of saving. The first thing that struck me was the sheer size of the place,  I was completely giddy at the prospect of  visiting all the exhibitors and getting my hands on all kinds of products that would normally be pretty difficult to find in the UK,especially if you live outside of London.  I’d printed out the floor plan and marked every single vendor  against their booth number,  I was glad that I’d taken the time to do this, I think that I would have been a bit overwhelmed with the dazzling array of goodies on offer without it. I was determined to make the most of my time and grab a few bargains along the way. 

All prices include show discount.

Royal & Langnickel (no discount)

I bought 2 brushes from the Silk Pro range, a C421 Line and Smudge (£4) and a C525 Lash Fan (£3)

I also bought another Lash Fan type brush from the Revolution range a BX-145 (£3)

Love Make-Up (discount 20%)

        Sugar Pill eye shadows in Kitten Parade, Midori, Bulletproof and Dollypop (£6.80 each)

        Lime Crime Velvetines lip colour in Red Velvet (£9.20) and lipstick in Geradium (£9.20)

Love Make Up is my favourite online make up store  specialising in pro and niche brands, you can buy  Sugar Pill and Lime Crime at LOVE MAKE UP

 Inglot (discount 20%)

Four square palette:


352 Matte-peachy nude
312 Matte-peach
345 Matte-mint green
346 Matte-lilac

Five square palette:
123R-apricot-terracotta rainbow
450 Pearl-burgundy
50 AMC-matte red with fine gold glitter
366 Matte-bright apricot
319 Matte-soft rose taupe

I bought 9 eye shadows from the Freedom System and 2 palettes, 1 x 4 and 1 x 5, I think that the shadows were £3.60 each, the whole lot came to about £42, can’t remember exactly, but the lady that served me  was rude and accusatory when she’d given me the wrong palettes. I did manage to bag a 20% discount code for online purchases though. INGLOT

MAC (discount 15%, 35% for Pro Card holders)

                        Face and body in White (pro product, £22.53)

                     Full Cover Foundation in W10 (pro product, £19.98)

You cannot buy MAC Pro on the website any more but if you call the Pro Store in Soho, they'll be happy to let you make an order and pay over the phone. Call: 0870 192 5555 10am - 6:30pm Monday-Saturday, 12pm - 5:30pm Sunday

Paris-Berlin (random discount)

Le Black Liner (£6)                                                                                   La Poudre de Comete in Comete (£5) 

La Paillette Crystal in Crystal 1 (£3)

A bit disappointing, I had about 8 items on my list but they carried very little stock and when I opened the eyeliner it was completely dried out.

Back Stage Shop (random discount)

                                                                                    




Ben Nye Luxury Powder in Banana, small size (£6)

Ben Nye Fresh Scab, small size (£5.50)

Paris Berlin Glitter in Green (£4)

Lovely helpful shop, you can buy all your stage and SFX make-up at 
BACK STAGE

Charles Fox for Kryolan (random discount)

Tuplast Skinplastic (£10)

Kryolan Eyebrow Plastic (£5)

Eldora Lashes (any 3 for £10)

The discount here was huge! I bought 3 sets S143, C182 and B155. The S143 cost £11.50 on the Eldora website.  Beautiful lashes, well made with many beautiful and unusual styles. Get them at Eldora

OCC (no discount)

Lip Tar in Vintage (£12)

Skin Conceal in Y1 and R0

Cream Pigment in Grandma 

You can buy OCC in the UK at LOVE MAKE UP

L. A. Splash (random discount)

                                                                                    



Diamond Dust eye shadow in Golden Smoke (£5)

Splashproof Sealer eye shadow base (£7)

L. A. Splash cosmetics are much cheaper in the US, you can buy this brand along with Milani and NYX at CHERRY CULTURE

Bdellium Tools (random discount)

Bdellium Studio 10 piece Mineral Brush Set (£33)

964S Blusher, 957S Precision Cheek, 955S Finishing, 945S Contour, 942S Slanted Contour, 781S Crease, 776S Blending, 769S Angled Contour, 765S Small Angle Shader, 755S Smudger,  brush roll.                               

This was my best bargain! Even full price at £52 this set is incredible value for money you can get it from LOVE MAKE UP

Bloody Mary (very generous discount)

Special Effects eye shadows in Blood Red, Olive, Bruise Purple, Zombie Grey, Silver (crème) and Gold (crème), (2 for £7)

Mini spray blood (£2)

Special effects pencils in Navy (for veins) and Blood Red (for vampire eyes), (£2 each)

Meeting Bobbie Weiner (Bloody Mary) was the absolute highlight of my weekend, I was really sad that I’d missed her Zombie Girl and Burn Victim demo the previous day. 
You can buy a huge range of Bobbie’s SFX make up at BLOODY MARY  it’s all really good value for money and shipping is reasonable too.

I have to say that I really enjoyed my IMATS experience, it was really well organised and despite the crowds you could always find a quiet spot, no massive queues for the ladies was a bonus too. I will most definitely be returning (a lot poorer) next year :)