IMATS Toronto 2014

I attended IMATS Toronto again this year. The last (and first) time I went was in 2011. This year it was at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto.

IMATS Toronto is busy. Very busy. I heard and said "Sorry" and "Excuse me" SO MANY TIMES. Girls pushing each other out of the way, or banging into each other and saying "Sorry". It made me chuckle. But I think it was mostly friendly, not frantic. We were all in it together. 

The crowds ebb and flow, and there are periods of calm, but many of the booths are two or three people deep, and there are lengthy queues to access the Make Up For Ever and MAC booths. 

But IMATS isn't all for shopping. Mostly, but not all. There are also demonstrations, classes, displays and the IMATS Battle of the Brushes for student MUAs. It's a great event for MUAs. 

This year's special display featured items from the FX TV series called The Strain, which I've been watching. It's set in New York City but filmed in Toronto.

This is the main villain, the Master, a centuries old vampire. You can see the Master in action here:

Here is The Master's coffin, where it sleeps. It's huge. 

And this is one of the partly-dissected bodies of a vampire used in the show. The vampires have an appendage that comes out of their throats to suck blood out of their victims and that's the long tail-like thing lying against the body. 

This year the main draw for me was that Samantha and Nicola of Pixiwoo and Real Techniques. They stopped by the Real Techniques booth to greet fans for a few hours. I didn't wait in line since it was so long by the time I got there, but it was cool to see them in person. From what I saw, they seem just as lovely and genuine as they do in their videos. And yes, just as gorgeous too.

Here's part of the line to meet Sam and Nic. 

Here's Toronto's Blur Makeup Room's booth. So busy.

Here's a shot of part of the line at the Make Up For Ever booth. They were offering 30% off.

The Velour Mink Eyelashes booth. 

Because of the crowds, it's best to have a list. And cash on hand. Some booths accept credit cards and debit, but not all. There are ATMs but these are often busy too. All booths accept cash. 

Some of the vendors I haven't already mentioned include:

Beauty Blender

Beauty SoClean

Hakuhodo

Jordane Cosmetics

Naked Cosmetics

NARS Cosmetics

Royal & Langnickel Brush

TemptuPro

FACE Atelier

I went looking for brushes and a few other things that I didn't bother trying for because of the crowds, but here is what I came home with. I will review all of these products in separate posts.

bdellium Brushes: I discovered these at the 2011 IMATS and have been impressed with their quality. The best part is that they're so inexpensive. I bought five brushes for less than $30. 

CDN Vinylux Nail Polishes: These are the creation of the people behind the shellac manicure. Vinylux are weekly nail polishes that yup, last a week without chipping or wearing. They make your nails stronger while wearing them. I reviewed their Dark Dahlia shade last December. You can see that review here. 

OPI Nail Polish: The booth selling this and the Vinylux polishes had them for $6 each, which is half the price of the Vinylux and cheaper than you can find OPI polishes regularly. I liked the colour of this one. 

EyEnvy: This was an impulse buy, since it was $30 cheaper than it is elsewhere, and because I've heard so many rave reviews of it. EyEnvy is a lash and brow conditioner designed to increase the growth of eyelashes and eyebrows. I'll try it out and post my results in an upcoming post. 

And that was my IMATS Toronto 2014 experience. Did you attend this year?

C.