my imats experience (and haul!)

It was one of those things that had long been on my radar. Yet, I had never made it down to IMATS. That changed when a friend of mine invited me along for IMATS Toronto 2016 show. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. Going in? I had no clue what to expect. I simply hoped for a fun day full of makeup. Well, that is exactly what I got. Here it is....my very first IMATS experience.

Morning came very early. I was up at 6am doing my hair and makeup (my hair was not cooperating so I opted for an "I Dream of Jeannie" inspired high-ponytail and warm matte eyeshadow shades with a little winged eyeliner). Then came the dilemma of what to wear. Despite having multiple outfit options laid out....nothing felt right. Ultimately I went with a simple floral blouse and a pair of skinny jeans. Then it was time to head to the train station to make my way to the city. We met up for a quick breakfast before waiting in line to get in.

IMATS was crazy. Beyond crazy. We waited for quite some time to be let in and then it was line after line after line. Silly me, I figured you could walk up to the makeup booths and shop. Ha! Basically, you would get into a line for a brand. Wait for 20 minutes to an hour. Decide what products you want to buy. (Sometimes without seeing them until the very last second.) Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. There were certain booths we simply did not have time to make it to. The lines were just too long. It was definitely a little overwhelming!

It was still a lot of fun, though. We got to talk about makeup, pick up some new products, and take in all of the madness around us. Full reviews will definitely be coming for these....but until then...here is my IMATS haul.

Products Pictured Include: 

• Morphe 35W Eyeshadow Palette 
• Morphe M458 Brush
• Morphe M705 Brush
• Naked Cosmetics Desert Sunset Collection
• Lime Crime Velvetines Liquid Matte Lipstick (Squash and Blondie)
• Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick (Beloved, Nosferatu, and Santa Sangre)
• Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick (Lolita) 

Phew! It was definitely tricky to show that much self-restraint. With makeup absolutely everywhere....I wanted to buy it all. Instead, I tried to focus on items I would get a lot of use out of or were totally different than anything already in my makeup collection. For that reason? I think that I did really well. Expect detailed reviews on each of these items in the weeks to come.

Have you ever been to IMATS? What was your experience like?

xo Shannon