One of the most inspiring things about being a makeup artist is seeing the work of other artists. One of the best places to do this is a makeup tradeshow, and few are as competitive as far as amount of talent in one place as IMATS! I remember the first makeup trade show one I went to, which was The Makeup Show in Chicago. I was a brand spanking new makeup artist, and had no idea what to expect, which is why I think I bought one thing that was relatively unrelated to anything I needed, walked around with wide eyes, and left. During all that time, everyone told me the best one was IMATS in LA, so I was SUPER excited to FINALLY go to IMATS LA 2017! Read more for the IMATS LA 2017 Haul & Recap!

Let’s start with the “recap” part of “IMATS LA 2017 Haul & Recap!” shall we? As I mentioned, one of the most fun parts of these trade shows is seeing the inspiration all over. I think if you google “IMATS LA,” (Or “International Makeup Artist Trade Show Los Angeles,” if you’re not into acronyms),  you can find some of the INCREDIBLE body paints and SFX jobs that were walking around the show and being done live, in some cases for the competition. 

I captured lots of these on snapchat, but never got around to saving them to upload here. Also, I should mention that once again, I was helping in the Frends booth, as usual! In addition to the live art of the models who pose for the stage and competition artists, there are tons of makeup artists and enthusiasts who obviously spend hours getting ready to go to the show, and it is like watching a parade of incredible artwork! Here’s one example of an artist/model who came to the booth! 

This picture does the detail work on this no justice! Additionally, you have your celebrity makeup artists in attendance. If you don’t know who they are and what the look like, they can be easy to miss! I am so glad, however, that I did not miss one of my heroes, Ve Neill! 

Yeah, blurriest picture ever, but I didn’t want to bother her to ask her for another! If you’re not familiar with Ve, here’s a link to her IMDB page. Do movies with AMAZING makeup like Beetleguise or The Hunger Games ring a bell? If so, you’ve seen Ve’s genius work! I creepily took another less blurry pic to accompany this one! haha! 

I guess you can say our friendship is pretty serious now! (Hahaha jk!). As I am sure you can tell, I am not one of the aforementioned makeup artists who spends a couple hours getting ready for IMATS, or really anything… I would much rather play on someone else’s face! =P 

Aside from the brush with fame involved with meeting Ve Neill, I felt a little famous myself, because I had a little quote and picture in Makeup Artist Magazine, which is the official magazine of IMATS! So I obviously had to take a picture with my picture! *Nerdy behavior alert!* 

I obviously desperately need new behind-the-scenes photos where my hair is this color and not platinum blonde, as well as the shorter length I’ve got going now! 

Alright, should we get to the goodies?

As I mentioned in my recap from The Makeup Show San Francisco, I feel like I go in phases where I spend a ton of money (like I did for The Makeup Show San Francisco), or am very responsible financially and don’t spend much. This time, I did not spend nearly as much as I did in SF, but I was slightly less responsible than I was at PHAMExpo 2016! 

Fortunately, as well, we get gratis as part of our payment for our work, so some of this was $free.99! Ok, here comes the “haul” part of the “IMATS LA 2017 Haul & Recap!” 

MOST of what I got was replenishing kit essentials/basics, so that is part of what made it feel so responsible! Here’s the contents of my shopping bag! 

Let me explain… You may remember that I got a Viseart palette* from The Makeup Show in San Francisco (and if you don’t, check it out here). It’s the 01 Matte palette, and one that every  artist needs in his or her kit, and would be really lovely for any other makeup fans to have, too! I obviously loved it, so I had to give it some friends… So I got the Matte Darks palette from Frends, and then had to get the new Warm Mattes palette from Muse Beauty, because that is the one place it is currently available (ooh, exclusive!). 

I am going to be doing a lot of model development shoots coming up, and who knows what else, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to load up on some Frends/Stilazzi lashes that were on show special – mostly the natural styles! I got #48, #213, #747XS, tons of #747S, and some #747Ms! 

I also needed to stock up on some holy grail products by Embryolisse – the Lait Creme Concentre*, which is an AMAZING moisturizer/primer that gives a great dewy finish, and their Emulsion Hydra-Mat*, which is also a moisturizer and primer, but gives a matte finish – perfect for dealing with shiny bald heads! 

The last product I got was a brush cleaning solid from Ely Maya (formerly Boulevard) in Lavender scent*. I still use the Stefania Organics cleaner in my kit for a faster cleanup, but I also usually deep clean my brushes at home with a shampoo or conditioner, but I wanted to try something new. I tested this out a bit ago, and LOVE it! You just wet your brushes, rub them across the top of the product, then on the “scrubby” thing on the inside of the lid, and then rinse. It simplified a task I don’t love, and made the process less messy, so I am all about it! 

I already have a list for another order from Frends that I have to make once I go through my kit, so stay tuned for the next haul, as well as the podcast episodes! What of my IMATS LA 2017 Haul & Recap! was most interesting and exciting to you? What do you think you’d want to order for your makeup kit or collection? Comment below! 

xoxo, 

Mandie 

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*Disclaimer: For some of the products, I have provided affiliate links! It means if you decide to order the product on Amazon by clicking that link, it will cost you the same price, but a small percentage will help me with the costs of my blog, and now my podcast, too! I had no idea that there were so many costs associated with podcasts until I decided to have one, but it is a labor of love that has proven totally worth it! Thank you in advance for your support! <3