IMATS LA 2013: Friday and Saturday Experiences and New Brand Releases

Hey everyone, 

I've got lots of picture to go over with you on IMATS LA . I was planning on doing my haul post first but I had forgotten to get some BFTE Cosmetics eyeshadows (I had to commission my friend Alyson/The Gloss Menagerie to CP me some) so I'm going to hold off until I can get a hold of them to do one cohesive haul post. I took a lot of pictures so I'm going to separate them out into two posts, this post will feature some of the cool booths I saw and some of the new releases I saw at the booths and the other post will feature the cool people I saw, the Makeup Museum full of special fx makeup, and the body makeup done by other artists at the show.

(To save your computers, I'm doing a "click to expand" for the post as I have way too many pictures.)

When it comes to booths I saw, the first I have to talk about was BFTE Cosmetics. The owner Crystal was so amazingly kind to me. I was supposed to only go on Saturday but last minute, Phyrra (who was working at the BFTE Cosmetics booth) asked me if I wanted to go in on Friday Pro Night as a blogger. I quickly said yes and am so thankful I did. 

BFTE Cosmetics

They had amazingly cute sets and a small portion of their colors available separately. If you haven't seen some of the amazing colors on the website, it's worth the look.


Click to read more on BFTE Cosmetics, Sugarpill, other brands, and some of their new releases!

At the show, BFTE were featuring three of their new colors, Emerald Bliss (their answer to Pantone's Color of the Year), Lotus, and Poodle Pandemonium (the color Phyrra helped come up with!). The semi-mauve color near the top is Poodle Pandemonium, then clockwise is Emerald Bliss, then the bottom color is Lotus. I got my friend to get my Poodle Pandemonium and Emerald Bliss so I'll be sure to swatch it when I can!

Sugarpill Cosmetics

The long awaited Sugarpill Cosmetics booth! This was a booth I had to be sure to talk about.

Their booth of course didn't disappoint. This was the artwork on the side of their booth and the makeup for this photoshoot was actually done by Lauren/QueenofBlending. I feel like I have to recreate this look in a future post (thought it won't look as nice!)

I'm sure many of you saw this palette previewed on Sugarpill's Twitter and Facebook feed. This baby was $85.00 and IMATS-exclusive (for now I'd say). It may be available outside of IMATS in the future but I'm not making promises. I had a real irrational want for the palette, I already have the Burning Heart and Heartbreaker palette but I still wanted it.

The Cold Chemistry quad wasn't available at the show but singles were (you can see the cute packaging for the singles in the picture above. I got to chat with the lovely Amy (and take a picture of her) and was told that the Cold Chemistry should be available within two/three weeks, the Sparkle Baby Palette within a month/month and a half, and the bright Chromalusts in Spring (after the palettes). If you missed out on swatches, be sure to check out this post I did of them last IMATS!

I forgot to take a picture of the display at the show which featured the new names for the eyeshadows of the Cold Chemistry and Sparkle Baby eyeshadows but I edited my picture from last year with the new names. Elemental Chaos and Hotsy Totsy are NOT vegan, the rest were.

The rest of the booths I'll cover in alphabetical order. I didn't take too many pictures at each booth, just pictures of things I thought you guys might find interesting.

Bdellium Tools (the /b/ is silent by the way)

I didn't end up getting anything at Bdellium Tools but I wanted to mention that they have the cutest pink synthetic set. It's similar to their Green Bambu Set but only in pink! They're going to be at The Makeup Show LA so I'm sure I'll end up getting one of the brushes since they're adorable.

Elessa Jade for Pursebuzz/Enkore Makeup

Pursebuzz had all her jewelry there and Enkore had his new Ultrasonic Brush Cleaner to  preview (not available for sale yet) and his new Deep Conditioning Hot Oil Brush Treatment, 5eKZ Brush Soap, and Artiste AromatiKZ. I picked up the new brush soap in the scent Gardenia (unfortunately they ran out unscented and I liked the Gardenia scent the best after that)




This is the Enkore Ultrasonic Brush Cleaner. I believe Koren said you could clean your brushes in as little as one minute or three for a deeper cleaning. It isn't out yet but it's coming soon! I immediately thought of Star Trek's sonic showers when he kept explaining it and I quite like the thought. For makeup artists who have to go through a lot of brushes or just for an enthusiast, it's a great idea!

Here are Koren's Hot Oil Brush Treatment, Brush Soap, and Artiste AromatiKZ. The Hot Oil Brush Treatment works to condition your brushes while the Brush soap is so cool since it has a loofah on one side to help build lather and better clean brushes. I didn't read what the Artiste AromatiKZ was but I will when I see Pursebuzz and Enkore next week at their booth at ISSE Long Beach (Can you sense a pattern here? Lots of overlapping booths!)

Makeup Geek

I had to check out Makeup Geek! I have been following Marlena for ages and though I only ended up getting one gel liner from the booth, I could have easily gotten more (and might do that later!)

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

I was really looking forward to checking out OCC ages ago because I wanted to get my hands on Belladonna lip tar, that is until it was discontinued. I wanted to get my hands on a OCC Concealer previously but unfortunately none of the colors matched me. They featured a new emerald lip tar Power Plant (for the Pantone color of the year) but I didn't know about it until after I had already left (you can see it here though!)

Shany Cosmetics

I didn't actually hang around Shany for very long, I just wanted to check out this gigantic eyeshadow palette. I saw it at last year's show and they had it again here. Those pans are really eyeshadows!



and lastly, Sigma Makeup*

I scoped out Sigma Makeup on Friday and avoided the place on Saturday. The line to purchase products was extremely long and went along the wall of the room (and it's a big room!). At the show they also previewed their new individual products, the individual eyeshadows, individual brow duos, brow products, and eye shadow bases (feel free to use the affiliate link above and code JAN2013 to get 10% off)

This is one of the new products, the Resort palette which features eight eyeshadows, one blush, one liquid highlighter, and a dual-ended eyeliner. I didn't swatch it but you can get an idea of the colors. This palette will be released soon.

The new Eye Shadow Bases. Again I didn't swatch the colors but you can see what the packaging looks like. I'll admit I feel like the packaging is a little large compared to the actual product (see all the plastic surrounding the bottom) but the shape is cute. 

Their new individual eyeshadows. The compacts are actually quite nice, the lettering on them is holographic which you can see in some of the eyeshadows. These will retail for $11.00

The new brow duos. Starting from the back and going forward, they had the Light, Medium, Dark, and Auburn duos. I think the Dark duo is a little too warm toned for me so if I do decide to get a color, I might get the Medium instead since it looks more ashy. The individual components of their popular Brow Kit were also available for sale. The duos and individual brow products are available now, the brow gel, highlighting pencil, and brow pencil retail for $12.00 while the brow powder duos retail for $14.00

My thoughts overall on the show.

I just went to IMATS in June so it did feel too soon to have another show but I was thankful to be able to see my friends. I am so thankful I was able to go on Friday because the crowds on Saturday really kind of dampened my shopping experience. I spent Saturday just hanging out with friends and they truly made the experience for me. The date change also makes it too close to other shows; ISSE Long Beach on Saturday (I think I've forgotten to explain that it's the International Salon and Spa Expo, a pro-only trade show catered to hair, nails, and skincare) and The Makeup Show LA in March.  Also since I only went to IMATS six months ago, I wasn't all that excited to shop there. I was sad to see some IMATS-staple brands not at the show like NYX and MUFE but as they'll be at ISSE and TMS, I'm not missing out on much. 

If I had to think about it, I prefer The Makeup Show LA over IMATS LA. I'm glad for the opportunity to see my fellow makeup bloggers and vloggers at IMATS, but the show has just gotten so popular that the lines are so massively long and so shopping is quite the ordeal. I'm pretty sure I'll just end up going to see my friends. The Makeup Show LA is smaller with fewer brands but the brands that do have massive lines like MUFE and Inglot eventually get better. That and The Makeup Show LA has way better discounts on some products and some new brands this year. 

Anyway, thanks for sitting though this! I'm anxiously waiting for the new Sugarpill Chromalusts to come out and to see the brands again in a few weeks! I'll have my next post on the cool people I met, the Makeup Museum, and the body makeup artwork up soon!

Disclaimer: All the links in the posts are not affiliate links with the exception of the link marked with an asterisk*. I make a commission of your use of the link when you use it to purchase products but feel free to use a non-affiliate link if you don't feel comfortable. The commission I get helps to