#MakeupMonday – IMATS Pasadena 2011

IMATS Pasadena 2011 – The International Makeup Artist Trade Show – took place this past weekend. This was the first year in IMATS’s history that the Los Angeles show completely sold out (IMATS originated in LA back in 1997). In fact, we here at Makeup to Go almost missed this show entirely. As a pro makeup artist (and same with my en Español partner, Delia Jimenez Owens) I do not always know whether or not my schedule is going to be open to attend the trade shows. By the time I got my schedule sorted, I missed a lot of cool new features for Professional Artists that IMATS instituted for this years show AND regular admissions tickets were almost sold out. As it turned out, I was able to get tickets for the MTG crew for Sunday and we were able to attend the show for the day. So here’s a wrap-up of what I saw and what I bought…

Actually, let’s back up a bit: This year’s show actually started Friday night with a Pro Only preview event with the vendors. A Pro Only preview is something I have advocated for all the Trade Shows for the past several years. Nothing against makeup fans attending the shows, but it is difficult for pros to talk to vendors about new products/formulations/etc. when you are waiting behind someone asking what shade of concealer would be best for them. We are two different kinds of makeup purchasers with two different kinds of needs so I am glad the needs of the Professional artist are starting to be addressed. I missed that event this year, but if I’m not booked I will be there next year.

We arrived at about 10:30am on Sunday, the plan being to walk the floor and see what vendors had to offer, go to lunch and see what would happen from there. I get a lot of makeup sent to me via the editorials I do, so I really didn’t plan to buy much, I mostly wanted to look and see what was new, do some research, etc. The first booth we encountered when we entered the show was Royal and Langnickel brush manufacturers. Royal is a good, mid-level brush line somewhere in between Crown Brushes (entry level quality and price point) and Hakuhodo Brushes (premium quality and price point). I was interested in some new brushes as my Crowns are shedding/falling apart and my Hakuhodo brushes I only use for certain jobs. A pro MUA friend who was working the booth pointed out a few of her faves to me – all from the Silk line which is available in both natural and synthetic hair (vegan) varieties. I didn’t actually buy any at the show because it was too much of a Zoo at the booth but I ordered the catalog so I can get some in the near future.

Next booth was Yaby Cosmetics because Liz Yu – pro makeup artist and founder of Yaby – is a friend and it’s always groovy to see her at the shows. While there Liz kicked me down some Yaby Tubes and some of the new syringes she sourced to make filling the tubes a lot easier. The Yaby tubes are fantastic both for consolidating your kit and for personal travel (they meet TSA travel restrictions for lotions/gels/etc.). Just fill with your favorite lotion, gel or cream and you are ready to go. I have several in use already and so far no leaking and no mess! Filing the tubes I originally got was a bit of a chore, so I cannot wait to try the syringe when I fill these tubes. (all pictures below are actually ginormous… just click image to see larger)

From Yaby the next booth at which I stopped was Youngblood Cosmetics, also because friends were working the booth. What can I say? Half of why I do to Trade Shows is to see fellow artists whom I don’t normally get to see because we’re all too busy! Youngblood is one of the first professional grade mineral cosmetics lines to hit the market. The foundations, which are of course the crux of the line, feel light and weightless as most mineral foundations do, but they are highly pigmented, non-shimmery/reflective and give great coverage. They also come in a great range of colors. I did not need any foundations – in fact I didn’t really need anything from Youngblood – but that did not stop me from buying some product anyway! LOL! Youngblood had a great show promotion on their Artiste palettes. As you can see these are great neutral colors. They have great texture and blendability and they are not overly shimmery (in fact there appear to be some mattes). These would be great for commercial/advertising/lifestyle jobs, bridal work or even for gifts or for yourself. For me they will be making an appearance on a lifestyle or commercial job soon I’m sure.

I stopped by the Cinema Secrets booth for a moment because I was out of foundation palettes for darker skintones and I think CS has the best color range of any of the pro brands for dark skins. I always buy palettes #9 and #10 and I’m covered from medium to ebony, red or yellow undertones.

The last item that I had no business purchasing but I did anyway was a GLORIOUS new lipstick palette from Kevyn Aucoin Beauty. It is so exciting to have premium brands attending the trade shows these days! The KA lip palette is a beautiful new spring color collection. There are multiple finishes within the palette; sheers, shimmer and cremes which can be mixed and matched, layered, applied sheerly or built up to be opaque. The texture is creamy and luxurious feeling without being overly shiny. Fantastic! My A-1 purchase of the show! (even though I said I wasn’t going to buy anything at the show…)

As far as the education goes there was a lot to choose from there as well. Upon cursory glance at the schedule, there was nothing initially of personal interest. As is always the case, there were a lot of classes/workshops centered around film and TV (IMATS was started by a Union makeup artist), and classes/workshops geared towards newer artists. Included in the price of the Exhibition ticket this year were several good demonstrations on the main exhibit floor. I caught a bit of the HD Make-up Techniques: Airbrush and Beyond demo which was conducted by David Kasfeld – founder of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and also part of the Runway Redefined demo led by Kevin James Bennett (sponsored by Royal and Langnickel Brushes).

Right as I was thinking it was lunchtime, however, I noticed that there was going to be a classroom discussion on obtaining an agent. Trade shows usually have a workshop on this subject, as this is obviously a highly topical discussion. These panel discussions do not, however, usually include agents from top agencies, and this one did. This panel included Timothy Priano, owner of Artists by Timothy Priano, Frank Moore, agent at Celestine Agency, and Madeline Leonard, director of the Cloutier Agency (now called Cloutier Remix). That’s an amazing panel, folks. Even as someone who has been with an agency I learned a lot AND I got to meet and talk to people who are generally very difficult to reach. Good agents are busy people and not generally easily accessible. For me, being represented by an agency of this caliber is the next step in my career. So while shopping was great and all, this panel and the conversation I had afterward made buying a ticket for this show entirely worth it! For those at the trade show serious about a high level print career, this was a Do No Miss workshop.

I had not been to IMATS in at least two years due to work/schedule conflicts and I have to say this was the best one I’d been to in quite some time. Back when IMATS first started it was the only game in town, but then other trade shows started to appear over the years. Competition can either make something buckle or make it better. I was really happy to see that IMATS has really been taking the suggestions over the years in and is really growing and improving the show both in terms of quality of vendors and (overall) quality of presenters. I had a great day and I look forward to attending next year! (if I’m not booked 😉 )

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