IMATS Toronto Archives - Kirei Makeup

September 28, 2015

IMATS Toronto 2015 – Recap

As you all know, I went to IMATS Toronto on Saturday, and I had a blast! I’ve been to the IMATS since 2010, but last year I was back in Jakarta, so I really wanted to go this year. Fortunately, I was able to attend it with N, and I’m glad I went this year. I managed to meet my role models, my mentors, and couple friends! The meetings were even more amazing than the shopping experience!

So, this year, the IMATS were held in the North building of the Metro Toronto Convention Center, which is unusual since in the past it was held in the South building. The space was a tad smaller, but it was still pretty good. There were a lot of people who came to the tradeshow, and there were long queues everywhere! I came around 10am, but looking for parking was challenging since there were Blue Jays game and University fair. After finding parking, I checked in at around 10.30, and already long lineups as far as the eyes can see! NYX, MUFE, Benefit, MAC, Morphe, Crown, Nigel, Frends booths were packed!

Anyways, this year when I posted a picture on Instagram regarding IMATS, Michael Key commented on the picture and I promised him that I would look for him. I managed to see him (more like hunting him), and took a picture with him! If you guys don’t know who Michael Key is, you should know! Michael Key is 2-time Emmy Winning makeup artist, executive of IMATS and Makeup Artist Magazine. He is the man behind IMATS, so of course I have to take a picture and say hi to him. Such a great guy, so friendly and humble.

Then, I managed to see Kevin James Bennett while I was at Eve Pearl’s booth. As you can see on the photo collage below, I was fan girl-ing at KJB. I was like “I’m a big fan of your work!!!” *laughs* Eve Pearl was there and told him “she’s your fan!”. Unreal! I mean, KJB and Eve Pearl are like the big names in the beauty industry! I still can’t believe I managed to talk to them, and took pictures with them. It felt so surreal! They were giving out tips and tricks, chit chatting with the attendees.

Kevin James Bennett and Eve Pearl are always in the IMATS Toronto, so if you missed them this year don’t forget to look for them next year. KJB and Eve Pearl are Emmy Winning Makeup Artists, they KNOW what they are talking about! All of their classes are very informative, and they are so kind, always willing to answer questions.

All the makeup workshops were amazing! I cannot say enough about these classes. I only managed to sit in on 2 classes this time, but it was really fun and informative. For beauty, I went to Eve Pearl makeup demo. She started out by giving us tips on how to make it in the industry, how to pack our makeup kits and how to work on clients. Then, of course, she proceeded by showing us her famous “Reverse Contouring” technique. I live tweeted during the workshop, so check out my twitter!

Eve was given an hour for her class, and within 45mins she managed to do 4 makeup while talking to us and answering our questions. I only took pictures of 3 of the attendees, but there were actually 4 whose makeup was done by her. She showed us how to do her “Reverse Contouring” technique on all skintone, just by using her Pro kit. I’ll try to apply this technique on myself in the future, so wait for the post!

I wanted to attend Gregory Arlt beauty class, but I didn’t manage to do so since I wanted to see The Strain demo. So, I do apologize for being unable to share any tips he shared. I know a couple other bloggers who attended this class, and they might have tips on their blogs! Anyways, I managed to snap this picture of his class moments after The Strain demo, and before I saw Michael Key walking around.

The workshop that I really wanted to attende to was “The Strain” Character Demo done by Sean Samson and Neil Morrill. This demo took 1.5hr. Sean and Neil showed us how they applied the Foam Latex pieces, they also demonstrated how they colored the pieces. It was pretty great since N and I loved the show, and we really enjoyed the demonstration. They told us that during the filming, these prosthetic pieces took around 3hr to be put on the talent.

Besides the workshops and meeting all these amazing makeup artist, I walked around to take a look at what the booths offer. I absolutely love how some of these amazing makeup artists took their time to talk to the attendees. As you can see on the pictures below, Sebastien Tardif and Eve Pearl were showing attendees how to correctly apply their products to enhance their beauty!

Of course there would be lots of body painting around the IMATS. Pretty, colorful, and meticulous. These body paintings took hours to complete. There were some demo on how to cover tattoo, and prosthetic application as well in some of the booths.

I, obviously, have to do some shopping around! There were some good deals on the products. I bought a smaller version of the illustrator palettes, scabs, liquid latex, and Wolfe face paint from Crown Brush/Jordane Cosmetics. I bought Eve Pearl’s Pro Kit, Invisible powder, powder puff, eyebrow razor, and finger palettes. Eve really gave great discounts! The powder puff was only $1, the Pro kit was only $100! What a steal!

Other than that, I bought a couple of spfx brushes from Bdellium, another palette from Crowne, and some other miscellaneous stuffs – MAQPro cream corrector and primary color from MUSST, mink lashes from Esquido, and color switch along with shadow shield from Nigel.

September 21, 2015

IMATS Toronto 2015 Tips

As promised, here is my IMATS Toronto 2015 tips! What kind of tips you asked? Tips on how to survive the tradeshow, of course (just kidding)! If it is your first time going to a tradeshow, I want to share some stuff that I think could be beneficial for first-time goers! I wished someone told me about all these stuff way back when I started going years a go. I felt like I missed out in a lot of stuff because I didn’t realize some of the things that were going on during the IMATS. So, over the years, I learnt from my experiences and decide to share these tips with you!

There were, are and will be a lot of things going on at the IMATS! So, let’s get on with the tips!

Tip #1

Wear comfortable shoes (and clothes)! Know that you will be walking a lot, and there will be a lot of people in the tradeshow. Wear comfortable shoes so you can walk around and check out all the booths. There isn’t many chairs available in the tradeshow, so again, wear comfortable shoes. Also, some booths will be jam packed with a lot of people, watch out for those toes if you’re planning to wear sandals. Some attendees might get over-excited, so there might be some pushing involved, therefore please wear comfortable shoes.

Tip #2

Bring water! You will be there for the whole day, you’ll be walking a lot. Keep yourselves hydrated. Have a water bottle in your bag, and drink plenty of water during the day. There are, of course, vending machines and people selling drinks at the show, but those are overpriced. I’d recommend bringing your own water bottle, save those bucks for the brushes!

Tip #3

GO TO THE WORKSHOPS! I cannot reiterate enough how important and amazing these workshops are. They are really informative and beneficial, especially since they will be taught by the industry’s experts! They are the masters, gurus, experts, professionals in the industry, you will learn a lot! Take notes, and ask questions! These speakers KNOW exactly what they are talking about. They are not some girls next door who made videos, these people work in the industry and they know what they are doing! Please, go to the workshops!

Tip #4

Check out the schedules before you attend the show, and familiarize yourselves with the speaker’s bio. By checking out the schedule prior to attending the show, you’ll be able to organize your time while shopping so you don’t miss out on the amazing speakers. Check out their bios so that you know who they are, and hey who knows, they might be sitting next to you when they are taking a break!

Tip #5

Make a list of what you want. There will be a lot of booths and brands attending the show, thus making it quite overwhelming. Make sure you check which brands are attending prior to going to the show. Make a list of which booths you want to attend, or which products you want to buy. That way you get to work on your budget. Trust me, if you don’t make a list, you might end up buying more than you expect. Making a list of products that you want will also make it easier for the sales people to assist you, especially if you have a lot of products you need.

Tip #6

Check the exhibitors list, and prioritize which one you want to go see first. By figuring out which brands are going to attend, you’ll be able to go to their booths first before things run out! For example, the Make Up For Ever booth is one of the most popular booths in the IMATS, most of their products run out pretty quick. So, if MUFE is in one of your list, you might want to stop by their booth first! The other brand that’s quite popular is Crown Brush, which I think you all should put that down on your list! Crown brushes are amazing in quality, and at the IMATS they are sold at a pretty affordable prices.

Tips #7

Bring cash! Some of the exhibitors don’t carry machines…well back then some of them don’t, but I think at this moment most of them do carry credit card machines. However, I still recommend bringing in cash, especially if you have a budget to adhere too.

Tip#8

Bring a backpack (or a large shoulder bag). I recommend a backpack since you might end up buying a lot of products, and your bag might start getting heavy especially since you have to walk around a lot. Having a backpack will ease your shoulder since the weight is equally distributed to both shoulders. A large shoulder bag would be useful too, so you can carry all the products in your bag, instead of having it in different plastic bags on your hand. Bringing a medium to large size bag is definitely beneficial. However, from my past experiences, the IMATS organizer do give out a large free shopping bag for everyone. Hopefully, this year they’ll do the same. I usually bring a backpack just because I prefer to have my hands free so I can do swatches.

Tip #9

Talking about swatches, don’t forget to bring wet wipes! I usually bring baby wipes to clean up my hands from all the swatches. I also bring anti-bacterial hand sanitizer because I’m a bit of a germaphobe. I tend to put sanitizer before and after doing swatches. I don’t want to be bringing bacteria into the samples, nor do I want bacterias on my hand after I swatch them.

Tip #10

Smile and have fun! It’s a really fun event to go to, so enjoy the experience and have fun! If you are tired or need a breather, go out and check out Front St for some food or drinks. You can always return after an hour or two, as long as you have the ticket/wristband with you.

Extra tips for bloggers/makeup artists – bring your name cards, be nice to everyone, and smile! You never know who you’ll meet, so always be kind to everyone.

September 11, 2015

IMATS Toronto 2015

Hi everyone! Today’s post is not a tutorial nor review. I want to talk about the IMATS (International Make-up Artist Trade Show)! Beauty lovers all around the world should know that IMATS is the biggest makeup trade show in the world. I have attended the IMATS Toronto since 2010, with the exception of 2014 when I was in Jakarta with my family. This year, the IMATS Toronto 2015 will be held at the Metro Convention Center, from September 26-27. Are you going to be there?

*Check out my IMATS posts from prior years!*

This year, I will be attending the IMATS again (on Saturday), and I can hardly wait! Let me tell you that (in my opinion) the best part about the IMATS is actually the workshops! Really and truly, for $45/day, you will learn so much from the workshops. The keynote speakers of these workshops are well-known celebrity makeup artists who will show you loads of tips and tricks. I met with Rae Morris in 2013, and that was totally surreal! She was so approachable and kind. In 2012, I sat in Gordon Smith session, where he talked a lot about his works and the future of prosthetics/animatronics. These workshops are a must to attend!

This year, the 2 keynote speakers are Adrien Morot and Gregory Arlt. I can’t wait to be sitting on their workshops and just absorb everything they have to say. Adrien Morot is an Oscar Nominee for his work in Barney’s Version. He will be doing a demo on stage on special effects makeup.

Gregory Arlt, everyone knows who he is right??? Gregory Arlt is MAC Pro’s Director of Makeup Artistry, and Katy Perry’s makeup artist! His works can be seen in the runways from Paris to New York. His list of celebrity clients include Dita Von Teese, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, and Victoria Beckham. Gregory Arlt of Mac Pro will be showing attendees how to achieve a flawless skin without filter! This is a must to attend! I’ll be at the front seat, just you all wait and see.

Other speakers include the wizard of makeup Kevin James Bennett, master of reverse contouring Eve Pearl, makeup veteran Randy Daudlin, and many more! Check out the IMATS speaker’s bios to see who will be there, and their schedules.

Besides the workshops, of course there’s the shopping! There were deals everywhere you see, and these deals were awesome! I cannot wait to see which brands will show up this year. I’m definitely eyeing for new sets of lashes, perhaps more brushes, and nail polishes. I will do an IMATS Tips post next week to prepare us (and our wallet) when we enter the show.

Lastly, one of the main events of the IMATS that I find very enjoyable is the Battle of the Brushes. Battle of the Brushes is IMATS makeup competitions, which are split into 2 groups – beauty/fantasy (2hr time limit) and character/prosthetics (3hr time limit). The competition yields amazing final results, and it is such an inspiring event to attend to. I, especially, love seeing the results from the character/prosthetics competition! Some of the pieces were mind blowing, and you wouldn’t know that they are all done by students or fresh graduates from makeup school!

Have you been on the IMATS before? What are your thoughts about it? If you have not, are you going to consider going to the show?

November 15, 2013

IMATS Toronto 2013

Again, this year, I managed to show up for IMATS in Toronto. It was held in the Metro Convention Center. I attended the event on Saturday only. This year IMATS was definitely more packed and busy than last year. Please check my post on IMATS Toronto 2012 if you want to see my last year event coverage.

I wasn’t expecting anything from the IMATS. I actually went there without any intention of buying anything. I just wanted to see if they have good deals on certain products.

Anyways, it was a makeup trade show, so there was a lot of brands that were present to sell their products. I think MUFE had one of the best booths there. The body paintings done by MUFE makeup artists were amazing! They have quite a great deal too: 50% off makeup brushes, certain deals on a set of foundation/concealers/primers/powder/blush etc. However, there was a HUGE line up for the MUFE booth, and I just couldn’t bring myself to line up for hours…ok may be not hours, but you get my point…

There were several body painters in the show for their own booths, one of which was the makeup artist from Blur booth. Below, you can see the model from Blur. That was one of the most amazing body paintings I’ve ever seen.

So, I walked around the whole exhibition hall, and bought some makeup brushes from Crown Brush. It was such an awesome deal! Some of the brushes were only $4, others were $7.50. Pretty great, no?!

Besides Crown Brush, I also bought 8 nail polishes: 6 OPI for $30 and 2 Essie for $3.50/each. You probably would have seen the picture of the brushes and nail polishes if you followed me on Twitter or Instagram.

Besides the shopping, a very amazing event took place! Ok, so N was sitting down while I was shopping around looking at all the different booths (kudos to IMATS for providing chairs all around the hall for people to take a short rest). While I was all skipping down the aisle getting my brushes, N was asked by a lady if she can sit beside him. He said yes, and took a glimpse at her name tag. Guess who??? RAE MORRIS! (the makeup artist, not the singer)

So, N immediately send me a message “you’ll never believe who sat beside me? where are you? come dowwn! it’s Rae Morris!”

Unfortunately, when I went to his seat, she already left to do some judging for the competition. So, N and I decided to stalk her..hahahahaha…Anyways, we managed to catch her after the competition, and we managed to chat and take a picture with the world famous Rae Morris! She was so nice and kind!

Below is pictures of us with Rae Morris. Yep, that’s my N right there! 😀

November 28, 2012

IMATS Toronto 2012

Hello Canada! Guess who’s back?! I managed to get into IMATS on its last day together with N. I thought I’d miss this year’s IMATS like last year, but I didn’t! yay! I’ve been to IMATS and volunteered a few years back. I’ve expected the usual exhibitors and was pumped to see this year’s classes and workshops! I’m quite surprised to see that this year’s IMATS weren’t as big as in the past. Less bloggers too, I feel. Anyways, I was quite happy I get to join this year’s IMATS

There were obviously lots of exhibitors in the event. I went there knowing I was going to grab some stuffs from OCC. I love their lip tars and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it!

Truly, we were there not to shop, but to actually sit on 2 of the classes – Gordon Smith and Iantha Goldberg. If you guys don’t know who Gordon Smith is, SHAME ON YOU! hahahaha..just kidding. Gordon Smith is like the Prosthetic god in the makeup world. He pioneered the use of Silicone in prosthetics makeup. He worked with celebrities and big Hollywood movies like X-men (that’s right, he’s the Mastermind behind Mystique), Platoon, Face Off, Mimic, Truman, Nixon and helloo my favorite tv show FRINGE, and many others! N and I are a big fan of the shows that he worked on and we were definitely uber excited when we get to see him in person, and to hear him talk about his work. Amazziiiing!

So after we sat in for Gordon’s, we had to rush to the other stage so we can get front row seat for Iantha Goldberg’s demo in doing Zombie Makeup! Iantha Goldberg is the makeup artist for Resident Evil, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Saw V etc. Hmmm, amazing much?

After the show, we walked around and shopped a bit more. Lots of body painting as usual, and of course the student’s competition is always great. I only managed to take pictures of 2 of the works, but as you can see, they are amazing!