IMATS NYC Weekend Vol. 2

Aah, where to begin?  I’ve been back and forth about whether to report on the big day chronologically, as the day proceeded, or in priority order.  I’ve decided I couldn’t possibly lead with anything other than the highlight of the day, the Lisa Eldridge event!

Ms. Eldridge was scheduled to begin speaking at 11 a.m., so, of course, I arrived at the pavilion 45 minutes early to secure my front row seat 🙂

Right around 11 a.m., I noticed off to my right a pair of gorgeous platform heels haloed by a frothy film of material peeking out from under a free-standing poster.  It was she! I am thrilled to report, I chose my side of the aisle wisely…

… as the interview commenced I was confirmed in my prediction, Ms. E was a delight! Jet lagged though she was, she chatted enthusiastically about her early days in makeup artistry, her best tips for aspiring MUAs, and her journey into the land of YouTube.

Then, it was time for audience Q & A.  One of the questions she’d been asked during the interview was about whether she’d ever thought about starting a school.  In my opinion, she’s already an educator, serving as a class act role model, teacher, and inspiration to anyone interested in beauty, including us amateur over-30s 🙂  So, I raised my hand to tell her as much.  At that point, I did something that was apparently a first in the history of IMATS Q & As, I asked her if I could give her my blog business card!  And she said yes!!  She was incredibly gracious about it, and in retrospect it was fairly forward of me.  But, hey, what’s the point of being 40 if you’re not going to be braver than you were when you were 20 (yes, that’s right, I said it, I’m 40).

A little piece of me likes to believe that maybe now, everyone once in a while, Ms. Eldridge stops by 😉

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Ok, enough gushing.  Now for the report on the rest of the day.  I arrived promptly at 9a.m. for the opening of the doors.  Not smart.  The line was literally over the hill and through the woods…

But, it actually moved reasonably quickly and I entertained myself taking photos of the various sites.  NJ, random sculpture, architecture… and one outstanding pair of shoes!

Now, no one loves a heel more than I, but there was no way I was going to be sporting any of mine on this rainy day full of crowds of people who might step on them!  This girl was brave, but, as the Canadians say, good on her 😉

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Once I made my way through the doors, my first planned stop was the Sigma Beauty booth.

Sorry for the blurry photo, but I was waiting on a seemingly interminable  line and was feeling very tense that I’d have to leave the line to get to the Lisa Eldridge event.  Luckily, I was able to pick up the items I’d planned for, the neutral set of Aura Powders and an E40 brush.

I’ve swatched each of the powders for you, but the swatches don’t really do them justice.  They give a very pretty, almost air-brushed, flush to the skin.

And here’s a closeup of the E40, nice and fluffy for blending.

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The other booth I’d planned on visiting was Alcone, a beauy retailer that was carrying a few brands in which I was interested, including the majorly luxury-priced Viseart (pronounced Viz-eee-Art, apparently), on which they were offering a decent discount.  One swipe of the Sultry Muse palette, and I was goner.

I knew I’d never be able to do these shadows justice with swatches, so here are a few of looks I’ve created using the palette.  I continue to be impressed with the blendability and utter lack of patchiness of these shadows.

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Now for a couple of happy accidents.

As I was making my way over to the Sigma Beauty booth, I happened upon a little table marketing vegan, cruelty-free lip products.  The Lip Bar.  Let’s just say they have a new devotee.

I met Melissa, the owner/originator, and she could not have been more friendly and generally lovely.  Post-swatching, I ended up with two purchases that have quickly become faves for the pigmentation, texture, and frankly, affordability.

The Tiramisu Toffee Lip Gloss is a gorgeous nude that give major shine without any stickiness and the Bawse Lady Matte Lip Stick may be the velvety-est red I’ve ever worn. I already have a plan for my next purchase…

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I then stumbled upon the booth for Ricky’s, an iconic NYC beauty store.

Out of the corner of my eye noticed they had some Velvet 59 on offer, which I’ve just recently been itching to get my hands on!  It was serendipity at it’s finest.

I left with the two lip products I’ve been most hankering for, the Matte to the Max Liquid Lipstick in Kai-Lea and the diamond-like Velvet Rose Lip Gloss in Marilyn’s Pearls.

Both beautiful.  I would note that they both have a bit of scent/taste, you know my views on that.  Also, the matte lip takes a while to dry down… after this photo shoot I topped it too soon with the gloss and it ran quite a bit outside of my lip line.  But, on their own, or the gloss on top of different matte lip.  Lovely.

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So, a few final notes.

Did I stick to my budget?  I more or less did.  At least for IMATS itself.  I ended up spending way to much at the Tenement Museum Book Store, but that’s a story for another day.

Am I glad I went?  Absolutely!  My little Lisa Eldridge encounter was worth the price of admission, plus I got to see what the whole thing is all about and pick up/discover  a few cruelty-free beauties at a discount.

Would I go again?  I’m not ready to commit.  I don’t know that I need to, but, you know what they say, never say never 🙂

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*These are only my opinions, formed through my personal experience as a consumer.  I am not a medical doctor, an aesthetician, or a health/beauty professional.  There is no guarantee what effect, positive or negative, these products may have on anyone else.

**All products were purchased by me from brands that, to the best of my knowledge, are cruelty-free.