This past weekend was my 2nd IMATS NYC. I went to the first one in 2012, regrettably skipped 2013, and knew I couldn’t pass up 2014 – so I bought my ticket back in November. For months, I saved my pennies, and this past Saturday, IT WAS ON LIKE FREAKIN’ DONKEY KONG.

Doors were set to open at 8:30am. I thought I’d be sneaky and get there early at 8am. “YEAH!”, I thought. “I’ll be a smooth bastard and be near the front of the line and buy ALL the makeups the second the door opens!” On the cab ride over, I was patting myself on the back, congratulating myself for having such a brilliant idea. Funny – about 1,000 people also had the same idea.

Thankfully, the line moved super fast and I was inside by 9:15am. Once inside, I sort of stood in one place and spun in circles. I was like a kid in a candy store! (Not those shitty candy stores that only have jellybeans. The GOOD candy store – you know, the one with 50 different kinds of gummies that you can mix all in one bag.) I immediately went on a mad dash, first to the Royal & Langnickel brush booth since I knew I wanted a lot of items there. From there, it’s almost a blur – Naked Cosmetics, Eve Pearl, OCC – the list goes on and on.

A few things they don’t warn you about with IMATS:

• You will probably feel old. So many of the girls waiting in line were just that. GIRLS. Braces-wearing, training-bra-sporting, too-short-miniskirt-wearing GIRLS. I got all indignant. “In MY day, cherry Chap Stick was my only makeup!”
• Most other attendees are nice, but some will cut a bitch to get some makeup. It’s only makeup, yet from the reaction of these ladies, you’d think it was a pot of gold that would make them famous. They push, elbow, and yes – even CLAW their way past you. And for what? LIPSTICK. It’s serious bidness.
• It’s hard to focus on basic makeup. Sure, you can buy foundation there. Yes, you can grab 18 shades of matte brown eyeshadow. In reality though, it’s so hard to focus on that when OMG LOOK HOW MANY DIFFERENT COLORS OF GLITTER THERE ARE AND OMG THESE LASHES ARE BIG AND HAVE LITTLE ZEBRAS ON THEM!

I did get to meet/swoon over Elessa, known for her blog/videos as Pursebuzz.

You guys, she could NOT have been sweeter. I swear there is literal light beaming out of this girl.

Most lines moved pretty quickly, but some took a long time. Sugarpill, for example. This wasn’t because of an incompetent staff, not enough registers, or lack of product. They were just the most popular booth at IMATS – hands down. When I got to the front, I bought way too many things, and gushed over Bebe a bit.

I completely geeked and and told her that I’ve always coveted her hair because IT’S SO BIG, YOU GUYS. We discussed the merits of big hair for a bit, and I swooned.

Then, my piece de resistance. I’ve been chatting online & via text to Amy/Shrinkle for about a decade now. We bonded over our love of old men (Ron Perlman for her, Jeremy Irons for me), cute clothes, makeup, and other things not suitable for print. After more than 10 years, we were finally in the same place at the same time.

Our meeting involved a bit of squealing, a bit of saying “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you!”, and a bit of petting. (Look, I had to stroke her hair. It’s just so damn bouncy!) We chatted for a minute and she went back to work at the booth while I walked around more. After 5+ hours of walking around on my own, I’m not going to lie – the crowds + my fun bit of social anxiety got to me, and I told Amy I was heading out. I was honestly tickled that she looked upset, and I wish I could have stayed longer. I guess I need to make a trip to LA soon.

All in all, IMATS left me feeling high. It’s really cool to be in a place where everyone is obsessed with the same mundane shit you are. 😉

HUGE haul posts coming soon, as well as a video.
Did you guys go to IMATS or any other makeup show? Who are/were your favorite vendors?