I know, I know. IMATS was almost a month ago and if I wasn't a grade-A slacker I would have had this post up within hours of leaving the event. But, to be fair to myself, I really wanted to give all the products a thorough test drive in order to give you my honest opinions on them. After all, I am a newbie beauty blogger with little credibility. I must gain your trust! So without further delay, here are the items I picked up at this year's IMATS:
I like to keep my makeup routine short and sweet, so any routine that takes longer than 30 minutes just doesn't work for my schedule. Because of this, I've never dabbled into the "primer" world because to the naive me, adding this step to my already crammed routine would be too much. However, I'm happy to report that this "false" notion has been thrown to the waste-side all because of this makeup primer from Arbonne!
The company claims that this product "visually diminishes fine lines and pores and creates a perfect canvas for makeup application". After a month of use, I can safely say that these claims are pretty much spot on. After applying this product, my concealer goes on so nicely without leaving my face looking too cakey and about my pores - what pores?! This product really does diminish the look of pores! But the two standout features for me are: one, the product doesn't take long to dry into the skin (I'm talking a minute tops) so my makeup application time hasn't been negatively impacted, and two, with the help of this product, the lasting power of my makeup has increased dramatically! (I'm so not used to having my blush intact after a long day of work!) The verdict? A must-buy!
Who can say no to $5 brushes?? Because I'm so used to shelling out a pretty penny for makeup brushes from MAC and Sephora, I was literally jumping for joy when I saw these brushes going for $5-$12 a piece. Truth be told, I was a bit weary about the quality given that they were so inexpensive, but after using them faithfully for the last month, I'm quite happy with them all! The face brushes are my favorite of the bunch; they're so soft and they don't shed (which was and still is a huge issue with my bareMinerals powder brush)!
P/S: Take 20% off your order by using this coupon code: Morphe2013
(note: I am not sponsored)
Being a sucker for good packaging, I was drawn to the Veil counter because of their gold packaging.
But astetics aside, after speaking with the rep I was sold on their concealers. They are formulated to conceal and treat dark circles and to highlight. I bought the shade medium to do the heavy duty concealing and the shade light to highlight underneath the eyes.
These two products are nothing short of amazing! The product is light-weight, but don't let this deceive you because you get full coverage with such little product! When set with loose powder, the lasting power is quite impressive - I'm a glasses girl so my under eye makeup tends to move around throughout the day, but not with these bad boys! In terms of treating dark circles, I can see a slight difference after a month's use, but I have high hopes that I'll continue to see results with more time.
My final stop of the day was at the Pari Beauty counter. I had been itching to get a new pressed powder foundation for awhile, so I thought I'd check out their selection. Not only did I leave with a new powder foundation, I left with a blush and a handful of eyeshadows! There are so many things I like about this company and their products! Firstly, they're Canadian-owned, which is awesome (support your local economies, folks!). And secondly, the quality of their products speaks for themselves!
The powder foundation offers great coverage and the quality is comparable to my holy grail MAC Studio Fix powder foundation. I'm in the shade WD52 (for all you NC30's out there). I also purchased their blush in the shade BO04 which is a "natural/just ran a couple miles/flushed" shade - which is the look I'm currently loving! And as for their eyeshadows? Well, I could spend another two paragraphs on all the shades that I chose but I'll leave that to another post. I will say this: the colour payoff on these things are fantastic, there is little to no fallout, AND they cost a fraction of what it costs for the MAC equivalent.
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All in all, I'm quite happy with all the products I picked up!! I only hope I have the same luck next year!
Did you do a post or video showing your IMATS haul?
If so, leave a link to it in the comments! I would love to take a look!
