The Damage! (Or Dani's IMATS 2012 Haul) + Tips For The IMATS Newbie

And here we have the somewhat anticipated haul post!

I... Spent a lot of money this year... Though in my defense, I needed to get a lot of brushes for the two weddings I'm doing this weekend (eek!). I have 5 bridesmaids to make up in one of the weddings, so I'm sure you can all understand the necessity for buying as much as I did. At first, I briefly considered buying some online (Bdellium was my number one choice); but in the end, I decided against it and here's why: 1) I want to be able to feel the brush prior to purchasing. I'm particular with certain brushes: i.e. blending brushes have to be tapered and not be too stiff, while blush brushes have to be flatter and more tapered. Only I can be the judge of that, since what's tapered to me may not be tapered enough for someone else and vice versa. 2) I had put off purchasing brushes for so long that by the time I was seriously considering purchasing online, they wouldn't have arrived to me on time. And let's not even talk about what would've happened if the brush was not to my liking... I had some serious anxiety over this, you guys! :p

Long (and unnecessary) story short, I decided to purchase brushes at IMATS and I'm so glad I did. They make me happy and so have my other purchases... Speaking of which, here they are:

From Royal & Langnickel: 20-pc Brush Roll ($20 CAD), 4 MASTER Pro Blush brushes, 2 Brush Essentials Crease brushes, 5 Pointed Lip brushes, 3 SILK Pro Crease brushes, 3 SILK Pro Taklon Brow brushes, and 1 SILK Pro Concealer brush.

From Crown Brush: 4 Studio Line Angle Liner brushes, 3 Syntho Series Deluxe Medium Foundation brushes, 4 Italian Badge Series Angle Blush brushes, 3 Luna Series BK02 Unique Pointed Dome brushes, 3 Luna Series BK15 Large Chisel Fluff brushes.

I told you guys, I needed a lot of brushes!

I wasn't expecting to get that many blending brushes, but when I saw the ones from Royal & Langnickel's Brush Essentials line, I knew I had to have it. I've worked on some women who have such small lid spaces that my regular blending brushes would literally be too big on them. So having these small ones will be perfect for those clients.

Also, the Badger Line from Crown Brush came recommended by Arianne (a.k.a. The Glitter Geek).  I really can't wait to try these brushes out at the weddings I'm doing this weekend!

The prices were amazing, as well. The cheapest brushes I got were around $2.50, which were the eye brushes. Meanwhile, the face brushes ranged anywhere from $7-$14 each. I'm so glad I waited to get my brushes at IMATS.

From Ben Nye: 1 Fashion Rouge Palette ($32 CAD), 1 Ben Nye MediaPRO Sheer Foundation Palette ($49 CAD), and 2 Contour Powder Rouge powders (which were given to us free from the Ben Nye booth).

I was really excited to purchase these products from Ben Nye. I've wanted a foundation palette for some time now and I'm so excited for this new addition to my kit. As for the Fashion Rouge Palette -- I wasn't originally going to purchase it, but I just fell in love with all the shades. I'll be reviewing both these products in the blog soon... Well, at least I hope it'll be soon. :p

From Cover FX: Clear Prep FX ($23.50 CAD).

This face primer for oily and acne-prone skin was also recommended by Arianne (she's a fountain of makeup knowledge, that one). I only have one skin primer at this point, which is Make Up For Ever's HD primer, but it's caused breakouts for some people and I wanted something specifically for oily skin. 

From Naimie's Beauty Centre: 1 hot pink large Z Palette ($15 CAD) and 1 small mixing palette ($5.50 CAD).

From Nigel's Beauty Supply: A large, clear plastic bag for my kit ($8 CAD) and 1 larger mixing palette ($5.50 CAD).

I knew I wanted another Z palette and I like hot pink, so I obviously had to pick this one up. As for the mixing palettes -- I bought the Naimie's palette before I decided to brave the line at Nigel's. At first I considered returning the smaller palette at Naimie's, but then I thought it would be perfect for mixing lip products (the larger palette will be used for mixing foundation or concealer).

The large bag was a disappointment, though. I wanted a medium sized bag with a strap so that I could bring a few products with me for touchups when I do on location photoshoots (like the engagement shoot I did last week). However, I foolishly just grabbed this one instead of checking to see if it had a strap. I can still use it, obviously, but it wasn't the bag that I wanted. =/

From Nigel's Beauty Supply: Lashes galore! (7 for $15 CAD or 15 for $20 CAD)

Nigel's had an awesome deal for lashes, so this is a no-brainer, right? I kinda wish I got another 15 pairs, though. Makeup artists can go through lashes so quickly, so stocking up is always a good idea.

From Nigel's Beauty Supply: OCC Lip Tars in Queen, NSFW, and Demure ($9 CAD).

I was so excited to see that Nigel's was selling OCC Lip Tars! I've wanted to get some for so long, but I've always been hesitant because I wanted to swatch them myself and feel the consistency and texture firsthand. I'm really happy with my shade choices, too; I can't wait to take these babies out for a test drive!

From Make Up For Ever: 5 HD Foundations (5 for $130 CAD), 2 Aqua Brows ($6 CAD), 2 Mat Bronze Bronzing Powders ($22 CAD), and 2 eyeshadows (I believe they were $12 CAD each).

(L-R: 115, 127, 128, 140, & 153)

I wasn't completely convinced that I should get 5 of the foundations, but I decided that it was such a good deal and I needed to avail of it. I decided to stick to the light-medium spectrum of the range, as I foresee myself working on those skin tones quite a lot. I figured I'll purchase these shades now and then purchase other shades as needed (this is also where the foundation palette comes in). 

Now, I know the 3 shades in the middle look pretty similar, but if you look at these two photos of MUFE HD Foundation swatches from Karla Sugar, you will see that they look very different. In fact, I was so surprised at how vastly different 127 and 128 are from each other and they're right beside each other on the colour spectrum. 

These 5 foundations join the veterans of my kit: 120, 155, and 177. I think with 8 MUFE foundations, plus my Ben Nye foundation palette, my kit's pretty much stacked in terms of base products. 

(L-R: Metallic Taupe 127 & Iridescent Brown Black 139)

I wasn't originally intending on getting any eyeshadows, but I was just drawn to these two shades and I kind of fell in love with them. I've become a bit of a neutral lover in the past few months; plus, these will fit in nicely with my bridal palette.

(L-R: 30 & 40)

Another craymazing (crazy + amazing. It's a thing... Not a new thing, but it's a thing) deal from Make Up For Ever -- these new Aqua Brows were on sale for 50% off at IMATS and sold for $6 each. The Aqua Brows are pretty much the rebranded version of the Waterproof Eyebrow Correctors; they have the same formula, but there are more colours available (I believe there are 2-3 more colours available). I decided to stick to the 2 darkest shades as I feel like the bulk of my clients will be Asian women, at least at first (hence, sticking to the darker shades), but I'm kicking myself in the butt for not getting all the other shades now. >_<

(L-R: 20 Honey & 30 Cinnamon)

As I was making my list for IMATS, I realized that I didn't have a bronzer in my kit (shock horror!), so I decided to pick up 2 of the MUFE Mat Bronze Bronzing powders. I chose the two medium shades and they're both lovely.

And now, a few tips for the IMATS newb...


1) Get to know the vendors - Some booths will be beauty supply stores, therefore you wouldn't know right away what they will be selling. Each IMATS vendor that has a website will be linked to on the exhibitor list page on the IMATS website. Click on each link to see what products they offer, this will help you with the next point.

2) Make a shopping list - Some booths will be crazy busy, so sometimes it's better to get in and then get out right away. The combination of me coming early and me having made a list prior to going to IMATS meant that I was at the MUFE booth for less than 10 minutes (MUFE has a system in place where they give you a piece of paper for you to write your "order" on and they simply grab it all for you while you wait by the cash register to give your payment). It may not sound like a big deal, but you will appreciate it when you walk by the MUFE booth later on and you see the long ass line up.

3) Make a game plan - Make sure to get the busiest booths out of the way first, that way you can spend the rest of your time browsing the other booths at a more leisurely pace. I made the mistake of not going to Nigel's Beauty Emporium after MUFE and I ended up waiting in line for more than 30 minutes. But this will only really work if you come early, so...

4) Come early - Seriously, showing up half an hour before the doors opened made a world of difference! Did I mention that it only took me 10 minutes to go to the MUFE booth, pay for my purchases, and move on? Coming early is a good thing, yo!

And that concludes my IMATS posts... Can you believe I considered condensing it all into ONE? It would've been the post that never ends (yes it goes on and on, my friend)!

Anything catch your eye, lovelies?

Call It Beauty's Best Of 2011

Another year gone by... It's amazing how quickly time actually passes by when you start thinking about what has happened throughout the year and how much you've done (or in some cases, how much you didn't do). 

I always get a rush of emotions whenever the year ends... This year, what I feel the most is gratitude. I'm so thankful for all the friendships forged through blogging (Lipstick Bandits, I'm talking bout you :p), for general health/well-being, for a job that can sustain the blog :p... We have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes we forget when we are so caught up with the every day things. But we are all honest with ourselves, it's true. We have a lot to be grateful for.

Anyway, all of that aside, let's get to what I really came here to do, which is share with you my top picks for 2011. I feel like I probably picked too many things, but I can't help loving them all! The following products are the best that I've tried and my absolute favourite items to use in the year 2011.

Here we go...

FACE

The Face Shop Power Perfection BB Cream

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Concealer
Revlon PhotoReady Concealer

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder

CHEEK

Cargo Cosmetics Blush in Mendocino
MAC Mineralize Blush in Feeling Flush

Lancôme Star Bronzer in Èclat Bronze

EYES

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Prestige Cosmetics Brow Perfection Revitalizing Clear Brow Gel

Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner

Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen

LIPS

Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine

MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Bare Again

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Plum Jewel

Maybelline Shine Sensational Pop Stick in Fruit Punch

SKINCARE

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

L'oréal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes

Marcelle Essentials Soothing Cleansing Water *not pictured*
Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic *not pictured*

NAILS

Revlon - Plum Seduction

Sinful Colors - Cream Pink

Revlon - Facets of Fuchsia

OPI - Steady As She Rose

Revlon - Tangerine

BATH & BODY

Lush - The Olive Branch

Lush - It's Raining Men

The Body Shop - Mango Whip Body Lotion

HAIR

Lush R&B Hair Moisturizer

Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Spray

TOOLS

Z Palettes

EcoTools Retractable Kabuki

And there you have it... My "best of the best" for 2011. 

I do hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve! Have fun and stay safe! And I wish you all a fabulous 2012. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for me and I hope that the upcoming year has nothing but the best for all of you, because you all deserve it!

HAPPY  NEW YEAR!!!
from Call It Beauty

  

Monthly Favourites - August 2011

You guys, it is September. That means in four months, it'll be the Christmas season. You have no idea how excited this makes me!

Anyway, you know how this works; the first of the month rolls around and I whip out my monthly favourites. Here they are, in no particular order:

Z Palette

Super cute and super functional, I've been loving having all my depotted products in one palette. Don't let the cardboard look fool you, these palettes are quite sturdy. The clear, plastic top makes it easy to see which products are inside. So if you have, say the exact same black palettes holding all your eyeshadows, there's no need to label the outside or take a peek inside to make sure you're grabbing the right one. Love, love, love these!

Korres Lip Butter - Jasmine

The smell... The smeeellll, it is divine! Like Korres' Wild Rose moisturizer, I can just sniff this all day. Too bad the body butter doesn't smell as amazing :(...

Lately, my lips (and the skin immediately around them) have been über dry & inflamed and this Lip Butter has been an absolute Godsend! It's slightly tacky consistency really coats my lips and keeps them hydrated for a few hours. Because it doesn't apply with any colour, I apply this on the skin around my lips as well and it keeps it from being itchy, which is a bonus!

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder - Honey

This powder has been much needed this Summer as I found myself, for the first time in a long time, dealing with unwanted oiliness. Actually, it was Rae of TheNotice that told me about this product. I've seen it, of course (I don't live under a rock :p), but honestly never considered it for some reason. Rae told me over Twitter that she's read recommendations of this powder and MAC's blot powder and of course, I was gonna go for the cheaper one; after all, I wasn't expecting to use it for very long. 

Anyway, I've been really enjoying using this powder. It's been pretty hot in Vancouver recently (with the exception of a typical rainy day here and there), which meant that I was a lot oilier than usual. Applying this after blotting my face left me looking and feeling much fresher and more presentable. 

Maybelline Shine Sensational Pop Stick - Fruit Punch

You guys, it's translucent. How awesome is that? It also has a yummy, fruity scent and actually imparts a little bit of colour on my lips. I love it's lip balm-like consistency; my lips remain hydrated and it doesn't  create that gross white residue in the inner corners of the lips. 

Lancôme Star Bronzer - 03 Éclat Bronze

I love this bronzer! It suits my colouring really well, applies so smoothly, looks natural, and smells amazing. I've been reaching for this a lot lately because it doesn't take a lot of work; I don't need to use a light hand in order to make it work for my skin because it's quite subtle. This past month, I've been using it to contour my cheekbone and then applying a blush on the apples of my cheeks.

The Body Shop Hand Cleanse Gel - Mango

Hand sanitzers are... Hand sanitizers.

But what makes these hand cleanse gels from The Body Shop special is that they are Triclosan free and they smell amazing! I've been obsessed with the Mango scented one since I purchased it. Love the scent and love that it doesn't harm marine life. Win-win!

L'oréal Skin Genesis Micro-Smoothing Wet Cleansing Towelettes

In general, makeup remover wipes are a great addition to any nighttime skincare ritual because it simplifies the process. All you need to do is swipe them across your face and off goes your makeup. But I think these wipes from L'oréal are a step above the rest because they contain BHA, which "enhance daily cellular renewal to help provide smoother, brighter and fresher skin."

I can testify to that! I had run out of these wipes and went without it for about a week. When I finally repurchased and used it again, the effects the next day were apparent. My skin looked brighter, a little bit more even, and my blemishes had gone down in size and redness. Amazing stuff! I think these wipes will be a staple on my counter for a while...

What are your August Favourites?

These Cute & Functional Z Palettes Will Keep Your Powder Products Well Organized

I can't even remember the first time I heard of Z Palettes; it must've been a year or so ago when pretty much every beauty blogger was reviewing them. I didn't think much of it at the time because, to be honest, it didn't seem that sturdy to me. So I decided on getting MAC palettes instead. However, those soon failed me and I needed to get new palettes to fit all my package-less powder products.

Thankfully, Z Palette was being sold at IMATS Vancouver, so I decided to pick two up for myself...

The first thing I noticed was how surprisingly sturdy the palettes were. Because it looks like it's made of cardboard (Z Palettes are actually made of recyclable materials), I made the mistake of thinking they were flimsy; but that's not the case at all!

These palettes have a clear top, which obviously makes it easier to see which products you have in the palette. It snaps close firmly because of the magnets on the outer edges. The inside is also magnetic, so if you've purchased some MAC eyeshadows or blushes in the pan, they will attach nicely on the surface. If you decide to de-pot products yourselves, then you'll need to put a magnet to the back of the pan. Z Palette also sell magnetic stickers, but you can also purchase them at your local Michael's or craft stores.

I also love how you can place pans of all different sizes in one palette. Yes, I know you can remove the dividers in the MAC palette, but why do it? I'll be paying for that extra layer of plastic anyway so I might as well use it, right? I just feel like it's a bit of a waste if done that way... Of course, that's not an issue with the Z Palettes.

All in all, it's such a fantastic buy! It's an amazing way to keep products organized and they have cute patterns and colours, too. After all, there's no reason one can't be organized and stylish at the same time. Now if only they released a purple palette <3...

On a side note, I have to mention how impressed by Z Palette's customer service. When I came home from IMATS Vancouver, I noticed a tear on the corner of one of my palettes. So, I took a photo and tweeted the folks over at Z Palette (ahh, the power of social media :p) and they told me my best option was to head back to IMATS and have it exchanged. Thankfully, IMATS allowed for me to be escorted to the Naimie's booth to have it exchanged. To my surprise, the man behind the booth asked if I was the one who tweeted about my damaged palette and he directed me over to a kind lady who then helped me out with exchanging my palette for a new, undamaged one. I was truly impressed that they even knew about my situation beforehand; they seemed to really care about what had happened and were eager to make it right. So BIG THANKS to the lovely staff of IMATS, Naimie's and of course, Z Palette for making that effort.

Z Palettes are available online (they ship internationally) or at various makeup stores in Canada.

Have you tried the Z Palettes out yet?

My IMATS Haul!

If you saw my last post about IMATS, you would've noticed something completely lacking... What would that be? Why, my IMATS haul, of course!

I spent more than I intended to; but really, who can help themselves at IMATS? Certainly not me...

Large Z Palettes in Zebra & Fabulous Pink

Royal & Langnickel Kabuki & Baby Dome Brushes

Ben Nye Powder Rouge Refills in Golden Amber & Natural Blush

NYX Eyeshadows in Dune, Tropical, Root Beer (which I managed to completely MANGLE 
while de-potting last night. FML) & Jazzy Pink

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Natural

NYX 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Velvet Rope

NYX Matte Nail Polish in Orange

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Black

NYX High Definition Eyeshadow Base

NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Plum Purple

NYX Matte Lipstick in Angel

So there you have it, my very first IMATS Haul! I saw some pretty awesome train cases as well & was sorely tempted to buy one but then I remembered, I'm not a makeup artist. At least not yet! I actually plan on going to school for make up in January (unless other things come up). I mean, as my father says, "you might as well put your obsession with makeup to good use!" Haha! 

I've actually wanted to become a makeup artist for some time now and family members were even telling me that I should study to become one way before I considered it as an option. So hopefully, that'll be my career while I continue to pursue my dream of performing =).

Anyway, I can't wait to dig into these babies! But alas, I must wait til I can photograph them individually before I can even think about touching them. Ahh, the life of a beauty blogger...

Have you been to an IMATS yet?