IMATS Toronto Haul!

Hi, everyone! If you peeked at my last post, you'll know that I attended IMATS last weekend, which was a killer experience! I got to completely unleash my love of makeup artistry, learn about some amazing products, and geek out with my fellow beauty bloggers. While I wanted to snag all of the liquid latex, fake blood, and grease paints, I had to bite the bullet and realize that a career in special effects makeup artistry just isn't in my immediate future. So, instead, I tried to purchase professional, hard-to-find products that I could easily incorporate into my daily  makeup bag. 

I lugged everything home in my big, glossy IMATS bag and quickly sprawled it out so I could properly ogle. 

The first brand that drew me in was Yaby, a makeup artist-driven, Canadian line. I'd heard fantastic things about the pigmentation and staying powder of their eye shadows. Their rep Ashley (who also did the makeup for my beautiful cousin's wedding- hi, Ashley!) immediately directed me to Yaby's Pearl Paints, tiny, but potent little pans of colour. They offer a creamy powder formula, extreme pigmentation, and are also waterproof and vegan-friendly. 

After a serious swatch-a-thon, I chose five shades, which, I have to say, have some of the best names on the market. I selected Summer Night (a cool, mid-tone shimmery blue), Sea Turtle (a frosty seafoam green), Baby Sapphire (a metallic ice blue), Tamarind (a warm, coppery brown), and Purple Iris (a warm shimmery violet). I also snagged a Stackable Set 5-pan Palette to house them. It's cute and compact, and can also be expanded with additional layers if I want to add more products in the future. Handy! 

I was also thrilled to see Face Atelier at the show, which is another fab Canadian line I'd heard nothing but good things about. As if my excitement weren't enough, Face Atelier was truly offering the deal of the day- a full size foundation plus cheek colour for $45 (which is two dollars less than the foundation alone!). 

The star of the line is their Ultra Foundation and I was colour matched to shade #1 Porcelain. This base promises to be highly pigmented, long-wearing, and buildable, with a natural, satin finish that allows skin to breathe. Because of the sophisticated silicones in the formula, Face Atelier touts that no primer or setting powder are required! The foundation is oil-free, fragrance-free, and non-comodegenic and is designed to be "moisture, heat, and sebum-resistant" (from faceatelier.com). That's quite the tall order! Though I've tried it out already and can truthfully say it's all that and a bag of chips! I also was given a generous sample of their Ultra Foundation in Zero Minus, a white-toned base that can be mixed into other foundations to adjust the hue. Very cool! 

The Face Atelier rep then directed my attention to their Facades. Housed in tiny plastic tubes, I originally though they were lip glosses. But after a quick demo, I realized they were so much  more! The Facades are silicone-based, gel-to powder formula lip and cheek colours that offer translucent, streak and crease-free matte colour. The texture was truly unique! I opted for Chameleon, a vivid cherry pink. 

Next up was a stop by the Kryolan counter. Kryolan is a well-established professional brand that I was so happy to spot in the IMATS lineup. They had a truly impressive selection of neon-hued cream pigments, but I took the more practical route and gravitated towards their ultra versatile eye shadow palettes. As my collection is seriously lacking in matte shadows (I'm a shimmer fiend), I grabbed their Variety Eye Shadow Compact in V3 Natural, a stunning and comprehensive lineup of 18 matte shades. Kryolan touts that these shadows offer a creamy powder, long-wearing formula with a sheer, but buildable, finish. 

Isn't it a thing of beauty? It seriously contains every shade of matte neutral you could ever want. And since Kryolan was offering a 30% discount on the day, I got it for a steal!

My final picks of the day were definitely the most luxurious. I had heard nothing but raves for Hakuhodo brushes, from beauty bloggers and makeup artists alike. Every time I mentioned Hakuhodo to someone at the show, they instantly swooned. The brushes are quite pricey, indeed, but I zoned in some of their smaller face brushes that didn't completely break the bank.

My main mission was to find a high-quality contour brush and my ultimate pick was the J5521 Tapered Highlighting Brush. It's a rounded brush with a pointed, tapered tip for added control. It's designed for both contouring and highlighting, so it's quite the multi-tasker. And it's sooo soft! My second pick was perhaps the cutest little buffing brush I've ever seen! The J528 Highlighter Brush C is a mini flat-topped kabuki style brush that's super densely packed for moderate to full coverage. I think it would be perfect to create a more dramatic contour or to build up ultra sheer cheek colour. The Hakuhodo rep said that it's also ideal for blending out foundation after initial application, which I'm dying to test out!

Overall, I am so, so happy with my IMATS picks! Among a packed hall teaming with colour, tools, and gadgets, I think I really honed in on the brands and products that I've truly been lusting after and that will quickly take center stage in my stash. And I actually (almost) stuck to my budget, which was an accomplishment given that there was temptation everywhere I looked! 

What are your top picks from makeup artist/pro brands? Have you tried anything from Yaby, Face Atelier, Kryolan, or Hakuhodo? Have I tempted you with anything here?

Thanks for reading! :)