It was the 25th annual anniversary of IMATS LA. However, It’s still the pandemic and it definitely showed. It was the least crowded IMATS, probably ever! In the past, IMATS has been huge! Usually in attendance are major brands, well-known YouTubers, influencers, brand owners and celebrity makeup artists. But that also meant that there were lines that were hours long! The were so long, that the security had to put us outside because we were blocking the other booths and creating a fire hazard.
This year was completely tolerable as a customer! No lines, and maybe a mild crowd around certain booths, but they died down and I had plenty of room to look at the merchandise. Terrible for the businesses that invested a lot of money to show there, but great for us customers who didn’t have to stand in long lines and dodge people.
If you want to see photos, I have 2 very old posts with pictures I took:
IMATS LA 2015
IMATS LA Special FX
This year, however, fell during the omicron surge. So understandably, not as many people attended. I also noticed that not many popular, mainstream brands were attending. A lot of brands I had never heard of were showcasing this year. But it doesn’t matter, I still managed to find things to buy! I had a set budget, and only went $14 over, which was okay because I did have some emergency cash just in case. I was proud of myself for not going too crazy! But I admit, I am still looking at the brand’s websites to see what I might want to pick up later.
This year, the most common product being sold were false lashes. That works for me since it was on my list of things-to-buy! I ended up buying 18 pairs of lashes! Seems overkill, but it looks like I won’t have to buy any for the rest of the year! I also don’t see myself going out much anyway, so it will probably last a couple of years! The thing about lashes, is that at previous IMATS, they had a stick with the lash (like a monocle) so you can see what they actually look like on you! That is something none of them did this time. I don’t think it’s a Covid thing since they had testers out. I just don’t think any of them thought of it. I believe I have a pretty good idea on what kind of lashes I like on myself, so hopefully there won’t be any flops in my haul.
This year we saw brands such as, Omnia and Moda, (Owned by Royal & Langnickel), Pinky Rose, Rude Cosmetics, J Cat Beauty, Parian Spirit, Nigel Beauty Emporium, Lurella Cosmetics, Ruby May Cosmetics, Mica Beauty Cosmetics, Base Blue, Estate and more! If you haven’t heard of some of these brands, you aren’t alone. I had heard of a handful of them, but had to familiarize myself with every single one so I knew what to buy. Vendors not there were Ardell, Cinema Secrets, Jason Wu Beauty, Kim Chi Chic, Melanie Mills Hollywood, RCMA, and I don’t think I saw Heidi D or Kiss Dazzling Beauty. (If they were there, I definitely missed them!)
My friend and I were super bummed about Kim Chi Chic! I had a huge list of things I was going to buy, and I wanted to try the foundations and concealers to find my match. It is very hard to find a perfect match for asian skin tones, so we figured an asian-owned brand would have what we need! But I need to see them in person, I can’t justify blindingly buying a new foundation online. RCMA would have been great brand for foundation too, but I also need to test them on me for a match.
Some vendors had an empty space, but offered a discount for their website, which is appreciated. I will definitely use Ardell’s code. Melanie Mills Hollywood’s code only lasted the two days. I am unsure of if any booth was supposed to be where Landing International ended up, but it was a good idea to something there at all. Just to fill in that space because a lot of space along that wall was just empty.
The pandemic was an unfortunate circumstance for IMATS, but there was enough for me to enjoy. I still had fun, I got to see panels and professional makeup artists at work, and I certainly bought enough things! I didn’t have to know of the brand at all, I managed to find products to take home! I also liked that I could re-visit a booth at my own leisure because there was no line to contend with! Best of all, I got to spend time with my friend!
@ineedthisunicorn Come be my shopping buddy at IMATS LA! #imats #mua #makeup #makeupartist #cosmetics #shopping #pasadena #beautyblogger ♬ LIMITS THE SKY – Mpax
The following pictures make it look more empty than it was. But I honestly liked having some breathing room and not standing in line for hours on end! Usually on Day 2, the lobby isn’t crowded anyway, since most people tend to have 2-day passes and would have checked in the day before.
In years past, the lobby was crowded at opening time. Or at least had people hanging out in the hall to get a breather from the crowd inside. It looks sad, but as a customer, I rather enjoyed it not being a clusterfuck of fuck! I had some bad times at a previous Makeup Show, not being able to see or buy things because there were too many people. At this IMATS, I was able to see the products and actually buy things, plus take pictures and record videos.
Brands who could not make it due to circumstances, and one booth adding some substance to what could have been a blank spot. Yes, it looks unfortunate, but we are living in unfortunate circumstances. If someone who was supposed to be there was exposed, they cannot in good conscious, potentially infect others. At the very least, some of the vendors gave us a coupon for their website!
My IMATS tips:
• Make a Shopping List- Familiarize yourself with each brand and make a list of what you need/want.
• Set a Budget- Seriously stick to it. I could tell you how much I spent, but you need to do what is most realistic to you.
• Study the floor plan (If they provide one, they did not this year)
• Wear comfortable shoes- the next one may not be as barren as this one and they might have lines again!
• If you are unsure about prices, do a price check on their website with your phone. Sometimes they don’t give you a deal at all and that’s pretty much the point in coming to IMATS.
• Know how to say that you aren’t interested or think of a get away line if you feel any sales pressure.
• Exercise restraint- Don’t grab everything that looks interesting. Add up how much you are spending before you end up with too much stuff that you don’t actually need and you’ve gone over budget.
• If you traveled by plane, consider your luggage space! In fact, pack knowing that you’ll need space for the trip back!
• If you intend on swatching, bring some makeup removing wipes. Sometimes the booth will have them, sometimes they don’t.
When it comes to food, they do have a food concession if you want hot dogs. But you are allowed ins and outs, so you can walk to restaurants nearby. It’s a nice break when it’s extremely crowded inside the convention center.
I didn’t cover every single vendor, but I do have pictures and a write up for most of them! I just don’t like to go up to every booth and waste people’s time if I don’t buy anything.
Pinky Rose
This was the first booth I visited because there is a palette I have been wanting for years! I am familiar with the brand from being in Riley Rose and because they have (had?) a store in Northern California in Elk Grove, nearby Sacramento. The 80’s Baby palette is something I have been wanting for years! Each sister came out with her own palette and this one spoke to me! It has neutrals, purples and a yellow! And the names caught my attention! Care Bear, 1981! Yes, this is for me! After wearing this for a few days, this is worth the money and I should have bought it years ago. It’s not only super pigmented, but it blends wonderfully! The color story really works together and I love how Dahlia did her own thing with her look!
I got charged for 4 pairs of lashes when I only bought 3. It’s not worth my hassle for $3. I think the 80s’ Palette is so great that we should consider it a donation.
The lighting bolt packaging is so cool, but never would have fit in my luggage!
Beaute Tsuru
I recently bought tweezers to replace ones I had lost and to pack in my travel case. Guess what didn’t make it? Therefore, I wrote on the top of my shopping list: “Tweezers”
Beaute Tsuru had a deal: Two for $15, so I got myself two teal ones. One for my purse and one for at home on my vanity. I should have a huge collection of tweezers, but I manage to lose them. They feel different than my usual Tweezerman, but they did a great job at plucking out the offenders! Now I wish I looked at getting different pairs. I think some of these tweezers would be great for picking up small items in crafts.
Bdellium Tools
The watercolor wash brush caught my attention so I decided to get some watercolor paint brushes! I bought the large wash brush and a couple of fine detail brushes. I haven’t seen a bent paint brush before, just eyeliner brushes. I thought it would be a good tool to have. I also got an eyelash applicator. I really like the one I have from Tarte, but sometimes I lose it in my mess of vanity. I thought it would be a good idea to get a backup, and this one looked like it was good quality.
Enzo Milano
I have an interchangeable curling rod that needs to be replaced because it’s finicky if it wants to turn on or not. I have a backup one that I am currently using, but I’d like to get one with a larger barrel for looser waves. So I was looking for an interchangeable curling wand set. Well, that didn’t seem to be an option.
If there is anything I have learned from shopping malls, is to not make eye contact with the sales people at kiosks. Walk fast and just avoid kiosks at all costs. I didn’t realize it would be like this at IMATS too. I accidentally made eye contact and suddenly I was sitting on a stool getting my hair curled.
I had already curled my hair into waves, but however I style my hair is never good enough for sales people. He tried to sell me a styling iron, which might have been the Air Curler. He said it retails for $500, but the show special was $400. (Which is how much it is on the website currently.) I told him I was on a budget. (Seriously, if I buy that, I can just go home afterwards!) A common sales tactic I always see is: they go off to check something and then try to give me a super secret special deal and show me on a calculator. I am not new to shopping.
While I appreciated the new lowered price, it wasn’t what I was here for. It being just the second booth I visited, I wasn’t about to blow $$$ right off the bat. Had he showed me the other irons in the line, I may have been interested in buying an interchangeable wand set at the end of IMATS if I had money to spare. At that point I didn’t even want to ask because I wanted to leave. Otherwise, the curler he demonstrated on me left my hair way too curly.
SUVA
This is a brand cosplayers and body painters need to know about, if they don’t already!
They are water activated colors, and some of them will glow under blacklight. Note that only certain colors are UV reflective so you’ll want to double check your choices. Otherwise, I was told that I can mix a bit of yellow with white, to make white glow. This brand was exactly what I needed when I did my Tyrande as The Night Warrior look this past Halloween!
I bought Taffies, a small palette of pastel colors. I could do something fun with these pastels. On my shopping list was Toppers, a glittery highlighter palette. I will compare these to JSC Extreme Frosts.
So many colors to choose from! When I have a specific character in mind, I’ll definitely go to them for some more colors because they glow!
Aliyah Cosmetics
I have a pretty good idea of what kind of lashes I like. I looked at the website, some of the lashes were crazy but some were ones I’d definitely wear. As it turns out, the ones on the site I like are exactly the lashes I bought!
They had a bin of various lip glosses. It was an absolute mess, but I managed to find cool things. A unicorn smoothie lip balm and a potion concoction gloss. Silly as they are, they were cheap at $2 each, so why not have a little fun?
I wanted an eyeshadow palette called Amethyst Moon, but they didn’t have it. I saw a pink palette called Strawberry Cow, but I thought I would save myself $10 (the budget was dwindling) and be happy with my JSC Pink Religion palette. I am really trying not to buy more eyeshadow palettes, I got so many last year. But they’re pretty and I like the colors in both of those palettes!
J.Cat
J.Cat is an affordable brand I had heard of, but had never purchased. Their booth had a lot to choose from! A lot of items were discounted when you bought 2 or 3 items, so it was best to take advantage of that. Plus, if you bought at least $30 worth, you got to spin the wheel. I got 10% off, which helped!
I did some research on what the brand had to offer, and I knew that the Mood Flick Sparkle Lip Balm was something I needed to swatch. So I did! They all look the same pretty much, but they have variations and they’re supposed to be mood lipsticks so it’s supposed to change on you. In my experience it just turns pink, and it’s already pink. You can probably expect pink.
I saw these glitters I was interested in, but I am glad I swatched them. I wanted them to be creamy but they swatched with rough glitter.
I was interested in some eyeshadow palettes but I thought about what I already owned. I am trying to be good! There was yet another purple palette that I did not need. Now I am looking at it, like ugh, why didn’t I get it?
Estate
On my shopping list, I picked out a couple of lip glosses from Estate. Since they had a 3 for $10 special. I might as well get 3!
The top four swatches were leftover from Base Blue. But the next ones are the glosses from Estate and highlighters from Estate. The lip gloss smells like summer. Like coconut suntan oil at the beach. These smell good and it will bring back memories. I loved the glittery finish of the glosses too. They’re thick so they’ll last awhile. I like my gloss thicker because I want it to stay on my lips and keep them moisturized!
The lashes were 2 for $5 or 1 for $3. I bought two to try out, but looking at the picture, I wonder if I should have gotten all 5.
Mica Beauty Cosmetics
The booth was cute, but it looks like I didn’t stop to look at the serums.
Nigel Beauty Emporium
I did not know what to expect since Nigel sells just about everything from every brand you could want. Nigel did NOT disappoint! I had been wanting the Infinite Chrome Flakes from Danessa Myricks…and they had it! I couldn’t believe my eyes! The next day, they restocked with even more colors, so I got 4 in all! After trying them, I definitely need to get them all! They’re INSANE! It’s only been a week since IMATS and yet people have commented on my glittery eyes! They catch a lot of attention. Eventually I’d like to get them all and dedicate a whole post to them.
Nigel also had other items that I tend to buy regularly, like Embryolisse and the Beauty Blender Pro cleanser. I opted to not get the brush soap, even though I should really stock up. I just didn’t want to take up room in my luggage.
I wanted to get my usual Make Up For Ever foundation just in case they had them. But they just had a pro palette. I am seeing strange things on Sephora like most of them being out of stock. What does this mean? Should I buy myself a lifetime’s worth? My shade isn’t on the MUFE website either. It’s time to panic. (I hear that there will be a new version soon and it makes me nervous.)
While a lot of the makeup there were not standard brands for a professional make up artist, Nigel was here to offer what the Pros needed! I ended up going to the booth a few times! For a store with such a large inventory, it must have been difficult to choose which products to take to the show. The next time I am in LA, I will have to visit the actual store!
Rude Cosmetics
This was the booth that was immediately in your face as soon as you walk in. They had so much to offer that I missed a section the first day and had to go back! The makeup is affordable, and hopefully good because I bought so much!
This Roaring 20’s palette looks just like the Huda Beauty New Nudes palette and the Revolution version my friend gave me. I suppose I do not need a third one. (Even though it looks good!)
These paint palette would have been great for cosplay/bodypaint and it was $10 less than retail. I am feeling regret not buying this. It would be useful for character and Halloween makeup.
This sleeping face mask packaging is cute, the cartoon has the same hair as me! But I hate rose fragrances, so I had to pass even though the price is right.
They had a few unicorn palettes and a mermaid palette but I don’t need to buy everything with a mythical creature on them! Okay, okay… I bought a mermaid hydrating spray and a unicorn highlighter palette!
Vampyre Cosmetics
Hello, this is right my my alley! I was interested in the book palettes because they were so creative. One of them was theme Krampus and I had a Creepmas themed Christmas. I even wrapped gifts in Black Phillip wrapping paper! So the goth aesthetic of this brand was something I loved.
I loved the idea and the packaging of the Vampire Wine lipsticks, but I do not wear red. But I still think this is so clever! I also liked the Cthulhu brushes, another brand, Belladonna did them years ago. However it looks like Belladonna folded. I don’t think Vampyre will have the same fate.
I loved the clever packaging for the products. The liquid lipsticks are in little wine bottles! The eyeshadow palettes are books! The brush handles are creatures!
Their items weren’t really discounted, but the more we bought, he’d knock down prices. We took advantage of 2 palettes for $100, instead of $60 each. It was expensive, but it is an indie brand which obviously has a lot of costs. They’re small and new and they spend on specialty packaging so I can understand that. (I own a brand, so I know!) I talked to the guy at the booth and I asked him if these were all his work. He said he just some of the graphic design. Me, also having dabbled in graphic design had to know which. He showed me all the pieces he worked on and they were really cool! He said that he’s not really a graphic designer, and that it’s LA so he dabbles in a little of everything. Writing, acting, art, etc. You get money where you get it. YES! I know exactly that life!
I loved the setup, it looked almost like the Dickens Faire. The merchandise was inside the shelves, which was very clever! I look forward to seeing this brand continue to bring out more interesting products!
For these storybooks, it looks like they have two different options for the shades inside, but with different covers and illustrations inside. The purple/neutral/metallic story is Krampus, A Christmas Carol, Wuthering Heights, Let The Good Times Roll, Ghosts of Christmas Past, and Les Années Folles.
This color story can be purchased as Jane Eyre, Necromonicon, Witch Diary of Shadows, and Dracula.
This is the King Cake Palette. I saw the TikTok where the owner addresses the typo. She is aware, however, they had already had them made! But the new ones have been fixed!
@ineedthisunicorn The most delightful presentation! I bought the #Krampus palette! #imats #beautyblogger #mua #makeup #vampyrecosmetics #goth #storybook #artist ♬ original sound – Jessica ⭐️ I Need This Unicorn
Ruby May
Ruby May had so much to offer, mostly lashes, but they had some really cool makeup too! I had to chill on my purchasing!
Duochomatic liquid eyeshadows, it’s hard to see from a still photo, but these are really duochromatic. I really should have gotten the indigo one!
They had a Holographic Pigment Stack sold out on their website, I had hoped they had it for the show, but they’re sold out! I will keep an eye out for it!
The meme cats really caught my eye. The design is super scuffed and it’s supposed to be! That’s the funniest part of memes, when they look ultra scuffed with misspellings. They succeeded in the packaging design and I love it. And if it turns out that was a serious attempt at graphic design, better to pretend and play it off like you meant it to be scuffed!
The highlighters were seriously beautiful and I bought the two shades, swatched on top.
LashyBox
A subscription service with a lot of different options!
Base Blue
You may have seen the Girl With The Pearl Earring eyeshadow palette by Base Blue Cosmetics on social media already. Based on Vermeer’s oil painting, this is the first part of a 12-piece collection based on famous historical paintings. It’s not exactly practical, but it is a cool piece of art. If you were a professional makeup artist, I can see why they would be frustrated with it. But it’s not for that, clearly! According to the Base Blue website, four of the colors are just over-sprays, which means this palette is best when it is just for show.
Depending on what they come out with in the future, I may get one. It has to be the right painting that speaks to me.
The liquid lipsticks, were not up cup of tea when it comes to the shades. But the angel wings actually made it very comfortable to hold.
These shades were definitely not for me, but I appreciate the packaging!
Sian Richards
Also London Brush Company! Sian is super friendly and every time I see her, she is happily chatting with someone she knows! I met her at The Makeup Show in SF, and she is very kind.
Her brush rolls are so beautiful! I don’t see the exact fabric on her website, but I see another I like. The brushes look like they are amazing quality! I am a fan of her Clary Sage Brush soap, it smells super fresh.
Kryolan
Kryolan had a really cool promo where you could buy a bag for $40 or a larger one for $70 and fill it up with as many items as you can fit. By Day 2, the pickings aren’t as vast. But they have this promotion at their store in San Francisco, so I think I will go to one of those.
Lurella
Lurella has a lot to offer, however I visited them on Day 2 and I had already hit my budget at the point. They had a lot of interesting palettes I was eyeing. My friend checked later, she said they weren’t discounted and the same price as the website. I can just buy them later if I want. They also had light up mirrors, but those are not so easy to travel with on the airplane! I forgot that I wanted the handheld seashell mirror, but at least there’s the website!
Infinite Glow
Did I not buy anything from this booth? I sure took pictures!
They seem to be a service where MUAs come to you and they also offer lessons, so I didn’t have them on my shopping list. But they sold a little of everything.
Callas
Callas has so many Korean skincare items! I aways want skincare but I was also over budget at that point. The items on their site and pretty affordable so I will consider them for my next purchase.
They also had a crazy lash selection!
Tablette
It is a well-palette that is biodegradable and has a film where you can save and protect your mixes from dust or drying out. Very nice idea! I actually wanted one for my micas for soap painting. But they are biodegradable, and were not the best option for holding liquids. They also didn’t have their shipment in, so everything was pre-order. As of typing this, they do not have a website.
Face Cult
This is a textured blending tool for makeup artists, since I am not a pro MUA, it wasn’t for me. But I can see it is a sanitary solution to using your finger to blend. I like the branding and logo and the neon helps the booth attract customers.
Grex
This looks like a fun, interactive booth. Since I’m not a pro MUA, I didn’t have a need for it. (I don’t like to waste anyone’s time.) But using the airbrush could have been fun!
IMATS
They had a ton of back issues of Make-Up Artist Magazine. Even ones from the 90s! I love the nostalgia! I bought something to read on the plane because I needed something to do on the way down. I picked one with Jordan Liberty’s work on the cover.
Rubber Wear
I forgot that I wanted to look at their selection of elf ears! I am trying to do World of Warcraft Elf looks!
Panels
I heard that someone from Harry Potter was on one of the stages. I ran over to see who. I looked it up afterwards and it was Göran Lundström, who worked on the Deathly Hallows.
I didn’t see her, but an actress from Star Trek: The Next Generation was there! I would have been happy to meet her had I known! Her name is Tracee Lee Coco. You wouldn’t know her by her character name, Lt Jae, but if you watched the show, you have definitely seen her! She’s always been there, even in the films! She has also played various aliens so I can see how she would be very familiar with the special effects makeup artists. ST:TNG is my all-time favorite show, it would have been a treat to say hello to her!
The very first panel was the makeup artists from Dune. I watched the film twice, so I was very interested. I think Donald Mowat was very engaging and gave some really great points to think about.
Clint Brock demo. Follow him on Instagram here.
Lusine Galadjian demo pictured below:
Special FX
The Special FX area wasn’t as large as in the past. They usually have their own room. However this year was small, and they had a narrow display. But it was great to see and it makes me wish I went into Special FX makeup. I live in the wrong area for this.
I wanted to see Mimi Choi’s presentation, but I was at Sugarfish at that point. Mimi did do a live demo throughout Day 1, so I did get to see her work. She has a really great, thoughtful interview in a magazine I picked up at the show. Because the lines didn’t keep us at IMATS longer, we were able to get more stuff done. My friend and I got enough shopping in, and were able to go out and explore the area.
IMATS Live Demos
Mimi Choi- I would be surprised if you were not already familiar with her Instagram account.
Shelby Michael Patton-check out her website here.
Thomas Suprenant- check out his Instagram here
Michael Burnett- Check out his Instagram here
Restaurants
Since I mentioned Sugarfish, I might as well review it for you!
The first day, I said that we had to go to Sugarfish because it’s famous and I was here to experience things exclusive to Los Angeles. Well we went on a Friday night, and we were told that there we 20 parties ahead of us. They also do not take reservations. So we just went to the next restaurant within sight and ate there.
The next day, we went at around 1:30pm. There were 2 parties ahead of us, but we waited an hour. We saw exactly why once we ate there!
My friend and I ordered “Trust Me”, which is just omakase, but they tell you what they are beforehand. We had thought it would be in a box based on photos, but it looks like that is just for takeout. I think it would have been more satisfying had we had everything all at once. Everything came out one by one, and by the time the next dish came out, we had already digested the previous one and were hungry again. And we get like 1 or 2 pieces per, so it wasn’t filling at all. By the time the last dish came out, I was like, “That’s it?!” We had to eat Mexican food next just to make up for it. I am not sure if it will be like this every time, but the slow pace was to be noted!
However, the quality of the fish was outstanding! I don’t care much for tuna usually. But the tuna was marinated in delicious sauce and the albacore was so sweet and so ridiculously melt in your mouth. They didn’t have the Hirame, so they replaced it with Scallop. That was an upgrade! I had never had scallop so sweet and melty either! It’s such a shame that you only get one! Why not 12?! Before we ordered, I considered getting rolls if the Trust Me box wasn’t enough. But by the end of the meal, I didn’t want to wait any more. We just ate Mexican food a few hours later.
We were in Sugarfish by 3pm, and I can tell you, that is the prime time to go! There were plenty of seats open at 3pm! Also, note that it is a no-tipping establishment. I assume they pay their staff enough so that it isn’t missed. (But they do charge a 16% service charge, so maybe they just get paid 4% more than usual.)
For dinner, we found an amazing Mexican restaurant on Yelp. I highly recommend Anaya’s. Everything was delicious! I need something substantial, so I ordered the Carne Asada. It was perfect!
The very first night, when feeling dejected from Sugarfish, we went to the next restaurant we came across. That was Dan Modern Chinese. It was just what we needed after traveling. Service that was prompt and food that was good and filling!
My friend was obsessed with Philz Coffee so we were in there a lot too! Even with the crazy wait. I know they’re from Oakland (where I’m from) but I don’t drink coffee so I wasn’t familiar with them other than their brand. We were pretty much in that shopping center three days in a row!
We also went to San Gabriel and to Mitsuwa, a Japanese grocery store where I bought a bunch of candy. On the way we saw some crazy ass fancy homes! We were both pretty much screaming in the car because the homes were so unique and impressive!
Travel and Hotel
As far as going to LA from the Bay Area, I took JSX instead of driving. It costs over $70 to fill up my tank and I’d probably fill it up twice or even three times per trip. JSX was $99 per flight, therefore cheaper and way faster. It’s a private chartered jet that is owned by Jet Blue. It was at my local airport, Buchanan Airfield. You mean I don’t need to go to Oakland Airport or SFO? Sign me up!
All you had to do was arrive at least 20 minutes before the flight. At Concord, we waited in a portable. At Burbank, we waited in the hanger. There was no TSA, no taking off our shoes, no inspection and no way they could possibly lose our bags! The first flight had 13 passengers. There was a baby, but that’s where noise cancelling headphones come in. The flight back only had 9 passengers and the nicest flight attendant ever! She was a true gem!
My friend drove from Vegas since it was a much shorter drive for her, so it worked out really well for the both of us! When I go to So Cal, I would definitely fly with JSX again, if we don’t drive.
The hotel I stayed at was the Sheraton Pasadena. That is the one connected to the convention center. Thankfully, there seemed to be cancellations due to covid, so I was able to book a room. It really is the most convenient to have the hotel just steps away! I’d stay here again for IMATS if possible!
My friend and I managed to not get sick. We both took Covid test 3 days afterwards. She took an official test and I did an at-home one. Both were negative.
Celebrity Sighting
My friend and I were walking back to our car in Pasadena. And I see a couple with an adorable little floof in a carrying bag. I was like, “Awww so cute!” “He looks just like Popeye!” “You look like Popeye the Foodie!” He stopped and looked back, maybe thinking, did I just hear his name? Nah… what are the chances? But then I said it again as we got closer that he looked like Popeye.
The guy stops and says, “He is Popeye!” I was floored! I did not expect this dog on the street to actually be a dog I follow on Instagram!
His owner was SUPER nice and asked if I wanted to hold him.
“YES!!!”
I was already having a pretty good day, but it really made my day! Popeye looks as if he’d rather be elsewhere… probably having carne asada!
The Haul
I will post swatches and close ups in my next post. This one has already gotten way too long! I would be surprised if anyone actually read it all!
This year, I forced myself to buy less palettes and stocked up on lashes. Lashes at the drugstore are such a pain because they’re always locked and you need an associate to unlock it for you. So I managed to get myself 18 pairs. That should last me over a year.
Pictured below is my haul from 2015. I spent twice as much that year!
I think the next post will have swatches of what I bought, so please check back!
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I paid for everything myself with my own money! There are no affiliate links.
