Mini Toronto IMATS 2013 Haul
Is this a long overdue post or what? The holiday season is always super busy! I finally found some time to write about my small IMATS haul from when I attended the trade show this past November. I think I did a fairly good job sticking to my budget and did not give in to any impulse buys [ok, maybe just one]. I picked up some of my essentials as well as a few products I wanted to try out. My top three things that I wanted to get at the show were MUFE products, a pair of Velour Lashes and an OCC Lip Tar. Out of my haul, I only got one thing that I wasn’t planning on getting beforehand, so I managed to not overspend. Yay! Oh boy, this might be a lengthy one…
1. MUFE Full Cover Concealer [6] ♥ 2. MUFE Aqua Lip Liner [3C] ♥ 3. Liole Auto Eyebrow [01] ♥ 4. Velour Lashes [You Complete Me]
5. OCC Lip Tar [Marion] ♥ 6. Ben Nye Banana Powder ♥ 7. MUFE HD Foundation [120]
1. MUFE Full Cover Concealer in 6 Ivory
I’ve been using this concealer for years and have not tried looking for a replacement ever since I started using it! It’s a full coverage concealer which is also waterproof. It covers up everything pretty well and a tube lasts me for quite a while even though I use it almost daily. I can wear this shade year round and it matches well with my NC20-NC30 skintone. It looks a little lighter once I have a summer tan, but still manages to match my skin well. I was able to get it at the show for $25CAD compared to its regular price of $37 before taxes.
2. MUFE Aqua Lip Liner in 3C Medium Nude Beige
I purchased this as a backup once my 3C runs out. I don’t normally wear lip liners on an every day basis, but on those days when I want my lip colour to stay put throughout the day or if I want my lips to look more defined, I use this lip liner. It’s also waterproof so it doesn’t budge much. I also wear it as a full lip colour from time to time. It’s quite versatile! This is the perfect YLBB [your lips, but better] colour for me in terms of lip liners. I wanted to get other shades, but I had to stay on budget! The show had these for $16CAD compared to its regular price of $23 before taxes.
3. Liole Auto Eyebrow Pencil in 01 Natural Brown
This eyebrow pencil is from a Korean brand. There was a little booth at the show that had Korean products and the packaging drew me in! As always. My friend said that these usually run around $14CAD, but the show had it for $8CAD so I thought I might as well pick one up. I don’t fill in my eyebrows too often, but when I do, I usually use one from the Japanese brand Koji [in their ‘Spring Heart’ line]. This pencil is at an angle and you just click it up to sharpen. I also like the fact that it has a spoolie brush on the opposite end. I haven’t gotten a chance to use it yet, but will update once I do.
4. Velour Lashes in You Complete Me
I normally save fake lashes for special occasions, especially because it still takes me a while to put them on. Haha. Why is one side always easier than the other?! Anyway, I’m quite partial to the ones where the lashes crisscross and are fuller and longer at the ends to give you that cat-eye look. This was the perfect one! On their website, it says that these are “made for girls with decently long lashes but want that extra thickness”. These lashes are made with 100% mink fur and can be used up to 25 times with proper care. Their show price was $20CAD, but they normally sell them for $29.99. It’s a bit on the pricier side for fake lashes, but it can be reused so that works out to approximately 80 cents to $1.16 per wear if you get 25 uses out of them.
5. OCC Lip Tar in Marion
This was my first Lip Tar purchase so I wanted to go with something nude and neutral that can be worn anytime. Marion is described as a dirty rose shade, which is exactly what I wanted. There were a lot of other shades that were quite nice too, but knowing that these can last for quite a while [you literally just need a drop of it per application] I didn’t want to buy too many. A great alternative for the full tubes is available at Sephora right now for the holidays. They have an All Star Mini set that I mentioned in my Sephora VIB Haul post. These were going for $12.50CAD at the show which is a great price since they normally cost around $22CAD each.
6. Ben Nye Banana Powder
This was another product I’ve heard about in the beauty blogosphere, but haven’t gotten a chance to try out yet before the show. I just don’t see it around. I went to the Nigel Beauty Emporium booth to look for these [I was originally planning on just getting the smaller bottle], but they were completely sold out by the time we got there. Before leaving the show, I saw it at the Wolfe Cosmetics booth so I got it as my final purchase of the day. I wasn’t too sure how much they were sold for at the Nigel booth, but I got the bigger bottle for $16CAD.
7. MUFE HD Invisible Cover Foundation in 120 Soft Sand
I have been using BB creams for years since my skin was just not having it in terms of using foundation on a daily basis. I have seen good improvement throughout the years, but that can also be due to other factors that have changed since then. I do think that not using heavy foundation definitely played a part, though. These days, I’m a little apprehensive about trying new foundations because I’m afraid it might break me out. I don’t see this product replacing my daily “foundation” routine, but I thought it would be nice for those instances when I want more coverage than a BB cream can offer. This shade is for medium light skin with yellow undertones. It blends pretty well with my skintone right now, but I am a bit on the paler side since it’s winter. I will have to see if this shade works for me too during the spring and summertime seasons. The show had this for $33CAD, but it normally sells for $49 before taxes.
Well, there you have it! I managed to get in and out of the show with the products I wanted for a grand total of $130.50, which is a pretty good deal if you ask me… especially the discount at the MUFE booth. There was a bit of a wait, but I think it was worth it to get the items at the discounted price. I saved about $67.25 in total. Not bad at all. I’m thinking of heading back next year, maybe with a different list of things to try apart from the essentials? I guess we’ll see!
Do you use any of these products? Let me know in the comments below
