If You Buy One Thing at IMAS and a Tip or Two

     I’ve been twice and each time I’m in awe. I’m talking about the International Makeup Artist Trade Show (IMATS). The first time I went I was a bit prepared because I had heard so much about it from YouTubers; I knew more or less what to do. The second time I went I considered myself a pro. I’m also a planner so I liked to be prepared. However not everyone is a planner which is fine. Maybe you’ve heard this but its true, figure out what you want. I went to the IMATS list of vendors to see who’s going to be there. I checked the websites I was interested in, which gave me an idea of what they sold. Do you need makeup? Just brushes? What brand are you most interested in? Write a list of what you want and their prices. Prices? Yes. I went to Makeup Forever’s counter once and the discount was the same as Sephora when they have their VIB Sale. Needless to say I waited till Sephora, might as well get points for shopping.  Do a little research on the items you want.  The first time I went I bought a brush from a company I really didn’t know.  Honestly I bought it because it was cheap and looked nice. The hairs immediately came out when I washed it.

     Expect a lines everywhere at IMATS. If you have a friend team up.  I thought I was doing well the second time when I arrive an hour after they opened.  The line wrapped around the building! The line does move quickly, considering the about of people. The biggest line is the Sigma line. If you want Sigma brushes I suggest you get in that line first. I went around 11 am when I headed to the Sigma line which was out the door. The very first time I went they didn’t have a line outside. In fact they wouldn’t let us line up! Needless to say I was upset because I’m put of town and how many times would I be able to come again, if any!  When I got to the front, a couple of brushes I wanted were already sold out.

     One of the brushes is a must every time I went are the Hakuhodo Brushes. When I learned about them, I heard they were labeled as the Channel of brushes. I have to agree. I don’t know if any are synthetic (there are huge array of brushes) but they are the best quality of brushes I own, that’s being compared to Mac, Sigma and others I have in my collection. Some that I own are horse or goat. Since the brushes aren’t labeled I can honestly say I do not know which ones I own. This has even made me second-guess some of the brushes because I’m pretty certain I own two of the same one. Most of my brushes are the J series. There are varies series with Hakuhodo, you can check all the brushes here. The price range varies, some are rather expensive.

     I can’t remember what brush I have, they’re not labeled, they are made of real hair…they are the softest brushes I own. Sometimes you need a brush that isn’t synthetic to pick up certain eye shadows. They are expensive but the hairs don’t fall out after a few washes, they are easy to handle and work well with shadows. They are expensive but worth the investment. Just walk by the booth, you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t blame me if you spend too much money on Hakuhodo Brushes.

My collection of Hakuhodo Brushes

-Melissa