Saturday April 9 I went to IMATS NYC for the second year. This time I bought my ticket as soon as they went on sale as to not miss out on a Saturday ticket, which happened last year. Technically there isn’t much difference between Saturday and Sunday. However, if you go Sunday there’s a higher possibility that what you want might be sold out. I was heartbroken that no booth I went to on Sunday of last year had ANY Beauty Blenders left. There’s my first tip, and this wasn’t even meant to be that kind of post. Buy your tickets early!!
I started preparing months in advance for this event. Saving money from each paycheck, reading blogs and watching YouTube haul videos of those that went to IMATS LA, chatting with other makeup lovers in the unoffical IMATS NYC Facebook group, and creating a handy dandy spreadsheet of the vendors I wanted to hit and products I “needed” to buy. Hell, I even found the parking garage with an IMATS discount on the official website. Because who wasn’t dealing with NJ Transit on that day was me. Oh yea, another tip, bring cash, with plenty of change. Sometimes the wifi gets overloaded and vendors can’t process credit cards (happened last year) and sometimes, typically Sunday, certain vendors will offer extra discounts for those paying in cash. It also helps you reign in your spending if you promise yourself not to swipe. I still went over budget, but I have poor impulse control skills.
The day of IMATS NYC arrives and I wake up at the butt crack of dawn so I can get my look together. I still ended up being later than what I had initially anticipated because I still suck at estimating how long it will take to do my makeup. But arriving late was a blessing in disguise because Mother Nature came threw with a Dikembe Mutombo and said “No No No. Not Today” to spring weather and the temperature Saturday morning was all of 45 degrees plus the wind off the Hudson River. So instead of arriving an hour before the doors opened, I arrived 30 minutes before the doors opened. Meaning I was only frozen for about 45 minutes. Although I was way way at the back of the line, once the doors opened the line moved surprisingly swift.
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I checked in, showing my ticket and photo ID and got my wrist band. Then I headed straight to the line for Morphe Brushes. You would have thought they were giving something away for free. The line, when I got on, had to be about 100-150 people deep, and the wait time (including the selection and gathering of products) was around 1 1/2 hours. I can never speak ill of sneakerheads on release days again, lol. This is where I spent the bulk of my budget, because all though I had a very specific list, there was just so many other things I “needed.” But on the upside I was able to get my hands on palettes that are perpetually sold out online. The 35O and 35W palette. I also picked up a clear travel bag, for reasons I don’t really even know. A gel eyeliner in “slate” and like I said before, more brushes than I really know what to do with.
Even though I went to IMATS alone, standing in lines all day means, no matter how socially awkward you are (me) you’re bound to make IMATS line buddies. I met Amanda, and we chatted the whole time we were in line, split up and then met back up later, and left to go get our cars together. She just so happened to be another Jersey Girl. I also got my snack on while waiting in different lines because I brought a good supply of protein bars, but I was in such a rush I forgot my water in the car *cries in thirsty*.
The rest of my time there was a blur. I can’t recall the order in which I went to each booth but below is my haul. All $550 worth.
