IMATS – A first time encounter

I know, i know.  IMATS was long ago and I am way behind and so yesterday; but I’m sure there’s still one or two people out there who will want to know just what I bought and how I experienced the occasion.  For those who do not know IMATS (the International Make-up Artist Tradeshow) is one of THE places to go to and be once a year, if you’re into anything cosmetic, make up or special effects related.  Like some sort of pilgrimage, women and men flock there (whether in London, Toronto, Los Angeles..) in order to get good bargains, see amazing art work being done and attend seminars of great make up artists.  This year was their 9th year and was my very first year of attending.  I wasn’t sure what to expect as I often heard of IMATS but did little research into as to what it was.  Next time round I shall be more prepared…

Held at the Alexandra Palace in Wood Green, London, it was a fairly large event yet a lot more low key than I had anticipated.  Furthermore I had imagined it to be filled with ‘fancy looking people’ doing ‘fancy funny things’ but actually a lot of us who went were in fact just human.  I imagined some sort of flamboyant affair that was similar to a circus but I felt like I was more in some sort of Star Trek Convention…

As you can see it wasn’t as big as I thought it would be.  It was large yes, but somehow I had expect more…  More stands I suppose and also probably fancy music and cinematic pictures and motion images everywhere.  I don't know why I imagined that because well, why WOULD they have that anyway?

There was plenty to see in terms of make up artist at work, showing off their skills and I was wowed by a lot of what was being produced; it was inspirational at the same time daunting at how far I have to work to get even close to that level of skill.

As you can see I went to my dear friends Ling (Moonbeamstarlight) and also Vicky (Vanity-Fashionista) and we had so much fun shopping together.  I also met Suzi (Style Suzi) but unfortunately I didn’t manage to take a picture with her!

I attended the key note talk with Bill Corso and was deeply impressed by his work and his character.  Again, inspired and also overwhelmed.  He is seriously, amazing.  We then went around and did lots of shopping and taking pictures.

Some of you may know I do have an irrational fear of clowns.  Why do I still want to be a make-up artist?  Probably it’s an unconscious want and need of conquering my fear…that' makes sense when it comes to me.  I mean, look, scary or WHAT?!

One of my high-lights of the day was meeting Koren from Enkore Make-up who I think is absolutely fabulous.  He has such a bright and beautiful personality and is truly amazing at what he does.  Honestly, I was star stuck.  I was even more star struck seeing him than when I met Natalya from Filthygorgeousmakeup and I was lost for words when I saw her.  He is just fabulous and that is a strong word to use!

 

I also attended his make-up seminar on using pigments sponsored by Naked Cosmetics.  He was very clear on his instructions and guidance and loved how he engaged with the audience.  His model was Gail from Oogle Make-up and she has such wonderful skin!  I really enjoyed watching him use these cosmetics especially as I picked up some myself!

I particularly loved seeing the Body art and special effects make-up.  Special effects is something I’m considering getting into eventually but I know I will want to do a lot of Body art as well as it takes all the challenges from the face right through to the whole of the human anatomy.  

I loved seeing the levels of complexity and intricacy; everyone had their own style and own forte.

Another great thing about going to IMATS and also being part of the beauty community on the internet is meeting the wonderful people you have 'previously met’ online!  Here I am with Eve (Moodeve) and Klaire (Klairedylysart). 

I was particularly excited to have met both Youtube Gurus because I absolutely adore them on screen and they were just as nice in person as they seemed.  It was very early on that Eve (her name is actually Claire, silly me) noticed me and ran up to me, tapped me on the shoulder and said “Cherry Chan!” and I was SO surprised and shocked that she even remembered my name!! I was so pleased, overwhelmed and touched.  I know, it’s so dramatic of me but I absolutely adore her and she has such a comforting presence.  I remember she was one of the first few people who welcomed me into Youtube and she did a response to my Chinese Tag videos.  I’ve always been seriously impressed at how good at Chinese is and secretly envious at how beautiful her eyes are…and I wish I was tall like her too! 

I met Klaire three quarters of the way through the day when I ended up at a small Youtube Guru/Bloggers meet up underneath a empty stall stand.  She turned around and I thought to myself “Oh My God it’s Klaire, my absolute idol, and she has no idea who I am and I want to say hi but I can’t and Oh my God what shall I do?!?!?!?!” and to my utter surprise she pointed at me and said “I don’t remember your name, but I know you!” and that was enough to send me flying with joy!  Who would have thought she would even know me!  She eventually regained her memory and now we' remain friends and in contact.  She is, by the way, such a lovely person and great to shop with! 

Here I’m standing with my other absolute idols, the Pixiwoo sisters, Nicola and Sam.  I watch their videos religiously and love what they both do.  They are hugely talented and have such warming personalities.  I’m so annoyed that I look so less cool than them in this photo but never mind.  Sorry Sam that your eyes are closed but I should have retaken it. 

Overall I had a fabulous time and it was a eye opening experience.  I am definitely going next year and will make sure by then I’m en-route to my make-up career. 
Having since gone to IMATS I want to remind myself of a few things so next time I am more prepared….

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  Bring hand wipes
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  Go both days and get there as early as possible
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  Wear something comfortable, forget cute skirts!
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  Bring tons of money, you know you’ll need it and best bring most of it in cash
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  Make sure make an itinerary
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  Bring lunch – it’s expensive there!
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  Tie hair up – you know why!
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  Bring hand sanitizer, again, you know why!
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  Don’t rush into buying things and this time, go it alone! (Not that I disliked or hated my company, I loved the company, I just am a beeline shopper and have a one track mind.  I shop like I intend to rule the world)

Haul
So lets go onto the hauling, I’m sure a lot of you will want to see what I bought.

I bought a palette to use for colour mixing and more creative work, I’m beginning to apply make-up onto other people and so this might come in handy as well as this 20 piece brush set.  This was originally £30 but by the time I got there it was the only display version so I got it cheaper for £25!  Shame that it’s a scary metallic blue but I still adore the brushes.  Both of these are from Royal Langnickel.

I bought a really awesome foundation palette to play with from Make Up International for, I think, £30 which I think is an absolute bargain. There are a ton of shades I can work with here and while I haven’t tried it out, it does look fairly promising.  I also picked up the Make Up For Ever HD Foundation because I’ve heard such amazing things about this product.  I’ve been using it ever since coming back from IMATS and I have to say it’s become and will be one of THE foundation of 2010 for me.  I love it!

  

I also stopped by Fero Beauty and got really nice cheap goods.  These faux lashes were abot £2.25 each (I know, bargain!) and I got two lip liners, both £1.08 each and I picked up their tube mascara for also a cheap price. I was relatively impressed by their product range and price.  I will definitely go back there again for supplies, especially the faux lashes.  I wish I could have bought more!

Also from Fero Beauty, this cheap £5 brush belt that will come in handy for my practising.  I will talk about those brushes in the belt in a second.  Next is the 24 hour miracle cream from Embryollise which is my ultimate favourite and I got it for £8.  This was a fabulous deal! 
The brushes below are all from Crown Brushes and it was like a pick-a-mix stall!   I picked up some brushes that I had seen similar ones before but were too expensive.


 

I bought a flat top buffing brush for loose powder and contouring.  Also a pencil brush for finer details.

 
I’ve been dying for a very large foundation brush so was pleased to find one; also picked a blunt, dense shading brush which I use for contouring the lips and nose. 


I picked up two blending brushes because I feel like I’m exhausting my MAC 217 and these were their smallest blending brushes which will be fabulous for my small eyes.  Also a Maxi Mop which I have no idea how to use but really wanted it!



I also got a mini fan brush after watching Koren apply mascara on Gail with one.  I thought this would be fun to experiment with!
Next I went to Illamasqua and they have an incredible 50% sale so I bought five things from there which amounted to £50!  I know that sounds a lot but £50 for Illamasqua couldn’t really get you more than two items, so I was so pleased!



I have been dying for these Liquid Metals for so, so long and I got both of these in Solstice and Enrapture and I still really want Phenomena. 


I got two blushers, one for high lighting and one for a big peachy apricot pop in the summer.  The contour colour on the left is called Steal and the one on the right is Excite.




Also picked up a lipstick from Illamasqua called Obey which is another peachy pink added to my collection.  This is very similar to 147 from BarryM and I’m hoping for better results as I’m not the biggest BarryM lip paint fan as they are quite drying.  This colour will look gorgeous in the summer paired up with the blusher above in Excite.

 

Last but not least, we made a trip to Naked Cosmetics that was featured in Koren’s seminar.  These are 100% oxidised mica pigments and are completely natural and 100% amazingly pigmented.  You can use these wet or dry and you can mix them. They have an amazing range of colours and so I picked two towers of natural/neutral shades and was given from free from Naked and so I picked a brighter set.  Thank You Naked Cosmetics!!  We also met the husband and wife owners of Naked Cosmetics and they are lovely people.  I will be wanting to buy more from them in the future.  If you ever do visit them and drop them a line, don’t forget to tell them you saw these here!! 

So you can see they come in these small and very secure jars.  Above is a Naked Primer which is very solid and easy to apply and above is the Sierra Nevada collection; full of earth neutral colours including a beautiful true black, a luminous vanilla colour and an absolutely amazing bronze colour. 

I wanted to show you swatches in both dry and wet.  You can see the top row is applied wet with primer underneath and the second row on the bottom is applied wet.  I love using them wet because I think the colour intensifies and then to blend out I blend out with the its original colour on powder form.  This is an amazing set of colours to use for anyone!

This is the Tropical Indulgence collection i was given free from Naked Cosmetics.  These colours are truly beautiful and will look wonderful in the summer.  I’m very attached to the second to last teal colour and think it’s such a gorgeous shade between green and blue.  I love it!


And this is the Urban Rustic collection I chose which again, I seriously adore because it’s not only a mixture of warm, earth tones but also very metallic and will look amazing when paired up with some cooler tones.  These are seriously vibrant and are my ‘thing’ for this season!

I think that’s all there is for IMATs, thank you for staying ‘till the very end and I hope you enjoyed this post.  Tell me what you think and what you thought about IMATS; do you want to go next time?  Klaire and I have roughly talked about a get together, what does everyone think?
Peace,
Cherry x

2010’s First Collective Haul – a quick summary

Today’s read is pretty much everything you will hope for in a child’s story book.  There’ll be many pictures accompanied by a few big words.  Have you ever had one of those days when you’re too tired to even do the things that you love?  Yep, that’s today.  So here we go:

 

Two Illamasqua Lipglosses, both from ASOS.com during the sale, costing £8.00 for both glosses. 

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Petulant – applied on lips thinly, totally buildable

 

 

Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Electrify – sheer, cute pink, easy to wear

 

BarryM Dazzle Dust Kit – From ASOS.com during the sale - £5 for the whole set

 

 

Storm Cloud and Green Apple Dazzle Dusts – gorgeous!  BarryM Glitter Liquid Eyeliner Gold!

 

Another BarryM Dazzle Dust set, £5 from ASOS.com during the sale, Candy Floss, Violet Star and Berry Pink

The Body Shop Cranberry Shimmer Body Butter – gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.  Sale item.

 

Cassis Rose Soap from The Body Shop.  For the hands in my sink!

I picked up some OPI nail polishes from my local nail salon, costing £5 each.  Malaysian Mist, Japanese Rose Garden, Funny Bunny, Gargantuan Green Grape, OPI base coat.  Also picked up some sequin hearts.

I also picked these up from my nail salon for £1 each.  Yay!

 

Favourite Girls Aloud Eyelashes (Nicola) £4 from New Look

 

Cute floral hair bows from Topshop.  Also a ring from Evans/Daisy and Eve – the only place I can buy rings because my fingers are so chubby

 

The Body Shop Pomegranate Body Butter and Black Velvet Apricot Body Smoother

 

Peace,

 

Cherry xx

Pizza Express Social Event

A couple of weeks back (actually on the same night I attended Garnier’s Blogger Event) I was invited to a social event hosted by Pizza Express and it was mainly to discuss our new years resolutions with life coach Georgina Burnett, Nutritionist Juliette Kellow and Adrian Garforth the Master of Wine.  As well as this we were invited to make our own Leggera Pizzas!  For all of you who don’t know, let me explain:

Leggera Pizzas are something of a little wonder to me because it’s almost like a contradiction in itself.  It’s a low fat pizza… and it tastes fantastic (and I know fantastic).  The pizza is actually a ring of pizza which means a circle has been cut out from the middle and replaced with a healthy, appetizing salad to bulk up the meal and provide you with further nutrients and minerals (whilst keeping it low cal).  The entire pizza and salad is only 500 calories which is great because you have enough carbohydrates in there to satisfy you as well as plenty of vegetables and protein.  The pizza is full of flavour so it will satisfy you more without making you feel floated, stodgy or totally guilt ridden all week. 

As well as this we sampled their Leggera Wine which is ALSO low calorie and low alcohol so you can enjoy some wine with your pizza if you are so inclined to.  The interesting thing about this is that my sister and I both went to the social a bit apprehensive about the wine because we do not drink much alcohol.  I was slightly intimated on the idea of ‘wine tasting’ as we would probably interpret top quality wine as ‘absolutely disgusting I’d-rather-drink-my-own-vomit’ wine.  However we both really enjoyed it as it wasn’t as strong but it was enough to really compliment the flavours of the pizza.  The best thing about it is that my face didn’t go raspberry red the moment I had a sip and I was totally 'sober’ all night.  My sister who actually detests wine had a try and she quite enjoyed it too.  Is that a miracle?  Who knows?

So as I said we were invited to make our very own Leggera Pizza and I was extremely excited because you may or may not know that I love to cook and it’s one of my very few passions in life.  My sister and I (actually everyone did) took to it quite quickly and it was astonishing at how easy it was to make.  Of course we are no match for the professionals teaching us but my pizza turned out pretty damn delicious.  We were showed everything from rolling, flattening, to layering and adding flavour, colour (not artificial) and even calorie counting.  It was fascinating to see how passionate these chefs were about their ingredients and how much emphasis they put on healthy eating for Pizza Express.  I even enjoyed putting on that paper hat; it was a such a light hearted activity that I was kind of sad when it was over.

So here is what I made earlier, literally!

Isn’t it a beauty?  And an absolute joy to eat.  Here we have on top asparagus, chicken, low fat mozzarella, spinach and I think sun dried peppers. 

Here is what my sister (Jamie) made:

I think hers has ham, mushroom, sun dried peppers and low fat mozzarella.  I can’t believe I forgot to put mushroom on mine.  But then again mine had so much on it I think the chefs were a bit worried….

This is Jamie and I enjoying our evening.  As you can see she is the older, skinnier and much prettier version of me!  Some would say we look like twins but since our hair cuts, I’m not too sure we do now.  She has successfully gone down from a size 16 to a size 10 and her story is something quite amazing.  I brought her along with me because I know above anyone else she is interested in nutrition and eating out.  It was a great chance for her to talk to life coach Georgina Burnett so she could help answer some questions her readers have asked her on her blog.  Click here to read her life story and see her weight loss pictures! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we were presented with a beautiful dessert.  This is the Sotto Zero which is “Two scoops of delicious low fat natural frozen yoghurt topped with blackcurrants in syrup with a dark chocolate straw” and  it was so yummy you will NOT believe.  It’s only 180 calories and tastes like everything you could imagine, it’s decadent yet refreshing and completely guilt free and light.  A dream of a dessert. 

That rounded off the evening particularly well and after the meal I was not feeling particularly sick (like I do when I leave other Pizza restaurants) and ready to bounce off home. 

 

 

Above everything I got to meet the lovely Claire who is the writer of London Butterfly and is the most warm and funny girl around.  I thoroughly enjoyed the evening with her and Jamie and am looking forward to seeing her in the near future!

So for anyone who is every interested in a bloggers gathering, I would suggest Pizza Express.  The atmosphere is thriving yet chic and it’s totally relaxed, with good food, wine and service.  I know I’m taking my best friend there for dinner and I’m sure she will enjoy the Leggera option too!

Thanks Pizza Express,

Peace,

Cherry x

Garnier Bloggers event and their new products for 2010!

Sorry for my recent mini hiatus; as I’m sure many of you will be aware that I’ve had several deadlines due and exams so thank you for bearing with me and hello to my new followers, welcome to Everything that is Cherrychan108!

Today’s entry is about my experience at Garnier’s Bloggers event which I attended not long ago, possibly a couple of weeks back in the midst of January. So I hope you can appreciate that my mind only takes me so back and my memory is (and remains) very fuzzy and minor details have slipped from my head.  Never fear as I have plenty of pictures of jog what’s left of my memory.

I met a few fellow bloggers there and reunited with Ling once again for another event.  I met Sophie from Beautymarked19 who was absolutely lovely and also the sweet Sabrina from Obsessed.  After the event we went for a drink in Starbucks and it was the end to another successful event hosted by headstream pr.  I also got to meet the Gloss Goss and she was incredibly funny, intelligent and amazingly, flawlessly beautiful.  Made me feel quite inadequate really, as such as life!  

The main topic of the event was the release of Garnier’s new Mineral action deodorant, the first deodorant from Garnier, ever.  Now according to Garnier, this product has been launched in Eastern Europe for a long time now and they are at the very top with the big deodorant brand names  which is impressive within itself.  The product promises 48 hours of protection against odour and perspiration and comes in six different varieties such as silky, sensitive, fresh, ultra dry, invisible…   The fragrances are actually very beautiful and while I’ve forgotten the many different flowers and herbs and minerals in each of these, I have to say it all sounds as complicated as it smells good.  I remember liking all of the smells of the entire range which is odd for me as I am quite sensitive to smells and I’m also picky about what my underarms smell like.  So in saying this, their fragrances are wonderful and we even h had a long talk with their fragrance expert.   

Now I don’t want to go on too much about the deodorants as I want  to review these properly; I’ve only just started using the roll-on and so far I am loving it but more about this later (I’m actually shocked because I haven’t used a roll=on since pre high-school…and that’s quite a while since!)  It’s the funniest sensation….

But swiftly moving on…

Garnier showed us a large range of their products which will be launched in this 2010 and it looks like a good year!  There’s plenty to come ranging from innovative sun care products, hair care and dyes as well as plenty of quality skin care and body care.  Garnier happens to be one of my favourite drugstore brands so I am really looking forward to this 2010 for them!  

Garnier have some amazing hair styling products and one of my favourites is their Garnier Fructis Volume lifting spray so I’m eager to try out their Bamboo flexihold hair spray.  They have a lot of new hair styling products out for 2010 so keep a look out and try out my old favourites!

They are also bringing out a tanning oil (how old fashioned, yet cool!) which now has an SPF 30 in it (don’t quote me on that just yet!) and also plenty of sun care.  I’m very excited about the oil because it smells absolutely divine!

Also there are is a beautiful after sun lotion that now comes in a cute screw top tub and tanning gels.  I’m excited about the tanning gel despite loving my pale skin.  The summer makes me so tanned and I think this year I want my legs to match my face for once!  They also have an aerosol sun tan lotion as well which I think will be much better than your average spritz or pour bottle. 




















Their Pure Active range is still on my list as one of the best spot fighting ranges in the drugstore and I still love it so when I heard that there is going to be a Pure Active Exfo-Brusher wash I was very intrigued and excited at the same time.  More on this later.
As you know I’ve already done a review on the Garnier Caffeine Eye Roll-on and you know how much I adore that baby.  Needless to say this product was featured in the show case and Ling also managed to brave it and play a game of ten pin bowling with the roll-ons!








 

And despite not needing the Ultra Lift range, I am very excited about this because I know my Mum is a huge Garnier anti-aging product fan and their products have always worked for her.  She is an Ultra Lift user so if I do manage to get my hands on these in the goody bag, I will get her to do a personal review for you!

All of their ranges have impressed me one way or another and I’m not saying this because they have paid me or because I feel obliged to say something nice.  You all know that here at Everythingcherrychan108 I speak the truth and nothing but the truth.  I honestly am very impressed with their skincare line and a lot of my life (and money) has been spent on Garnier because I know their products work for my skin and I’m sure a lot of you may agree. 

I want to spend this time to say thank you to Garnier and headstream PR for allowing us to have such a wonderful and entertaining evening.  It was a great pleasure to meet everyone again and I’m hoping to be able to have the chance to experience it again. 

Thank you Garnier!

“Take Care” everyone,

Cherry x

PS. There will be more reviews to come when my goodies from Garnier arrive and I’m hoping to get out that Mineral deodorant review out for you sometime in the near future  :)

Oh boy

So exam and coursework phase is FINALLY over!  Whoopee!!  I'm so relieved but now am bracing myself for yet another busy busy week.  This week I'm spending a lot of my time uploading and updating for you guys!
I know on my home page I have above what is coming up but I had the most immense amount of haulage for you guys... and I still have to talk about Garnier, Pizza Express, IMATS and the crazy things I've been doing.  I'm ready and excited but I hope you'll bear with me.  I'm off to Muji to buy some make up storage because with all this new stuff I bought....it's almost impossible to fit anything in.  Then I think I willl bravely embark on a Project 5 Pan type thing! Who knows...  I'm running on two hours sleep and adrenalin.  It's all starting to slow down.  I've got a lot of errands to run but there'll be quite a lot of activity from me from now until my next exam session.
So thank you everyone for sticking by and hello new subscribers!  You are much loved and welcome here at Everythingcherrychan108

Speak to you soon, people!

Cherry x