Tuesday 1 July 2014

IMATS London 2014 - Part 1 - My Experience

Hi all!

As you may know, this weekend was the IMATS London 2014 event held at Kensington Olympia hall and it was also my first time experience at this annual make-up trade show.

For those who are not familiar with IMATS, it is an 'International Make-up Artist Trade Show' (as it's abbreviated) open to the public so not just professional make-up artists can attend, but so can make-up fanatics such as myself! It is held annually at several major cities worldwide including New York and Sydney.

Extracted from their website IMATS.net:
"The International Make-Up Artist Trade Show is the make-up world’s biggest gathering. Thousands of make-up artists, exhibitors and enthusiasts discuss, display and collect the best the industry has to offer. Make-up pros from fashion and film (including Oscar, BAFTA and Saturn award winners) provide education and demonstrations at IMATS, and new products often debut there. IMATS also features a make-up museum and the Battle of the Brushes student make-up competitions, where international make-up students race to create winning looks."

It was a great experience for me as I got to see some of the amazing make-up art that was done on models and I also got to buy some brand make-up products (at discounted prices!) that has been constantly ranted about on the Internet by some of my favourite beauty gurus.
Got to meet the amazing Zukreat Nazar (owner of Artist Of Makeup product range - visit her online store at http://www.artistofmakeup.com) and saw the talented Karla Powell create a Human Emotion 'Envy' look on a model (see end result pic here).

It was really amazing to also see some of the special FX and mould makeup being done and some of the film makeup schools showcasing their artwork. I always find that interesting and wish to create my own looks!


The products I bought (which I blog about in my next post - Part 2) were:
  • Make Up For Ever lipstick in Rouge Artist Intense Mat 1
  • BeautySoClean Cosmetic Wipes and Sanitiser Mist
  • IMATS souvenir mug and lipstick shaped pen
  • Lime Crime Velvetine lip stain in Red Velvet
  • Zukreat's Artist of Makeup HD eyeshadows in Nutmeg, St. Tropez, and Gold Leaf
  • NARS blush in Deep Throat and bronzing powder in Laguna
  • Sugarpill eyeshadows in Poison Plum and Dollipop
  • MAC Smolder Eye Kohl pencil, Soft Ochre paint pot, and Cranberry eyeshadow pan
Doesn't seem a lot but I am happy with what I got so far!


Here are some of the pictures I took of the event (and some taken by my cousin Lily's iPhone seeing as I ran out of space *sniff*)...


Top floor overview of the IMATS stalls

My cousin and I going crazy with swatching all the gorgeous vibrant eyeshadows!

Our IMATS stamps to make-up heaven!
Goodies that I bought hiding in these bags - tee hee :)

Presentation done by Pablo Rodriguez on MAC Runway Trends

Make Up For Ever Academy model being done up

The longest queue led to the NYX stall!

Somerset College showcasing some artwork, it looks so cool!

Graftobian Make-up working their art skills on some models

Bentley Advanced Materials were busy with a mould on their model. Looks creepy but cool ha!

The NYX stall was PACKED! So much awesome looking stuff!

The artwork on this guy looked great with all the vibrant colours!

Some more awesome body artwork done at the Royal & Langnickel stall

Another model in vibrant colour artwork
My cousin and I with Amelia Arsenic at the Sugarpill Cosmetics stall :)
Got to meet one of my favourite Youtube beauty gurus, Zukreat Nazar!


Overall, I'm happy that I finally got to experience IMATS for the first time and enjoyed it with the best company I could possibly have ... my cousin (who is like a sister to me!) Lily - thank you so much for winning the tickets for us to go through this awesome experience! :)

Anna Cubana xoxo

Friday 9 May 2014

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - Review and Swatches

Hi all

I've always wanted to try out one of Wet n Wild's eyeshadow palettes so I thought I'd give the Comfort Zone ColorIcon palette a go. Click here to find this palette on their website.


Comfort Zone has a range of 8 shimmer browns and greens - mostly browns though.
The great thing about these Wet n Wild palettes is that their shades are labelled with the appropriate eye area on where to place the eyeshadows so it acts as a guideline. I don't always follow them though haha :)
It also contains a dual ended applicator that has a sponge tip on one end and a soft small brush on the other. I've never used this as I have makeup brushes but this seems ideal for if you're on the go and don't have much storage space for those extra bits.


The shades show beautifully in pan but when transferred onto skin, one or two of them appeared slightly different. Not a disappointment though as they are very pigmented and the shades are gorgeous!


Be warned though! They do cause some fallout. I'm not surprised though as I've seen others mention that Wet n Wild eyeshadow products do cause fallout.


Another downside for me is that there are no matte shades in this palette, which is something I would have preferred for applying on and above the crease or as a transition colour as I find shimmer shades harder to blend and unflattering in the crease area.

Left side contains brown shades and right side contains green shades


Swatches of the left side of the palette
For those who are more into a neutral smokey eye, the left side shades are ideal for you!
The browbone shade is a pretty soft champagne colour that can also be used to highlight your inner corners by the tear ducts.
The eyelid shade is rosy copper toned while the crease shade is a warmer medium chocolate brown shade.
The definer shade is a dark brown with black undertone to it so this would be great for applying on the outer-V area for that smokey eye look!

Swatches of the right side of the palette


 While this palette is aimed at toned down neutrals, the colours on the right side are a bit more daring so it's more for a night time look or for those like me who don't mind wearing this during the day haha!
The browbone shade is a deeper champagne with a slight grey undertone.
The eyelid shade is a gorgeous emerald/khaki green.
The crease shade comes across similar to the definer shade on the left side but seems to have a slight yellow undertone and little gold flecks.
The definer shade is an interesting colour. It appears in pan as a gunmetal black-blue shade with an iridescent brown undertone but when swatched, it looks like a deep burnt copper with a little bit of gunmetal iridescence shining through so it's almost like it reversed itself in the way the shade looks.

Summary:
Pros
  • Very pigmented in colour
  • Lasts a few hours with the use of a primer (around 5 to 6 hours)
  • Affordable, considering there are 8 shades and a dual ended applicator for travel
  • Soft texture and blendable
 Cons 
  • Fallout may occur
  • There are no matte shades, only shimmer

I would give this a 4 out of 5!


If you would like to see some looks using this palette, please comment below and also let me know what are your favourite Wet n Wild products!

Anna Cubana xoxo

UPDATE - Back in action!

Hey all

So...I'll admit that I've been really lazy in posting up some blogs. I've bought so many products that I wanted to review and/or swatch but just never could have been bothered to post it up until now :)

Just a quick update on what's been happening:
Went through a bad patch last year and year before where I lost my last three grandparents (mom's parents and dad's mother; dad's father passed away way before I was born) all in a space of less than a year.
I really couldn't believe it! It was already heartbreaking to lose one family member and then while I was trying to pick myself back up again after mourning, it happened all over again...and again.

To top it all off, our beloved dog had gotten sick as well and we eventually had him put down due to the constant suffering that meds weren't able to mend.

So it has been a sad journey thus far but throughout all this, I've stayed positive and I cherish those loved ones who are still around with me.

On a more positive note, I've relocated away from my home country South Africa and moved to England to live with family! I've been fixated on moving for a while now and have finally done so!
People constantly ask me (with a crazy expression on their face - I might add) why I moved away. Yes! South Africa is a beautiful country - known for its hot weather, beaches, Table Mountain, wine farms, shark diving, wildlife, and so much more - and I'll always miss it as it's my home and where I grew up. I relocated with the intention of achieving my goal of travelling. I would like to at least tick that off my bucket list haha. I won't scratch out the idea completely of moving back home one day but I'd like to see how far I go with the dream to travel while I have the opportunity.
You only live once anyways!

Updates aside, I'll be adding a new blog post soon on my take and swatches on the Comfort Zone Wet n Wild ColorIcon palette so stay tuned!

Anna Cubana xoxo