IMATS LA 2013 Haul!

Hello, hello!

Here's the IMATS haul I promised in my last post. :)

This was my fourth time going to IMATS LA, and I felt like this year was the best out of all four.  Last year was good because there were a lot of the bigger brands, like Urban Decay and NYX, who weren't there this year.  But I don't know...something about this year made it more fun.  I wasn't as overwhelmed and stressed about lines, and I think that's because my cousins, K and C, and I did things a little differently this year.

Usually, we would get there early, around 8 AM, and wait in a crazy long line to register and get our wristbands.  Then, we would go inside and wait in crazy long lines to buy stuff.  Most of our time was waiting in those lines!  So this year, we got there around 11 AM (not planned), and there was no line to register!  Yay!  Then we went inside the Exhibit Hall and there were TONS of people.  We decided to just go up and down all the aisles to see everything and then go to booths we liked.

I don't remember all the booths we went to, but I'll go in order of what we purchased.

After going through all the aisles, we went to OCC, where my cousins bought a couple of lip tars.  I was thinking of getting some polishes, but ended up with none because they raised the price from last year's IMATS ($8 compared to the $5 I paid 6 months ago) and there weren't any colors I needed (wanted, but not needed...lol).  Most of the ones I wanted I was sure I had dupes for, but here are the ones I was thinking of getting:

Looking at it again, I'm really liking Strumpet, Starling, and Radiate.  Don't Black Dahlia and Vintage look almost exactly the same?  But I was still tempted to get both!  lol

I also didn't get any lip tars because I still haven't used up the ones I have and I have a ton of other lip products that need to be used up too.  So while K waited in line to pay at OCC, C and I went to wait in the crazy long Sigma Beauty line:

After K joined us in the Sigma line, we decided it wasn't worth it to wait and went to look for brushes elsewhere.  We ended up at the bdellium tools booth because a friend had recommended the brushes to me.

As you can see, I ended up with quite a few brushes and they're pink!  I bought 2 of the 777 (shadow), 780 (pencil), 781 (crease), and 785 (tapered blending), and bought 1 of the 716 (smoky eyeliner), 945 (face contour), and 992 (bronzer).  The eye brushes were all $5, contour brush was $8, and the bronzer brush was $12.  These are from their Pink Bambu line, which is a new product line (not available on the site yet).  They have handles made from sustainable bamboo and the bristles are super soft synthetic vegan bristles.  These also came in green and yellow.  In addition to this Bambu line, bdellium has a brush line that has bristles treated with an antibacterial agent.  I was thinking of getting some of those, but couldn't pass up on the pink.  Maybe next time!  And there will definitely be a next time, because I'm kind of in love with these.

After bdellium, we walked around a bit and ended up at the Naked Cosmetics booth.  I didn't end up getting anything, but we did get a demo of all the products and C picked up their primer.  I was debating whether to get some pigment stacks, but decided to think on it and come back later if I really wanted it.

Lime Crime was next.  I had wanted to try some of their nail polish, especially their blue one, Once in a Blue Mousse,but it was out of stock! :(  I still ended up with some goodies: 2 nail polishes and an eyeliner.

nail polish in milky ways and peaches♥cream; eyeliner in quill

Then, we ended up at Saucebox Cosmetics.  Can't really remember if we stopped by any other booths before that though.  I really, really liked the palettes at Saucebox Cosmetics, and so that was added to the debate.  Naked Cosmetics or Saucebox?  Once again, decided to think on it, so we went to a class by Gregory Arlt, the Director of Make-up Artistry for M.A.C. Cosmetics.  He's quite the funny guy, and his class made me want to go out and buy some M.A.C. stuff, haha.  But we were hungry, so decided to have lunch...finally.

By the time we got back from lunch, there was only one hour left to get in our last minute shopping.  We decided to jump in the Sigma line because it was way shorter this time.  I ended up with the Synthetic Precision Kit, which I have totally been lemming.  At first I was only going to get 3 out of the 5 brushes, because Sigma was selling individual brushes this time around.  But then I calculated it and decided it was more worth it to just get the kit. xD

After Sigma, we looked around some more and I finally decided which eyeshadow thing I was going to get...

Decided to go with the Midnight Blossoms palette from Saucebox Cosmetics!  This palette is a new product and was being sold at IMATS for $50 and came with a free primer and mascara.  It is now on their website being sold for the same price, but I'm not sure if it comes with a free primer and mascara too.  I'm also not sure how long the sale will last, because they told me this will retail for $65.

These shadows are quite pigmented and they swatched beautifully!  I played with this palette today, and can't wait to play more!  I will definitely be doing swatches and a review in another post, so watch out for that!  Side note, these specific shades are not sold individually; they're only available in this palette.

And that's it!  That was my last purchase.  Tried to go to MAC near the end, but didn't make it in time.  It was my first time staying 'til closing!

Overall, a great experience, though I do have some regrets.  I regret not buying some Naked Cosmetics stacks! lol  For sure next year!  I've already started a list of stuff to check out for next year. xD


Hope you enjoyed this post!  I really like seeing what other people got, so if you went and have a haul posted somewhere, please let me know in the comments!  I would love to check it out.  Gives me ideas to add to my list, haha.

BTW, here are some TIPS if you want to go to/plan on going to IMATS LA in the future:
- Buy your tickets ahead of time online!  If you buy before a certain date (which they will post on the website), you get a bit of a discount.  Also, there's no guarantee that tickets will be sold at the door.  The past two years, IMATS LA has sold out of tickets before the show date even arrived.
- Check out the exhibitor list and make a plan.  Rank which ones are your musts and which ones are maybes.  Then make your plan of attack!  Take into consideration wait time/lines.  The bigger brands, such as MAC and Sigma, have crazyyy lines (see above) that could take over an two hours to wait in.
- Bring a buddy, if you can.  This will help with the waiting in line.  You can wait together or you can take turns waiting and take turns looking around, so that you can make the most of your time.
- Bring BOTH cash and credit/debit.  Some places only take one or the other.  Better safe than sorry!

Hope that helps!  If I think of any more, I will definitely add it here. :)

P.S. IMATS is always fun, and I definitely say go, if you can.  In addition to buying makeup at discounted prices, you can attend classes and also see great make-up art like this:

And you can also see work from movies and shows, like this from The Walking Dead:
(picture under the break due to "gore", in case someone doesn't want to see it.)

HAUL: Hong Kong and the Philippines

Welllllllll now, let's see what's happened in the expansive span of time since I last posted:

1. I started my internship.
2. Linsanity took the world by storm.
3. I started school.

Hehe, had to mention Linsanity. xD  Besides that, the other two things on my list have kept me a bit busy.  But I'm now working blogging back into my schedule!  Both this one and my reading blog (another reason I've been busier is I've been reading more! ^^)  I have quite a bit to blog about, so I should have several blog posts ready to go in the next couple weeks.  No more long gaps without any word! :]

So onto the real reason for this post!  My haul from my vacation a month ago (a month already?!)...

First up, face masks!  Pretty much all I wanted to buy in Hong Kong.  And is is all I ended up buying there, too.  Well, except for souvenirs...

I bought 3 packs of face masks and 1 pack of eye masks.  The one with the orange packaging is the My Scheming Crystal Q10 Elastin Eye Mask ($45 HKD).  Please excuse the state of the packaging; my dog got to it before I could take a picture, lol.  Next to it, in the green, is a pack of My Beauty Diary Apple Polyphenol Mask ($58 HKD).  The bottom two are both from My Scheming ($49 HKD each).  The purple one is Grape Seed Instant Brightening Mask, and the blue one is Milk Extract Brightening Mask.  I haven't tried any of them yet, but am excited to try them all!

I tried to do a bit of researching before buying, so I knew which ones I wanted.  At least, I did for the My Beauty Diary Mask.  I found a review that said it pretty much doesn't matter which mask you get, as they all kind of do the same thing, and so to just get one with a scent you like.  And ta-da...Apple!  I love apple scents, so this will probably be perfect for me. :)  The other masks had descriptions in English on them, so they were easier to choose without online help, haha.

I've heard about Asian drugstore BB Cream for a while, and had planned to buy one for myself during this trip.  I first saw Maybelline BB Cream in HK at a grocery store, and then again at Watsons, but didn't purchase because I didn't have any more room in my luggage. :x  But then, I saw it at Watsons in the Philippines!  I was so happy and bought it right away, in the lightest shade (for 249 PHP).  The packaging is different from the one in HK, though.  I will have to pick up one from HK next time I get the chance to go, to see if it's any different in formula. ^^

my favorite pair are the red ones in the bottom right

When I go to the Philippines, I always make a point of stopping at a place called 168 mall.  It's basically an indoor flea market, and I go mostly to buy accessories.  This trip, I ended up with a lot of earrings, some bracelets, and 1 ring.  Usually, I'd have necklaces too, but none of them caught my eye this time.

My cousin picked these out for herself, and when I saw them, I had to have them too!  I think she only got the colorful pair, but I couldn't choose, so I bought both.  They were only 50 PHP each, I think.

bought cuz I thought they were professional looking ^^

Yep, I went a little crazy with the earrings, haha!  But trust me, I could've done so much more damage.  There were a lot of other earrings that I really liked, and at 50 PHP each (more or less), totally could have afforded to buy them.  But I decided to show some restraint. xD

lots of bangles that actually fit my wrist!

the ring...didn't have a clear picture. :x  but this was only 10 PHP! (which is about $0.25 USD)

That's it for now~!  Hoping to get back to a more regular posting schedule, now that I'm starting to get the hang of my new schedule with school and everything. ^^

DEAL ALERT! CVS Beauty Clearance Event

It's that time of the year...CVS is having it's Beauty Clearance Event!!  That means select products are up to 75% off.  My first time learning about this event was last year, and I went a little crazy buying stuff.  It was great!  So this year, I was waiting for it.  I went the next day after I found out about it on Nouveau Cheap, but my CVS didn't have anything on clearance.  Bummer right?  So I decided to stop by another CVS after class today, and LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!

So what I got (left-right, top-bottom): 

- wet n wild mega last l/s in ravin' raisin $1.49 (orig. $2.99)

- revlon satin e/s in nude slip, peacock lustre, platinum glimmer $1.37 each (orig. $5.49)

- revlon colorburst l/s in crimson $2.62 (orig. $10.49)

- confetti polish in smitten $0.49 (orig. $1.99)

- revlon colorstay e/s quad in nude elements $1.87 (orig. $7.49)

- wet n wild color icon 6-pan e/s palette in lust and vanity $2.49 (orig. $4.99) (my backups, hehe!)

- revlon colorburst l/s in plum $2.62 (orig. $10.49)

I bought all these goodies for less than $20!  (total savings: $41.72!!!)  And there were so many more products on sale!  I just limited myself to these, but I may go back since I now have a $5 coupon. ^^  I have my eye on a couple more ColorBurst lipsticks.  I really hope they're not discontinuing these!!  But it seems that way, since some people are reporting all shades are on clearance at their CVS and I also read that they are on clearance at Target too.

So here's a list of things on clearance, from what I remember:
- all Wet N Wild 6-pan
- Wet N Wild Mega Last lipstick in Ravin' Raisin 50% off (for some reason, this is the only color on sale!)
- select Confetti nail polish 75% off
- select Revlon Satin eyeshadows 75% off
- select Revlon Perle eyeshadows 75% off
- all Revlon ColorStay eyeshadow quads 75% off (probably on clearance b/c they are releasing it w/ new packaging!)
- select Revlon ColorBurst lipsticks (Candy Pink, Baby Pink, Carnation, Crimson, Plum) 75% off (although a lot of other people are seeing ALL shades on sale)
- select Revlon polishes 75% off
- Revlon Matte Blush in Perfectly Peach 75% off (although I've seen others mention other shades, this was the only one left at the CVS I went to)
- Almay eyeshadow trios 75% off
- most Sally Hansen by Carmindy 75% off
- select Rimmel Glam eyeshadow quads (Smokey Blue, Dark Signature, Thrill Seeker) 75% off
- Rimmel blushes (Autumn Catwalk, Pink Sorbet) 75% off

There's probably more, but I didn't have my camera, so I couldn't document exactly what was on clearance.  If I go back, I will be sure to bring my camera!

Anyone else excited about this sale?  Did you get anything?
Or are you going to get anything?  

For a more comprehensive list of clearance items, check out G's post on Nouveau Cheap!

HAUL: Nail Polish from Ulta

Hi, I'm Kristine, and I'm a nail polish addict! xD

Ulta had an AMAZING deal today...Buy one, get one free on butter LONDON polishes.  I definitely could not pass this up, so I stopped by after class today.  The Ulta catalog said there was a limit of 2, and I took that to mean a limit of using the deal two times.  Looking online, that's what most other people thought too.  But I got to the store and the SA told me the limit meant a total of 2 polishes.  Whatever, just getting 2 for the price of 1 is an amazing deal on it's own...but it was hard to pick colors!  I have so many on my wishlist!  But this is what I got:

indoors, no flash

indoors, flash

I think this picture shows the true colors better...

As you can see, I did not just walk away with only butter LONDON, lol.  In addition to the butter LONDON polishes, I picked up 1 Revlon polish, 2 Essence polishes from their holographic collection (but they're not, they're actually duochromes), and 1 Maybelline polish.

From butter LONDON, I really wanted All Hail the Queen...that was the one I wanted for sure.  My second one was up in the air, until I actually got to Ulta.  I just picked one from my wishlist, on the spot, haha.

Then I went looking around, cuz I wanted to use my $3.50 off coupon.  My Ulta does not let you use it on butter LONDON cuz they consider it a premium brand, but I've read other Ultas do let you...Anyway, I saw the Revlon polish and Maybelline polish, and I got so excited because I've been wanting these.  I haven't seen Royal Cloak (from the Masquerade collection) anywhere until now!  So glad to find it!  And then, I've wanted Autumn Leaves since I saw it on Nouveau Cheap...it's super pretty, and looks like a duochrome.

revlon royal cloak & maybelline autumn leaves

And finally, the Essence polishes...

I wasn't planning on getting these at all, until I saw them in person.  They are very pretty duochomes...and I don't know why the collection is called Holographic.com, because they are definitely not holographic.  Really loving the one on the left!

But that's not the end!  I stopped by Ulta again after my last class of the day...it was close to closing time, and a lot of the butter LONDON polishes were gone by then.  But they still had one I wanted: Knees Up.  So I got that one, along with British Racing Green...which I hadn't expected to get, but am growing to like.  Went a bit crazy with polishes today, but I was saving up for the butter LONDON polishes since I saw the catalog. xD

They all look like great fall polishes, and I can't wait to swatch them!  I have lots in my queue for swatching now, haha.  Stay tuned for those!

Also, I was planning to swatch and review some lippies, but I got sick last week, and haven't wanted to wear any makeup for fear of contaminating it with my germies.  But I'm happy to say I am getting better, so I'll be trying to do those swatches and reviews soon!

Did you end up getting anything from the BOGO butter LONDON deal?

Polish Hunting Success! (Haul)

I went to the OC yesterday to pick something up from my brother and decided to take a detour to a nail supply store I've been wanting to check out.  According to Yelp, this place has a really good selection of polishes and they carry brands that other supply stores don't usually carry.  The one brand in particular I was interested in was Nubar.  And I was looking for a specific Nubar polish that Yelp reviews said this place had in stock.  You can probably guess...it was Nubar 2010, that gorgeous flakie polish I've been wanting for ages (that I debated buying from ebay)!

Anyway, they have a pretty good display of Nubar polishes, with lots of colors I wanted to try.  But I was on a mission to find Nubar 2010.  I didn't find it right away, and almost left with nothing because I thought they didn't have it anymore.  But then, I looked one last time, a little closer, and there, hidden in the very back, was a bottle of Nubar 2010!  SUCCESS!  I think it was the last bottle, too.  So I was a happy camper.  After that, I decided to get one more bottle of Nubar to try out their color polish.

LOOK AT THAT GORGEOUSNESS!!! :D

The other Nubar polish I got - Verde

A green foil with blue/teal shimmer!

It's a bit hard to photograph...likes to photograph black!

But you can see the shimmer here...

In the end, I also ended up with 2 China Glaze polishes, Atlantis and Shooting Stars, and 2 top coats, China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat and Essie's Matte About You Top Coat.  I've been wanting Atlantis forever!  And I've been looking for China Glaze's Fast Forward Top Coat ever since I heard sayanythingbrooke talking about it.   So this trip was a definite success! ^^

China Glaze Shooting Stars

China Glaze Atlantis

Hope you enjoyed~ And as always, swatches coming soon! ^^

And I want to know:
Do you have any HTF polishes on your wishlist?

HAUL: Ulta, Target, Hautelook & nail polish

Hello~ First, I want to say welcome to my new followers. Hope you enjoy reading~ ^^

Today, I just have a haul post for you.  These are just some things I've purchased in the past month.

ulta eyeshadow & butter LONDON no more waity katie set

I bought these items at the beginning of the month.  Something you should know about me is that I am quite the Anglophile.  I'm very interested in British history and the monarchy...just 'cause.  So when I found out butter LONDON had come out with a nail polish named after Kate Middleton, after she had gotten engaged, I had to have it.  I mostly wanted it for the name, but the gorgeous color helped too.  I debated whether or not to order it online, but decided against since it would come out to $20+ with shipping.  And I'm glad I waited!  Because Ulta began to carry the butter LONDON brand, and though they didn't have No More Waity Katie in the beginning, they did end up getting it.  I only had to pay the $15+tax.  butter nail polishes are regularly $14, but No More Waity Katie only came in this set (no individuals) for a dollar more.  Eh, no big deal.  So I got it! :)  I had gone to Ulta for the sole purpose of getting butter LONDON's No More Waity Katie, but ended up with an eyeshadow cuz they were on sale for $2.

jesse's girl nail polish in julieg

Finally got this nail polish (from Rite Aid)!  I've been wanting this ever since I saw it on Julie G's channel.  It is a gorgeous coral color and great for summer.  Also, in case you didn't know, Julie is teaming up with Jesse's Girl to create her own nail polish collection!  I can't wait, cuz Julie's a nail polish lover (like me) and I know she's going to come up with some amazing colors!  (Not like I need more polish, lol.)

Now that it's back-to-school season, Target's got a lot of goodies!  These goodies include a bunch of ELF makeup and palettes that they don't normally carry.  I ended up with these 3 palettes.  The Neutral Eyeshadow Palette is one I've been wanting since it first came out, but I didn't want to pay for shipping.  I'm glad Target has it, even if for a limited time.  I hope Target gets more ELF makeup, like the mineral line.  There are some items I'd like to try, but I just don't want to pay for shipping, lol.

china glaze midtown magic, skyscraper, and cg in the city and essie tart deco

I stopped by a nail polish store this past weekend, and they had the new China Glaze Metro collection!  Only these 3 really stood out to me from this collection, so that's all I got.  And then, I saw that they also had Essie Tart Deco, which I've wanted since seeing a few gurus wearing it.  It's a great summer color!  I can't wait to wear it.  Swatches of all  polishes to come soon~

And finally, my Rock and Republic eyeshadows that I ordered from Hautelook finally came in!

rock&republic eyeshadows in chronic, wicked, and revenge

The shadows came in super nice packaging, and the eyeshadows itself are really nice.  I showed my Mom, and she really liked them too.  She told me to buy her some, if they're on Hautelook again, haha.  I'll probably buy more for myself too.  There are other colors that I wanted, but I figured I should start small, to see if I like them (since these are my first from Rock&Republic).

Swatches of everything coming soon~!