IMATS LA 2011

QUICK RECAP (in case you don't want to read the whole thing)


This year just like last was so much fun and we got to see so much amazing talent. We met tons of new people and ran into some familiar faces. We walked all over as much as possible so that we could see everyone and everything. We tagged all of our locations pretty much every time we left the convention center since we had shadows and gloss to give away and just in case anyone who wanted to find us could. We laughed until my abs and cheek muscles hurt. Things didn't go as planned all the time but we rolled with it and still had more fun than anyone should be allowed to have in one weekend. This year was harder than last year for me since I am 5 months pregnant and obviously more tired but I didn't want to miss anything. If you are interested in more details for the trip and want to hear some funny stories keep reading :)




I'm sure most of you know this past weekend June 25-26th) was IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) and this year just like last was so much fun. Last year the wait seemed like years probably because I had no idea what to expect. This year I felt like it was time to go and I wasn't even quite prepared.


I flew out of Houston early Friday morning and met up with Vee (glamourdolleyes) in Phoenix so we could fly together to LAX. My little one got sick in the middle of the night so neither me or my husband slept so I knew the weekend was gonna be long. Thankfully my husband had taken a 4 day weekend so he was gonna be home with him. If not my trip would have been cancelled before it even started. Yay for awesome husbands lol..


Once we got to L.A. we got our rental car, met up with Piper (LuckyPiper) and went to meet the rest of the crew at the Venice Beach. We met up with Olivia, Angie, Aimee, The Chealseas, and Mamma Glamour. We walked the beach for a bit and did some observing since Venice Beach is full of entertainment. For lunch we stopped at what I believe is the only sit down restaurant on the beach? It was pretty awful. Food and especially service wise. It was so hectic I wasn't paying attention to the waiter only taking drink orders and I gave him my food order. He basically yelled at me for that haha. Then when I asked for more water he ignored me.. Not fun at all. My hamburger was half decent but the pizza that some of the girls got was topped with grease. Eww I do not recommend.


After we left the beach we sat in LA traffic for hours trying to get to the hotel. We dropped off our stuff and hung out for a few hours before heading to Islands for dinner. We ate at Islands last year 2-3 times and it was delicious. The service is so friendly and fast and the food is amazing. I had tacos the first night with a side of onion rings. They have THE best onion rings. They are huge and crunchy and not greasy. YUM anyways moving on. haha I believe we also went to Sephora after dinner but the days kinda run together. After dinner we stayed up pretty late visiting and laughing of course.


Saturday IMATS Day 1

We decided before the trip even started that we were gonna be in line really early both days so that we could get the shopping out of the way and be able to walk around more. Last year since we stayed in Hollywood we had further of a drive so we didn't make it early. We spent hours and hours just in lines and didn't get to walk around as much. We planned so much better this year since we knew what to expect. I woke up at 5am so that I could start getting ready before the girls woke up. We got ready, Vee picked up the rest of the girls from the other hotel down the road and we headed to the convention center. We got in line about 7:40. At that time the line was already half around the building. Vee and I decided to go to the entrance so she could get her press pass and we wanted to see who we could find in line. This time going in was so much faster. We still had to wait for our wrist bands but we got in so much quicker and started shopping right away. The first place I hit was Inglot. The line there was really unorganized so it made it hard for me to look and try to swatch. Basically you went up to the table (when you could get close) and started making a list, hand it in then you paid. I had to wait several hours to pick up my palette though. Once most of our first day shopping was out of the way we started walking up and down the whole exhibit floor. It felt like we walked 100 miles just on Saturday alone. It was nice though since last year we didn't see half of the people or booths due to being stuck in line so long. Since we stayed within walking distance we dropped off the things we bought so far and went to lunch. After lunch my next big booth was MUFE. The purchasing process was much more organized this year. Last year the line wrapped around the products so it was really hard to swatch and play around with every thing. The line this year was away from the products and they employees took orders from pro members then sent a text when the order was done. So I didn't have to wait in line except to pick up which wasn't bad. It did take a few hours to get the text so we didn't leave the show until around 445. At least I was wasn't waiting in line that whole time. The rest of the girls had an appointment to get tattoos in Hollywood later that night so Olivia and I decided since we weren't getting one we would go to the room, order in dinner then crash early. Of course nothing goes according to plan haha. The girls ended up not being able to get tattoos so they headed back and we decided on Cheesecake Factory. Olivia and I were in walking distance from the hotel but decided to drive since we were already ready for bed and so tired. There was so much traffic we could have walked back and forth 10 times by the time we finally got to park lol.. The rest of the GDE crew got there around 1045 so we had a really late dinner. I ordered Edamame and a small Greek salad both were amazing!! The Edamame was the best I have ever had. It was so tender. This was the first time I ate at Cheesecake Factory so I was pretty impressed with the food and service. When we got back to the room around 1230 Olivia and I decided to watch this hilarious comedian on HBO while Vee was showering. I laughed so hard (and loud of course cause you know me) I woke up Vicki who was staying next door. So she came over and visited with us for a while then around 2 something we had to get to sleep. We were all exhausted.



Sunday IMATS day 2

Since IMATS didn't open until 10 and again we had most of the shopping out of the way there was no reason to get up at 5am so I slept until around 8am which was much needed. We got ready and decided to grab brunch at Camille's Cafe which was right across from the convention center. It, just like most of our food (minus Venice Beach) was really good. I ordered a wrap Tex Mex wrap. After we got done we headed over to the convention center for a drag makeup class which was pretty good. The artist was Romero (I believe) from MAC. Even though it was a drag technique he had some really good eyebrow and highlighting advice. I'm glad we caught the class. The rest of the day was pretty much the same as Saturday. We browsed/shopped and met up with other makeup lovers. I got my eyes done at Lit with glitter!!. The guy was pretty cool and loved our GDE shirts and Vee's business cards. He hooked all of us up that bought with an extra glitter color. We stayed to pretty much the very end of the show again on Sunday just walking around since it was emptier and making sure there wasn't anything we forgot. A lot of products were sold out of course and MUFE was no longer taking orders which broke my heart haha I decided last minute I needed a few more things. Oh well there is always next year. For dinner we ate at the Yard House again amazing food. I ordered Edamame (no where near as good as Cheesecake Factory) and Calamari. The Calamari was delicious though. Not greasy and the breading was perfect. I gave all the babies to Amber cause I only like the rings. Vee ordered Truffle Fries which I had never even heard of and they were pretty good. Definitely better than the regular fries. This dinner is where the term "Orphan Slider" came from in case you see that saying from one of us haha ...Thanks Olivia This was also the night that the DIY 3rd row seating came from and the What's in Your Bag Chevy Equinox style. Just like the whole time we laughed so hard I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing more than once.





I will have a list of things I bought with reviews coming soon.

New Polish

The One That Got Away/Teenage Dream/Last Friday Night/Not Like The Movies

The One That Got Away/Teenage Dream/Last Friday Night/Blue My Mind/Dating A Royal/Not Like The Movies/Over The Taupe/Meet Me On The Star Ferry

I've had this running wish list of polishes that I have been on a search for ever since I started getting back into doing my nails again. I have a friend who was able to get her hands on several of the colors I have on my list and send them my way. Here is a list of the ones I got today.

I intended to bring my nail wheels with me to work or at least polish remover so that I could swatch the colors and didn't bring either. So instead I'm stuck staring at the boxes (which I need more of to keep my colors organized) and wish I could paint something....Swatches added soon

Birch Box!

I finally decided to jump on board with the BirchBox trend. I had heard about the boxes here and there but I hadn't ever really looked into them. How BirchBox works is you sign up (and can cancel at anytime) for $10 a month. They send you out a box of mostly sample size products (occasionally a full size product so that you can try new things that are available. The products come in a pink shipping box with another reusable box inside. Everything is wrapped so cute with pink tissue and black ribbon. You complete reviews (if you wish) on their site to earn points that go towards future purchases. It is hard to keep up with all the new products that come out all the time so this is an easy way to try things out and know what products are available. Vee (glamourdolleyes) told me about a $36 dollar perfume for $11 she purchased from the site using points so it sparked my interest once again. I signed up in mid May so I missed that box and had to wait for June which of course sucked since I hate waiting for ANYTHING. Along with waiting I hate surprises so before I got my box on Saturday I logged onto my account and checked what I would be getting (I told you I am inpatient). I haven't had a chance to use everything but here is a list of what I got (using the description directly from the BirchBox info card) and what I've used along with my initial thoughts. Here is the website if you are interested and to see some of the past BirchBox goodies do a www.youtube.com search and you will find plenty. www.birchbox.com

ARCHIPELAGO| POMEGRANATE SOAP - "Unlike body wash, this triple-milled soap won't spill in your toiletry kit, plus it has antioxidants to keep skin smooth and soft". (Part of a gift set $35)
I haven't used this yet since imats is so close I figured it will just save room in my suit case rather than bringing a large bar or body wash. It smells a little earthy to me but I think it will be fine.

KATE SPADE| TWIRL -"This flirty scent feels carefree and joyful-just the thing to wear on your adventures at home and abroad". 1.7 FL OZ Retail $65 & 3.4 FL OZ $80
I did spray this shortly after I opened the box and really like the way it smells. It doesn't smell to me like anything I have or have had. I wore it while I ran errands and didn't notice the smell for to long which is unusual since the smell is new to me so it wasn't like I was used to it. I will give this another go round soon.

LAURA GELLER| BAKED BLUSH N' BRIGHTEN -"Made in Italy, this swirl of warm and cool tones is infinitely versatile-dust your cheeks for a flattering flush or use the lighter shades as a highlighter." Full size retail $29.50
This was one of the easiest things to use right away and I was so excited that it was a full size product. Retail on this blush is $29.50 so this alone made this month's box really worth it. Even though I got this package mid day I used it to touch up my makeup for a dinner run later that evening. The color doesn't show up very easily on my fair/light skin tone without building BUT it is so pretty. I also used this for church and found that it gave a natural face look. The shimmer in the color is not over the top. I didn't use the colors separate instead swirled my brush over the whole blush and mixed it together.

SIRCUIT COSMECEUTICALS| MOLECULAR MIST- "This high-tech spray uses heavy water to keep your skin hydrated all day. Use it pre-moisturizer, as an in-flight refresh, or to set makeup." $36 Full size retail
I used this the first day also. By the description it seems similar to fix+ but I feel like when I used it (after being out in the TX heat all day) my skin looked less gross and less dull. I don't feel like fix+ has ever done that for me. I'm not knocking my fix+ cause I love it and use it daily (especially cold) but like I said I've never noticed my skin looking really refreshed. The only downfall I noticed right away was the taste on my lips. I have to remember to hide them before using it. It smells really strong of baby powder (which is fine by me) and I smelled like I had perfume on for at least 2 hours.

DEBORAH LIPPMANN| STRIPPER TO GO NAIL LACQUER REMOVERS- "Fix your mani on the fly! Each handy packet contains a remover-soaked "mitt" that erases polish without drying out nails". 10 Mitts $12
I am really excited to try these since I've fallen in love all over again with doing my own nails but since I got the box I haven't needed a polish change. If these work out like I think they will (based on description) I will definitely be buying these. Removing polish is one of my least favorite parts of doing my nails. The only potential down fall I can think of is the cost of these. If I can use them for more than just 10 say both fingers and toes and they work really well then they would definitely be worth it. I'm not sure how I would feel about using 2 for each polish change.

*** Updated review on these****
Today was polish change day so I could not wait to use these to remove my polish (Got A Date To Knight with Silver Shatter on top) The cotton pad fits on your finger tip which is super cool and much easier than holding a cotton pad. I was literally singing it's praises on the first few fingers and had I not been in a bubble bath I would have immediately started raving on line about it BUT (dun dun dun.....) by the time I got half through with the first hand I noticed I was scrubbing to get the polish off. I don't think it had anything to do with the polish being stubborn since one of the main reasons I was so happy is because the polish was just wiping off in almost one swoop. Needless to say by the time I got to the thumb on my second hand there was no getting the polish off and I still had residue on about 2-3 other fingers. The package says you can do 10 nails with it. I wish I could find cotton pads with the finger design because that part is amazing but for someone who changes polish (fingers and toes) every 2-4 days using 2 of these each at around $1.20 each would not be very cost efficient for me. I will end this by saying that I will more than likely order some just to have on hand because they are convenient just not practical for me to use all the time. Hope this review helps anyone thinking about trying these out -Mel

Obsessed

Ever since I decided to start doing my own nails again I feel my obsession for polish spinning out of control and fast. I cleaned out my old polish collection and gave some away and I had to throw out more than half since it wasn't stored properly and was really old and gross. I usually change my polish every 2-4 days depending on how much I like what color I am wearing and how excited I am to try another color. So from here on out expect to see post of different colors.

Today's colors are OPI Dating a Royal (one of my new top fave blues) and Last Friday Night

Enamel Girl's 1st Blog Anniversary Giveaway

While reading Olivia's blog (Oliviamakeupchannel) and looking for new nail polish blogs to read I came across her giveaway section which led me to Enamel Girl's 1st Blog Anniversary giveaway. She has two sets of prize packs each full of a good selection of nail products. There are several ways to enter and get extra entry points. The link to her blog is http://enamelgirl.blogspot.com/2011/05/1st-blog-anniversary-giveaway.html. Since I just restarted my polish/nail art obsession I'm super excited about this giveaway. There are so many things to win! Good luck to any one who enters! Thanks Olivia for posting this.

IMATS 2011

So it is getting to be that exciting time of the year again where I can't wait to get to Los Angeles for IMATS. If you are unfamiliar with what IMATS stands for it is the International Makeup Artist Trade Show. It's held in different locations all over but I'm attending the one in Pasadena in June. I went last year with Vee (glamourdolleyes) and we had so much fun. We really didn't know what to expect and so there was a lot we didn't do. They have classes going on throughout the two days as well as competitions and of course makeup shopping and meeting up with friends. Now that I know what to expect I think things will go a bit smoother. Last year we stayed in Hollywood so we were not close to the convention center. Try having a bunch of makeup/fashion loving girls get ready early on a weekend morning and do it quickly...Oh and with one bathroom. Needless to say we ran behind. This year we are staying within walking distance right next door to the convention center so driving is not going to be an issue. I was just on Olivia's blog (Oliviamakeupchannel) and she started a list which I thought is a great idea so I decided I would do the same.. Here is what I have so far.

OCC....(Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics)
Lip Tar in Trollop
Lip Tar in Grandma
Lip Tar in Conquest

I want an air brush machine but I'm not sure which one I will get. I have to remember to save extra room in my suit cases for this...

Stila
Kitten eyeshadow (only cause I have never tried it and I hear it's pretty cool)

Inglot
Well from the looks of the products on the website I want everything from them...

Brushes and lashes of course but I'm not sure from who just who ever has the best ones I get.

Mehron
Metalic palette
Tropical palette
Pastel palette (another one cause I love mine so much)

Parian Spirit
Brush cleaner

Makeup Forever
Foundations
Concealers
Aqua Liners (all)
Number 92 (if we make it in time before it sells out)
As many aqua creams as they have available
Pure pigments ..... pretty much everything they have at the MUFE booth lol

I think this is it for right now. I'm also hoping to get in some classes and see more of the competitions since I missed out on those last year.

I'm super excited to see everyone again and hang out with a whole new group of girls that are coming down. All of the Glamourdolleyes team will be there this year which is also super exciting just by itself.

Glamour Gloss

If you have never heard of Glamour Gloss let me fill you in. Glamour Gloss is made (and shipped) by me but SOLD through www.glamourdolleyes.com. Vanessa and I started collaborating last year and Glamour Gloss was born. I start with a mixture of base, then customize the color, add some sweetness, and finish it off with the sweet smell of cherry. I try to offer colors that range from everyday to special occasion.

So what's new? Well, several months ago we took the gloss down because I wanted to reformulate them to be even better. Unfortunately for me things got really hectic, which I go into detail about in my adventures in moving blog. Since I have redone the formula the glosses are back and better than ever. The main difference is the base. It holds onto color a lot better. With the old formula the gloss was sheer but buildable. This time around it's almost the opposite. The color is more intense but can be sheered down. Each color used to have it's own fragrance, but now each color is cherry flavored. The scent is similar to cherry chapstick which reminds me of being little every time I smell it. The individual scent concept may return but for now it was getting to hard to keep stock of each scent and as I added new colors the search would be on for quality scent which was also getting difficult. I discontinued a few of the glosses that didn't sell that well; London Lights (the pale yellow), Catwalk (the reddish color), Fierce (silver), and NY Minute (orange). I will be adding 4 new colors. One of the colors is up now it's called Pink Pumps (cute right?) lol. The other 3 will be going up once I figure out awesome names for them. Oh btw if you fancy yourself as a good lip gloss namer then by all means wathc this and let me know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDRwo9d44hg It's always so much more fun when everyone else has their input.

That is pretty much it for the changes. The cost is still the same $6.00 or the Pick 5 pack for $25.00. I'm also accepting review apps. Since it's a new year, I am not going through old applications for reviewers. This basically means if you are interested in reviewing but already applied in 2010 go ahead and apply again for 2011. The requirements are 1,000 subs. I had some less than great experiences with reviewers last go around so the criteria is going to be a little stricter. Now let me clarify. The bad experience was not with the fabulous girls that did the reviews (Thank you all btw), but it was with those who got product from me and then never did a review and never contacted me to tell me why. So with that said, make sure you fill out the review application thoroughly. Make sure you answer all the questions, and for the love of God please spell check. Failure to do so will more than likely cause me to pass up your review. Just put a little effort into your request and everything should be golden. The review forms are on www.glamourdolleyes.com. There is one for gloss and one for shadow. Make sure you choose gloss if that is what you are wanting to review. Bloggers are of course welcome too. I hope this isn't causing me to sound like a jerk but just like any company small or large that sends out free product WE (the company) still have to pay for them. So when someone takes products just because they want something free it costs money.

Thanks for reading,

Mel