It’s that time again for IMATS Toronto 2014! 🙂

Every year, except for 2013, I attended IMATS (the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show). All the years I went, it was held in Etobicoke at the Toronto Congress Centre. Then, last year was the first time it was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I’m very much looking forward to experiencing IMATS at the new venue!

Although makeup artists definitely attend, it’s also open to people like me – beauty enthusiasts. (Also, you have to be 17 or older to attend.)

It’s an opportunity to get great deals on makeup, brushes, and more from brands such as beautyblender, Eve Pearl, Kryolan, Make Up For Ever, Naked Cosmetics, NARS, and more!

But it’s not all about shopping. There are also student competitions, which are always inspiring and fun to watch, as well as seminars led by professionals in the makeup industry, so you can learn new techniques and tips. (I actually enjoy the seminars and competitions more than the shopping aspect because it’s neat to see the personality of industry greats.)

The people who are scheduled to hold seminars today are: Thomas E. Surprenant, Siân Richards, Eve Pearl, Kevin James Bennett, Randy Daudlin, Sébastien Tardif, Barney Burman, and Gina Bettelli.

IMATS is also a great place to network for bloggers. In past years, I’ve bumped into many beauty bloggers, and it’s nice to see familiar faces and people who share a similar passion.

Unfortunately, the general admission tickets for $45 CAD have already sold out for today, but the Pro-Card Tickets are still available, according to the IMATS website at the time I wrote this blog post. The general admission tickets are still available for tomorrow, though.

IMATS Toronto 2014 will be running this weekend only:

• Saturday November 22 – 8:30 am to 5:00 pm EST
• Sunday November 23 – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm EST

I’ll be taking some photos and possibly a few video clips and sharing them live during the IMATS Toronto 2014 trade show, so if you can’t make it and just want a little glimpse, please follow me on social media this afternoon.

I plan to post specifically to my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. (Although, I may also post on Google+ and Pinterest.)

Haha, since I already did a lot of damage during the Sephora VIB Sale, I probably won’t go buck-wild buying things, but I am on the lookout for a good fan brush to apply highlighter. And if there are really good deals on the beautyblender, I may have to stock up. I’m actually falling more and more in love with it since using it damp with the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. (I’ll need to update that review to reflect my change of heart.)

I’m going to IMATS mainly for the experience and to learn some new trends and tips, not really for shopping. Because of this, when I post my recap post later, it’ll be more focused on that and less of a haul-type post.

P.S. If you see me there, I’ll be the one wearing freehand snowman nail art!

Whatever your plans are today, I hope you have a wonderful day! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Swatch And Learn!

Edit: In case you’d like to see some posts I did in the past about IMATS, please see below:

• IMATS 2010
• IMATS 2011
• IMATS 2012