IMATS - Finally!

As I have mentioned numerous times, I attended the IMATS as part of the ABBW. I was really excited about the IMATS because as being part of the ABBW I had the opportunity to e-mail interview Elessa Jade, Donna Mee and Napoleon Perdis prior to the IMATS event.

So by the time the event came around I was pretty excited and I’m very happy to report that the event was excellent. The overload of beauty stands and information was overwhelming, but in a very good way. I was able to find out information on some really great brands that I hadn’t heard of or tired before. I could really write an endless post about everything from the IMAST, but I have summarised it down to my highlights. 

Illamasqua were selling products for about 1/3 of the price that they are normally. I haven’t tried Illamasqua products before but I have heard friends, blogger and make-up artists all mention how great their products are. So I thought while they were so cheap I would take advantage and grab a few for myself.

I picked myself up a nail varnish in Propaganda (Love the name! LOVE!), 2x fine eye pencils in Classic and Uncanny and a precision ink gel liner in Alchemy. So far I have tried the fine liner in Uncanny and the precision ink in Alchemy and love them!

I’ve heard some really great things about Inglot, who also had a stand at the IMATS. I have wanted to try Inglot’s Freedom Palattes for a while, so I picked myself up a really awesome palette with 4 x rainbow palettes.

I know I could have gone all out and got some crazy colors, but I wear neutral colors all the time so I thought it would be the best way to try them out.

Not to brag, but since we were part of the ABBW we did get some special treatment. We were offered a free lucky drip gift from Serge Louis Alvarez. SLA is a make-up company from France and will be launching a new bio collection soon. I spoke to one of the brand mangers about the range sounds really nice.

On to the lucky dip!

I got a blush mirage in Peach. This product is actually really cool. It looks like a lipgloss and goes on like a powder. Once blended in it turned into a cream-like blush. It’s pretty impressive.

We also had some lovely VIP treatment from Royal & Langickel. They booked a private area for all the ABBWers where we could relax, have some nibbles and also get our make-up touched up and nails done. If that wasn’t enough they also gave us a lovely brush kit.

This actually came at a really good time because my brushes are starting to look a bit gross and I’ve been thinking about investing in some more.

While I was at the IMATS I thought it would be good to see one of the speakers that they had. And I saw Elessa Jade do a make-up demonstration.

I was also able to do a short interview with Elessa Jade after, and I have to say she is so lovely. She is really friendly and also really easy to talk to (which makes interviewing a lot easier! Trust me!).

Elessa Jade said that when she started her beauty site pursebuzz.com she didn’t start a blog, but it ended up getting labelled that way. She also said that it was important to find your niche when blogging a stick to it. Moving on to make-up, Elessa said that due to the brights and prints that Australian women wear, they tend to stick to “natural” make-up looks. A good way to introduce colour into your make-up routine is through eyeliner. It’s a very subtle way to add colour without being over the top.

I would also like to point out that Elessa was wearing Jeffery Campbell shoes.

And that was my IMATS experience!

Nat xoxo 

ABBW – Day 1: Saturday 24th

Day 1 of the ABBW was amazing, much like the rest of the ABBW! We started off the day going to the IMATS.

The IMATS was a pretty amazing and very overwhelming. There was so much to see and discover. I got a chance to see Elessa Jade display some of her awesome make-up skills and got the chance to do a mini interview with her, which I really loved and she gave me an awesome pink bow headband.

After the IMATS we had a seminar put on for us by The Beauty Directory. I really enjoyed this seminar because they covered off how bloggers should deal with PR and the media, gave so tips and tricks and also explained the etiquette. There was also a panel with Kimmi from The Plastic Diaries, Eleanor Pendleton the beauty editor from InStyle and Jackie Maxted from the Beauty Directory. The Seminar featured 3 niche/cult brands come and talk to us, Lapurete, Pure Therapy and Trishave. 

Here is a breakdown of the brands and their products:

Lapurete has a range of skincare products that are made from natural ingredients and features a secret that has the same effect as Botox. The secret ingredient in Lapurete is Okuru, which is a plant found in Western Africa. The seeds in Okuru contain a combination of peptides that minimise wrinkles. Lapurete has a cult following in the celebrity world and is starting to be talked about. Personally I love cult products, so I was quite excited to hear about this range. We got to choose between the Day Cream, Night Cream and Eye Cream; I chose the Day Cream.

Pure Therapy has a range of skin and body products designed for people with sensitive skin and for people with skin conditions. Pure Therapy is made preservative free and contain oatmeal and fatty acids. We got a few products in the range to try.

Trishave has a range of shaving cream like products and moisturising products for men and women. The Shaving Creams are desired to cleanse the skin, soften the hair for shaving and prevent ingrown hairs. The moisturising lotions are all SPF 30+, are really sensitive, non-greasy and also designed to sooth the skin after shaving. We received the entire range. I have given the men’s range to my boyfriend to try and so far he seems to like it.

After the seminar we also got bombarded with another amazing goodie bag and a special ABBW Lust Have It Pack!

We finished the day with an amazing dinner event at the Establishment hosted by Maxted Thomas. There will be an epic blog post on this event, because well the event was epic.

And that was just the 1^st day!

Nat xoxo

ABBW – It’s a wrap!

The ABBW is over and let me tell you it was EPIC! It was honestly one of the most amazing, crazy, information-overloaded, exciting and beauty packed weekends I’ve ever had.

I would say the key take-outs of the weekend would be:

1) There are some awesome beauty bloggers in Australia.

2) The IMATS is a pretty amazing event.

3) I didn’t know there were so many beauty products out there (trust me there are heaps and they are now taking over my living room until I work out what to do with them).

This was the tip of the iceberg trust me!

4) Companies/Brands seem to love bloggers and are REALLY generous with the products they give out. This really did surprise me!

5) Maxted Thomas PR throw amazing events and work with some really great brands.

6) Kimmi from The Plastic Diaries and Jacie from You’ve Got Nail are superwomen! They really are. The ABBW was fab and they pretty much did everything to make sure it was fab.

I’ve already covered off what amazing products that we got when we registered and would you believe it didn’t stop there! I will be doing posts summing up each day so you will have to wait to see the amazing bags/products we got. But I’m seriously going to be blogging about this weekend for the next year (pretty much until ABBW2012).

I just wanted to take some time to thank everyone involved for making this such an amazing weekend, for not only me but also the 83 other bloggers who I’m sure had an amazing time as well. It was so humbling and astonishing at the generosity and the time spent making sure that we had the best time possible.

Kimmi and Jacie, I really think you need to add Superwoman to your credentials because how you organized a weekend like this is beyond me.

More posts are going to follow this week showcasing everything that we got and also some products that I’m going to be trying out ASAP because they look pretty damn amazing. So watch this space!

Nat xoxo

The ABBW is THIS weekend…

Yep you heard me, this weekend! I’m so excited!

If you don’t know what the ABBW is, you are missing out let me educate you. The Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend is a weekend for about 80 beauty bloggers to get together and discuss all things beauty.

We will be going to the IMATS (YAY), going to a number of beauty events and also have the pleasure of attending an amazing Gala dinner event on Saturday night. I don’t know about you but it sounds pretty awesome to me.

There are also some amazing Event and Product Sponsors on-board.

The event sponsors are the IMATS, Face Of Australia, Alpha-H, Maxted Thomas.PR, Rescu.com.au, P&G beauty & grooming and the Beauty Directory

The product sponsers are fashion addict.com.au, sukin, L’Oreal Professionnel, Australis, Innoxa, Le Tan, Dove, Shoemistress, Lust Have It, Goldwell, Neutrogena, Mirenesse, Ulta3, Tan-Off, Bio-Oil, SLA, KMS, Australian Hair & Beauty, Carmex, Pureau, Kevin.Murphy, Royal & Langnickel, VS Sassoon, Garnier, Taut and Ocean Spray

Pretty amazing brands and products huh?!

No dobut there will be lots to blog about after so watch this space next week for the ABBW blog posts.

In the mean time you can check out my IMATS blog post and my IMATS interviews with Donna Mee, Elessa Jade and Napoleon Perdis.

Nat xoxo

IMATS – Interview with Napoleon Perdis

This is my last IMATS keynote speaker interview! Sad I know! I was really excited about this interview because Napoleon is really such a force in the beauty industry.

I have used a number of Napoleon products over the years and they are really great. So the man behind it must really know his stuff. And good news, he really does!

Check out the interview…

NM: As a major influencer in the beauty industry, what is your number one beauty tip?

NP: Not to prime is a crime! It’s been my career-long mantra. Not only does my Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer create a flawlessly smooth base for makeup, it also a fabulous multi-tasker. I tell models to use the primer as a cream cleanser to remove foundation and then reapply for a revitalizing glow. And for a great low-fi look, I like to mix primer with equal parts foundation for a DIY tinted moisturiser.

This is really so true! I love a good primer and it really does make such a difference. Here are my top primer picks.

Napoleon's Auto Pilot Primer



Benefit's POREfessional

 

Smashbox's Photo Finish Primer

 NM: What new trends will be coming out as we move towards summer?

NP: Summer is the perfect time to wear berry lip shades like raspberry and cranberry. For the eyes, try neon liners or creamy metallics for an updated bronzed eye look. And lots of bronzer, naturally.

NM: We have seen a lot of bold, bright colours coming out recently. What are your top colours picks at the moment?

NP: It’s definitely not a time for chromophobia (fear of colour)! I’m loving precious jewel-toned shades like emerald greens, sapphire blues, amethyst purples and ruby reds at the moment.

Colour is HUGE at the moment! It’s not “apparently going to be huge” (quoting Ron Burgundy) it is HUGE!

NM: What new product is a “must have” for every women?

NP: The Ultimate Contour Palette. I love beautiful, contoured cheekbones and I wanted to create a palette that made it easy for all women. This one lets you colour, highlight and shape your face for an instant image upgrade. I’m confident it’s going to become a cult product for us.

Check out the Contour Palette. It looks pretty awesome.

 NM: What is your all-time favorite beauty product?

NP: Mascara. It’s a non-negotiable. A couple of coats of black mascara instantly opens up the face.

You can see Napoleon at the IMATS on Saturday 24^th September at 4-5pm.

And that’s it folks! You can check out my other interviews with Donna Mee and Elessa Jade.

Hope you see you all at the IMATS. It looks like it’s going to be an amazing event and would be a shame to miss if you are obsessed with everything in the realm of beauty.

Nat xoxo

IMATS – Interview with Donna Mee

I’m sure you read my last IMATS Interview blog post featuring Elessa Jade. Now on to my 2^nd IMATS interview with keynote speaker Donna Mee.

Donna Mee is a make-up artist who has been in the industry for 27 years (pretty damn long time) and she is making a special trip to Sydney for the IMATS, so how awesome this event is going to be?!

I really love speaking to make-up artists because they always have these great insider tips and tricks for not only make-up but also skincare. It’s also amazing how much about skincare they do know.

So here is my interview with Donna Mee…

NM: Being a make-up artist you must see people without make-up on a lot. Do you find having good skin is more important than any make-up product you apply?

DM: Absolutely.  Most women use makeup to “cover up” what they are not happy about such as uneven complexion, redness, acne/blemishes and dark circles. Sadly, the average woman does not know much about skin, how it works, what its needs are and how they should maintain healthy skin, prevent aging and/or correct their skin issues.  Most women only know what the cosmetic companies tell us to think, when in fact people in the marketing department (who also don’t know about skin) determine that.

I really love this comment from Donna. It’s so true and being in the advertising business myself I know how true that is. Also part of the reason I really hunt to find amazing products.

NM: What are the 5 beauty products every woman should own?

DM: In skin care…A non-foaming cleanser Clean, An alcohol-free toner, Moisturizer, Night cream, Eye cream, Lip balm. In regard to makeup… It depends on whatever her “beauty issues” are.  If she has fair eyelashes, then perhaps mascara is a priority. Downcast eyes? A lash curler and mascara can do wonders. Bad skin? Foundation & concealer is her friend…. Etc.

NM: What is your best skincare tip?

DM: Throw away the foaming cleanser and toners with alcohol!  They just age you faster each time they are used.

Didn’t know that! Awesome tip!

NM: What is your best beauty tip?

DM: See above. ;)

NM: Your book The Beauty Conspiracies is due for release next year. Any sneaky pieces of information about the book you can give away?

DM: The Beauty Conspiracies will cover the "Truth" about beauty and expose the myths, misunderstandings and the plethora of marketing scams and false claims in the industry. But the book is on hold because I was asked to write 9 separate mini beauty books for the Dummies chain that are all due in the next 8 months.   The first one will be Eyebrows for Dummies, followed by Concealing for Dummies, Smokey Eyes for Dummies, etc.

I can’t wait for these books to come out! Donna really knows her stuff so I’m sure these books will each be little gems packed full of great stuff.

How amazing is Donna?! She really seems to know her stuff and has obviously collected so many great pieces of information over her 27 years in the industry.

You can see Donna Mee at the IMATS on Saturday 24^th September from 2:30-3:30pm or on Sunday 25^th September from 1:45-2:45pm.

Nat xoxo

IMATS – Interview with Elessa Jade

As I mentioned last week, I’m attending the IMATS in September as part of the ABBW. If I wasn’t lucky enough to get to attend, being part of the ABBW has also given me the opportunity to interview some of the keynote speakers! Amaze Balls!

Elessa Jade is a famous beauty blogger from the US. Her blog site is http://www.pursebuzz.com/ and she also has a YouTube channel youtube.com/pursebuzz.

It’s always awesome getting the opportunity to speak to successful bloggers because a) it gives you inspiration for your own blog to succeed and also b) they know their stuff and are full of wonderful bits of information that can help you!

So on to the interview…

NM: What inspired you to start a beauty blog?

EJ: I was inspired because I loved reading and watching the food network and video game websites. But I couldn’t find one about beauty…so I was like YES!!! I have found it!

NM: How have you kept your content fresh to keep people coming back?

EJ: New products, new ideas and I’m not afraid to try new ideas. If it isn’t good…move on.

NM: If you could give yourself 1 piece of advice when you first started out what would it be?

EJ: To not be so scared and to just go full on. I recently quit a really good career as a project manager to do this full time but I wish I did it sooner.

NM: What are your top 3 tips for beauty bloggers starting out?

EJ: Be yourself, don’t copy…be inspired and lots of pictures!

So I guess it really is all in taking a chance and following your dreams!

You can see Elessa Jade at the IMATS on Saturday 24^th September from 10-11am or Sunday 25^th September from 11:15am-12:15pm.

Stay tuned for more IMATS interviews…there are 2 more to come! I know, I’m excited too.

Nat xoxo

IMATS

In a month I have the pleasure of participating in the Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend (or ABBW). For those of you that don’t know, the ABBW is a weekend long event for about 80 beauty bloggers here in Australia. Since numbers are limited I really do feel special lucky to get to attend. I know just what my ego needs!

Anyway it’s going to be an amazing event with some amazing beauty bloggers!

Part of the event is going to the IMATS or International Make-Up Artist Trade Show. This is going to be fab because it’s pretty much a whole bunch of make-up crazy people and brands in the one place together. As well as being stalls from a number of different companies, there are also keynote speakers, a make-up museum and even has its own after party.

Some of the speakers are amazing. Napoleon Perdis, Donna Mee, Rae Morris and Nicole Thompson will keynote speakers. How awesome it that??

I’m personally really excited by some of the brands/companies that will be there! I will definitely be checking out:

MAC

Inglot

Napoleon Perdis

Naked Cosmetics

Smiink

No doubt I will find a lot more things to entertain myself once I’m there as well. Just want to make a special call out for Smiink. They do fake eyelashes. I have used them before and they are awesome! And they wear really well.

The IMATS is an international event that is held in Sydney, Toronto, London, Vancouver, New York and LA. Lucky Sydney is part of it all! Check out the images for each city:

Sydney

Toronto

Vancouver

New York

London

LA

How amazing are they?? Personally I love New York and Vancouver. Really such amazing work. If these images are anything to go by it really is going to be an amazing event!

The IMATS will be held on the 24^th & 25^th of September and for a 1 day pass it is $40 and for a 2 day pass $65. Personally for an extra $25 I think it’s totally worth going both days since there is going to be so much to see and do.

Hope to see you all there!

Nat xoxo