I wanted to share with you my IMATS Toronto 2015 experience.
My friend and I decided we wanted to go again this year since we had a fun time last year. I want to apologize in advance if my descriptions are difficult to follow since it did feel kind of hectic sometimes.
Morphe Experience
Last year I arrived at 9am but this year due to some other obligations, we entered at 11:50am. I wanted to go to the Morphe booth, and I guess so did everyone one else. When I arrived, there was a long line up and it was estimated to take 3hrs to go through the line and the booth itself.
Since they learned from last year where there was no organization to the booth, This year, there was a line and a lot of people hired to monitor the line. I walked around with my friend and then we joined the line at 1:10pm. By the time we were finished, it was 5:15pm (IMATS closes at 5pm).
I appreciate Morphe trying to keep crowd control and trying to be fair to everyone. However, I did noticed while we were closer that people were crowding the beginning of the area and that left the back empty. So some people in line actually just crossed the line and started shopping from the end and to the brush area. The people at the booth also gave them baskets.
The booth was a rectangle and it started with disposable tools like make up wipes (2 for $5), disposable mascara wands, eyeshadow applicators, brow brushes, etc. Then there was the palettes, brush sets, single eyeshadows and brushes. Then there is a whole side of brushes. Then when you turn, it will be remaining brushes, single eyeshadows and palettes again (in case you change your mind). The last side is eyelashes and check out. Once I entered, we were basically following everyone infront of us, but some people only wanted to go to the brush area and wanted to go ahead, which they could have if they could get through. So some people just walked through, however, what they didn't realize is the rest of the people were trying to get to the next section too.
Essentially everything was the online price but in Canadian dollars, and you're saving shipping charges and duties. Also, our Canadian dollars is weak right now, so if we were to buy online in American dollars, we would pay more in Canadian. If you were paying in cash, it would be in Canadian. If you were paying with debit, it would be charged in US dollars, and there's probably a conversion fee.
For example, the eye palettes were C$25 at the booth. Online it is listed on sale as US$22.99. So you'll be saving the shipping, possible duties and the conversion (US$22.99 is roughly C$30.99 right now). All the brushes I bought were sold in C$ in the US$ amount.
Haul:
G5 C$18.00 (Morphe online listed price US$17.99)
M209 C$4.00 x2 (Morphe online listed price US$2.99 but on sale for US$2.09)
G13 C$8.00 (Morphe online listed price US$7.99)
G18 C$8.00 (Morphe online listed price US$7.99)
Real Techniques Expert Face Brush C$12.00
Long Pricing Discussion
I only really wanted Morphe Brushes. I had a whole list but I wasn't able to remember what I wanted. I specifically wanted what I bought last year but I couldn't find them (I thought I could recognize them but I couldn't). I did notice that the line I was buying, Gun Metal, was more expensive this year. Last year, my Morphe brushes were $4 each but this year was $8 each. Now, I did not look at the online price after I bought them last year. This year, the listed price is U$7.99, so C$8 isn't bad at all.
I also bought a Real Techniques brush. I really like the expert face brush. It was C$12. On the price listing it said C$10, so I thought that was worth it but the cashier rang it up as C$12. I didn't complain, I just bought it.
Some of my thoughts for IMATS
I'm not make up artist. So, I didn't buy a lot of items. I wanted to go because last year I was able to enjoy some seminars and get what I needed/wanted. This year, I spent most of my time waiting in line at Morphe, so I wasn't able to sit through any seminars. I do think that I could have just ordered my items online and used my IMATS entrance fee amount for shipping and possible duties. My entrance fee for early bird was $35 and about $37.50 after fees
The opportunity cost is basically, if we were at the booth, I've already paid the IMATS entrance fee, and I can get it right there and save on shipping, duties and exchange rate. If I had not gone to IMATS, I can buy the goods at anytime. I will have to pay for shipping, possible duties, and exchange rate. However that can amount to the IMATS ticket. Since I didn't buy a lot. I noticed that usually duties aren't charged if the items are around C$50.00.
Also because I was buying so little, it was very obvious to me when people miscalculated. Even last year, I was very wary of the math being done. I don't think anyone is purposely doing it, but just be aware. People just use a calculator, and it's the simple calculators where you can accidentally double add depending on how you press the formula. While I was checking out at Morphe, the person calculated my $4 brush as $8. I had 2 of them, so I originally thought she was just doing it together, but she placed one brush into the bag and the second one, she added 8 again. Then I said, "aren't those $4 each?" Then she checked her list, agreed and then subtracted 8. For the rest of my brushes, she checked the listing because I had asked her. I already knew those were $8 each. The reason I was paying attention was because I only had $50 in cash and if that item was really $8 each instead of $4, then I was worried if I had enough money. I only had 5 brushes, so I already added how much I should be paying. If I didn't pay attention, I would be getting 2 brushes for the price of 4. I realized if I bought more things, I wouldn't have been able to see how much they were calculating and probably would have trusted what they told me and just paid.
Overall, it was fun and I enjoyed being around make up artists and just people who were make up enthusiasts. I also liked seeing how other people did their make up and what they were buying for themselves. I think if I were a make up artist, then it would be worth it. I could stock up on supplies. The savings would be bulk purchases in one place, no shipping cost, no currency conversion cost, no border duties cost, and also there were some booths with extra discounts for Pro Card holders.
My tips for people going to the first time to IMATS:
1. Know why you're there. Is it for the deals? Or to be around the environment? There are a lot of people and some booths can be very crowded. So you'll have to be patient. It can be fun seeing other people get body art painted and also learn something from the seminars. Also there are some other brands that are at IMATS that are usually only online. So it's a great chance to see the product in person and to touch the product.
2. Know your prices. If you're there for the deals, there were a few to be had. I found a stand selling the Beauty Blender for $20 and the blotterazzi for $20 no tax if cash and taxes if paid by debit (online it's $28 + tax for both items, so there's savings of $11.64 per item). Also, at the NARS counter, the blush was being sold for $39 + taxes. At Sephora, it's being sold for $37 + taxes. The difference is $2.26. Which might not seem like a lot but at least with Sephora, you can earn beauty insider points, and you're not forced to buy at that point.
3. Bring lots of CASH. Last year I brought about $150 with me, and this year I had only $80. However, last year I ended spending $80. This year I spent $54, but I spent an additional $16 on food.
4. Bring your own water. The water was $3.50.
5. Have a list. This is only so that you have a target of what you're looking for. Though usually people have a mental list of what types of items they are looking for.
6. Know about how much you're paying ahead of time. This only works if you're not buying a lot of things. At Morphe, a lot of people were placing so many brushes into their basket that it would be very hard to know exactly how much each brush is by the end of it. Also, there are so many people. However, if you can, I would suggest you know approximately how much you are supposed to pay. Like I said before, I do not believe people are trying to take advantage of the situation but with the volume and the speed people have to operate, calculation errors can happen.
Thank you for reading my long post. I want to reiterate that I had fun at IMATS but there are always other things to look at as well. I also realize this will only benefit people going on Sunday.
Thank you!
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