Your Makeup and Beauty School at IMATS: Discover the International Trade Show IBI is Attending!

Mark your calendars—it’s back! The International Make-Up Artist Trade Show (IMATS) is hitting Toronto in just a few weeks and we couldn’t be more excited! IMATS brings together the best in the beauty biz to showcase their skills and products in live demos, displays, panel discussions, interviews, a “Battle of the Brushes” student competition, and more. We at the International Beauty Institute (aka IBI) are returning to take our place beside industry peers at IMATS this October 1st and 2nd. Here’s a quick rundown of what you should see and do at IMATS 2016.

Meet Industry-Leading Makeup Artists from TV & Film

Filling the floor this year are dozens of internationally-renowned makeup artists at the top of their game. “From Oscar and Emmy winners to global editorial artists, a network of experts come to IMATS Toronto,” states IMATS Official, “ready to share their tales from the sets, their beauty and character make-up techniques and their tips on how to break into the industry.” IMATS will be shining a spotlight on the best special effects makeup artists working today, like Neill Gorton (Ex Machina, Doctor Who) and Thomas E. Surprenant (Star Trek, X-Men, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to slay the crowd with live character creation demos. This year, Cirque du Soleil’s own Maryse Gosselin will also take to the stage and speak about her own creative makeup techniques. For students in any makeup artist training program like ours, where special effects makeup is part of the coursework, these professionals offer unmissable opportunities to witness truly epic artistry in action.

Stock Your Kit with the Top Tools You Need to Become a Makeup Artist

Brushes getting beat? Shadow palates cracked? IMATS has deals and product displays that will have you turning your head. Like Sephora if Sephora took up multiple floors of convention centre space, IMATS is a treasure trove for makeup lovers like us. Peruse and purchase products from dozens of brands including IBI favourites MAC and MAKE UP FOR EVER! There is no better place to start building the professional makeup artist kit you’ll need after graduating from makeup and beauty school. And be sure to pick up the latest issue of Make-Up Artist Magazine while you’re at it—it’s the sponsor behind IMATS and the best place to read up on what’s happening in the makeup business right now. (This issue has news about counterfeit cosmetics, ‘face-lift makeup,’ and more.)

Watch Top Students from Makeup and Beauty Schools Duke it Out

One major IMATS highlight is the Battle of the Brushes live competition, where beauty school students or recent grads transform models into glamourous or imaginative works of art. The 2016 contest has two categories, with corresponding themes: character/prosthetics will be themed after “4 Decades of Star Wars” and beauty/fantasy will be “Carnival/Circus”-themed. After preliminary judging, eight finalists are chosen from each category to compete on the main stage for cash prizes and the attention of the IMATS audience. What better way to kick off a makeup student’s career? Past Battle of the Brushes winners have gone on to work for such blockbusters as Maleficent, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Alice in Wonderland. We can’t wait! Check out this promo vid for a sneak peek: See it for yourself (and come say hi to IBI!) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre’s North Building, Exhibit Halls A & B, on the first weekend of October. Inspired to become a makeup artist? Visit IBI at IMATS, online, or in person to get started with our support.