Start Small and Slow - You don’t have to have the largest makeup collection to start offering your services. As long as you have some key products and know how to practice safe hygiene practices, you will be able to start offering your services a lot sooner, especially to friends and family. When you are starting out, there is no shame in sharing some of your personal products with your freelance kit, provided that their packaging does not promote contamination (comes with a pump or spray). You also don’t need multiple options of the same makeup type (i.e. 5 different neutral eye palettes, multiple contour and highlighter kits, all the lipstick and lipgloss shades), just enough to get makeup done from start to finish will be enough, when you’re just getting started. I would also urge you to slowly build up your kit with staple makeup essentials first, and then venturing out to getting more fun add-ons later on, as you become more aware of what you prefer to use when doing makeup. Keep in mind that what works for your face, may not always work for all of your clients.
Mini Sets Are Key - The best way to get a variety of products without breaking the bank is by taking advantage of mini sets that many brands now offer. You are still just starting out, so my guess is you don’t have back to back clients yet that will deplete your kit supply right away. Many brands now offer mini sets of their best selling lipglosses, lipsticks, highlighters, etc. This is a great way to have so many more products without spending too much on many on full-sized ones, and also not having to worry about them going bad before you get around to using all of them. I’ve made this mistake before where I bought full-sized products, only to throw them out a few years later while barely even using them.
Artistry Palettes - It’s really a lot easier for makeup artists to get started with building their kit nowadays compared to a decade ago. Before, finding quality eyeshadow palettes with more than 4-6 eyeshadows were impossible, but now there’s just so much more options at great competitive prices. The one thing I will suggest though is as much as you are tempted to get a cheap eyeshadow palette, say from Morphe or BH Cosmetics for under $30, I say splurge a bit more and get ones from companies that cater their products to makeup artist and have better ingredients and formulation. From my experience, mass manufactured eyeshadow palettes from these companies don’t tend to hold their color value as the day goes on and tend to blend into a muddy mess when you start blending out the colors. It’s much better to have a palette of eyeshadow that has 12-15 quality colors that are staples for creating glamour makeup, than have one with more options, but don’t really wear well throughout the day. Some palettes I highly recommend are Viseart, Natasha Denona, MAC and Huda Beauty.
Brands for Makeup Artists - There are a few makeup brands that especially caters to makeup artists that are well known in the industry but not so much to the regular makeup consumer. These companies tend to produce makeup products that have great quality and lasting power, without breaking the bank. Mehron, Graftobian, RCMA and Danessa Myricks are some of the brands that come to mind. These brands also produce wonderful cream foundation palettes, which is great if you want to have a variety of foundation colors in starting your freelance kit, but don’t want to spend too much on it.
Tradeshows and Pro Discounts - The best way to save money when building your kit is to attend trade shows that offer huge discounts (25-40% off) from many leading professional makeup brands in the industry. The International Makeup Artist Trade Show (IMATS) and The Makeup Show are the two most popular ones that I know of, however, they only happen in major cities like New York and LA in the US. Most of these trade shows are open to makeup artists and other professionals in the beauty industry (photographers, models,etc) but do ask for proof of credentials, like a business card, to satisfy this requirement. Another way to get discount is by signing up with major makeup brands’ pro discount program. This one requires an application and need a bit more proof of credentials to be able to get approval to their pro programs. Some major brands who have this is MAC, Makeup Forever, Anastasia, Urban Decay, Naimie’s and Stila. Lastly, Sephora and Ulta tend to do a semi-annual sale of 15-20% off and most makeup brands do their own friends and family sale around the Holidays, if the first two options are harder for you to acquire a discount.
Brushes - This will most likely be where you’ll spend a huge chunk of your kit budget in the beginning, because having a set of brushes that you can use to do 2-3 people’s makeup at once can get really expensive. It’s perfectly acceptable to start with getting cheaper sets from Morphe or Sigma at first, and slowly build your professional brush kit slowly as your freelance work grows. Professional brushes are made with durability in mind; when you are using and then cleaning makeup brushes again and again in one day, you need something that can withstand that heavy usage. I’ve had my MAC makeup brushes for almost 10 years now, and most of them are in great condition, even after so much use. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my cheaper makeup brushes — most either have lost too much hair or gone too floppy to be useful in my kit.
Hygiene - Probably the most important aside from your artistry and the makeup in your kit. Make sure to invest in disposable applicators, soatulas, lash and lip wands and q-tips to help apply makeup products and prevent cross-contamination. Get high-quality brush cleanser and makeup sanitizing spray as well and have alcohol and hand sanitizer handy in your kit. You do not want to risk spreading any infections to any of your clients.
With endless beauty and makeup products on store shelves, it’s hard to know which ones are worth your buck. Putting together a makeup box kit can be difficult for even the best makeup gurus.
Why? Makeup is an art. It lifts your look and highlights your best features. It takes trial and error to really curate a collection that works for you.
To build the ideal makeup collection, start with the basics. This will ensure that you find the products you need without having to buy so much that you're paying the full makeup kit price. Try to focus on buying products that do it all: hydrate, polish, and provide good coverage.
Regardless of which specific products you choose, here are five things that should be in all makeup sets for women:
1. Primer
It’s can feel impossible to know where to start if you’re new to the world of beauty and makeup. First things first, it’s always best to start with a primer.
What does primer actually do? Primers provide the baseline your skin needs to look even and smooth. Primers allow your foundation, concealer, or eyeshadow to sit well on top of your skin and last longer throughout the day. Different types of primers can target various problem areas and goals, depending on your needs. Primers can be hydrating, blurring, correcting, mattifying, and more. They keep your makeup in place, brighten your face, smooth your skin and add moisture.
Pore-blurring and- minimizing primers, specifically, can do wonders for your skin. They primarily are used in T-zones to reduce oiliness and on your cheeks to minimize the appearance of pores with blurring effects. Correcting primers blur and fix redness. Gripping primers, such as Milk Makeup’s Mini Hydro Grip Primer, are best for holding your makeup if you live in humid or hot location where you may be easily sweating your makeup off.
Primers such as Make Up Forever’s Step 1 Primer Pore Minimizer and Benefit’s Pore Professional are makeup artist favorites.
2. Tinted Moisturizer
Next comes time for some more color and coverage. A tinted moisturizer is a good basic to have in your makeup collection at all times.
Tinted moisturizers provide lightweight but full-face coverage, allowing the skin to breathe and creating a glowy, hydrated look. The liquid formula creates a more natural look for your skin. Use a sponge to tap the product in for a flawless blend and natural finish. Tinted moisturizers that include SPF are always an added bonus.
A tinted moisturizer is the perfect middle ground choice for face coverage as it's not too light and not too heavy. If you want to cover up some problem areas or build-up to create a heavier look, add some concealer.
3. High-Coverage Concealer
Concealers are always a great way to add to your look and give you more coverage. They can also spot treat acne or dark circles or even build them up to act as a foundation if you want more coverage all around.
One trick to lift your face is to add concealer on the inner corners and outer corners of your eyes to give your face a lift. Use a sponge for a smooth blend.
Some guru favorites include Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, Maybelline Instant Age concealer, and IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye concealer, just to name a few.
4. Mascara
A little mascara can easily elevate your whole look. Some curl and a lash lift can snatch your whole face, making you look brighter, fresher, and more awake.
To avoid clumpy mascaras, you typically want to find those with thin wands that are made with a lightweight formula. Tubing mascaras are the best. They are made with polymers that coat and cover each individual lash to give you length and drama — and long-lasting wear.
5. Brow Gel
Once you have your base coverage figured out, it's time to move to brows. Eyebrow trends have evolved over the years. We've gone from the thin eyebrows of the 90s to the bold, bushy brows of today. Whatever brow look you're going for, you'll want a good brow gel that will hold your brows in place for the entire day and give them the shape you desire. If you want some added color to make them thicker or fill in gaps, opt for a tinted brow gel.
Altogether, these five products are great key basics for any makeup box kit. To learn more about makeup or in pursuing a career in the beauty industry, get in touch today.