Pro Kit Tips | #1 Consider Your Clientele

Starting your own professional makeup kit can seem like a hugely daunting task, especially when you see those currently established in the industry with their kit of the latest luxury makeup worth a few grand. Whilst I am still finding my own feet and I am far from an expert; I have picked up a handful of tips to help make establishing yourself a little easier. As I build my business, I want to share the experience and any tips I discover along the way; so here is the first instalment of the new series Pro Kit Tips. 

Tip #1 | Consider Your Clientele 

When starting out, you don't need to buy foundation and lipstick in every shade available; but rather base what you buy around the clients your initial clientele. For example, knowing my own immediate connections, starting out I am most likely to be working on lighter complexions and so I base my initial purchases on shades to suit this specific skin tone.

When choosing foundation for your kit, rather than buy every shade variation, buy 2-4 options in the colour range that you are most likely to be working on. Then, as you are asked to work on different skin tones, either buy a new shade when it is needed or you can even ask the model if she would be happy bringing her own foundation with her for a shoot. Don't be afraid to ask, as when starting out everyone is in the same position. As an up and coming artist in this industry, you need to keep your costs down as low as possible. If there is a chance of using a model's foundation rather than buying a new shade for £10-£20 that you are unlikely to use again, take it!

The same principle applies to lipstick; buy a nude and a dark lipstick to suit the skin tone you know you are most likely to be working with. As work comes in, buy lipstick shades when needed to suit the brief you have been given for that job. 

When choosing an eyeshadow palette for you kit, consider the type of work you are most likely to be doing. If you know you will probably start out exclusively doing bridal and beauty work then you don’t need to add a palette of dark or bright colours to your kit. Buy one good neutral, brown-toned palette that can allow you to create the variations you need and then buy more extravagant palettes as the work comes in and you are asked for these looks.

I hope you enjoyed this quick Pro Kit Tip and it helps anyone baffled by how to start out as a professional makeup artist. I am going to keep this series going, with a new post every week. I have a few tips I know I want to share but I would love to hear any specific questions you want answering! Comment down below or tweet me @DevonMartinMUA.

Devon

xoxo

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Kit Essential | The Pro Hygiene Collection

As a makeup artist, brush cleaner is an unquestionable essential. Whilst I always deep clean my brushes in-between jobs, when I’m on the job or working on myself, brush cleaner is my third hand. My favourite brand for this is The Pro Hygiene Collection, from which I love both their Makeup Brush Cleaner and Antibacterial Makeup Spray.

1. Makeup Brush Cleaner 

Starting with their Brush Cleaner, this is my favourite dry spray for sanitising and cleaning by brushes on the go or in a rush. I spray it onto either a cotton wool pad or the brush itself depending on the product I have been working with, and then swirl the brush around on a cotton pad to clean it. The makeup instantly disintegrates and is dissolved by the spay. After a couple of goes, my brush is clean and within a few minutes will be ready to be used again either in a different product or on another client.

The spray is £10 for a 240ml bottle and as only a couple sprays is needed at a time to remove all product, this one bottle definitely goes a long way.

2. Antibacterial Makeup Spray

The second product from the line that I also rely on regularly is the Antibacterial Makeup Spray; a product that is hard to come by. This sanitises your kit after you have finished a client’s makeup, making it ready to be used for your next job. 

When I have finished working, I spray this over my eyeshadow palettes, blushes and any other powder products I have used. I leave them to dry for a couple minutes before packing them away back into my kit. This sterilises your powders in between uses, meaning that each time you can use your brushes directly into your products and then onto your client.

At £15 for the 240ml bottle, this is a little pricier, but for anyone who is looking at building up their own kit it really is an essential! A high standard of hygiene and cleanliness is really what will distinguish you as a professional artist.

I hope you enjoyed this little Kit Essential post and I would love to know your thoughts as well your favourite antibacterial sprays for your makeup! Leave comments down below or message me on Twitter and Instagram.

Devon

xoxo

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Drugstore Stars | Sleek Makeup Blushes

Even as a professional makeup artist, I still love and regularly use products from the drugstore. Certain items have a permanent place in my kit and one brand that I love in particular is Sleek Makeup. When starting out, I looked towards Sleek to create a basic kit that was affordable and still of a high quality so that the standard of my work would not suffer. Now, even with the choice of purchasing higher end brands, certain Sleek products have maintained a permanent place in my kit. Their Blush by 3 Palettes are my favourite from the drugstore; for their price, performance and packaging. 

At £10 per palette, each blush equals to just over £3. This affordable trio is encased inside a fittingly sleek, slim and professional looking black palette. For £20 you can add 6 blushes to your kit; varying from matte to shimmer shades; coral to pink tones and options suitable for light, medium and dark skin tones. 

At such an affordable price, you would expect to have to cut corners in terms of quality and performance; but with Sleek this is not the case. I love the quality of these blushes and honestly can’t see myself replacing them for higher-end options any time soon as the only difference would be the noticeable hole left behind in my bank account.

(Shade : Lace)

For options in my kit, I bought two powder blush palettes and one containing cream blushes. The powder palettes I chose were Lace and Sugar. Lace is perfect for light skin tones and contains two matte shades; a coral and pink tone, and a gorgeous light pink with flecks of gold shimmer running through it. Sugar is ideal for warmer skin tones and contains two matte shades; a dark plum tone and a warm peach. The third shade is a pink-toned brown with gold shimmer running through it.

(Shade : Sugar)

The cream blush palette I have is Californ.I.A, which follows the same format of containing two matte options and one shade with a slight shimmer. The palette is the perfect combination of pink and coral toned blushes and can be used for adding colour to the cheeks or lips on light to medium skin tones.  

(Shade : Californ.I.A)

This is just a very brief selection of some of my favourite Sleek items. These blushes are intensely pigmented, blend seamlessly into the skin and I am yet to find a client or occasion that they have not worked brilliantly for. I honestly can’t see myself replacing these for other options any time soon. I would love to know all your thoughts on the brand and these blushes if you’ve tried them in the comments down below!

Devon 

xoxo

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Kit Essential | MAC Prep + Prime Fix +

When I’m on shoot, there are a few items in my kit that are an absolute essential. This may not always be for their most obvious reasons and so I want to share with you the products that I personally rely on and a few tips of how to make the most of them. Today’s post is dedicated to a well known favourite: MAC Prep + Prime Fix +.

It terms of setting sprays, this isn’t one that is going to massively improve the wear and longevity of your makeup; however this isn't why I love it. 

Firstly, I always use Fix + to 'finish' a look. I find that a spritz of this helps to add a freshness and a slight dewy glow back into the skin. It stops the finished look from looking cakey by blurring the makeup together slightly and melting it into the skin. So, whilst not removing or disturbing the coverage, it keeps the makeup looking natural and not too heavy.

The second reason I rely on Fix + is that it allows me to make the most of my eyeshadows. As a newly qualified Makeup Artist, it can be hard to squeeze luxury palettes within my small budget. I’d rather buy from the drugstore, so that I have a greater variety of colours and finishes and I am able to create any look that is requested. Although, the problem is that the quality of the eyeshadows suffers so that the finished look isn't as professional. My answer? Fix +.

An investment in a £17 bottle will save you the money that you would otherwise have had to have spent on high-end shadows. Lightly spraying a brush with Fix + before picking up any product, will transform the quality of what you are using. Affordable, drugstore eyeshadows become richly pigmented, creamy and blend able; meaning that the overall finish of your look need not suffer! 

Below are swatches of the same eyeshadow but with and without Fix +:

(Left: Without Fix +. Right: With Fix+)

I still use this trick even when working with my more expensive palettes. If there is a certain colour that I want to really standout on the eye; such as a gold, silver, bright colour or a highlight. This is why I never leave home without my Fix +. I hope these few tips have helped or inspired you and I would love to know what you think as well as your makeup essentials!

Devon

xoxo

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