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As a new Makeup Artist, you would have already spent a lot of time honing your craft and perfecting your skills, so the next natural step is to make sure that you have the right tools, products, and items at your disposal to begin your professional career. Ask any professional makeup artist and they will tell you that their kit is their trusted sidekick and the most important thing they will invest in, alongside education and development. It is understandable then why many new makeup artists find building up their first makeup kit daunting.
For one thing, you don’t want to invest hundreds or even thousands of pounds into your kit, only to find out you’ve bought the wrong items. You also don’t want to miss out on all of the important things you need in order to do your job. Over time you will undoubtedly curate the perfect kit for your business/career, but, in the beginning, what do you need within your kit to kick-start your career?
It can seem like there are a million and one things that you need within your kit but all you really need are the beginner essentials to get you off the ground and give you a head start. These include items for hygiene & preparation, skin care, makeup—of course—and your trusted tools, like a professional makeup artist kit. If you are a makeup artist just starting out on this incredible journey, you might feel overwhelmed at the thought of starting your kit. Thankfully, we’ve put together a guide to help you get it right, with all of the beginner essentials you should include in your professional makeup artist kit.
These essentials should include a palette, blush, eyeliner, sponge, concealer, lip gloss, and moisturizer. You will also need to be prepared to mix different shades and products to match your client’s needs, and don’t forget the basics like a brow pencil or clip to help with precision.
Keeping everything hygienic and clean throughout your workstation is not only good practice but can prevent a multitude of nasty cross-contaminations and possible infections on your client’s faces. Ensuring you have the correct products therefore to clean your tools and products between every client is vital.
Hand Sanitizer/Wipes: Crucial for on-the-go and in-between clients. Keeping your hands clean is one of the most important things you can remember to do when working. And while it is not a substitute for washing your hands, it is a good idea to always keep a sanitizer in your makeup kit.
Brush Cleaner: A brush cleaner is important for when you’re working. Obviously, you don’t want to be using dirty brushes on your client’s faces, so having a brush cleaner in your makeup kit is the best way to avoid this when you’re between clients.
Brush Cleaner Scrub Pad: This spikey little brush pad is a great little product to keep in your professional makeup artist kit and helps to remove any dirt from deep within the brush, giving your tools a proper clean.
Isopropyl Alcohol: This is another product that you should always carry around with you to keep the germs at bay. Isopropyl Alcohol can help to disinfect your metal tools in between clients, preventing cross-contamination.
Cotton Buds/Pads/Tissues: These inexpensive products are always worth having to hand. Cotton buds and pads can be easily disposed of and are also perfect for taking off any old makeup.
Makeup Sponges: Buying packs of disposable sponges is a great way of keeping things clean. These are especially useful for concealer, blush, and even lip gloss applications.
Disposable Spoolies and Brushes: Likewise, having disposable spoolies and brushes is always a good idea in helping to keep your environment clean and free from contamination. You can always bulk buy these products too, so you’ll definitely have enough for various tasks, including brow grooming or lip gloss application.
Hair Clips and Hairbands: There is nothing more annoying than hair getting in the way while you are working your professional makeup magic. Make sure you have plenty of hair clips to keep your client’s hair out of their face, allowing you to focus on your work without distractions.
Before applying any makeup onto your client’s face, you will need to ensure that the skin is thoroughly prepped, so making sure that you have all of the necessary skin care products can save you from worrying that you don’t have the things you need when you start working.
Micellar Water/Makeup Remover: The perfect on-the-go cleanser to have in your makeup kit. This can help to remove any old makeup and give you a clean base to work with.
Face cleansers: You can’t go without a couple of good cleansers and toners in your makeup kit either and should try to have at least one cleanser for each skin type, including one for sensitive skin.
Moisturiser: Also making sure you have at least one moisturiser for each skin type is always a good idea when you’re starting out.
SPF: The most important skincare product any of us can put on our face. SPF is always essential and will help to protect your client’s skin from damage. Sun or no sun.
Eye Cream: Using an eye cream before applying your professional makeup helps to brighten the appearance of dark circles, smooths and firms the look of fine lines and wrinkles, and deeply hydrates the eye area.
Lip Balm: Lip balm is perfect for keeping your lips soft and smooth, and available for any makeup artist kit work you might need to do on lips. Whether you’re applying lip gloss, prepping for a blush touch-up, or getting the brow area ready, lip balm ensures smooth application.
You can’t be a makeup artist without makeup, so this is undeniably the most crucial step when building up your kit. Having a variety of colours and products is also important, so that you can work with a diverse range of skin tones.
Primer: Having a couple of different primers for each and every skin type is a good way of being prepared for all clients. This should include a hydrating primer for dry skin and a mattifying primer for oilier skin types.
Foundations: Understandably one of the trickier parts of building your makeup kit, but nevertheless one of the more important parts.
Making sure you have a wide range of foundations (from fair to dark skin tones) will mean that you won’t have to exclude anyone from having their makeup done by you, should you not have the right shade. As long as you have a range, you can then mix foundation shades together, if you do need a specific colour. It also helps to have various types of foundations such as mineral, liquid and powder too. As well as foundations with different finishes, like matte and dewy formulas.
Concealers: In terms of concealers, you can buy palettes with a range of shades, or you can stick to individual concealer sticks.
Just like with foundation, be sure to have a wide range of colours for different skin shades. If you want to take it one step further, you can even add colour-correcting concealers. Luckily, these also come in palettes for added ease.
Eyebrow Products: Having a range of eyebrow products is another essential you need to include within your professional makeup artist kit. You can put an eyebrow palette with a range of shades into your kit. Or you can stick to eyebrow pencils, in a few shades (from light to dark).
Setting powder: A translucent setting powder alongside pressed powder is going to be your best friend when it comes to sealing your hard work and keeping your client’s makeup looking fresh.
Setting Spray: As is setting spray. This is particularly important if you have someone who says that they have dry skin and their makeup becomes cakey throughout the day. This will certainly do the trick and keep their makeup in place for much longer.
Eyeshadow: A fun but necessary product is eyeshadow. You can purchase palettes with various shades & tones and palettes in various different textures, such as cream and powder.
As well as matte and shimmer shades. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at all of the various eyeshadow shades, focus on building your professional makeup artist kit with neutral shades to begin with and then invest in some bolder/darker colours too.
Eyeliner: Include some eyeliner pencils in your kit in black and brown, but add in a few extra colours if you feel ready. You can also include gel liners, but steer clear of pens, as these cannot be cleaned.
Mascara: What would we do without mascara? It’s important. So be sure to add in a black and possibly, a brown mascara. However, make sure that you have disposable mascara spoolies, to avoid cross contamination.
Clear Mascara/Brow Gel: A clear mascara can work as both a mascara and a brow gel, so don’t forget to add one to your makeup kit.
Strip Lashes and Glue: For those clients who want a more dramatic eye, you can also carry around a co.
Bronzer: A good powder bronzer is another essential piece of your kit.
Highlighter: You can add highlighters in powder and liquid form to your kit.
Contour palette: Contour palettes are a good way of including more shade options. Be sure to have a couple of palettes with a diverse range of shades though.
Blusher: Like many of the other products on this list, be sure to add in blushers in powder and liquid form.
Lip liners: Having a range of lip liners in your professional makeup artist kit, is going to be much appreciated by your clients. However, if you’re feeling worried about missing something out, focus on adding lip liners into your kit that are on the nude/neutral spectrum and then add in a couple of bolder colours such as a red or a bright pink.
Again, make sure that you are adding in lip liner pencils to keep things hygienic.
Lipsticks: A good way of making sure that you have a range of colours is to once again choose a palette over individual lipsticks. Of course, you can certainly add in some basic nude coloured lipsticks to begin with.
Clear Lip gloss: It’s always a good idea to carry around a lip gloss with you for that extra special finish.
Brushes: Having good quality brushes is going to help you get desired results within your work so be sure to have the following brushes in your kit:
Foundation brush
1. Blush brush
2. Concealer brush
3. Contouring brush
4. Bronzing brush
5. Small fan brush
6. Highlighter brush
7. A complete set of eye brushes
8. Blending brush
9. Angled brow brush
10. Lip Brush
1. A beauty blender
2. Pencil sharpener
3. Tweezers
4. Hand-held mirror(s)
5. Organisers
6. Scissors
There you have it, the beginner essentials you need if you are starting to build up your very first Makeup Artist Kit. Over time you will curate and develop your kit but to begin with these items, tools and products will help to get you started with everything you could possibly need as you begin your new adventure.
