While cleaning my kit today, I realised how many things I consider essential that aren’t actually makeup! These are mostly pretty bog-standard items, and I’m sorry if this is a boring post but I’m very nosy when it comes to people’s essential makeup must-haves of any description and I love writing them as well!
Bioderma and Cotton Buds
Pretty obvious really! Bioderma is my favourite remover, and cotton buds are essential for touch ups and whoopsies – I forgot them once or twice and it’s not the best! Of course you can use brushes to correct makeup as well, but I’d rather not dirty and brushes I don’t have to!
Hand Sanitizer
Yes, I HAVE seen other MUAs without hand sanitizer. I tend to have a large one and a mini one knocking around as well so I can reach out and grab one and keep one in the pocket section of my brush belt as well.
Huggies Wipes
Ok, wipes aren’t the best for removing makeup, but sometimes you’re in a hurry to leave the studio because you’ve been shooting until the end of your booking, and you don’t have time to take someone’s crazy makeup off before you all have to go and these can come to the rescue. Also good for spills, etc. I really like these Huggies wipes as they always seem to be on offer, they’re nice and soft, they tear easily without going fluffy and they don’t dry out.
Long Hair Grips
For keeping hair out of people’s faces.
Active Cosmetics Lashes
Ok, so these are KIND of makeup, but I really couldn’t live without these lashes. At £1 each, they’re not as cheap as the huge boxes of lashes off eBay, but they are MUCH better. They’re less heavy, more flexible, have a thinner lashband and come in more fashionable styles as well. Absolute essential for me, I always stock up. This brand also has a great 5-pack online from Fragrance Direct, etc.
Disposable Lip Wands
I use these for lipstick as well as gloss. I much prefer these to a lip brush for lipstick as I hate washing lip brushes with a passion (sorry, Earth :( ) and these allow you to correct or shape the lipline easily, as well as applying a really thin first layer of lipstick which will then act almost like a lipliner.
Alcohol
For giving things a sanitizing spritz! Not an option in my opinion.
Breath Drops/Mints
This is more due to my own paranoia, as it’s not nice to have someone all up in your grill if they’ve got stinky breath. Shoots can be mad – I do lots of group shoots with 4913198 people running around – and you eat what and where you can. Cheese and Onion Sammich breath is nobodies friend.
Inglot Duraline
My favourite mixing medium – for creating liners and lip products from loose powders, foiling eyeshadows, etc. Love this, can’t live without it. I mix it with loose black eyeshadow to get a really fluid liner.
Small Scissors
For trimming lashes, opening new products, cutting labels out of new clothes, etc. You never know when you’ll need scissors!
Vaseline
Not my favourite as a lip conditioner, but good in a pinch. Good for sheering out lipsticks, grooming brows, adding gloss to the skin, etc.
More of these kinds of posts or not? Yay? Nay?
