Thirteen years ago I decided that I wanted to become a makeup artist. Before I realized my dream, I started experimenting with makeup as a young teenager with just four makeup items; a blush brush, black Mascara, bronzer by Physicians Formula and clear lip gloss from wet and wild. The little makeup I bought really worked for me at that age. Alot of people told me that they loved how I did my makeup. It was then, at just 16 years old that my dream was realized. Art was always something I pursued. It was the thing that made me most happy but I didn't find my medium until I found makeup. It took me years of buying and trying makeup that I liked and worked well for me. So my goal is to help the everyday women find the right makeup and tools to create beautiful makeup looks for themselves. Building a personal makeup kit is a journey and alot of fun. Finding new and exciting things that work well for you is like finding treasure.
Practicality
Is tons of makeup worth it?
Having too much makeup isn't necessary at all. More in quantity might lead to less in quality. The first thing you should ask yourself is...
What kind of makeup looks do you want to achieve?
- No makeup makeup looks?
- Enhancing your own natural beauty?
- Contouring and highlighting?
- Bold bright?
After answering these questions you should have a better idea of what to shop for. When you go into a store like Sephora or Ulta, you can quickly be overloaded with the idea of makeup. The key is to know what your shopping for and look for one thing at a time!
*Samples are a great way to try new things without spending money. Asking a brand representative for samples can get you off to a great start.
Makeup brands
Don't believe the hype!
If your not a makeup contisure, makeup brands will steal your attention by pretty packaging and advertising. Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's better. Find brands that call out to you wheather that means spending $1 or $50. Thinking about the brand can narrow down a number of things like choosing natural makeup, lower price points with quality formulas, animal cruelty free or even gluten or Paraben free makeup according to your skins needs. They both can have the same value only if its useful in your collection for your personal needs.
Brushes and tools
Makeup Essentials
Some of the best tools a person has are their fingers! I use my fingers for blending eye shadow, applying eye shadow primer, all cream based products and lip balms. If you think your ready to invest in some brushes, you can create more intricate eye looks and more detailed and sculpted face shapes with all kinds of brushes.
Powder Brushes are usually large, big and fluffy to cover the width of the face but if you use less setting powder, a fan brush will dust on smaller amounts of powder and a more dense small fluffy brush can target powder in the right places like the t-zone and under eyes.
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e.l.f. Studio Blush Brush
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e.l.f. Studio Fan Brush
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| Real Techniques Powder Brush |
Blush Brushes are smaller then powder brushes to target blush in smaller areas like the apples of the cheeks. Theses smaller brushes in my opinion work well with applying bronzer as well.
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| Real Techniques Blush brush |
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e.l.f. Studio Blush Brush
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Contouring is used to create the illusion of depth on the skin. Its purpose is to slim the face, sculpt your nose shape and even change the appearance of a face shape. Someone wanting to accentuate their cheek bones will apply a deeper tones color then their own skin tone to give the illusion of depth. By using small blending brushes or sponges with edges can give you the effect of contouring easily.
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e.l.f. Studio Ultimate Kabuki Brush
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e.l.f. Studio Small Tapered Brush
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e.l.f. Studio Contouring Brush
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e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush
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| Latex or none latex Sponge |
Eye Shadow Brushes come in all shapes and sized. The differences are to create more detailed looks on the eyes. An eye shadow brush is used to lay down eye shadow. It might not blend shadow as well as a blending brush and wont apply eye liner in a perfect line because its too big. Below are a few brushes I think are must haves to create any eye makeup look.
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e.l.f. Studio Angled Eyeliner Brush
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e.l.f. Essential Eye Shadow Brush
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