What should your kit contain for Bridal Makeup?

My students often ask me what their kit should contain if they want to do only bridal makeup as a career......

Whether you will only do brides or party makeup, your kit needs to contain items that is appropriate for all skin and colour.

I have divided the kit shopping into specific areas so that it is easy to understand. The brands that I have recommended are the ones that I have personally used over the years and recommend but there are several out there that are affordable and probably so the same job.

Tools:

Makeup brushes (various sizes and shapes) - needs a separate blog!

Slanted Tweezers (Tweezerman)

Eyelash curler (Shu Uemura)

Cotton buds (normal, pointed and extra fine)

Cotton pads

Tissues

Wipes

Disposable sponges

Disposable mascara wands

Disposable lip brushes

Disposable eyeliner brushes

A plastic plate / tile  to decant products out on for your client

small water spray

Prepping the face:

Cleanser and toner or something that can do the job in one (Bioderma, Avene or Lancome)

Moisturisers (for normal or dry skin) - Embryolisse, Lancome, Guerlain, Chanel, Vichy, Garnier

Primers (for normal / young / mature skin) - Gosh, Smashbox, MAC, Guerlain, Laura Mercier, Nars

Primer and Moisturiser in one - Laura Mercier, MAC

Eye shadow primer (Too faced, nyx, Lime crime, Nars)

Lip balm (Carmex or Vaseline)

Foundations:

Tinted moisturisers (Laura Mercier, MAC's Face and Body, Clinique)

Medium to thick coverage (MAC, Nars, Illamasqua)

Full Coverage (Estee, MAC, Illamasqua. Makeup Forever)

Powder Foundations (Chanel, MAC)

Powders:

Translucent (MAC, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, Cornsilk)

Tinted (Chanel, MAC, Bobbi Brown)

Lipsticks

Some of the brands I have used are: Tom Ford, Chanel, Dior, YSL, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Benefit, Maybelline, Rimmel, L'Oreal and many more

Lip Glosses

same as above or make your own by buying a good quality clear gloss

Eyebrow pencils / powders / mascara (clear or coloured)

Rimmel, MAC, Bobbi Brown

Eye shadows

MAC (matt and shimmer - a variety), Bobbi Brown, Nars, Shu Uemura, Illamasqua (highly pigmented and matt ones)

You can buy unbranded matt and shimmer ones on ebay

Mascara (Black / Brown)

Lancome (Hypnose Drama), Clinique, Maybelline, L'Oreal

Eyelashes

Shu Uemura, MAC, Ardell and there are too many out there now, some are amazing bargains

Gel Eyeliners

Makeup Atelier (my first choice), MAC (my second choice), Clinique (if you are not that fast and want to take your time, does not dry that fast so easier to use)

Cake eyeliners

Kryolan, Laura Mercier,

Blushers

Sleek, MUA, MAC, Bobbi, Estee, Chanel, YSL

Bronzers

Guerlain, Chanel, MAC

Pigments (highly versatile) 

MAC Cosmetics

If you are a on a budget, most high street shops are a good option to stock up. The only things I would advise to spend money on is good moisturisers / primers, foundations and eyeshadows for your clients. Cheaper high street makeup lacks the spectrum of colours for all skin tones. Cheaper shadows also tend to look too shimmery and have a lot of fall out.

Back to Learning

As the main wedding season is ending, there will now be more time for one to one, weekly and group lessons again. These are particularly helpful if you want to learn to apply your own makeup or want to become a makeup artist or have accumulated a drawer full of cosmetics over a period of time and have no idea how to use them or stuck in rut with just the one look for years!

Don't worry, you are not the only one! Some of my recent brides have done these, some to do their own makeup on their own wedding day and some of the brides who were (should I say?) impressed with my skills, that they thought they should learn to do more makeup for more events after the wedding. Some brides have even changed their career and done longer courses to become a makeup artist or hair stylists.

A lot of my students are now working with me as my team and we have done many catwalk shows and several weddings together.

The lessons are for anyone who wants to learn a new makeup look like a flawless base or a smokey eye or how to do eye liner or virtually any makeup technique(s). Lessons can also be booked as gift vouchers for a special occasion for a loved one.

Incidentally, if you cannot come to us to learn, we are happy to come to you wherever you are..........

O and before I forget, we are moving to our new studio in Rayners Lane tomorrow (2 min walk from the station to Talbot House), so why not pop down? Just call and let us know you will be coming over. Ring 07967204275

Bridal Makeup - Asian, Contemporary, Arabic - the choice is yours - By Sana K Makeup

In the years that I have done various brides, one of the questions that brides ask is what race I do most makeup on. The answer to that is simple, I am a Makeup Artist first and by Genetics; an Asian Makeup Artist who also does a lot of Contemporary work with success. On any good makeup course, you are taught about various skin tones and how to apply makeup on a variety of ages and races.

When I first began putting a portfolio together, there was a lot of snobbery towards Wedding Makeup Artistry (Still is), it is looked down upon and thought of as cheesy as compared to someone who works in Fashion most days. Believe it or not, a lot of racism also exists in the industry, for example, one race would rather get the same race makeup artist and not another, as they believe that their kind would know their skin tones better - what a load of crap!?! So for those who like to judge, I created separate websites

www.sanakermani.com (the Contemporary one)

www.sanakmakeup.com (The Asian one)

Initially, I thought that was a lot of work, but then I realised I had already done so much work in the time that there was enough for both the sites. I enjoy making people look and feel great and I do not think of their creed and colour.

Most Contemporary brides want to look like themselves, but a very polished and natural version; meaning glowing skin with neutral tones. Very few would request a smokey eye or eyeliner unless they had a specific theme.

Usually, Asian brides want to look as glamorous as possible and want to look different to their norm. They go for full colour on their eyes and big lashes with strong lips - the great thing is their skin tones, their dress and jewellery is all so glam that everything blends well.

Arabic brides are a mixture of a contemporary and Asian - they wear the white dress but love to have dark smokey eyes.

In my opinion, a bride is always the centre of attention, no matter what she wears or who does her makeup :)

Whatever the look; a good makeup artist will keep your requirements in mind before tailor-making your look for your big day.