Whether you’re a professional MUA looking to add new products to your kit, an aspiring MUA building your first kit, or a beauty aficionada plumping up your vanity with professional quality products, building a professional makeup kit is quite a task! While it’s fun and exciting, it’s also a time consuming task that can get very expensive, very fast! Let’s face it, a professional quality makeup kit can easily start at $1,000, and that just covers the basics.
I started to do makeup professionally over five years ago and I built 80% of my kit by trial and error. I spent countless hours and dollars playing with products. I typically would buy products, test shoot them and see if they lived up to my standards (I still use this method when evaluating new products for my kit). Many products failed, but a few exceeded my expectations, and I have been using them ever since in my pro kit.
So to save you some time and money, I decided to put this list together to share some of my favorite products with you and help you build a professional makeup kit. And remember, you don’t have to be a professional makeup artist to have professional products in your makeup bag. Models, bloggers, entertainers and anyone who is in front of a camera often can benefit from using professional quality products.
5 Makeup Artist Must-Haves:
1. Model in a Bottle (regular formula $18)- What’s a beautiful makeup application if it can’t withstand humidity and heat? Transform any makeup look into a long-lasting flawless perfection with a few pumps for this perfectly scented setting spray. This is a must-have product in your makeup kit, perfect for bridal makeup because it sets makeup matte, absorbs oil and makes makeup last for hours! I had a bride who said her makeup didn’t budget in the rain! I wouldn’t say it’s waterproof, but it’s pretty water resistant.
2. BBU Palette ($250)- This is an investment, but well worth every single cent. It’s perfect for starters that need to build their foundation and concealer supply. This palette includes 13 shades of Bobbi’s skin flattering Corrector, 14 shades of Creamy Concealer and 20 shades of Foundation Stick. All of these amazing products bundled into one sleek, lightweight and easy to carry palette. The palette covers every skin tone and nearly every skin type (except for very oily). The best part? It’s refillable so you can buy exactly what you need, rather than a brand new palette each time.
3. Lorac Pro Palette ($42)- This is your one stop for a well-rounded eye shadow palette. With 16 shades to choose from, 2 different finishes (matte or shimmer) and an assortment of pigmented neutral colors, you just can’t go wrong. The possibilities are endless with this palette and it works great for a large range of skin tones. I love to use this palette for bridal looks and I love that the colors blend easily, keep color intensity and last for hours.
4. Inglot Matte Collection AMC Eyeliner Gel ($12)- Are you looking for budge proof, flake free eyeliner? Then the Inglot Gel Eyeliner is your match. This liner goes on smooth and is designed to last. It dries in 60 seconds and once it’s on, IT’S ON! It’s waterproof and again perfect for bridal looks. Did I mention the pigmentation is superb and it also comes in 18 different shades, include a few colorful hues. I’ll also let you in on a little secret; this liner also doubles as waterproof mascara. It’s especially useful if you are looking for out of the ordinary mascara colors like yellow and red.
5. OCC Lip Tars ($18 each)- This isn’t the first or last time that you will hear my rave about liptars (I recently talked about them in my Makeup Show Orlando Recap). I don’t know what makeup artist did before them! They are incredibly pigmented and come in a huge variety of shades. With a little bit of color theory, you can mix colors to create the exact shade you are looking for. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that they are very concentrated and a tiny dot goes a long way. Using too much product can and will cause feathering. I also advise that you prep the lips with the Clear lip tar and also apply a lip liner for maximum results. You should also know that liptars are also very versatile (I’m all about multi-use products), they can be used as a beautiful blush.
There are so many products that I love and recommend, but this is only a list of my top 5 items at the moment. I will follow up with similar posts of more products that I recommend in the future.
What professional products do you plan o adding to your makeup kit?
Dionne says
I tried the lip tars out in Sephora, but was looking for something a little more MATTE…any recommendations??
Aracely says
A Little translucent powder over a blotted Lip tar lip will give you the perfect Matte lip. I love lip tars! They are so pigmented and they stay on. Love this post Sahily.
prettyinpigment says
Hey Dionne! Aracely’s suggestions would be my recommendation. OCC Lip tars have a satin finish and can appear more “glossy” while they are still wet. It takes about 10 minutes for them to fully dry to satin, but if you would like them more matte, go ahead and dab on a little translucent powder. Good luck!
Dionne says
Thank you guys! I’m fighting the urge to go to Sephora at 8pm!
dawn says
Hey girl..
Love the Model in the bottle! I just purchased something similar and it works. Also, that palette is gorg!
Thanks for sharing.
http://simplysassysstyle.blogspot.com/
Dawn
Veronica Lee says
I am loving that BBU Palette! Fabulous! Thanks for the recommendation!
md Kennedy says
I ‘ve heard of Lip Tar, but never tried it. I guess I’ll have to now that you’ve raved about it!
Jasmine P says
Great guide!!
prettyinpigment says
Thank you Jasmine!
Reapinpin says
Nice! I’ll have them soon. Thank you!