May 12th, 2016

 (Photo by Me of some of my kit)

Makeup Kit Must Haves
 
It has been rainy, cold, and miserable in Baltimore this week and I am headed out bright and early tomorrow for New York City – my second favorite place on Earth (I’m looking at you, London) and I have been lusting after a gorgeous Glamcor Light as I feel that if I bathe my cold, crusty self in its candlelight glow that all will be right in the world. Well – it will be right for my clients – because I am quite sure that the gorgeous light thrown by a Glamcor(I love this one as you can put a mirror right in the center to show off your work when you are finished!)  light makes everything better! So I’m saving my pennies for Glamcor (I’m working the Dave Ramsay Total Money Makeover, so it will just have to get in line) and I know soon, SOON! , it will be mine! (I’m going to need a pack mule to carry my kit to jobs, le sigh. . . .)
 
Today we are going to talk about Makeup Kit Must Haves. I am keeping this solely to kits for beauty, events, TV, and Film as I want to keep the list manageable for today!
My kit is organized as follows:

1. Face Preparation
2. Foundations and Concealers
3. Setting Powders, Blushes, Bronzers, Shaping Powers, Highlights
4. Lashes, Lids, and Lips
5. Setting Sprays – you must abide by the holy gospel – “If thou beat the face, thou must seal the face”.

That’s An Alexis Arenas Fabulous Five Step Face.

Depending on the job you are doing and the effect you are going for you may need different products than what I will talk about here - everybody has their favorites and you use what works for you.
 
Today we will cover the first step – which I think is the most important. This is where the client’s skin care routine is so important – it is hard to fix improper skin care on the spot – that is why it is SO IMPORTANT to evangelize – PREACH, tell the world! WASH YOUR FACE: EXFOLIATE: MOISTURIZE: SPF – repeat it like a mantra. I love good skin care – and if you have good skin – makeup just enhances what you already have – if you have troubled skin that you are taking care of – we can work with that – but if you have skin you are not taking care of – makeup will not lay well, and can look heavy and cakey – not ideal. Let me know if you have skin care questions – I will help!


Here are the moisturizers I carry in my kit – I only carry the least allergenic products to reduce/eliminate the possibility of reaction:
Embrolisse Lait-Crème – amazing stuff – great for all skins, but especially good for drier and aging skin.
Embryolisse Hydra-Mat – Normal to Oily skins – will mattify the skin beautifully
Kiehl’s Muli-Corrective Cream – Great hydrating moisturizer
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm – great ‘wake up’ for the skin – firms skin, makes it glowy
Clinique Dramatically Different Gel – great everyday moisturizer for normal to oily skins

Once you have applied your moisturizer of choice I like to use a light, easy to absorb eye treatment - I tend to stay away from anything too emollient around the eyes when I am prepping as it may cause the makeup to travel (these creams and treatments are great outside of professional makeup application!!)

Right now I am using in my kit:
Clinique Pep Start – great light eye cream
Clarins Eye Contour Balm – another great treatment – perfect for drier skins
Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate – lovely and light – Clarins is always a winner
 
I like to allow this to sink in and work for a few moments before I start with my favorite step: PRIMERS. A good primer is worth its weight in gold. So many have flooded the market – here are the ones I have in rotation in my kit now and my thoughts:

Face Primers:
Kat Von D Featherweight Primer – Earns a “Meh” rating from me. It’s not bad, but I don’t really think it does anything.
Smashbox Photo Finish Oil – LOVE LOVE LOVE – I was gifted a sample of this and my expectations we low. I mean loooow. So how happy was I was this BLEW ME OUT OF THE WATER. It plumps, it smooths, it LOCKS your facepaint down. It’s magic in a bottle. I need to get a big bottle for me (ahem) I mean my kit.

I’ve got a few new ones headed to me that I will review separately so check back!

Eye Primers:
Nars Pro-Prime – Very good – eye makeup doesn’t budge – is it only me? I wish this was in different packaging – a squeeze tube or pump would be awesome. I want every drop!
Too Faced Shadow Insurance – I think this stuff is great and a tube lasts forever!
Tarte 360 Creaseless 12 hour Smoothing Eye Primer – I like the feel of this – it is good stuff!
Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion – UD understands priming and sealing. Big Winner here! Love this stuff!! ** Right now this is on SALE on their page for $10! STOCK UP!
 
So we have moisturized, prepped and primed and are ready for paint! Tune in soon for our next step!
Have a question? Ask a question! alexis@thebeautyexpertgroup.com. See you later, Alligators!

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