Australian MUA, Charlotte Ravet, is the proud owner of her very own hair and makeup business. From bridal, to editorial, to film and television, and everything in-between – Charlotte provides a wide variety of services that cater to all types of clientele!
Her extensive resume includes working for Prada, L’Oreal, and even the cast of the hit show, Glee! A developer of educational programs, Charlotte has even been awarded Best Makeup Educator of the Year by the Australian Industry Makeup Awards.
Here, she examines the best (and cheapest) online tools to help you market your makeup artist business!
As an MUA and makeup lover, the one thing we never want to stop buying is… makeup! Of course, if you’re not careful, this can spell trouble for our bank account. This is why, over the years, the main thing I’ve learned is to keep it simple!
There are two reasons for this:
- As a professional MUA, makeup is my living. This means that I have to be mindful to manage my spending on beauty products. This is because my budget also needs to be allocated to things like advertising, marketing, space rental, and other business expenses.
- The more organised my professional makeup kit is, the easier (and faster) I can provide my services for clients!
As part of my standard practice, I typically have two separate makeup bags. One is for classic beauty makeup; the other, for creative and/or editorial. This helps me better organize my professional products. Plus, it means I don’t need to lug ALL every single product with me to a given job.
Breaking Down My Professional Makeup Kit
When it comes to your professional makeup kit, you need to have an assortment of products. Let’s take a look into mine to illustrate the types of things you’ll need.
To start, the usual essentials within my kit’s beauty bag include:
- Skincare items
- Foundations
- Concealers
- Powders
- Eyeshadows
- And much more!
On the other hand, my creative/editorial makeup bag is reserved for pigments, glitters, and body paint.
Beauty Bag Must-Haves + Tips:
Foundations, Contour, and Concealers
I would recommend having at least 6 liquid foundation shades in your professional makeup kit. They should range from light to dark. This will better help you adjust to different clients’ skin tones.
If the foundation comes in a glass bottle, I recommend buying an empty plastic bottle and switching the packaging. (Muji has some great ones that are pretty cheap!) Glass can be heavy to carry for a mobile makeup artist.
My Personal Favorites
My favourite foundations tend to come from the line, YSL Touche Éclat. I find they create a radiant glow and lightweight finish. Another staple foundation product is M•A•C Studio Face and Body. This line offers 13 different shades to choose from!
For the contour, concealers, and other foundations, I’ve found an all-in-one solution: cream palettes! If there’s one thing I can’t live without, it’s a primary cream colours palette!  My personal favorite brands for this are RCMA and Maqpro.
The awesome thing about cream palettes is that they give you one texture for everything! You can adjust the pigments, depending on how full the coverage needs to be. I frequently alter and/or create shades of contour, foundation, and eyeshadows by mixing the primary colors with the white.
Similarly, you can also sheer it out, using a mixing medium. Here are the mixing mediums I use with wax-based cream pigments:
Maqpro
Maqpro’s Makeup Mixer will help produce a cream foundation that’s ideal for medium coverage. To set it, I use translucent powder.
Kryolan
This is one of my latest finds, and I absolutely LOVE it! Kryolan’s Mixing Medium is silicone-based. It mixes very well with the cream pigments to obtain a fluid texture water that’s also sweat-resistant. I’ve found it perfect for both private clients and brides!
RCMA
RCMA’s Color Process Foundation Thinner is oil-based. It’s optimal for softening harder foundations, restoring dried palettes, and adjusting a foundation’s consistency. I love the dewy finish it produces! I definitely consider this a must-have for my editorial looks!
Honorable Mention
For a great highlight, I always use YSL Touche Éclat’s highlighter pen! I love how effortlessly it brightens darker spots on the skin.
Eye Makeup
For eyeshadow, I have two large magnetic palettes, with a collection of my favorite shades. One is for neutral colors, while the other is more creative. I always keep the black shades separate, as it is a pure pigment (which typically makes it more fragile).
I also carry my eyeliner pencils in a drawing pencils case. These cases have separated spaces for each pencil. This will help keep them organised and well protected!
Lips
A useful tip for your professional makeup kit is to decant your lipsticks into lighter-weight, portable plastic palettes. For me, I tend to go with the clear plastic palette from Vueset. My professional makeup kit also contains clear gloss from M•A•C Cosmetics. Whenever I want to create a lustrous effect on my client’s lips, I simply mix the lipstick with this gloss!
Brows
For editorial eyebrows, I ALWAYS have pear soap and M•A•C Cosmetics Fix+ in my arsenal. For the eyebrow makeup itself, my favorite line is the Inglot eyebrow wax. In case you’re interested, I find that 16 is the best shade for medium-to-dark eyebrows!
Skin
I love skincare! As a makeup artist, you know how vital good skin is the key for great makeup. Let’s breakdown some of my most recommended skincare essentials!
Primers
A silicone, blurry primer is fantastic for for mature skin. It can also be used a base when working with silicone-based foundations. Always match the primer’s texture with the foundation you are using!
For a radiant complexion, I swear by the Brightening CC Serum from BY Terry. If you’re looking for an effective skin cream to add to your kit, Egyptian Magic offers a wonderful, all-natural product that protects lips and repairs dehydrated skin.
I also use it to add a little extra glow to my editorial looks!
Creams and Cleansers
You never know when you’ll work with a client who has sensitive skin, so as a rule of thumb, try to use organic skincare products that are perfume-free. In my professional makeup kit, I always have soothing creams as well.
Creams and serums are the very first products applied before makeup. This is why it’s so important to use all-natural products whenever possible. You want to avoid allergies and adverse reactions with your clients!
Creative/Editorial Bag Must-Haves + Tips:
As much as I love pigments and glitters, I have learned the hard way that it’s best to keep them separated from other products. A lot of glitters are sold in hard plastic jars, which can easily break.
For this reason, I recommend purchasing some softer, plastic jars to hold your glittery products instead. For extra protection, place these products in a separate (plastic) pouch.
My Personal Favorites
For pigments, my go-to products are Maqpro’s Paris Star Powders, and Down Under Cosmetix. I also swear by Kryolan’s Aquacolor line, because the colors are rich and super easy to apply. Plus, these glycerin-based eyeshadows also come in neon shades!
Tools
I must own around 700 makeup brushes! For every client, I always have a fresh and sanitized set, ready to use. Once any job is done, I then place my used brushes in a zipper bag. This way, I’ll know to clean them later, while also ensuring I don’t contaminate any of the clean items.
The one type of brush that serves as the true MVP is the angled brush. I seriously cannot live without angled brushes! On top of using it for makeup, I also sometimes use it with micellar water to remove little mistakes on the client’s lips or liner.
Crown Brushes is my go-to brand, as they are great quality brushes for affordable prices.
Other standard tools to have in your professional makeup kit include little fan brushes (for mascara) and palettes. Personally, I prefer acrylic palettes because they don’t keep the product cold. Metal palettes can sometimes tend to do that.
Remember:
The fabulous part about being a makeup artist is that there will ALWAYS be something new to discover, whether it’s a new product or trend! But before buying each product you have a crush on, try to achieve the result with what you already have.
A makeup artist must know how to mix and adapt textures! The best makeup doesn’t come from the best product – it comes from great technique.
Thank you for all the amazing tips, tricks, common sense, and wisdom!!!