Your career as a makeup artist revolves around your clients and their satisfaction – without them, you wouldn’t be a working professional! In order to keep your reputation strong (and your clients safe), you’ll need to maintain a hygienic set of makeup tools, and an immaculate makeup kit. We realize this isn’t easy, especially when you’re moving from appointment to appointment quickly.
This is where disposable products come in! Stick with us as we run through a series of must-haves for your makeup kit that are only meant to be used once, and make sure your kit stays as clean as possible for your clients!
Cotton swabs
Let’s start with some products that everyone recognizes and trusts – cotton swabs have been around for almost a century, and their lasting power is no surprise! These are extremely versatile for makeup artists, as they can be used to tidy up eyeshadow, create a perfectly smudged eye, and make sure lipstick stays within the lines. Sure, you could depend on brushes for these tasks, but this is where hygiene gets called into question.
Makeup artists are busy people, and even the best of us forget sometimes to sanitize our brushes after an application. It happens! However, this is a very dangerous mistake to make, because the longer bacteria and old makeup build up on brushes, the more risk you’re exposing your clients to. With a disposable swab, you won’t have to worry about contaminating your clients or cleaning brushes at all! It eliminates some work for you, and also ensures that your client is happy and healthy in the process.
Generic or brand name swabs can be purchased at your local drugstore for a cheap price, as well, and fit nicely into a makeup kit. They’re really a necessity!
Makeup remover pads
There will always be clients who want to look their best before a makeup appointment, and will sit down in your chair with a face full of makeup. We respect this – many people won’t leave the house without tidying themselves up a bit! As a makeup artist, however, you’ll need to work with a blank canvas, and this means asking your client to remove their makeup. Now, there are numerous removers and wipes on the market, so you’ll really have your pick of options, but we recommend MAC Cosmetics’ Wipes, as they take makeup off quickly and leave your client’s face feeling fresh and clean. They also smell lovely!
The great thing about makeup remover pads is that they can be used quickly and then tossed in the garbage afterwards, preventing any germs from circulating on a sponge or cloth. Your clients will also love a wipe that makes them feel clean and radiant!
Disposable makeup spatulas
A popular choice for makeup kits is palettes, whether they be foundation, eyeshadow, or lip color palettes. These are cost-effective, convenient ways for makeup artists to pack their makeup kits without carrying too many products, and are also often packaged beautifully! These great features aside, however, these palettes need tools that will allow you to remove the product from the palette hygienically and easily, especially if you’re using a variety of different colors, and different palettes.
The solution? Disposable makeup spatulas! These are little tools built for scooping out cream products like the ones mentioned above, but they are meant for one or two uses, and then should be discarded. This means that you can use one spatula for a lip color, one for an eye color (or two, depending on how you feel and what the client requires), and yet another one for foundation. They’re only meant for one use, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning each individual spatula once you’re done scooping out the product. Just scoop, apply product, and then toss the tools!
Powder puffs
There are so many uses for powder puffs, we would need a separate article to list them all! For the purposes of this particular article, though, we’ll stick to why they’re an excellent disposable addition to your hygienic makeup kit. First of all, they’re perfect for setting your client’s makeup once it’s complete – while their makeup is still wet, the puff can be used to press powder directly onto their skin and ensure everything stays put. Also, placing a small puff on your hand while applying makeup will prevent any oil from your hands from getting on your client’s face, as makeup artists sometimes find themselves resting their hand on their client during the makeup application. Hey, it happens! Think of a powder puff as a shield, in this case.
Whether you’re setting makeup with a powder puff, or using it to protect your client’s face, there won’t be any need to sanitize the puff afterwards. This can be time consuming for makeup artists, so disposable puffs are a great investment. Similar to cotton swabs, powder puffs can be found at drugstores, and instead of throwing them away after an appointment, you can actually offer them to your client. They can add this to their makeup tools, or just keep it as a souvenir!
Antibacterial wipes
When cleaning your makeup tools and making sure everything is hygienic, it’s easy to overlook the most obviously dirty area of all – your makeup bag itself! Some makeup artists don’t even think to clean the inside of their makeup bags, and this is a huge faux-pas, as anything unsanitary within your bag will immediately contaminate everything else. And despite your best efforts to keep everything clean and tidy, it’s not always possible to be perfect.
This is why antibacterial wipes are key. Once a week, take everything out of your makeup bag and spend a few moments wiping the inside down with antibacterial wipes. Be sure to wipe until all the makeup residue is gone. This will take some time, of course, but think about it this way – if you’re using disposable makeup products, you won’t be spending as much time sanitizing and cleaning the tools in your kit, so you can ensure the inside of the bag is germ-free! Drugstore-brand wipes work very well for the inside of makeup bags, and will kill any germs present within your kit in seconds.
