As a professional makeup artist for the film and fashion industries, it’s essential that I have a wide range of cosmetics to hand, and I simply can’t skimp on quality - poor quality makeup makes my job harder and with the quality of today’s cameras, with everyone shooting in digital or HD, poor quality makeup shows.

That’s not to say that I will always pay through the nose for my materials; being a makeup artist’s the same as any other freelance job, be it construction work or computer repairs - you want to get the best deal you can on your materials, but you can’t use the own branded cosmetics from your local supermarket. I’m quite fortunate in that I can get industry discount and can get my makeup, brushes and other essentials at cost rather than paying a mark up, but even if I didn’t, I’d be sure I spent the time shopping around to find the best possible deal on the quality I needed.

The main difference I’ve found when using makeup from quality manufacturers over lower-end brands is their coverage, whatever kind of product it is. Foundation, for example, should be applied smoothly and evenly over the face with particular attention paid to the ’soft lines’ areas such as around the eyes and a high quality foundation will cover far more evenly with less effort than a lesser one, which in my experience will sometimes come out lumpy or at least will take a lot more work to get the same effect as a better one. For film or especially fashion work, this is time that I really don’t have - at a recent fashion show that I worked, I had to get seven girls ready to go in less than an hour; that was a challenge and if my brushes and cosmetics weren’t up to the task, it would’ve been nearly impossible, and an artist’s reputation relies on getting a good job done quickly.

Even for personal use, it makes sense to purchase high quality makeup and brushes rather than cheaper, low quality alternatives as these will go on quicker and provide a better finish, enabling you to look your best whether you’re going for a day in the office or out to dinner, and they also help making getting out of the door in the morning easier too, since it doesn’t take anywhere near as long to apply them.

All this isn’t to say that you have to spend your whole month’s wages on your cosmetics - a little time spent shopping around online and you can often source good quality makeup at a price which is far less than you may be expecting, whether you need it for personal use at home or to prepare the models for a show in Milan.

Anna Stenning is a makeup artist with many years of experience working for the film and fashion industries. Find out more about cosmetics at http://www.crownbrush.co.uk/

[tags]Cosmetics[/tags]