As any makeup artist will tell you, it’s not just about the product, but it’s about the tools too.  You can take the most amazing formulation of eyeshadow, but if you’ve only got fingers or those nasty bristly stubby brushes that we all get given by our grannies, there’s only so much you can do.  Yes, you can do smudgy smokey looks, and a barely there look, but you can’t... 

Having recently broken the handle of my current makeup kit case, thus making it impossible to carry, only wheel (sounds good, impossible to get in and out of my car, up or down stairs/steps etc), www.Beauty-Boxes.com very kindly sent me a Sahar to keep me going. I was a little sceptical that my huge kit would fit into the drawers, but I am very impressed.  Its like a mini TARDIS!  The drawers are... 

So, you have the makeup, you have the brushes, but where do you keep it all? All makeup artists work in different ways, out of different kits and like different things. For me, I like to be able to open a case or a drawer and see all the cosmetics at a glance, but I know that many of the MAF makeup artists prefer to work out of one large space, with clear pencil cases inside, housing perhaps all their... 

      Since I became a MUA I’ve always used a MAC 190 as my main foundation brush and always been pretty happy with that. I have 2 of these, along with about 4 others (Mac and other brands) but have never really been 100% happy with any of them. I’ve found that over the past few months my 190 isn’t performing as well as I’d like it to and last month the head came away from... 

I have used these lashes before when I lived in London and they were readily available from my local beauty wholesalers, but it was nice to be able to try them again. You get two pairs of lashes in a pack for £2.99 which is excellent value. I wore these today with the glue that came with them. I’m not a fan of the white glue that comes with lashes as I tend to use Duo glue, but I put them on with... 

Ruby & Millie have got a fantastic selection of makeup brushes, in both pro length and makeup-bag length. In my own makeup bag I have the large eyeshadow brush, for sweeping nude base over my lid and for blending colours together.  The medium eyeshadow brush is a really versatile one.  I’ve got about 5 of these for layering various colours onto my lids. In my pro kit, I have even more! ... 

This is such a great product!  Makeup Artists the world over are well used to ‘stippling’ techniques, using a stiff tipped brush and dabbing the makeup on.  Well, this ups the game and brings the old technique into the modern age. You use the sponge (which is a very very dense sponge, we’re not talking bath sponge here!) by bouncing it on the skin and rolling where necessary! It... 

Every woman has something in their makeup bag or medicine cupboard that she pulls on whenever there is a cut, bruise, bash, blemish, dry patch or irritant etc.  For years, I’ve used Virgin Vie’s Guardian Angel balm, but I’ve not been as keen on it since they took it out of the tub and put it in a tube, and seemed to change the formula.  Recently, I discovered a cheaper and better... 

Sam Donald www.SamDonald.com As we all know, you have to have great products to achieve a great look, but you also need good tools behind you to get soft yet clean lines, without fallout and wasteage. I’m a brush junkie.  I find it irresistible to walk past a cosmetics counter without having a good look at their brush range and buying at least one. I have a brush kit with around 100 brushes... 

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that I am a clean queen as far as makeup hygiene is concerned.  If you’re in the dark, just take a moment to read the Safe Beauty article at the top of this page. In the last 2 weeks, I have been the makeup artist at 4 weddings (total number of faces 21) and attended a Leukaemia Research Fundraiser offering makeovers and the like (total faces made over... 

by Amanda Roberts I really like this brush. I bought one a few months ago for personal use, and have just got another one for my kit. The tip is very pointed so it’s good for concealing spots, without applying too much concealer to the surrounding area. It’s also a great shape for under eye dark circles. And the best bit of all is, it only costs 60p if you buy it with your Boots/ruby &...