Minimalism and Makeup Artists: Part 2

minimalism and makeup artists

‘Just in case’ often becomes wasted space.
Minimalism is about intentionality. Edit ruthlessly.

We love talking about this subject and have spent the better part of the last year trying to edit down what we own in our kit. Thanks for your feedback on Part 1, we hope you like Part 2! It’s so great to know that many of you are taking an interest in being more mindful, and we welcome you on this journey with us to make the small differences count. Here are some more ways we can approach minimalism as makeup artists:

When you find a good product, stick with it!

It might be a holy grail moment, but it does happen occasionally for makeup artists; when you find that perfect product. The only problem is that, due to social media and marketing, we are constantly seduced by new products. Consequently, some makeup artists give in to that temptation and end up with 10 different brands of the same thing in their kit. It’s great to try new things, but if you are committed to practicing a minimalist approach and you already have ideal items in your kit, stick with them. They have earned a space in your kit and deserved to be used to completion.

Learn when to be a price shopper and when to invest in quality

Quality not quantity, guys. It’s better to have a small range of amazing foundations, than an overwhelming number of mediocre ones. A better quality, highly pigmented product will often mean you will need to use less of it, prolonging its’ life span. Save the bargain buys for products that don’t require higher end brands (mascara, lip pencils etc). Make your decisions based on the quality of the product, not how cheap it is.

‘We go on multiplying our conveniences only to multiply our cares. We increase our possessions only to the enlargement of our anxieties.’ – Anna Brackett

Space Saver: Consolidate individual products into palettes

If you’re someone who has a lot of individually potted items in your kit, a suggestion might be to consolidate them all by category into one single palette. This not only saves space, but is a great way to keep your shades together and make them easier to find in your kit. Lipsticks are another great one to do this for, and by slicing a small tip off the bullet of each colour into a palette, you have the perfect organised assortment without having to carry around the full sized bullet. Have a large collection of lipsticks? Categorise them into seperate palettes for each colour group. It’s handy AND scrumptious to look at. Lisa Eldridge is the queen of this method!

Think about how application can affect your product use

It’s one you don’t think about, but your makeup application can be key to saving product. When administering product onto your palette to use, think intentionally about de-potting less as you can always go back for more. Be mindful abut how you apply your product and work on building up in thin layers as opposed to trying to sheer out one thick layer. These observations can help you save more product in the long term, which means a reduction in re-purchases!

After so many centuries of making our mark on this planet, it only seems right that we start to really think about removing some of that footprint in whatever way we can.