Elle Hitchens
May 6, 20202 min
As a professional wedding makeup artist I need to have a wide range of options to suit my large clientele.. I work with everyone and with every skin tone and type. This means I need products that will suit everyone from flowergirls to Grandmas and all in between! (To be fair little young ones don't require much but my goodness do they love a sparkly lipgloss!)
... SHOUT OUTS to the 7 year old I let go through my lipgloss collection for her favourite colour and she went for the brightest boldest red in the pack - GO GIRL!
I've tried many products in my 14 years as a makeup artist, some stay in my kit and some don't. Just because a product has a hefty price tag does not mean it's the best fit for you. Sometimes you're paying for the name and/or the packaging, believe me i've tried and tested some pricey products only to be disappointed with their performance. If a high street brand has a product you love and it works for you then stick with it, expensive is not always best.
I have high street items in my kit - especially mascara! I love a L'Oreal or Maybelline mascara and find they do just as good a job if not better than some of the high end ones.
Some of the brands I've tried and tested and keep in my kit are:
Hourglass
Chanel
Dior
Lancome
Nars
Laura Mercier
Charlotte Tilbury
Marc Jacobs
Becca
MAC
Giorgio Armani
By Terry
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Chantecaille
Stila
Givenchy
MUFE
Urban Decay
Illamasqua
Morphe
Color Pop
Tarte
Clinique
Pat McGrath
Skincare by Neals Yard, Weleda and Kiehls
I AM WORKING TOWARDS A VEGAN / 100% CRUELTY FREE KIT
This is a slow process. As a product gets used up I am replacing with vegan/cruelty free options. I also need to test the products for performance before they go into the kit. A makeup artists kit is built up over several years of trialling and testing and obviously it's also expensive so things need to be bought in stages. One day i'll get there but if there is a particular brand or product you would like me to use then please let me know and i will happily purchase something specific for my bridal clients!
Get in touch if you have any recommendations or would like to know more about certain products.