I know it’s been a bit quiet around here this week so let me explain. I’ve decided to finally get started with this Freelance Makeup Artist thing. I’ve been seriously thinking about it but procrastinating at the same time. The new year is approaching fast so I need to get on the ball and handle my business. I’ve been putting together my kit for the past few weeks since I am on a “personal” makeup ban and I am just about done, just waiting for a few things in the mail. I needed some items that were available at Alcone so I took a little trip to their NYC boutique. For those who don’t know what Alcone is, it’s a Professional Makeup company that stocks the brands that the professionals use such as RCMA, La Femme, Kryolan and Ben Nye to name a few. Their makeup sponge wedges are said to be the best in the industry. You can shop online and find more information at www.alconeco.com. Since Alcone has a boutique in NYC, I called my order in this morning and went to pick it up after work.
I picked up the RCMA Foundation Sampler Palettes in Shinto and Ko along with the RCMA Foundation Thinner, Parian Spirit Brush Cleanser, 99% Isopropyl Alcohol, Disposable Mascara Wands, La Femme Eye Liner Sealer, Ben Nye Fireworks Fantasy Color Creme Wheel and some OCC Lip Tars.
RCMA Color Process Foundation is a favorite among the pros. It is a highly pigmented cream foundation that looks great in photographs, on TV and on film. All you need is a tiny amount mixed with the RCMA thinner or a moisturizer of your choice, and you can blend it from light to full flawless coverage. You can use it without mixing it by warming it up on your hand to thin it out a bit. The sampler kits in Shinto and Ko are included in Makeup School Kits and recommended as some of the best foundations to have in your kit when starting out. Each sampler palette has 18 shades and each shade can do about 8-10 complete faces. When you figure out the shades you will use the most, you can buy the full sizes for those shades and refill as necessary. The Shinto has beige/yellow undertones and the Ko has pink/red undertones. With this variety of 36 shades ranging from cool to warm you should be able to cover anyone who sits in your chair. The palettes are compact and easily fits in your kit. $72 each
RCMA Shinto Sampler Palette (no flash)
RCMA Ko Palette (no flash)
La Femme Eye Liner Sealer is said to be good to turn any powder shadow or pigment into a liquid liner or to seal liner for longer wear $4
The RCMA Foundation Appliance Thinner is used to thin out the cream RCMA Foundation to make it easier to blend, or to turn it into a liquid foundation. You can use it with other cream foundations as well $12
Parian Spirit Brush Cleaner is a heavy duty natural cleanser used by the pros to remove even the toughest of gunk from your brushes including glue. I was able to test the cleanser out tonight, review coming this weekend 🙂 $7
99% Alcohol is good for sanitizing makeup and for sanitizing and quick cleaning your brushes between uses $4
Ben Nye is another brand used by artists all over especially for stage makeup. The Fireworks Fantasy Color Creme Wheel is gorgeous with metallic shades ranging from a sheer iced white to a shimmery raspberry. These can be used as creme eyeshadow bases under any shimmer/frost eyeshadow, with a primer underneath of course to avoid creasing. You can also use these as highlighters and bronzers, and for face and body painting. The raspberry shade looks like it will be perfect under MAC cranberry eyeshadow… I also see Electra, Woodwinked, Amber Lights and Bronze Eyeshadow bases as well 😉 $16
I picked up OCC lip tars in Grandma and Hoochie and OMG I love them. These are my first OCC Lip Tars. I wanted to get a few more but the shades I wanted were out. I am going back to get a few more next week when they are restocked. No swatches until then because these babies deserve their own post $12.50 each
The ladies at Alcone were very helpful. It was time for them to go and they still took the time to help me when I needed a few more things. The boutique was small yet comfortable and nice on the eyes. I really wanted some of the infamous wedge sponges but they were out and have been for a while. Hopefully they will get some in soon. I can see Alcone will be one of my new favorite hangout spots lol.
Do you own any of these products in your personal stash or Make Up Artist Kit… What are your thoughts?
9 Responses
what a lovely haul hun,goodluck on the Makeup Artist freelance thing,Im sure u will do very well. Anyhoo I have 2OCC lip tar Melange&Anime love love them to bits,I even want to purchase more soon.
btw I gav u an award
Thank you so much hon. I love those shades. I actually planned to pick up both Melange and Anime as well as NSFW but they were all out. I should be getting them next week. I'm coming to check out the award 🙂
Girl happy that your on your freelance MUA grind, I have been at it from the start of the year and I enjoy everybit of it. I wanted to get the RCMA f/d palette but after much research found that most MUA’s said that it was too thick and required a thinner, so I ended up getting Graftobian which is awesome. The Ben Nye color creme is great, I have the Lumiere and it is great as a base for eyeshadows. My next thing is to purchase those lip tars since I have been getting loads of photo shoots lately. Best of luck on your endeavors sweetie and welcome to the MUA world.
Thank you so much Kim. I am glad that you're doing well with the Freelancing. Shoot, we might as well make some $$$ with this talent lol. I am excited to get started 🙂
I did indeed see that the RCMA Foundations are a bit thick and require a thinner so I picked up the thinner. I plan to add a few of the Graftobian Foundation Palettes to my kit as well in the future. I also want the Ben Nye Lumiere Color Wheel but it wasn't in stock. I'm still looking for it as well as a Kryolan Supracolor Palette. Definitely pick up some OCC lip tars girl, they are the bomb!
I just found the Lumiere Creme Color Wheel and the Rainbow Creme Wheel at Ricky's next to my job 🙂
Good Luck girl! I've been thinking about it too, and researching diff makeup. This post has been very helpful.
Thanks girlie. Let me know if you have any questions. I will be doing a post on my entire kit, I am just waiting for one more package. I will also be doing various reviews on products in my kit.
The colours in the Ben Nye palette are so vivid! I'm so glad that you've decided to take the big step forward with freelancing! Yay! Good luck, my dear! 🙂
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Thank you so much hon. Wait until you see the rest of the Ben Nye Color Wheels, gorgeous and so pigmented! 🙂