Now you can tell just by the title what im about to get into. There are alot of common mistakes amateurs and professional makeup artist make in this industry. I am guilty myself of a few of these(im not telling which lol). We all want to be the best makeup artist that we can so here are a few tips to help everyone out.
DO: When color matching foundation, match it to your jawline and neck. You always want a smooth transition.
DON'T: Use your cheek or hand to match foundation. I have even seen top professionals teach people in the webinars to match foundation by blending it into the cheek. Sure it will match your cheek, but alot of people like myself, the jawline is a darker shade, see the problem?
DO: Some people choose to apply foundation before or after doing the eyes(personally I do it after), if you need to apply anything after you have done the foundation and you know your hands will touch the face. Use a 4x4 or Kleenex to shield your hand from the face.
DON'T: Directly put your hand to the clients face, you could wipe off or smudge foundation and blush. If your anything like me, you might have makeup on your hand and dont realize it and now you have put that makeup on your clients face.
DO: When applying eye shadow or blush, tap the brush why its in the upward position, to get to excess product off the blush before applying it to the client.
DON'T: Blow on your brushes!, so you can put particles and germs from your mouth onto the brush to deposit on the clients face. Its just not sanitary!
DO: Always be honest with your clients about your product knowledge and education in the field If you dont know the answer to a question, dont be afraid to let people know you dont know. You can also let them know you will get back to them and try to find the information.
DON'T: LIE! Never give someone information that your unsure of, you could potentially harm a client if you give them information your not sure of on a product. They could use it and break out or have an allergic reaction. Your credibility with that client could be ruined, and trust me people will tell everyone about there bad experiences before the good.
DO: You should always clean your products and brushes after each gig. You should wash brushes atleast two times a week if not more depending on how often you have gigs. When washing your brushes its best to let them dry face down(brush guards come in handy with this), it helps them dry faster and get all the water out of the brush.
DON'T: Dry your brushes by placing them face up, water will get trapped and loosen the glue that holds the brush together. Also the hairs will start to shed out of your brush, and not to mention the germs that will settle into that brush eww lol.
There are plenty of Do's and what where you thinking? lol but i will save more of those for another day. We work in a field where alot of our clients are uneducated so they may or may not know if we are practicing proper makeup techniques, so its up to you to make sure your are on point with your work ethics. Do your best and until next time remember "Quality over Quantity".