Agony Al: Most Used Kit Products
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You asked: What products are professional makeup artists actually using in their kit?
Though we try and pretend we aren’t, humans are hardwired to be nosy. That’s why MTV’s Room Raiders was allowed to air, What’s In My Bag videos rack up millions of views and close friend stories exist, duh.
When I tell people I’m a makeup artist, I’m almost always met with a barrage of questions: “what foundation do you use?”, “does primer really work?”, “my cousin is a makeup artist, why don’t you use the same eyeshadows as her?” etc. etc. and honestly, I completely get it. I LOVE to mooch in other artists’ kits and I devour articles where iconic MUAs recommend their favourites; makeup artist recommendations are golden, because we know what works under 4k camera just as well as we do grainy, iphone clurb pictures.
No one product works for every person, but my top five most used products definitely work for as many people as possible - I’m gay, so I don’t drive and need my kit to be compact - and I don’t think I could cope without them.
___STEAY_PAYWALL___
Squalane Oil
I use The Ordinary’s squalane, which comes in a dropper bottle that is both sanitary makes me feel like Bill Nye the Science Gay.
If it were financially viable to do so, I would bathe in squalane. There is not a nanometre of the body this oil doesn’t work on.You can use this workhorse product for anything from taming flyaways, to removing makeup, or even making matte cream products more emollient. My favourite way to use it, however, is for skin prep.
If you’ve ever sat in my makeup chair, chances are I’ve prepped your skin with squalane. Squalane is a more stable version of squalene, one of the lipids (oils) our body naturally produces and is a lightweight, quick absorbing oil that locks moisture into the skin, helps prevent fine lines, and eases dry patches.
Not only is squalane a fast acting moisturiser, but it also shows me quickly what type of skin my client has. I let a couple of drops sit on the face and see how it reacts to the skin; on oilier areas the squalane may not have fully absorbed so I know I’ll need to concentrate powder and mattifying primer here, while on drier spots the skin will have sucked the oil straight in.
The molecular size of squalane is similar to that of the sebum our bodies secrete, so the oil makes an excellent base for makeup, hydrating dry skin and tricking oilier skin types into not producing any more oil.
La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baum
An alarming number of tubes, but it really is THAT good.
When squalane isn’t enough, I whip out my miracle moisturiser: La Roche Posay’s Cicaplast Baume.
This balmy moisturiser is designed to repair damaged skin and has an array of gentle, deeply nourishing ingredients like Vitamin B5 (also known as panthenol, this ingredient is a super hydrating anti-inflammatory that speeds up the skin’s healing process) and madecassoside (you might know this as centella, cica or tiger grass, it’s great for calming inflamed skin that’s prone to acne or rosacea).
I always have a tube on hand and have used this product as a lip balm, to soothe sunburned skin, on cuts, and even as a barrier against mosquitos. Most often though, it’s to use as a mask on uber dry clients, whether that’s for a quick five minute fix ahead of makeup application, or for them to take away and wear overnight ahead of a day in front of cameras.
I’ve just wrapped a tv series and this product had everybody from the actors to the director and even crew pulling out their phones to buy it because they were shocked at how effortlessly it soothed their irritated skin. Unfortunately, straight men still dominate film crews, so you know a product works when a man in his forties is rushing to cop it.
Viseart Grande Pro Palette
When I tell people how much this palette costs, they look at me like I’ve told them I’m a Scientologist and would like to invite ‘em for a capacity analysis test. Yes, these eyeshadows are expensive. Yes, they’re neutral shades. Yes, they’re all matte. I promise, I have not been indoctrinated, Viseart eyeshadows aren’t space rocks or snake oil, they’re just…good.
While the colour story isn’t the most exciting, these reliable matte eyeshadows Put. In. Work. and can be used on everybody from the palest of pale to rich, deep skin. You can use them for eyebrows, to bronze and contour, and I’ve even added under eye coverage and lined a lip with my beloved Viseart eyeshadows.
I’ve been disappointed by shadows with patchy formulas, that fade throughout the day, drop down all over the face or aren’t pigmented enough for deep skin. Viseart have NEVER wronged me.
Mac lipsticks
My most used shades are Down To An Art (perfect peachy nude), Taupe (warm toned brown), Ruby Woo (the most iconic shade! A blue based red that gives every skin tone whiter teeth), Honeylove (warm toned, pale, beigey nude that I use as a centre shade on most nude lips), Velvet Teddy (a mauvey, rose brown that Kylie Jenner popularised. I get asked for this shade LOADS), Mehr (my favourite pink lipstick of all time; a flattering, warm tone) and Chilli (this burnt orange, bricky shade is my ultimate spicy Autumn lipstick).
Mac is a brand that dips in and out of popularity, but their lipsticks always have and always will be a staple in my kit. Recognisable, accessible and in a formula you can count on. Brides ask me for Honeylove, my assistant knows what I mean if I shout for Diva and you can never go wrong with Velvet Teddy - don’t knock the classics!
Fenty Gloss Bomb
Baby Brut is the Gloss Bomb shade I’m stanning most atm, it’s a sheer, milky peach with shimmer and I am manifesting it being released in full size.
Lip gloss is a tricky product for makeup artists; they’re a continuity nightmare for tv work, no bride wants gloss smeared all over their dress, and sticky .
Enter: Fenty Gloss Bomb. It smells great, it feels moisturising on the lips, and the OG formula is sheer enough on the lips that it fades gracefully.
It’s very rare that I finish a lip gloss, but I think I’m on my third bottle of Fussy and fifth of Fenty Glow. If Rihanna never released music again I couldn’t be mad at her because of this formula.
Writing this list was HARD, there’s so many products I swear by and couldn’t do my makeup without. Wanna know more? Let me know if you’d like a part 2, a deeper dive into my professional kit or any other beauty questions by emailing at hello@polyesterzine.com with subject line AGONY AL, or DMing @lipglosslezza on Instagram.
XOXO, Agony Al
