Make-up Artist Harrogate, Leeds, Ripon.

How to do a Makeup Bag Detox

As a Professional Freelance Makeup Artist, I offer private makeup lessons to clients from all age groups at all levels. And a fun but crucial part of what I do involves helping my clients sort out their makeup with a “Makeup Bag Detox”. I know if my own makeup bag feels cluttered or messy or I have the wrong things in it, I feel really disorganised.

freelance professional make-up artist harrogate

To help you do your own Makeup Bag Detox, here are some of my top tips:

1) Empty everything out and put into sections: brushes, eyes, cheeks, lips, pencils etc.

2) Throw away everything that is either empty or broken or that you haven’t used for 2 years or more. Most makeup
is safe to use for 2 years, after that it’s probably best to throw them out.

3) Take a good look at your brushes and throw away any that are really past their best. The rest will probably need a good wash so wash them in anti-bacterial hand wash under a hot tap and dry them flat on a towel. (For really dirty foundation brushes use a bit of washing up liquid as this will dissolve all the grease that has built up).

4) Test your mascaras to see how fresh they are by pulling the brush out and listening out for a lovely “slurp” sound. If there’s no sound, your mascara has probably dried out and should be thrown away. Mascaras are only really at their best for 2-3 months.

5) Take a look at your makeup and see if there are any obvious gaps. Maybe you have loads of eyeshadows but no lipsticks? Start a list of makeup you feel you need to buy. Do you have a primer? If not, maybe it’s time to try one. Check out this article by Vogue, which will help guide you on the best primer for you: Best Primers Article by Vogue.

6) Now onto your foundations: are you happy with yours? If yes then great, but if you feel you need to try something new, check out my advice on choosing the right foundation: How to choose the right foundation.

7) Finally sharpen all your pencils and throw any away that have lost their lids as they will now be too dry to use. (Make sure you always keep the lids on your pencils so they don’t dry out).

For more information about Mel’s makeup lessons or bridal makeup please contact her at: www.melenglandmakeup.com

Mel x