Tiffany_B wrote:
If a friend of yours sells the product then I would strongly suggest reaching out to her and purchasing 1-2 of the products you're interested in and seeing how they work for you and your clients e.g. it may be beneficial to set up a test shoot for just this purpose. My rationale is that while some products are certainly more pigmented, longer wearing, or just plain "better" than others that only you can determine if something is worth adding to your kit. I've been on set with pro MUA's who've whipped out drugstore products and made a model look amazing whereas in the hands of an amateur even the most expensive product can look cheap because it's poorly on inappropriately applied.

Thanks for the input. You make a valid point. My friend is a great MUA and I definitely want to try Younique's fiber mascara.

Tiffany_B wrote:
If a friend of yours sells the product then I would strongly suggest reaching out to her...

Tiffany speaks with tenured wisdom here...  Ours is such a very  small industry and what goes around comes around... All who have excelled in our craft did so by standing on the shoulders of those who had gone before them...

Build your web of contacts and colleagues with care and diligence... so much of your high end work will likely come from referrals... emerging artist tend to remember those who gave them a hand during the beginnings of their journey... You can never have too many colleagues in this industry...

Case in point... An artist whom I initially trained (and who became my bridal makeup partner) landed a job as a rep for a local cosmetics company... To increase her on-line perceived worth we put together a Concept for a Cosmetics Ad Campaign for a popular product she sold...

The entire team here was assembled as a test creative and everyone truly benefited... 
It's a matter of "thinking outside the box" 
This concept series also was used to close bridal clients...
In the end the revenue stream it generated far exceed expectations...

Food for thought... Tiffany is spot on about the quality of the final look being dependent entirely on the skill set of the artist... When I was in training one of our instructors brought in a rep from Bobby Brown who stated he could do amazing work with only a kohl pencil and what most women carry in their purse... He proved this in spades by doing a fierce smokey eye with only a tube of lipstick, and pressed powder compact and his kohl pencil...  It's really not about the brand/produce it's about the expertise of the artist... At least in my humble experience... 

Hope this helps...

Thomas Van Dyke wrote:

Tiffany speaks with tenured wisdom here...  Ours is such a very  small industry and what goes around comes around... All who have excelled in our craft did so by standing on the shoulders of those who had gone before them...

Build your web of contacts and colleagues with care and diligence... so much of your high end work will likely come from referrals... emerging artist tend to remember those who gave them a hand during the beginnings of their journey... You can never have too many colleagues in this industry...

Thank you, yes, this helps and it's another reason I want to support my friend. When I first started, I became a Mary Kay consultant to support a friend and because I needed to start somewhere with my kit. Though my port here is outdated, I made do with what I had at the time. Right now, I'm building that web among my former classmates.

KathyAragon wrote:
Hi guys-

I just want to poke in here really quick and mention that some consumer based makeup does not react well to strobe lighting. There may be too much of a bounce back if there are too many minerals, titanium dioxide, or other ingredients in the product. This is the case with the line in question.

If you are looking into an affordable makeup line that is perfect for all medians then check out LimeLight by Alcone. It is actually a new line that combines the top selling pro makeup that Alcone in NY sells to makeup artists that are made for photography and every day wear. It is now available to the public. It is the only product I use for all of my photography, celebrity, and tv work. Even my husband who is a beauty/commercial photographer noticed a huge difference in how it shows up on camera, saving him on retouching time from other products that bounced back wrong or looked splotchy. Hope this helps.

Thank you! I'll check those out as well!

Alannah The Stylist wrote:
I don't know if this is a relevant question, but is Yonique cruelty free? I've been wanting to buy their products but I only use cruelty free makeup.

The answer is "yes" AND "no", the company doesn't directly conduct animal testing but they may not be 100% cruelty free based on where they source some of their raw materials from: http://elephant-room.org/younique-anima … elty-free/

Tiffany_B wrote:

The answer is "yes" AND "no", the company doesn't directly conduct animal testing but they may not be 100% cruelty free based on where they source some of their raw materials from: http://elephant-room.org/younique-anima … elty-free/

Thank you!!!