Essential Items For Your Make Up Bag

When putting together your make up collection, it’s easy to lose yourself in a world of sparkling lip glosses and shimmering eyeshadows – and completely forget the essentials of any home make up kit. Here’s a quick list of those boring, but essential, items:

- Cotton pads.

Inevitably, at some stage you’re going to apply make up and it’s going to go wrong. Keep a set of cotton pads handy in the same bag as your make up products to help make those unfortunate slips clean up easily.

- Eyelash curlers.

A mascara is only as good as the lashes it is going on to, so keep a set of eyelash curlers handy. Remember to apply a thin layer of mascara before using the curlers so you don’t damage your eyelashes.

- Vaseline

This small and affordable product can do anything, from smoothing out eyebrows to making lips appear glossy and healthy. Keep Vaseline in your make up bag so you have a go-to for any make up malfunctions, or just in case you want some extra shine.

- A pencil sharpener.

Eyebrow pencils and eyeliner always seem to run out at the least opportune moments, so get into the habit of keeping a size applicable sharpener with the products themselves. For total convenience, you can now buy liners and pencils that come fitted with a sharpener on the other end of the product.

- A pocket sized mirror.

It may seem obvious, but many women apply their make up in front of a bathroom mirror so don’t remember to keep a close up pocket mirror in their make up bags.

Where To Find Discontinued Cosmetics

Every girl has a product in their make up bag that they simply couldn’t live without. Maybe it’s the mascara that curls your eyelashes better than any lash curlers have ever managed, or the shade of lipstick that is the perfect match for your complexion; whatever it is, we all have our favourite, essential products. But what would you do if that product was suddenly discontinued?

The misfortune of discontinued cosmetics is something that hits thousands of women and girls each year, and it’s no exagerration to say it can be somewhat distressing. Make up and cosmetic brands have a high turnover of products, and unless something is consistently wildly successful, they could discontinue the product at any time. It’s a nightmare, especially if your favourite product is expensive and stocking up isn’t an option.

If your favourite product is discontinued and no longer available, don’t panic just yet – you do have options. First and foremost, call the manufacturer or distributor; they may have excess stock available for you to purchase. This won’t last forever of course, but it should give you the chance to stock up.

Your second stop for discontinued cosmetics should be an online auction site, such as eBay. Smaller sellers often have a lot of stock left to sell, and there are also specialists in discontinued cosmetics who have their own methods of obtaining the product.

Thirdly, contact any stores (online or physical) that you know sold the product when it was available. If they have unsold stock, they may sell it to you for cost price.

How To Avoid Make Up Disasters

Most of us have probably seen our fair share of make up disasters, and it’s never pretty. The usual suspects tend to be involved in creating such an unpleasant look: tide marks of foundation, over-applied blusher that makes the wear look uncomfortably hot no matter what the weather outside is doing, lipstick that misses the edge of the lips and, of course, the dreaded ‘panda eyes’ of mascara and eyeliner.

When it comes to wearing and using make up, there is an eternal truism of the beauty and fashion industry: less is more. The more make up you layer on, the more likely you are to look like a clown. Make up is about enhancing your natural assets, not repainting an entirely new face over your existing features. If you try and do the latter, there’s no way it can look decent.

The trick to getting make up right is a good mirror and good lighting in the room you apply it in. Many women make the mistake of applying make up in dimly lit rooms, where they can’t get a full look at their handiwork. You need to be able to see all the angles of your face (there are specialist mirrors that show different angles at the same time, if you feel like splashing out) clearly, so you can judge exactly what is going where and how it looks.

Many of us fall in to bad habits with make up and products, so keep things fresh by emptying out your make up bag and studying the products within carefully. If something hasn’t been used in six months, throw it away. By keeping things up-to-date and making the occasional new purchase, you can avoid wearing the same ‘look’ for years on end.