Make-Up School Essentials Part 1

I have gotten several requests to list down the stuff that you will need when you consider attending make-up classes. Note that, with the exception of Maquillage Professionel, materials like make-up brushes, make-up and other stuff are not included in the school fees. So it would be best to build up your stuff even before going to make-up school so you won't be overwhelmed as soon as the teachers hand out to you the list of materials that you would need.

As such I have summarized below the essential materials you need to prepare should you would consider going to Make-Up School. This is just the initial installment as there are quite a lot of materials needed for school.

A. TOOLS:

1. A decent Make-Up Brush Set (with a wide variety of brush types)

It is a must that you get yourself a good set of make-up brushes. Ideally, if you can actually afford it, it would be best to get the actual brush brands you intend to use when you go pro, like the much coveted MAC brushes. This is so you can familiarize yourself already with each brush type and how it works for you. You would need to spend a lot for it though given that a single MAC brush can cost from P1,200+ to as much as P3,000 each.

But if you want to be practical, it would be best to choose more affordable brands like the local ones Suesh, Dashe or Charm brush sets. I personally chose the Suesh 21 pc. brush set. It may not be the best quality brush set out there, but it's good enough for school , has enough brush range and most importantly it gets the job done. I used my set the entire time I attended school and it still looks pretty brand new after. Although I personally find some of the face brushes to be just a little scratchy, but still manageable. The only thing lacking from this set is a blending brush, which is super essential in creating good eye-make-up. So you may need to buy an additional blending brush, like the MAC 217 aside from this set.

For make-up school you need to have the ff. brushes at the very least:



-FOUNDATION BRUSH: a synthetic foundation brush like the MAC 190 will do so you don't really have to buy the MAC 187 for this. I have both and during school, I would reach for the MAC 190 more often than the 187. The foundation brush included in the Suesh set is also good enough.

-CONCEALER BRUSH: a synthetic concealer brush would be better for creme/liquid concealer application. I find the small one included in the Suesh 21 pc good for concealing flaws. But it would be better to have a bigger one too.

-POWDER BRUSH: a full dome powder brush, can be natural or synthetic, as long as it gets enough make-up and is not scratchy. You can try the MAC 150 powder brush as it's big enough and would easily apply powder on the entire face. The powder brush included in the Suesh set is also a good powder brush but it feels a little scratchy during the first few uses.

-BLUSH BRUSH: I prefer using a fluffy blush brush as it easily deposits color. For MAC, you might want to get the MAC 116 brush. The one included in the Suesh set is okay but I just wish it's shape was a little more fuller.

-CONTOUR BLUSH: an angled fluffy brush would be perfect, just like the MAC 168. The Suesh contour brush is also okay but similar to the blush brush, they could've made it a little fuller and softer.

-several EYESHADOW (at least 4) in various sizes: the ones included in the Suesh set are really good so you can put off purchasing the MAC ones (213, 239,  242, etc.) for school especially if you want to be more practical.

-BLENDING BRUSH: If there's actually just one brush that you can get from MAC, then it should be the MAC 217 brush. No other blending brush I have tried so far, (i.e. Coastal Scents, Bedazz, Charm) has matched the 217. Although the one from Charm blends quite good, but is just too scratchy on the lids.

-EYELINER BRUSH: The one that comes in the Suesh set is good, even the one that comes free with the Maybelline gel liner is also good enough so there's really no pressure to get the MAC eyeliner brushes. Any brush that's soft but sturdy enough to line the brows using gel liners will be okay.

-ANGLED EYEBROW BRUSH: I honestly didn't like the one that came in the Suesh set as the bristles were just too uncontrollable for me. I prefer using the synthetic one I got from ShopSui (Megaga brand) or the MAC266 for defining the brows.

-EYEBROW SPOOLIE: Any will do and you can even use the disposable ones they gave you for free at the MAC counters. But it's a must that you have one as you will need this for grooming the brows and in removing excess mascara fom the lashes

-FAN BRUSH: The one that came with the Suesh set is also good. You just need the brush in dusting off excess makeup or in light application of highlighters.

-LIP BRUSH: The one that came with the Suesh set is also good. It's similar to MAC 316 that comes with a cover. I perdonally think any brand of lip brush will do but make sure the edge is tapered so it would be easier to apply lip color.

Anyway, these are ctually the brushes I always reached for during make-up class and  whenever I do make-up for myself and other people.

Aside from the brushes above, you would also need to invest on the ff. tools:

2. Tweezers (slanted and flat tip) - needed for grooming eyebrows, holding onto false eyelashes

3. Eyebrow scissors & razor  - for trimming/shaving eyebrows

4. Pencil sharpener - for sharpening pencil eyeliners, brow liners, lip liners

5. Mixing palette and spatula - for mixing liquid/creme make-up

6. Cup - to hold your brushes while working, don't use the ones made of glass though as you don't want to accidentally break them.

7. Train case - not really a must but it would be easier to lug your stuff around if you have a sturdy train case. If you can, opt for the one that comes with trolley so you can just push or pull it around.

Well, that would be it for now. I'll do a separate post on the other items like skin care and make-up products you need to have for school so watch out!

Charm Pro vs Dashe 21 Pc. Make Up Brush Sets

This Dec. 10 and 11 will be our finals for the Artistic Make-Up class at LCI. We're supposed to do 4 looks per day and I'm kinda panicking already on how I would make sure I have enough clean/usable brushes until my 4th look. I only have the Suesh 21 pc. set and several brushes from MAC which can probably last me for 2 -3 looks. I'm pretty sure I won't have enough time to wash and dry the brushes for the last look and was wondering if it's better for me to get another affordable brush set.

As such I'm actually torn between getting the Charm Pro 21 pc. brush set or the New Dashe 21 pc. brush set. Below is a comparison of the two sets based on the imformation I was able to get online:

Charm PRO set:
Price: 3,200 Pesos
Made from animal and synthetic hair
Brushes included in the set (from L-R):

1. retractable lip brush
2. fan brush
3. brow spoolie/lash brush
4. mini fan brush
5. eyebrow defining brush
6. bent liner brush
7. angled liner/brow brush
8. precise concealer brush
9. flat liner brush
10. precise crease blending brush
11. pencil point brush
12. angled shading brush
13. tapered blending brush
14. eye shader brush
15. wet/dry eyeshadow brush
16. concealer brush
17. angled contour brush
18. foundation brush
19. small powder/blush brush
20. large powder brush
21. duo fiber brush

New Dashe 21 pc. Brush set
Price: 2,500 Pesos
Made from animal and synthetic hair
Brushes included in the set (from L-R):

1. retractable lip brush
2. eyebrow comb
3. mascara brush
4. eyebrow brush
5. precise eyeliner brush
6. flat definer brush
7. mini shader brush
8. angled brush
9. blending brush
10. pencil brush
11. tapered blending brush
12. fan brush
13. eye shader brush
14. cream eyeshadow brush
15. concealer brush
16. foundation brush
17. contour brush
18. blush brush
19. round face blending brush
20. stippling brush
21. large powder brush

From the information above, it appears that Charm Pro has more variety and the mini fan brush is quite tempting as I've only seen this from MAC before. But I'm not quite sure if the additional 700 pesos would be worth it especially since I don't personally know anyone who has used this. It gets even more confusing especially since Dashe seems to offer more face and blending brushes at a more affordable price. Or is it better for me to just bring alng a blower so I can wash and dry my brushes? Hahaha

Has anyone among you tried any of these brushes before? Would appreciate it if you can share with me your thoughts on them...=)

Artisic Make-Up Day 1 @ LCI Manila

Yes! Mea and I enrolled at the Lasalle College International's Artistic Make-Up Weekend Course under RB Chanco. Among the 3 schools that offered the Weekend Make-Up courses, it seems LCI had the best course outline and instructor. Aside from this, LCI's real advantage is that they  offer an International Certificate plus apprenticeship hours.

And so we had our first class last Saturday, Oct 30. We are now actually the 27th batch for the Artistic Make-Up course at LCI. RB started the orientation via a little getting to know you with questions like, why take up the Artistic Make-Up Course in LCI, if we want to pursue make-up artistry, must have cosmetic item, favorite brand of make-up, favorite beauty icon, make-up artist, etc... It was fun as RB would wittily comment on each of our answers.

After the round of getting to know you's, she had asked us to choose our dressers and to bring our own personalized nameplates which we can post on our area for next week. She then discussed the essential tools and make-ups we would need for class. And boy was it a LOOONG list! I know I've started buying stuff for make-up school weeks ahead, but I never thought that I would need to buy a lot more. The good thing was she never forced us to buy expensive brands but instead offered us brands from low end to high end that we could use for class. I had never thought that local brands like Fanny Serrano, Ever Bilena and Nichido would make it to her list, but they were there and it provided us students with cheaper alternatives to MAC, Nars, Shu Uemura, Make Up For Ever, etc. I was also glad to see drugstore brands like Maybelline, L'Oreal, Covergirl, Max Factor and Revlon on her list as they are readily available everywhere.

We were also asked to purchase a set of brushes and she recommended either Suesh (which was actually pronounced as Sush, according to Nica, RB's teaching assistant) or Dashe' as good starter brush sets, i.e. if we are not yet ready to spend on MAC brushes. I personally asked RB which one among the two is better but she just safely said both are okay. She actually mentioned 3 sets we can choose from:

21 pc. set from Suesh @ P3,500

28 pc. set from Suesh @ P4,500

30 pc. set from Dashe @ P3,500

My classmates and I are actually confused on which set to get. I have heard a lot of good reviews already about Suesh brushes while I know little about Dashe. However the price point of the Dashe brush set is indeed much better than Suesh. Confusing right?

In the end, I chose to order the 21pc. set from Suesh since I was thinking, I have a few MAC brushes already and I still intend to add more of them in the near future. I'll be getting the Suesh set on our next session and hence I wouldn't know if I made the right choice until then.

After the class, some of my classmates and I had lunch at Greenbelt and went to Landmark and MAC to buy and reserve some of the stuff we need for next week. I still have a few more items from the list that I need to buy. Oh boy!

Anyway, I can't wait until this Saturday, we'll be having a MAC Master's Class under Mikee of MAC Glorietta. After which, we'll be heading back to school to learn about the prime look. I'm still looking for my model for Saturday, though. So if any of you are interested, the session will be from 1PM onwards. Just message me if you trust me enough to give you a make-over....hahaha...=)