Selling off items from my makeup kit!

Check out the page here: instagram.com/makeupkitclearout

Just comment with your email to claim an item.

There are plenty of items from my stage makeup kit if you need to stock up to do yours for an upcoming show.

I have range of colors suitable for fair to dark complexion as well.


Buy a full face (foundation, blush, 2 eyeshadows and a lip product) and I'll throw in a pair of my favorite KoKo lashes for free :)

email me for any questions

This is (probably) why you "suck" at your own makeup

            Now, first thing, I don't think you suck at your own makeup. I just phrase it this way because of how many friends and clients come to me and use such terminology. But let me be clear, whereas some may think I've got some natural gift for this makeup thing, don't be fooled. It's been a loooonggg road.

Orange brows, blotchy foundation, no concept of concealer or blending. The me from my 20s had a lot to learn!

             What I've come to understand is that makeup is like anything else in which someone can excel.  Especially if one has a natural talent for it or something like it. If someone is naturally artistically minded and decides to invest time and energy into makeup, it will be easy for them to develop strong skill. All the women on my mother's side of the family are artists of one medium or another. My grandmother was an amazing oil painter, she had incredible eye for detail. And my mom could whip up a fantastic graphic design or sketch in seconds. I'm no exception to the lineage. I grew up drawing and loving art and music. And my time in theatre in high school gave me plenty of practice in stage makeup. But for the majority of my twenties, I couldn't have cared less about cosmetics. I was having a fancy day if I bothered with lipstick and eyeliner!

           I didn't start even paying much attention to more than that until I was in my late twenties and started watching YouTube tutorials one day. I started playing with brushes (I think I only ever used my fingers until that point o.O), eye shadows and so on. When I did my first bikini competition I did my own makeup because I didn't want to pay someone else. I kept doing research on stage makeup and learning tips from people on YouTube and did a decent-enough job at my own face. It got better for the second show. By the end of that year, I had a request from one of my teammates to do her stage makeup. My business as an MUA grew from those experiences. But I never just "threw something together." I'm perfectionistic and spent many, many hours practicing makeup on myself and friends before I took a dime for any service. 

Stage makeup for second show. Still hadn't figured out that blotchy foundation issue (among other things).

                 Over the years, my skill with makeup became my main interest because a turn in my health forced me to stop exercising a live a more sedentary life. Doing stage makeup kept me in an environment I truly enjoyed and around a lot of positive and inspiring people until I was able to have energy enough to exercise again. When you've got two years to kill being a tired little couch spud, all those hours I had been spending in the gym transitioned into education and practice in makeup. 

                  So, because I had a lot of free time and an artistic bent to my personality, makeup became something that I could be more inclined to thrive in once my energy was devoted to it. 

                     

A video posted by Amanda Senter (@amandasentermua) on Oct 30, 2015 at 7:14pm PDT

                And the only thing stopping you from being better at makeup, is probably the fact that you're more passionate about other things! And that's awesome! But even if you don't have creativity in your bones or a passion for makeup, you can still be really good at it.

Here are my tips for improving your makeup game:

- Pick one thing you want to improve upon (like lip lining or winged eyeliner) and learn about it. Start with pro makeup artists, typically they can be better at giving step-by-step instructions than your average youtube tutorial. There are plenty of books and videos available to suit the way you best learn.

- Practice for 10 minutes at night before you wash your face. If it sucks, it's no big deal, you can wash it off and there's no pressure to get out the door!

- More often than not, the problem is not the product, it's the technique you're using. Many people are constantly chasing down the "perfect foundation" or the "perfect eyeliner" or whatever. Don't get trapped by consumerism. The makeup companies that real pros (not instagram imitations) use, such as Ben Nye, RCMA, and so on, aren't flashy or made for the average consumer. But usually are less expensive AND work just as well or even better than what you can buy at Sephora for 4x the amount.

- Practice with drugstore makeup and art brushes from craft stores. While you're learning, save some major coin! Art store brushes (you can find amazing eye, lip and face brushes at Michael's) are typically only a few dollars, and many mainstream makeup brushes are modeled after them anyway. 

- Take pictures and video of yourself as opposed to always relying on the mirror. The lighting and change of angles will show you quickly the kind of progress you're making each week and areas you still need to work on or things you might miss when you get used to your own reflection. 

Let me know if this helps!