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Why is it important to have the right tools a beauty blogger or beauty rep?
If you are a beauty blogger or you work with beauty products and demo them in Facebook lives, you will want to make sure to have a good arsenal of tools to help you look like a pro. Having the right tools can help set you apart from the rest of the crowd, which we know is HUGE!
So, in light of this, I have rounded up the best of the best. These are all products I own and LOVE. You might be asking, why do I know anything about this? Because for the past year and a half, I have been a rep for a network marketing cosmetics company and have done hundreds of live Facebook demos. I have trialed and error-ed and am ready to pass the torch to the next beauty star and hopefully, these products will give you the best chance at getting noticed.
Lighting is KEY
For Both Applying Your Makeup and Shooting Great Photos or Video!
If you are a beauty blogger, you’ll know that lighting is key! I started out with my phone, propped on a couple tissue boxes, and near a window. (I bet some of you are nodding your head here). While natural light always is best, sometimes it’s not always feasible. Most of the lives I did were at night so there wasn’t a ton of natural lighting.
I realized I needed to upgrade my game and started looking for some options. Some were really pricey and others were good for starting. I think the first light I bought was a LED bar light that cast a horrible shadow. I used sticky tack and attached it to my mirror so that it would reflect nicely. But hey, it was
Best Cheap Lighting Option for Doing Makeup Videos
LED Vanity Mirror Lights Kit with Dimmable Bulbs
This was my first real lighting purchase and I absolutely LOVE it! It comes with 10 frosted bulbs that are connected on a really long wire that you can adjust to any length you need, to wrap around your mirror. I have them wrapped around a round mirror and they flick on with a quick tap of a button.
They put out an incredible amount of soft white light that is perfect for
For me, there are only two negatives with these lights. One, if a bulb burns out, they can’t be replaced. In saying that, I’ve had mine for over a year and I have yet to have one burn out.
The other issue is easily fixed. Each bulb comes with a sticky backing to adhere it to your surface. I used mine on the wall around my mirror and when I tried to move them, it removed the paint. I would recommend using sticky tack or Command Adhesive Strips to attach them.
The Beauty Lighting Used By All the Top YouTubers and Beauty Gurus
Neewer 18″ LED Dimmable Ring Light
Although the vanity lighting is really amazing, the ring light is the mac daddy of all lighting. It creates absolutely perfect conditions for videos and pictures. It has a hot shoe to attach your camera and a smartphone holder. The
This particular one comes with a stand (some of them don’t), which is great for set up. Keep in mind, if you do videos at a desk against a wall, it can be a bit tricky to put it into place. Corners and straight on shots work really great though!
You can buy a desk mount option which I never did because I didn’t want to take up any real estate on my desk but that would be ideal if you had
The filters are really nice for softening the light because it is REALLY bright. It will light up your whole room if you want but there is a dimmer dial as well to adjust to how you want it.
Beauty Pro Tip: Replace one of the white filters on the bottom of your ring light with an orange one. It will cast a really nice warm glow to your face.
Beauty Video and Photo Setup
OtterBox Agility Portfolio
Now that your lighting is all set up, you’ll want a way to easily record all those moments. Other reps for my company used to ask me all the time how I get my videos to look so consistent.
I can tell you that I have literally taped my phone to my mirror at one stage. At first, I had no idea how to get my images and videos lined up the way I wanted and with the right lighting, aside from having a huge production set up
That was until I found the OtterBox Agility
It comes with a special magnetic mount that clicks into the back of the hardcover case on the portfolio to quickly attach your iPad to ANYTHING! I put mine directly on my mirror. Combine that with my lighting seen previously, it’s a killer combo.
Thankfully, no more fumbling with building up a highrise tower with books to get my camera at the right height.
Other Essentials for the Beauty Blogger
Electric Makeup Brush Cleaner
One thing I loathed doing was cleaning my brushes. If you are in the makeup biz, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. It is a nightmare. First, wash them all ever so carefully. Then, find a spot for them to dry or try to rig up something on a hanger so they will dry evenly. Then, hope they are dry for the next time you need to use them.
I figured there had to be a better way. I had seen this cleaner advertised on Facebook and checked it out on Amazon and figured for the price, it was worth a try. Plus, if I used Amazon Prime, I could easily return it if it didn’t work out.
As soon as I got it, I grabbed all my brushes and my bottle of baby shampoo and got to “work”. Yah- no work involved. It is SO EASY to use! I did have to change out the water a couple times because I hadn’t washed them in so long (I know, tsk tsk). It worked fabulously! Spun them around in the soapy water and then spun them dry in like 30 seconds!
My 17-year old daughter, who has far more makeup knowledge than I will ever have, advised me against this purchase as she had heard it will ruin my brushes. And we all know brushes aren’t cheap!
But I will tell you, I found that it did not hurt any of them. Not even my coveted and very fragile fan brush. The only drawback I could find with this was that it wouldn’t work with my dual-ended brushes. But I could do those couple by hand easily.
Acrylic Makeup Cosmetics Organizer
I am a maven for organization. And I like all the pretty things. This one was one of the very first purchases that I made to keep my stuff organized and looking great. I even bought one for each of my daughters.
This is such a handy little organizer. I love that it’s stacked up with three wide drawers on the bottom for easy access and again, it doesn’t take up too much desk space. There are spots in the back for liners and mascara and a ton of lipstick holders as well. This is definitely a must-have item.
Bonus – Perfect Selfies on the Go
Rechargeable Portable Selfie LED Ring Light
Now, we all know that selfies are all part of the beauty biz game but sometimes our smartphones just don’t want to cooperate in the lighting department.
This rechargeable selfie light fits easily on your smartphone and the ring of light works as a halo around your selfie camera lens making the lighting amazing! And because it is small, it is really portable and can fit right inside your purse for easy access.
In fact, before I upgraded to the vanity light set and the ring light, I actually used this for many a video. The only drawback is that if your videos are too long, it may need to be kept charging throughout.
That’s my top 5 products and gadgets for beauty bloggers from Amazon! Have you found any other great finds? I would love to hear about them in the comments!
Love this post and Amazon? Check out my other post on Creating the Perfect Floral Arrangement with Artificial Flowers from Amazon
i’ve never heard of an electric brush cleaner but now i have to have one, ha ? thank you for sharing! x
Absolutely!! I love mine!
Those are some great tips for new beauty bloggers! Super helpful! ?
I’m so glad you could find some value in it! I remember scouring the internet trying to find all the best of the best lighting when I started. I was looking for something exactly like this as a post! Glad I could help! Have an amazing day!
This is a great article. I really like some of the products. I’d be interested to know how you set up affiliate links with amazon.
Thank you Elisabeth! They are really great tools for anyone that’s into beauty! You can set up an affiliate program with Anazin through Amazon Associates. Hope you are having a great weekend!
I love this post so much!!!!! I would KILL for a ring light. Very high On my wants list!!! I got the little selfie ring for my phone for Christmas and I can already tell it’s going to be a total selfie game changer!!!!
Thank you!! It made such a HUGE difference in my lives and pics!!
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Good luck for the following!
Thank you, Gracy! So glad that you found some good information in this post!
thank you for sharing this post. i like your way of presentation.
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