Diary of an MUA - Project: Kit Revamp Part 1 *pic heavy & lengthy*

Happy New Year beauties!  I hope everyone is ready to go charging at 2010 with full force cause I sure am!  In order to start it off right I thought it was time to part with some things that just have been totally neglected product wise.  I invite you to take a look at *thunder/storm sounds*...my kit!  *loud blood curdling scream*

things that dont fit in the rolling kit

depotted foundations, concealers, pigment samples, glitter

brush belt, brush holder, brush roll (yes w/more brushes) and MAC set bag

inside the MAC set bag, yes more foundation, pressed powders, disposables, brush cleaner, etc.

top of the rolling case, a bunch of everything :eyeroll at myself

drawer 1 - blush, bronzer, highlight

drawer 2 - variety of shadows that barely get used - c the 1 still in the box? oy vey...

drawer 3 - the lash stash (needs to be replenished)

drawer 4 - the FX supplies (depotted lipsticks peeking below that)

bottom of case - space for palettes (4 shadow, 1 blush, lipstick, & Ben Nye)-I kept this image large so you can see the palettes

Random additionals - roll pack that I keep pencils, lipsticks & glosses, gel liner, pigments, paintpots, etc. in; bag for dirty brushes, Artist Summit bag for all things that dont fit in the case, and my clip on OTT-Lite

*not pictured - my artist chair*

You see I have this thing where I HAVE to be prepared for ANYTHING!  The few times I tried to listen to the client and only bring items for the look requested bit me in the azz because of course they asked if I could do a little bit of this and a little bit of that extra.  So I formed in my mind that I need to take any and everything I can just in case.  Now granted that did work but I am tired of lugging this ish around to each and every gig.  I mean come on, a chair, a light, a rolling case and then a bag filled with 2 more bags??? Enough is enough. 

In comes the talented Jessica Jean Myers with her blog post on her kit - I mean Holy Organization batman!  It was like the post I didnt even know I needed!  I immediately decided to tackle my kit - first I TRIED to go through and part with things that Im not using (friends and family had a field day with that but I know I can part with more - stay tuned for part 2), then I said eff this rolling case - it served its purpose for the past year and some change but Im over it now (I gave that to a fellow MUA and friend - Hey Tee! *hugs*).  I remembered getting this insulated bag from NYX some time ago that I refused to throw away for some reason so I dug that out.  Here's what happened after all that:

All of my old kit in this new bag (minus what I parted with)!  YAY!

a peek inside

So I feel a WHOLE lot better now but I am not done - its almost time to part with the depotted foundations at which point I will invest in the RCMA and/or some other brand foundation and concealer palettes.  I feel I can be an even better artist with more organization.  I was still debating the following bags instead of my NYX one above (I am going to cover the NYX logos of course):

 - the Zuca case $295 I think (just like the old case, and I could sit on that too for like $100 cheaper, pass)

- Yazmo bag (looks like my NYX bag, just minus the brush holder in the top and my sides dont zip - $100 so eh, not sure just yet)

- The Zuca artist backpack - $125 and I LOVE IT! If I can fit my whole kit in this then I am SOLD! Just this and my chair and my back would be eternally grateful.  :-)

For now I will keep condensing and invest in some of the removable pouches, I think that can tide me over until I want to pay for the new bag, currently my money is being used on continuing education for the first part of the year and that is WAY more important. 

Hopefully this helped someone like the Jessica Jean Myer's post helped me.  Talk to you all soon!