I’m all about sharing tips and making the life of an artist more efficient…and that’s why I dedicate today’s post to one of my fave pieces (and actually one of the most asked about!) in my make-up arsenal.
Introducing the brush case holder, at a very affordable $17.99 CAD (available at the art supply store DeSerres), here’s why I’m over the brush belt standard:
i). Â Viewpoint
Let’s face it – face on. I’m a very visual person, and finding a brush via aerial view, especially when my belt is on overload with multiple brushes stuffed into one slot, really feels like it slows me down. Â The holder better organizes my brushes and I can literally grab my brushes without looking because I know their placement within it. Â When I had a brush belt, I pretty much never wore it and instead lay it down on a table along with the rest of my kit, essentially defeating the purpose of having it as a ‘belt’….which brings me to my next point…
ii). Â More Working Space
The holder stands upright on its own so takes up a lot less surface area than a standard brush belt on the counter space you’re working on. Â Anyone who has seen my kit spread knows that I will use all the space on even the largest of tables, so the holder works perfectly just sliding in to a minimal amount of space.
iii). Â Comfort
Yes sure the brush belt looks ‘professional’, but when I had it, I simply didn’t wear it because I never found it comfortable. Â I ditched the belt and felt more ‘free’, and in that way I could focus on just doing make-up and not being annoyed by the belt getting in the way.
iv). Â Efficiency
All these things lead to me being more efficient on the job – not being annoyed is a big one! Â My working area can easily get out of control in seconds, as I have a bad habit of not putting things back where I found them…and that feeling of not being able to find something really bugs me! Â The holder forces me to be a bit more organized rather than just stuffing all my brushes into one container after sanitizing them between clients, and I can easily transition between doing make-up for multiple clients in a row.
Final Thoughts:
I will admit that the brush belt is still very helpful when working on-set and when I need to carry around a bunch of other products/brushes (while keeping my hands and pockets free as much as possible!). Â I’ve saved a belt only for that reason.
You’ll also likely need a couple of containers for your larger size brushes so this holder is not the be-all end-all answer on what to use to organize brushes in your kit. Â It definitely makes my work life a lot easier not having to look for small brushes (and smaller tools like tweezers!) mixed in a pile of larger sized brushes.
So yes, I’m over the brush belt but that’s my own personal preference. Â It just goes to show that there are other items out there you can use to build your make-up kit, without having to spend on all the usual industry standard products. Â For instance, some make-up artists I know use toolboxes from hardware stores to carry their make-up kit around in and other artists use brushes from art supply stores to do their work.
What non-standard industry tools do you use to organize your kit?
