Future-Proofing Your Pro Mua Kit Featuring Mykitco

As we move closer to returning the salons, TV studios and film sets, this is a good time to start thinking about your working kit and how you can ensure your client’s comfort in the makeup chair. Something that our creative director JamesC is keen to look at is brushes and storage, especially minimizing the kit he carries around and the team behind the British brand Mykitco are on the top of their game when it comes to this and their new releases (8 brushes) show the thought they are putting into working artist kits and how working styles are evolving.

Starting with the basics, the brushes (which are what Mykitco has become famous for), are growing to meet the needs of artists and the new launches are a marker of the care taken and this show’s a development pattern that works with the target audience and as professionals will give you a better working kit to better serve your customers.

*It has always been smart to have multiples in brushes and now planning is going to be even more important with people becoming savvier to what is and isn’t acceptable, it’s better to have a minimal plan of action before you go into a client space. For example, setting up brush tubes or pouches with specific kits for each person may be a little bulky but will give your client a little assurance that you have their health and safety in mind so with a booking or 4 clients you can carry enough kit and plan around that with backups in your bag should you need and the chances of cross-contamination are lowered with individual sets. Multitasking brushes slipped into your kit will also make a big difference to individual applications.

Storing and transporting your makeup will also be a consideration and Mykitco has a wide array of bags big and small to suit your needs. JamesC owns the Mykitco Essential Buddy and loves it for small to medium size gigs where space is at a premium and the Travel Buddy is also a good option *depending on your own personal style and needs.

As the co-founder James Molloy (premier makeup artist) is on the pulse of what’s happening in the industry and leading the way with teaching through his Instagram using the Mykitco face charts and giving advice and tips to move us forward as creatives.

Working with Mykitco products is about more than just having a professional quality kit, its about a sense of community and artistry.

To learn more or shop with Mykitco (See the Faq’s for pro discount details and terms) see:

Mykitco Website.

Mykitco Facebook.

Mykitco Instagram.

Mykitco Twitter.

Lost In The Horror

We are in the midst of what would (and most likely will be) the source of many new thriller and horror film and TV plots, the lockdown is the start of a refresh of the industry which we will be taking full advantage of and have been in all honesty planning around for a long time as Horror is the genre of choice for us both artistically and commercially, more than ever with the support of the HOD TV team (submit your films here).

For us and our partners, Horror has all the potential we need to feel fulfilled as an artist: our actors can play the character and develop the narrative, the writers are loving the scope of the human mind for fear, for our creative director JamesC, it’s about the makeup and of course our remote teams it’s all about the locations (our Nepal production contacts are delighted with this idea). There is something in this for each of us to get our teeth into and we have room to work together as a collective to push an agenda that suits us and it does also open up other potential aspects that could be realistically deemed vanity projects with a slight commercial twist.

With many magazines and film festivals dedicated to the Horror and Thriller genres, we can easily utilize different suppliers and resources to keep the costs down while maintaining the gore and chills.

Talking of Keeping the costs down, it is fairly straightforward and can be augmented by companies like Monster Fx or the supply house Red Carpet FX (who stock our favorite IPA palettes from Ripper FX).

The future is in our hands and we are taking our own direction on this with plans in motion to do both editorial/print work in this darker style and of course TV projects that will be at the heart of the work, a commercially driven but still artistically driven venture.

Keeping The Creative Flow Going

While many are rethinking their place in the industry and how to progress, ranging from selfies to blogs, we at The Lost Creatives are working hard behind the scenes and taking time to reevaluate (as you will guess by our previous blog). A complete overhaul is underway and along with our partners in Nepal, this is pushing us to think about how we want to be seen in the market.

As you can imagine, social media plays a heavy part in this and it is really exciting to see Nepal film Productions opening a new account with Instagram which is a step forward as we see the restrictions being lifted and people slowly returning to normal and business becoming a part of their thinking again.

We are also putting the social media plan into action and will be reviewing our work and creative plans, led by our creative director JamesC, with a view to pushing forward which as we have previously stated means we will be looking at investment into editorial marketing with tears and covers which we are excited about and have to admit the design process alone is worth it to help clear our collective headspace.

Our film and TV plans are on standby and we are extremely grateful that we have HOD TV on our side with their platform for horror and thriller distribution. Which we fully intend to make use of and recommend those who have projects they want to sell check the link here for submissions.

As time moves forward we are going to push to show more of a commercial stance and stay away from more theatrical styles as we just feel it doesn’t suit the working look we want to create. From the portfolio plans to the film and TV projects we have in mind our goals are strong and we are pushing forward progressively and with mutual support from our remote partners.

Creating Something Fresh: A Portfolio Journey

In the last ten years, the media industry has changed and we focus our energy on creating curated websites and social media accounts that (especially in the UK) are designed to be our portfolio and showcase our work. However, we at The Lost Creatives can see that changing and the physical portfolio book will make a comeback for those in makeup and photography in particular. There will always be a three-tier system in place when it comes to business and we have our goals and understand that we will need to go back to an earlier incarnation of how we worked.

We have been quietly discussing this in the background in our WhatsApp calls and Facebook messages as something we need to really push forward with hence our editorial plans. *Because we work primarily in-house (with thanks to creative director JamesC for his support) we can keep the team small and with the options available in the digital market it is possible for us to completely change our outlook to fit a new audience which is a major plus. We will maintain the websites as part of a larger marketing campaign but for meetings, we want to be able to show our potential clients or collaborators a book of work that will allow them to look at images which admittedly we have not done in many years and it is an exciting challenge to be in a position to create something fresh.

For this we do have a plan of action in place and have started working out exactly what we want and which magazines we will shoot for, there will be two portfolios of work focusing on key areas of the work we do and keeping them distinct and separate.

As our primary focus with any shoots will be marketing we will be starting with our fashion and beauty folio which will be geared toward tear sheets and covers (we have done some digging and can make this happen fairly easily), with a film/TV book being secondary and scripts being chosen to shoot for festivals to start and of course an array of Commercial projects that will include a showreel of the work done.

Something to consider as we move into a whole new arena of work in the coming months will be how to stand out in the market as an artist.

The Changing Face of Cinema and TV

In the coming months, there will be some major changes to how we view film and TV with a massive shift in the production side, in conjunction with our partners at Nepal Film Production, we have been looking at the different elements we see changing and how you can logically, make the most of your budget and maximize the scope of your work using lower-cost locations and setups.

Naturally, as our partner, we looked closely at Nepal as a potential avenue for us to shoot when we are able to travel again. *Even allowing for travel, accommodation, visa’s, etc it is still a much more cost-effective prospect for us to work abroad than in our home base of the UK as we will get tax breaks and with the Lost team being more thriller/horror based in our plans we can use HOD TV distribution (Nepal also has this option available), we can tackle smaller budget projects with an exotic edge that really does appeal to our team aesthetically.

Taking logical steps toward the future here are the base reasons we work with the team and will be shooting on location in Nepal:

• Beautiful locations.

• Lower overall costs.

• A 24-hour service.

• The team can arrange any permits required.

The potential of Nepal is astronomical and more details can be found via their own blog by clicking here.

Using Editorials and Tears To Market The Lost Concept

Creative frustration is starting to kick in for many of us in the arts and while we are all on hold it is a good time to plan for the future and marketing your business once the restrictions are lifted and we can submit fresh work to the various online and print publications out there. For us, we do have several concepts that are part of a larger-scale and ultimately long-term project around The Lost concept.

Our goals are split into two areas:

1. Photo Stories and editorials.

2. Single image and portrait.

There are magazines that we are looking at with very specific designs and concepts, thankfully we have talked to a few of them and they have opened up the single image option (tears and covers) that will be integral to our marketing over the coming months along with our partners.

For us its the single image option that is the biggest challenge as we want that image as a standalone to tell a story or at least inspire the imagination which is the intellectual challenge part that we are eager to get into, none more so that our creative director JamesC who has been instrumental in much of the marketing planning underway and has offered insight based on his experience of the industry both good and bad.

Our style of work is going to change dramatically and we will have a more refined and focused look that is a different creative stream than what we would do for our private sector and commercial clients. Conceptually The Lost Concept is a mixture of styles and will strangely, benefit from the current lockdown as it has forced us to reassess how we look at images, models and who we will book for shoots especially for our in house projects.

We fully intend to keep the team small on shoots and make the maximum use of the locations around our current base with an emphasis on simplicity of look touching on the more creative with darker touches brought into play.

From a marketing stance, we are enjoying the plans being put into place and our budget is going to reflect this across our 3 main sites of JameC mua, Lost Project, and of course Lost Creatives.

Marketing and the Lost Concept

While we have been a little quiet over the last few days it has not stopped the work thanks in part to Facebook and Whatsapp we were able to continue meetings and even showcase some of our past work in line with our creative director and founder JamesC. The crux of much of this has been discussing marketing strategies. Many people are unaware of the pages and sites involved in our marketing just for the Lost Concept and our core team and we are now in a place where we feel that the sites and pages (in most cases) are sufficiently “liked” enough that we are collating all the backlog of work into a folio of work and with certain magazines offering open submissions of single images (we are going for exclusive but this is not a requirement for many digital magazines) and once the lockdowns are sufficiently lifted we do have plans to do a full marketing campaign with more work built around the Lost Boys and Lost Girls concept as outlined in the Lost Project blog.

Marketing is something we are really keen on and we do work with our partners in Nepal (the Nepal Film Production team), on campaigns and this will be revised again at the end of this month in line with changes to the market as it stands.

One of the main reasons we are looking at this now is we have time, the blogs are keeping us busy along with various other elements but like many in the creative fields, we really are keen to get back to our real work. The focus of our upcoming campaigns will start with the two lost sites and then the actual artists who are working on the creative side such as actor Raj Srivastava and of course JamesC.

TV Production and Development

As you can well imagine, we are really keen to get back on set and start working properly again, much the same as our partners in Nepal. The Lost Creatives team is working quietly on marketing, planning and with their usual dark minds in motion, we started looking at the horror/thriller script options we have open to us with a view to the future. Taking everything into consideration we are going to be focused on TV projects and have 2 already earmarked with a 3rd being discussed and developed. We want to have a set of projects that can be set up as long term with options for multiple series follow ons and continued creative development.

In the short term, we have been watching the indie magazine world and have decided on a total of 4 photoshoots planned as part of a wider project to be done as soon as we can. With 2 male and 2 female concepts in place and more being discussed collectively by the remote team. *Naturally, we are following current guidelines and our meetings are done over the phone or via Whatsapp/FB messenger to ease the strain on those who are not in the country or cannot risk attending meetings.

Our Creative Director JamesC, is happy to hold for the moment and has agreed that he will begin stock checking so we can order in new materials that are needed for the work planned, blush is going to be a big part of our upcoming beauty shoots.

Stay tuned for further updates and news from The Lost Creative Team.

Montarem Mens Grooming

In the world of male grooming, the landscape has changed dramatically with more and more people taking the care of their appearance, working in environments that require HD video calling and of course the current landscape of news presenting and on-camera appearances which is why brands like Montarem are important and offer a solution for the modern man.

The world has and still is in a state of fluctuation and more and more people are working from home, video calling and the media industry is working in the background to find new scripts and concepts for the day we can all start filming again and it will see a rise in the need for products tailored to men and offering options that will work across mediums from a laptop call to the screens of our TV’s. This is where Montarem will come into play offering a good option for solo workers, actors and more to create a more polished look when required.

While Montarem was started as a personal solution and will continue in this way, it is easy to see where the crossover to other areas of life are, simplifying the day to day and giving confidence back to the general populous, they have opened the door to the commercial, fashion and of course media world with their easy to use products that are solution-based.

“TV presenters take note if a makeup artist is unavailable for your show/newscast then Montarem will be able to help with their BB cream and concealer offering a way to ensure you are camera ready.” JamesC professional makeup artist.

To learn more about the range see:

Montarem Website (sign up for the newsletter).

Montarem Facebook.

Montarem Instagram.

Delilahs New Fluid Foundation

In the realm of professional makeup, things are changing rapidly. We are seeing a completely new landscape opening up and with a sense of serendipity, delilah makeup has launched the new Alibi Liquid Foundation, a long-wearing, sweatproof and waterproof full coverage foundation that is going to set the pro-market in the UK on its head when it comes to areas such as bridal, fashion and digital media such as film and TV. Over the next few months, we will see a change in how we work and the savvy of the clientele in the makeup fields and services like bridal and fashion makeup along with work in TV and film will start up again which in turn will mean that products, as well as skills, will be viewed with a careful eye and it is the new delilah foundation that will shine through in the top end of the services.

With 8 shades, they are customizable and can be mixed to suit your needs, full coverage and long-wearing which on a shoot will be a must to reduce touch up times and of course for the wedding sector will help maintain the look for the day adding a level of confidence in your artistic skills.

Delilah as a British brand offers a pro-grade product with a beautiful aesthetic that will sit as well on a dressing table as it does on the makeup stations of a studio shoot and can be used as an addon or as part of a more brand-centric working kit. *The new Full Coverage Foundation brush has all the markers of a professional artist tool and fits perfectly within the lines of the range giving you an added dimension of cohesion and a sense of the linear to your brushes.

To learn more about the range or to purchase see:

delilah makeup website.

delilah makeup Instagram.

delilah makeup Facebook.

delilah makeup Twitter.

delilah makeup Youtube.