Working in the Film + TV Industry can be difficult from an ecological standpoint - but here are some...
Kit Basics
How To Do A Makeup Kit Audit
As part of our ongoing Developing A Sustainable Beauty Practice series, we have produced an online kit audit form for you to complete and reference in order to help you achieve your conscious beauty goals.
Khandiz Joni
Sustainability
Table of Contents
Introduction
If you attended the live session or watched the recording of Khandiz‘s: How To Develop A Sustainable Beauty Practice Masterclass, you will have learned how a plan of action can vastly improve your chances of succeeding at achieving your goals and further developing your conscious beauty practice.
This week’s post goes on to support you in step two of the ‘Plan of Action’ by providing you with an online, editable way to audit your makeup kit (nail and hair kit audit coming soon!) for a detailed breakdown of everything in your professional kit or personal beauty regime.
Naturally, the founding members of CBU, along with our ever-growing community of professional and beauty lovers alike, preference natural, organic and clean brands for our personal practices, however, Conscious Beauty Union is here to support anyone in developing a deep, robust conscious practice that minimises waste and prioritises brands that truly consider their social and environmental impacts.
Our very first rule is: Finish what you have (regardless of the brand) and replace with better (ie: brands and products that align to your personal values and sustainability plan). If you would like to know how to develop a truly sustainable beauty practice, you can still purchase a ticket to watch the recording of our Masterclass on the subject.
So, why do a kit audit? Here five reasons!
1. Save Money
When our stuff is out of sight, it’s also usually out of mind – which means not only do we land up buying more of what we don’t need and wasting precious resources, we are also wasting money.
Sustainability is not simply about the environment, but also how well we run and maintain our business. As you will know from our Personal Branding Webinar, we are all businesses and we mustn’t forget that!
2. Align Your Values
Another philosophy we are very passionate about is how to align your practice to your values – and what compromises you need to make in order to do so authentically and transparently.
By knowing what products you have in your kit, you are better set to ensure you have a kit that fully aligns with your personal ethics.
3. Waste Not, Want Not
While there has been growing interest around packaging waste (and rightly so), product waste is still often overlooked. Our makeup and skin products – regardless of how natural, clean and organic they are – take an enormous amount of energy and resources to make.
If you’re passionate about zero-waste, reducing carbon emissions, social impact and even animal welfare – one of the easiest and most impactful things you can do is finish your products (and correctly dispose of the packaging).
By knowing what products you have, you can plan out what needs to be finished before you spend money buying replacements – especially of items or products that you don’t use very often and have a high propensity to be wasted.
4. Skin Benefits
Doing an audit of your products will allow you to make sure you don’t have any out of date products that could cause you or your clients to have a potential skin reaction.
Of course, this means getting rid of old product (ie: product waste) but doing a deep dive using our form will allow you to identify what needs to be replaced first and help you avoid waste and potential insurance claims in the future.
5. The Early Bird Catches The Worm
Whether you believe in the power of attraction or simply know that being prepared maximises your ability to perform your job well, and by that I mean having an organised kit, bathroom cabinet or dressing table means less faffing before a job, Zoom meeting or hot date.
On a personal note, I have always maintained that whenever work has been quiet and I spend time cleaning and organising my kit, work has appeared very soon after.
So, should you be chomping at the bit to get back to work post the worst of lock-down (or if you’re in a local lockdown) don’t underestimate the benefit of a kit audit and use the time to really deep cleanse and organise so you’re ready when the phone starts ringing again (because it will).
Below, is a step-by-step guide on How To Do A Complete CBU Kit Audit
1. Get It Your Kit Out
We start our kit audits by taking inspiration from the edit queen – Marie Kondo.
First, commit yourself to sorting through your entire kit; that might require you to set time aside in your calendar. Don’t underestimate how long this process can take either, so consider that this might be an entire day or even weekend job for some of you, and may even require you to call in reinforcements (if you’re a big procrastinator like me).
Make sure you have a clean surface to empty your kit or bathroom cabinets onto, as well as enough clean, clear areas for you to group your products into categories: Set up two bags or bins: ‘Gift’ and ‘Get Rid’
- Next, set up different areas to separate each of the kit categories or beauty regime into so you can start sorting: Skincare and Skin prep / Tools & Equipment / Consumables & Applicators / Cleaning & Disinfecting. Then, further breakdown your makeup products into the following categories: Foundations / Concealers / Setting / All Things Eyes / Cheeks, Contour & Highlight / All Things Lips / Miscellaneous.
- While you’re sorting everything into their categories, be sure to get rid of any out of date products or products you know you don’t use or suit your skin type or tone. If you have taken extreme care with your hygiene practice (ie: not using fingers in pots) you can give some types of products to friends, families and assistants (for pro-makeup artists) who are more likely to finish them off. If you have unopened products you that know you won’t use or need, or well cared for tools and equipment, you can even sell these through online marketplaces or Facebook groups like London Hair & Makeup Artist’s: Selling Group.
Once you have seperated everything into sections, and gotten rid of any products and items that no longer serve you, only then should you start the CBU Kit Audit document (below).
NB: Don’t forget that packaging needs to be properly cleaned out and taken apart before it can be recycled and product waste needs to be disposed of in regular trash so it goes to landfill (as it cannot go down the drain or in the compost).
If you want to know more about how to do this, be sure to read Lou’s article on How To Better Recycle Your Beauty Routine and keep your eyes and ears out for dates on our Recycling Masterclass!
2. Get Granular
The audit form has been designed to give you a general overview of your personal or professional kit, by using the check boxes to identify product types in each category – while also providing you the option to specify how regularly you really use that item or product.
Under each category overview, there is additional space to itemise your all your products. I strongly recommend itemising each item and providing as much detail as possible to help you make informed decisions going forward.
Don’t worry though, the form is set up so you can come back to it and add, amend and reference things – but the more you can do as you’re going through your kit, the better.
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