ARTIST TIP | Why I’m Over the Brush Belt


ARTIST TIP | Why I'm Over the Artist Industry Standard Brush BeltI’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).  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.  The holder better organizes my brushes and I can literally grab my brushes without looking because I know their placement within it.  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).  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.  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).  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.  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).  Efficiency
All these things lead to me being more efficient on the job – not being annoyed is a big one!  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!  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!).  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.  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.  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.  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?



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