A question for MUAs....

[YvetteJeannine]

Sadly, we all know there are people (everywhere), with sticky fingers...Makeup artists: What precautions (if any) do you you personally take (or, have seen other MUAs take) to avoid having your costly makeup purloined by your clients?? Although I am not an MUA, I have heard it is unfortunately common for MUAs to come home from a job and find things missing....So, out of curiosity, I thought I would ask; have you any tried and true ways of preventing theft?

 

[pumpkincat210]

I'd take inventory and then bill them if they take anything. I hate thieves.
My sister's friend took a bunch of my pigment samples and i was so so mad, she eventually reimbursed me when I called her on it. I don' t have anyone around my stuff anymore, but i know thats not the case when you are a MUA and have to have your stuff there.

 

[thatcamgirl]

I just recently started doing makeup, and almost the exact same thing happened to me, except while I was doing makeup for 3 females at one of my good friend's house, one of her friends stole a few of my pigments, not samples, the full jars!

I was so mad when I saw empty spots in my drawer, I called my friend, and it seems her friend had been bragging about it and showing them off to the others after I'd left....needless to say I drove back over there in a hurry, got my pigments back and left...I haven't spoken to any of them since.

Fortunately we do get a discount on most of our purchases, unfortunately, a lot of our items might be discontinued, or may have been limited edition and no discount, so it might not be possible or economical to replace our missing items.

I can't wait for Barbie stuff to come out, but we won't be getting a discount on that stuff, so what if someone gets sticky fingers with those items? I think as a MUA you just have to take the good with the bad, and stealing is definitely a bad...

 

[maxcat]

Two things. I don't leave my kit open out in the open... and keep it with me.
The other is I inform clients that I'm happy to tell them how and where to purchase what I'm using on them. I take inventory before I leave, and if something I used doesn't make it into my kit, I bill them after. Full price, too. It's only happened a couple of times, and they've never argued.

 

[lara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxcat Two things. I don't leave my kit open out in the open... and keep it with me. The other is I inform clients that I'm happy to tell them how and where to purchase what I'm using on them. I take inventory before I leave, and if something I used doesn't make it into my kit, I bill them after. Full price, too. It's only happened a couple of times, and they've never argued.

Exactly the same here. I don't make a point of hiding the fact that I do inventory on my kit before, during and after a job. I had my entire collection of beauty powders walk on a job early last year (excellent products to stock, by the way - they hide a multitude of skin sins), and it made me a.) furious and b.) extra vigilant.

 

[heythere98]

I wrote my initials with a silver sharpie on everything I keep in my kit.

 

[MisStarrlight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heythere98 I wrote my initials with a silver sharpie on everything I keep in my kit.

Me too. I LOVE silver sharpies!

 

[calbear]

I mark EVERYTHING with my own special mark.

I keep everyone away from my stuff and close everything up (even lock it if I don't trust the people around me)if I have to step away and can't keep my eye one it.

 

[YvetteJeannine]

Now here is a question: Any one of you ever actually said anything to a *client/s* (ie: you are doing MU at a bridal party, etc.) you KNOW to have taken one or more items?? And if so, what was their reaction??

 

[SARAHluvsMAC]

every single one of my formal black palettes (i had them all) walked themselves out of my bathroom, yes.... in my house while my extended family was over for dinner on a religious holiday

i was furious but my mother refused to let me say anything

 

[redambition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SARAHluvsMAC every single one of my formal black palettes (i had them all) walked themselves out of my bathroom, yes.... in my house while my extended family was over for dinner on a religious holiday i was furious but my mother refused to let me say anything

that's crazy! i can't believe people would do that to their own family.

 

[claresauntie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SARAHluvsMAC every single one of my formal black palettes (i had them all) walked themselves out of my bathroom, yes.... in my house while my extended family was over for dinner on a religious holiday i was furious but my mother refused to let me say anything

OMG.

With all due respect to your mother, I would have told her to back off and then ripped the family a new one 'til I got my stuff back.

Do you know who did it? Or think you know?

 

[martygreene]

This is one of the benefits of having things paletted and decanted into smaller more portable containers. Firstly, if something does walk off you aren't left short a product in your kit. Secondly, the talent cannot look into your kit, see a certain branding and take an item based on that.

Along with this, I do tend to keep my kit closed up once I'm finished with my initial applications, and put anything I'll need for touchups into my set bag.

Can things still walk away? Yes. But they are considerably less likely to do so. I do also offer to the talent to provide them with the name and shade of products that I use which they can purchase themselves if they so desire. Usually though, removal of branding, paletting into un-branded palettes, and decanting goes a long way to loss prevention.

 

[MisStarrlight]

I've been trying to start to do that. So far all my powders & pigments are done, I got a g/c to The Container Store for Christmas so I plan to at least get my foundations done with that.

Where do you get un-branded palettes? I use ones from MUD cause it's less well known (or put the p-touch labels over the MAC ones), but I would still like them not to have anything.

 

[pixichik77]

I use Japonesque palettes (unbranded) and cheap watercolor palettes. My last trip back home was also a stock-up trip at Naimie's for the Japonesque. As fot the water color, I like to buy the 79 cent flip top pots full of poster paint and water color, empty and sanitize them, and fill them with loose powders. I also buy water color palettes from the crayola section, again empty and sanitize, and fill to my hearts delight. I beleive Japonesque also sells stackable containers and small loose powder shaker jars, but the watercolor stuff is cheaper and more readily available.

 

[martygreene]

Alcone, Industry Cosmetics, Japonesque, Quosmedix, etc.

You can also put your label over the branding on palettes that you already have- I tend to label both sides in the center of the case.

 

[About Face]

Thanks for this topic I need to mark my stuff

 

[FacesbyNiki]

I recently has some brushes 'walk away' and I'm so pissed about it.

 

[dmenchi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxcat Two things. I don't leave my kit open out in the open... and keep it with me. The other is I inform clients that I'm happy to tell them how and where to purchase what I'm using on them. I take inventory before I leave, and if something I used doesn't make it into my kit, I bill them after. Full price, too. It's only happened a couple of times, and they've never argued.

same here,but it's harder to keep your together when you have several people.in that case i bill the event planner and i had problems before as they try to set budgets before, but hey..it's not my problem if their girls are cleptos LOL

 

[dmenchi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FacesbyNiki I recently has some brushes 'walk away' and I'm so pissed about it.

that's the worst! i feel bad for you! what are people thinking- oh, i can just take somebodies stuff and they won't notice? Idiots! it makes me mad, because i had a brush dissapear from my own house, after weeks of 'rooting' through everything my mother-in-law was like: oh i 'found' your brush- yes, she 'found' it as i'm known to throw my stuff around-what a bitch! sorry, but i was soooo mad!