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Accessible Makeup Products For Limited Hand Ability

Wearing makeup gives my self-esteem and confidence a boost. I’m not ashamed to admit that. I love the way it makes me look and feel. As much as I love the finished look, I really don’t enjoy the application process. I have Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy which causes progressive muscle wasting in my arms, which in turn makes doing my makeup physically difficult. Thankfully, there are new inclusive beauty brands that offer accessible makeup products for people with limited hand ability as well as products designed specifically for disabled people.

Accessible Makeup Products For Limited Hand Ability

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Here are some accessible makeup products for limited hand ability that have transformed my makeup routine:

Kohl Kreatives The Flex Collection

Because I can’t lift my arms up I have to bring my head down to meet the makeup brush in my hand. I then have to keep my back twisted and bent in that position to apply my makeup. In that position, I find it difficult to look in the mirror. My back, neck and arms hurt and tire so much from doing my makeup that it becomes something I don’t enjoy doing.

The Kohl Kreatives The Flex Collection makeup brushes fanned out on a grey background.

Then I randomly stumbled upon Kohl Kreatives, an inclusive beauty brand with a range of beautiful makeup brushes. Designed with disabled people in mind, The Flex Collection features five easy-grip brushes with bendy heads for greater comfort and precision when applying makeup.

A close up of The Kohl Kreatives The Flex Collection makeup brushes

This is particularly helpful for people with motor function difficulties or people like me, who have a muscle weakness affecting their ability to hold the brush. I didn’t hesitate and instantly ordered them online.

Kohl Kreatives The Flex Collection makeup brushes lined up in a row.

I love the Kohl Kreatives Flex Collection brushes as they have so many benefits for me. They are free-standing and have lightweight easy-grip curved handles making them easier to hold than a standard makeup brush.

Emma sitting at her vanity mirror holding a Kohl Kreatives makeup brush doing her makeup.

I’m able to keep my head up whilst applying my makeup and looking in the mirror at the same time. I hold the brushes, in the same way, I would hold an ice cream cone due to the unique position of the brush head. The brushes are multifunctional and can be used for foundation, contour, blush, cat eyes and more. They are also vegan and cruelty-free.

I bought the Kohl Kreatives The Flex Collection directly from their website | Price £44.99

Winged Eyeliner Stamps

Eyeliner has been a makeup staple for the last century after it became popular in the 1920s. Its first recorded use dates back to the Ancient Egyptians as they would use kohl to create lines and wing them out to their hairlines which were the creation of the first ‘cat-eye.’

The Quick Flick Eyeliner Stamp from Superdrug

I used to be good at doing winged eyeliner looks on myself and my sister. My arms become weaker as my condition progresses, so it became increasingly difficult for me so I stopped using eyeliner, but I missed doing those types of eye looks. So I was excited when I discovered winged eyeliner stamps, which create perfect flicks in seconds.

The Quick Flick Eyeliner Stamp from Superdrug

There are two pens, one for the left eye and one for the right eye. Each pen has a felt tip eyeliner at one end and a winged stamp on the other end.

The Quick Flick Eyeliner Stamp from Superdrug

The eyeliner stamps are easy to use and create a beautiful look. It is a winged eyeliner game-changer and I love it. It speeds up my makeup routine, saving me time and energy, which is amazing.

A close up of Emma's eye showing a cat eye she created.

I have it in Petite Intense Black (photo of my eye above using the winged eyeliner stamp) and I find that it doesn’t fade or smudge which other brands have done. There are other colours and sizes including modest and grand depending on how dramatic you want the flick to be.

I bought The Quick Flick Eyeliner Stamp | Price £20.00

Magnetic Eyelashes Kit

False lashes can take an eye look from 0 to 10 in the blink of an eye. Not only do they change the look of the eyes, but they also transform the entire makeup look. From natural to glamourous to sexy. They can add length, volume and texture to your own lashes.

The only downside is the application process. Lining the lash band with glue, waiting for it to become tacky and then painstakingly trying to line the false lashes up so they stick perfectly.

Ardell Magnetic Eyelashes Kit

It’s fiddly, to say the least. It takes quite a lot of practice and patience to master the application of false lashes, but it also requires a lot of physical energy. Something I don’t have a lot of.

Ardell Magnetic Eyelashes Kit

I was really excited to discover magnetic lashes as they claim to make the application quick and easy. Thankfully, they did just that. All you have to do is apply gel eyeliner (which has magnets formulated in the gel) and then place the lashes on top.

I’ve only used these magnetic eyelashes once and although I found the application faster, I think it might take some practice to know how much gel eyeliner to apply to get the eyelash band to fully connect to the magnets. They looked good and I’m excited to experiment with them.

I bought the Ardell Magnetic Eyelashes Kit | Price £15.98

Magnitone London BlendUp! Vibra-Sonic Makeup Brush

Buffing the foundation can be tiring and is something I struggle with. Since I don’t have the luxury of having my own personal makeup artist at home (which would be amazing though), I looked into what could help make applying my makeup a little easier. That’s when I discovered the Magnitone London BlendUp! Vibra-Sonic Makeup Brush.

Side note: I used this brush before discovering the super-inclusive Kohl Kreatives makeup brush collection (mentioned above).

Magnitone London BlendUp! Vibra-Sonic Makeup Brush

This brush has over 250 Vibra-sonic movements per second so heaps better than what my weak hands can do. Designed for liquid, powder and cream makeup products and can be used to blend, contour, tint, blush and bronze. It comes with USB charging which gives up to 100 minutes of use for two hours of charging. The brush has two speeds (blend and airbrush) and the choice of three brush heads.

Personally, I wear mineral makeup and have found using this brush really good for blending my foundation evenly and much quicker than I could by using a standard makeup brush. I love the softness of the brush and the airbrushed finish it gives. The vibration feels good on my face – almost like a facial treatment of some sort.

Magnitone London BlendUp! Vibra-Sonic Makeup Brush

Although the Magnitone London BlendUp is heavier than a standard brush, I’m still able to manage using it. It just takes some manoeuvring into place by getting my arms in a good position and I’ve even worked out a way to hold the brush in my hand and push the on/off button with my mouth. Skills!

[Gifted] Magnitone London BlendUp! Vibra-Sonic Makeup Brush | Price £43.00 (RRP: £69.99)

Guide Beauty

Guide Beauty is a new makeup brand that launched this year (early 2020) with a range of accessible makeup products. Terri Bryant, founder of Guide Beauty was inspired to create this brand after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and fearing her career and passion as a makeup artist was over.

Thankfully Terri was inspired to create makeup and tools that would enable her and millions of disabled people to be able to enjoy doing their own makeup.

Guide Beauty makeup products

There are four accessible makeup products in the Guide Beauty range; mascara, eyebrow gel, potted gel eyeliner and eyeliner tool. They have an ergonomic design to provide easy application and the mascara and eyebrow gel even have a hand grip applicator. The grip applicators can be used as a finger rest to steady shaky hands. How cool is that?

Guide Beauty Lash Wrap (Mascara)

My favourite product is the Guide duo eyeliner. It was the main reason I placed an order – it just looked amazing. And it is amazing. The eyeliner wand is a unique tool with a bendy plastic on the end that creates a steady and more precise application of eyeliner. All Guide Beauty products are cruelty-free, vegan, and formulated without toxins and harsh ingredients.

Guide Beauty Duo Eyeliner wandGuide Beauty Duo Eyeliner wand and potted gel liner

As I mentioned earlier, eyeliner is something I struggle to apply due to my weak arms, but the design of the eyeliner wand makes it incredibly easy. I no longer have to struggle to lift my arms up to line the top of my eyes, the wand is designed to be used in a downward position.

It can be used in different ways including lining the top and bottom of the eyes as well as a smudging tool. I’m loving how easy and quick it is to do my eye makeup now. There is even an indented curve on the wand, near the top of the applicator, for your finger to rest (for greater control). The wand works great even if you don’t use the finger rest (see photos above).

I bought the Guide Beauty Duo Eyeliner – $50.00 and Lash Wrap (Mascara) – $26 directly from their website.

Inclusive Brands: Accessible Makeup Products

I’m so happy to have discovered these accessible makeup products as they are helping transform my ability to continue doing my own makeup. My condition is progressive so I will continually lose more ability over time, but with inclusive brands creating more accessible makeup products, it will enable me and millions of other disabled people to apply their makeup with ease.

What do you struggle with when doing your makeup? Do you use accessible makeup products?

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Accessible Makeup Products For Limited Hand Ability

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Meet Emma

Meet Emma

Hello I’m Emma. My mission is to show you the possibilities of accessible travel through my travel guides, tips and reviews. I also share personal stories, live event reviews and more.

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21 Responses

  1. The guide eyeliner looks interesting. I hardly wear make up as it so tiring and can’t hold my arms up for long especially for foundation and eyeliner. I shall have to try these products myself.

    1. I had a stroke and only have the use of one arm. Therefore it’s impossible to pull my eye taut when trying to apply liner to my upper lid. Any suggestions or solutions for this problem would be appreciated. Thanks

      1. Hi Lori. Thank you for getting in touch. Would the Guide Beauty eyeliner I feature in this post help at all? Another thing I can think of is using tape to pull your eye taut and it helps create a neat line as well? Please let me know how you get on 🙂

  2. Emma Yess I have make up challenges too! Ppms, I put a chunky Elastic band around my mascara wand For grip also what is really helpful is to totally angle the brush, just bend it, makes such a difference
    I have lashes put on usually expensive but worth it, annoying when they fall out though! If I wear any lip liner with pencil I always rest my elbow on the dressing table for steadiness And blend with a Nivea lip seal gives a really lovely look. I find creams also really awkward to get out of some tubes And lots can be wasted, sometimes it is easier to cut the end off, I find that emptying larger volumes of cream into a pump action pot is handy. I don’t wear face foundations, minimal make up as long as I have my lashes a spot of blusher and some lip seal I’m good to go! X

    1. Thank you for your comment Lou and sharing your tips and hacks for applying makeup! They are really helpful. Yes, I totally agree with the pump action bottles – I transfer my moisture into a small pump bottle as it makes it easier for me. Also agree that as long as I have mascara on 🙂 Love the idea of lip liner pencil and lip balm – I’ll try that out. Thanks again Lou!

  3. There are definitely a few products in here that I wouldn’t mind trying for myself! Fun fact though, the person who invented Quick Flick is actually from the same state as me in Australia and I’ll hopefully be interviewing her for my blog.

    1. Hi Amy. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Please let me know how you get if you decide to give any of these products a try. I hope you enjoy using them and it makes applying makeup a little easier. That sounds like a great blog post – I’ll be sure to look out for that coming up on your blog 🙂

    2. Hi Amy. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Please let me know how you get if you decide to give any of these products a try. I hope you enjoy using them and it makes applying makeup a little easier. That sounds like a great blog post – I’ll be sure to look out for that coming up on your blog 🙂

  4. This was so helpful!!! I’ve just ordered some of the items from Superdrug. Can’t wait to try the eyeliner stamp. I have been struggling to take the time and precision to do my winged eyeliner for some time, this could change everything! 😀 I’ve never tried any eyelashes before, can you use them more than once? Do they irritate eyes?

    1. Hi Hanna. Thank you so much for getting in touch. How did you get on with the eyeliner stamp? Has it worked out for you? Did you get the eyelashes too? Yeah, they can be used more than once and they haven’t irritated my eyes 🙂

  5. Is there anything that will help me apply nail polish? I have lost most of my control over my left hand due to MS.

    1. Hi Valerie. Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, I’m not too sure as this is something I haven’t came across but I certainly have a look and let you know if I find anything.

  6. Thank you so much for this article. I’m so excited to try the guide eyeliner, and find more things! Personally makeup is a struggle because of my very severe fatigue and bad depth perception. I am also looking for more sustainable things which makes it harder. I love to do more graphic liner and I think I’ll be able to do it so much easier and more often. I’m also non binary so it’s just another way for me to break the binary and rock being disabled!

    1. Hi Emrrys. Thank you so much for your comment – it’s lovely to hear from you. I’m so pleased you found this article and that it was helpful to you in finding new accessible makeup products. Please let me know how you get on with the guide eyeliner and if you find other products that help make applying makeup easier. Look forward to hearing from you again. 🙂

  7. Hi Emma
    Really enjoyed reading about the guide beauty duo eyeliner .I wondered can you only buy from America or is it available in the uk ? Did you have to pay import taxes etc if you don’t mind me asking how much does it work out total

    Regards sue

    1. Hi Susan. Thank you for your comment. I’ve heard that they are working on more affordable ways of shipping to the UK, so hopefully, it won’t be much longer as I’m keen to order their mascara again. Thanks again, Emma.

  8. Do you have any suggestions on how to do your eyebrows when you have a tremor that affects both hands as I struggle with that along with mascara.

    1. Hi Lorraine. I’m not sure if I’ve seen an eyebrow product on the market yet. However, have you heard of Hapta? They are launching a handheld computerised makeup applicator designed for those with hand-motion disorders, tremors etc. https://www.loreal.com/en/articles/science-and-technology/hapta-lancome-innovation/. L’Oréal is also launching (it may already have launched) 3D shu:brow which is for eyebrow styling. https://www.loreal.com/en/articles/science-and-technology/3d-shu-brow/

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