The Basics: What’s In My Kit pt 1 – Foundations

The Basics returns! We’re starting with Part 1 of Many of my Pro Makeup Kit Tour – you guessed it – Foundations

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I was recently asked to do a Kit Tour…

And in trying to do so I realized a video tour of my kit would be about 5 days long, and I’m guessing folks aren’t really interested in that ;-). So I decided this is a perfect time to hit the Blog, bring back my series The Basics, and talk about what I’m using right now. Because Foundations – IMO – are The Basics of makeup. Period. Bad Foundation? Bad makeup, end of story.

OK so some ground rules:

– I like to go into the why’s of my product selections, not just the what’s. I also like to use things for a while before reviewing it. Hence, you’ll rarely see “the hot new item of the moment” in my “The Basics” series. These are the products that have stood the test of time.

– This is not a sponsored post*, no one is paying me to say any of these things, in fact none of these brands know I’m writing this article. I just really do feel this strongly about these products. These are foundations I LOVE, and if you go back through the archives of this blog I’ve talked about most of these products many times. (*that said, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. )

– These are not the only foundations I ever use, these are the foundations I find I use most often.

– I tend to skew to professional foundations moreso than consumer/retail foundations, with a few notable exceptions.

– I primarily work in the commercial/lifestyle space (as opposed to fashion or celebrity or bridal, etc.), and I am known and get hired for “clean, pretty” makeup. I’m not serving “beats”, generally speaking, and my clients aren’t generally looking for that.

– I tend to prefer a medium coverage foundation that I can build up or sheer down as needed. I find medium coverage gives me the most flexibility to go either way.

– A foundation brand has to have an extensive color range or I won’t even consider it, period. Therefore it’s not part of my descriptions below. All of the brands mentioned have excellent color range or else I wouldn’t even own them much less talk about them.

– While I prefer not to carry a massive kit most of the time, I need a lot of foundations. Not only do I need a vast array of colors (I work on a highly diverse clientele), but like most makeup pros I need a vast array of formulations and textures of foundations. We often won’t know exactly what someone’s skin may need/not need/like/not like, therefore we need options.👍🏾

These are the foundations I opt for most frequently (click on any image to see it larger):

Cinema Secrets – Ultimate Foundations 5-in-1 Palettes Cinema Secrets was the second pro/theatrical foundation I ever owned, the first being Ben Nye. Whereas Ben Nye foundations are a more traditional oil-based cream, Cinema Secrets is a wax formulation. I didn’t know it for years, but it’s actually a silicone wax foundation. When applied damp it glides effortlessly over the skin. It smooths over uneven texture and fine lines/wrinkles, and leaves a beautiful skin-realistic finish. It’s lightweight and most of my clients have found it very comfortable to wear, and like most pro foundations it wears for a very long time. I used CS pretty much exclusively for years and years, stopped using it for a while (I’ll say why in a bit), and then fell back in love with it when I had the opportunity to be on the Cinema Secrets Pro Team.

When I Use It: I’ve used Cinema Secrets in pretty much every medium or scenario and it’s never failed me. The skin-realistic finish is perfect for corporate & lifestyle (print & motion), and it was developed by a master film/tv artist so yeah, it works for film and TV. For beauty/fashion, I’ll tend to go for a foundation with a more glowy finish however I have made CS more glowy by adding in various mixing mediums because unlike many consumer products, Cinema Secrets – and most pro cream foundations – do not break down when they are thinned out. Cinema Secrets Ultimate Foundation is truly a GOAT foundation.

(Sidenote: Way back in the day I had an opportunity to take a course with the late, great Maurice Stein. Amongst his many accolades as an artist, Mr. Stein was a master teacher and product developer. It’s no exaggeration for me to say that Cinema Secrets changed the course of my career.)

Graftobian – Ultra HD Pro Glamour Creme Foundation
So what foundation made me stop using Cinema Secrets for a long while? Graftobian Glamour Creme Ultra HD Foundation. Graftobian is a hard-core theatrical brand and their grease paints are truly grease paints and totally inappropriate for photographic work. When they introduced these “Glamour creme” foundations… man, listen.

The main thing about the Glamour Cremes is how incredibly lightweight they are for a cream foundation. This enables an artist to apply multiple layers and create as much coverage as desired without creating a cakey, over-done finish. The Graftobian Glamour Cremes photograph beautifully, and they have a wonderfully glowy finish. You can easily matte it down with powder if you want/need, and you can also sheer it way way down with a mixing medium or the right moisturizer and get a sheerer foundation that still has good coverage and photographs well. And again, that glow. In terms of the practicals of adding Graftobian to your kit, they are very affordable and while they come in singles as pictured, they are also available in five color palettes and in 18 color palettes. And you can bundle the palettes to get even more of a discount.

When I Use It: When the Glamour Creme came out I was almost exclusively working in print, and a goodly portion of what I was doing was commercial beauty and fashion. The sheeny, semi glam-y finish is perfect for that work. I’ll still pull it out for those types of shoots.

Graftobian – Pro Powder™ Foundation Palettes – Ultra HD I think that every makeup artist can benefit from having a powder foundation in their kit. It’s a super versatile kit item that can be used in any number of ways: men’s makeup grooming, kids makeup, finishing a beauty makeup, on the face, on the body, as a brow powder in a pinch, etc.etc. Powder foundations are a Swiss army knife kind of kit item. The Graftobian powder foundations can also be used either dry or wet. When applied dry they are like a more pigmented pressed powder, but when applied wet they’re a full-on medium coverage foundation. The only caveat I have is that the Graftobian ProPowders can be a little bit ashy appearing on the deeper end.

When I Use It: It’s one of my main MAIN men’s makeup products of choice. The fact that it feels like “just powder” but the coverage is actually foundation-level works well with makeup reluctant talent. I also use the deeper, neutral shades as contour and bronzer quite frequently, and the light shades as **non shimmery highlight** which is vastly underrated in today’s makeup world. ALSO if I need a little bit of correction, like someone’s foundation is reading a bit too light or a bit too yellow or what-have-you, I can use the Graftobian powders to subtly deepen or neutralize a foundation application.

Make Up For Ever – Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation (Discontinued)
Make Up For Ever – HD Skin Undetectable Longwear Foundation
Oh Make Up For Ever… Make Up For Ever was of course founded by artist Dany Sanz, and established itself as an artist driven brand for decades. LVHN owns Make Up For Ever now, and the line has clearly taken a turn for the consumer, with several favorite products taking the hit along the way. Make Up For Ever’s HD Foundation has changed several different times in its lifetime (which I chronicled here). While many artists swore by the original 2008 iteration, the 2015 Ultra HD version was my jam because it still gave great coverage but it was more lightweight. Alas that version was discontinued last year, and the HD Skin was introduced. The HD Skin has a more matte finish (which in my opinion is less skin-realistic because most people do not have naturally matte skin), and it is self-setting. In short, it was re-formulated to appeal to consumers. When I first tried this I hated it. I have since softened my stance on it, and I’ve gotten it to work for me similarly to how I used the Ultra HD foundation as long as I prep the skin correctly.

When I Use It: Because it it more matte and a bit longer wearing, I have liked it for my corporate work print and video. And then when I’ve done commercial fashion e-commerce-type work, I find that changing my skin prep to using a slightly more emollient moisturizer gives me a fresh, glowy but not sheeny, finish that’s more to my liking. It probably shortens the “long wear” aspect when I do that, but oh well, I’m on hand to do touchups on those jobs so it’s fine. I have also been recommending this foundation as an easy to wear, everyday foundation for private clients. The self-setting is great for normal to oily skin types. Dry skin folks, hold tight…

Make Up For Ever – Matte Velvet Skin Full Coverage Foundation
As of the time of this writing, the Matte Velvet foundation is the only full coverage foundation I have on active duty. I have another that’s might possibly make the cut, but for now the Matte Velvet stands alone. I appreciate that the Matte Velvet is a full coverage with a soft matte finish that isn’t aging and heavy and cakey looking. If you need it to be more matte, it powders down nicely, but let me tell ya: theses hella hypy matte-y matte matte foundations are aging and they look terrible on anyone other than young folks with perfect skin. Seriously. Do not make your kit foundation selections based on how it looks on a perfect-skin 19 year old influencer, you will be in a World Of Hurt when you get someone like me in your chair.

When I Use It: When I have someone who either needs or wants a fuller coverage foundation. As far as usage, it works both in real life and on-camera. It’s very versatile. Basically it’s like a full coverage version of the Ultra HD foundation. The only thing I’d say is that since it’s a matte foundation, it’s easier to just keep it matte. I’ll go to my creams if I want a full coverage with a dewy or sheeny finish.

Senna – Slipcover Cream to Powder Foundation I got the Slipcover foundation after seeing Eugenia Weston using it in a demo at one of the trade shows. Queen Eugenia – as I casually call her – is a legendary makeup artist of the highest caliber (that demo was fantastic), and the founder and formulator of Senna Cosmetics. I was interested in the Slipcover foundation because of its more matte finish. As I am increasingly working in motion photography, my sheeny dewy foundations that I love for print work aren’t always appropriate in the motion space. The Slipcover foundations are a wax-based cream that dry to a powder finish. It was a bit tricky to get the hang of it, proper prep is key with this product. Once you do get the hang, however, the reward is a lovely skin-realistic medium finish that can easily be built up to way full coverage if desired.

When I Use It: I specifically got this foundation when I started working with a Corporate client, shooting largely for video, where I have a lot of “real people” talent and I may have different skin issues to address. I needed a non-sheeny finish, and versatility with the level of coverage.

Face Atelier – Ultra Foundation Pro
My ganxta boo. Folks would have to pry Face Atelier Ultra Foundation from my cold, dead hands before I stop using this foundation. Go ahead and do a search on the blog right quick and see how often I have talked about how much I love this foundation. I am true to this not new to this!

Face Atelier is a silicone-based liquid foundation. It is kind of similar to Armani Luminous Silk but it’s not sheeny like the Armani. Armani has reflective pigments in it, Face Atelier does not. This makes the Face Atelier more suited for a wider variety of situations, while still having the gorgeous glowy finish that silicone foundations typically do. The Ultra Foundation is a medium coverage that can easily be sheered way down, or you can apply multiple layers for a fuller coverage. Also – as a silicone based foundation – it glides over skin texture and fine lines so it’s great for matured skin. And did I mention that it’s gorgeous?

Probably the biggest distinction about the Ultra Foundations are that in addition to the 19 base shades, there are 8 adjusters to perfect any shade you may need. And it’s gorgeous.

LATE EDIT: I forgot to mention – Face Atelier has a full sample program where you can buy samples of any of the foundations before committing to purchasing a full bottle 🤗 AND if you are enrolled in their discount program for Pro Artists, they honor the discount on the samples!

When I Use It: I literally can’t think of a situation where I used Face Atelier and it didn’t work. I will say that for motion work where you may want it more matte, start the matte process in your skin prep as well as powdering it down well.

Koh Gen Do – Maifanshi Moisture Foundation (Red Tube)
My expensive ganxta boo. This is another one you’d have to pry from my cold dead hands, but I have to be honest with you: It retails for $99 nowadays. So while it is gorgeous, and I mean it is GORGEOUS, I don’t know that this is a foundation most of us would reach for on the day to day basis. When you do reach for it, however, you will know where that $99 went. The Maifanshi Moisture foundation is a rich liqui-cream formula. It packs quite a punch of pigmentation so not much is needed for a gorgeous medium coverage, and it sets with a dewy/hydrated glow. Because it is a hydrating moisture based formula, it is gorgeous on folks with drier skin. And that would be my only caveat is it’s slippy on oiler skin in my experience. The right skin prep may be able to mitigate that, but overall I’d say this is best for dry to normal skin folk.

When I Use It: Koh Gen Do for me is largely reserved for more “VIP” situations like Press, Satellite Media tours, editorial, and particularly red carpet. I used it on a Grammy award-winning client and she looked fab all night in all of the various lighting situations in which she was photographed, which is important for live event work. Actually do a search during awards season sometime and take note of how many artists are using Koh Gen Do on their clients. #themoreyouknow

Honorable Mentions

AJ Crimson Beauty – Dual Skin Creme Foundation (Artist Kit)
We still love and miss artist AJ Crimson. I became a huge fan of his Dual Skin Creme Foundation for my deeper skin tone clients.He made a full shade-range, but the colors on the deeper end were special. For a goodly portion of his career the bulk of his clientele were women of color and he really understood that skin tone range. It took a bit to really nail down his formulation (I remember when I first tried it, it oxidized something fierce), but once it was nailed down it was something special and I used it regularly and on some of my biggest projects. Alas it does not seem that the line has been able to survive his highly unexpected passing.If you happen to see some in back stock somewhere, do pick it up.

NARS – Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation
Last but not least… So this foundation is an “honorable mention” because it hasn’t made it across all the bases and into my kit just yet, but it is definitely At Bat. This is the foundation of choice for a lovely talent whom I’ve worked with many times and she asked me to use her bottle on her. I used it once on a video shoot and once on a print shoot and it was gorgeous both times. The Natural Radiant Longwear foundation is just that; It’s a radiant glow finish that’s still natural and not hyper sheeny or dewy. It’s a medium to full coverage foundation, and I would say it leans more towards the full coverage side. As I’m incorporating it into my kit, I will see if it replaces the MUFE Matte Velvet as the “full coverage” foundation in my kit, or if they are different enough where I’ll end up carrying both.

When I Use It: It’s still in the eval stage, so I’m using it on a lot of different tests/small projects to see where I like it most. Will give a more in-depth report at a later date. 👍🏾

Are any of these on your “must have” list? Are you interested in trying any of these that you haven’t already? What are some of your “always in rotation” foundations?

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