As a makeup artist, I myself am always curious as to what foundation other makeup artists like to stock in their professional makeup kits. With so many options today, I would say most makeup artists like to carry a few different options and that there is not necessarily one universal foundation brand that makeup artists respond as “the one and only foundation.”
Personally, I think less tends to always be more and I do not like to carry too many foundations in my kit. Lately, most of my clients opt for the airbrush makeup application in which I strictly use Dinair, so carrying a ton of foundations is not a necessity in my makeup kit.
When I do a traditional makeup application (applied with a standard foundation brush and liquid/cream foundation), I tend to stick to Cinema Secrets Ultimate Foundation 5-in-1 Pro Palette. This foundation truly is great! Best of all, I actually have been using this around the time I first began my career in makeup artistry. I discovered the brand the first time I attended The Makeup Show in NYC and have been pretty hooked since.
I like this foundation for many reasons. For starters, it comes in a palette which in and of itself is much more convenient than carrying multiple bottles of foundations which can be bulky and heavy to carry around. Secondly, being it is a cream consistency, it is very blendable and I can easily manipulate the coverage ranging from sheer coverage to more full coverage along with mixing the colors more easily to get the most accurate color match. There are also many palette combos to choose from. I own the 400, 500A, and 500B series which tends to cover most skintones.
Also, I use these palettes as my concealer palettes for undereye circles and other skin imperfections. I am a huge believer than a good foundation can also serve the purpose of a concealer.
I highly recommend the Cinema Secrets foundation palettes to any professional makeup artist for the convenience and the quality. I also want to mention that I do as a second option carry the NARS Sheer Glow foundation in my kit. I own almost every shade as I like the color spectrum offered (especially for darker complexions) and the coverage is very smooth.