Almost every professional MUA I know starts of a little purchase-crazy with the makeup. For one thing; you're normally already a makeup addict when you get into makeup artistry, so any new purchase is easily justifiable. Two, there is somewhat of a pressure to overstock cosmetics either to impress clients on a superficial level, or to justify professionalism by showing preparedness for multiple skin types, skin tones and photographic requirements.

Personally, I hate overstocking. It's bulky, it's a hassle for me, and too many items in rotation will just lead to wastage. The pro community generally believes that all you ever really need is one high pigment product palette, adjustors and a thinning agent. From this small pool of materials, every particularity such as undertone, shade and finish can be adjusted on the spot. I agree! I have mastered foundation application from soft basic to full coverage, and find so many products unnecessary to my style. I do well just by editing my application technique or mix.

I rely on my go to go-to palette, the RCMA 6-Part DTC Palette Set A (PHP 4200, from dtcmakeup.com). This is all in warm tones though, and the high (50%) pigmentation means any little shade mismatch is clearly visible, so I did find the need to invest in the RCMA Adjustor Palette (PHP 1500, also from dtcmakeup.com) to perfect my matches. I also want to get this raved moisturizer, the Embryolisse Lait Creme, to thin out my foundation, but I am currently doing well with Bio-Oil.

With this setup, my only problem is that major undertone adjustment is quite a pain. I am looking to purchase another base palette with more undertone variety, but I'm pretty miffed that DTC keeps curating warm-only palettes. They generally have a great understanding of professional needs for local artists, but I can attest that Filipinos have the most complicated and varied undertones. We are definitely not all yellow-based, not even close! We have so many neutrals and olives, and even some pinks. At least sprinkle in a few of those undertones for the bigger palettes :[

With all that said, I'm not totally reliant on these three things for base work. I still carry a few additional favorite foundation finishes such as MUFE Water Blend in Y415 to tan up male model faces and MUFE Liquid Lift #1 to even out the body skin tone for female beauty shots. These are both water-based foundations, which is a great supplement for the few times I'd need them over the cream-based RCMA foundation palette. I also stock up on various color-correcting MUFE Step 1 Primers!

Don't misinterpret: I'm not trying to declare rules on what to do. I hate those people who just need to bother how other people do things! This whole post is just my way of explaining that me carrying a small kit is by no means a way of scrimping on tools for ~my life's passion~ but actually, a way to show off my mastery of color theory and foundation application. I get defensive about RCMA a lot of times because the case looks like tupperware I took from home, but it honestly is pro-stuff! 50% pigment cannot be beat (I think Dermacol also has 50% pigment, but they don't have palettes.)