There’s an adage that goes something like this: "It’s not the tools that are used but the artist who uses them." Legendary photographer Ansel Adams said something similar: "The single most important component of a camera is the 12 inches behind it."4 The materials in your makeup kit will not make you a better artist; the right materials just make it easier, faster, and more convenient for you to achieve the results you want.
If you were to ask every working makeup artist what he or she has in their kit and what they consider absolutely essential tools to have in everyone’s kit, you will likely find a great many different answers, the same as trying to get a fix on what type of case or cases these tools should be carried around in. Some artists swear by Ben Nye creme foundations; others can’t live without Mehron, Krylon, or RCMA products. Still others may say it’s MAC or Sephora for them, or nothing. Very few, if any, artists use only one product brand for the simple reason that no one single manufacturer makes everything an artist could possibly use. The Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared," certainly applies in this instance because we makeup artists are frequently called on to come up with a makeup seemingly out of thin air— something unplanned—and if we’ve got a little bit of everything at our disposal, it becomes much easier to improvise on the spot and (one hopes) look like a hero. Ironically, to be good at improvising requires practice and a very broad knowledge base. Some suggested kit essentials as well as a fairly comprehensive listing of suppliers are included in the appendix.