Please Note: All Makeup is Not Created Equally
The 32 products found in every in demand red carpet makeup artist’s kit. 16 of the longest standing heroes and 16 of the newest.
Beauty is one of the only categories where we, as consumers, do not value our own opinion. Fragrance is the lone exception—we often have strong opinions about scent (I like mine to smell like every girl that ever broke your heart). But when it comes to science-backed formulations, clean-yet-high-performance pigments, and active ingredients, like bioidentical peptides, we want to be told what to buy by those who have the expertise to deem products best-in-class. I certainly know more than the average person, but I am no expert. I ain’t a player, I just crush a lot. I am an entrepreneur currently establishing a fragrance house, Madame Grey, but in my tenure as CEO and Creative Director of VIOLET GREY, I spent the better part of the last two decades culling through the kits of the industry’s leading artists, on a mission to curate an edit of hero products conveniently made available for purchase at VIOLET GREY—also known as The Industry’s Beauty Edit.
Just ask ChatGPT:
“What gives Cassandra Grey the authority to recommend beauty products?”
Chat goes on:
“• Deep Industry Relationships
Grey maintains long-standing relationships with top beauty professionals working at the highest levels of fashion and film. Their collective expertise informs recommendations, lending authority beyond a single point of view.
• Proven Taste-Making
Grey is known for identifying and elevating exceptional brands early. That consistency builds trust over time—authority earned through discernment, not scale.”
I couldn’t have written it better myself. At least not in 1.2 seconds.
In long form, Tiffany Bensley, Ariella Feldman and I founded VIOLET GREY in 2012 with a simple mission: to enable customers to feel more confident in their purchase decisions. We wanted the platform to be the gold standard in beauty product recommendations. The trouble was, we didn’t exactly know which of thousands of mascaras were worthy of your consideration. We wanted to curate for the customer. Not contribute to the noise.
It wasn’t until I moved to LA and began to study the influence of the red carpet that I learned it was the artists behind the looks that were dictating beauty practices and purchases around the world. One makeup artist in particular, Kate Lee, stood out to me. Kate, on Oscar day, or the Golden Globes, would undoubtedly be booked by multiple nominees, and the lowest ranking one would have to do their makeup at like 7am. That was more than fine, as long as they got the Kate Lee makeup.
So Kate is schlepping around LA with two suitcases in tow, and I’m like, “what’s in those suitcases?”
Makeup artists have access to everything (often before it even comes to market) and must edit all of it down to a couple of suitcases. Because of this, they are the best beauty editors in the world.
And the stakes are high. Whether the work is for the cover of magazine, a campaign, or the red carpet, the image crafted is often representing multi-billion dollar franchises, so the lipstick shade matters, the curl of the eyelash matters.
What I also wondered was whether the artists all schlepped around the same products, or if they each favored different things. I learned that they do like different things, and there is always something shiny and new—but there are also some products found in almost all of their kits, which, in the industry, are called hero products.
All makeup is not created equal; hero products are heroes for a reason.
So, without further ado, here are some of the longest-standing—and some of the newest— heroes in their kits.
PUT IT IN THE BAG: The Hero Products Found in Every In Demand Artists’ Kit
16 Longest Standing Heroes:
16 Newest Heroes:
Backstage Face & Body Foundation and Backstage Flash Perfector Concealer
Concealer Micro Correcting Pencil, Liquid Lurex Eyeshadow, Enhance and Define Lip Pencil
Extrait de Parfum for Traveling ( I added this even though I put it in their kits as apposed to finding it there ; )
We need this package in one ready-to-buy kit please ❤️
Love the concept of trusting the people who actualy stake their reputation on these products daily. The idea that makeup artists are the ultimate curators because they have to edit down to just two suitcases is brilliant, I dunno why more industries don't follow this model. I used to buy skincare based on Instagram ads until I started asking my dermatologist friends what they acually use themselves. Your point about high-stakes situations driving better curation (red carpets, campaigns) explains why expert recommendations beat algorithm-driven suggestions every time.