Supplies
PMU Supplies for Artists — Pigment Sets, Cartridges and Consumables
Supplies are where a studio quietly leaks money. This page lists what a working PMU artist actually consumes each month, what it costs, how often to reorder — and how to get it delivered when there is no professional supplier in your city.
Quick answer
Professional PMU supplies fall into three groups: pigments (US$22–$38 per 15 ml, replaced 2–3 times a year), cartridges (US$0.60–$1.20 each, 2–4 per session), and consumables such as gloves, barrier film, rings and practice skins (US$80–$150 a month). FINERSKIN ships all three direct from Hong Kong with 24-hour dispatch.
What you'll learn
- ·The monthly consumable budget for a working studio
- ·How many cartridges a session really uses
- ·Which pigment shades to keep in stock
- ·Reorder cycles that avoid running dry
- ·Where to buy when there is no local supplier
- ·How to avoid uncertified pigment
"PMU supplies near me" — the honest answer
In most Asian cities there is no dedicated professional PMU supplier. What exists is general beauty-supply retail carrying entry-tier equipment at a markup, plus a grey market of resellers importing unbranded pigment. Neither is a supply chain you want your healed results to depend on.
The professional market buys direct. That is not a limitation of your city — it is how the category works, because certified pigment has batch traceability and shelf-life dating that a general retailer has no reason to manage.
FINERSKIN is online-only and ships direct from our Hong Kong depot with dispatch inside 24 hours on business days: 1–2 days to Hong Kong and Macau, 2–4 days to Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, 3–5 days to Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and Korea, and 5–9 days to Europe, the US and Australia. For most artists in the region that is faster than a local order would be restocked.
Pigments — what to keep in stock
The 23-shade FNS signature range is built around Fitzpatrick III–V, which is where most of Asia sits, with cool and deep options at both ends. A working studio does not need all 23. It needs the six to eight that match its actual client base, plus a corrector.
A typical brow-led studio keeps a light taupe, a mid brown, a deep espresso, an ash modifier and a warm or orange corrector. A studio taking regular lip work adds a coral, a rose and a mauve base. Hold two bottles of your highest-volume shade and one of everything else.
Pigment has a shelf life. Unopened bottles are good for around 24–36 months; once opened, work to 12 months and note the open date on the label. Buying a twenty-bottle assortment means most of it expires before it is used — which is why we sell shades individually rather than as a fixed set.
Cartridges — real consumption
Plan two to four cartridges per session: one for outline and mapping passes, one or two for the main pass, and a fresh one if you switch between hairstroke and shading configurations. At eight sessions a week that is 64–128 cartridges a month.
Keep three configurations stocked. 1RL for crisp individual hairstrokes. 3RL for outline and denser stroke work. A 5-point round shader for ombré, powder brow and lip fill. Everything else is a refinement you can add later.
Buy universal-fit. Machines locked to proprietary cartridges give the supplier permanent pricing power over your single largest recurring cost, and cartridges are the one line item you will still be buying in five years.
Consumables and the monthly budget
Nitrile gloves, barrier film for machine and cables, pigment rings, cotton pads, sterile water, practice skins, numbing product compliant with your own market's rules, and aftercare balm you hand to the client.
For a studio running eight sessions a week, budget US$80–$150 a month on this group, US$60–$180 on cartridges, and US$150–$300 on pigment two to three times a year. That is roughly US$1,900–$3,300 a year in supplies for a full-time artist — a number worth knowing before you set your session price.
Reorder rule that prevents dead weeks: reorder when you hit one third remaining, not when you run out. With 24-hour dispatch and 2–5 day regional transit, a one-third trigger means you never cancel a booking over stock.
Specifications
| Pigment range | 23 signature shades, Fitzpatrick I–VI |
| Pigment price | US$22 – $38 per 15 ml bottle |
| Pigment shelf life | 24–36 months sealed · 12 months once opened |
| Cartridges | Universal fit · US$0.60 – $1.20 each |
| Cartridge use | 2–4 per session · 64–128 per month at 8 sessions/week |
| Consumables | US$80 – $150 per month |
| Annual supplies budget | US$1,900 – $3,300 for a full-time artist |
| Dispatch | Within 24 hours from Hong Kong, tracked |
| Free shipping | Worldwide on orders over US$500 |
Shop
FNS Signature Pigments — 23 shades
Hybrid chemistry tuned for Fitzpatrick III–V with cool and deep options at both ends. Buy shades individually so your palette matches your clients instead of expiring on a shelf.
Shop pigmentsFAQ
Frequently asked
Most Asian cities have no dedicated professional PMU supplier — the professional market buys direct online. FINERSKIN ships from Hong Kong with 24-hour dispatch: 1–2 days to HK, 2–4 days to Singapore and Malaysia, 3–5 days across ASEAN, Japan and Korea.
Keep reading
Studio cluster
Build the rest of the studio
Machine, kit, pricing and the free tools that shape your pigment and mapping decisions.