Making My Way

Oct 30, 2014

Emily W.

Your first step is to do makeup on other people. Someone isn't a makeup artist if they can only do makeup on themselves. Practice on friends and family, try to get practice on a variety of skin types, colors, and ages.

Learn about proper sanitation and hygiene. This is absolutely critical!

You need to create a portfolio. This consists of professional photos of makeup applied to models (friends, family, hired models, whomever). Makeup you have done on yourself does NOT go in a portfolio. Ever. It is fine to share your self portraits on social media, but they are not appropriate for use professionally.

Research and understand laws and regulations for operating a business in your area. You may need a cosmetology license in addition to a business license, or may face other regulations.

If you can go to a quality makeup school, excellent. This is a great foundation to learn techniques, gain experience, and create a portfolio. If formal schooling isn't for you, try to find a local artist whose work you admire and see if they will let you shadow/assist. You will need your own kit in order to do this.

Establish an efficient kit that is capable of accommodating a variety of needs: multiple skintones, skin types, styles (e.g. natural, or high fashion). Tailor your kit to your potential clientele: are you going to be focusing on brides, who want a softer look? (Or brides who want a seriously dramatic look, depending on culture.) Or do you want to try and work on film and print media? Understanding which direction you'd like to go well help you decide which types of products you'll need.

There are a lot of steps you need to take before you put yourself out there and try and get clients. If you go about this uninformed and improperly, you run the risk of encountering legal issues, injuring your reputation, and losing your business. It takes a lot of work, sacrifice, and learning before you can really achieve any success as a makeup artist. Trying to bypass this hard work still result in a quick burnout and extreme difficulty building yourself up again.