How Much Do You Charge?

Jan 27, 2014

Antonia S.

I really hate making posts that are so repetitive but when I searched the forums all I found was questions asking about what to charge for a wedding.
To my freelancers,professionals and aspiring professionals out there, how much do you charge for non-wedding makeup applications? Birthdays, girls night outs, etc?
My little beauty business is finally booming and I really need to establish a set rate. Should these rates change based on the client?
For example, a few of my younger sister's friends want me to do their makeup for their upcoming Valentine's Day Dance. They are 13-14 years old. I'm assuming their parents are the ones paying for it. Would I charge less as opposed to people my age (17-18) wanting their makeup done for dates,Saturday nights or prom?
Any other tips, advice and guidance on pricing and running a business would be GREATLY GREATLY GREATLY appreciated! :-))))

Jan 27, 2014

MaKenzie T.

Personally if it were me... (When I do makeup I don't charge very often)
I would charge 10-15 dollars for a full face on clients the ages 16-19, in regards to high school students. For younger girls I would charge anywhere from 15-20 dollars for a full face, simply because they are 1. less likely to want the full face lashes and all, makeup, and 2. the parents are more likely to be able to pay more than a highschooler who will probably be paying for it out of their pocket... You could do that or you could just charge by amount of makeup used or something...

Jan 27, 2014

Antonia S.

Thank you Makenzie. One of my classmates approached me about doing her makeup. She said she wanted to go get it professionally done but she's on a tight budget. We were texting about it yesterday and she asked how much I was going to charge her. Me and my mother came up with $20. I thought that was reasonable. I'm just starting out but I think I'm pretty talented. I even thought $20 would be too much for her since I know her pretty well and she's such a cheapskate.
She replied back with "Omg that's it?"
I was dumbfounded and left even more confused about my pricing.

Jan 27, 2014

Ame S.

Okay I am no make up artist but I just graduated with a degree in Finance so I am offering some pricing advice. I think since you're starting off, you could charge people lesser, that would result in you getting popular faster since you're also talented. And less price multipled by more number of customers is equal to more price multiplied by less number of customers. Its just my opinion, hopefully I don't offend you, I know lotsa talented ladies who sold sevices for less towards the beginning of the business to get known, and it works. Right now your focus should be to get people to acknowledge you as an artist, if you charge less at first and keep the quality of results good, the word will spread about you soon. Good luck to you!

Jan 27, 2014

Taylor F.

I get all of my special occasion makeup done at Ulta. They use top of the line cosmetics, Benefit, Urban Decay, etc.. so I completely agree with Jacqueline about loosing money if you charge too little. You want to be affordable, but you want to make a profit off of your skills too. Ulta charges $30 for a full face and $10 additional for false eyelashes. Maybe that'll help you some :)

Jan 28, 2014

Antonia S.

Thank you all for the all the advice!

Feb 1, 2014

Vera C.

I've been freelancing for about 6 years now (so since I was 17) and only use the highest quality product and also do consultations. I charge hourly for events ($35p/h) and they go for usually 4-5 hours. For one off clients its $30, consultations are $15 (Including skin diagnoses and color charts, and free samples). Makeup parties are $20 perperson, 45 minutes on each. I charge $10 every half hour after that :)

Feb 4, 2014

Michaela K.

There's actually a formula for calculating price, that we learned in Beauty school. First you have to decide your hourly rate, then multiply it by the time you need to work and divide by 60 (for instance $15 per hour you need 30min for a full face that means your time costs $7.50) then you add your material costs, then how much % profit you want to make (though since you're not paying an employee you could skip this and make your hourly fee higher) and then add your tax.
Hope that's helpful ^_^

Feb 6, 2015

Cathy J.

You'll never make a profit doing $30 faces.