So ladies, how does one start into this arena.
I used to have my sisters as models and did practice on them a lot and I loved doing it. How can I get started on a small scale applying makeup on ppl before getting great enough to start charging market prices.
Please share your tips and advice.
I love makeup (applying it on others more than myself)
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
hmm i want to know as well
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Bump where is colorful eyes, reha, M_was_here, and Pseudo... in short all the amazing makeup artists...where are they?
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
all are bzy doing 
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Well, you have a lot of work cut out for you.
You need to have a good range of products to cover and cater to all skin types.
Develop your style. Every makeup artist has something that sets them apart from the rest which also makes them a bit memorable. So what is so special about you?
What do you want to do with your makeup? Bridals? Fashion? Editorial work? What is your goal?
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Is Reha a makeup artist.. didn't know
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Well I can only talk from my own experience and what I did...
First of all its very important to have passion which you say you have so that's a good start! Second of all know your market and know who your competitors are. Your in the makeup business so know your stuff about makeup - whats new, whats good, whats bad etc... In order for someone to call themselves a "Professional" you need to have that creative ability which sets you apart from everyday makeup. I would highly recommend going on a professional Hair and makeup course. This for me is what gave me the confidence in starting up my own business.
-Start building your portfolio - A mixture of professional shoots and un-edited pictures
-Business cards, Logo's, website etc. these are things you can start looking into
-Create a fb page
-Advertise free makeovers in order to build your portfolio.
-Do free makeup for charity events/fashion shows etc.
-Basically get your name out there, and let people know YOU ARE HERE!!!
Continue this process until people start recognising your work. It will be difficult, especially if you have invested a lot of time and money into it. Stay focused and stay motivated and don't let others put you down. Let your work do all the talking for you.xxx
Thats all I got right now - hope it helps.xxx
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Yes Spiral mashAllah she is....
Reha, I would love to do bridal, fashion shoot and evening and day makeup. How do I get ppl to practice on ? My sisters aren't here and no friends either so how do I go about it ?
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Oh yeah and don't go crazy editing your makeup.....People don't like looking at photo shopped makeup they want to see what your capable of..
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Ok so while we are talking about this... why should someone be a homebased makeup artist/business owner vs. someone who could work for umm MAC, Estee Lauder companies or umm say Sephora. You get professional training and all by working at big companies for free so why not that.
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
By all means do, Its a good starting point and a good way to keep up to date with new products on the market.
However, In my opinion, you can teach someone a skill but you cant teach them creativity or originality. You learn that on your own.
And as far as I am aware, to work for MAC you need to be doing freelancing at the same time.
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
^You can be both, this way more people will come to know about you, you will hone your skills and let's not forget, get great discounts on makeup :-D I think Colorful Eyes and Reha pretty much summed it up. I'm not doing it professionally "yet" but I do plan to in the future iA. I'm slowly starting to work on my portfolio by doing before and after makeup pictures. Once I have a strong portfolio with a variety of looks and a decent range of makeup to get me started, i'll start advertising more. Once you put yourself out there, and are able to deliver good service for a decent price, people will come to you.
Also, I agree with Colorful Eyes about having pictures that aren't heavily edited. When I post my eye makeup pictures in this forum, I do edit them because they're JUST eye makeup pictures that have too much detail and need editing, but when you want to do this professionally, obviously you'll pictures of full face makeup and that I suggest you don't edit because people should see what you can actually do. Most of the MUA's i've seen who are either starting out or already established, only showcase pictures of brides that are professionally taken and are so edited you can't see the true quality of the makeup. You can make out what the eye makeup and lipstick look like, but the most important part of the makeup, the foundation/base/contour/blush is all blurred. I myself would only get my makeup done from someone whose face makeup is visibly great.
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
You know working for a big company for 2 years professionaly I have to say that its an exciting job. The only downside is they push you to do things you are not too comfortable doing. I absolutely hated selling skincare and convincing people to buy skin care but because that's where these companies really make a lot of money, you are left with no choice. I loved giving make overs and playing with colors. They also push you to achieve numbers/targets which is another reason I left this field. Now I am actually pretty interested again but I just can't do it :( I understand why a lot of people freelance and do it on their own but its very difficult with married life and kids
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
To add to the above posts. Building a successful business out of this won't come overnight, even if you had everything set. So you need to be patient and persevere.
C_E (and this goes for Pseu too) was already quite accomplished imo before deciding to pursue this professionally, which is quite important. So you really just need to start building/improving technique etc.
I think right now you are looking to practice, practice, practice but you don't have your sisters around to do so on. You should practice on yourself as much as you can. A course will definitely give you a kick start. You can advertise locally for people willing to model for you. Once you are reasonably confident, you can start small, offering stuff like party makeup and hair... it's a lot less pressure than bridal makeup.
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Spiral - I think a lot of the counter jobs are more for sales people than makeup artists.
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
^^^ Yes that's how it was but now they are getting very strict. If you don't have some kind of experience working as a MUA, they wouldn't hire you. Its very competitive now and the pay pretty good. I know a lot of MUA that different companies would invite for freelance work and to generate sales and most of them started off as a counter makeup artists. As they gained knowledge and professional training they moved up.
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
:k:
You can advertise free or almost free makeovers to start off with. Always have a camera with you to take pictures of your work and be educated about different skin types, eye shapes, mixing colors, etc.
I don’t think the learning process ever ends…you’re always constantly learning and updating.
You absolutely could. I would have done that if my situation allowed me the time away from my work to do so. But it doesn’t so I had and still have to resort to practice, lessons, lots of trial and error and so much more.
:k:
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
A friend of mine did this in college and she did many of the things that've been mentioned on the thread already.
She got a job at various make-up counters in order to build her "credibility" and get the experience on working on a wide variety of women (she started off part-time at Clinique during summer, and then she was offered a postion at Chanel by that counter manager. After a year at Chanel she moved to MAC to do more "colorful" looks).
After that 1st year of "working" experience....she got business cards, and a site with various looks. Of course she also invested $$ on buying professional quality products so she can do whatever look the client wanted (the MAC employee discount helped her big time with this I think). But another thing she did was that she went to local churches and also contacted the PTA at local high schools and offered her services for super cheap (like around $25 dollars or so). At the churches, she let them know that if someone can't even afford that, she'd be willing to do it for free. Especially through the PTA, she got tons of girls around prom time. She always passed out cards and also asked these girls/women if she can use their before and after pics for her porfolio (majority said "yes").
In addition, she also contacted the local chapter of Junior League and offered her services for free for women who needed it (this way she also managed to meet many well-off women who're part of the organization and got her name out that way too).
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
Yeah Paheli... I know a lot of people who did that. I know people who didnt know anything about makeup but working for these companies really help you build that profile. I've attended several seminars that are loaded with knowledge, application of makeup, tricks and most importantly how to work on different skin tones. These employees get 200-300 dollars twice or three times a year depending on where you work to get products you like and play with them, use them on yourself to learn. They used to give me free products to use and see how they work at the launch of any new products. I don't know if people agree or disagree here but the more you work on others, the more you learn. I used to do at least one makeover each day. Of course I did it to pay my tuition in college but in the two years I did this, I learned a lot plus that name on my resume has helped me when applying for makeup related jobs.
Re: Becoming a makeup artist (home based)
I don't know if people agree or disagree here but the more you work on others, the more you learn. I used to do at least one makeover each day. Of course I did it to pay my tuition in college but in the two years I did this, I learned a lot plus that name on my resume has helped me when applying for makeup related jobs.
I agree with this. Working at a high volume make-up counter gives someone the opportunity to work on a WIDE variety of skin tones, skin types different looks, and also gives them a good experience dealing with client demands. This is not something one can obtain just by working on their siblings or close friends. In addition, yes, being able to claim experience with those companies did help build her credibility in the beginning.
Of course that doesn't mean that working for a counter is a "must", but it definately helps to invest that time/energy in the long-run.