A comprehensive guide to know how to become a makeup artist

If you love to be a part of a profession that makes people happy – then you should consider becoming an artist in any field. The other profession to make people happy could be to sell ice cream. Even when deciding to become an artist, there are a plethora of options in front of you – and makeup art is one of them. It not only helps you spread smiles, but also enable you to strengthen your bank account.

But the question that may pop up in your mind is how to become a makeup artist. More importantly, you should consider becoming a pro at it in order to earn from it while making people happy. Obviously, you would need to discover trendy styles and experiment with every shade from your palette – but that’s just worth it.

You should be mindful that success comes to those who work hard. There’s no shortcut to success. If you want to know how to become a makeup artist and what you can do to become a pro, then instead of just obsessing about it let this article be your guide. We have put together all the pieces that you should know to master the art and sell it to earn money.

Learn the tricks of the trade

First and foremost, at the beginning of a career, you must listen to and talk to the professionals who are already working in the industry and know the ins and outs. Find a mentor in your locality who encourages and motivates you about your career and tells you what it’s like to be when you opt for a makeup career. Your mentor may tell you to do the practice as much as you can in order to achieve perfection. You can involve your friends and family members and practice on them. The best part about having cooperative family members and friends is that they will let you practice and at the same time provide you with valuable feedback. This will help you in your professional journey.

Pro tip: make it a habit of using a brush and keep on experimenting with shades – as this approach will boost your confidence.

In order to start learning without leaving the comfort of your home, you should start watching online tutorials or take online courses. But this should just be the beginning. Moving forward, start applying every trick and make them your own. When watching online tutorials, bear in mind “all that glitters is not gold.” You may find a video on YouTube with millions of views, but this doesn’t tell you whether the process being explained in the video is right for you. Always look for videos of the people who have established themselves as authority in the field.

Coming back to basics, you should first learn the about the resources you will be needing and procure them. Once it’s done, then you should move forward with practicing. Take baby steps and learn one tip at a time. After learning practice it until you become perfect, only then move on to the next technique. Becoming a makeup artist is a journey not a destination – and in this field learning never ends.

Moreover, if you want to learn in a professional setting, then you should go to any makeup schools near you to learn and master the skill. If you go to a makeup school, then you will also get hands on experience while learning the latest trends of the industry. For example, you will learn that before applying a primer on someone’s skin – you need to know what kind of primer would work on which skin type.

Move ahead with the right training

Now that you have learned everything from a school or videos. Your next step in the right direction would be getting proper training. Learning something is just one side of the coin, the other side is to start practicing. Even if you’ve learned the basics from a salon as an apprentice or trainee, you need proper training and that comes only when you start practicing.

So what’s the right way to start practicing as a makeup artist? For starters, you should look for clients or start applying for a job in a salon. To look for clients on your own may appear a daunting tasks, but consider it this way – you are offering your services from home to the people you know. This will help you get the word out. If you get a job in a salon, then your ultimate goal should be to deliver perfection and nothing else. You do your best and let your work do the talking. If clients start liking your work, they will start requesting to get their makeup done from you.

Whichever method you choose to get the knowledge to develop makeup skills – be mindful that you learn anything and everything about the products and their application on various skin types. Moreover, there are various specializations available in the field of makeup. You can become a makeup artist for movies/dramas or you can specialize in makeup for the fashion industry. So apart from enhancing your capacity using the methods defined above, make sure that you find your interest first. You can’t become a makeup artist for the fashion industry if you have specialized knowledge about movie makeup.

If needed, ask around from the people who have knowledge about the industry. Perhaps this approach will help you answer your question about how to become a makeup artist.

Promote yourself by marketing your skills

Once you’re done with the training and/or certifications – the next step is to promote and market your services and skills on every platform. The Internet has made it easier to promote anything that is worth watching – then why not your skills?

You can start with your social media handles to upload and market your makeup skills. For the same purpose, you can upload short videos and stories while handling different makeover tasks like – application of over and undertone nude lipstick – doing cat-eye or shadowy makeup, or transforming people into superheroes (which is quite trendy these days).

Once you establish social media presence and start posting your work, then clients will take you more seriously. And if you remain consistent and upload content on your social handles regularly, it will become easier to get more followers – and these followers can become your clients in the long run. 

How to establish yourself as a professional makeup artist?

You may find some repetition in this section, but it’s all worth it.

In order to make new clients, you should first start building contacts with people who need such services. And the best way to go about it is to apply for jobs or internships. You can also start offering your services at home to the people you know at prices lower than the market. Once you start making your clients happy, they will refer more customers and through word of mouth you can eventually establish yourself as a professional makeup artist. For example, if you get a chance of doing makeup in a salon – there will be several clients you will encounter who prefer different forms of makeup – which will eventually help you in enhancing your practical experience. And if you get a chance to work at a beauty counter, it will teach you about different brands and products, that will help your customers when they ask about any skincare product. From the same gallery, you can offer your services to the clients for a makeover on special occasions. Who knows that the person you are giving advice today recommends you to others.

Working at a mall or beauty counter will provide you the experience of dealing with customers, will tell you how to interact with clients, and how to convince them about a certain product. Other than that you will know what they want or you will undeniably interact with people who know nothing about skincare products and how to use them – so your expert advice will help them purchase products step by step.

Bottom Line

This article has covered everything you need to know to become a makeup artist. But let us reiterate that like any other form of art learning here never stops. You should keep exploring and learning new things. Moreover, the best way to get noticed and break through the clutter is to experiment. Give your clients different look or makeover that is not yet a trend in the market. Be a trendsetter.

Lastly, keep learning the art of makeup – because the more you dwell in any field the more popular, more professional, and more aesthetic you become.