Considering a Career in Makeup?

Becoming a makeup artist can be a rich and rewarding career. TMB is here to help you decide. Before you embark on this exciting path the better understanding you have of the various and exciting opportunities that await you as a makeup artist the less likely you are to waste your time, money and effort with the wrong training.

Not everyone wants to go the film and television route, especially if you don’t want a career with unsociable hours or one that involves travel and being away from home for months on end. If sensible working hours are high on your agenda then a career in film and television is probably not the one for you.

If a regular job with a consistent weekly wage is what you are looking for then perhaps you might train as a makeup consultant and could follow the retail route with one of a multitude of quality makeup brands e.g. Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Givenchy, Clinique, Lancôme.

The ‘Different Career Paths’ a makeup artist’ can choose

A ‘Consultant or Retail’ makeup artist, as the title suggests you would work as a makeup consultant for a makeup company in a department store. This can be a rewarding career especially when coupled with a strong sales background to add to your creative makeup talents. The hours are sociable and the place of work fixed.

Beauty and Bridal makeup artists usually work in a beauty salon, hair studio or with a portrait photographer. In this environment the makeup artist can choose to be employed or freelance. Normally Bridal makeup artists are freelance makeup artists who attend the bride at her home or wedding location.

A ‘Fashion’ makeup artist may well work on photographic shoots for magazines, home shopping catalogues, fashion shows, commercials and music video. The work is varied and the hours can be long and tiring, especially when working on music videos, which often run late in to the early hours of the morning. It is important to have reasonable hair design skills.

A ‘Television’ makeup artist usually includes newsreaders, celebrity interviews, television drama, comedy, children’s television, historical dramas, chat shows, making up presenters and their guests. The makeup artist will normally work in shifts and the hours are not always sociable, especially if when working on the news channels.

Working as a ‘Feature Film’ makeup artist more often than not will be part of a team of makeup artists and hair stylists. Working on feature films is exciting and challenging, by the sheer longevity and nature of the job it is a very tough path to follow, with long hours from early in the morning, often far from home, either in a studio or on location for months at a time.

Working as a makeup artist in the ‘Theatre’ can be a good, regular source of income, especially with matinees and evening performances. In addition to specializing in bold character stage makeup, makeup artists venturing into this field need to ensure that they have a good knowledge of hair and wigs and be able to apply prosthetics when required.

For more information and class dates for our one, two and three day professional makeup classes at The Makeup Box Makeup School please call Karen 07810 848208.