Career as a Makeup Artist: Job Opportunities, Salary and Scope

You could be the best, most talented makeup artist in the entire world but don't have a circle of well-connected industry contacts through continuous efforts in networking, you're not going to go very far.

Do some research online for new ways you can network and drive new business your way? There are tons of free resources online you can utilize in this area. Get creative and brainstorm fresh ways you can introduce yourself to as many different people as possible.

It might help you to create a weekly checklist of networking tasks you'd like to achieve so if you ever find yourself sitting on the computer with some free time, unsure of what to do; you can search some good stuff. It could look something like – Job Opening in an MNC, assisting a senior makeup Artist, Freelancing Jobs and, many more assignments come in your way if you have good networking of your core working profile so it’s time to go social and research some good stuff on FB, Insta, Twitter, LinkedIn & Other social networking sites.

Going For A MNC JOB --

As a former MAC employee (many moons ago), one of the most common questions I get asked from young girls wanting to enter the industry is, "how do I get a job at MAC?" So let’s take about those interesting facts during the interview process, with some little tips, tricks & home work help you get your foot in the door!

This is specifically related to how MAC hires their staff; it will not necessarily apply to other companies, as everyone has their own recruitment process. But this section will include general tips and tricks that could really apply to any company, so do read on if beauty retail is something you'd like to explore.

So let's break down each stage of the interview process for you now.

Apply Online

Check the MAC careers page and fill out an online application. It's a multiple page form that will ask you for your contact details, employment history, education history, rough knowledge of the brand, personal favorites MAC products, and so on. It should take you around 40 to 45 minutes to complete.

Telephone Interview

If you are successful, you will receive an automatically generated email within a day or two (during busy times, it may take longer) inviting you for a telephone interview. The email will be sent from an Estée Lauder address, as they own MAC, so don't get confused over this. The email will provide a telephone number for you to call whenever you are ready; there's not a specified time slot or deadline for you to call but obviously, the sooner you call, the better.

Some topics you might want to research are:

• The history of the brand
• MAC's charitable involvements
• Best-selling products
• New releases (including the actual collection names)
• Some Senior MAC Artists whom you admire
• Recent fashion shows MAC sponsored

Final Round of Interview

If you've been successful, you will be called in for the final stage of your interview process, which will be a test of your makeup skills. Like in step three, you may be called by any random manager or do your test in a store that may not necessarily end up being your own if you do start working for them. Again, don't worry about this. It's just how they do things.

Confirmation Call

And then once you've answered all their questions, you have finally officially completed the entire MAC interview process! Now it's simply a waiting game to hear they want to hire you. You won't be told at this final stage if you passed or failed; you need to wait to be contacted by a manager at the store you'll be working at if successful.

Assisting To Senior Makeup Artist --

This one can be a little tricky if you don't have any prior experience or photos of your work. However, don't be put off if you fall into this category because many artists we know who took on their long-time assistants with absolutely zero experience under their belt and trained them from the ground up. Assisting, for those who don't know, is where you accompany an already established artist on one of their jobs and help them out; it's essentially like an apprenticeship, though not as defined or accredited. Assisting could be anything from grunt work like simply just carrying the senior artist's kit, fetching coffee and cleaning brushes, or getting to apply makeup on models yourself

The advantages of assisting are unparalleled - if you become one of the artist's regular assistants, it could eventually lead to them passing on amazing jobs to you (once they've trained you up to a level they're satisfied with) or them hiring you as their First Assistant and paying you a monthly retainer fee to be on call for them at all times.

It can be exhaustingly hard work, however. Long hours and low pay are prevalent. Assistants should always be paid (and never, ever pay someone to assist them on their job; if they are asking money from you - run) but unfortunately not every single job is going to pay the big bucks. Sometimes an assisting job might just be "expenses only", which will cover your travel and lunch expenses. This is particularly true when you are initially building that relationship with the artist. In these situations of low remuneration, it's important to ask yourself what you would gain from assisting on the job: is the artist so skilled famous that you'll learn a lot from them and potentially boost your career in the long run? Do you admire their work? Or are they an unknown, unsigned artist with a questionable portfolio and seemingly no recognizable relationships within the industry?

Working For Free: When Tests Aren't Tests At All --

You'll soon discover, once you build some experience and gain some "street smarts” within the industry, that there are unfortunately a lot of people who will try to get you to work for free by telling you a shoot is a test shoot... when it isn't.

When you first start, many sneaky people you meet in the market who wanted a makeup artist but didn't want to pay for one, so I assure them it was a collaborative shoot, nobody was getting paid, etc. But then you up to the shoot, you're given a very concrete brief (with no room for your area input; they want you to do the makeup how they would like, which is not how a test should be) and then you discover it's actually for someone's "start-up clothing line where they'll be using the images on their website to sell products.

Ways to Support Yourself When Building Your Portfolio --

You will not be making much, if any, money when you just start as a bridal makeup artist, mark my words. In-fact, the sad reality is, it can take several months or even years for some to start earning an actual pay check as a freelance artist.

A good way of supporting yourself while you're building your portfolio (and experience) is going down the aforementioned retail artist route. The downside to this, however, is lack of flexibility. You might get an amazing offer from that photographer you've dreamt about shooting with for ages for the most fantastic editorial... but you can't take it because you're booked in for a shift at work and you're not able to be booked off that day, so there are many more experience you will have it once you start working on the floor.

Finally it’s not an Easy Cake Ride, the road is full of obstacles and you have to count every stone in your way if you are looking for a Bright Career as a Makeup Artist in the upcoming Fashion world, so be prepare yourself for Goods as well as some Bad Experience to count, so keep working and smiling that what your job profile demands, ALL THE BEST..!!