5 Steps For Starting Your Journey As a Makeup Artist

I still remember daydreaming about being a professional makeup artist and thinking about everything I would do and how successful I would become. I saw myself working on all kinds of amazing projects and doing makeup on the most beautiful people.

But with all my dreaming, I had no idea how to get started or which steps to take! When I was holding my certificate in my hands (in February 2019), that basically threw me right into the makeup business, I was full of motivation but absolutely clueless how to start.

Being a makeup lover since I was a little girl, I was always doing makeup for friends and their friends and so on, but how could I jump from being a “hobby and self-taught mua“ to a professional makeup artist that is trying to build a business around it? Living in a small town in Germany, I had no idea how to build a customer base, people didn’t seem to be interested in getting their makeup done, so I had to find the right path for me.

After my first year, I wanted to share my experiences and advice I wish I had when starting my professional makeup career.

Step 1: Building your portfolio is now your first priority

It’s not easy to find private customers, especially when the prom and wedding season is over. Personally, I always wanted to work more creatively, and I saw myself working in a team on a shooting or styling a model for a really cool project. I still love to style brides or private customers, but I decided to focus my career on professional photoshoots – essential for this is a good portfolio. Not only models need a really impressive portfolio, makeup artists also have their very own portfolio to show their work or at least a small selection of their best work.

To build your portfolio, you can either book beauty photographers in your area to get amazing outcomes and to get an idea how a professional set up works or you can message a lot of photographers on instagram for a tfp shooting (this is what I did). That means that no one gets paid (the model, the photographer or you) but the results can be used by every team member. Those shoots are amazing if you really want to work creatively with no rules or guidelines.

There’s nothing stopping you from doing both methods at once. I was slowly building up my portfolio, asking a lot of photographers and getting a lot of no´s but that wasn’t stopping me.

Your portfolio is constantly updated throughout your work but for my start it was really important to focus on my portfolio and I was constantly practising my craft, which was just as helpful!

Step 2: Your social media account is your new baby. Raise it and feed it

Building up a social media account, that supports your personal brand is definitely hard, consistent work and should not be underestimated. I actually waited quite long till I was brave enough to start my “MUA social media account”. Thinking back, I would tell myself “just go for it!”, there’s actually nothing you have to be afraid of.

First off, invest in an amazing website, that you’ll love even after a year and that represents you and your work perfectly. You should definitely give it an update once in a while, especially in regard to your portfolio. Then you can use your social media to really have fun with your art. Not being very experienced in the world of social media, I think it would have helped me at the beginning to just experience and find my way around social media by just doing it. And now, it’s such a blessing! I really believe that having fun on your page is noticeable!

Step 3: Practice, Practice and don`t forget to practice

I think this advice is more common, especially for someone that works in a creative way. Always practice! I still remember how nervous I got when customers wanted an eyeliner or red lips. I knew I wanted to be more comfortable with it and started practicing it as much I could. It’s essential to practice on different people – doing makeup on yourself and on someone else are two totally different things and with practice, I now love doing wings and bold lips.

Step 4: Always work with inspiring people that help you grow and give helpful advice

Everyone has heard the quote “surround yourself with positive people” and it’s as true as it can be! Especially in this business, it is really important to work with people that have the best interests for you and help you grow within your projects. Being in an amazing team is a guarantee for amazing results. I have received some really helpful advice along the way which I am trying to live by.

It is way more fun when you have a really great team, am I right? And this goes the other way round as well. Always try to help others and be an inspiring team member yourself. You should always just be yourself (I know this is nothing new) especially regarding your craft, try to find your own style, but accept constructive criticism. Especially when you work as a Makeup Artist, always respect the wishes and needs from your clients and your team.

Step 5: Love what you do even when the road gets bumpy!

Well, makeup was my passion since I was about 10 years old. I just love it unconditionally. But since starting a business around my passion, there has been a bitter side effect: Pressure. I have in the past felt uninspired and lost my motivation, just because I wasn’t at a point where I wanted to be.

I learned that it’s not always easy, but it’s definitely worth it. You really have to be your own motivator sometimes, but it’s ok to take a short break if you need your inspiration back. Always be grateful for the experiences you get and feel free to take a few steps back and just feel grateful that you’re able to work around your passion.

This journey so far has been a crazy ride, looking back on my first year I can’t wait for everything that is coming! I really hope these steps help you and I wish you all the best for your start, enjoy every second of it and don’t forget to practice!