Makeup Artist
Make-up artists apply make-up and style hair for people appearing on camera or in front of a live audience.
Day-to-day Tasks
- understanding the fundamentals of makeup application, skincare, and beauty trends
- learning about different makeup styles, from natural to dramatic, to suit client preferences
- developing a keen eye for colour coordination, contouring, and blending techniques
- collaborating with salon staff to ensure a seamless and enjoyable customer experience
- you could work in a salon, TV studio, theatre, on a movie set, or at a movie studio
Skills and Knowledge
- design skills and knowledge
- the ability to work well with your hands
- artistic and creative flair
- the ability to work well with others
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- to be flexible and open to change
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to use your initiative
Industry Qualifications
You could start out as a trainee or assistant to a make-up team, or find casual work doing make-up and hair for extras in crowd scenes.
You could also get experience in salon, wedding and events make-up, or through working in cosmetics sales, and build a professional portfolio to demonstrate your skills.
You can do specialist make-up and beauty courses through private beauty schools.
You could also consider a Level 2 NVQ Beauty Therapy, which is a full-time one year course offered by UCM.
You can do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or a degree in specialist make-up techniques like:
- make-up for media and performance
- media make-up artistry
- theatrical, media and special effects make-up