A Cosmetologist's Guide to Becoming a Makeup Artist - QC Makeup Academy

As a trained cosmetologist, you know a lot about health and beauty—but are you ready to step up your game? With beauty training already under your belt, you can easily expand your client services (and make more money!).

However, cosmetology training is not the same as makeup artistry training. There are a lot of professional makeup techniques and theories that may be glossed over in cosmetology training. Now we know this depends on where completed your training, but refining your trade never hurts!

Read on to see how you can manage the move from cosmetology to makeup artistry!

Should you learn makeup artistry or cosmetology

Back to basics

You might have already learned some of what you’ll train for in your makeup artistry course—but you definitely need to pay attention! The techniques and skills may vary between the two professions, and it’s super important that you know every variation. This is what makes a true professional—knowing there’s always more than one way to do things!

So, don’t try to rush through your makeup course. If you already know a few things, it will be a great refresher! Chances are, unless you just completed your cosmetologist training, a few small tips have slipped your mind. Use this chance to become a true expert in the world of beauty and cosmetics!

Find your weakness

Becoming a cosmetologist takes hard work and time—you need to study and practice a lot. Now that you’re looking to expand your expertise, you can start by finding where you most need to improve in your techniques. You might be naturally gifted with creating a beautiful cat eye—but you can’t contour for your life (as with most of us…).

Examining your existing skills will help you learn about yourself and your career goals. What type of makeup applications do you enjoy most? Bridal? Glamour? Special FX? During your makeup artistry course, you’ll be able to try all of these variations to find what you love!

Learn to become a makeup artist online

Improve your strengths

You know about skin, hair, and proper beauty care—so capitalize on it! Tout your services to your clients and models. If a client is willing to pay for a full makeup application, they might want the full beauty experience. From nails to hair, you can offer a lot more than just makeup services!

So keep practicing your cosmetology techniques—you’ll end up needing them!

Market yourself

As a makeup artist, you may have some local competition, which means you’ll need to come up with an exciting marketing campaign for your business! Don’t stress—it’s not as scary as it sounds!

It’s actually a lot of fun. You can create your own graphic designs—there are tons of basic programs to help you along—and you get to create catchy phrases. If you’re looking to go solo and start your own makeup business, you even get to choose a business name!

One of the easiest ways to promote your beauty services is to have a strong online presence. Create social media accounts for your business (don’t use personal accounts!) and build a website. Owning a website gives potential clients direct access to your services and makes it so much easier to contact you! And if you decide to feature your makeup or beauty portfolio online, you can reach a larger audience with your styles and designs.

Buy makeup products for your makeup artist kit

Consider giving yourself a raise

Having one profession is hard enough, but two? You deserve to give yourself a little extra! We know that working on clients day in and day out can be taxing sometimes. It’s important to give yourself a day to relax or find some extra perks that will keep you hustling. Choosing to specialize in two hands-on, skilled professions is no piece of cake—but it’s well worth the effort in the end!

Inspired to start your makeup career? Add to your beauty services with flexible specialty courses!

Author Katie Deck

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