
The Ultimate Spending Guide for Your Makeup Salary
Now that you’re a certified professional makeup artist, you’re probably racking up job offers left, right and center! But more clients may require you to expand your operations to accommodate them. This does not only mean purchasing a storefront to sell your services! You can expand your operations in any number of ways. In fact, simply buying different types of makeup so that you can work on a wider variety of clients can be a great way to expand your services. But whether your salary is on the higher end of the spectrum or the lower, it’s important to know just what you need to be spending on to grow your business! If you’re not sure how you should be spending your money, read on!Paying your living costs
First things first: let’s budget away the rent, groceries, entertainment, and other bill payments from your salary! You need to make sure that you’re keeping yourself happy and healthy on the most basic level. A girl’s got to eat!Building Your Makeup Kit!
As a professional makeup artist, you’ll need to redirect a lot of your salary towards building and expanding your kit! Especially since you’re probably well aware of the turnover rate for makeup products, you may be replenishing your kit with some products sooner than others. Anticipate shelling out around $2,000 each year to replenish your makeup stores! If you’re a recent graduate from QC Makeup Academy, chances are that your bonus makeup kit is still good to use! It’s carried you all through your makeup artistry certification training, so why leave your trusty kit behind when embarking on a new adventure?
- Mascara
- Blushes
- Lip gloss
- Kohl eyeliners
- Lip balms
- Brow pencil
- Eyeshadow primer
- Lipstick
- Face primer
- Face powder
- Eyeshadows
Business overhead

Even when you are just starting out, you need to make sure that your website has a standalone domain name to present yourself in the most professional light. As you get more and more clients, your website will need to be upgraded to reflect the kind of clientele you wish to attract! WordPress has business website templates for you to use that cost just $30 a month to maintain. If you decide a custom website is necessary, you’ll want to look into hiring a web designer. Their services can run between $3000-$5000 depending on the level of customization and additional features requested. Insurance: Since we’ve already established how expensive your kit is—especially when you are working for affluent clients who demand use of expensive brands, insuring your kit is definitely a smart idea. Anything can happen to it—maybe your kit gets stolen, or maybe it gets smashed up in transit. Whatever the situation, make sure that having a broken kit doesn’t hold you back from fulfilling any appointments with your clients!
There are different levels of insurance your local insurance company will offer you. Make sure that you select the coverage that’s best for your needs. Keep in mind that some jurisdictions may even require you to purchase insurance, as you are self-employed! Insurance can be anywhere from $10 a month to $100. Do your research! Remember, just because you may have a high-paying salary doesn’t mean you should be spending all of it at once! Make sure that your salary covers whatever is necessary for your business first before dropping extra money on bells and whistles!