From shopping, to banking, to grocery shopping, we live in an age where more and more things are being done online. But thereâs still an understandable hesitation when it comes trusting a faceless stranger with your future â let alone your money!
Believe it or not, you can properly learn how to do makeup from an online makeup school just as well as you could in a brick-and-mortar, hands-on institution. In some cases, online schooling can even have even greater benefits.
Letâs take a closer look at the myths and realities of online learning!
MYTH #1: Physical classes will provide a better environment for me to learn how to do makeup.
If you have nothing but a screen, how can you learn? You donât get to see the work being done in a real setting. You don’t have the chance to actually try out everything youâre being taught. For anyone who learns best by doing, not just seeing, it would seem that youâre out of luck.
FACT: You can learn everything from your online instructor that you could if he were there in-person.
The right kind of accredited online makeup school will ensure that high quality cosmetics are provided to you, as part of your course tuition. You can then use those products to learn and successfully complete your assignments. In addition to this, there are quite a few more benefits to online learning that you wouldnât find in a physical class setting.
For starters, in a brick-and-mortar makeup course, there will be other students. You wonât be provided the same opportunity to view your tutorâs work up close. This means you can’t always assess the finer details of the look. In comparison, online makeup classes create an atmosphere where itâs just you and your tutor â no one else. Youâll never need to fight to see what he’s doing. Everything will always be up close and personal, in crystal clear detail.
In physical classes, there’ll also be times where you may miss something your instructor says. Thatâs a downside to living in the moment: you canât rewind it and play it again. But you can do exactly that with online classes! When your lessons are conducted online, you have the advantage of being able to pause and rewind whenever needed. You donât have to miss a single second.
Itâs also incorrect to say that online makeup schools wonât give you the opportunity to practically apply what you’re learning. In fact, this is a regular part of each course youâll be taking! As part of the curriculum, youâll frequently be asked to take what your tutor is teaching you online and demonstrate your skills on a model. After youâve filmed or photographed your work, youâll send it over to your tutor, who will then review it for you from there.
MYTH #2: I won’t be able to fix the mistakes I make without my instructor giving me hands-on adjustments, or personalized feedback.
If youâre a tactile learner, it doesn’t vibe well for you that your instructor wonât really be next to you in order to help correct whatever errors you make. Plus, any feedback you get on your assignments will probably be the same generic, pre-recorded message given to all of the students. Online schools donât have room for much personalization. But you need your experience to be customized in order to be assured youâre learning how to do makeup the right away!
FACT: The type of assistance you get in-person is almost exactly the same as what you get from your online teacher.
Even in-person, most makeup instructors wonât provide hands-on adjustments. Take it from QC Makeup Academyâs Executive Makeup Artist and instructor, Nathan Johnson. He recalls how before he switched to the world of online teaching, he taught in a brick-and-mortar makeup school.
His style of teaching remained exactly the same in both environments! He also notes how, in his experience, heâs never âtaken a brush out of a studentâs hand to make adjustments to [her] work.â Instead, his verbal feedback and critiques helps guide her to where she needs to go. She learns exactly where and how she needs to improve, without any hands-on adjustments being made on his part.
The same level of time and care is reflected in the feedback that online makeup tutors provide for their students. In fact, the best online makeup schools will give you way more personalization than you could ever find in a brick-and-mortar setting. Following every assignment, your instructor will send you a detailed breakdown of everything you did correctly and incorrectly. Heâll be very clear about where your strengths are, as well as where you need to improve and why.
MYTH #3: I can just learn how to do makeup for free from YouTube beauty bloggers – online makeup school is unnecessary.
Why should you pay expensive tuition fees just to learn from a class what you can learn elsewhere for free? There are countless, famous YouTube beauty bloggers who do amazing makeup tutorials. Thatâs pretty much exactly what makeup school does anyway!
FACT: You’ll never be able to learn proper cosmetic etiquette and application from YouTube videos the way you’d learn through makeup school.
As the saying goes: Nothing good ever comes cheap.
In fact, if you find an online makeup school that charges little but offers a lot, thatâs a big red flag to stay away! Realistically, online makeup school is a fair middle ground for two simple reasons:
- Itâs pricier than the scam schools.
- But it’s cheaper than its in-person alternative.
When you weigh the (literal) cost versus the benefits, youâre actually getting a killer deal through online makeup schools. But we get it: free is free. Itâs hard to compete with that. ExceptâŚ
If your endgame is to learn how to do makeup so that you can pursue a professional career as an MUA, then you wonât be doing yourself any favors by cutting corners. In this case, âfreeâ could be what actually costs you in the long run. The reason? While they’re informative, and definitely fun to watch, YouTube videos will never be able to sculpt your skills or teach you how to grow the same way you would with an actual instructor at a leading online makeup school.
No matter how beautiful the beauty blogger, or how in-depth her tutorial goes, her goal is not to teach you. Her goal is to gain subscribers and provide entertainment. You might be able to replicate specific (often over-the-top) âlooksâ from YouTubers over time, but youâll never learn how to create looks yourself. You’ll never know how to adapt your creations for different faces, skin tones, occasions, etc.
Whatâs more, you might very well pick up and then replicate terrible habits from YouTubers without even realizing it!
If makeup is your passion, we know you want to put in the time, effort, and hard work. Cutting corners wonât be an option. Youâll strive to always be learning and whenever possible, explore every opportunity to give yourself the best chances for success. Online makeup school is that opportunity: with the promise that you can and will learn how to do makeup, you can go forth and take over the world, one smoky eye at a time!
