Silence the Critics: Building Skills and Confidence in being a Professional Makeup Artist

When I first finished my makeup course way back in the Year 2000, I vividly remember the anxiety and self-doubt of whether I could truly get any kind of clientele, or if anyone at all would be willing to pay me for applying their makeup.

The biggest thing that I found helped me was: practice

Easy to say, I know!!

 HERE’S WHAT WORKED FOR ME: I asked anyone, no matter what they’re age was, (or even looks for that matter), if I could please practice makeup on them. Even Dad agreed to let me practice on him! The more ‘ordinary’ looking the person, the more it challenged me to make them look extraordinary, and the more able and confident I became. Anyone can make an attractive girl, attractive – she’s already beautiful! But when you’ve got someone with textured skin; heavy eyelids; thin lips etc etc – and you know how to counteract and enhance, this is when you become a true makeup ARTIST!

ONE THING I REALLY WANT TO STRESS TO YOU IS: 

Whoever you’re practicing on – don’t tell them what you’re going to do; definitely don’t ask them “What would you like me to do?” (you’d be amazed at how stupid and downright ridiculous friends or family can be, asking you to do things that are not relevant to your goals or what you’re trying to achieve).

DO THIS:
Politely tell them just to sit, relax and completely chill out. This is where being gentle is paramount, as they will definitely relax if your application feels like a free pampering session to them.

Having a chair that is high enough for you to work comfortably, and has a back on it, so they can also sit comfortably with their back fully supported is super important too.

Don’t give them a mirror, and don’t ask them what they think – especially when you’re doing a look they wouldn’t normally wear, as this is often when, as well meaning as they may think they are being, they can kill your confidence and massively up your level of self-doubt.

Decide beforehand what colours, what looks or what elements (eg: eyeliner) you want to practice on them specifically – this maximises your time with them as you’ve got a plan and are not just making stuff up on the spot. If you’ve seen a pic online of someone who has similar skin tone, or eye colour to your friend, maybe try replicating the look on them – but keep this to yourself. This allows you freedom to make mistakes, correct them, change your mind, try something else – without fear of them judging you in any way.

Once you’ve done the makeup, stand back from it, be objective, you will gain nothing if you tear yourself to shreds. What I would do was ask myself these questions:

1)    Does it look like the makeup has been professionally applied, or does it look like she’s done it herself?

2)    Is the foundation matching chest and neck, is it well blended, are there any parts of the face I’ve missed (sides of face, just above eyebrows and sides of nose are common places to miss).

3)    How’s my blending on the eyes – do I have any hard edges?

4)    If I’ve applied false lashes – are they in alignment, is there any gap between her lashes and the false lashes, are there any gaps in between lashes I need to fill?  

5)    Do her eyes look lifted and almond shaped?

6)    Do I have enough blush? 

7)    With lips – are the edges straight and sharp, or am I a bit uneven?

Be easy on yourself. The more you practice, the easier it becomes, the more confidence you will gain and the quicker you’ll also become. Most importantly for me, the more I practiced the more I could see that I could really do this.  

I personally had a few shocking experiences in the beginning – one was the sister of my boyfriend at the time, I did her makeup (she had very challenging features and skin) and then proceeded a few weeks later to tell the whole table at the family Christmas dinner how much she hated her makeup!!

Do not let people or experiences like this steal your future, because that is what you allow if you viscerally believe what someone says. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I had let her convince me I was hopeless (even though that’s exactly how I felt, apart from the utter humiliation in front of the whole family). I admit it did hit me hard at the time, but you’ve got to get back up, dust yourself off, think about how you may do things differently next time, and keep going. Practice enormously helped me overcome things like this.

I would also advise, steer clear of people like this, there is nothing to be gained by subjecting yourself to someone who is hell bent on killing your dreams – there’s plenty of people to practice on, leave these types alone and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

 So practice as much as you can, on whoever you can, and give yourself the life you deserve and the life that is totally possible for you.

Me on location for a wedding