Thursday, June 18, 2009

Makeup School

Hey guys and gals!! Sooooo, I have a lot of people asking me on YouTube for advice on schools, or how do you freelance without a license? orrr how do you find jobs? Orr...Anything along those lines.

-I cannot give advice on school, obviously because I never went. And obviously you do not NEED to go to school. Lottie, is a much MUCH better example of someone who did NOT attend school and is now agency repped and has a fantastic, mind blowing portfolio. From my understanding, you only need school/license if you wish to work in a salon doing facials and such (esthetician-sp?) If you want to work in movies and do SFX makeup - then possibly take some classes. While I appreciate that artform, I am not interested in doing it. If I ever have the desire though, I will take classes. And even then, as Leesha (aka Xsparkage on YouTube) always says Google is your best friend. If you are truly committed and interested in learning something, anything!! - doesn't have to be makeup - you can and will teach yourself. The internet is a fantastic resource. Put your search engines to work! (I prefer google)

-Networking, networking, networking!! Every job I've ever had has either been through networking or craigslist (rarely, just for extra cash - nothing I would have in my portfolio) YOU must seek out your jobs until you become big enough that they fall in your lap or become agency repped (which is the same kinda thing) The agencies find you the jobs - but they also get a cut of your $dough$

-Expect to not be paid when building your portfolio. 9 times out of 10 you are paid in photos. So choose who you work with wisely (in regards to models, photographers AND stylists) If you spend 5 hours on a shoot and you HATE the photos - oh well! Artists building their book (myself included) rarely are paid for photoshoots. I was only paid with $$$ for about 3 of the shoots I've done. I've been paid for all fashion shows I've done aside from 2.

-Working for MAC. MAC once hired artists. This is not the case anymore. They hire sales robots that will look cute and push products on people. If you can do makeup - even better!! Although it's not a requirement. Artistry has taken a backseat to sales since Estee Lauder acquired them. There are absolutely NO requirements needed to work for MAC. Feel free to apply. They look for cutesy people, who will dress in a trendy manner and have a bubbly, extroverted personality. If you have sales experience - fantastic!! They're more apt to hire you with sales experience. Allow me to say this though. MAC is NOT the end all BE ALL of the industry. Working at a counter or store does not MAKE YOU A PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP ARTIST. They do have a great training program so milk it for all it's worth but don't for a second think that working at a mac counter or store will really get you anywhere in the makeup world unless you do everything one would do who doesn't work for mac to make a name for themselves - network, seek out jobs, build a portfolio etc. Sure, you can wait around and try and try to become a trainer. It *might* happen. You can also try to become a Senior Artist. But realize that at that point - MAC controls and runs your entire life. Senior Artists I know travel the world - attend/work fashion week in Paris, NY etc, they participate in photoshoots or music videos - Yay!! HOWEVER. MAC OWNS YOU. You are NOT allowed to use images from any photoshoot in your portfolio - MAC owns the rights to those images. So what? You have time to set up your own shoots on your day off! LMFAO! What days off?!? You're constantly traveling. Constantly representing MAC and having to be bubbly 24/7 even if you dont feel like it. Every trainer or senior artist I know - during their downtime, which is RARE - sleeps, hangs out with friends or goes on vacation where they can wind down. They NEED a break. And they are paid a salary. So they may work 12 hours a day - on their feet doing makeup for 2 weeks straight - and they're not paid any extra. Last I heard (and this could be very VERY wrong) they're paid somewhere between $50k and $75k Most retail managers for MAC make more.

And do you know just how competitive it is? How many stores/counters are in a region? Here, in a city as small as San Francisco - there's 6 - which is probably about 80 employees - that's just a city - not a region. So when and if a spot for trainer even opens up - you might be competing against at least 20 other people. And the spots don't open up too often.

I am not speaking for or against MAC - just giving you the info. It can be a very fun company to work - but realize at the end of the day, you're a salesperson, not necessarily a makeup artist. YES! You CAN be both. But the chances of you making it big while working for mac are slim to none. But it can be a great stepping stone as long as one doesn't get sucked into continuing to work there for years upon years because it can limit you *if* you wish to "make it" in the fashion industry. If you dont care and just wanna do weddings on the side - that's your forte - then rock on!!

Ok, I'm ending my rambling lol.

18 comments:

  1. I agree!! I've been in the industry for several years now and I can't believe now many people feel that MAC is where it begins and where it ends when it comes to makeup itself and quality of people. I have represented several brands on a freelance basis and that is because the work I do is still considered mine! I work too hard to have a company tell me that my work is theirs because I wore the uniform while doing it!

    The training is great if you want to get in there and get it. Most artists that I know do not stay long as they want to spread their winds so to speak and MAC doesn't really allow that!

    MAC is a great company but they are sometimes hyped too much when there is so much more out there!

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  2. could you change your text color to something less bright? it's really painful to read your blogs with the black background and the really light text.

    this was a really helpful post.

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  3. wow thanks for the post on thiis ¬! thiis is blooody helpfull and has helped me loads thanks! :) xoox

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  4. thanks for this post risa, not rambling at all! pretty informative for us who want to begin a carreer in Makeup and have little to no clue where to start!

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  5. I have to say, first, I love your honesty- so many people think it's heresy to speak out against the mighty and powerful MAC. I totally agree though, MAC does not a makeup artist make. Passion, skill, talent and creativity are what make someone an artist, no matter the medium.

    As a side note, I'm surprised to hear of the negative impact that Lauder has had on MAC. I worked for Lauder for several years as a counter manager and later as a regional MUA, and while they weren't the best company I've ever worked for, they also weren't the money-grubbing overlords that everyone seems to think they are recently. Then again, I've been gone for a few years, and things change!

    In any case, thanks for the post!

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  6. i totally agree on this, at the end of the day they don't care if u know how to do the perfect smokey eye... it's all about who has the highest AUS/sales. kinda sucks big time! i struggle with the whole retail aspect of it all the time, my true passion has always been the artistry of makeup. and for me at the time being i happily keep doing my thing at the counter as long as I get to do makeup and perfect my skills. Retail is in no way how anyone should end their makeup career... it's just like bootcamp, we'll all graduate from it eventually,LOL!

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  7. THANKS SOOOOOOO MUCH FOR THIS POST HELPED ME A WHOLE LOT......

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  8. You are a gem anyway ;~) - but kudos for posting this. I hear so many people starting out thinking this is THE "big league" and yet when going there now, even as a customer, everything you say rings so true, and I do feel pushed to the point that when I'm not in a braced mood I don't even want to go into the store, even with a list

    Great post

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  9. I think you have presented fairly about MAC. Personally I don't have problems with Estee Lauder hiring sale people at the counter because they are *in the business of selling makeup*. I think people who are thinking of applying for a position at MAC should think what they want out of the job carefully, and your post has become a great tool for those people.

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  10. Informative post! Thanks for writing about your thoughts on becoming a freelancer, v.s. working under a makeup company. I've always wondered about M.A.C. and whether it would be wise to go through them in order to become a MUA. hmm..any more thoughts on this topic in the future would be much appreciated! Clearly this is a popular topic! thanks, Risa!

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  11. So now I'm curious. What is your dream job? Or what would you love to be doing?

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  12. this is fockin awesome (can I say that here?) I love that you were open and honest without being negative for no reason. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

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  13. Soooo true! I say use your time wisely there (use your discount!) and practice, practice, practice! You encounter soo many pple at the counter/store, that you can work on alot of diff ethnicities. Great post!!!!

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  14. Btw, I have days when my aus sucks b/c I get caught up in doing makeup and not selling pple bullish that they really don't need

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  15. Wow I found this kind of helpful. I'm really interested in Makeup and I hope to make it my career and while I'm going to school to get my license I want to work at MAC/Sephora/Ulta, but hopefully it will just be my stepping stone to get to where I want to be. :)

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  16. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  17. Great break down on the pro's and con's of the mua world. keep it real so that others know its not all fun and games!!

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  18. KJ Bennett has a boycott against MAC for many reasons. MAC does have some great products but I think their business model negatively affects the entire industry.

    I joined the boycott in 2007 and try to use their products at a minimum.

    I also completely agree about being selective about photographers while building your book. An inexperienced photographer can make a really great make-up job look terrible.

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