If you are going to succeed in a career as a makeup artist, you must cultivate a business with intelligence and knowledge. Intelligence comes from makeup schools and knowledge comes from experience. Read on to learn how these two professional makeup artists refined their crafts and branded themselves makeup artists who do wonders for business.
education first
When Margina Dennis received her makeup artist training from Christine Stahl, a former instructor at the impressive Westmore Academy of Makeup school, her thirst for knowledge didn’t stop there. “I continued to take classes over the years,” explains the licensed makeup career professional. “I took beauty courses, as well as film, television and theater techniques.” Dennis also learned how to shape and maintain eyebrows, face and body painting, and airbrushing in the process during her training as a makeup artist.
More than anything, Dennis realized the importance of the roots of beauty. “We learned a lot about the history of beauty and how makeup has been influenced over time,” he says. “All of this training as a makeup artist was great because it gave me a foundation to build on and a basic knowledge of the application.” Combining her education in makeup schools with experience, Dennis has refined her craft along with changes in the industry and technology.
Make no mistake, business plays an important role in Dennis’s career. How do you ask? Marketing itself as a brand to get noticed. It’s not enough to learn the ropes of a makeup artist if no one knows you’re available. Keep this in mind when you go to school taking business courses during your training as a makeup artist. Thanks to her entrepreneurial mindset, Dennis has landed jobs working with celebrities such as Val Kilmer, Nancy Kerrigan, and Tom Brady. She has even been seen on CNN, Fox, MTV2, and BET. And when it comes to print, you may have seen her work in Teen Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, and People.
A business makeup
When Alison Raffaele sold two of the three shades in her True Concealer Duo on QVC on her debut, it was just the beginning. Was this the work of a business magnate like P. Diddy? No. Did she climb the ladder like Jennifer Lopez? No. Believe it or not, this entrepreneur went from makeup schools to business.
Professional makeup artist Raffaele recently launched the Conceal and Set High Coverage 6-Piece Kit on QVC last September, and there are probably more beauty products to come. “My goal in developing the Conceal and Set Kit is to give women all the essentials needed to conceal blemishes and set makeup in one convenient kit,” he says. “The secret to any complete look is to first create the appearance of a flawless complexion by removing the appearance of dark circles, shadows, and blemishes with a high-quality concealer, and then set the concealer with a colorless setting powder.”
Follow the advice of the career professional of professional makeup artists. Not only is she the founder of Alison Raffaele Cosmetics, her credentials include a BA in art history from Fordham University and experience as world-renowned makeup artist Bobbi Brown. Her unique position allows Raffaele to live at the epicenter of the cosmetics industry’s greatest success stories. And she is now creating her own. To see Raffaele in action, she offers professional application tips and techniques during QVC’s “Saturday Night Beauty” broadcast.