Photo by Hooi Chin
After I graduated from high school, people often told me to continue my studies instead of finding a job because I'm still young, so here's my story. Suppose you are considering makeup as a career. In that case, this is the right article to guide you and make you understand more about this type of work. I have been a makeup artist since 2017, and I believe every job has its own ups and downs. In this article, I will be sharing what it takes to become a makeup artist from my personal experience specialising in bridal makeup.
Sacrifices as a makeup artist
One thing that many makeup artists have to sacrifice is, sleep! We need to wake up at 3 AM to get ready by 4 AM. Afterwards, we need to reach our client's house by 5 AM to start work. When it comes to weddings, in Chinese culture, weddings are separated into two different sessions; morning and night. The morning session is a tea ceremony held at the bride's house, and the night session is a wedding reception in a hotel.
Makeup routine for brides
When doing a makeup routine, I usually take around 2 to 3 hours to finish a person's makeup and hairstyle. The groom comes typically at about 9AM to pick up the bride before proceeding with the tea ceremony. So to be on the safer side, I finish up everything by 8:30 AM. For night sessions, I'd start at around 3 PM and head to the hotel where the couple will be having their wedding reception. So I would wait until the bride arrives at the hotel and proceed with the second style of makeup and hairstyle for the bride. Typically, for bridal makeup, makeup artists are usually booked for the whole day, which means dedicating an entire day for one job.
Differences between everyday makeup vs bridal makeup
The difference between an elevated evening look and a bridal one is that makeup for night events is usually a hand-applied foundation. In contrast, for bridal makeup, typically, we use airbrush equipment. This helps the makeup last longer, and it will feel a bit lighter on the skin. Evening makeup usually takes around 1 to 2 hours, whereas bridal makeup is longer. Makeup artists have to stay with the bride until the end of the wedding ceremony to ensure everything looks good throughout the event.
Photo By Hooi Chin
Building online platforms for services
So, how do I get jobs or how do my clients find me? I launched a Facebook page where I uploaded my portfolio for clients to see. If they are interested, they would either Whatsapp or reach out on Facebook. The conversation would usually start by them asking me about the makeup packages I offer. A standard market price of hiring a makeup artist for bridal makeup is minimum RM1,000 to maximum RM 1,800 per day, and it varies depending on the artist. Due to this pandemic recently, we makeup artists don't get as many jobs offers because we used to because we need to stay at home, but most jobs require us to travel. With most of our lives and plans being on hold because of Covid-19, most of my clients prefer to postpone their wedding day to another time. This is so they can make it an unforgettable day for them as marriage is something that happens once in a lifetime.
In my opinion, being a makeup artist can be very challenging at times, even though you earn quite a lot in a day. It takes a lot out of you but you do reap the rewards as well. So if you have the passion and love for it, it will be easier for you while you grow in your journey.
By Hooi Chin