Hi!
Apologies if there have been similar posts before, but I came up empty handed using the search function. After a lot of research, I am almost done building my first kit and am seeking learning opportunities. I have the Kevyn Aucoin books, have watched several tutorials and have read extensively on sanitation and cleanliness. I'm eager to learn, but am still very new with little experience other than practicing different looks on friends and being the canvas for several MUA's over the years.

Are there any other books or references that are a must?

Do you have any tips to share with a newbie in regards to getting started? Perhaps something you wish you were told when you started out?

I'm also interested in educational classes and workshops. While I'd prefer finding something in either Portland, OR or Seattle, I'm certainly not opposed to traveling for the right class.

Thank you xo

Hello,
Congratulations on the progress you've made! Be prepared to take on a lot of unpaid or TF jobs in the beginning to build up a beginning portfolio. Then have a professional-looking & functioning website made. You'll definitely spend more than you make in the first year or two. Keep your confidence level high, but take each perceived failure to be a learning experience. Practice on whomever you can. Keep track of your business finances. And maintain a thick skin, especially when working with brides! Good luck!

@ArtistryImage, thank you so so much for taking your time to share your knowledge with me. I have so much retail under my belt and am about to interview for a couple of counter positions and am hoping that will help. I've read mixed opinions about whether sales jobs help with artistry or not, but I feel like I'm so early on in the process that the more faces I practice on, the better.

I'm also hoping to go back to school for esthetics and earn my license. I was hesitant for a slew of reasons. I didn't know that most agency-repped artists were licensed! I will definitely get on that, so thank you again for the clarity! I'll be in Portland for some time, and am hoping to hone my skills here while I learn but don't have much keeping me here, so making a major move in the coming years is something I'll start considering!

It sounds like you have passion for makeup since you're reading books and going the extra mile to build up your makeup skills. You're definitely headed down the right path. When I started, it was all about portfolio building and that meant TFP work. I wasn't making any money but I was getting pictures to add to my portfolio. This is usually how it starts unless you know a lot of family and friends who can refer you to people needing makeup artists. I didn't know too many people so I went the TFP route for building my makeup and hair portfolio. It made me more comfortable and gave me much needed practice. Once you have photos then you'd want to build a website to showcase them. I built mine using wix.com since I don't know coding. It turned out pretty good (www.trendyyusufi.com). You can take a look at it when you get a chance so you get an idea. They have different themes for makeup and beauty related sites too. After I got my site up I put it on every site I knew. Facebook. Google. Yelp. And then you just network from there. Meet people. Let people know what you do. Tell your friends. Tell your family. The more people that know you're in a makeup artist the more business you can get. It's tough at first, but if I'm making it as a makeup artist in Los Angeles, where there are tons of makeup artists then I'm sure you can do it too. Just always keep asking for the business from everyone you know and meet (not in a pushy way, but friendly way) and it will come.

Two of my favorite makeup artists create tutorials on YouTube, hopefully you have heard of them, but if not Charlotte Tilbury and Lisa Eldridge are geniuses.
Other makeup artist on YouTube include, Wayne Goss and Jordan Liberty. Be sure to watch real, professional makeup artists, not the beauty gurus, although you can learn from anyone, professional makeup artists are just that, they are professionals.
Also Eve Pearl has some very informative videos about the business side of makeup, go to her channel and look for the IMATs panels/speeches.

I''m currently attending Makeup Designory in Los Angeles, it is the best makeup school there is. I can say that confidently, they really have no competition. Which is why it is incredibly expensive, but I think it is worth it. You are being trained by professionals who have worked in the industry for over 20 years. The school also has incredible benefits. I would definitely recommend going to Makeup Designory if you''re really serious about being a makeup artist, although going to school isn''t required/absolutely necessary.

Another thing that you could do is assist an artist, look for a mentor. Just search for local artists in your area and ask if you could assist them.

You could also work at a makeup counter or Sephora. You get a lot of real world experience and can learn a lot from your peers.

I think you''re on the right track. I''ve learned tons from watching online tutorials and reading makeup books, I just got to a plateau where I needed to further my education. Makeup Designory definitely helped with that. But it is very expensive, so I''d recommend starting off by assisting an artist.

Also, you need to decide where you want to go with your career. What type of makeup artist do you want to be? You need to set goals. For example, my focus is in print for fashion photography. But there are different types of makeup artists, there are film/television artists, special fx for film/television, special fx in a shop where you''re making the prosthetics, bridal/local artists, etc. It''s easiest to focus on one aspect of makeup, master it and then branch off to other fields if you want to. I have yet to see a makeup artist who is fluent in beauty makeup all the way up to special fx. Not to say it isn''t possible, but beauty and special fx, film and print, they''re totally different industries. Anyways, set goals for yourself so then you can see where you want to go and figure out how to get there.

I wish you all the best!

Also, if you have any specific questions about makeup or the business behind makeup, you could always message me here on MM. I would love to help!

Sine you've already read Kevyn Aucoin's books, here are some more must read books. http://kjbennett.com/makeup-artistry-books/

If your on facebook, join the groups In My Kit and Makeup Artist Talk - for pros and aspirin pros. Lots of veteran makeup artists in both groups, and very informative threads that have been archived for your reading pleasure! 

On youtube Lisa E and Charlotte T are always a must watch. Other great channels are Pixiwoo, Wayne Goss, Monika Blunder, Svetlana Viznuk, and Saem-Mool Jung

Here's a full makeup tutorial by Kevin James Bennet (he runs the in my kit group) to get your feet wet!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etmiHqGux4E