Hi MM friends!

I am new to MM & have just begun my journey within the makeup industry!

My passion for makeup began back in 2011 and has been burning ever since!

I have recently had some what of an "epiphany" if you will LOL. I made up my mind.. But not only did I make up my mind, I built up this determination within myself. I told myself that Makeup is what I want to do. Make up is what I am passionate about. Makeup is what I am GOING to do!

I have been completely 1000% committed to this dream since having this "epiphany."

I have created a work book solely dedicated to this dream! I've been studying all day & night - Reading articles on how to be successful, learning the ins & outs, just trying to soak up and educate myself to the best of my ability. One thing that is very clear in this industry is that knowledge is very important, the learning will never stop: I love this!   

Being that YouTube is literally my EVERYTHING I have learned TONS, I mean TONS through this source.

However, an artist can only self teach themselves so much (of course I will continue to learn on my own.) Making people feel beautiful is the greatest feeling ever & is my greatest passion.

I am just curious as to if any of my fellow MM makeup artist out there have any words of wisdom as to which direction I should be going in? I just feel as though I don't know what the next step is? What goal should I be setting for myself that will lead me into the right direction?

I think (and could be very wrong) that Vegas has a Makeup forever Store. I would see if they have any workshops that they put on. Look for classes on contouring and bridal. A plus for the Makeup Forever classes is that you get to redeem the cost of the class in product (I would build on good foundation at first, if I had a do-over it would have been investing in good stuff from the get go) If you plan on staying where you are you need to find out what the market is there and tailor your career to that.
First and foremost learn Sanitation standards.

As you read and research, determine what type of makeup artist you'd like to be. Then you need to gain two things: education and experience. Just as with any occupation one aspires to, you will need to make an initial investment of time and money in order to be prepared for your career. You need to take classes, not online, and in addition to the reading you are already doing you can go to a reputable makeup school or hire a very experienced senior artist to teach you. You need to practice as much as possible, on as many faces as possible. Take classes in art and business, as these will benefit you immensely in this industry. Build a solid, tightly edited kit of professional, not consumer grade, products and tools. Play with them endlessly. Once you have done and are continuing to do this, hire great photographers and models to help you build your book. "Testing" for photos with sub-par photographers and models will just waste time. Yes, this all costs money. College costs money. Then, after your book is decent and you have published some work, you can begin to think about approaching an agency to request to assist a senior artist. Expect it to take several years to get to this point. Less if you hire great people to get your book up to par sooner. On a side note, most of the stuff on Youtube is garbage. There are very few real artists, actually working in the industry, online. Be selective about what you watch. Lisa Eldridge, Wayne Goss, KJB, Charlotte Tilbury, Jordan Liberty, Mary Greenwell, etc., these are the ones to watch if you must.

So happy to hear about your passion for makeup! It's an incredible, beautiful art form. The most important piece of cliche advice I can give you… never give up! Always set goals, always stay motivated, always keep working!

You mentioned YouTube… I've learned so much from YouTube as well! Now, you can learn from just about anyone, don't get me wrong, however it's important to learn from professional makeup artists working in the industry. Here are my favorite artists that make the best tutorials!
Charlotte Tilbury
https://www.youtube.com/user/ctilburymakeup

Lisa Eldridge
https://www.youtube.com/user/lisaeldridgedotcom

Eve Pearl (look for her IMATS panels, she has some really good advice!)
https://www.youtube.com/user/evepearl

Jordan Liberty
https://www.youtube.com/user/givegoodface

Wayne Goss
https://www.youtube.com/user/gossmakeupartist

If you have an iPhone or iPad, download Pixiwoo's online magazine. They interview makeup artists, they always have good advice!

Establish what kind of makeup artist you want to be. There are many different fields in makeup artistry. There is print (mainly for fashion and advertisements), film and television, bridal/local work/salon, music videos, etc.
It's nearly impossible to do all, I've yet to see someone who is proficient in all aspects/industries of makeup. Reason being, print is an entirely different industry than film and television. Different clients, different connections, different sets, different makeup applications, etc. It's very hard to stay fresh and connected in both industries.
So, decide what type of industry you want to get into. Where would you love to see your work? What industry do you dream of working in? What kind of makeup is your favorite to execute?

SET GOALS! Always have goals! This will keep you moving. Write out a plan, a diagram, however you want to do it.

Since I'm not certain which industry you want to be in, I can't think of much more advice… Hope this helps! I wish you all the best!

Make assisting more experienced artists your new "everything" have a bit of a think about what kind of artist you might like to become. It's great to be able to do a little of everything but most artists have a main category they focus on. When deciding this take your location into account. I'm in Australia so I can't speculate too much about your area (I know there's a big fitness industry because lots of my clients travel to compete in Las Vegas..hopefully one will take me with soon!) but i'd say bridal/events & film would be the main markets? (anyone feel free to correct me, I'm just taking a guess on that one)

Once you've decided you should research artists in that field & email them to ask if you can buy them a coffee & see if you might be able to assist them.

I spent 20k on a fancypants diploma that is literally just a piece of paper that means nothing to no one. I spent the first 2 years of my career assisting anyone decent who would have me (paid or unpaid, often just washing peoples brushes) at fashion shows, music videos, magazine shoots, weddings ect & from this I have learnt what products to stock in my kit, how to behave with clients/talent, how to behave on set and of course how to do makeup. Eventually some artists began to offer me work when they were booked because I had worked with them several times & proved myself trustworthy & efficient.

I'm still very early on in my career but all of the above has really begun to pay off this year. Makeup has become my primary (& only) source of income, I've been able to afford private workshops & start a home studio. My primary source of income is Bridal/Events supplemented with occasional work on music videos & fitness magazines.

Youtube can be a handy resource but most of it isn't industry relevant.  I do love it for hair styling when you're stumped on how to do something.

Hope this helps & best of luck to you <3 xox