How to Become a Makeup Artist
Is your ambition to become a makeup artist? 2026 is a great year to start. Many professional make-up artists today are true celebrities, earning high status as they travel the globe, launch their own cosmetics lines and collaborate with some of the biggest names in fashion and film. It doesn’t all start there though. It can take several years to establish yourself in make-up art. Getting there is a mixture of luck, training, hard work, but you have to start somewhere. Look at how the careers of famous makeup artists panned out.
Want to see how it all works in person? A visit lets you look around the studios and meet the tutors before you commit to anything.
Is There One Single Formulae for Success in the Makeup Industry?
Unfortunately there isn’t. In our many years of training future makeup artists at Brushstroke in all facets of the make-up industry, we have learned that there is no single path to success. Start with the easy bits. Many professional makeup artists have blogs where you can learn more about techniques and current trends, and that will give you more information about the industry and assist you further in making career decisions. What you can do right now is look at how famous makeup artists have launched their careers and work from there.
Get to Grips with the Makeup Career Ladder
Patrick Ta is one of Hollywood’s top makeup artists and the most sought-after makeup artists for celebrities including Shay Mitchell, Gigi Hadid and Kim Kardashian. But he wasn’t handed this career, instead he climbed up the ladder like everyone else.
He grew up in a family that wasn’t accustomed to makeup. His dad worked in construction, and his sister and mum didn’t really wear makeup. Growing up he lacked confidence, and living in the closet put up barriers for him. But as he became more comfortable with his sexuality and his aspirations, his passion for makeup began to grow as did finding his ‘authentic self’.
At 17 he moved away from his hometown in Arizona. His roommate worked at MAC and that fueled his obsession with the brand at around age 20. He began working at a makeup counter and learned through experience about the application of makeup to different ages, skin colours and ethnicities. It was Patrick’s obsession with makeup and the transformation it allowed for people that led to the progression of this career. Everything fell it to place from there:
I couldn’t fathom it because I was charging $100 to $200 for a makeup application. My mind didn’t even know people could make what they make or have this life that they have.
But there were other small steps he made as well, and Instagram was one of them.
Learn Makeup Techniques and Concepts
It is important that you learn and develop formal concepts, and techniques relevant to the creative field of makeup. The hours of training you can get from a makeup course is invaluable. Make-up artistry is a practical profession, so you should consider picking the right training course and makeup school.
The best way to understand the work is to see it in person. Brushstroke has trained makeup artists inside Elstree and Longcross studios for over thirty five years, and a visit lets you watch the training up close.
Further reading
Browse the full range of makeup courses.
Where makeup training can take your career.
The qualifications that actually matter to employers.
Finding and landing your first jobs.