If you’re an aspiring makeup artist, the right makeup education courses will help you develop essential skills, make important industry connections, and learn key business insights—all of which are essential to building your portfolio and your career.

At Chic Studios School of Makeup, we have advised hundreds of makeup artist students on which professional beauty courses will best help them kick start their careers and set them on track to achieving their personal and professional goals. Find out more about the classes you need to take in order to become a successful professional makeup artist.

The Essentials

If you’re a beginning-level artist, you’ll want to take the time to master a wide range of skills and really build your knowledge base before delving into more specialized techniques. A course like our Master Makeup Class covers all of the essentials you’ll need to start booking jobs and freelance work upon graduation, including skincare and foundation, application techniques for eyes and lips, creating a whole look, and more. The best courses for beginning artists also include helpful extras, such as a chance to do a portfolio shoot, a professional makeup kit, and a certificate of completion or diploma to make your achievement official.

Bridal Makeup Training

Bridal makeup is one of the best skills a professional makeup artist can have, and all entry-level artists should consider making bridal beauty a part of their portfolio. The bridal makeup industry is thriving and offers plenty of opportunities for an aspiring makeup artist to make a name for themselves, whether you are hoping to do exclusively wedding beauty or want to take on freelance bridal gigs while you explore other options. At Chic Studios, our Bridal Beauty Makeup Course students learn skills that are crucial for doing wedding makeup, including color matching foundation, smokey eyes, false lash application, red and colored lip styles, and so much more.

Get Ready for the Fashion World

If you are like many makeup artists, you love the idea of getting involved in the fast-paced, ever-changing fashion industry. From being backstage at major fashion shows in New York, London, and Paris to working photo shoots for magazines and leading brands all over the globe, there are many exciting ways for makeup artists to participate in the fashion world. Look for professional beauty courses that focus on industry-specific needs, including etiquette for working backstage at shows, makeup for ad shoots, contouring and highlighting, and using face charts. We at Chic Studios offer an intensive fashion makeup course that can be completed over two to four days—the ideal way for beginning and intermediate artists to add new skills to their repertoire.

Makeup for the Entertainment Industry

Like fashion makeup, working in the entertainment industry can be incredibly thrilling and rewarding. A good professional makeup artist will understand the distinct demands of working with music and TV personalities and applying makeup that will look good on and off camera. Techniques like doing high definition makeup, the difference between daytime and evening TV makeup, and working with storyboards for music videos are all important aspects of your training. Find professional beauty courses taught by instructors with plenty of TV and entertainment experience and who lead hands-on TV makeup courses to help you get plenty of practice working with new skills.

Invest in In-Depth, Advanced Training

Once you’ve taken a course to cover the basics and some classes that will help you find jobs in more specialized fields, it is probably time to advance your makeup artistry training with lessons geared at intermediate and experienced professional makeup artist students. An advanced course will use what you’ve already learned and build on it so that your portfolio can become increasingly sophisticated and make you a more competitive candidate for highly sought-after gigs. We offer this in the form of specialized classes like Airbrush Makeup at Chic Studios, which is a single-subject intensive designed to be completed over two days and helps students master a highly-in-demand technique.

Hairstyling for Makeup Artists

While your primary focus may be application, aspiring makeup artists will find it incredibly useful to have some knowledge and skills when it comes to hair styling. A good beauty school will offer a hairstyling course geared specifically for artists, focusing on basic techniques and updos. Once you learn some essential hair skills, you’ll be able to offer your clients your expertise in hair for private makeup appointments, bridal makeup, photo shoots, and more. With some hairstyling talent and know-how, you’ll also have more autonomy and control when it comes to creating your portfolio, as you’ll be able to put together complementary hair and makeup looks that enhance one another beautifully.

Master the Art of Social Media

Social media is hugely important for any professional makeup artist, so look for professional beauty courses with a social media component to them. You’ll be able to learn best practices for doing makeup specifically for social media, advice for taking photos, and tips for engaging with followers so that you can let your skills shine. Digital beauty courses are a great way to invest in your career and learn how to promote yourself in a way that will help you provide useful content, gain followers, and even book important clients and jobs.

About Chic Studios

We are a professional makeup artist school with locations in New York City, Denver, and Los Angeles. We offer courses for every level of makeup artist to help all of our students achieve their dreams of success. All of our instructors are actively working in their fields and have over eight years of experience in the industry, which allows them to provide comprehensive, hands-on education in a small class setting. To learn more about what we do, visit our FAQs, download our current course catalog, or contact us today.