Makeup Artist Interview Preparation Guide

Download PDF

I love to play with colors. I found this profession suitable for myself since it allows a lot of creativity and complements my inborn knack for fashion and glamour. My eye hand dexterity is also very good which supports me a lot in the role.

I get my inspiration from so many different things: fashion, travel, history, different cultures, plants and nature.

I don’t know how to answer this as I have never taken my mind off being a makeup artist. My focus has been a constant for most of my life. This is what I was born to do.

My fave makeup brush is actually an eyebrow brush. It’s a giant soft version of the tiny hard angled ones you usually see and it works great creating a full, luscious natural looking brow in one swipe.

Women are always on the prowl for this. Choose cooler "true" red tones with a bit of blue if you have pink in your skin or are super fair-skinned. A warmer orange-red tone works best for olive-skinned women. —Lori Taylor-Davis, Smashbox Global Pro Artist

Whenever I work with a celebrity, it's always very special. I recently spent the day with Kendall Jenner on an Estée Lauder shoot and got to experience first-hand, the "Kendall Jenner Effect." It's great to be with a celebrity who is surrounded by so much positive light.

A good agent can protect you. They’re a great barrier between you and the client to make sure things like proper pay, kit fees and transport are all arranged for you. Also you’re not hassling a client for money. They also can guide your career in the right direction for your talent. A good agent should market you right and open up doors to new clients you never would have met on your own. I love my agency, Artists By Timothy Priano- they “get me” and how I like to work, I’m obsessed with my booker Christina there- she’s amazing! Even when I bring in my own clients she always gets me a better deal then I could have arranged for myself, plus she is super sweet and all my clients compliment how lovely she is-which is very important to me, I like to be professional but nice.

As a celebrity makeup artist, I literally had every single line of cosmetics at my finger tips. Everything from the 99 cent drugstore brands, to the most prestigious luxury brands, and still there was nothing out there that I was 100% happy with! My assistant and I would spend hours playing “chemist,” mixing together several different products to create something that we could use on my clients. I thought to myself, there has to be a better way! I wanted something that my clients, my friends, my family, and I could all trust to make us look and feel as fierce as we deserve!

Again, you don’t have to go overboard! Try those fun colored eyeliners, but keep the line skinny and close to the lash line. Try that fun, bright lip, but do it as a pretty sheer gloss. Balance is also so important, and something that a girl is never too young to learn about. What I mean by that is, if you do a smokier, or heavier eye, do a nude lip. If you’re doing a bold lip, go for a lighter eye.

My career with fashion and celebrities began when photographer Steven Meisel saw my work and booked me for the cover of Italian Vogue. I was very lucky that he gave me such an amazing opportunity to prove myself. It was the first booking I had. He is the defining reason that I have a career. He changed my life.

I also love to take walks with my husband Sam and dog Vincent. Sam and I love to travel and explore new places. I enjoy reading books and I’m also a lover of wine.

I love that brides are going back to more color on the lip. It got to be way too nude there for a while, so I love seeing the red, pink and berry shades coming back. The one trend that I would love to see left behind for makeup across the board is the harsh contouring! Just don’t do it ladies!!

The biggest challenge I think is that makeup artists are required to remain up to date with new trends and fashion. The fashion industry evolves on daily basis and the expertise has to be upgraded accordingly.

Yes, I am a special events makeup artist by profession. I have covered wedding makeup, party makeup, funeral makeup, makeover makeup, theatre performance makeup and makeup for TV shootings

I am trained in molding prosthetics, wigs and extensions on clients to help them get into character.

Invest in your mind, body and soul. Shoes come and go, but your skin needs more than a yearly check-up. Invest in a good regular facial and nurture yourself with massages and quiet rest from time to time.

Contouring seems like a daunting task if you've never done it. The reality is it's easier than you may think. The simplest way to understand contouring is to imagine a light over your head. The areas of the face that the light will illuminate are the highlights and the areas cast in shadows are the contours. Finding the right products is easy, and may already be in your makeup collection. Use a foundation or concealer one shade darker than you skintone (the one you purchased after that last beach vacation), or a bronzer can do the trick. —Blair Patterson, Director of Global Makeup Artistry, Estée Lauder

A little concealer under the eyes is the easiest way to look more awake and bright-eyed. Or sunglasses and a bright lip always do the trick.

My “Dream Job” would be Ellen Von Unwerth as the photographer, Grace Coddington styling, Sam McKnight on hair, Baz Lurman doing the art direction and Raquel Welch circa 1970 modeling (she is my muse) But any job with a sassy creative director and a decent pay rate is always an awesome second LOL.

I have to say, usually, I always wear a smoky eye and a pink lip. Always. But, lately, I have been branching out and doing a red lip! There’s something so classic, yet so modern about it! And with today’s amazing innovations, you don’t have to worry about it traveling all over your face!

I have been a lover of makeup since I was a little girl. I always played with makeup, which sometimes annoyed my older sister because I was always breaking into her room to put on her crimson pink lipstick and blue mascara (gotta love the 80’s!). When I got old enough to start wearing makeup my mom took me to the Clinque counter at Macy’s, I was instantly in love. From that point on I knew I wanted to be a professional makeup artist. However, I didn’t get my start professionally until I was 20 and got my first makeup job as a counter manager for Benefit cosmetics at a Macy’s store. Kind of ironic. ;-) After 2 years of working in what I call the retail trap, I left in search of bigger and better opportunities. I wound up working at a salon with the intent of going to beauty school. Soon after starting in the salon world I realized that it was a pretty toxic, negative and caddy aspect of the industry and it wasn’t for me. I know all salons aren’t like this but I soon realized that I didn’t want to “work for the man” and be constrained to where my creativity took me. Around that time was when I met my now husband who recognized my talent and pushed me to pursue starting my own makeup artistry business and thus WarPaint International was born!

It’s simple. We don’t do drama. We do not tolerate toxic, negative or catty behavior and these standards have attracted the right type of artisans to us. Like attracts like. The way we conduct business is always professional. We treat our artisans and clients with the utmost respect. We are responsive, consistent, talented and reliable.

We have a lifetime of wearing makeup, so while it’s fun for girls to play, I think it’s better that we wait until we’re older to wear makeup!

The three tools I can never be with out are 1: a contour brush. I use them for everything from shadow to powder to concealor 2: a sharp pair of slanted tweezers from Tweezerman, and 3: my eye lash comb (because I like rock and roll but not clumpy lashes).

Growing up I had a big costume box and I was always into dressing up. I went to art school for a little while in high school then studied theatre in college at Penn State. My favorite courses were the costuming and stage makeup classes, so after I graduated I moved to London and studied at a professional makeup school taught by ex BBC artists…, It wasn’t a career I really thought of when I was younger but more of a natural progression of something I fell into. I feel so lucky that I can have a career that is combined by my love of art, dressing up and dramatics.