INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Makeup Artist positions are at a 19% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 622,700 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 119,800 to 742,500 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Makeup Artist jobs was $27,630 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $9.06 per hour, and the highest 10% more than $25.68 per hour.
Our conclusion? The Makeup Artist job market is wide open for candidates.
Top makeup artist sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
A makeup artist resume experience section to be proud of
Writing a strong experience section for your makeup artist resume:
- List your previous jobs in chronological or reverse-chronological format;
- Use no more than 4-6 bullets per position;
- Mention only relevant work experience;
- Describe the tasks you were responsible for and how you managed to exceed expectations;
- Show you’re able to take charge by choosing action verbs over buzzwords.
Looking for real-life examples of what a strong experience section looks like? Check out our suggestions below!
- Offering Airbrush Makeup Applications to clients on location and in studio, Eyelash Extensions, Specializing in Temptu Airbrush System.
- I use a variety of products that include: Temptu, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Ben Nye, Viseart, NARS, MAC Cosmestics, Makeup Forever, Urban Decay, BECCA Cosmetics, Kat Von D Beauty,Mai Couture, Smashbox, Too Faced, Laura Mercier, Trish McEvoy…etc.
- Offering services for but not limited to Weddings, Photo Shoots, Fashion Shows, Editorial/Print Work, Video, Special Events
- Published in The Knot, Artfully Wed, Swooned Magazine, FabYouBliss,Borrowed & Blue, Melissa Hearts Weddings, Aisle Ready, and Orange Blossom Bride.
- Experienced in Retail Sales and deliver great Customer Service
- Demonstrating artistry skill and team work in Creation Team for fashion shows, celebrities, magazines, theaters and etc.
- Being a Speaker for Makeup Technique Events.
- Responsible in public relation matter involving celebrities and celebrities makeup artist sponsors and MAC Pro card at retail store.
- Involved in assisting Artist Training and Development by preparing and organizing training materials and coordinating updates.
- Successfully develop and manage a strong client database such as Joël Robuchon, Felipe Massa, Netflix, Louis Vuitton, Changi Airport Group
- Actively manage profile on various social media platforms to promote high visibility of professional works and build the business
- Manage large-scale projects, such as Halloween Horror Nights 2014. This includes training, organizing and overseeing a 20 member team, developing training materials, conceptualization of looks and successful implementation
- Fostered excellent working relationships and referrals by building trust and rapport with clients
- Performed makeovers on customers
- Setting daily, weekly and monthly sales objectives towards meeting and exceeding targets and KPI
- Following and implementing of VM indications
- management of sales team and brands representatives
- Maintained store front and provided excellent customer service by ensuring all customer enquiries were addressed.
- Managed bookings, orders, refunds and stock take reconciliation.
- Up-sold services and makeup to clients and walk-ins.
- Act as a direct liaison between Nordstrom and MAC cosmetics.
- Provide customer service in the form of cashiering, custom product matching based on specific needs, gift wrapping, cross selling, and booking appointments.
- Assist in promotion of new products and regular makeovers to clients.
- Promoted to Product Specialist within six months. General tasks include using in depth knowledge of products to educate employees as well as customers, ensuring proper merchandising, and tracking of sales.
- Maintained strict company standard of cleanliness and organization.
- Assist in conducting bi- monthly inventory.
- Handled all orders and deliveries to the store.
- Took care of the store, organizing the products and maintaining a professional environment
- Advised and sold customers on products based on their needs
- Demonstrated different makeup looks on clients in order to show them how to use each product and the number of different looks using one product.
- Managed trainings taking place in the store.
- Assisted Gabriele Brunelli on his trainings in Albania.
- Recruit new clients, engage existing clients and showcase techniques. Consistently exceeding sales expectations +10% each year of employment with average sales goal $164,000, and average annual sales of $180,000.
- Coach new employees and freelance artist on selling techniques and application for the Bobbi Brown standard. Proactive in educating team members to build strength at our counter. Awarded Bobbi Brown Artist Certification August 4, 2012.
- Orchestrate major Featured Artist Events, booking 180+ appointments, setting up studio, confirming appointments and building sales through product knowledge and application. Awarded recognition for highest sale of the event, $1,200, which accounted for 6% of the net sales.
- Take the initiative to follow up with clients to simply say, "Thank you for coming in", on a daily basis through text messaging and phone calls. This positive communication to clients without sales tactics has built customer loyalty and increased Macy's My Client score to 30%+. The target for measuring repeat clientele is 20%.
- Brand Ambassador for Makeup Forever, Laura Mercier & Smashbox.
- Attended Makeup & Skincare Training for Makeup Forever, Urban Decay, Laura Mercier, Dior, Biotherm, Clarisonic, Stila, Too Faced & Peter Thomas Roth.
- Adept at perceiving individual clients’ unique skin tone and corresponding makeup needs and recommending products accordingly.
- Held make overs and explain in detail on products use that will benefit user.
- Educating customers on beauty products.
- Able to increase knowledge in Makeup, Skin Care & Fragrance.
- Ensures each client receives outstanding service by providing a friendly environment and deep product knowledge.
- Present a well-stocked, clean and beautiful sales floor and spa.
- Exhibit the ability to build sales and maintain a strong client base.
- Perform full custom makeover services to clients as needed.
- Work to achieve both individual and team sales goals.
- Perform all opening and closing duties, including managing financial transactions and store inventory.
- Frequently exceed daily and monthly sales goals at the beauty studio.
- Determine client's needs and market desirable products.
- Demonstrate and communicate product knowledge to clients.
- Actively pursue additional product knowledge as needed.
- Provide full custom makeovers daily to clients as desired.
PRO TIP
Check the Makeup Artist job description for inspiration. Look for similarities between your employer’s values and your experience.
Action verbs for your makeup artist resume
Recommended reads:
Taking Control of Your Makeup Artist Resume’s Skills Section
A skills section that shows what you're capable of includes:
- Keywords from the job advert to help you pass ATS;
- Both hard and soft skills, incl. technical skills and people skills;
- Skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for;
- No more than 15 skills – to keep your resume readable.
Top Skills for Your Makeup Artist Resume
Proficient in Armenian
Makeup Design
Hairstyle Design
Fashion Sense
MailChimp
Self confidence
Creativity
Humor
Innovation
Storytelling
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Makeup artist resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your makeup artist resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Makeup Artist resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
A makeup artist resume summary that spotlights your achievements
Checklist: a strong makeup artist resume summary:
- Use adjectives that highlight the character traits you’re most proud of;
- Mention 1-2 of your biggest achievements;
- Add keywords from the job advert to increase your chances of passing ATS;
- Keep the recruiter’s attention by going for short sentences.
resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Read the job description carefully and understand what the hiring company is exactly looking for. After that, write your summary accordingly while highlighting your potential and ability to be the best at that job.
Recommended reads.
Creating an impressive education section for your makeup artist resume
The education section: checklist
- List your degrees in reverse-chronological order;
- Include your degree subject, place of study, name of institution, and year of graduation;
- Add a line or two about your relevant certifications;
- Mention some classes and projects that have helped you gain additional skills.
Top certifications for your makeup artist resume
Makeup Artistry Basic to Masterclass , Online Makeup Course
Daily make up and evening makeup on different skin tones, eye shapes & face shape, online makeup courses , Makeup artist
Complete Makeup Course - Become a Makeup Artist
Professional makeup looks on models with different eye types and face shapes.
Become a Professional Makeup Artist for Film and Television
How to techniques” as well as the business concepts you need to become a successful makeup artist.
The Event Makeup Artist- MUA Masterclass
A thoughtful course on professional makeup artistry training for all types of skin and ethinicities
Makeup Basics: Learn Eye Makeup Today!
Learn to create the perfect eye makeup look for any eye shape. Perfect for the complete beginner or new makeup artist!
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Makeup Artist. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
A professional format for your makeup artist resume
There are some aspects worth taking into consideration when choosing the format of your Makeup Artist resume. These include the position and company you’re applying for, your total years of experience, whether you’ve been through some employment gaps, and so on.
Generally speaking, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that: all your jobs listed in a reverse-chronological way, starting from the most recent and moving backward. It’s great for highly experienced professionals with over 10 years in the industry behind their backs. The reason for this: it’s almost entirely focused on experience and achievements.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is just the opposite. It’s based on your skills, personality, and expertise. It highlights what you’re capable of even when you don’t have sufficient work experience. This makes it great for students, recent graduates, or people with larger career gaps.
If neither of these sounds like you, go for the combination resume format. It’s a combination of the best characteristics of other formats, which makes it great for showcasing different aspects of your career and education. It also gives you plenty of options to choose from – in terms of colors, structure, and sections.
Check out our additional tips on perfecting your Makeup Artist resume’s style and layout:
- Choose traditional 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for a serif or sans serif resume font that’s easy to read yet looks professional (e.g. Arial, Verdana, or Calibri);
- Keep your Makeup Artist resume short: one-page template are preferable, but if you have over 10 years of experience, you can also go for a two-page format;
- Save your resume as PDF and choose a suitable name, e.g. NameSurnameResume;
Tired of looking for ways to make your resume stand out? Read this article!
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Test your draft Makeup Artist resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Additional sections for your makeup artist resume
After drafting the required sections of your Makeup Artist resume, it’s now time to move to something a bit more fun. There are a number of sections you can add to your resume depending on the company, the position, and how you’re feeling in general:
Adding the right kind of creativity to your makeup artist resume
It is through creativity that we express ourselves. And trust us, it’s important to show at least a bit of your personality if you want to leave a strong first impression.
But what are the ways to add creativity to your Makeup Artist resume? Well, you can either go for a colorful and engaging template, or you could add some out-of-the-box sections, such as ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my typical day looks like’.
It’s up to you! Just make sure that the level of creativity matches the position, the company, and the industry you’re applying for.
What makes a great makeup artist resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
