Serendipity had occurred to me in so many instances of my life and professionally speaking, a lot of good things happen by chance when you least expect it. I have been fortunate so far with my work but then again I look forward to more good things. I would like to share with you some of the lessons I’ve come across in my profession. This is by no means in any order. Loving your craft is a metaphor for life that we should always strive to be the best that we can be no matter what the circumstances are.
1) Practice Practice Practice
In all the Cosmetic and Makeup schools that I’ve studied in, one thing cannot be stressed enough is the mantra of Practice, Practice, Practice. Primary lesson is the mastery of technique which one should master by heart and I mean skills like concealing, skin prep, color correcting, foundation matching, proper sanitation and highlighting an contouring.
When you think you have mastered it, you need to practice some more.
I have asked my teacher Jen Delica if she sometimes experiences wrong foundation matching on a client and she admitted that yes on a few occasions she admitted to this. Nevertheless, being the pro that she is, she immediately spots the error and corrects it immediately. Nice to know even the pros make mistakes sometimes. Only if you have mastered these techniques, then you can move to the creativity aspect of it. This is the foundation of a successful makeup career.
2) Get Proactive
I don’t get booked every single day. I wish my calendar was as full as the seasoned artists are but truth to tell, I also enjoy my downtime being with my family and friends and basically enjoying the other aspects of being a mother, wife and all that stuff. This also gets my creative juice flowing because sometimes you need to unwind to recharge and get inspired with your work and this puts a different perspective in your work. I get up everyday and work on my career by working on my social media presence, writing blogs, testing new products, trying out new techniques, networking just to get my name out there and improve my resume. This industry is so dynamic you really have to keep up or you stagnate.
My other teacher, Georginna Desuasido mentioned that when she was beginning her career 10-15 years ago, she actively marketed herself by sending out her portfolio and CD to many magazines, editorials, film directors just to get her name out there and hope for the best that even 1 might give her a call. Not one called and she felt devastated. Fast forward, she really did get a call soon and the rest is beauty and glamour history for her. I genuinely asked her if I was in the right career path amidst this sea of makeup artist shrooming way past me. She said that in this business, patience is really a virtue and that one has to carve her niche and really commit to it.
You can’t be a success overnight. Even if you are not get the work that you want, you have to create it and think that they need to hire you. I’m still waiting for Charlotte Tillbury to call me.
3) Go Professional
Show up on time or at least 1 hour before your call time. I was chastised by my teacher that “when you show up on time, that means you are late”. Show up 30 minutes to one hour before and you are really on time. As a professional, there is nothing worse than the client waiting on you because you are late for various reasons. A client can mean from the beauty editor or stylist, model or the photographer and they show up on time. If you are late, apologize once and get on with the work. Even if the others are late, make sure you arrive early and believe me, this will give you a heads up on your next booking.
Professional can also mean appropriately dressed. I’ve seen other makeup artists that come in very casual attire sometimes too casual. I’m referring to short shorts and a mini top. While this may look good, it will also reflect on the image that you want to convey as a professional artist. I have also seen some artists that wear sky high stilettos to a shoot. This can wreak havoc on your poor feet and expensive shoes specially when the shoot is outdoors in a rice field and you are in multiple location settings. Ditch your club attire and wear the comfiest of shoes and for heavens sake you are not there to compete with the model in terms of pabonggahan. Show your creative side but keep it professional by being well groomed and presentable.
Professional can also mean on how you deal with the client and the people around you. While we are surrounded by very colorful personalities in a shoot or a set, one can’t help that colorful language, colloquial terms and showbiz lingo are thrown around, it is still important to have a pleasing and courteous personality. Do not assume that when someone speaks to you in gay lingo, make sure that when you reply back, that person receiving it will also understand where you re coming from. Sometimes it comes off as trying too hard. Say “thank you” and “please,” being considerate of others and minding your manners are not old fashioned norms. I’ve heard other editors say that they have not booked a particular makeup artist because of her poor social skills and bad manners. Trust me, bad manners is always committed to the memory bank of the people concerned.
4) Respect yourself and your craft
Never undersell or underestimate your potential. Wise words from a previous mentor.
Sad to say the industry is changing and everyone wants a piece of the proverbial beauty pie. I have come across makeup artists that undersell themselves just to get the client sometimes charging rates that are way below the industry rate. It is a dog eat dog world today. Whew!
Respecting your craft means that you have invested time: the school attended; the hours you’ve put in your work to carve a name for yourself — that involves charging rates that are appropriate for the event and the needs of the client.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken on jobs that don’t pay me at all but this is the choice I made in terms of getting ahead and weighing it against my portfolio or resume building. For instance I’v been volunteering my services every year for the past 2 years to East Avenue Hospital where I get to beautify patients dealing with cancer. Sometimes its really not all about the money. Cliche as it may sound, the women I get to work with are the happiest, grateful ladies I’ve put my hands on and that is worth any peso can pay me. In some cases, working on an editorial shoot will get you an “X deal” wherein credits are used instead of monetary benefits. I usually don’t turn it down if I know I can get beautiful photos for my website.
5) Have a sense of rumor… um, I meant HUMOR.
It really is just makeup. You can easily remove it just as easily as you put it on. Creativity, fun and passion go hand in hand and please do not take yourself seriously. I learned that there will always someone better than you and the biggest competitor is really yourself. Makeup = Color = Fun= Passion = Happiness. The photo below is really a good poke at our profession which just about sums up what I do. Enjoy and keep on painting.
