Make-up artist

You can do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or a degree in make-up, such as:

• make-up for media and performance
• media make-up artistry
• theatrical, fashion and special effects make-up

Subjects that show your creativity can be useful for getting on to university make-up artistry courses.

These include:

• art and design
• performing arts
• drama or theatre studies

You'll usually need a print or online portfolio of your work and ideas for course applications and interviews.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma

• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

More Information

• student finance for fees and living costs|https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
• equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
• university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/

You could study for a college qualification in:

• make-up
• theatrical and media make-up
• make-up artistry
• hair and media make-up

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

You could apply to do an apprenticeship, for example:

• Beauty Therapy Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
• Hairdressing Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
• Hair, Wigs, Make-up and Prosthetics Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

With a qualification in hair or beauty and practical experience, you may be able to apply for assistant make-up artist jobs.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

More Information

• equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
• guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide

You could start out as a trainee or assistant to a make-up team, or find casual work doing make-up and hair for extras in crowd scenes.

You could get experience in salon, wedding and events make-up. You might also work in cosmetics sales, and build a professional portfolio to demonstrate your skills.

You could volunteer behind the scenes in theatres or amateur dramatic societies to get some experience.

You can do specialist make-up and beauty courses through commercial beauty schools.

Career Tips

It's a good idea to get practical experience and put together a portfolio of work to show employers what you can do.

You could:

• get involved with amateur theatre
• take part in student film, theatre and photography projects
• help out at charity or student fashion shows
• work shadow an established make-up artist or photographic stylist

Further Information

You can find out more about careers in stage and screen make-up from ScreenSkills and Get Into Theatre .

As a make-up artist, you could:

• research make-up and hairstyles of different periods and cultures
• organise your make-up team and assistants
• create styles based on the director and production designer's instructions
• apply actors' make-up and style hair at the start of a day
• check that design ideas work under different conditions
• create special effects make-up
• take notes and photos for reference and continuity
• be on set or backstage ready to redo make-up and hair

You could work at a TV studio, in a theatre, on a film set or at a film studio.