Name: Charlotte Wilson
Location: Masterton, New Zealand
QC Online Makeup Courses:
Facebook: Facebook.com/CharlotteWilsonBeauty
Instagram: Instagram.com/CharlotteWilsonBeauty
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
My name is Charlotte Wilson. I am the mother of a beautiful little girl and the wife of the most amazing husband! I have been working as a makeup artist for four years and not a single one of those days has felt like work.
Why did you decide to become a makeup artist?
I have always been quite an artistic person. At school, I took as many art subjects as possible. After leaving school, I felt as though I lost my creative outlet until I started playing around with makeup—and I wasn’t half bad at it!
It started off with just doing makeup for friends. Eventually, people wanted to pay me for my makeup services. I decided to pursue makeup artistry as I could express my creativity and make money doing something I love!
How would you describe your makeup style?
I would describe my makeup style as “soft glam”. I work with my clients’ natural features, enhancing them to ensure they feel confident and beautiful. My favorite type of makeup is bridal makeup, whether it be very natural or something a little more intense. I just love being part of weddings. I love making the bride feel her absolute best as she experiences one of the best days of her life.
You’re the owner of your own makeup studio! What was the hardest part about opening a studio? What’s the easiest benefit from doing so?
I do have my own studio! Fortunately, we do own the property. We purchased the house in 2016 and it had a separate studio already built on the property. The studio has street access, which is great!
I think the hardest part about opening my home makeup studio was styling it. I am always looking for new pieces of furniture or art to put in the space. I want my studio to feel as luxurious as possible. When a client enters my makeup studio, I want them to feel pampered. I want to leave feeling as though they cannot wait to come back!
The easiest benefit of running my own studio is having my house right next door. Anytime I have a break between clients over the weekends, I can run inside and see my husband and daughter.
You’ve started teaching your own master classes as a professional makeup artist—congrats! How did you decide to start instructing makeup courses yourself?
Yes, I have! I will only be holding around two makeup master classes a year (Bubbles & Makeup Masterclass). I want them to remain very exclusive, and I feel like offering them all the time would take away from that.
I have to give credit to my sister, Mel, for this one. She convinced me that people want to learn how to do their own makeup using their own makeup kits, and wow, I feel like I have hit the jackpot. I hosted my first makeup class last month, and it was an absolute hit! I think there are a few things I will do differently next time. But for the most part, it was an amazing atmosphere with beautiful women who left feeling confident and empowered to do makeup both in their day-to-day lives and when going out!
Why did you choose QC Makeup Academy over all the other makeup schools out there?
I live in a small city in New Zealand. Aside from commuting, there aren’t many options for me to learn how to do makeup. I wasn’t interested in becoming a beauty therapist to learn about makeup, and that was about the only option I had. I looked online for a while and decided QC Makeup Academy was my best option.
I was working a full-time job for a brokerage business and didn’t want to commit to leaving it behind to pursue my dream just yet. Although, after having my daughter in 2018, I did leave this job and now work almost full-time building my own makeup business!
Also, I loved that QC had a payment plan option. I think QC’s online makeup course really reiterated to me a lot of things I already thought I knew about makeup artist, but I learned how to do them better. I learned a lot about making my client feel comfortable, which I think is vital makeup artists are always working in someone’s personal space.
What’s in store for you and your makeup business for the rest of the year?
Well, I have one more Bubbles & Makeup Masterclass coming up. From November onwards will be a hectic wedding season for me. I am working one or two weddings every weekend until April 2020! I am also working towards starting a retail part of my makeup artist business, both online and in the studio!
Finally, if you were trapped on a desert island, what makeup product would you bring?
Oh, this is hard! It’s not really a makeup product, but I would probably say the MAC Strobe Cream. I feel like it gives you the most amazing skin finish and luminosity—who doesn’t want to sparkle!?
