Master Makeup Artistry Unit A: Back to the Basics

Stephanie finished up the first unit of her Master Makeup Artistry course at the end of February, landing herself with an A+ grade (nice one!). Curious about the QC student experience? Let Stephanie walk you through her first unit—along with a few bonus tips! After learning watching her first two videos (“Welcome to the Course” and “An Interview with Nathan Johnson”), Stephanie started on her first assignment: a letter to her tutor, Azzi Williams. In her letter, Stephanie told Azzi a little bit about herself, including her goals for the course and her dream career. Next up: the first course text! The World of Professional Makeup Artistry gave Stephanie a basic background on, well, the world of professional makeup artistry. Info on starting up in the industry, dealing with different skin types, and working in various makeup environments led her onto assignment number two, a basic makeup review.

The Setup

The second course book covered a makeup artist’s setup, including the area, the brushes, and the lighting. Stephanie showed us her own makeup artistry setup, where she’s got:

• A big mirror for a client to see him or herself
• A comfortable chair for her client
• Natural window lighting, as well as studio lights if needed
• A tripod for filming and photographing the makeup looks
• Lots of brushes and products to start off her professional kit
• And, of course, some makeup-inspired décor!

Speaking of stocking her kit, that’s what her next assignment was all about. Foundation, powder, concealer, blusher, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara… Stephanie picked a whole bunch of the products she’d need as a makeup artist and started planning her kit. It wasn’t all about colors, styles, and brands, either—as any makeup artist (or addict) knows, price and availability are also pretty important!

The Brushes

Of course, a makeup artist’s tools are just as important as her products. But buying professional quality brushes won’t help you (or your clients) if you don’t take good care of them. Stephanie took us through a quick demonstration of how she cleans her own makeup brushes:

1. Stephanie uses a silicone face mitt, along with The Body Shop Aloe Calming Facial Cleanser or a vegan handwash.
2. After wetting the mitt, she squeezes a generous amount of cleanser on.
3. Then wets the brush and starts rubbing it on the mitt, using wide circles across the whole mitt to get it as clean as possible.
4. Halfway through cleaning one brush, she gives both the mitt and the brush a quick rinse, then keeps rubbing.
5. The final step is a little shaping with her fingers.

The Business

The final part of the unit is an optional book on the business side of makeup artistry. Even though they’re not mandatory, Stephanie decided to complete the two business assignments. Freelancing is definitely part of her career plan, so getting a head start on learning how to create a brand and market herself just makes sense.v First off, Stephanie took on the “name game” by coming up with three potential names for her makeup artistry business. Her top picks were:

• Stephanie Wyatt Makeup Artist
• Wake Up and Make Up
• Beauty and Sinister

Beauty and Sinister was a special favorite, chosen to represent the fact that she’ll be doing SFX makeup as well as glamour and bridal makeup. While good SFX really is stunning and beautiful, it’s not somewhere people tend to look for beauty—plus, Stephanie is definitely going to be creating some sinister looks! Her last assignment involved some competitive research on makeup artists in her county. She did find quite a few makeup artists, but the majority of them just focus on bridal. What does she bring that they don’t already offer? Well, once again, this is where her SFX will come into play! Now she’s made it through the nitty-gritty basics of makeup artistry, she’s looking forward to moving on to Master Makeup Artistry Unit B, where she’ll actually start applying makeup for her assignments. Be sure to check back to follow her progress through the course!

Want to learn more about QC Makeup Academy’s newest student ambassador? Check out Stephanie’s first video!

**Please note that this review is based on a previous version of the course.