Struggles Of Makeup Artists

As a professional makeup artist, its alot of things I see good and bad being in this industry. I believe that makeup artists play one of the biggest parts in this industry, and alot of times we dont get the credit we deserve. Have you ever seen the Grammy's and a star comes walking down the red carpet, and she has on a beautiful dress, hair is styled, but no makeup on? You would never see that, a makeup artist brings everything together. 

We work very hard to establish a career for ourselves, some people do it part-time, and others like myself do it as a full-time career. I personally do not work for free unless its for a particular magazine publication. Makeup artist invest too much into their kit, traveling, and other expenses to work for free. It burns me up when photographer contacts me about rates, I give it to them and then they say "such an such said they would do it for $35/45" How many of you have experienced this yourself?

Here is a simple break down of some of the products I use doing a full face & the cost: 

Foundation-$22
Concealer-$15
Eyeshadow-$7-20
Eye Liner-$10
Lipstick/gloss-$7-16
Eyebrow Pencil-$9
Blush-$10-15
Mascara-$8-20
Setting Powder-$12
Total=approx. $139


Now where did people get TFP, Free, or $35 from that? That is just some of my items and the prices I pay for product. The bottom line is we are professionals that provide a service, therefore we should always be paid. You dont go to a restaurant and eat for free, you dont shop at your favorite store for free, so why do people think makeup artistry should be free? 


Bottom line is we are professionals. To protect yourself against running into issues like that, make sure you have contracts in place to protect you and your business. Stick to your guns, I see too many makeup artist settle for the quick dollar instead of sticking to the guns and getting paid their worth. Trust me I know, I fell victim to the same thing too at one point. I once read would you rather have 10 gigs that pay $40ea. that add up to $400, or that 1 gig for $400?

Your business is a direct outlook of yourself, so what do you stand for?