My best friend from across the waters in Canada kindly agreed to do a guest blog for me. She is a makeup artist herself and runs her own business very successfully. Business is booming and she is right in the mist of it. Her blog is amazing and so up to date with everything and she does huge giveaways all the time.
Here she is........
I want to start off by saying I am honored
to be guest blogging for Rachel CK. We go waaay back and it’s great to
reconnect now starting out in our chosen careers sharing our new found
knowledge, opinions and ways in this tough industry with each other and our
readers J
While at the moment my own blog,
Innocent Illusion Makeup artistry is a Canadian blog, I like to think of it as
international. As you may have guessed since I went to school with the
wonderful Rachel I am a born and bred Galway girl who has been living and
working in Canada for the last year.
Recently finishing my yearlong contract
doing a 9-5 job in relation to my nearly completed business degree, I resorted
to my one true passion in this world, Beauty, as a means of making money until
I return to Ireland in August to finish my degree.
What starting off as a simple freelance
makeup artist has now turned into the already expanding business that is
Innocent Illusion Makeup Artistry. (I can thank my study in business for this)
Currently here in Canada cosmetics are a
$9.14-billion industry. A ban on animal tested cosmetics by the European Union
was passed in March of this year, comprising a lot of the industries exporting
revenue.
The cosmetics industry here worries the
ban also means an entire market could be closed off to innovative new
cosmetics in the future but remain positive that the market will remain
strong as vanity is becoming more and more important to society and people even
more so than years gone by.
Right now, everybody starting to enter
the workforce is trying to get out of Ireland, predominately to England, Australia
and Canada.
A question I seem to get asked a lot is “Is there work for a MUA there & is
it easy to break into the industry?.
I feel I am too new to answer this fully
but I believe work in makeup can be found anywhere. Even in recession struck
Ireland, people seem to find disposal income to get a makeover or get glammed
up for a special event as it is important to them to look and feel good.
What happens to a person when they put makeup on? They
automatically feel better about themselves. The look good=feel good equation is
the primary factor that brings that woman through the door into the beauty
department and up to the lipstick bank looking for anything that will take away
from the fact that she feels fat that day, or her kids aren’t behaving, or her
9 to 5 job doesn’t satisfy or that her husband doesn’t pay enough attention to
her. When she purchases that new lipstick or eyeshadow and goes home and
applies it, she feels better about herself and her world. When she gets
complemented on her makeup and told she looks pretty, well that’s a more
powerful drug than all morphine in the world. There’s always high demand for
makeup in Fashion, TV & Film also. And therefore, wherever in the world,
there will always be a market for MUAs in my opinion.
In regards to breaking into the industry I feel that may be
easier here than in Ireland. I say this as a self-taught makeup artist, while
qualifications and training are recognized, they are not the be all and end all
here. Your resume is your portfolio. You are judged on your body of work and
skill rather than qualifications.
The reason I have done what I have so far here is all down to
Marketing and Social Networking. You need to let people know you exist and are
interested in working with them by marketing yourself and networking. It really
is the key to breaking into the industry.
What
it means to be a Make-up Artist!
Since
I was a little girl I always loved art, photography and anything creative. My
art for many years was dance and I had great aspirations to make it a career.
In my teenage years I focused more on my academics but always loved all things
beauty. Now I have started my own freelance makeup business and since doing
that I am inundated with questions about how to get the job and what qualifications
people need etc. To me, makeup is simply art and lucky I have the skill to
execute this art.
I
think art is very open, there are so many avenues to explore that the desire to
lead a creative life is always present. I now live my life as an artist. It’s
about the way you think, the way you can critique work, how you approach life
and overcome problems. Art is more about a way of thinking then just technical
skill. It has to make your heart skip a beat.
I’d
like to say that make-up artistry isn’t always about the glamour or the ‘cool’
status that seems to go with the title nowadays. While that is fun, it’s about
exploration. Stretching your imagination as far as it will go and having no
limits.
How
many people look exactly how they feel they are on the inside? Make-up stems
from a primitive ages and has been used for celebration, war, lifestyle,
adornment, as tribal protection and for spiritual purposes. Make-up can be so
much more fascinating than an oil painted canvas because it is an art you live
your life in. It’s a pure injection of personality, emotion and colour. Make-up
has the power to do anything. Even on the lowest of days it can make you feel
invincible. Everyone is unique, and it is the same with make-up; no two people
look the same, every time you pick up that make-up brush or eyeshadow there are
subtle differences.
One
of the problems professional make-up artists encounter is competition. We tend
to feel inadequate as a result of somebody’s opinion, feeling like you don’t
have the contacts, the skills, and the willpower to carry on, especially if you
have an awful client. It’s not always easy to pick yourself up after a bad day.
Luckily
I feel I have the belief and support to overcome a lot of the competition by
staying true to myself and trying hard to achieve my dreams; making Innocent
Illusion Makeup Artistry an international success. There will be bullies and
hardships along the way but as long as I understand that I’ll be ok.
That
look on peoples faces when they look at themselves in a new beautiful light
because of what you’ve done makes it all worthwhile! All I do is enhance
natural beauty- I can’t work magic J Making someone feel
beautiful and confident with who they are makes are those hardships fade into
the background.
I think we all shouldn’t be as down on ourselves! True
inspiration doesn't happen when we are stressed out. We try to juggle
so many things and it ends up stifling our creative spirit! It’s never wrong to
take time out to reflect, pamper and enjoy your own company or spend time with
loved ones, it helps the artist develop and it’s very important to feel free
and open to new ideas. I think this is where my blog comes into play in a big
way.
A
strong work ethic is very important as a freelancer, but remember not to take
life too seriously, learn to laugh at yourself, push yourself and be brave and
confident in who you are!
To
be in a position to be who you truly want to be sometimes takes effort and
courage and to shrug off the opinions of people who say you can’t do it.
Because if you want something badly enough you will keep on trying until it
happens J
Lots
of wisdom there! I know what you’re thinking; cliché, cliché, cliche! But I’ve
had quite a difficult year out in the big bad world and a lot of growing up had
to be done with the loss of a family member so all of the above really does
have meaning- trust me!
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