Beauty & makeup

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• working towards this role
• courses run by private training providers

University

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

For 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/

College

You could study for a college qualification in:

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

Apprenticeship

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

For 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

Work

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.

Volunteering and work experience

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

Other routes

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

More information

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.

View all vacancies in this region

Many make-up artists work freelance and develop their career by building a network of contacts and receiving recommendations from clients.

With experience, you could become chief make-up artist or make-up designer. You could also develop specialist skills, for example applying body art, or making facial or body moulds for creating and fitting prosthetics.

You could move into areas like:fashion and photography; print and digital media; special effects

You might also work in medical aesthetics, using make-up techniques to cover scars and skin conditions to help improve a client's psychological wellbeing and confidence.