This video by Kiki G, owner of Salt New York is short, sweet, and brutally honest - and I LOVE IT! She’s completely on point with her ‘chef’ comment. You aren't qualified to call yourself a professional chef if you can’t do something as basic as prepare pasta for a recipe.
Which is why…
In the 21st century, if you cannot match the skin tone of ANYONE sitting in your makeup chair, you are not ready to market yourself as a professional makeup artist.
This is non-negotiable, and no excuses are acceptable.
FACT:
Every profession has its fundamental principles, and if you have not mastered these BASIC principles, you are not prepared to pursue that profession and charge for your services. PERIOD.
This is no different for professional makeup artists.
One of the most critical aspects of makeup artistry is a comprehensive understanding of COLOR THEORY. Once you have a solid understanding of color theory and enough practice under your belt, you should be able to match any skin tone and perform any color correction.
Learning and mastering fundamental makeup theories and techniques is NOT optional if you want to pursue a career as a PROFESSIONAL makeup artist.
Can a beauty influencer or content creator ALSO be a professional makeup artist?
Of course, if they’ve successfully completed fundamental makeup training and can perform all essential tasks expected of a makeup artist. Correctly color-matching foundation is a baseline requirement. BASELINE.
Profound (and slightly snarky) Observation:
Many social media beauty influencers and content creators claim to be a current or former makeup artist… yet they can’t match their own foundation correctly.
If you can’t perform the most basic makeup theories and techniques on yourself, you were never a professional makeup artist and need to stop marketing yourself that way.
I’m not hating the influencer hustle - create your content and get your coins. But there needs to be TRUTH in advertising. If you’re asking followers to trust your input and recommendations as a ‘professional’, you need to meet the minimum requirements of that profession.
Serious Question:
How do you feel about people claiming a profession (any profession) without a working knowledge of its fundamental theories and techniques?
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