A make-up artist is a professional for type-appropriate, customer-oriented makeup with the goal of emphasizing a person’s natural beauty. The focus is on individual advice: facial shape, skin type, color types and personal wishes are analyzed to create wearable looks for everyday, business or special occasions such as weddings. Make-up artists often work in a beauty salon or directly with clients, and less in staged productions.

The training to become a make-up artist is not regulated by the state and is often offered as an additional qualification as part of a cosmetics training. The duration varies greatly: from short intensive courses over a few weeks to multi-month programs.

Important to know: The term is often used imprecisely in practice. Many so-called “make-up artist crash courses” are more like make-up artist training courses. A professional make-up artist training is usually significantly more extensive and takes longer, as it includes not only beauty make-up but also creative, conceptual and production work (for fashion, advertising or media). A well-known provider of a solid and recognized education in make-up artistry is the PRO ACADEMY, which offers its education at several locations in Germany and specializes in practical teaching in the beauty sector.

In the differentiation, it becomes clear: A make-up artist works more customer- and everyday-oriented than a make-up artist who is often creative and project-related in the media or fashion industry. At the same time, the makeup artist is clearly different from the makeup artist, whose focus is on film, theater, and special effects and who is trained in a more technical and handcrafted manner.