Start Your Career as a Freelance Makeup Artist

 Starting your own business as a freelance makeup artist is easier said than done but there is no end to how much you get to learn. Working as a freelance makeup artist has its own perks; you can choose your own hours, set your own rates, choose your clients and maybe start your own brand. But it can be a tough job too. It requires a lot of passion, great communication skills and self-motivation.

Here are a few need to know tips and tricks for start your career as a freelance artist.

Learn How to Do Makeup

In today’s era, there’s nothing that can’t be learnt through the internet. People contemplate the reason to join a beauty school when they apply makeup every day. But little do they know that joining a beauty school will help them learn a lot. Doing makeup on different people gives you an advantage as you gain experience to deal with different face shapes and various skin conditions.

 

A formal education is not necessary, but it gives you an upper hand against the artists who lack a professional training. A certification or some experience is indispensable to kick start your career as a freelance makeup artist. Refine your skills as much as possible. Make sure your certificates and portfolio speak for themselves.

 

Build Your Vanity

Starting off your career as a professional makeup artist, you will need at least a basic kit of the products and tools. When beginning your career as a freelance makeup artist, you don’t necessarily need to spend thousands on your kit. Build a vanity on a budget. There is no end to adding to your vanity. You will find innumerable drugstore products that are of great quality. Do your research and get knowledge of where to splurge and when to save!

 

Know Your Boundaries

As a freelance makeup artist, you should not make the mistake of promising to deliver something you do not excel at. Just because you want to earn money, does not mean that you should take up clients demanding a look that is not your strength. Instead, take clients that you want to work with and concentrate more on your area of expertise. This will help build your reputation among potential clients.

 

Build Your Client Base

The key to start your career as a freelance makeup artist is advertising yourself. Freelancers are barely advertised. Start off by doing makeup for clients at a lower price. This way you’ll get promoted through word of mouth. And as you build a reputation, start increasing your prices steadily.

 

Another way of promoting yourself is through social media. Spend a little on those paid advertisements. There are people looking for makeup artists pretty much every day and this will make it easier for them to find you.

 

Keep Yourself Updated with the Current Trends

Keep evolving as a makeup artist and brief yourself with the current makeup trends. It’ll make an impression, on your clients, of commitment to improve as an artist and, you’ll find yourself way ahead in the competition. So, keep refining your skills!

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The queen of wellness in India – Dr Vandana Luthra

Pioneering in an area which was not established as a market at all and truly following her passion despite all the criticisms and hardships, Vandana Luthra has marked a tremendous journey with VLCC.

Today VLCC is a household name. However, when Luthra embarked on this journey, a wellness centre was unheard of. So much so that, in her initial years she faced tremendous challenges educating people about and opening them up to the idea of adopting wellness regimes and initiative in their lives.

“When I started, there were hardly any women entrepreneurs. It was a male-dominated environment. I had to face a lot of criticism, a lot of people tried to ensure that I did not succeed and grow. The only thing I believed in was that my concept was unique, unusual and it was being introduced in India for the first time,” she says.

Right from its inception, she was clear to focus her brand around health and wellness rather than glamour. She believed strongly on the dire need of including wellness in our lives. The centre was conceptualized and operated as a clinic and continues to do so even today.

So, what inspired her to follow the path of wellness?
Luthra had grown up looking at her mother helping people around feel better. She was an Ayurvedic doctor running a charitable initiative – ‘Amar Jyoti’. Luthra wanted to help people too but took it a notch further.

“I loved the idea of impacting someone’s life and making things better for them.”
She ideated about presenting her clients with a holistic approach by adding beauty to wellness. She laid importance on nutrition, physical health and grooming to be combined together.

She wanted to create a holistic centre where the customer walks in and everything from the top to the toe is taken care of. Why keep running around and wasting time at different places when everything could be provided for at one.

After her graduation, she moved to Europe keeping her dream in mind. Across Germany, UK and France, she honed herself in the realm of beauty, nutrition, skin-care and fitness.

On her return, she started her VLCC journey in 1989 from New Delhi. Her in-laws were not very supportive in general, but she got the tables to turn with great difficulty.

Her husband was willing to fund her endeavor, however, Luthra wanted to stand on her own and financed VLCC from a small bank loan.

Today VLCC is not only a wellness centre but a training institute too. It houses a comprehensive portfolio of beauty and wellness products with operations in over 150 cities.

VLCC is now global covering 14 countries across Asia and Africa (first international centre opened in Dubai in 2005). It has two manufacturing units (at Haridwar and Singapore) and is all set for opening up in other continents soon too!

The unique idea and positioning of VLCC coupled with the passionate efforts of Vandana have made it such humungous success. So much so that, Luthra hit break-even in the first month itself when she opened her first centre back in the 80s.

More about the wonder-lady herself?
Luthra’s achievements have no bounds. She was awarded the Padma Shri recognition in 2013. The current government chose her to chair the Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council and rightly so. Her contribution in introducing the wellness industry to Indians is what truly sets her apart.

Moreover, Luthra was awarded as ‘Asia’s Greatest Brands & Leaders 2017’ and listed as the 33rd most powerful woman in business in India 2015 (by Fortune India).

She is also the proud author of two books namely – “Complete Fitness Programme” and “A Good Life”.

Luthra is extremely invested at VLCC, whether it is remembering the names of all her staff, randomly visiting stores across cities or interacting with her team to problem solve.

She is definitely one super grand mommy (yes, she is a grandmother of 3 now)! She keeps travelling to fairs across the world for R & D and updates on the latest trends in the industry.

She believes Indian women are all great managers. She says – “we have that inherent balancing act together and also the art of giving.” “We imbibe this from working long hours to get the family together at home, bringing up children etc.” This makes for great entrepreneurs!

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