While you would be correct in believing that makeup artists, cosmetologists, and estheticians are all part of the beauty industry, these titles are not interchangeable!
Cosmetology provides a broad beauty education which includes training in skin, hair, and nail care. Esthetics focuses on skin care and skin treatments. A makeup artist uses makeup application to create looks for special events, fashion runways, special effects, and more. Neither a cosmetology program nor an esthetics program will offer enough makeup specific hours for a career as a makeup artist.
Makeup artists do not always have traditional full-time jobs, sometimes working on-call or by appointment, and for potentially long hours. The national average salary for a makeup artist in the United States is $31.44 per hour with a salary range between $7.25 and $94.45 per hour.
