8 Signs of Your Ideal Makeup Artist

The path to building a strong creative team with whom you would like to work and grow together can be long and difficult. But it can also be surprisingly quick if you know exactly what you’re looking for.

I’ve worked with Makeup Artists (MUAs) around the globe by now, and I’ve become pretty savvy in my “identification process”.

Usually, you have to test with a creative professional to find out whether they’re a good match for your team. But a test shoot is a real investment (a full day of shooting plus the retouching time for the images your team will expect from you), and it’s wasted if you miss red flags you could have spotted beforehand.

So, what are the signs of a great Makeup Artist?

1. Communication Skills

A great MUA communicates like any great professional. I can’t work with artists who are hard to reach, who take more than a day to answer a message, email, or voicemail, or who think it’s fine to call about non-urgent things past 10 pm. When several people are planning a shoot together, nobody can afford to sit around waiting.

I understand that a working MUA may be busy on another set when you’re trying to reach them, and yet my favorite creative professionals always manage to be super responsive. So it is possible.

BTS: MUA Lupe Moreno, Model Kensington

2. Punctuality and Respect for Others

I’ve been fighting my own tendency to run five minutes late for years (except to air travel, somehow), so I don’t judge a 5-10 minute delay, especially in a city like Los Angeles, where the parking search alone adds ten minutes.

However, if it is 15-30 minutes, that is going to be a problem. And it does seem a little disrespectful toward the rest of the team who are now forced to sit around and wait for that one individual.

That being said, unexpected things happen, I know – I once wanted to “waze” my way around heavier morning traffic and got stuck behind a dumpster truck picking up trash at every house on a one-way street in a residential neighborhood in Newport Beach on my way to an Urban Decay shoot.

Just call the producer or the photographer as soon as you suspect you might be late, so the team is aware.

The Makeup Artists I’ve been blessed to work with are on location 10-20 minutes before call time. Jordan and Lupe are both true champions in this.

So, it is possible.

Model: Benedetta Piscitelli, Makeup: Francesco Riva (CHANEL)
Hair: Geordie Nonlaimpiccheranno

3. Organized & Clean Tools

What’s in a MUA’s kit, and how it’s packed, cleaned, and organized, tells me a great deal about how professional and how good they are.

It’s not that an artist is only as good as the brands they carry, but there’s some truth in it: talent can’t fully compensate for poor-quality products they use.

Which products work best for which look and set is no secret these days; an artist who stays current on industry news, reads unbiased reviews, and does their research will have a kit that shows it.

Pay attention to how everything is packed and laid out on set, too. Brushes, eye shadows, and lipsticks should be spotless and sorted, ideally in clear pouches.

In my experience, an almost OCD-level cleanliness of the kit is the mark of a top professional.

And it matters beyond self-discipline: we photographers never touch the model, but MUAs work directly on the skin with their hands, tools, and products.

All of it must be immaculate and safe to use. Makeup and skin prep products should never be applied onto a model’s skin directly out of the container, to prevent contamination. A brush that touched one model’s skin, eyes, or lips cannot go back into a container or touch another model’s face.

A model with a pink eye after a shoot with a MUA who does not obsess with the cleanliness of their tools will be out of work for a while; don’t do that to people.

4. Portfolio

This is a more obvious point, but here’s what I keep in mind:

a) QUALITY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY.

I look at the photography first. Poor imagery usually means the artist has never worked with strong photographers, so they may not know what that type of collaboration demands.

There’s a second read here, too: whatever they chose to publish, they consider good. That’s their visual taste on display, and taste drives every creative decision they’ll make when working on your shoot.

b) TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

Then I look at what kind of work fills the portfolio. If I’m planning clean beauty closeups and all I see is outdoor fashion or super colorful, costume-y makeup, this MUA may not be the right choice for the project.

Like all creatives, every Makeup Artist has a skill set: some rare ones can pull off almost anything, but most are brilliant at one or two things.

Just like an average professional baby photographer would have a hard time shooting a strong, edgy fashion campaign.

c) QUALITY OF THE MAKEUP.

Only if the first two checks pass do I study the makeup itself in the images in their portfolio, and with a reasonable eye, because photographers may have changed the colors and application in post-production for better or worse.

Sometimes the MUA is only executing an Art Director’s or photographer’s vision, but then they wouldn’t publish the work they are not proud of in their book, so the portfolio still demonstrates their choices and visual taste.

 

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5. Ability to Execute & Creative Input

Executing someone else’s vision is a big part of the MUA’s profession, especially in commercial work. And the closer they can get to the look that the art director, photographer, or client envisioned, the better.

But when we’re collaborating on a creative project, I want the MUA involved in planning the looks as much as I am, or even more.

As a Beauty photographer, it’s my job to know current trends: what’s in, what’s out, what combines and what doesn’t. A Makeup Artist should be ten times as fluent in those details.

I want them to correct me when the makeup I’m suggesting won’t “read” as editorial in the images, and to improve my idea with smart tweaks.

It’s draining when a collaborator looks to me for complete guidance on every color, placement, and application.

6. Actual Work

Skin work is one of the fundamental skills of any Makeup Artist, especially in Beauty, and the standard is simple: the skin must look flawless straight out of camera (but it’s absolutely not the “cake & bake” application either).

Anything to retouch should only reveal itself when I zoom in closer.

DEWY SKIN.

I love a fresh, youthful, dewy look, and it was only after seeing it done badly that I understood how difficult it is to execute.

From my favorite artists: less foundation, or none at all, beats covering the skin with foundation and powder.

Prepped, exfoliated, moisturized skin glows (given the model showed up rested, fresh, and hydrated, of course), which is very different from looking oily or sweaty.

And if the MUA you’re testing with attempts “contouring”… well, my friend, good luck with that.

It may be a trend among self-proclaimed Instagram beauty experts, and it may work for some types of video and photography, but it is a no-go for beauty photography, especially closeups and macro beauty.

 

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7. Personality & Compatibility

Probably the most important part of the assessment. Everything else can check out, but if, for whatever reason, you don’t feel comfortable with the person on set, it’s wise not to continue.

It’s almost like a mini-marriage: small details that only slightly irritate you on the first shoot grow into a real nuisance over time, and it reflects in the images.

The opposite is true, too: when you absolutely love creating with a MUA, any problem can be solved together.

8. Update: “LAZY ARTIST” / Added by Lupe Moreno

After publishing this article, I asked my favorite artists what I might have missed, and my Lupita added this very valuable point.

If the Makeup Artist you’re testing with spends the shoot playing with their phone instead of staying hands-on (helping on set, scanning captures for issues they can fix right now), you’ll most likely be better off without them.

A professional knows the job isn’t done once the model steps on set. Lupe and I always take a few test shots once I’ve adjusted the lighting, then stop and inspect them in detail, zooming into the eye makeup, brows, lashes, lips, and overall skin, before I begin shooting for real.

Often, she’ll step onto set and adjust colors or details that translated differently under the strong flash, and I wouldn’t even really know what caught her eye because I am focusing on a lot of other things such as the lighting, composition, directing the model, etc.

A great professional stays by the model, just outside the frame, keeping in check the details the photographer may not notice.

With two models on set, they check everything thoroughly at the start and jump back in at every opportunity.

Summary

At the end of the day, there’s always some compromise, and something might not be ideal. But knowing what to look for will save you time (and test shoots) on the way to finding your ideal Makeup Artist.

Featured image: BTS, Elizabeth Ulloa applying lipstick on Bridget of Osbrink Models on set.