Shady Inquiries, TV Pilots & Reality Shows

Shady Inquiries: Real Jobs V.S. Unrewarding Unpaid Jobs

As a Make-up Artist, I receive all sorts of emails, phone calls and general inquiries for a wide range of jobs or "opportunities". Many of us are familiar with the spammed out emails of some one claiming to be a Nigerian Prince that will give you 1 million dollars if you cash a check or do some thing financially for him. By now, most of us realize that this is a scam and just pure spam. However, a lot of Make-up Artists still fail to understand or have problems decoding emails from real people that claim to have "opportunities" for them.

Through my experience in the industry and from dealing with all sorts of potential clientele - I have come to understand what emails are legit and what emails are a waste of time! This blog posting is not referring to a Bride's email/phone call - but rather- people claiming to be talent scouts, tv producers, tv people, photographers, tv shows, big companies and more.

There are many emails that some times will cause us to question whether it is "safe" to work with a person or not. In addition, many emails will leave you left with a number of questions about what the company or person is even asking you to do.

Real Job Offer Emails & Phone Calls will most of the following things:

• State the name of the person who is contacting you
• State the name of the company
• Specifically inform you of the details of the makeup services they are looking for
• Specifically explain the payment situation upfront
• Will include an office address, phone number, fax etc in the signature of the email
• Will have legitimate professional email addresses such as JohnSmith@bbbpromotions.com instead of sexxysuperman@gmail.com
• Will say where they got your information from
• Will use proper grammar v.s. slang and text language

Scams, Abusive Jobs, Unprofessional jobs, and Unrewarding jobs will do the following things:

• They some times will not give their full names
• They some times do not give the name of their company or give you multiple company names
• Their descriptions of the services needed will be extremely vague or unorganized
• Instead of offering a paying job they will use words like "this is an opportunity for you", "I have a great opportunity for you" - which will some times lead to them just trying to sell you their product or can lead to you doing work for free where things turn out to be way more involved or time consuming than what you signed up for.
• They don't clearly explain the payment situation even after you have asked several times
• They avoid answering questions about their business, location, specifics or where they got your information from
• They use a lot of improper grammar and slang in their emails
• They may be trying to sell you a product instead of offering you a job opportunity if they insist on setting up a meeting with you or get pushy on the phone. Some companies will even insist that you stay on the phone until they are done speaking about their product.
• An unrewarding job - may tell you that there's no budget for the work that you are doing and that "no one is getting paid" -- meanwhile they tell you to call their secretary at a very expensive rental location in tribeca (obviously they have enough money to have staff and a costly location - they can afford to pay the makeup artists some thing).
• Other individuals will try to tell you that their project is so important and will end up making everyone a lot of money (they rarely ever do, so don't hold your breath!)

The Inspiration For This Blog Entry:

 I was inspired to write this blog entry after receiving phone calls from several skincare and make-up companies that left me messages claiming to have "excellent opportunities" for me. After speaking with their representatives and asking them if this was regarding my services in any way - I realize that they were just being pushy and wanted to set up a meeting with me so that they could push their product on me. They were extremely vague about what the meeting would involve. I asked the woman to email me the website information and she claimed to not have access to a computer for the next couple of weeks (also weird).

FAKE T.V. PILOTS
Recently, I also received an email from some one claiming to be some sort of casting person for TV or some thing. He had said he was looking for me to do "free" work for multiple catalogs, print, calendars and more on several occasions in September. He said that he promised I would be on the TV show and would receive so much exposure and press from it.Then he said some thing in the email about how it was a TV pilot. So... what is it? -- a show or a pilot?

Theres a lot of people out there this year - that have been claiming to put people on TV shows, make people famous, and get makeup artists on reality shows. The truth is - that these are TV Pilots. Theres so many unprofessional people out there right now claiming to have TV shows. However, these are TV Pilots - any one with a camera and a bunch of free employees can pull this one off. These people make TV pilots and then try to sell the TV show to networks etc.

Unless some one says specifically who they are, what business they are, and what network the TV pilot is for then there is no guarantee that you will even be on TV. Also, some times - even if they say specifically what network the TV pilot is for - it doesn't always get picked up. I've personally worked on TV pilots with recognized celebrities and these shows never got bought by any network.

My general conclusion after working these sorts of jobs was that they were not worth my time.
So heads up - and watch out for all these people claiming to have TV Pilots or Opportunities for you!
Also, consider doing research on a company, photographer, individual etc before working with them.
(of course I am not talking about brides and everyday appointments).

Real Casting & TV Opportunities
I have also been on casting interviews for Makeover Shows for TLC. They were very professional and they were looking for a specific type of makeup artist for a new makeover show. They were very upfront with who they were, how they found me etc. Their casting director had me come to their office - which was an official TLC building. They ran through some things with me and then had me speak on camera. They never asked me to do any free work on multiple occasions and they were very straight forward.

If you are considering doing casting interviews, you shouldn't have to do "freebies" for some casting director- that doesn't even make sense to me. If the casting director is contacting you - the network will pay to have you do whatever work you are signing on for. In addition, if you do interview for a legitimate TV show or TV pilot and do not get chosen- remember - it's not the end of the world. Typically, networks are looking to cast a specific type of person for the job. Some times this specific person may be chosen based on their appearance, ethnicity or sexual orientation and it has nothing to do with your Make-up Artist skills!
Most interviews will never involve you picking up a make-up brush at all.

My boyfriend worked on several reality shows including Top Model. He told me that the casting directors will usually pick people for shows if they feel that they will create conflict or add some thing weird to the mix. He explained to me that they will rarely pick a person for a reality show based on talent or because they are good at their job. There are a few make-up artists on reality shows now that I would bet - were chosen for the conflict/weird element instead of actual talent.

Advertising Your Services

Advertising Your Services

From Makeup Artist to Hairstylists and more - advertising is very important.

I feel as though online advertising works better than street advertising or flyering for services. I would say the best form of advertising though is "word of mouth" or recommendations to new clients from prior clients.

THEKNOT.COM

As far as online advertising goes, there are a lot of places that I think Makeup Artists feel that they have to advertise with. I recently signed up for the KNOT.com because of their reputation and they claim that 80 or 90% of brides visit theknot.com upon getting engaged to. The fee is $60 per month/ $150 per month some times more.I figured it was worth a try to keep my name out there in the wedding world - since I had pulled back from doing a lot of weddings due to other types of jobs I was taking.

The Knot.com gives you statistics on how many hits your profile gets etc. I was really surprised and disappointed with the statistics I saw after one month! I was able to get that many hits off of free advertising in ONE DAY! I was very disappointed with theknot.com and am really unsure of why other makeup artists would even want to advertise on it at all. It's kind of a big waste of money.

GOOGLE ADWORDS

Another big online advertising giant is Google Adwords. I've tried google adwords on several occasions and really wasnt happy with that either. It lets you budget out your hits per day. For example - if some one visits your website or clicks on the adword links - every click - you pay anywhere from 25 cents to $1.00. Unfortunately, if you have a small weekly budget - your clicks are used up quickly and you really don't get a lot of exposure at all. I also think that some of the clicks you receive aren't even potential clients - but rather other makeup artists and competition. You rarely get any calls from this form of advertising. Now, if you have a giant budget like huge corporations and companies do - then yes, google adwords make sense. You will get traffic to your website or page with a LARGE budget - but I still think theres better advertising methods out there.

YOU TUBE

YouTube, I've heard is an excellent way to gain exposure from a wide range of clients to fans. However, in my own experience with YouTube - it takes commitment. A lot of successful and dedicated youtube users have told me that you cant just put one video up whenever you feel like it. Apparently, you need to send out at least one video a day or once a week to keep people's interest. You also need to be consistent so that you don't lose your audience. I have talked to a few models during some catalog shoots that are also personal trainers. One model was well known on youtube for his AB videos and exercise videos. Apparently he's made thousands of dollars off youtube. BUT - it took a lot of dedication. If I was to fully commit to youtube advertising, marketing or for gaining exposure - I think I would create a hundred videos over the span of a few weeks and then upload them over the course of a year (every 3 days or so religiously). However, I personally fell that this youtube route can be very time consuming and slightly exhausting.

BLOGGING

Blogging is another form of self advertising or gaining a fan base/ hits to your website for whatever you're selling or talking about. However, just like youtube - blogging takes dedication, is time consuming, and you need to keep a schedule. I am one of the worst offenders when it comes to blogging. For some people - blogging, twitter, facebook etc - is their life - or has become a religious thing that they do everyday. Unfortunately for me.... again.... I have been unable to keep a consistent stream of blogs everytime I create a blog. However, the things that you blog about can come up in search engines which will bring traffic and exposure to your website or whatever you link your blog with. Blogs can take a lot of time and dedication as well.

TWITTER

There have been a lot of people and books written on how marketing yourself on twitter works for businesses. I personally, am not a fan of tweeting for my business. Occasionally I will put up announcements for things I am doing. However, I just find that twitter is spammed up with girls that sit there for hours saying everything that comes to mind... or they will have full conversations back and forth with some one on there. To me, this is very distracting. I also don't find that new clientele will interact with the business on there. It might just be the type of business! I think that there are better ways to get the word out!

FACEBOOK

I am a fan of facebook. I think that facebook is excellent for personal use and also for business - however - you must try to make two accounts for this! Some people have one account for everything and then you find yourself either avoiding your family members or telling your friends not to write certain things on your facebook because they're too personal. It's always good to have a separation of work and play ---- family and friends---- and family v.s. clients.

I like facebook because it is an informal way of connecting with people and new clients. It's also a more personal way for new clients to interact with you in a leisurely way and also get to know the other people on your page.  For my clients that take my workshops or book me for their events -- facebook has allowed them to verify my identity and even get reviews from other clients.

I am a huge fan of facebook and it is not as "spammy" as myspace. The only thing that I do not like about platforms like facebook is that they can some times collect TOO MUCH information - which is then out there in the internet for creepy websites to post everything about you - from collected data.

My best advice with facebook is to really think about the information you give up when signing up for accounts and just every day conversation - you never know who is watching!

Print Advertising:

Unless your being featured and they are doing an article on you - print advertising for makeup and hair services doesn't really work so great. Print advertising can be one of the most expensive forms of advertising. Back when I worked for a night club we would sign on to do all sorts of print advertising. Local magazines that were very small - would cost $2,000 for the backpage or for 1 page in the magazine. Print advertising should be left to the big companies and not small makeup service companies or independents.I personally, have advertised in the Village Voice - but - it rarely leads to any phone calls and can be costly!

FREE ONLINE ADVERTISING-- Keywords/Meta tags

Possibly the best thing ever--- free online advertising/classifieds websites! The best thing about free online advertising is the word FREE. When your advertising is free you can afford to do as much of it as possible!

A lot of free online classified sites have awesome visibility. For example- when some one searches out for some thing in a search engine - a lot of online classified sites will come up with words from your advertisement. These are known as "keywords". Keywords are awesome because they help find your advertisements online. In addition, keywords can even popup in your blog when you are writing about your services etc.

EXAMPLE:

I search out: New York City Bridal Makeup Artist

It then links me to your advertisement that says "New York City Bridal Makeup Artist"

Meta Tags are also awesome. They found in the admin section of your websites. They allow you to type a description into your website. When some searches out for some thing on a search engine it will then use your meta tags, keywords etc to pull up your website.

The Makeup World: Portfolio Is Everything

Portfolio is Everything - Despite What Schools Say!

Make-up Artists will email me asking for advice from everything from their resume to their advertisements etc. Theres so much that is unsaid online, in the real world and in the makeup industry about how to "make it" or "present your best".

The truth is- Make-up Artistry is not brain surgery and we are not corporate executives or your traditional business professionals.

We don't work 9 to 5, monday through friday. Most of us do not get paid vacation, sick days, etc. I am not saying that Make-up Artists are not smart and that we need no training whatsoever. I am simply saying that - our industry is a lot different and our jobs are a lot different than most.

A lot of new make-up artists naturally think that to be considered a good make-up artist or be "saught after" they need an impressive education. A lot of big make-up schools in New York City and other cities want potential students to believe this too.

The truth is, unless you are an assistant to some one famous on T.V. or learning make-up zen from some sort of published Make-up guru -
NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Big Companies, Makeup Counters, Everyday Clients, Brides, Photographers etc etc - all want to see your portfolio and your talents. The people that will seriously hire you want to see what you have to bring to the table whether you show them in person or have a dvd or (preferred) Portfolio.


When starting out in the Make-up World, I knew that make-up was my passion. I decided to go to Cosmetology School (which really only teaches hair!). I did this for my "peice of paper" so that I could become a Licensed Cosmetologist. I thought this would make me more appealing to companies and that it would open up more doors. In the end, I hated Hair and never wanted to touch it again.
The best part of graduating and working in the industry was finding out that none of the jobs I applied to even cared about my education.


It is good to have a resume (always). I personally, change my resume to suite the job or company I am applying to - based on what they are looking for (because I do special fx, body painting, beauty and more). When I first started out I used my resume frequently and took it around with me. I found that fewer and fewer companies wanted to see my resume and were more interested in seeing my portfolio. Currently, I rarely ever have to send a resume any where and many of my clients find me online or through other companies/word of mouth.

The truth is that - you are not a doctor-----You are a makeup artist.
Experience is awesome - however, talent is even better. People do not care if you have been doing bad makeup for 10 years. However, if you have been doing awesome makeup for 2 years - you'll probably get hired despite your experience!

I think a lot of makeup schools believe that their name alone gets their students jobs. However, saying you went to "________ " Makeup School isnt the same as other Industries when you say you went to Harvard or Yale. There is no "harvard" of Makeup Schools.

People really aren't impressed by what schools you've been to.
In some Makeup Artist jobs, having some college helps for management positions (but often- most managers have NO college or even cosmetology experience).

The truth is- that we are in a very creative field - in which there are few requirements - other than - skill, professionalism and portfolio.

I think a diverse portfolio is much better than having taken 10 courses with 10 different schools for 5 years lol! A diverse portfolio shows that you have the talent and you've done the work. It would be awesome if every job was like make-up artistry - where people just wanted to see what you had to bring to the table (instead of some peice of paper you got from a college).

Tips: Halloween Starts In August

Halloween Starts In August

It may still seem like it's 100 degrees outside and sunny, but don't be fooled! Halloween starts in August.

The best time to get your costumes for halloween of course, is right after halloween! You will find that with most holidays, the best time to get your costume, gifts or decorations for the following year - is infact, the day after whatever the holiday is.

You will find xmas decorations, halloween, and more discounts almost 80% the day after the holiday. Recently I was in new hampshire and was able to get fireworks up there for half the price- 2 days after the fourth of july! Unfortunately we are headed towards peak halloween season. August is an awesome month to get a jumpstart on everything from advertising to makeup supplies as things start to disappear off the shelves the closer you get to Halloween.

For make-up artists that are diverse in special fx, character design, and body painting as well as beauty, Halloween is the biggest day of the year for us! I personally find myself booked from 8am to midnight with appointments on the day of halloween alone. In addition to being busy, a lot of artists choose to reflect this in their rates. Every Halloween is different for me, some times I am working with the NYC Halloween Parade, After Dark Film Promotions, Private Parties & Appointments, Halloween Attractions, and NYC Night Clubs.
There are sooo many opportunities.

Now is the time to start advertising Halloween Services or beefing up your portfolio with some new looks or faces for the approaching Halloween. Big companies start advertising back to school items and Halloween items in August. Shelves get restocked, Stores get restocked, and everyone is ready for sales. It may seem silly to start getting ready now - but you will have a set schedule, adequate supplies, and will be extremely prepared for Halloween.

I have actually started receiving requests for October and Halloween appointments this week. A lot of Halloween attractions have already started hiring makeup artists for staff jobs and more as well.

Unfortunately, with supply buying you may not know exactly what you will need until you deal with each client on a case by case basis. However, there are old stand bys that are awesome to have and to order in advance.

• Brush Cleaner
• Liquid Latex
• Sponges and Disposable Brushes
• Airbrush Fantasy Makeup
• Backup Airbrush Guns (incase you get a clog and need to proceed)
• Extra airbrush needles/hoses
• Fake Blood or Ingredients to Make Fake Blood
• Waterbased Face Paint if planning to work with children
• A braid of fake hair
• Old Age Makeup Supplies
• Spirit Gum & Spirit Gum Remover
• Rigid Collodion (scar liquid) - disappears in september through october due to the buying volume.

There are a lot of preffered supplies that disappear off shelves the closer we get to halloween. In addition, there are specific brush cleaners that are excellent for fashion shows- and they too disappear off shelves.
My best advice is to get yourself out there and create a plan of attack to maximize your halloween.

Oh and, by the way - Halloween is on a sunday this year! Which means people will be booking your services friday, saturday and sunday. The true halloween lovers will still go out on Halloween Night and you may also pick up some extras on the other nights as well!

Self Improvement: Chewing Sticks- Smell Better than Cigarettes

Chewing Sticks- Smell Better Than Cigarettes!

IDFDSDS

Let's face it, there's nothing attractive about the dank smell of cigarettes on your breath and hands when you're around your friends, out on a date or if you work with other people.

I have recently tried to quit smoking. Cold turkey is super hard. A lot of people in the make-up and fashion industry smoke. From make-up artists to designers and photographers - a lot of us are sneaking out for that 5 second cigarette. It's not healthy at all and it's certainly not professional. Unfortunately, a lot of people struggle with quitting or going completely cold turkey!

I was recently at a catalog shoot in NYC. I saw one of the photographers chewing on what looked like a toothpick. I didn't think much of it until I started talking with him. I told him about how I was cutting back on my cigarette smoking and hopefully quitting soon.

A lot of people say you should quit smoking asap and how it's bad for you. I agree that it is bad and honestly, some times it's not even that enjoyable. He told me that the stick in his mouth was not an ordinary toothpick. He was actually chewing on a "chewing stick". I had never heard of that before! Apparently, this company came out with chewing sticks that were flavored to help people who are trying to quit smoking.

I tried a few of his sticks. I chewed on about 3 sticks during the entire day and did not go out for one cigarette! The sticks are made by a company called Thursday Plantation and come in a few different flavors including Tea Tree and Cinnamon (although he did say cinnamon was kind of gross).

I was able to find these sticks at a vitamin shop called ProHealth Pharmacy in Manhattan. I have also heard of GNC and WholeFoods selling these sticks - although they are kind of hard to find!

I have cut back on my smoking big time and will hopefully be quitting soon. I no longer find myself running out of the room or smoking before or during jobs. It's definitely helped me become more professional and probably more healthy!

I would recommend these sticks for any one who has any type of issues with smoking or stress.
Although it makes you look like Mickey Rourke in Iron Man - chewing sticks are a lot more healthy than smoking. In addition, chewing sticks have menthol in them that also make your breath smell better!

Chewing sticks smell a lot better than cigarettes!