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Freelancing for MAC

post #1 of 439
4/4/05 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 
I am such a sad little MAC-aholic that at the Freestanding MAC store here in Indy and the Nordies counter all the employees know me by name now,.. well over the weekend, while signing up for the Nordies Event Beau, one of the salespeople who sees me all the time suggested that I do an "audition" or interview and sign up to do MAC freelance. Has anyone done this and what was it like?? And what do they expect. the suggestion kinda blew me away,.... I am not sure I am good enough?
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post #2 of 439
4/4/05 at 6:41pm
You will have a regular type interview but also you have to do a makeup demonstration. To show you know how to apply make up. Either recreate a look or take a day look to night.
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post #3 of 439
4/5/05 at 11:06am
Thread Starter 
Thanks! I want to do it, but I am soooo nervous about it. Though everyone tells me I should go for it.
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post #4 of 439
4/5/05 at 12:47pm
don't let being nervous stop you, I'm sure everyone that works there now has felt that way Go for it and tell us how it turned out !
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post #5 of 439
4/5/05 at 1:59pm
what does a mac freelance do exactly??
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post #6 of 439
4/5/05 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 
I would be "on-call" to help with events and such to do makeup demos. Aghhh,.. thanks for the advice about being nervous,.. I just feel like everyone else knows way more than me. LOL. Probably because I never thought that it would be a "marketable" skill.
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post #7 of 439
5/1/05 at 7:55pm

Freelance makeup artist contract?

I'm just wondering how one is supposed to look like and if you have to be licensed to do this?
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post #8 of 439
5/2/05 at 3:16am

Re: Freelance makeup artist contract?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrskloo
I'm just wondering how one is supposed to look like and if you have to be licensed to do this?
It depends on what state you live in. Here in Seattle, freelance MA and gals that work at cosmetic counters don't need to be licensed. I believe some states require an esthetics license.

As for what the contract looks like, that depends on what brand you're working for.

If you want more specific answers, it would be best to go to the counter of the brand you're interested in freelancing for, and ask them questions.
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post #9 of 439
5/6/05 at 12:22am
No freelance MA anywhere requires a license.
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post #10 of 439
5/6/05 at 10:38am
Is she asking about a license or a contract? There is a difference. I don't have a license yet but I do require brides to sign a contract when doing weddings because I want my money even if they call off the wedding.
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post #11 of 439
5/6/05 at 11:57am
It seems like she's asking about both.. like what does your contract look like?

I was wondering the same thing actually.. when I had my MU done by a "big" pro in the area, she didn't even draw up a contract, just put me in her book. . So I have nothing to compare it to..

Facesbyniki-would you mind showing us an example of a contract you use? Pretty please??
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post #12 of 439
5/6/05 at 11:04pm
I was wondering how a contract looked like. And what some things, as a customer, should I really be aware of when hiring an MA for an event?
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post #13 of 439
5/24/05 at 11:02pm

freelance MA

hello all, with my big huge collection of makeup, I've decided I want to be a freelance MA but I have no idea where to start! any advice?
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post #14 of 439
5/25/05 at 1:48am
advertise. work with college students. be ready to work for little to no pay to build up a portfolio and resume.
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post #15 of 439
5/25/05 at 5:45am
there are always freelance jobs on craigslist.org
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post #16 of 439
5/25/05 at 5:54am
Be prepared to not make any money. LOL, I'm really feeling it right now. I'm actually thinking of working for a cosmetic line regularly, because now that prom season is over, I'm having a hard time getting appointments.
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post #17 of 439
5/25/05 at 4:59pm
yeah. unless you live in la, summer just blows.
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post #18 of 439
5/25/05 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by glassjaw326
there are always freelance jobs on craigslist.org
depends on your location.
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post #19 of 439
5/26/05 at 1:46pm
cooool, my name's jeanna too!! AND i'm also getting more active in pursuing my freelancing

how do you pronounce your name? mine's JENNA. i was called GINA throughout all of highschool!
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post #20 of 439
5/27/05 at 1:32am
OMG JEANNA! MY NAME IS PRONOUNCED JENNA TOO! I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM IN HIGH SCHOOL.. LOL.. yeah but i'm kinda having trouble with appts. for freelancing.. kinda slow.. but i love doing makeup! [/quote]
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post #21 of 439
5/27/05 at 3:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by helloitsjeanna
OMG JEANNA! MY NAME IS PRONOUNCED JENNA TOO! I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM IN HIGH SCHOOL.. LOL.. yeah but i'm kinda having trouble with appts. for freelancing.. kinda slow.. but i love doing makeup!
don't worry, i've been doing makeup as a hobby for a while, but i'm in the VERY early stages of freelancing as a profession. just find as many people as you can to practise on: friends, family, etc. you'll gain a lot of experience that way and try to take photos if you can to document your work so you're not scrambling to put together a portfolio when you need one. eventually your name will start to get around. promote yourself wherever you can, ie. website, livejournal... find magazine pictures and try to re-create them... talk to the MA's when you're buying makeup for yourself, ask intelligent questions.... just be patient, learn from your mistakes, and practise your butt off!! you'll master your craft for sure, as long as you have the natural drive and passion to become a professional makeup artist/freelancer (which it sounds like you do!). post pictures of your looks in the FOTD forum, the people here are amazing at giving constructive criticism and are totally supportive! believe me, i have a loooong way to go myself, but i'm determined to get there good luck to you!
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post #22 of 439
5/28/05 at 5:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aeni
advertise. work with college students. be ready to work for little to no pay to build up a portfolio and resume.
Ditto.

You have to work on your portfolio first. Do as many models as you can. All different types. Do different looks on all of them to show your creativity. Make sure to include "commercial" looks in your portfolio as well. Wedding & prom looks, etc.

A lot of freelancers build up their portfolio by working for trade. This means that you network with photographers and offer to do makeup for a shoot in exchange for prints. This part is the hardest. It's pretty much working for free, but if the photographer is good, you'll def. want those prints in your book. The better the photographer, the better your portfolio will look.
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post #23 of 439
9/26/05 at 6:00pm

curious, if hired by MAC to freelance, do they train you before you start? ro

I've always wondered this...
Also, how exactly does a freelance position work? Do you work at one counter or travel to different counters? Do you only work during new colour story promos? Basically, how does it differ from a regular behind-the-counter MA?

(I'm pretty much assuming once they hire you for *any* position, you don't actually work until they've given you training??)
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post #24 of 439
9/27/05 at 12:08am
To be quite honest with you, I'm not sure how it works... it may vary from city to city, region to region. I just got hired as a MAC freelance makeup artist. I was told that I would be involved in both the in store events as well as covering for short staff (when someone calls in or quits). This would be for the various MAC counters in my area, so I am not at one set location. They did not inform me of any training... I am a makeup artist and had to do a demo for them.
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post #25 of 439
9/27/05 at 9:10pm
ah, thanks!

I know the interview is 2 part (verbal and m/up application) but from what I got from some MA's at a Pro store, they had a 5 day teaching seminar... Perhaps that's just once in a while or a yearly thing to add new techniques to your repertoire... She'd been to the same makeup school that i'd been to and she said the MAC training was phenomenal and that she learned more from MAC in 5 days than at her entire year at school.
Anyways, thanks for you reply *and* congratulations!! :P
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post #26 of 439
11/10/05 at 4:47am

Freelancing Question....

I looked and looked but I couldn't find out exactly what a freelancer is. I know it means you're not a full employee but.... what are the duties?
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post #27 of 439
11/10/05 at 10:40pm
Its called on-call/freelance position and for on-call, you basically cover someone's shift meaning you have to do all the things a normal MA would do. For example, clean the counter, and you have an amount of stuff to sell per person. And for freelance, you are basically there for your makeup talent. When they have events you do makeup on the customers who usually have appointments. You have to sell a certain amount of products to the customer...


anything else you wanna know just ask me!
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post #28 of 439
1/20/06 at 11:08pm

freelance process?

i was asked to apply for a freelance position by my favourite local counter, and i dropped off my application last weekend. i should be getting called for an interview in a couple weeks. does the freelance interview process differ from a regular interview? any special tips for freelance interviews?
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post #29 of 439
1/25/06 at 2:17am
I doubt that the freelance job process is any different from the regular employee process. A friend of mine applied for a MAC position, and she did everything with the other applicants and was offered a freelance position afterwards.
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post #30 of 439
2/2/06 at 4:49am
No they are the same, makeup demo and then if they liked it then you go for your verbal interview
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