How Much Money Does a Makeup Artist Make?

So you love makeup, and you’re good at it, but you wonder if you can make a living at it. If you have always wondered,  “how much money does a makeup artist make?” you’re not alone. The idea of being a makeup artist combines glamor and creativity, not to mention the potential to work with Hollywood Stars. But does it pay?

Well, it sure can. My search revealed a statistic that says the average makeup artist brings in $24,000 to $50,700 per year. Now I don’t know if you think that’s good pay, or if you are disappointed, but keep some points in mind. First of all, makeup artists include the girls at the drugstore counters (working for a small hourly wage) to artists in theater productions, photography layouts, live modeling sessions, and the big time money makers out in Hollywood.

Another answer to my online inquiry of “how much money does a makeup artist make?” said that a junior freelance artist can make $400-$600 a day, while an experienced one could make $1,200 to $2,000 a day. Realistic? Well, probably in certain situations. But remember, freelancers don’t necessarily work every day, and the people bringing in this money have probably spent years honing their skills and building their network and referral bases. You can do it, but don’t expect it to happen overnight.

Laura Geller, the creator of the Spackle and Caulk collections, started her career in one of those department stores, just to build up experience. She then began working the theaters of NYC before creating her own line.

So there you are. If your dream is to be a professional makeup artist- it is doable! There is money to be made if you are willing to invest the time. And as one glamor girl who loves to dabble in cosmetics and makeup, that doesn’t sound like a bad investment.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Bare Escentuals Mineral Makeup

Mineral makeup is the rage. I know- you want pure, organic, and all natural- but you still want coverage. OK ladies, I hear your pleas, I see your need- so here it is: A guide to the Bare Essentials of Bare Escentuals Mineral Makeup.

The questions I get most about mineral makeup are these:

1. Do they really help my skin?
2. Will mineral makeup cover my flaws?
3. Is it a good idea to buy mineral makeup online?

Here’s the dirty low-down. Scratch that. Here’s the pure, all natural, nutrient enhancing low-down. Enhanced skincare products, like Bare Escentuals Mineral Makeup are better for your skin. Partly because of what they don’t have: preservatives, talc, oil, fragrances, dyes and chemicals. Partly because of what they do have: minerals that nourish, hydrate and heal your skin. It’s healing cosmetics- finally!

As for covering flaws, my face is proof. Even though Bare Escentuals i.d bareMinerals Foundation - SPF 15 Sunscreen looks like a powder, it goes on creamy. But wait—what if the color is off? This is what I love about buying Bare Escentuals Mineral Makeup online. If you visit their online site go the “Shade Finder” area. But instead of just trying to match swatches to your skin tone, you use real women, and match yourself to one of them. This was so much easier for me than even testing makeup on my wrist. I was able to scroll down the line of models until I came to the one that most closely matched my coloring and skin tone. And I ended up with a perfect match.

So there you go. Mineral Makeup is all it’s cracked up to be. Now I only wish they’d apply that same technology to paint swatches for my house. No such luck. Luckily, I love Smurf Blue.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com and stillagirl.net - positive places for women and girls

Hi all

As many of you may have guessed by now, I own several businesses and websites. It can actually get a bit confusing and in the past I have had difficulty staying on track. My friend Dan has gotten to the point of sticking post it notes on my computer saying”What business am I in today?”

When you have 20 plus sites to run, you can spend every second tidying up loose ends and not enough on actually furthering your business. So the post it notes have helped keep me on track. Now he has gone a bit further by getting me engraved pens. Each pen set is divided by color and logo.

So if I am using my pink pen with the stillagirl.com logo I know that that day I only work on stillagirl.com, and stillagirl.net.

When I am done with those two sites, I put the pen back and pick up the red one. That is my dating pen. I use that one for seductiondiva.com and whatdowomenreallywant.com.

And so on and so forth.

This technique may sound silly but it has really worked. I even have the pens divided by days. So I  work only on pink and red on Mondays and Green and blue are for Tuesday, etc.

Everything else can wait or gets delegated to my assistant. This system has actually helped me to increase my profits by up to 50%. Instead of merely going through the motions, I have a physical reminder of my purpose for each business.

Try it for yourself. You just may be amazed at how much more you get accomplished.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

For those of you who know me, my idea of adventure is to pull out a map, close my eyes, point and head on out. I love new places, meeting new people and trying new cuisines. I am not really an adventure traveler though. I don’t dive out of airplanes, bungee jump or have any desire to do anything that may cause myself bodily harm.

That said I recently heard of an adventure tour that has even my pampered self intrigued. It is the Kilimanjaro climb tour by tusker.com. Imagine climbing this mountain or taking an adventure tour with an absolute stud of a man.

Eddie Frank is one of the top Kilimanjaro guides and absolutely dreamy in my humble opinion. He has those rugged good looks that make me go all weak in the knees.

He has over thirty years of experience guiding this tour and it is known as one of the safest tours of its kind. So other than the rapid heartbeat you may experience as you follow up after him or one of his guides, your health and safety needn’t be a concern.

Now I will warn you that you will be sleeping in a tent on this tour but they set everything up for you and provide you with food, water and a mattress. But if you can stand a few creepy crawlies and want to get in shape and have fun, this tour may well be for you.

Let me know if any of you decide to take this tour. I would love to hear all about it, as I wade through my closet looking for a comfortable pair of hiking boots and singing “Climb Any Mountain.”

Sincerely,
Caterina Christakos -founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

* thanks again to all of our sponsors

Acne and Oily skin

Oily skin, it is basically the bane of anyone who is fighting acne. It is the one thing that can make fighting acne all the more difficult since it is one of the main causes. The first thing to do when fighting acne with oily skin is to know that you will want check out all natural acne skin care products that are designed specifically for people with oily skin. These products help to even out your skin by absorbing some of the oil so it does not stay on your face and clog your pores.

Natural acne free skin care take more effort than just washing alone. Skin care with bog myrtle products can also help these products are for sensitive skin, and contain anti bacterial properties that can help control the oil and bacteria that causes acne. Using products like bare essentials make up and mineral makeup moisturizer that are designed to help you can also be of benefit. If you are not sure of products or where to start looking, checking out a site that gives acne product review, acne skin care advice is a good idea. They will have a list of acne and care product skin treatment options that will work best for you.

You may also want to consider using a product like Cosmedicine Medi-Matte Oil Control Lotion SPF 20 not only will this lotion help to keep your skin hydrated without clogging pores but it will also help to control the oil produced by your skin, and will product it from the sun. There are also environmental factors that can cause your skin to break out and having oily skin simply makes it easier for these factors to affect you.

Acne and Rosacea skin care and skin care acne pregnancy treatments may also differ for those with oily skin. Luckily, there are things like oil control lotions, cleansers, astringent pads even absorbing pads you can take with you and work without damaging make up to catch shiny spots through out the day. Skin care technology has come a long way to taking problem skin and turning it into skin that can easily be cared for. No one has to know you have to exfoliate, deep clean, and use an oil control moisturizer on a daily basis to obtain the healthy tone that your skin has the potential of having. All they will notice is the great skin and that is worth the effort.
Having oily skin means that you are most likely going to be more prone to outbreaks of acne because you are over producing one of the major causes, stress, and environmental factors, even the make up you are currently wearing can have an effect when it comes to acne. Taking the time to do a little research on the various ways you can help eliminate acne from changing your diet to the type of skin care products to use.

And that was just one more tip on how to deal with acne and oily skin. Feel free to write in with what techniques and products work for you.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

How to Use Complete Professional Makeup Kits

Ok girls- you know I am all about ease and simplicity in my makeup. And I get so many questions on the “how tos” of makeup application I thought it was time to give you the Cliff Notes version of how to apply makeup. Complete professional makeup kits are like striking gold for a lot of reasons. First of all, they are usually priced a lot lower than if you bought each item at its individual price. Second, it’s a great way to sample a new makeup line in smaller amounts without making the huge investment. Finally, the makeup colors are usually assorted so that they match perfectly.

Here’s a great one: Anastasia All About Brows Kit ($141 Value) Ash Blond offers everything you need to create professionally looking brows. You can’t do a great job without the right tools right? Well, this includes professional tweezers, brow powder, stencils, brush, brow gel and a highlighter pencil. All in a darn cute pink carrying case. If you’ve ever had a bad wax job and wondered why you couldn’t get great looking brows- here is your answer. The magic of complete professional makeup kits is that they include everything the professionals use, and usually include instructions on what to do with them

Another awesome offering in the complete makeup kits arena is the Bare Escentuals Get Started Kit - Dark/Deep ($181 Value) Dark. If you’ve been following my blog you know I really like the bare minerals line because of their natural skin enhancing nutrients. But I include their Get Started Kit here for one major reason. It comes with a step-by-step DVD for applying the makeup included! To me that is an amazing value. If you want professionally applied makeup, there is no better way to learn than by watching a professional do it.

I’m really big on learning as you go along. And any product that sells beauty and education has earned a spot on my site!

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

A friend of mine just bought some beaufort nc real estate which kind of surprised me. I had never even heard of Beaufort North Carolina. Now her moving there means that I, of course, will have to visit so I began to research what there is to do there. And I found out - surprisingly a lot.

The part that stirred my interest was the ghost tours. I love to scare myself silly on spooky tours. Apparently Beaufort has quite a few ghostly tales for all you thrill seekers out there. Among their claims to fame are Blackbeard’s house and the old burying ground, a three hundred year old cemetery. On the tour you find out all about the pirates that used to haunt this town, so to speak, haunted houses and spooky phenomenon. How cool is that?

There are also the standard things to do like shopping, eating, historical tours, etc… but, as for me, I am looking forward to the thrills and chills. I will let you all know how it goes.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

All Natural Acne Skin Care Products That Soothe and Calm

Red in the face? Even on days when I’m not suffering from breakouts or too much sun my skin can look uneven and blotchy. Without makeup I look messy, with makeup I looked cracked and off balance. That’s because the bumpy surface of rough skin, due to either acne or poor skin quality, is not a good foundation for makeup. You could try a chemical peel, but what if you really prefer all natural acne skin care products? I know I do. We’re talking about my face, after all!

I think I may have found the perfect solution, whether you have rosacea, acne, or just red and rough skin. The MD Formulations Anti-Redness Kit ($150 Value) Anti-Redness Kit offers 6 calming and renewing all natural acne skin care products for half the usual shelf price. These all natural acne skin care products are enhanced with botanicals, dermatologist tested and allergy tested.

One of my favorites is the Continuous Renewal Serum which uses ph balanced botanicals to gently slough away dead and craggy skin cells that create uneven skin texture. The Critical Care Calming Gel repairs inflamed and irritated skin with antioxidants and the Q10 enzyme. Other all-natural acne skin care products included are a cleanser, critical care skin repair complex, critical care shielding crème and Total Protection 30 sunscreen.

I’m a firm believer that all natural skin acne skin care products will make my face healthier and less likely to break out in the future. What really sold me on this kit is the focus on calming and soothing irritated skin. To me calm and all natural go hand in hand.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Free Dating Tips

This month’s free dating tips will focus on summer fun. Oh, I know, some of us are just now putting our warm woolies away, but planning ahead is the secret to being able to appear spontaneous!

First buy a one month pass to a tanning salon, it is always nice to begin wearing all the cute warm weather fashions without fading into your white cottons.

Next, consider taking your hair a shade or two lighter for the season.

Now that you are looking like it is already mid July, pack a summer fun bag, and keep it ready. This is not the stuff you use daily, this is the bag you grab, or keep in your car, when he calls and asks `How about sailing today?’, so you can answer, “Sure, pick me up in 15 minutes!”

Have all the basics: brush, simple make up, swim suit, towel, sun block, sunglasses, disposable camera, a sun dress that doesn’t wrinkle and sandals. If you throw in a toothbrush and travel size toiletries, and the mood strikes you, this could carry you through an overnighter, too! Place things in separate zip lock bags, to avoid leaks, et.
Summer just calls for more spur of the moment plans, so go with the season, and be prepared for anything!

Future free dating tips will describe a picnic basket you can have ready at the waiting, and `Let’s be kids again’ kind of dates, so check back often.

Click here for more free dating tips

Hi all

Ok, last week we discussed what gift to get for my religious friend. This week I am on the hunt for confirmation gifts, which is a challenge because I had no idea what a confirmation was. Apparently it is a rite of passage in the Catholic church, where the child is required to have more than a passing knowledge of their religion and to make a renewed commitment to the church. At least that is the way I understand it.

Anyway an appropriate gift, apparently, might be a medal with a picture of a saint on it, a cross, etc…  There may be something like this in the Greek Orthodox church but I honestly don’t remember going through it. Perhaps it is similar to the bar mitzvahs that the Jewish culture has when boys become men and have to demonstrate their faith. They also receive money to help them along with their futures. A friend recently told me that this tradition is beginning to extend to girls as well.

I love progress.

Anyway it should be interesting to get a view into this particular religion’s traditions and ceremonies. I will let you all know what I learn.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls