Makeup Artist Schools in Florida
If you would like to become a full-time makeup artist--or if you'd like to learn a few new makeup techniques--you're in the right spot. In the post below, we talk about all the different ways you can learn about makeup, the different jobs that makeup artists can have, and whether you'll need a license to practice. After that, we'll provide a full list of the different makeup artist schools in Florida that you can attend.
We are passionate about makeup, and we're so glad you are too! Let's take a look at your options.
The Different Types of Makeup Schools You Can Attend
For some careers, figuring out where to go to school is easy. If you want to become a professional chef, you go to a culinary school. If you want to become a masseuse, you enroll in a massage school. Where do you go if you want to become a makeup artist?
Here are your options. You can go to:
- A private institution that teaches makeup. There aren't too many schools in the United States that focus solely on makeup application, but luckily, Florida has a few of them. Schools usually focus on fashion makeup or special effects makeup--a few offer classes in both--and the training lasts anywhere from a few months to a half-a-year or more. The cost can be a little bit high--it's not uncommon for makeup schools to run you thousands of dollars--but the instruction is usually first-rate, and classes are taught by teachers who have been makeup artists in real life. We've listed them in our "Florida Makeup Schools and Classes" section below.
- Workshops (also called "Intensives"). These are a fantastic option, because they're usually low-cost and focused on one particular aspect of the makeup artist business. One workshop may focus on the business side of being a MUA ("MUA" is short for "makeup artist"), and another may focus on a specific technique or how to use a specific tool (airbrush makeup is a popular workshop topic). These intensives usually last a couple of days, and cost anywhere from $200 up to $5,000. The best part is, if you sign up for one of these types of classes, you'll get to travel! Check online for workshops in the larger cities (Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Tallahassee, and Fort Lauderdale are good bets) but also look in smaller cities (such as Port St. Lucy, Miramar, Gainesville, Palm Bay, Boca Raton, and Daytona Beach).
- Cosmetology Schools and/or Esthetician Schools. While you won't focus solely on makeup in a cosmetology or esthetician school, you'll get a well-rounded beauty education that includes hairstyling, skin care, and makeup application. For some makeup artists, having a cosmetology background is what sets them apart from other MUAs who don't have that training. Plus, the best part about cosmetology schools is that you'll graduate and be able to get a cosmetology license, and that gives you a LOT of job security. We'll talk a little more about hairstyling and cosmetology in one of the sections below.
There's one other option you have, and that's private lessons with a professional makeup artist. Instead of enrolling in a school or workshop, you can contact a makeup artist directly, and ask if he/she gives one-on-one lessons (you can even get some friends together, and see if the MUA will offer a discount rate for group lessons). The most fantastic part about such an arrangement is that you can ask to be taught exactly what you want to know. AND--if you're looking to make "makeup artist" your professional career, a local MUA will have real-world experience you can learn from, and local connections that can help you build your business.
Florida Special Effects Makeup Schools
There's one type of school that we left out of our list above, and that type is special effects makeup. On MakeupArtistEssentials.com, we focus mostly on glamour and beauty, but we'd be remiss if we didn't discuss SFX makeup. It's fascinating and super-creative.
Glamour makeup tries to make people look their best; SFX is fun because it tries to do the opposite. Special effects makeup artists make their clients look like space aliens, zombies, vampires, gunshot victims, and people dying of various diseases. SFX makeup artists are very important in the cinema business, and the best SFX artists are sought-after and well-paid (it is, of course, a super-competitive industry, and it can be tough to make a living).
There are only a couple of places in the United States that have special effects schools, and Florida is lucky enough to have two:
- Cosmix School of Makeup Artistry in Fort Lauderdale, FL; and
- Joe Blasco Cosmetics in Orlando, FL.
We've included contact information for both schools below.
Job Titles and Career Opportunities
If you obsessed with makeup and want to make "MUA" your job title, how can you do that? What are some of the ways that men and women do makeup as a full-time career?
Basically, there are a couple different ways to do it. You can become:
A Fashion MUA for Print and Multimedia. These are the MUAs that people think of when they think "makeup artist." They're employed by various businesses in the fashion industry, and work with photographers and models to produce images and videos for designers, labels, and publishing companies (like Vogue and Elle and hundreds of other online publications). The work is very challenging and very competitive, but obviously it's very exciting to work in the fashion industry.
A Bridal MUA. This is fast-becoming the most popular type of MUA job. Whereas jobs in the fashion work can be sparse, jobs for bridal makeup artists can be plentiful. Every weekend, hundreds of brides in every city say "I do" and more and more of them are hiring professional MUAs to get them ready for the big event. There are some bridal MUAs who are able to turn bridal makeup into a full-time career, and plenty of others who "moonlight" and do bridal makeup as their side-gig.
Film, Theatre, and Television MUAs. Any time an actor is appearing on screen or in front of a crowd, he or she is wearing makeup. And, because certain cameras capture images in very specific ways, MUAs are an important part of making actors look a certain way. Most of the jobs in cinema are in NYC and Los Angeles, but there are jobs in Miami and other big cities along the eastern seaboard. Just like the fashion industry, the competition in the film industry is pretty intense, but--other people have become makeup artists in film and cinema, so why can't you?
A Salesperson / Marketing / Product Developer. People always forget about this aspect of the beauty business, but it's a very stable--and occasionally very high-paying--way to have makeup be the centerpoint of your career. As you know, there are THOUSANDS of makeup products released every year. Every beauty company needs to research the people who buy their products, dream up new and interesting products they can sell, and then advertise those products to consumers. If you have a creative flair or love working with people, a career on the business-side of makeup can be very profitable!
Cosmetologist. For most people, this is the best option. Cosmetologists focus on all aspects of beauty--hair, nails, skin, and makeup--and are able to build a local client base. Some are even able to open their own salons, and make a VERY decent salary.

Will I Need A License?
We get a LOT of questions about makeup artist licenses.
At the time that we wrote this post, we couldn't find any state laws or regulations that require freelance makeup artists to have a license, and there are plenty of independent makeup artists who go from job to job who do NOT have a makeup artist. The state of Florida may, at some point in the future, be more aggressive about making sure that independent makeup artists have some type of beauty license, but for now, they seem not to be too concerned.
One thing that is certain is that you will definitely need a license to apply makeup to a paying customer if you are employed by a Florida salon or Florida spa (or any other kind of Florida establishment). In that case, you'll need a get a Florida cosmetology license or a Florida esthetician license.
It's always best to check with the Florida Board of Cosmetology to make sure. State laws change frequently, and it's best to be up-to-date on any requirements made by the state of Florida.
Florida Makeup Schools and Classes
As we mentioned above, Floridians are lucky: there are plenty of makeup artist schools in Florida to choose from, and we’ve listed the contact information for each of them below.
If you decide to become a makeup artist, we’re rooting for you!
Bam Bam Cosmetics Institute
6501 Park of Commerce Boulevard
Boca Raton, FL 33487
Boca Beauty Academy
7820 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33434
Academy of Glam
8698 Griffin Road
Cooper City, FL 33328
Cosmix School of Makeup Artistry (fashion and special effects makeup)
3440 North Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
(954) 564-4181
Beauty Schools of America
1060 West 49th Street
Hialeah, FL 33012
Beauty Academy of South Florida
9800 Northwest 77th Ave
Hialeah Gardens, FL 33016
Beauty Schools of America
600 NE 22 Terrace
Homestead, FL 33030
American Beauty Schools
8100 SW 8th Street
Miami, FL 33144
Beauty Academy of South Florida
6760 SW Coral Way
Miami, FL 33155
Beauty Schools of America
1176 SW 67th Avenue
Miami, FL 33144
Celebrity School of Beauty
8478 Southwest 8th Street
Miami, FL 33144
Joe Blasco Cosmetics (special effect makeup and fashion makeup)
Orlando Training Center
5422 Carrier Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 363-1234
Empire Beauty School
428 Okeechobee Boulevard
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
As someone who lives in Florida, you’ll have a great opportunity to attend some fantastic makeup schools. However, if you’re interested in cosmetology–and that can be a GREAT way to get into makeup–here are a few schools you can look into:
Hair Design Institute
2289 East Semoran Boulevard
Apopka, FL 32703
Cloud Nine Beauty School
746 US Highway 27 North
Avon Park, FL 33825
International Hair and Barber Academy
7025 Beracasa Way
Boca Raton, FL 33433
Cozmo Beauty School
10347 Bonita Beach Road
Bonita Springs, FL 34135
Hair Design Institute
552 East Woolbright Road
Boynton Beach, FL 33436
Manatee Technical Institute
6305 State Road 70
Bradenton, FL 34203
Metropolitan Technical Career Institute
661 South Broad Street
Brooksville, FL 34601
Suncoast Technical Education Center
4057 California Street
Brooksville, FL 34604
Central Florida Community College
1015 North Young Boulevard
Chiefland, FL 32626
Aveda Institute
28272 US Highway 19
Clearwater, FL 33761
Regency Beauty Institute
25973 US Highway 19
Clearwater, FL 33763
Sunstate Academy
2525 Drew Street
Clearwater, FL 33765
Eastern Florida State College
1519 Clear Lake Road
Cocoa, FL 32922
Aveda Institute — South Florida
4186 South University Drive
David, FL 33314
Daytona State Community College
1200 International Speedway Boulevard
Daytona Beach, FL 32120
Adu School of Cosmetology
269 Dixie Highway
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441
Fort Pierce Beauty Academy
3028 South US 1
Fort Pierce, FL 34982
Indian River State College
3209 Virginia Avenue
Fort Pierce, FL 34981
Florida Academy
4387 Colonial Boulevard
Fort Myers, FL 33966
Regency Beauty Institute
11621 South Cleveland Avenue
Fort Myers, FL 33907
Salon Professional Academy
1388 Colonial Boulevard
Fort Myers, FL 33907
Latin Beauty Academy
6348 Forest Hill Boulevard
Green Acres, FL 33415
La Belle Beauty Academy
1495 West 49th Street
Hialeah, FL 33012
Sheridan Technical College
5400 West Sheridan Street
Hollywood, FL 33021
Immokalee Technical Center
508 North 9th Street
Immokalee, FL 34142
Manhattan Hairstyling Academy
1522 U.S. Highway 41
Inverness, FL 34450
Withlacoochee Technical Institute
1201 West Main Street
Inverness, FL 34450
Academies of Technology
7450 Wilson Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL 32210
Aveda Institute — Jacksonville
10601 San Jose Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL 32257
Paul Mitch The School — Jacksonville
4624 Town Crossing Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32246
Regency Beauty Institute
9200 Arlington Expressway
Jacksonville, FL 32225
Toni and Guy Hairdressing Academy
8206 Philips Highway
Jacksonville, FL 32256
Florida Gateway College
149 SE College Place
Lake City, FL 32025
Paul Mitch The School — Miami
1303 SW 107th Avenue
Miami, FL 33174
Academy of Cosmetology — Melbourne
2909 West New Haven Avenue
Melbourne, FL 32904
Ambiance Beauty and Barber Academy
682 Wickham Road
Melbourne, FL 32935
Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology
3702 Estey Avenue
Naples, FL 34102
Beauty Careers Training Center
864 John Sims Parkway
Niceville, FL 32578
Fashion Cuts and Beauty Academy
2400 SW College Road
Ocala, FL 34474
North Florida Academy
1115 South Blanding Boulevard
Orange Park, FL 32065
Regency Beauty Institute
20 Blanding Boulevard
Orange Park, FL 32073
Florida College of Natural Health
2600 Lake Lucien Drive
Maitland, FL 32751
Hollywood Beauty Academy
6112 Silver Star Road
Orlando, FL 32808
Woody’s Hairstyling School
3017 Edgewater Drive
Orlando, FL 32804
Paul Mitchell The School — Oviedo
1285 Oviedo Mall Boulevard
Oviedo, FL 32765
First Coast Technical College
146 Comfort Road
Palatka, FL 32177
Diamond Beauty School
3401 South Congress Avenue
Palm Springs, FL 33461
Step Ahead Cosmetology School
3400A Highway 77
Panama City, FL 32505
Thomas P. Haney Technical Center
3016 Highway 77
Panama City, FL 32405
George Stone Technical Center
2400 Longleaf Drive
Pensacola, FL 32526
Florida College of Natural Health
2001 West Sample Road
Pompano Beach, FL 33064
Sarasota County Technical Institute
4748 Beneva Road
Sarasota, FL 34233
Sunstate Academy
4424 Bee Ridge Road
Sarasota, FL 34233
UR Beauty and Barber Academy
901 US Highway 27
Sebring, FL 33870
Manhattan Hairstyling Academy
1720 16th Street
St. Petersburg, FL 33705
Bradford-Union Vocational Technical Center
607 North Orange Street
Starke, FL 32091
Aveda Institute — Tallahassee
202 West Pensacola Street
Tallahassee, FL 32304
D.G. Erwin Technical Center
2010 East Hillsborough Avenue
Tampa, FL 33610
Manhattan Hairstyling Academy
2317 East Fletcher Avenue
Tampa, FL 33613
Paul Mitch The School — Tampa
14210 North Nebraska Avenue
Tampa, FL 33613
Regency Beauty Institute
14360 North Dale Mabry Highway
Tampa, FL 33609
Shear Excellence Hair Academy
3649 West Waters Avenue
Tampa, FL 33614
Salon Professional Academy
11915 County Road 103
The Villages, FL 32162
Manhattan Hairstyling Academy
3244 Lithia Pinecrest Road
Valrico, FL 33594
Total Nails and Hair Academy
2601 South Military Trail
West Palm Beach, FL 33415
Florida Academy of Health and Beauty
2300 Northwest 9th Avenue
Wilton Manors, FL 33311
Aveda Institute — Orlando
495 North Semoran Boulevard
Winter Park, FL 32792