Makeup Artist Schools in Massachusetts

For most jobs in the beauty business, it's pretty clear where you need to go to school. If you want to become a cosmetologist, you go to a cosmetology school; if you want to become an esthetician, you go to an esthetician school. But where do you go if you want to become a makeup artist? And, where do you go if simply want to pick up a couple of new makeup techniques?

Makeup Training Options

Basically, there are four different ways to learn about makeup. We'll take a look at each option, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each, and after that, list all of the makeup artist schools in Massachusetts (along with some other schools that might help you).

First up...​

1. Cosmetology Schools. If you're looking for a broad education that will introduce you to all aspects of beauty (skin, hair, nails, and makeup) then "cosmetology school" is what you're looking for. You'll learn how to style, color, and cut hair, how to beautify a customer's skin, how to perform professional manicures, as well as the basics of makeup application. There are plenty of cosmetology schools in Massachusetts, and many of them are affordable (community colleges tend to be the most affordable, with private schools such as Paul Mitchell, Empire, and Marinello getting a little more expensive).

The best aspect of a cosmetology school is that you'll have a solid understanding of beauty essentials, and you'll be able to apply for a Massachusetts cosmetology license after you graduate. That's important, because it'll allow you to work in any salon or spa in Massachusetts. The downside is that you'll probably need to continue to learn more about makeup after you graduate, because cosmetology schools teach introductory makeup courses, and not "expert-level" makeup courses.

2. Makeup Artist Schools. Whereas a cosmetology school will provide a "generalist" education where you learn about each professional area of beauty, a school that teaches only makeup will go into great detail about application procedures, color theory, airbrush techniques, building a professional makeup kit, gathering images to make an artist's portfolio, how to manage skin imperfections, and much, much more.

The education at makeup schools is in-depth and extensive, BUT they get very pricey. It's not uncommon for makeup programs to cost $12,000 or more. The other negative is that upon graduation, you won't be able to apply for a Massachusetts state cosmetology license--meaning that you'll be able to work as a freelance makeup artist, but not as a makeup artist in a salon or spa. If that's confusing, don't worry--we'll discuss licenses more in a section below.

Remember how we mentioned that these schools are rare? They are! There's only a couple dozen such schools in the United States. Luckily, there are a couple located in the Boston metro area. There are also schools in Medford and Peabody. We've included their contact information below.

​3. Makeup Workshops. In every city, there are pop-up makeup workshops that you can attend. Some of them may be very general (like a class on how to use mascaras) whereas others might be very specific (like the business aspects of doing bridal makeup). Workshops--sometimes also referred to as "intensives"--are usually short-term, and last anywhere from a single afternoon to a week or two. The pricetag is usually on the reasonable side, and classes can range anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to $2,000 or $2,500. If you're interested in workshops, check on Event Brite, Yelp, ThumbTack, Groupon, and Meetup.com, and look in cities like Boston, Worcester, Cambridge, Lowell, Springfield, Quincy, Newton, Somerville, Framingham, and Waltham.

4. Private Lessons. We love this option. Rather than waiting for a workshop to come to town, contact a makeup artist in your nearest city and arrange for lessons. Most MUAs are totally up for giving lessons because it brings them some extra income and helps them round out their schedule. To bring down the price, you can recruit a couple of friends and split the cost.

The best part about private lessons is that you can ask the artist to teach you exactly what you want to know. The other positive is that the artist becomes someone you know and can add to your professional network, and maybe even contact in the future for a job.

Where Can Your Career Take You?​

So now that you have an idea on how to receive an education, what area of makeup are you actually interested in? We go into great detail about jobs on our homepage, but we'll give you a quick refresher.​

Finally, there's one more area of makeup that we'd like to highlight, because people often forget about it, and that's business side of makeup. Cosmetics companies need creative people to develop new and exciting products, advertise those products, and teach shop owners how to use and sell them. It's not what people think of when they think "makeup artist," but it is a GREAT way to make a living, and a very reliable source of income. Something to think about!

Do You Need A License?​

We talked a little about this in one of the sections above. We've read the rules relating to cosmetology in the state of Massachusetts, and we could not find anything requiring people get a makeup artist license, and we know of many, many makeup artists who do gigs and do not have any sort of beauty license.

Massachusetts may become less lenient with makeup artists and eventually become more aggressive about requiring them to prove they have licenses, but for now they seem to not be extremely concerned. If that changes, we will most definitely write about it.

With that in mind, you may need a license if you want to work in certain places: If you want to work in a Massachusetts salon or a Massachusetts spa and do makeup, you'll need to get a cosmetology license or an esthetician license.

If you have any questions, you should check with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Cosmetology and Barbering. They are the ultimate authority when it comes to beauty careers in Massachusetts.

​Massachusetts Makeup Schools and Training

There are some top-notch makeup schools in Massachusetts. Check out each of the following institutions to learn more: ​