The uniform thread brought up another question of mine..makeup.  Most days I go with natural makeup, but there are days I start early and don't wear any.  Since I'm not a makeup artist, I don't see this as an issue.  As a skin care pro, I think people would want to see my skin.  I personally would want that, to see how good it looks.  My friend told me she disagrees, and feels I need full make up every day I work.  Also, when I worked at Ulta, we HAD to wear "5 pieces of visible makeup".  That's direct from the employee handbook.  Thoughts on natural, vs full, vs none?

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Ok, here are my thoughts and they are opinions that I share with other Estheticians who struggle to make money. Not saying it always works, but it is a rule of thumb that i like to go by and I am NOT saying that you are not making any money because you go au naturel! 

If you want a client to spend at least $50 with you on a service or take home products to this value you have to look like you have at least spent that amount on yourself.  Of course this includes nice clean clothes that are appealing, plus nice hair and nice makeup.  So I am an advocate for makeup, yes.  It makes you look like taking care of yourself is appealing and important and sometimes clients look to us as to "how they would like to look".   Make sense?    Not saying look like a Geisha, but it is nice to see somebody with some makeup on in this industry.

I go for a natural look at work- light mineral makeup, mascara, liner, neutral eyeshadow and tinted lip balm or gloss.

OK that makes sense.  But I'm all about selling them products & services that will make them love their skin, that will change their skin.  I like to say, hey, you don't need to cover it, if you use these products, it will be even and glowing without foundation.  I want my clients to spend that $50 on a skin care serum, not on makeup.  My basic makeup look is a BB cream, brow powder and mascara. If I have time, I will add shadow.  I'm not a fan of liner at all, I feel it makes me look older.  The problem is, our spa sells a makeup line I really don't like for my own skin, and I can't wear it.  I think it looks unnatural, at least on me. 

Hi Jodi

As a MUA/Esthetician I say a lil doesn't hurt. I don't wear tons of makeup (like I used to when I was working at cosmetic counters) But I do try to always go in with my brows groomed, mascara, (or LASHES... I love them) a lil bronzer and of course something on my lips. To me, that can be a great look while still showing off skin. I think it's great that you were BB cream because that gives ample amount of coverage still showcasing your canvas. Just wear what you love and let your service speak for itself! good luck! xoxo 

I think it depends on the image that you want to convey.

If I were selling makeup - I would want to BE flawlessly made up.

However, I don't sell makeup and I go for the natural look also.

Usually primer, a dusting of powder, bronzer, mascara, brow powder, and lip gloss...concealer on "bad" days.

I saw an esthetician who was probably 25 years younger than me who was heavily made up.

To me it looked like she was trying to "hide" her skin - which didn't look fresh and healthy to begin with.

I think we want to look like we don't NEED to wear makeup...even if we do!

I usually wear a foundation, a little blush (only because since I started wearing it, I feel naked without it), liner, mascara and a lip gloss.  I have always worn makeup like this though and don't usually leave home without it...in secuity I suppose :).  I only wear shadow when I am going out.  I say whatever you feel comfy with.  I know in school they said to always wear makeup (I have some PIH I am trying to get rid of so I don't want people to see that and i just don't like how I look without it), but if you don't want to wear it, it's your thing.  Oeople aren't going to come to you because of a nice room or that you wear makeup...it's the service that you provide that will keep them coming back.

I think it depends on the clientele to some extent. It is all about appealing to the image that the client wants for themselves, and the image that your particular business is trying to convey. For anybody, that obviously has to start with having great skin, but whatever you add on top of that in terms of makeup/hair/clothing style has to match the right image for your clients.

Basically I think the goal in any setting, for any demographic of clients, is to use makeup in a similar style to whatever the majority of your clients do, only BETTER. If they're mostly about a conservative or natural look, you have to be perfect within that general look. If they're all blinged out or wear a pound of goth eyeliner, you can do that, as long as it makes them look at you and think "Damn, she is doing it RIGHT." If you don't have any specific overall style among your clients and you get all sorts of different people, I think minimal natural-looking makeup is professional.

I think it is very important in our field to look our best- I always make sure I have some light foundation or powder on. I contour my cheeks with blush and a highlighter, and wear mascara-  I think you want to show the beauty of your skin, but look like you put time and effort into looking your best :)

Thanks everyone, great advice! 

I like to put my "face" on when I go to work. I either make the lips or eyes the focal point but not both. Clients tell me how great my eye shadow always looks (probably due to my singing on stage days) but what I noticed a lot of my clients comment on my eyebrows (I need to fill them because they are sparse) and say they want my brows! LOL. So I go get my make up bag, clean my slant brush and show them how to fill in their own brows (after I've shaped them) and they are thrilled. One client even decided to get her brows tattooed on my advice of the permanent holes in her brows and they looked fabulous!! AND I do not sell make up at my spa. So my advice is... Rock the look YOU love because that's who you are!

There is an old riddle that goes something like this: there are 2 barbers in town, one with a great haircut and one with a terrible one.  Who do you go to?  Almost everyone says, "the one with the great haircut!".  But the answer, in fact, is that you go to the one with the worst haircut since he is the one that gave the "great" haircut to the other barber.  Unfortunately, that doesn't always hold true in our industry.  Our clientele are looking at us as more than just their skincare professionals; they look at our skin as a model for their own.  Before I started as an esthetician, a random woman on an airplane said, "you have such great skin, you should be an esthetician!".  And it is true, my skin (even though it is mostly genetic and avoiding sun exposure) helps sell my services.  So with makeup, I totally agree with Carrie Patrick - you want to look like the best example of who you are selling to.  If your clientele is more organic and crunchy/granola, then you would go with the less is more rule.  But if you are selling to an upscale, glammed out hollywood crowd, you'd go with big lashes, detailed contours, big lips (what I call the Kim Kardashian look).  

But in the end, once you make a great name for yourself by doing your best work, it doesn't really matter what you do.  I mean, look at some of the famous fashion designers like Marc Jacobs - they are a hot mess and yet he still sells handbags for over a grand.  Something to shoot for, I say!

Very well said Jennifer:)

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